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# New York State Route 96
New York State Route 96 (NY 96) is a 126.01-mile-long (202.79 km) northwest–southeast state highway in the Finger Lakes region of New York in the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at an interchange with NY 17 (Future I-86) in the Southern Tier village of Owego, Tioga County. Its northern terminus is at a junction with East Main Street in the city of Rochester, Monroe County. Between the two endpoints, NY 96 passes through the city of Ithaca and the villages of Waterloo, Victor, and Pittsford. NY 96 is signed north–south for its entire length, although most of the route in Ontario County travels in an east–west direction.
All of NY 96, except from Candor to Ithaca and from northwest of Victor to Pittsford, was originally designated as part of New York State Route 15 in 1924. NY 15 was originally routed on modern NY 96B between Candor and Ithaca, and modern NY 64 and NY 251 between Victor and Pittsford. It was realigned onto the modern alignment of NY 96 between Victor and Pittsford in 1930. NY 15 was renumbered to New York State Route 2 c. 1939 to eliminate duplication with U.S. Route 15 (US 15). NY 2 was subsequently redesignated as NY 96 in 1942 as the alignments of NY 2 and NY 96, a route in Rensselaer County, were swapped. NY 96 was realigned again in the early 1950s, this time between Candor and Ithaca, to serve the village of Spencer west of Candor. Near Rochester, NY 96 followed what is now Interstate 490 (I-490) for a short time during the 1950s and early 1960s. The 2017 route log erroneously shows that NY 96's northern terminus ends at Union Street. Whether by accident or as a prank, there is occasionally a route sign that was installed upside down. You can notice this when you see the white shield that surrounds the "96" with its point on the top.
## Route description
Most of NY 96's 125 miles (201 km) are maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT); however, three sections of the route in Tompkins County and Monroe County are maintained by local highway departments. In the Tompkins County city of Ithaca, NY 96 is city-maintained from the southern city line to the start of the Fulton/Meadow Street one-way couplet, at which point maintenance of the highway reverts to NYSDOT. The route is also maintained by Ithaca from Park Road to the western city limits. The last locally owned section is in the Monroe County city of Rochester, where the entirety of NY 96 within the city is city-maintained.
### Tioga County
NY 96 begins at the eastbound ramps for NY 17 at exit 64 on Southside Drive, across the Susquehanna River from the Tioga County village of Owego. The route follows Southside Drive until its intersection with Court Street, at the western terminus of NY 434. NY 434 continues east along Southside Drive, while NY 96 turns north onto Court Street and crosses the Susquehanna River. On the opposite side of the river, NY 96 intersects Front Street. The configuration of NY 96 between Front Street and East Main Street is unorthodox in that NY 96 splits at Front Street to follow a one-way couplet around the Tioga County Courthouse to Main Street, where both streets terminate. NY 96 turns onto Main Street for half a block to North Avenue, where it resumes its northward path. The route shares the parallel one-way streets with NY 17C, which enters Owego from the west via Main Street and leaves via Front Street to the east.
From NY 17 (Future I-86) to the split with NY 38 in Owego, NY 96 is signed with reference markers as NY 38, even though full signage for NY 96 appears just before the Court Street Bridge.
Now on North Avenue, NY 96 passes through the heart of Owego before leaving the village and following Owego Creek into a long stretch of rural country. Just over 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Owego village in the town of Owego, NY 96 meets the southern terminus of NY 38. At this point, NY 38 becomes the creekside highway while NY 96 passes over Owego Creek and follows Catatonk Creek northwest into the town of Candor. Once in Candor, the route and the creek turn northward toward the village of Candor, where NY 96 meets NY 96B, an alternate route of NY 96 between Candor and the city of Ithaca. Past NY 96B, NY 96 turns to the west and crosses over Catatonk Creek as it exits the village. West of Candor, NY 96 follows an east–west alignment through a creek valley to the village of Spencer, where the route converges with NY 34 and heads north into another valley leading to Tompkins County.
### Tompkins County
The two routes remain concurrent as they snake to the northwest through Tompkins County. Southwest of the city of Ithaca in the town of Ithaca, NY 34 and NY 96 meet NY 13. The three routes continue northeast through the town, intersecting NY 327 and NY 13A before crossing over the inlet of Cayuga Lake and entering the city of Ithaca on Meadow Street. Here, NY 96B reconnects to its parent at the junction of Clinton and Meadow Streets. North of this point, Meadow Street splits into a one-way couplet, with Fulton Street carrying southbound traffic and Meadow Street handling northbound traffic. NY 79, also routed on a one-way couplet here, crosses NY 96 at Green and Seneca Streets, with NY 79 eastbound using one block of Fulton Street to travel from State Street to Green Street.
One block north of NY 79, NY 96 splits from NY 13 and NY 34 and heads to the west at Buffalo Street. NY 89 begins here, and NY 96 overlaps with NY 89 toward the West End of Ithaca. After crossing southbound NY 13 and NY 34, NY 89 and NY 96 run parallel to and a few feet to the north of NY 79. NY 89 turns north onto Taughannock Boulevard at the next intersection while NY 96 continues west across the lake outlet as Cliff Street, paralleling NY 79. They do not intersect in this area—known locally as The Octopus—though they once did. At one time, NY 96, NY 79, NY 89, NY 13A and Elm Street met at an intersection that gave the area its name. Today, only NY 13A and NY 79 intersect there while the stub of former NY 89 is now a park access road that intersects with NY 96, which continues north out of the Cayuga Lake valley as Trumansburg Road.
Unlike NY 89, which runs along the base of the valley and parallels the west shore of Cayuga Lake, NY 96 heads away from the lake, increasing the distance between itself and the water body as it proceeds northwestward to the highlands overlooking the lake. The route heads across open fields and past isolated pockets of homes toward Trumansburg, where NY 96 crosses over Taughannock Creek and serves Taughannock Falls State Park southeast of the village. In Trumansburg itself, the highway becomes Main Street and meets the northern terminus of NY 227 in the center of the community. NY 96 continues on, exiting Trumansburg just 250 yards (229 m) before crossing the Seneca County line.
### Seneca County
NY 96 proceeds northwest through a lightly populated section of Seneca County and the town of Covert to the village of Interlaken, home to the southern terminus of NY 96A, a more westerly alternate route of NY 96 between Interlaken and Geneva. Outside of the village, NY 96 continues on a northwesterly path for another 4.5 miles (7.2 km) to the Ovid–Romulus town line, where it turns due west for 2 miles (3.2 km) to access the village of Ovid. The route mostly bypasses the village, with NY 96A and NY 414 serving as its Main Street instead. The three routes meet at a junction on the northern fringe of the community, at which point NY 96A leaves NY 414 and turns west to follow the town line toward Seneca Lake while NY 96 joins NY 414 and heads north into the town of Romulus.
Midway between the village of Ovid and the hamlet of Romulus, the two routes split, allowing NY 414 to continue due north to Seneca Falls. NY 96, meanwhile, turns to the northwest, following the eastern edge of the Seneca Army Depot for most of the distance to Romulus hamlet. Just south of the community's center, NY 96 separates from the depot grounds and continues north through the hamlet and into the town of Varick. The route uneventfully crosses the town, passing by open fields on a predominantly northward alignment on its way to the Fayette town line and a junction with NY 336, an east–west connector between NY 96A and NY 414. NY 96 continues across rural terrain to the outskirts of the village of Waterloo, where the number of homes rises as the route enters the village on Fayette Street.
In the southern half of the village, the highway follows a zig-zag routing as it leaves Fayette Street at River Road before returning to the north at Washington Street one block to the east. While on Washington Street, the route passes over the Cayuga–Seneca Canal and enters the village's center, changing names to Virginia Street in the process. Not far to the north, NY 96 heads into Waterloo's central business district, built up around the junction of Virginia and Main (US 20 and NY 5) Streets. Past Routes 5 and 20, NY 96 continues north as a residential street to the village line, where the route turns to the west with a slight trend to the north. At this point, the scenery surrounding NY 96 shifts from house-lined streets to rural countryside once again, an appearance that follows the road to the northwest through the town of Waterloo and across the county line.
### Ontario County
Although NY 96 travels mostly in an east–west direction throughout Ontario County, it is still signed as a north–south highway. Less than 1 mile (1.6 km) into the county, NY 96 connects to NY 14 by way of a cloverleaf interchange, an oddity considering the rural location of the interchange. West of NY 14, NY 96 begins to parallel the paths of both the New York State Thruway (I-90) and the Canandaigua Lake outlet to the north. The highway follows both entities across the town of Phelps to the village of the same name, where NY 96 meets the southern terminus of NY 88. Just west of the village, NY 96 intersects the northern terminus of NY 488, formerly part of NY 88. West of the intersection, a northward reverse S-curve draws NY 96 closer to the Thruway and the outlet as the route heads toward the village of Clifton Springs, which NY 96 bypasses to the north.
4 miles (6 km) to the west in the village of Manchester, NY 96 crosses over the outlet (which roughly follows NY 21 south to Canandaigua Lake from this point out) and indirectly connects to the Thruway by way of a junction with NY 21 located north of the village center and just south of where NY 21 meets the Thruway at exit 43. West of NY 21, NY 96 curves gently to the south, crossing the Ontario Central Railroad before resuming its westward alignment near the grade crossing. At this point, NY 96 enters the town of Farmington and begins to parallel the Thruway once more. The route passes by Finger Lakes Gaming and Race Track, located between County Route 8 (CR 8) and NY 332, prior to intersecting NY 332 itself 0.5 miles (0.8 km) west of the race track.
From this point northwestward to Rochester, NY 96 passes through substantially more developed areas. The first of these is the nearby village of Victor, which NY 96 enters by way of an overpass carrying it over the Ontario Central Railroad. In the village itself, the route meets the northern terminus of NY 444, which travels north–south between Victor and Bloomfield. West of the village in the town of Victor, NY 96 runs along the base of a valley separating it from the Thruway, where it intersects the eastern terminus of NY 251. The route continues on a northwesterly track for another mile (1.6 km) before curving to the north and widening from two to four lanes as it passes under the Thruway near exit 45. I-490, which begins at Thruway exit 45, is accessible from NY 96 by way of exit 29, the easternmost exit on I-490.
The section of NY 96 between exit 29 and NY 250 in Perinton serves as a major commercial strip, anchored by the presence of Eastview Mall, one of the largest malls in the Rochester area and the largest east of the city. Also present along this stretch of NY 96 are a series of plazas, beginning with one just north of I-490 featuring a Walmart and a Kohl's. Continuing northward, NY 96 runs along the eastern edge of Eastview Mall and passes two more plazas. The highway gradually turns northwest toward the county line as it passes the mall, and crosses into Monroe County at an intersection leading to Eastview Commons, a plaza separated from the mall by high-voltage power lines and a large ditch.
### Monroe County
Roughly a quarter of a mile (0.4 km) from the county line, the commercial surroundings end as NY 96 intersects the southern terminus of NY 250 in the town of Perinton. 0.75 miles (1.21 km) to the northwest, NY 96 meets I-490 once again, this time at exit 28. West of the exit, NY 96 parallels I-490 for roughly 1.25 miles (2.01 km), serving several office parks and Powder Mills Park before reconnecting to the freeway at exit 27, located on the southern edge of Bushnell's Basin, a small hamlet located directly on NY 96. North of the exit, NY 96 breaks from I-490 and parallels the Erie Canal's Great Embankment through slightly less developed areas between Bushnell's Basin and Mitchell Road in the town of Pittsford, where it narrows to two lanes and becomes East Jefferson Road.
West of Mitchell Road, NY 96 takes a more southerly alignment than the canal as it enters the densely populated village of Pittsford and meets the northern and eastern termini of NY 64 and NY 252, respectively, at the intersection of Jefferson Road and South Main Street. NY 64 heads to the south along South Main Street and NY 252 continues along Jefferson Road to the west while NY 96 turns north, proceeding into the heart of the village along South Main Street. In the village center, NY 96 intersects Monroe Avenue and State Street, which carry NY 31 east–west through Pittsford. The route continues on, becoming North Main Street as it crosses the Erie Canal and passes under the CSX Transportation-owned West Shore Subdivision. Just north of the railroad overpass is a junction with the southern terminus of NY 153, the most direct route between Pittsford and nearby East Rochester.
Past NY 153, NY 96 exits the village of Pittsford and becomes East Avenue, a name the route retains to its terminus in downtown Rochester. It proceeds northward through the heavily residential town, passing by Nazareth College and meeting the western terminus of NY 31F (Fairport Road) at a junction adjacent to the campus of St. John Fisher University. East Avenue, and likewise NY 96, takes on the northwesterly, four-lane alignment set by Fairport Road and begins to parallel the routing of I-490 once more as both enter the town of Brighton. Not far to the northwest of the town line, NY 96 meets Elmwood and Linden Avenues, the latter carrying NY 441. About 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northwest, NY 96 intersects Penfield Road, the pre-expressway alignment of NY 441. One block from this point is Clover Street, which carries NY 65 south of East Avenue.
At the Brighton town–Rochester city line, NY 96 passes through the center of the Can of Worms, a complex interchange that links I-490 to I-590. Here, I-590 passes under NY 96 while I-490 flies over NY 96. On the other side of the interchange in Rochester, East Avenue becomes a commercial strip once again, but to a lesser extent than in Victor. At North Winton Road, NY 96 is signed for the last time by way of a "North 96" reassurance assembly directing traffic to stay on East Avenue. Despite this fact, the route officially continues northwestward toward downtown Rochester.
West of Winton, NY 96 passes through the East Avenue Historic District, a primarily residential area with historic upper-class houses, including the George Eastman House. This stretch of the route was narrowed in mid-2010 from four lanes to two, to improve the residential feel and reduce automobile speeds. At Alexander Street, the environment turns more commercial as the route enters the downtown area. After crossing Union Street, the route passes the Little Theatre before terminating at a Y-junction with East Main Street.
## History
In 1908, the New York State Legislature created Route 36, an unsigned legislative route that extended from Owego to Seneca Falls via Candor, Ithaca, and Ovid. South of Romulus, Route 36 utilized what is now NY 96 and NY 96B. When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, the Owego–Interlaken and Ovid–Romulus portions of legislative Route 36 became part of NY 15, which began in Owego and proceeded northwest from Romulus to Rochester by way of Waterloo, Phelps, Victor, Mendon, and Pittsford. From Mendon to Rochester, NY 15 followed the path of legislative Route 14, another highway dating back to 1908 that continued south from Mendon on what is now NY 64 and used Monroe Avenue between Pittsford and Rochester. Another section of NY 15—from the village of Phelps east to NY 14—utilized what had been designated as part of legislative Route 6-a from 1911 to 1921.
By 1926, NY 31 was assigned across western and central New York, utilizing Monroe Avenue from downtown Rochester to Pittsford. Although NY 96's modern routing via East Avenue was state-maintained and formerly part of legislative Route 20 from current NY 31F westward, NY 15 initially remained on Monroe Avenue, creating an overlap between NY 15 and NY 31. It was realigned at some point between 1927 and 1932 to follow East Avenue to Rochester instead. In southern Seneca County, NY 15 initially passed through Lodi on its way from Interlaken to Ovid. It was realigned in the late 1920s to bypass Lodi to the northeast on the former alignment of legislative Route 36.
In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 15 basically remained intact. The only change made at this time was the straightening out of the Victor–Pittsford segment, which now bypassed Mendon in favor of a more direct alignment between the two villages via Bushnell's Basin. The former alignment of NY 15 became part of NY 251 east of Mendon and part of NY 64 north of the hamlet. US 15 was extended into New York c. 1939; it replaced NY 2, which had extended from the Pennsylvania state line to Rochester. NY 15 was renumbered to NY 2 to eliminate numerical duplication with the U.S. Highway.
The NY 96 designation was originally assigned to present-day NY 2 from NY 7 in Troy to Route 2 at the Massachusetts state line. In 1942, the alignments of NY 2 and NY 96 were swapped, placing NY 96 on the Owego–Rochester routing. The only major change to NY 96 since that time came in the early 1950s, when the route was realigned between Candor and Ithaca to follow a new routing via Spencer. The Candor–Spencer portion of the alignment had been part of NY 53 during the 1920s and part of NY 223 since 1930. NY 223 was truncated to its current eastern terminus at NY 224 near Van Etten as part of NY 96's realignment. Between Spencer and Ithaca, NY 96 overlapped with NY 34, which had occupied that segment of highway since the 1930 renumbering.
In the 1950s, NY 96 was temporarily moved onto the Eastern Expressway as sections of the freeway opened to traffic. The first section extended from Bushnell's Basin to NY 31F and opened to traffic in November 1955, at which time NY 96 was routed onto the new highway and NY 252 and NY 64 were extended eastward and northward, respectively, to cover NY 96's old surface alignment. NY 31F, meanwhile, was truncated to begin at the expressway. A northwest extension to what is now the Can of Worms was completed c. 1957 as a realignment of NY 96, resulting in the re-extension of NY 31F to its original terminus and an extension of NY 64 along East Avenue to the eastern edge of Rochester. NY 64, NY 96, and NY 252 were restored to their pre-1950s alignments c. 1961 when the freeway was designated as I-490.
## Suffixed routes
- NY 96A (26.94 miles or 43.36 kilometres) is an alternate route of NY 96 in Seneca County. The route splits from NY 96 in Interlaken and terminates at US 20 and NY 5 east of Geneva in Waterloo. It was assigned in the early 1940s.
- NY 96B (19.56 miles or 31.48 kilometres) is an alternate route of NY 96 between Candor, Tioga County, and Ithaca, Tompkins County. The route was assigned in November 1952.
## Major intersections
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## See also
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# 2000 Football League Third Division play-off final
The 2000 Football League Third Division play-off final was an association football match which was played on 26 May 2000 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Peterborough United and Darlington. It was to determine the fourth and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Third Division to the Second Division. The top three teams of the 1999–2000 Football League Third Division, Swansea City, Rotherham United and Northampton Town, gained automatic promotion to the Second Division, while those placed from fourth to seventh place in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2000–01 season in the Second Division. The losing semi-finalists were Hartlepool United and Barnet who had been defeated by Darlington and Peterborough United respectively.
The match had been moved forward by one day and was played on a Friday evening to accommodate a friendly between England and Brazil. The referee for the final was Mike Dean and the game was played in front of 33,383 spectators on a very wet surface after persistent rain throughout the day. Darlington dominated the first half but in the 72nd minute, the ball fell to Andy Clarke from a header inside the Darlington penalty area and he scored on the rebound to make it 1–0 to Peterborough United, who were promoted to the Second Division.
Peterborough United's next season saw them finish in twelfth place in the Second Division, eight points above the relegation zone but sixteen below the play-offs. Darlington ended their following season in twentieth position in the Third Division, four places and four points above bottom-placed Barnet who were relegated.
## Route to the final
Darlington finished the regular 1999–2000 season in fourth position in the Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system, one place and one point ahead of Peterborough United. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to the Second Division and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Darlington finished three points behind Northampton Town (who were promoted in third place), five behind Rotherham United (who were promoted in second place) and six behind league winners Swansea City.
Peterborough United's opposition for their play-off semi-final were Barnet with the first match of the two-legged tie being played at Underhill Stadium in Chipping Barnet on 13 May 2000. Jason Lee gave the visitors the lead in the fifth minute with a header and missed two other chances to score before being stretchered off the pitch with a knee injury. Mark Arber equalised for Barnet midway through the first half before Peterborough United had a goal disallowed: Andy Clarke's shot was goalbound but Dave Farrell applied the last touch from an offside position. In the 68th minute, Clarke won the ball from Barnet defender Mike Basham and scored with a low left-footed strike, and the match ended 2–1 to Peterborough United. The second leg took place four days later at London Road in Peterborough United. Farrell gave the home side the lead in the 28th minute when he received the ball from Richard Scott and struck it into the Barnet net from around 25 yards (23 m). He scored his and Peterborough United's second goal in the 70th minute in similar circumstances, shooting from distance past the Barnet goalkeeper Lee Harrison. Farrell completed his hat-trick a minute from the end of the game with a chip from around 30 yards (27 m). Peterborough United won the match 3–0 and progressed to the final with a 5–1 aggregate victory.
Darlington faced Hartlepool United in the other semi-final and the first leg was played at Victoria Park in Hartlepool on 13 May. Darlington's Craig Liddle brought James Coppinger down with a professional foul in the fifth minute but was only shown a yellow card. Half an hour later Liddle put his side ahead with a volley. Hartlepool United's Craig Midgley went close after taking the ball round Darlington's goalkeeper Andy Collett but his shot was wide. With a quarter of an hour to go, second-half substitute Glenn Naylor was brought down by Hartlepool's goalkeeper Martin Hollund who was sent off. Marco Gabbiadini converted the subsequent penalty past Andy Dibble, and the match ended 2–0. The second leg of the semi-final was held four days later at Feethams in Darlington. In front of their largest crowd for nine years, the home side took the lead in the ninth minute when Hartlepool defender Gary Strodder headed a cross from Darlington's Phil Brumwell into his own net for an own goal. Peter Duffield hit the Hartlepool crossbar five minutes later and Chris Freestone's headed goal in the 71st minute for the visitors was disallowed. The match ended 1–0 and Darlington progressed with a 3–0 aggregate win.
## Match
### Background
Darlington were making their second appearance in the play-offs, having lost 1–0 to Plymouth Argyle at Wembley Stadium in the 1996 Football League Third Division play-off final. They had played in the fourth tier of English football since being relegated in the 1991–92 season. Peterborough United had also participated in the play-offs on one previous occasion, when they defeated Stockport County 2–1 in the 1992 Football League Third Division play-off final at Wembley. They had played in the Third Division since suffering relegation in the 1996–97 season. Gabbiadini was Darlington's leading scorer with a total of 27 goals during the regular season, followed by Duffield on 13. Peterborough United's top scorer was Clarke on 16 goals (15 in the league and 1 in the FA Cup) followed by Steve Castle on 10 (all in the league).
Both matches between the sides during the regular season ended in home victories: Peterborough United won 4–2 at London Road in August 1999 while Darlington were 2–0 winners at Feethams the following February. The referee for the match, which had been moved to a Friday night to accommodate a friendly between England and Brazil, was Mike Dean. Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation. The Wembley pitch was saturated as a result of heavy rain prior to the match. The game was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports. Lee was unavailable for Peterborough United having suffered a dislocated knee during the first leg of the play-off semi-final. Jesper Hjorth was a doubt for Darlington after sustaining a hamstring injury in the second leg of their semi-final.
### Summary
The match kicked off around 7:45 p.m. on 26 May 2000 at a rain-soaked Wembley Stadium in front of 33,383 spectators. Gabbiadini headed a cross from Michael Oliver wide of the Peterborough goal before dragging a shot to the outside of the post in the ninth minute. He then saw a 12th-minute strike deflected over the Darlington crossbar after having cut inside from the left wing to shoot from the edge of the penalty area. In the 27th minute, Duffield's shot from 10 yards (9.1 m) under pressure from Peterborough United defender Simon Rea hit the outside of the post. Duffield then played a one-two with Oliver before striking wide and the half ended 0–0. Four minutes after the interval, a slip from Neil Aspin allowed Clarke to shoot but the ball passed narrowly wide of the Darlington goalpost. Gabbiadini then saw his shot saved by Peterborough United goalkeeper Mark Tyler in the 71st minute and then Liddle made a goal-saving tackle on Clarke who had taken the ball round Collett in the Darlington goal. A minute later, the ball fell to Clarke from a header inside the Darlington penalty area and he scored on the rebound to make it 1–0 to Peterborough United. The match ended without further scoring and Peterborough United were promoted to the Second Division with a single-goal victory.
### Details
## Post-match
Peterborough United manager Barry Fry suggested Darlington made the better start and that "their experience told and they passed it around." The winning goalscorer Clarke described it as "the best moment of my life." George Reynolds, the Darlington chairman, was defiant in defeat, saying "I'm going to take this team into the Premiership as sure as night follows day".
Peterborough United's next season saw them finish in twelfth place in the Second Division, eight points above the relegation zone but sixteen below the play-offs. Darlington ended their following season in twentieth position in the Third Division, four places and four points above bottom-placed Barnet who were relegated. |
# Rado graph
In the mathematical field of graph theory, the Rado graph, Erdős–Rényi graph, or random graph is a countably infinite graph that can be constructed (with probability one) by choosing independently at random for each pair of its vertices whether to connect the vertices by an edge. The names of this graph honor Richard Rado, Paul Erdős, and Alfréd Rényi, mathematicians who studied it in the early 1960s; it appears even earlier in the work of . The Rado graph can also be constructed non-randomly, by symmetrizing the membership relation of the hereditarily finite sets, by applying the BIT predicate to the binary representations of the natural numbers, or as an infinite Paley graph that has edges connecting pairs of prime numbers congruent to 1 mod 4 that are quadratic residues modulo each other.
Every finite or countably infinite graph is an induced subgraph of the Rado graph, and can be found as an induced subgraph by a greedy algorithm that builds up the subgraph one vertex at a time. The Rado graph is uniquely defined, among countable graphs, by an extension property that guarantees the correctness of this algorithm: no matter which vertices have already been chosen to form part of the induced subgraph, and no matter what pattern of adjacencies is needed to extend the subgraph by one more vertex, there will always exist another vertex with that pattern of adjacencies that the greedy algorithm can choose.
The Rado graph is highly symmetric: any isomorphism of its finite induced subgraphs can be extended to a symmetry of the whole graph. The first-order logic sentences that are true of the Rado graph are also true of almost all random finite graphs, and the sentences that are false for the Rado graph are also false for almost all finite graphs. In model theory, the Rado graph is an example of the unique countable model of an ω-categorical theory.
## History
The Rado graph was first constructed by in two ways, with vertices either the hereditarily finite sets or the natural numbers. (Strictly speaking Ackermann described a directed graph, and the Rado graph is the corresponding undirected graph given by forgetting the directions on the edges.) constructed the Rado graph as the random graph on a countable number of points. They proved that it has infinitely many automorphisms, and their argument also shows that it is unique though they did not mention this explicitly. rediscovered the Rado graph as a universal graph, and gave an explicit construction of it with the natural numbers as the vertex set. Rado's construction is essentially equivalent to one of Ackermann's constructions.
## Constructions
### Binary numbers
`and constructed the Rado graph using the BIT predicate as follows. They identified the vertices of the graph with the natural numbers 0, 1, 2, ...`
An edge connects vertices \(x\) and \(y\) in the graph (where \(x < y\)) whenever the \(x\)th bit of the binary representation of \(y\) is nonzero. Thus, for instance, the neighbors of vertex 0 consist of all odd-numbered vertices, because the numbers whose 0th bit is nonzero are exactly the odd numbers. Vertex 1 has one smaller neighbor, vertex 0, as 1 is odd and vertex 0 is connected to all odd vertices. The larger neighbors of vertex 1 are all vertices with numbers congruent to 2 or 3 modulo 4, because those are exactly the numbers with a nonzero bit at index 1.
### Random graph
The Rado graph arises almost surely in the Erdős–Rényi model of a random graph on countably many vertices. Specifically, one may form an infinite graph by choosing, independently and with probability 1/2 for each pair of vertices, whether to connect the two vertices by an edge. With probability 1 the resulting graph is isomorphic to the Rado graph. This construction also works if any fixed probability \(p\) not equal to 0 or 1 is used in place of 1/2.
This result, shown by , justifies the definite article in the common alternative name "the random graph" for the Rado graph. Repeatedly drawing a finite graph from the Erdős–Rényi model will in general lead to different graphs; however, when applied to a countably infinite graph, the model almost always produces the same infinite graph.
For any graph generated randomly in this way, the complement graph can be obtained at the same time by reversing all the choices: including an edge when the first graph did not include the same edge, and vice versa. This construction of the complement graph is an instance of the same process of choosing randomly and independently whether to include each edge, so it also (with probability 1) generates the Rado graph. Therefore, the Rado graph is a self-complementary graph.
### Other constructions
In one of Ackermann's original 1937 constructions, the vertices of the Rado graph are indexed by the hereditarily finite sets, and there is an edge between two vertices exactly when one of the corresponding finite sets is a member of the other. A similar construction can be based on Skolem's paradox, the fact that there exists a countable model for the first-order theory of sets. One can construct the Rado graph from such a model by creating a vertex for each set, with an edge connecting each pair of sets where one set in the pair is a member of the other.
The Rado graph may also be formed by a construction resembling that for Paley graphs, taking as the vertices of a graph all the prime numbers that are congruent to 1 modulo 4, and connecting two vertices by an edge whenever one of the two numbers is a quadratic residue modulo the other. By quadratic reciprocity and the restriction of the vertices to primes congruent to 1 mod 4, this is a symmetric relation, so it defines an undirected graph, which turns out to be isomorphic to the Rado graph.
Another construction of the Rado graph shows that it is an infinite circulant graph, with the integers as its vertices and with an edge between each two integers whose distance (the absolute value of their difference) belongs to a particular set \(S\). To construct the Rado graph in this way, \(S\) may be chosen randomly, or by choosing the indicator function of \(S\) to be the concatenation of all finite binary sequences.
The Rado graph can also be constructed as the block intersection graph of an infinite block design in which the number of points and the size of each block are countably infinite. It can also be constructed as the Fraïssé limit of the class of finite graphs.
## Properties
### Extension
The Rado graph satisfies the following extension property: for every two disjoint finite sets of vertices \(U\) and \(V\), there exists a vertex \(x\) outside both sets that is connected to all vertices in \(U\), but has no neighbors in \(V\). For instance, with the binary-number definition of the Rado graph, let \(x=2^{1+\max(U\cup V)} + \sum_{u\in U} 2^u.\) Then the nonzero bits in the binary representation of \(x\) cause it to be adjacent to everything in \(U\). However, \(x\) has no nonzero bits in its binary representation corresponding to vertices in \(V\), and \(x\) is so large that the \(x\)th bit of every element of \(V\) is zero. Thus, \(x\) is not adjacent to any vertex in \(V\).
With the random-graph definition of the Rado graph, each vertex outside the union of \(U\) and \(V\) has probability \(1/2^{|U|+|V|}\) of fulfilling the extension property, independently of the other vertices. Because there are infinitely many vertices to choose from, each with the same finite probability of success, the probability is one that there exists a vertex that fulfils the extension property. With the Paley graph definition, for any sets \(U\) and \(V\), by the Chinese remainder theorem, the numbers that are quadratic residues modulo every prime in \(U\) and nonresidues modulo every prime in \(V\) form a periodic sequence, so by Dirichlet's theorem on primes in arithmetic progressions this number-theoretic graph has the extension property.
### Induced subgraphs
The extension property can be used to build up isomorphic copies of any finite or countably infinite graph \(G\) within the Rado graph, as induced subgraphs. To do so, order the vertices of \(G\), and add vertices in the same order to a partial copy of \(G\) within the Rado graph. At each step, the next vertex in \(G\) will be adjacent to some set \(U\) of vertices in \(G\) that are earlier in the ordering of the vertices, and non-adjacent to the remaining set \(V\) of earlier vertices in \(G\). By the extension property, the Rado graph will also have a vertex \(x\) that is adjacent to all the vertices in the partial copy that correspond to members of \(U\), and non-adjacent to all the vertices in the partial copy that correspond to members of \(V\). Adding \(x\) to the partial copy of \(G\) produces a larger partial copy, with one more vertex.
This method forms the basis for a proof by induction, with the 0-vertex subgraph as its base case, that every finite or countably infinite graph is an induced subgraph of the Rado graph.
### Uniqueness
The Rado graph is, up to graph isomorphism, the only countable graph with the extension property. For example, let \(G\) and \(H\) be two countable graphs with the extension property, let \(G_i\) and \(H_i\) be isomorphic finite induced subgraphs of \(G\) and \(H\) respectively, and let \(g_i\) and \(h_i\) be the first vertices in an enumeration of the vertices of \(G\) and \(H\) respectively that do not belong to \(G_i\) and \(H_i\). Then, by applying the extension property twice, one can find isomorphic induced subgraphs \(G_{i+1}\) and \(H_{i+1}\) that include \(g_i\) and \(h_i\) together with all the vertices of the previous subgraphs. By repeating this process, one may build up a sequence of isomorphisms between induced subgraphs that eventually includes every vertex in \(G\) and \(H\). Thus, by the back-and-forth method, \(G\) and \(H\) must be isomorphic. Because the graphs constructed by the random graph construction, binary number construction, and Paley graph construction are all countable graphs with the extension property, this argument shows that they are all isomorphic to each other.
### Symmetry group
Applying the back-and-forth construction to any two isomorphic finite subgraphs of the Rado graph extends their isomorphism to an automorphism of the entire Rado graph. The fact that every isomorphism of finite subgraphs extends to an automorphism of the whole graph is expressed by saying that the Rado graph is ultrahomogeneous. In particular, there is an automorphism taking any ordered pair of adjacent vertices to any other such ordered pair, so the Rado graph is a symmetric graph.
The automorphism group of the Rado graph is a simple group, whose number of elements is the cardinality of the continuum. Every subgroup of this group whose index is less than the cardinality of the continuum contains the pointwise stabilizer of a finite set of vertices, and furthermore is contained within the setwise stabilizer of the same set. The statement about pointwise stabilizers is called the small index property, and proving it required showing that for every finite graph \(X\), there is a finite graph \(Z\) containing \(X\) as an induced subgraph such that every isomorphism between induced subgraphs of \(X\) extends to an automorphism of \(Z\). This is called the extension property for partial automorphisms and has since been generalized to further structures in order to show the small index property and other properties.
The construction of the Rado graph as an infinite circulant graph shows that its symmetry group includes automorphisms that generate a transitive infinite cyclic group. The difference set of this construction (the set of distances in the integers between adjacent vertices) can be constrained to include the difference 1, without affecting the correctness of this construction, from which it follows that the Rado graph contains an infinite Hamiltonian path whose symmetries are a subgroup of the symmetries of the whole graph.
### Robustness against finite changes
If a graph \(G\) is formed from the Rado graph by deleting any finite number of edges or vertices, or adding a finite number of edges, the change does not affect the extension property of the graph. For any pair of sets \(U\) and \(V\) it is still possible to find a vertex in the modified graph that is adjacent to everything in \(U\) and nonadjacent to everything in \(V\), by adding the modified parts of \(G\) to \(V\) and applying the extension property in the unmodified Rado graph. Therefore, any finite modification of this type results in a graph that is isomorphic to the Rado graph.
### Partitions
For any partition of the vertices of the Rado graph into two sets \(A\) and \(B\), or more generally for any partition into finitely many subsets, at least one of the subgraphs induced by one of the partition sets is isomorphic to the whole Rado graph. gives the following short proof: if none of the parts induces a subgraph isomorphic to the Rado graph, they all fail to have the extension property, and one can find pairs of sets \(U_i\) and \(V_i\) that cannot be extended within each subgraph. But then, the union of the sets \(U_i\) and the union of the sets \(V_i\) would form a set that could not be extended in the whole graph, contradicting the Rado graph's extension property. This property of being isomorphic to one of the induced subgraphs of any partition is held by only three countably infinite undirected graphs: the Rado graph, the complete graph, and the empty graph. and investigate infinite directed graphs with the same partition property; all are formed by choosing orientations for the edges of the complete graph or the Rado graph.
A related result concerns edge partitions instead of vertex partitions: for every partition of the edges of the Rado graph into finitely many sets, there is a subgraph isomorphic to the whole Rado graph that uses at most two of the colors. However, there may not necessarily exist an isomorphic subgraph that uses only one color of edges. More generally, for every finite graph \(A\) there is a number \(d_A\) (called the big Ramsey degree of \(A\) in the Rado graph) such that for every partition of the copies of \(A\) in the Rado graph into finitely many sets, there is an induced subgraph isomorphic to the whole Rado graph that uses at most \(d_A\) of the colors.
## Model theory and 0-1 laws
`used the Rado graph to prove a zero–one law for first-order statements in the logic of graphs. When a logical statement of this type is true or false for the Rado graph, it is also true or false (respectively) for almost all finite graphs.`
### First-order properties
The first-order language of graphs is the collection of well-formed sentences in mathematical logic formed from variables representing the vertices of graphs, universal and existential quantifiers, logical connectives, and predicates for equality and adjacency of vertices. For instance, the condition that a graph does not have any isolated vertices may be expressed by the sentence \(\forall u:\exists v: u\sim v\) where the \(\sim\) symbol indicates the adjacency relation between two vertices. This sentence \(S\) is true for some graphs, and false for others; a graph \(G\) is said to model \(S\), written \(G\models S\), if \(S\) is true of the vertices and adjacency relation of \(G\).
The extension property of the Rado graph may be expressed by a collection of first-order sentences \(E_{i,j}\), stating that for every choice of \(i\) vertices in a set \(A\) and \(j\) vertices in a set \(B\), all distinct, there exists a vertex adjacent to everything in \(A\) and nonadjacent to everything in \(B\). For instance, \(E_{1,1}\) can be written as \(\forall a:\forall b:a\ne b\rightarrow\exists c:c\ne a\wedge c\ne b\wedge c\sim a\wedge\lnot(c\sim b).\)
### Completeness
`proved that the sentences `\(E_{i,j}\)`, together with additional sentences stating that the adjacency relation is symmetric and antireflexive (that is, that a graph modeling these sentences is undirected and has no self-loops), are the axioms of a complete theory. This means that, for each first-order sentence `\(S\)`, exactly one of `\(S\)` and its negation can be proven from these axioms.`
Because the Rado graph models the extension axioms, it models all sentences in this theory.
In logic, a theory that has only one model (up to isomorphism) with a given infinite cardinality \(\lambda\) is called \(\lambda\)-categorical. The fact that the Rado graph is the unique countable graph with the extension property implies that it is also the unique countable model for its theory. This uniqueness property of the Rado graph can be expressed by saying that the theory of the Rado graph is ω-categorical. Łoś and Vaught proved in 1954 that when a theory is \(\lambda\)–categorical (for some infinite cardinal \(\lambda\)) and, in addition, has no finite models, then the theory must be complete. Therefore, Gaifman's theorem that the theory of the Rado graph is complete follows from the uniqueness of the Rado graph by the Łoś–Vaught test.
### Finite graphs and computational complexity
As proved, the first-order sentences provable from the extension axioms and modeled by the Rado graph are exactly the sentences true for almost all random finite graphs. This means that if one chooses an \(n\)-vertex graph uniformly at random among all graphs on \(n\) labeled vertices, then the probability that such a sentence will be true for the chosen graph approaches one in the limit as \(n\) approaches infinity. Symmetrically, the sentences that are not modeled by the Rado graph are false for almost all random finite graphs. It follows that every first-order sentence is either almost always true or almost always false for random finite graphs, and these two possibilities can be distinguished by determining whether the Rado graph models the sentence. Fagin's proof uses the compactness theorem. Based on this equivalence, the theory of sentences modeled by the Rado graph has been called "the theory of the random graph" or "the almost sure theory of graphs".
Because of this 0-1 law, it is possible to test whether any particular first-order sentence is modeled by the Rado graph in a finite amount of time, by choosing a large enough value of \(n\) and counting the number of \(n\)-vertex graphs that model the sentence. However, here, "large enough" is at least exponential in the size of the sentence. For instance the extension axiom \(E_{k,0}\) implies the existence of a \((k+1)\)-vertex clique, but a clique of that size exists with high probability only in random graphs of size exponential in \(k\). It is unlikely that determining whether the Rado graph models a given sentence can be done more quickly than exponential time, as the problem is PSPACE-complete.
### Other model-theoretic properties
The Rado graph is ultrahomogeneous, and thus is the Fraïssé limit of its class of finite substructures, i.e. the class of finite graphs. Given that it is also in a finite relational language, ultrahomogeneity is equivalent to its theory having quantifier elimination and being ω-categorical. As the Rado graph is thus the countable model of a countable ω-categorical theory, it is both prime and saturated.
The theory of the Rado graph is a prototypical example of a theory with the independence property, and of a simple theory that is not stable.
## Related concepts
Although the Rado graph is universal for induced subgraphs, it is not universal for isometric embeddings of graphs, where an isometric embedding is a graph isomorphism which preserves distance. The Rado graph has diameter two, and so any graph with larger diameter does not embed isometrically into it. has described a family of universal graphs for isometric embedding, one for each possible finite graph diameter; the graph in his family with diameter two is the Rado graph.
The Henson graphs are countable graphs (one for each positive integer \(i\)) that do not contain an \(i\)-vertex clique, and are universal for \(i\)-clique-free graphs. They can be constructed as induced subgraphs of the Rado graph. The Rado graph, the Henson graphs and their complements, disjoint unions of countably infinite cliques and their complements, and infinite disjoint unions of isomorphic finite cliques and their complements are the only possible countably infinite homogeneous graphs.
The universality property of the Rado graph can be extended to edge-colored graphs; that is, graphs in which the edges have been assigned to different color classes, but without the usual edge coloring requirement that each color class form a matching. For any finite or countably infinite number of colors \(\chi\), there exists a unique countably-infinite \(\chi\)-edge-colored graph \(G_\chi\) such that every partial isomorphism of a \(\chi\)-edge-colored finite graph can be extended to a full isomorphism. With this notation, the Rado graph is just \(G_1\). investigates the automorphism groups of this more general family of graphs.
While the Rado graph is countable universal for the class of all graphs, not all graph classes have a countable universal graph. For example, there is no countable graph omitting the 4-cycle as a subgraph that contains all other such countable graphs as (not necessarily induced) subgraphs.
It follows from the classical model theory considerations of constructing a saturated model that under the continuum hypothesis CH, there is a universal graph with continuum many vertices. Of course, under CH, the continuum is equal to \(\aleph_1\), the first uncountable cardinal. uses forcing to investigate universal graphs with \(\aleph_1\) many vertices and shows that even in the absence of CH, there may exist a universal graph of size \(\aleph_1\). He also investigates analogous questions for higher cardinalities. |
# HMS Amazon (1799)
HMS Amazon was a 38-gun fifth-rate Amazon-class frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars under several notable naval commanders and played a key role in the Battle of Copenhagen under Edward Riou, who commanded the frigate squadron during the attack. After Riou was killed during the battle, command briefly devolved to John Quilliam. Quilliam made a significant impression on Horatio Nelson, who appointed Quilliam to serve on the flagship HMS Victory. Amazon passed to William Parker, who continued the association with Nelson with service in the Mediterranean and participation in the chase to the West Indies during the Trafalgar Campaign. Amazon went on to join Sir John Borlase Warren's squadron in the Atlantic and took part in the defeat of Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois's forces at the action of 13 March 1806. During the battle, she hunted down and captured the 40-gun frigate Belle Poule.
Amazon continued in service for several more years, being active in combating raiders and privateers, before being withdrawn from active service in late 1811. She was retained in ordinary for several years after the end of the Napoleonic Wars, before being broken up in 1817.
## Design and construction
Amazon was a 38-gun, 18-pounder, fifth-rate Amazon-class frigate. The ship was one of two built to the design, along with HMS Hussar. The ship's plans were drawn up by the Surveyor of the Navy Sir William Rule, who submitted the design on 19 April 1796. They were an enlarged version of a previous design by Rule, the 38-gun HMS Naiad. Naiad was in turn an expanded version of another, older, Rule ship class, this being the Amazon class designed in 1794.
Amazon was ordered on 27 April 1796 to be built at Woolwich Dockyard by the shipwright John Tovery. Amazon was laid down in the same month, and launched on 18 May 1799 with the following dimensions: 150 feet (45.7 m) along the upper deck, 125 feet 7+3⁄4 inches (38.3 m) at the keel, with a beam of 39 feet 5 inches (12.0 m) and a depth in the hold of 13 feet 9 inches (4.2 m). The ship had a draught of 11 feet 3 inches (3.4 m) forward and 15 feet 3 inches (4.6 m) aft, and measured 1,0386⁄94 tons burthen. She was built precisely to Rule's design. The fitting out process was completed on 5 July, with the final cost of construction totalling £33,972.
Amazon's class was described in sailing reports as "fast and very weatherly", as well as being highly manoeuvrable. They were capable of reaching up to 13 knots (24.1 km/h) and showed sailing qualities superior to most other vessels, especially when in a "stiff breeze". The ships were, however, known for "deep and uneasy rolling and pitching", which naval historian Robert Gardiner suggests was because they were built very stiffly.
The frigate had a crew complement of 284, which would later be raised to 300, and held twenty-eight 18-pounder guns on the upper deck. Rule had originally planned for the quarterdeck to hold eight 9-pounder guns and the forecastle to hold a further two, but on 6 May 1797 six 32-pounder carronades were added to the quarterdeck armament and two more to the forecastle. Amazon's armament was changed again on 6 June and 2 July 1799, with all but two 9-pounders on each of the quarterdeck and forecastle replaced by more carronades. This resulted in a final armament of twelve 32-pounder carronades and two 9-pounder guns on the quarterdeck, and two 32-pounder carronades and two 9-pounder guns on the forecastle, in addition to Amazon's main 18-pounder guns.
## Service
### British waters and the Baltic
Amazon was commissioned in May 1799 by Captain Edward Riou. On 14 February 1800 HMS Endymion and Amazon recaptured the merchant ship Trelawney, which had been sailing from Liverpool to Leghorn when the French Saint Malo privateer Bougainville captured her. Amazon also captured Bougainville, of eighteen 6-pounder guns and eighty-two men. The next day Bougainville ran into Amazon, lost her masts and foundered, but all but one man of her crew were saved. Amazon, including Bougainville's crew, Endymion, and Trelawney arrived at Portsmouth on 21 February.
Amazon sailed from Portsmouth for Jamaica alongside the 44-gun ship HMS Severn and 16-gun sloop HMS Scorpion on 26 April as escorts for a large convoy. Amazon would only accompany the convoy to "a certain latitude." On 15 June, Amazon captured the French letter of marque Julie at , as the latter attempted to sail from Bordeaux to Cayenne. In November 1827 head money was paid for twenty-one men. Amazon also recaptured the merchantman Amelia, Donaldson, late master, which the French privateer Minerve had captured. Amazon sent Amelia into Plymouth, which she reached in early July.
Riou and Amazon were then assigned to Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's expedition to the Baltic in 1801, to compel the Danes to abandon the League of Armed Neutrality. Riou worked closely with Parker's second-in-command, Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson, and Captain Thomas Foley in the lead-up to the Battle of Copenhagen, and Nelson appointed Riou commander of the frigates and smaller vessels, instructing him to deploy his ships in support of the main fleet. As the battle began on 2 April, several of Nelson's ships of the line ran aground on shoals in the harbour, forcing the improvisation of a new plan of attack. As Nelson's ships engaged their Danish counterparts, Riou took his frigates in to harass the Trekroner Fort and blockships. Although the frigates were heavily outmatched and dangerously exposed, they maintained the engagement for several hours. The ships suffered heavy casualties, and a splinter hit Riou on the head.
At 1:15 p.m., Parker was waiting outside the harbour with the reserve and raised a signal ordering Nelson to withdraw. Nelson acknowledged the signal but ignored it, while Nelson's second in command, Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves, repeated the signal but too did not obey it. Riou now found himself in a difficult position. Too junior an officer to risk disobeying a direct order, he gave the order for his small squadron to withdraw.
Withdrawing forced Riou's ships to turn their sterns to the Danish guns, thereby exposing their most vulnerable area. When the 32-gun frigate HMS Alcmene and then the 36-gun frigate HMS Blanche withdrew, this reduced the thick cloud of gunsmoke that was helping to obscure the British ships and left Amazon exposed to the full force of the Danish guns. Lieutenant-Colonel William Stuart, commanding the soldiers of the 48th Regiment of Foot, recorded that Riou was killed:
> [He] was sitting on a gun, was encouraging his men, and had been wounded in the head by a splinter. He had expressed himself grieved at being thus obliged to retreat, and nobly observed, 'What will Nelson think of us?' His clerk was killed by his side; and by another shot, several marines, while hauling on the main-brace, shared the same fate. Riou then exclaimed, 'Come, then, my boys, let us all die together\!' The words were scarcely uttered, when the fatal shot severed him in two.
Command of Amazon devolved to her first lieutenant, John Quilliam, who completed the withdrawal. Nelson went aboard the badly damaged Amazon after the battle and asked Quilliam how he was doing. Quilliam replied 'Middlin', a response that apparently amused Nelson and may have contributed to Nelson's subsequent appointment of Quilliam as first lieutenant aboard HMS Victory. After the battle, command of Amazon passed to Captain Samuel Sutton. On 22 January 1802, the British mercantile sloop Lovell was driven in to Amazon in the North Sea off Deal. Lovell's's crew was rescued.
### With Nelson
#### Mediterranean
In November Sutton was succeeded by Captain William Parker. Under Parker, Amazon captured the French 16-gun privateer Felix on 26 July 1803, and survived a brush with a French fleet off Cape Capet on 2 May 1804. Amazon was subsequently one of the ships that took part in the Trafalgar Campaign, serving with Nelson in the Mediterranean into 1805. On one occasion in December 1804 Nelson ordered Parker to bring a consignment of live bullocks to supply the fleet off Toulon. Amazon was a notably smart ship, and had just been repainted, making it likely that the instruction was not received with much enthusiasm. Parker duly returned with the shipment, prompting Nelson to enquire with gentle humour 'Well, Parker, of course you would not dirty the Amazon for much for anything; have you brought a dozen and a half, or a dozen?' Parker had in fact brought sixty bullocks and thirty sheep, prompting Nelson to promise a reward for his good service.
Parker and Amazon remained with Nelson after the division of the Mediterranean commands left the Spanish coasts under the supervision of Vice-Admiral Sir John Orde. Nelson suspected that Orde was intercepting his despatches and commandeering Nelson's frigates to use himself. Nelson therefore ordered Parker not to stop for any of Orde's ships if this was possible. Parker attempted this but was intercepted by the 24-gun post ship HMS Eurydice. He was able to convince Eurydice's commander, Captain William Hoste, to turn a blind eye. Having delivered his despatches to Lisbon, Parker acted on Nelson's hint that he was not expected back until February and carried out a cruise that netted him several prizes worth a total of £20,000. Orde complained about the 'poaching' taking place on his station, but the prize money went to Parker and Nelson.
#### West Indies and Atlantic
Amazon went on to join Nelson in the chase to the West Indies and back of Pierre-Charles Villeneuve's fleet during the Trafalgar Campaign. During the voyage across the Atlantic, Nelson wanted to pass on specific instructions to his captains about how he wished to engage the French, but did not want to lose time by ordering his ships to stop. Instead he gave the plans to Parker, who the naval officer Pulteney Malcolm described as the 'best frigate captain in the service', and Parker sped along the line in Amazon, delivering the instructions so efficiently that the fleet lost 'hardly a yard of ground'. Once more in European waters after the fleet's return, Amazon captured the Spanish privateer Principe de la Paz off Ushant on 17 September 1805. Principe was armed with twenty-four 9-pounder guns and four swivels. Her crew of 160 men were principally French. She had been out five weeks and had captured the packet Prince of Wales from Lisbon, and the letter of marque Lady Nelson, which had been sailing from Virginia to Glasgow. A number of Lady Nelson's crew were aboard Principe, as was a considerable amount of specie.
Amazon was not present for the Battle of Trafalgar on 21 October. The ship was back in the Atlantic in the following year, this time as part of Vice-Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren's pursuit of Jean-Baptiste Philibert Willaumez. When Warren's fleet unexpectedly encountered a separate French fleet under Charles-Alexandre Léon Durand Linois, Amazon became involved in the resulting action of 13 March 1806. During the battle she hunted down and captured the French 40-gun frigate Belle Poule in a running engagement. Amazon lost four killed and five wounded during the engagement, while Belle Poule lost six killed and 24 wounded.
On 28 August 1807 Amazon and the 14-gun cutter HMS Cockatrice were in company at the capture of the Danish ship Speculation and so shared in the prize money for her. Amazon captured the French 14-gun privateer Général Pérignon on 21 January 1810, after a chase of 160 miles. Général Pérignon, of eighty-three men, had left Saint Malo on 8 January and captured the brig Unanimity, from Oporto. Parker stated that Général Pérignon's superior sailing had enabled her to cruise successfully against British trade since the commencement of the war. Captain John Joyce succeeded Parker as captain in May, however Parker resumed command in February 1811 and captured the French 14-gun privateer Cupidon on 23 March of the same year. Cupidon, of eighty-two men, was two days out of Bayonne.
## Fate
In December 1811 Amazon was laid up at Plymouth. She was paid off the following year and saw out the remainder of the Napoleonic Wars in ordinary. Amazon was finally broken up at Plymouth in May 1817.
## Prizes |
# Third Onondaga County courthouse
The third Onondaga County courthouse stood in Clinton Square, Syracuse, New York, from 1858 to 1968. Designed by Horatio Nelson White in the Italianate architectural style, the building functioned as a courthouse until 1907. After another courthouse superseded it, the building held various governmental offices for about fifty years.
The Onondaga County court was moved from its initial building in the town of Onondaga Hill to a courthouse between Salina and Syracuse in the first half of the 19th century. After the second courthouse burnt down in 1856, White, at the time the best-known Syracuse architect, was hired to design a new building, this time located in downtown Syracuse. The courthouse was made from hand-cut Onondaga Limestone and dedicated in early 1858. Despite renovations into the 1870s, by the turn of the century the building was run-down and a new courthouse was built to replace it. After the court was relocated in 1907, the building held the Syracuse Board of Education until 1945, and several other organizations including the Syracuse Police Department into the 1960s.
By the 1960s, the building was largely unoccupied and at threat of demolition. Despite proposals to repurpose the building in various ways, including in the book Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga County, it was demolished in 1968. The stones that made up the top 36 or 37 feet (11 or 11 m) of the courthouse's 80 feet (24 m) tall tower were preserved and as of 2022 are held unassembled at the Syracuse Hancock International Airport.
## Description
The main courthouse was 60 by 100 feet (18 by 30 m). A tower was attached to the left side that was 80 feet (24 m) tall. Architectural historian Diane Shaw describes the building as "picturesque", noting that it had "asymmetrical massing and detached form," comparing its look to that of a church and highlighting how it stood in contrast to the "boxy" buildings around it." The building was designed in the Italianate style. Masonry on the outside of the building was in what at the time was deemed the "Anglo-Norman style". Architecture scholar Evamaria Hardin described this as Romanesque, writing that "there was a certain grandeur in the simplicity" of the courthouse. Front windows were constructed evocative of the Palladian style.
The first floor had offices and jury rooms off of a central corridor. The second floor also contained offices, a library, and a room for the judges, but was primary taken up by a 52 by 72 feet (16 by 22 m) main courtroom. After 1906, the main courtroom was subdivided into two floors and a number of offices. The windows were modified to supply light to both floors, but the architectural guide Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga County noted in 1964 that the third floor looked like an attic and did not have sufficient windows. As a result it was unused by the 1960s. The guide also noted that by the time of its publication little evidence remained of what the building's interior originally looked like.
## History
### Earlier courthouses
The Onondaga County seat, and the county court with it, was in several different locations across the county in the end of the 18th and throughout the 19th century. Cities and towns competed for the influence holding the seat brought with it. The county seat was first in Onondaga Hollow, from 1794 to 1801, before it was moved to Onondaga Hill. In Onondaga Hill, the first formal building for the Onondaga County court was constructed. It was 50 square feet (4.6 m<sup>2</sup>) and two stories, with the first floor occupied by the county jail.
In 1830, as the economic center of the county changed with the growth of a salt industry, the court was moved to a new building between the towns of Salina, where the most salt was produced, and Syracuse, where it was shipped out. This building was only slightly larger than the first, had a jail on the first floor, and a courtroom on the second. Both villages continued to advocate for relocation of the courthouse into their borders, as they saw the prosperity that had left Onondaga Hill with the county seat. Tensions between Syracuse and Salina continued until the towns were merged in 1848 with the formation of the city of Syracuse. In 1856, the existing courthouse was destroyed by arson, and work began deciding where to build a new one.
### Construction and use
After discussion, the county decided to place the courthouse near a commercial district. The county purchased a lot on Clinton Square from James L. Voorhees, which had previously been the site of a hotel. Vorhees received the lot previously occupied by the burnt-down courthouse in exchange. He also continued to own properties surrounding the courthouse, including a hotel, and sought to profit from business originating with the courthouse. Clinton Square had the benefit of being centrally located in Syracuse and in the vicinity of the county clerk's office. The county estimated that the courthouse would cost $38,000 to build.
The third Onondaga County Courthouse was designed by Horatio Nelson White, at the time the best-known Syracuse architect. Nelson was influenced by a recent remodel of the nearby Rochester's Monroe County Courthouse from the Federal style. His Italianate style design has been described as standing "in striking contrast to the designs used generally in courthouses." White later used a similar design for his work on courthouses in Watertown, New York, and Elmira, New York.
The committee tasked with selecting a design recommended against substituting "cheapness for durability and adaptation" in construction. Front and side courthouse walls were constructed of hand-cut Onondaga Limestone, while the roof and floors were made out of wood, and the back wall of brick. It was built from 1856 to 1857 and formally dedicated on February 8, 1858.
Steam heat was added in the 1870s. By the 1880s a Court of Appeals building and separate new office for the county clerk had been built near the courthouse. By then, the courthouse had started to attract some criticism as "dark and dingy [and]... difficult to keep clean". An 1882 newspaper suggested solving problems with ventilation through "a dynamite cartridge inserted in each corner and then exploded."
### Replacement and later function
The courthouse was set to be replaced by a larger building after an 1890 vote by the Onondaga County board of supervisors. The design and construction of the new building took several years, and by 1899 The Post-Standard reported that the "building must be abandoned" and was in "deplorable" condition. The newspaper published the report of a committee examining the need for a new courthouse, which wrote that the building had grown too small for Syracuse. It wrote further that the entrance was "dark and dingy; the halls and rooms are dirty;... the cells of the prisoners and cooking in the basement create offensive odors which permeate the whole building and are very obnoxious." The building was not properly ventilated, and the newspaper noted that several witnesses and a constable had fainted in the courthouse in the past year. Additionally, the library had grown so large that it cracked the walls of an annex.
In 1907 the building was replaced as Onondaga's courthouse by the fourth Onondaga County Courthouse on Columbus Circle, which had been constructed from 1904 to 1906. There were concerns that this shift would imperil the building by leaving it unused, but for over fifty years the former courthouse was used in various government capacities, including as the offices for the Syracuse Board of Education until 1945, then for a year as the headquarters of the Onondaga County War Price and Rationing Board. Later the Syracuse Police Department was headquartered in a building attached to the back of the courthouse, and the building hosted the traffic court. A profile of the building written in 1964 noted that the interior was substantially altered and the exterior had fallen into disrepair. However, the masonry remained in "good condition".
### Threats of demolition
In the 1950s, suggestions were made to tear the building down and replace it with a parking lot. The Syracuse Police Department and the traffic court relocated in the 1960s, renewing discussion of tearing the courthouse down.
The courthouse was profiled in Architecture Worth Saving in Onondaga County, a 1964 book discussing the architectural and historical value of selected buildings in Onondaga County. In a review of the book, architecture critic Ada Louise Huxtable deemed the building "a landmark of high quality" and "a top example of its style." Architecture Worth Saving proposed repurposing and preserving the building, suggesting removing the third floor and office spaces, which would restore the courtroom to the hall it initially was. This room could be used as an auditorium seating 325-350 people. While the study noted that number was "not large", its authors felt that the architecture inside and outside could be "of imposing civic scale" and serve the community, hosting events such as "lectures, recitals, chamber music, political meetings and social events". It also suggested tearing down a police station that had been built on the back of the building to make a parking lot.
The guide urged that those proposing tearing down the courthouse recognize it as "irreplaceable" for its historic value, architecture, and masonry construction. If it could not be converted to a lecture hall, Architecture Worth Saving suggested several other options that would not involve demolition, including as a museum, as the offices of a public service organization, or (as a last resort) selling it to private interests with the requirement that the exterior be preserved.
In 1964, The Post-Standard wrote that Syracuse was seeking offers from private interests for the courthouse and that the building would likely be torn down if no other use was found for it within six months. Within the next two years, the adjoining police department building was sold to Ronao corporation for $11,000 and demolition had begun. Because this held the heating plant for both buildings, another system would need to be installed if the main building were to be preserved. Demolition of the rest of the courthouse did not happen immediately as efforts to find a use for it continued; in 1964 the Onondaga County Bar Association and the Technology Club of Syracuse announced that they were considering using the courthouse, and in January 1965 it was suggested as the headquarters of an urban renewal program. Later that year, the Crusade for Opportunity, a community action agency based in Syracuse, began to occupy the courthouse. In January 1966, a local architect credited Architecture Worth Saving and the attention it received with saving the courthouse from "practically certain destruction".
In early 1967, the Crusade for Opportunity left the courthouse as it had been slated for demolition. Demolition began in early February 1968, and was completed by the 22nd. In 1971 it was replaced by the Syracuse Newspapers Building, which held the offices and printing-press of The Post-Standard.
### After demolition
The blocks which made up the top 36 or 37 feet (11.0 or 11.3 m) of the courthouse's tower were numbered and preserved when it was taken down, in anticipation of a possible re-construction. The preservation was funded by William Bianchi, the president of the company overseeing the demolition. Proposals for reconstruction were advanced as early as 1970 by the Society for the Advancement of Visual Environment (SAVE), which suggested five sites: Clinton Square, Onondaga Community College, the Everson Museum of Art, Fayette Park, and a spot off of Interstate 81 near Nedrow, New York.
Despite this, by 1978 the blocks were already in failing condition, with several broken, some vandalized with spray paint, and others sinking into the dirt they had been left on. They were held by the Syracuse Department of Parks and Recreation and left for about 30 years behind their headquarters. The bricks were shrink-wrapped at some point in an effort to further preserve them, but not before the numbers had worn away. In 1985 the Syracuse Herald-Journal published a story polling its readership on various suggestions for re-using the tower. The most readers voted for including the tower in a park in Clinton Square, but this did not happen. By this point any information about how the pieces had fit together was lost. In 2001, the city placed them in storage at Syracuse Hancock International Airport.
There have been several proposals to re-use the stones, including a suggestion in 2002 to use the stones in part of the Carousel Center mall, and one in 2007 to rebuild the tower as part of the construction of a transportation hub for Centro in the city. An article published in The Post-Standard in February 2007 wrote that the city was almost positive that the stones were at Hancock Airport, but would confirm once snow at the airport had cleared. In February 2022, David Haas, a Syracuse inhabitant who runs the Instagram account @syracusehistory, posted that the location of the stones was still unconfirmed. The following day, Haas posted that Ben Walsh, the mayor of Syracuse, had confirmed that the stones were still held at the Hancock Airport. |
# 2017 World Championships in Athletics – Women's marathon
The women's marathon was one of the road events at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London. It took place on 6 August 2017 on the streets of London, and consisted of four laps of a roughly 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) course which passed several of London's landmarks. For the first time in World Championships history, the men's and women's marathons took place on the same day. The race was won by Rose Chelimo of Bahrain in 2:27:11, seven seconds ahead of Kenya's Edna Kiplagat in second. Amy Cragg of the United States finished in third, separated from Kiplagat by less than a second.
Catarina Ribeiro of Portugal led for the first 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) before relinquishing the lead to Great Britain's Alyson Dixon, who opened up a 30-second lead halfway through the race. She was gradually caught over the next 8 kilometres (5.0 mi), and a pack of fourteen runners vied for the lead until the 35-kilometre (22 mi) point, when Chelimo increased the pace and four runners broke away at the front. Chelimo and Kiplagat battled for the lead of the race, while Cragg and Kenya's Flomena Cheyech Daniel fought for third place. Ultimately, sprint finishes from Chelimo and Cragg secured them first and third respectively.
## Qualification
The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF, now known as World Athletics) announced the qualifying criteria for the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in March 2016. For the women's marathon, the entry standard was 2:45:00, one minute slower than for the 2015 World Championships, and the same as for the 2016 Olympics. Entry criteria had to be met during the qualification period: 1 October 2016, and 23 July 2017, inclusive.
## Preview
In November 2016, the marathon route was announced; the course consisted of four laps of a roughly 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) route passing by some of London's historic landmarks. The course started and finished on Tower Bridge, travelled along Victoria Embankment along the River Thames until it reached the Houses of Parliament, looped away from the river past St Paul's Cathedral, before heading back to the Tower of London. Niels de Vos, the tournament director, said that the route was designed to be as flat as possible to allow for the possibility of fast times, while also aiming to use well-known landmarks to provide "a stunning backdrop to a huge global TV audience".
For the first time in the World Championships, the men's and women's marathons were scheduled to take place on the same day; the men's race at 10:55 and the women's at 14:00. The weather was forecast to be between 14 and 21 °C (57 and 70 °F), with a 18-kilometre-per-hour (11 mph) southwesterly wind which LetsRun.com suggested could be particularly significant on the exposed parts of the route along the river.
The race featured ten women who had previously completed sub-2:22 marathons, leading LetsRun.com to speculate that "You won't find a deeper marathon on planet Earth this year than the women's race at the 2017 World Championships." They suggested that Edna Kiplagat of Kenya, Ethiopia's Mare Dibaba and Eunice Kirwa of Bahrain were the favourites for the race. Kiplagat had won the marathon twice before at the World Championships, in 2011 and 2013, and had won the Boston Marathon earlier in the year. Dibaba had raced at the 2017 London Marathon, where she did not finish, but was the reigning World Champion, having won in 2015. Kirwa had finished second to Dibaba in 2015, and had also been runner-up at the 2016 Olympics. Athletics Weekly also predicted that Kiplagat and Mare Dibaba would finish in the top-three, but included another Ethiopian, Berhane Dibaba, alongside them. Mary Keitany, who had broken the women-only marathon world record earlier in the year, did not take part in the World Championships, opting instead to prepare for the 2017 New York City Marathon.
## Summary
The race started at 14:00 on 6 August 2017, in temperatures of 19 °C (66 °F) and a humidity level of 56%. In the opening stages of the race, Portugal's Catarina Ribeiro broke away and led the first ten kilometres (6.2 mi) of the race, before she was caught by Alyson Dixon of Great Britain. Ribeiro ultimately dropped out of the race, and did not finish. Dixon ran alone at the head of the field, and by the halfway stage she had established a 30-second gap to the pack behind. During the second half of the race, the main group closed the gap on Dixon, narrowing it to 14 seconds by the 25-kilometre (16 mi) point, and catching her just before the 30-kilometre (19 mi) point. Dixon, who stayed with the leading pack for another 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) before falling back to finish 18th, said after "I never in my wildest dreams expected to be leading. If you can't enjoy running a World Championship in London with that support, what are you in the sport for?"
After the pack caught Dixon, Kiplagat initially took on the lead, before Australia's Jessica Trengove took over around the 35-kilometre (22 mi) mark. By this stage, the leading group contained fourteen runners, but Chelimo soon increased the pace and split the pack up. A group of four runners broke away at the front: Chelimo; Kiplagat; Amy Cragg of the United States; and Kenya's Flomena Cheyech Daniel. Kiplagat made the next push, and led with just over 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to go; Canadian Running's Sinead Mulhern compared the finish to that of the Boston Marathon earlier in the year, when Kiplagat had beaten Chelimo in a sprint finish. On this occasion, Chelimo counter-attacked and moved back ahead of Kiplagat, who could not respond; and Chelimo held on to claim the gold medal by seven seconds, in 2:27:11. Behind the pair, Cragg managed a sprint finish to beat Daniel to third place, and almost caught Kiplagat; both runners were credited with a finish time of 2:27.18. Dagmara Handzlik of Cyprus, who finished 35th in a time of 2:38:52, established a new national record.
## Results |
# Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior
Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is a 1987 video game developed and published by Palace Software for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, and ZX Spectrum. The game was ported to many other systems and was licensed to Epyx who published it as Death Sword in the United States.
Barbarian is a fighting game that gives players control over sword-wielding barbarians. In the game's two-player mode, players pit their characters against each other. Barbarian also has a single-player mode, in which the player's barbarian braves a series of challenges set by an evil wizard to rescue a princess.
Instead of using painted artwork for the game's box, Palace Software used photos of hired models. The photos, also used in advertising campaigns, featured Michael Van Wijk (who would later become famous as 'Wolf' in the TV series Gladiators) as the hero and bikini-clad Maria Whittaker, a model who was then associated with The Sun tabloid's Page 3 topless photo shoots. Palace Software's marketing strategy provoked controversy in the United Kingdom, with protests focused on the sexual aspects of the packaging rather than decapitations and other violence within the game. The ensuing controversy boosted Barbarian's profile, helping to make it a commercial success. Game critics were impressed with its fast and furious combat, and dashes of humour. The game was Palace Software's critical hit; boosted by Barbarian's success, Palace Software expanded its operations and started publishing other developers' work. In 1988, the company released a sequel, Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax.
## Gameplay
Barbarian: The Ultimate Warrior is a fighting game that supports one or two players. Players assume the roles of sword-wielding barbarians, who battle in locales such as a forest glade and a "fighting pit". The game's head-to-head mode lets a player fight against another or the computer in time-limited matches. The game also features a single-player story mode, which comprises a series of plot-connected challenges.
Using joysticks or the keyboard, players move their characters around the arena, jumping to dodge low blows and rolling to dodge or trip the opponent. By holding down the fire button and moving the controller, players direct the barbarians to kick, headbutt, or attack with their swords. Each barbarian has 12 life points, which are represented as 6 circles in the top corners of the interface. A successful attack on a barbarian takes away one of his life points (half a circle). The character dies when his life points are reduced to zero. Alternatively, a well-timed blow to the neck decapitates the barbarian, killing him instantly, upon which a goblin enters the arena, kicks the head, and drags the body away.
If the players do not input any commands for a time, the game attempts a self-referencing action to draw their attentions: the barbarians turn to face the players, shrug their shoulders, and say "C'mon". The game awards points for successful attacks; the more complex the move, the higher the score awarded. A score board displays the highest points achieved for the game.
### Single-player story mode
In the single-player story mode, the player controls a nameless barbarian who is on a quest to defeat the evil wizard Drax. Princess Mariana has been kidnapped by Drax, who is protected by 8 barbarian warriors. The protagonist engages each of the other barbarians in a fight to the death. Overcoming them, he faces the wizard. After the barbarian has killed Drax, Mariana drops herself at her saviour's feet and the screen fades to black. The United States version of the game names the protagonist Gorth.
## Development
In 1985, Palace Software hired Steve Brown as a game designer and artist. He thought up the concept of pitting a broom-flying witch against a monster pumpkin, and created Cauldron and Cauldron II: The Pumpkin Strikes Back. The two games were commercial successes and Brown was given free rein for his third work. He was inspired by Frank Frazetta's fantasy paintings to create a sword fighting game that was "brutal and as realistic as possible".
Brown based the game and its characters on the Conan the Barbarian series, having read all of Robert E. Howard's stories of the eponymous warrior. He conceptualised 16 moves and practised them with wooden swords, filming his sessions as references for the game's animation. One move, the Web of Death, was copied from the 1984 sword and sorcery film Conan the Destroyer. Spinning the sword like a propeller, Brown "nearly took [his] eye out" when he practised the move. Playing back the videos, the team traced each frame of action onto clear plastic sheets laid over the television screen. The tracings were transferred on a grid that helped the team map the swordplay images, pixel by pixel, to a digital form. Brown refused to follow the convention of using small sprites to represent the fighters in the game, forcing the coders to conceive a method to animate larger blocks of graphics: Palace Software's co-founder Richard Leinfellner said they "multiplexed the sprites and had different look-up tables for different frames."
Feeling that most of the artwork on game boxes at that time were "pretty poor", Brown suggested that an "iconic fantasy imagery with real people would be a great hook for the publicity campaign." His superiors agreed and arranged a photo shoot, hiring models Michael Van Wijk and Maria Whittaker to pose as the barbarian and princess. Whittaker was a topless model, who frequently appeared on Page 3 of the tabloid, The Sun. She wore a tiny bikini for the shoot while Van Wijk, wearing only a loincloth, posed with a sword. Palace Software also packaged a poster of Whittaker in costume with the game. Just before release, the company discovered that fellow developer Psygnosis was producing a game also titled Barbarian, albeit of the platform genre. After several discussions, Palace Software appended the subtitle "The Ultimate Warrior" to differentiate the two products.
The sounds of the characters are taken from the 1985 film Red Sonja. Most notably the "EEY-ECH\!" sound that plays when the player attempts to decapitate an opponent. This particular sound can be found near the beginning of the movie when Arnold's character is ambushed after pulling an arrow out of the lady's back.
### Releases
Barbarian was released in 1987 initially for the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum and was subsequently ported to most other home computers. These machines were varied in their capabilities, and the software ported to them was modified accordingly. The version for the 8-bit is mostly monochromatic, displaying the outlines of the barbarians against single-colour backgrounds. The sounds are recorded at a lower sampling rate. Conversely, the version for the Atari ST, which has 16- and 32-bit buses, presents a greater variety of backgrounds and slightly higher quality graphics than the original version. Its story mode also pits 10 barbarians against the player instead of the usual 8. Digitised sound samples are used in the Atari ST and 32-bit Amiga versions; the latter also features digitised speech. Each fight begins with the announcement of "Prepare to die\!", and metallic sounding thuds and clangs ring out as swords clash against each other.
After the initial releases, Barbarian was re-released several times; budget label Kixx published these versions without Whittaker on the covers. Across the Atlantic, video game publisher Epyx acquired the license to Barbarian and released it under the title Death Sword as part of their "Maxx Out\!" video game series.
## Reception and legacy
Barbarian's advertisements triggered some outcries of moral indignation. Electron User reported that another magazine had refused to publish Superior Software's advert for its licensed BBC Micro and Acorn Electron ports unless parts of the image were covered up. Electron User, who published the uncensored advertisement, received letters from readers and religious bodies, who called the image "offensive and particularly insulting to women" and an "ugly pornographic advertisement". Richard Hanson, Superior's managing director commented that the Advertising Standards Authority had confirmed that the image was not in bad taste, and that the publicity was likely to send the game to the top of the charts.
Chris Jager, a writer for PC World, considered the cover "a trashy controversy-magnet featuring a glamour-saucepot" and a "big bloke [in leotard]".
Video game industry observers Russell DeMaria and Johnny Wilson commented that the United Kingdom public were more concerned over the scantily-clad Whittaker than the gory contents in the game.
In 1988, Advanced Computer Entertainment magazine submitted videos of the gameplay to the British Board of Film Classification who stated that the decapitations were merely "storybook violence" and that the game would have probably have received a PG certificate had it been submitted to them. David Houghton, writer for GamesRadar, claimed the game would be rated "Mature" by the Entertainment Software Rating Board if it was published in 2009.
Conversely, Barbarian was banned in Germany by the Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien for its violent content. The ban forbade promotion of the game and its sale to customers under the age of 18. A censored version of the game, which changed the colour of the blood to green, was later permitted to be freely sold in the country.
Reviewers were impressed with Barbarian's gory gameplay. Zzap\!64's Steve Jarratt appreciated the "fast and furious" action and his colleague Ciaran Brennan said Barbarian should have been the licensed video game to the fantasy action film Highlander (which had a lot of sword fights and decapitations) instead. Amiga Computing's Brian Chappell enjoyed "hacking the foe to bits, especially when a well aimed blow decapitates him." Several other reviewers express the same satisfaction in chopping the heads off their foes. Although shocked at the game's violence, Antic's reviewer said the "sword fight game is the best available on the ST." According to Jarratt, Barbarian represented "new heights in bloodsports". Equally pleasing to the reviewers at Zzap\!64 and Amiga User International's Tony Horgan was the simplicity of the game; they observed that almost anyone could quickly familiarise themselves with the game mechanics, making the two-player mode a fun and quick pastime.
Although the barbarian characters use the same basic blocky sprites, they impressed reviewers at Zzap\!64 and Amiga Computing with their smooth animation and lifelike movements. Reviewers of the Amiga version, however, expressed disappointment with the port for failing to exploit the computer's greater graphics capability and implement more detailed character sprites. Its digitised sounds, however, won praise from Commodore User's Gary Penn. Advanced Computer Entertainment's reviewers had similar thoughts over the Atari ST port.
Reviewing for Computer and Video Games, Paul Boughton was impressed by the game's detailed gory effects, such as the aftermath of a decapitation, calling them "hypnotically gruesome". It was these little touches that "[makes] the game worthwhile", according to Richard Eddy in Crash. Watching "the head [fall] to the ground [as blood spurts from the] severed neck, accompanied by a scream and satisfying thud as the torso tumbles" proved to be "wholesome stuff" for Chappell, and the scene was a "great retro gaming moment" for Retro Gamer's staff. The cackling goblin, which drags off the bodies, endeared him to some reviewers; the team at Retro Gamer regretted that the creature did not have his own game. The actions of the barbarian also impressed them to nominate him as one of their top 50 characters from the early three decades of video gaming.
Popular Computing Weekly considered the Amstrad version to be the best, calling the Commodore 64's animation "shaky". Your Sinclair, awarding the game 7/10, complained it was too similar to previous games like The Way of the Exploding Fist and Ninja.
According to Leinfellner, the controversy did not negatively affect Barbarian, but boosted the game's sales and profile tremendously. The game proved to be a big hit, reaching the top of the all-format charts in 1987 and number one in the Acorn Electron chart in 1988. Leinfellner said he received royalty cheques for approximately seven years, the first of which was for £20,000. Barbarian II: The Dungeon of Drax was released in 1988, and Barbarian III was in the works. Van Wijk and Whittaker were hired again to grace the box cover and advertisements. After the success with Barbarian, Palace Software began to expand its portfolio by publishing games that were created by other developers. Barbarian, however, remained its most popular game, best remembered for its violent sword fights and Maria Whittaker.
In 2011, Anuman Interactive (French publisher) launched a remake of the game, adapted to mobile devices and computers: Barbarian – The Death Sword.
A spiritual successor, Age of Barbarian, was released in 2012 by Italian indie game developer Crian Soft, with a much longer and updated Extended Cut released in 2016. |
# Telangana Rebellion
The Telangana Rebellion, natively known as Telangana Sayudha Poratam, was a communist-led insurrection of peasants against the princely state of Hyderabad in the region of Telangana, Dominion of India, that escalated out of agitations in 1944–46.
Hyderabad was a feudal monarchy where most of the land was concentrated in the hands of landed aristocrats known as durras in Telangana. Feudal exploitation in the region was more severe compared to others of India; the durras had complete power over the peasants and could subject them to agricultural slavery. Conditions worsened during the 1930s due to the Great Depression and a transition towards commercial crops. In the 1940s, the peasants started turning towards communism, organised themselves through the Andhra Mahasabha and began a rights movement, catalyzed by a food crisis that affected the region following the end of the Second World War, the movement escalated into a rebellion after the administration and the durras attempted to suppress it.
The revolt began on 4 July 1946, when a local peasant leader was killed in the village of Kadavendi, Warangal district, by the agents of a durra. Beginning in the districts of Nalgonda and Warangal, the rebellion evolved into a revolution across Telangana in response to continued repression by the Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan and later Kasim Razvi. The Hyderabad State Forces and the police, combined with the Razakar militia, were unable to suppress it and were routed, while the rebel forces went on a successful guerrilla offensive.
The rebels established a parallel system of government composed of gram rajyams (village communes) that caused a social revolution where caste and gender distinctions were reduced; women's workforce participation including in the armed squads increased and the conditions of the peasants significantly improved with land redistribution. At its peak in 1948, the rebellion covered nearly all of Telangana and had at least 4,000 villages directly administered by communes. It was led by the Communist Party of India (CPI) and supported by the left-wing faction of the Hyderabad State Congress, many of whom later joined the Socialist Party of India when it was formed by the Congress Socialist Party (CSP).
The rebellion ended when the military administration set up by Jawaharlal Nehru's government unexpectedly launched an attack on the communes immediately following the annexation of Hyderabad to fulfil assurances given by V. P. Menon to the American embassy that the communists would be eradicated, leading to an eventual call for the rebels to lay down arms issued by the CPI on 25 October 1951.
## Background
Situated on the Deccan Plateau in southern India, Hyderabad was a princely state of the British Raj, the second largest and most populous among them. The state had a patrimonial system with the Nizam of Hyderabad as the ruler and the British maintaining complete authority over it. Multiethnic in composition, its 17 districts were divided across three linguistic regions:
- Hyderabad-Karnataka consisted of three districts and was populated by Kannada speaking people.
- Marathwada consisted of five districts and was populated by Marathi speaking people.
- Telangana consisted of nine districts and was populated by Telugu speaking people. It contained more than half the population of the state and covered the entire eastern half including Hyderabad city, the capital of the state.
### Feudal system
The princely state of Hyderabad retained a feudal system in its agrarian economy. It had two main types of land tenure, diwani or khalsa and a distinct category of land called jagir. The lands designated as jagir were granted to aristocrats called jagirdars based on their rank and order, while a portion of the jagir lands were held as the crown lands (sarf-e-khas) of the Nizam. The civil courts had no jurisdiction over the jagir lands which allowed the jagirdars to impose various forms of exorbitant arbitrary taxes on the ryots (peasants) and extract revenue through private agents. The diwani tenures resembled the ryotwari system introduced by the British in other parts of the country. It had hereditary revenue collectors; deshmukhs and deshpandes who were granted land annuities called vatans, based on past revenue collections. The diwani lands legally held by the government were divided into small sections called pattas registered to occupants who were responsible for the payment of land revenue. The registered occupants included peasants who cultivated their own land or occupants who either employed agricultural labourers or rented out the land to tenants. The tenants, called shikmidars, had tenancy rights and could not be evicted on condition that they fulfill land revenue obligations. More than three-fourths of the tenants were tenants at will or asami shikmidars who retained land revenue obligations but did not have tenancy rights. They could become shikmidars after a period of twelve years, though in practice they were evicted within three to four years. The responsibility for registration lay with the deshmukhs and deshpandes. They had access to land records and there was a lack of literacy among the peasants. The system turned them into a hybrid of a feudal lord and a bureaucrat who frequently acquired more lands from the peasants and forced them into the status of tenants at will and landless labourers. The individual deshmukhs and deshpandes had multiple villages under their domains and seridars (appointed personal officials) to manage each village. The jagirs and diwani tenures constituted around 30% and 60% respectively of the territory of Hyderabad State.
The feudal system was particularly harsh in the Telangana region of the state. The powerful deshmukh and jagirdar aristocracy, locally called durras, additionally functioned as money lenders and as the highest village official. The durras employed variants of the jajmani system called vetti and baghela which forced families of peasants into corvee labour by means of customary and debt obligations. The power of the deshmukhs was augmented with additional hereditary positions such as patel, patwari and mali patel which granted them various political, judicial and administrative functions. They could determine taxation rates and managed land surveying; peasants had to offer nazaranas in the form of cattle, crops and money to prevent prejudiced treatment. The jagirdars were predominantly Brahmin, supplanted by the emergence of Velama and Reddy deshmukhs. Markets and major businesses were controlled by Marwadi and Komati durras. In contrast, the bulk of the peasantry came from disparate caste backgrounds and even included Brahmins, Reddys and Komatis. The tribals such as Chenchus, Koyas, Lambadis, Konda Reddis, and untouchables like the Malas and Madigas were among the most impoverished and particularly vulnerable to severe forms of exploitation by durras, including agricultural slavery. Anti–slavery legislations were largely unenforced in the British Raj, and officials were instead reprimanded for mentioning slaves in documentation.
Telangana had a higher concentration of land in the hands of a small group of landed magnates than the other regions. They owned vast tracts of lands covering several villages and thousands of acres. The land concentration was most pronounced in the districts of Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar and Warangal. They later became the epicenter of the insurrection. The peasants were largely dependent on affluent urban interests, mostly composed of Marwadis, Komtis, Brahmins and upper caste Muslims, who controlled the centralised markets in Telangana. Land alienation continued to increase between 1910 and 1940 as more land was passed either to urban interests and aristocratic durra feudal lords or to Marwari and Maratha sahukars (money-lenders). Peasants with small landholding were pushed into landless agricultural labour or tenancy at will. Irrigation facilities were introduced from the late 19th century and a greater portion of the land transfer occurred on lands with these facilities. The system of subsistence farming gave way to commercial crops, strengthening the hold of traders and sahukars over the peasants, which was particularly worsened during the Great Depression. The period saw the rise of a section of well-to-do pattadars (landholding peasants) who began employing landless labourers of their own, though it did not change the landlord–tenant relations in the region to any significant degree. The landholding peasants too were severely affected after the depression.
### Communist mobilisation
Communists had been active in the Telugu speaking Godavari–Krishna delta region of the neighbouring Madras Presidency since 1934 and largely organised through peasants organisations such as the Andhra Mahasabha (Madras), the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) and the Indian Peasant Institute. The first incursion of the communist movement in Telangana occurred in the Madhira–Khammam area of Warangal district, through peasants who had settled down at the Wyra and Paleru irrigation projects, and had relatives in Coastal Andhra. The first communist organisations were established in Warangal and Nalgonda districts through the efforts of Chandra Rajeswara Rao, a peasant working in Mungala. The Regional Committee of the CPI in Telangana was established under the leadership of Pervaelli Venkataramanaiah in 1941.
The students' movement contributed significantly to the growth of the communist movement, disillusioned with Gandhian satyagraha politics. Having gained experience through the Vandemataram protests, a number of radical progressive student organisations were established which eventually merged to form the All Hyderabad Students Union in January 1942. Devulapalli Venkateswara Rao, a former student agitator during the Vandemataram protests, was instrumental in building up the Communist Party in the districts of Warangal and Nalgonda. The nationalist, progressive and secular intelligentsia in the city of Hyderabad turned towards political radicalism as well, through the influential Naya Adab (New Salute) which promoted communism in literature, and through the Comrades Association initially formed in reaction to the growth of communal sectarian organisations. The association became communist under the leadership of Raj Bahadur Gour and Makhdoom Mohiuddin.
#### Andhra Conference
In the meantime, the Andhra Mahasabha, which was a cultural-literary forum acting as a front organisation for the Hyderabad State Congress, was overtaken by communists. It recruited students from colleges but was controlled by a conservative liberal and moderate leadership over whom the Hindu durra aristocracy had a strong influence and who advocated restraint, opposing activities against the "law and order" of the state. Following the withdrawal of a satyagraha movement for constitutional reforms in 1938–39 as a result of instructions of the federal leadership, the Congress was largely discredited for its younger left-wing members. Convinced that the expulsion of the Nizam along with all the elites was a necessity for effective democratic gains, the left-wing faction decided to fight the feudal system, began embracing communism and started building up the organisation in the villages from 1941 onwards. They reduced the enrolment fee by one-fourth, encouraged participation by the landless and impoverished sections of the population. They took up peasants' causes such as the abolition of vetti, prevention of rack-renting and eviction of tenants, occupancy (patta) rights of cultivating tenants and reduction in taxes, revenue demands and rents, among others.
The Andhra Conference, previously seen as a durra's organisation, grew in popularity among the peasants and started being referred to as the Andhra Mahasabha (AMS) in Telangana. Prominent feminists disillusioned with the Congress who formed the Mahila Navjeevan Mandali in 1941, also joined the AMS and eventually became members of the Communist Party by 1943. Venkateshwara Rao directly recruited disillusioned Congress members and sympathisers into the Communist Party during the same period. Initially faced with opposition from the moderate leadership, landlords organisations such as the Agriculturalists Association and through heavy political repression from the government, the AMS was slowly transformed into a militant mass organisation opposed to the Nizamate with a coalition of peasants, the working class, the middle class and youths as its members. The process was completed in the 1944 Bhongir session of the AMS when two young communists, Ravi Narayan Reddy and Baddam Yella Reddy were elected as the president and secretary. The moderates expecting a rout, had resigned from their offices, boycotted the election and later formed a marginal splinter organisation, giving the communists free rein over the primary AMS. Arthur Lothian, the British Resident at Hyderabad took note of the development in October 1943 and began directly intervening in state action with regard to the communists from thereon.
#### Agitations of 1944–1946
Between 1944 and 1946, the communist movement became widespread in the Telangana countryside. The Andhra Mahasabha controlled by communists substantially increased its membership in the districts of Nalgonda, Warangal and Karimnagar. The movement formed a class alliance between disparate caste groups, the middle peasantry with small landholdings and the rural poor and landless labourers. Numerous villages were enmeshed with communist organisations. Agrarian radicalism was heightened and a mass movement developed with a series of agrarian agitations against the durra aristocrats beginning in 1944. The agitations were non-violent and employed tactics such as non-cooperation, withdrawal of services and refusal to pay technically illegal taxes, usually demanding the implementation of existent laws which were unenforced. The demands also included the Andhra communists' call for the breakup of Hyderabad State and the formation of Visalandhra, an unified Telugu speaking state composed of Telangana and the Andhra region of the Madras Presidency, in line with the Communist Party of India's demand for the linguistic reorganisation of states. The presence of large organised groups within the villages intimidated the durras and the administration. The private militias of the feudal lords and the police were sent to conduct violent attacks on the agitators with greater frequency as the movement went on. Hyderabad State passed a legislation for minimum tenurial security in 1945, which only worsened conditions as landlords resorted to frequent mass evictions to prevent accrual of tenancy rights. The agrarian distress was further aggravated by rising prices and food scarcity after the Second World War.
## Rebellion
### Spontaneous uprising
The post–war economic distress and political developments played a catalytic role in a feudal system already conducive for an uprising. The village level agitations against the aristocratic durra feudal lords escalated into an insurrection. The influence of the communists in Nalgonda and Warangal districts had become so strong by early 1946 that the administration, including the Nizam's firmans (decrees), was unable to function in large areas. The expansion of the movement in these areas was facilitated by the presence of estates with thousands of acres. The first militant action occurred with a few instances of land seizures from the estates of durras in response to eviction of Lambadi tenant cultivators for non-compliance with additional taxation and demands of vetti (forced labour). The village level communist sanghams (organisations) during the 1944–46 agitations had laid down demands for better wages, disallowance of vetti and baghela forced labour, evictions, exorbitant taxation and refusal of a new mandatory post–war grain levy.
One major incident on 4 July 1946 marked the beginning of the rebellion; a procession of over 1,000 peasants was fired at by the men of Vishnur Deshmukh in Kadavendi village of Warangal district, Doddi Komarayya who was the leader of the local sangham was killed and a number of others severely wounded. The group proceeded to and set fire to the residence of the deshmukh before they were dispersed by the arrival of a contingent of armed police. In the following days, 200 acres of land in a neighbouring village were seized from the deshmukh's estate and redistributed by the peasants. The incident sparked a spontaneous movement where groups of villagers would go from one village to another, people would drop out and return to their village after coming some distance, while others from the villages they passed through would take their place and keep the movement going. In each village, they formed drawn out congregations upon their arrival to discuss prevalent local issues and relations with the durra of their area. By the end of July, around 300–400 villages in the districts of Warangal, Nalgonda and Khammam experienced militant action by peasants against the local estates and officials. In August 1946, the press wing of the Communist Party of India announced that the villages were under the control of the peasants and launched a national campaign to rally support for the rebellion, publicising the demands of the peasantry and highlighting the feudal exploitation and brutality.
Peasants continuously resisted extortive action from officials and other agents, and refused to perform vetti forced labour. Small landholders refused to hand over paddy crops for the required levy, and landless labourers and tenants continued to occupy lands from which they had been evicted. The durras sent their private armies to prevent the seizure of their lands, but they were few in number and too poorly armed to contain mass unrest. Unable to control the villages, the durras started fleeing to safer regions, resorted to litigation, and relied on the state police and their private armies to suppress the rebellious peasants. The villages adopted a strategy of active defense in response to violent attacks by private armies and the state police. Village level organisations developed a signals network to inform other villages of the position of approaching state security forces and villagers adopted the tactic of gathering en masse armed with slingshots, stones and sticks to ward off reconnaissance units and smaller raiding parties. The rebels had neither the firearms nor the training to use them. The durras, their agents and local officials became fearful of visiting their own estates or jurisdictions which were known to be established strongholds of the communist rebels without paying "protection taxes" themselves.
The Andhra Conference was banned in October 1946 and the police had begun arresting communists and sympathisers throughout the state. Hundreds of Communist Party activists were arrested, and the number of police units assigned to the rebellious regions was increased exponentially. The frequency of raids increased through 1946, but during their attempts at arresting communist activists known to the police, crowds of hundreds would gather to obstruct them. The administration started assigning units of the Hyderabad State Forces to assist the police. Some of the villages formed ad hoc volunteer forces for defense. On 16 and 17 November, military personnel killed three villagers and wounded eight others in two raids on the villages of Patha Suryapet and Devarupal. On 27 November, in retaliation for the killing, a police convoy escorting arrested communist activists was ambushed successfully; four police personnel were killed, and the prisoners released.
Following the ambush, the police and military forces began attempting to arrest entire villages and by December, the Suryapet prison alone was holding 600 prisoners. The military crackdown increased in December, resulting in even-heightened militancy; the sangham earlier known as chitti sangham due to their distribution of chittis (letters), common after the enrolment fee for AMS was reduced, started being known as the lathi sangham for their distribution of lathis (bamboo sticks) in this period. By the end of 1946, the police had reported 156 cases of assault by peasants and four major police–peasant battles had occurred, but neither the actions of the military, the police nor the private armies were able to dislodge the communists. Most of the confrontations occurred in the Suryapet and Jangaon taluqas of Nalgonda district; pockets in Khammam, Karimnagar, Nalgonda and Warangal districts had fallen under rebel control, while 4,000 army troops were deployed in Nalgonda district.
The military, equipped with modern firearms, made it much harder for the rebels to operate and the movement became more clandestine in the presence of military camps near their villages; the Andhra communists in the Madras Presidency initiated dialogue with the rebels in preparation for open warfare with the Hyderabad State. Meanwhile, the military camps were withdrawn in January 1947 after a period of absence of any visible disturbances. Despite some instances of armed confrontations, the peasants uprising was spasmodic in their actions and lacked any systemically planned offensives in the initial period. It had begun as a spontaneous upsurge where the organised Andhra Mahasabha and Communist Party of India acted primarily in an auxiliary capacity.
#### Reactions
The Hyderabad State Congress was divided into two factions of moderates and leftists since 1938–39. While the left-wing members of the Andhra Conference had gravitated to the Communist Party, those in Maharashtra Parishad in the Marathawada region of Hyderabad State had aligned themselves with the Congress Socialist Caucus, influenced by their presence in Bombay Presidency. In late 1945, the Indian National Congress (INC) had adopted the policy of expelling all communists from its organisations. It convened the All India States Peoples' Conference (AISPC) containing delegates of regional organisations which boycotted the predominantly communist Andhra Conference and instead invited the marginal splinter organisation formed by the moderates. The socialists had protested against the policy, leading to further friction with the moderates in Hyderabad.
At the onset of the rebellion, and in light of post–war negotiations between the Congress and the British administration, the Nizam of Hyderabad legalised the Hyderabad State Congress in July 1946. The three front organisations — the non-communist Andhra Conference, the Maharashtra Parishad and the Karnatak Parishad were merged, and a provincial working committee was formed; 164 delegates from the three organisations voted in an election for the president of the committee. The socialist candidate Swami Ramananda Tirtha from the Marathawada delegation won against the moderate Burgula Ramakrishna Rao from the Andhra delegation by a narrow margin of three votes. The moderate–left divide persisted with the moderates, mostly affluent lawyers with durra backing, refusing to budge and eventually reaching a crisis point over their position with respect to the communists following the Nizam government's military crackdown on the peasants in late 1946.
In November 1946, the two factions sent separate fact finding teams to Suryapet, led by Tirtha and J. Keshav Rao respectively. Tirtha's group searched for police atrocities while Rao's group searched for reasons to condemn the communists. Tirtha praised the actions of the communists. The leftist faction wanted to not only admonish the government for repression but also convert the party into a more militant mass movement. They were prevented from doing so by the moderates, who were adamantly opposed to any further move to the left. The working committee drafted three resolutions demanding the government end their repression in Nalgonda, lift the ban on the Communist Party of India and cease criticising the communists for a sectarian approach towards the Congress. The moderates were dissatisfied with it, filibustered it, and did not allow it to pass. The State Congress stopped functioning because of the consequent resignation from the left and mediation with the national leadership until March 1947. The left issued a statement denouncing the "barren constitutionalism" of "feudal elements" in the State Congress.
Wilfrid Vernon Grigson, Revenue and Police Minister for the Viceroy's Executive Council, conducted his own investigation in December and reported that the peasants had legitimate grievances and that it was not communist propaganda as previously assumed. The report stated that raiding villages and arresting communists would not succeed in stopping attacks on government officials without an administrative overhaul in the princely state, which according to him the Nizam's officials were incapable of conducting. The AISPC passed a resolution on 27 December condemning the activities of both the government and the communists, based on a report from their president, Dwarkanath Kachru, who had arrived in Hyderabad to conduct his own investigation. In a private letter, Kachru wrote to Tirtha that despite their official stance, the grievances of the peasants were genuine such that "no organisation worthy of its name could put up with" and admitted the communists had simply outflanked them through their mass mobilisation. The activities of the Congress in the state were being marginalised as the conflict between the Nizam's government and the communists engulfed Telangana.
### Communist–Left Congress alliance
In February 1947, the British administration announced the transfer of power to the Indian leadership and gave the princely states the option of either joining India or Pakistan or becoming independent. The Nizam of Hyderabad, the Muslim aristocrats and the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) wanted Hyderabad to become an independent state but the vast majority of people wanted the state to merge with India in hopes of political freedoms and participation in self-government. The Communist Party of India added merger with India into its list of demands and aligned itself with the Indian National Congress (INC) which had started pressuring the Nizam to accede. In March 1947, the working committee of the State Congress was restored and Swami Ramananda Tirtha was reelected with a wide margin of 751 to 498 votes against B.G. Rao, enabling him to completely exclude the moderates. He praised the communists for their revolt and suggested the incorporation of a more revolutionary policy for the State Congress.
The Congress went on satyagraha seeking the merger of Hyderabad with India and the State Congress under Tirtha launched a civil disobedience campaign. The communists joined up with Congress workers in their agitation although they held reservations over the effectiveness of Gandhian methods. Due to the organisational weakness of the Congress, most of the Congress agitation in Telangana especially in the rural areas was carried out instead by communists, the police were unable to differentiate between the two and assumed that they had entered into a league. In the urban areas, communists and Congress members held joint meetings and demonstrations which provided material benefits to the rebels in the countryside. The general understanding among the communists was that the "rightist congressmen" were backed by the durras and opposed to any form of alliance with them while the "leftist congressmen" wanted an unification with the Communist Party but were too irresolute and timid to carry it forward.
The communists started disassociating with the satyagraha as a consequence of incorporation of Gandhian ethics in the agitations, one key point of discontent became the symbolic cutting down of toddy trees as Gandhian ethics prohibited toddy drinking. The symbolism lay in the toddy plantations also being a major source of revenue for the state but toddy trappers who were subjected to untouchability, were a significant section of the communist activists and base of support, and relied on toddy for their livelihoods. Some degree of co-ordination continued to occur especially due to increase in police repression and the agitations becoming interspersed with instances of violent confrontations. One major incident occurred in Warangal district where a crowd of 2,000 armed with spears and lathis stormed a police station and released two Congress workers who were being subjected to torture, in the process killing an inspector and injuring several policemen. Another occurred within Hyderabad city when a group of agitators burned down the residences of the British Police Minister and the president of the Executive Council of Hyderabad. In Nalgonda, the epicenter of the rebellion, the communists toured across the district, releasing and redistributing grains hoarded in markets and storages, burning down checkpoints on the border and the records of officials and sahukars in the villages, while raising Indian flags in those locations.
#### Rise of Kasim Razvi
Meanwhile, the Ittehad was spreading sectarian propaganda and attempting to promote fanaticism among Muslims, along with the Arya Samaj and the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha attempting to do the same with Hindus in reaction to it. The situation created widespread fear and uncertainty, leading to political instability and a sudden deterioration of law and order across the state. The Nizam, who had isolated himself from the common population and their politics for years, perceived himself to be surrounded by a hostile Hindu population and started to rely increasingly on the Ittehad for support. The leadership of the Ittehad had by then passed to Kasim Razvi, a small-time lawyer from northern India who had supported the Pakistan movement and wanted Hyderabad to become a refuge for Muslims in the south. Gradually the Ittehad under Razvi was able to wrestle control over the Nizam government and was managing its day-to-day functioning. Razvi formed a paramilitary wing for the Ittehad called the Razakars. They were deputed alongside the police and grew to 150,000 men, double the police force itself, contributing significantly to public disorder and a complete collapse of civil authority as they embarked on a campaign of political repression.
Hindu–Muslim tensions and communal violence in Hyderabad reached its highest point upon the partition of India. The razakars grew to 200,000 men by the end of August with the recruitment of Muslim refugees from India who had arrived in Hyderabad on the invitation of the Ittehad. The Congress agitations also peaked with a complete shutdown of the state accompanied by flag hoisting, meetings, processions and protests on 7 and 15 August. Tirtha was arrested in mid-August and violent repression of agitators continued to increase over the following period. The Congress leftists of Hyderabad under a new leadership, organised themselves through the Committee of Action, which set up camps outside the state and started conducting armed raids into Hyderabad. The camps were allowed by the Home Ministry of India, now under Vallabhbhai Patel and reluctantly approved of by Mahatma Gandhi. The moderates were completely opposed to the armed raids and excluded from the committee. In the following year, the Congress socialists would split from the party under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan to form the Socialist Party of India, taking with them much of the leftists of the Hyderabad State Congress.
### Escalation and territorial expansion
The crisis of authority in Hyderabad had enabled the influence of the rebels in the countryside to expand rapidly. They set up a parallel administration composed of gram rajyams (village communes) in the areas that came under their control. This parallel administration provided more stability and became a refuge from the violence in the rest of the state. Roving bands of razakars active across Hyderabad to quell agitations were instructed by the government to protect the durras and suppress the communists in Telangana after the withdrawal of the British. Initially attached to police and military forces, the razakars had come to supersede them when the Ittehad assumed power and started operating independently of the state forces. They plundered villages, killed and arrested people on suspicion of being potential agitators and employed rape and torture to quell villages into submission. The communists, who had previously relied largely on defensive measures and unarmed resistance, began to openly endorse offensive warfare. The national leadership of the Communist Party officially approved armed rebellion in September 1947.
Volunteer brigades called dalams were organised by the communes. They were joined en masse by villagers frustrated with police, military and razakar atrocities, particularly in the districts of Nalgonda, Warangal and Kammam which were communist strongholds. The Communist Party was better organised in the neighbouring Andhra region of Madras State (previously Madras Presidency) and was sending arms, supplies and volunteers into Telangana. This considerably bolstered the organisational, tactical and logistical capabilities of the rebels, transforming the peasants uprising into an organised rebellion. Arms were acquired through black market purchases at increased prices in Telangana and from the estate agents and local government officials by theft and force. The rebels who were equipped with firearms went on guerilla warfare targeting infrastructure, supplies and garrisons of the government and the estates of the durras. Organised mobs were assigned to lower risk targets such as the forest department and offices of village officials, and would burn down their records, take away their lathis and grain stocks. In December, the armed assaults became excessively frequent, the police recorded 45 attacks on major targets within the span of 11 days in Warangal and Nalgonda districts.
In response, the government authorised the police, the military and the razakars to indiscriminately target entire villages for harbouring sympathies for the sangham (communists) or the Congress. The attacks involved reprisals in which the entire population of some villages was massacred. There was widespread use of torture against villagers and rape against women as a terror tactic. The extreme measures employed by the state forces pushed otherwise skeptical people in the peripheral areas of the rebel dominated territories to be drawn towards the communists and the rebellion. In some cases, the razakars who the government was unable to control attacked the estates of the durras themselves and plundered them. Consequently, some of the durras entered into agreements with the communes to supply them with resources and abide by their governance in exchange for protection from the razakar bands. The reprisals made the communes strengthen their organisation and co-ordination. The Andhra and Telangana communists set up joint revolutionary headquarters at the Mungala Estate, constituting an enclave of Hyderabad State within Krishna district of Madras State. By early 1948, much of Telangana was beginning to rebel in an all-out revolution as more of the rural poor and the peasantry organised themselves under the communists and took up arms against the durras and the Hyderabad State. This triggered a large-scale displacement of durras who fled to the cities, abandoning their private armies and properties. The communist influence was chipping away at the entire social hierarchy with a quasi divine Nizam at the top since the early 1940s, and had eventually enabled the mass uprising to occur.
The rebels suffered from a persistent shortage of modern firearms and had to constantly rely on raids to gain more. As a consequence they were severely outnumbered as the communes refused to deploy more recruits as they were unable to arm them. Despite the shortages, the rebel forces were highly motivated, being entirely composed of volunteers, increasingly ideological and antagonised by years of repression. The rebels were also better adjusted to the terrain and shaped their organisation along the lines of geography and the strategic considerations of guerrilla warfare as they built it from the ground up. This made them much more effective in terms of tactics and logistics. The rebel forces were organised into two categories — garrisons consisting of village dalams (brigades) who would continue their civilian lives while maintaining hidden arms, and mobile guerrilla dalams who would become full-time operatives and engage in offensives across large distances. The revolutionary headquarters in Mungala became a key source of supplies, arms, literature and organisers as they were smuggled in through the border. Some demobilised war veterans also joined the communists during this period.
In contrast, state forces and the paramilitary razakars lacked co-ordination; the former were demoralised as a consequence of the induction of the latter and having to serve in a subordinate role to them. The rising tensions between the Dominion of India and Hyderabad State made it more difficult for the government as they had to deploy more troops at the frontiers. One critical advantage the government forces had was in terms of transportation. They could use trucks, jeeps and railways to move troops quickly through the few hard bed roads and railway lines that existed in the region while the rebels were largely restricted to foot. Even captured vehicular transportation was not useful to the rebels, as they could not operate them clandestinely, nor did they possess heavy armament like artillery to engage in conventional warfare. To mitigate this advantage, the rebels dug trenches around the villages and roads were either blocked, breached or had planks with nails placed on them. The military would often respond by forcing a group of villagers to refill the trenches, shooting some of them while they worked on it. On 26–27 February, the rebels conducted a major operation with twenty simultaneous coordinated attacks on infrastructure targets including important telecommunication facilities, bridges and sections of railway tracks which paralysed the transportation and communication capabilities of the government forces from thereon.
The rebels went on a successful campaign of territorial expansion and effectively routed the government forces by mid-1948. Much of the Telangana countryside came under their control, covering the entirety of the Nalgonda, Warangal, Khammam, and Karimnagar districts, more than half of Medak and Adilabad districts and a significant portion of the remaining three districts of Telangana namely, Mahabubnagar, Hyderabad, and Nizamabad. In Adilabad, Medak and Karimnagar, the Tirtha Group of the Congress had established some bases that defected towards the communists. Around 16,000 square miles (41,000 km<sup>2</sup>), covering 4,000 villages, were being directly administered by communes. The rebel forces had reached a peak with 10,000 troops in garrisons and 2,000 in guerrilla forces. There were an additional three to four million active workers and non-combatant supporters of the rebel forces. In August 1948, the number of razakars stood at 100,000 men even as it recruited 30,000 more in January, down from 200,000 in September 1947. They were increasingly sent by the government to engage with the communists as the rebellion expanded across Telangana, but they proved to be ineffective against them. In turn, the razakars became the victims of torture as retribution for their past atrocities, which continued until the communes and sanghams prohibited and eventually banned such activities, declaring them to be primitive.
### Decline of the insurrection
In September 1948, the Dominion of India launched a military intervention for the Annexation of Hyderabad. The intervention officially described as a "police action" was justified on the grounds of ending the undemocratic feudal regime of the Nizam and the razakar repression enabled by him. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had stated in a press conference the government's policy towards the communists would depend on how they respond during and after the intervention. The comment was misleading as the government was making preparations to liquidate the peasant communes and restore the durra aristocrats regardless of their response. Internally, the communists were described as the primary target rather than the Nizam and the razakars. Secretary V. P. Menon had briefed the American embassy about the intervention and promised them that the communists would be eradicated in return for their support in justifying the military action to the international community. The Home Ministry under Vallabhbhai Patel favoured military intervention as it would enable them to deploy military personnel in Telangana. They had initially stalled the intervention for over a year, despite ongoing razakar atrocities because it was feared that an invasion would allow the communists to strengthen their position. Menon wanted the rebel administration to be dealt with through military courts rather than by civil authorities.
The Indian Army marched into Hyderabad State on 13 September and the already demoralised Hyderabad State Force, the police and the razakars surrendered within a week after minimal resistance. This military intervention was perceived by the peasant communes as a positive development and not as an attack on them. The villagers believed the Indian Army was helping them defeat the Nizam's government. They launched a final parallel assault against the remaining military camps of the State Forces, outposts of state agents and garrisons in durra estates, accompanied by victory celebrations. The rebels came across large stores of arms and ammunition during the assault. Many of them were handed over to the army after their objectives were accomplished, as the peasants returned to their villages with the belief that the armed conflict was over. The commanding officer selected for the invasion was Major General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri, who was also a zamindar aristocrat from West Bengal. He set up a military administration after the Nizam's capitulation, banned the Communist Party of India, and immediately launched a military offensive against the peasant communes. The deshmukhs and officials returned as the redistributed lands were to be confiscated and granted back to their original owners.
The military administration did not induct any local police personnel or civil servants, including those affiliated with the Hyderabad State Congress, who were sidelined. Vallabhbhai Patel distrusted them and justified it with the claim that they had a partisan character. They deployed officials and personnel from outside the state, as it was feared that locals might be apprehensive of conducting violence against their own and might even be covert communist sympathisers. Chaudhuri also issued a warning to the police personnel from outside the state about falling under communist influence. The administration orchestrated an anti–communist hunt in the state, attempting to arrest any and all communists. There was widespread use of torture against those suspected of harbouring information and the military personnel occasionally conducted indiscriminate arrests and mass shootings against villagers in Telangana. Meanwhile, the Nizam was not prosecuted and instead was made the Rajpramukh of Hyderabad State for a period of time. Kasim Razvi was arrested, tried and jailed but soon released and forced to migrate to Pakistan. The military administration actively promoted feudal restoration in Telangana.
The offensive sent the peasant communes and the Communist Party of India into disarray, causing divisions within them. Some of them, including Ravi Narayan Reddy and the former General Secretary Puran Chand Joshi, among other veteran party leaders wanted to abandon the armed rebellion and attempt to employ legal pathways to stop the repression to continue their movement, while others antagonised by the actions of the administration wanted to continue an armed guerrilla struggle against the military. Some, including the new General Secretary Bhalchandra Trimbak Ranadive, even advocated for escalating the rebellion into a national revolution. Both sides exchanged accusations, denouncing each other as "right wing reformists" and "left wing adventurists". The government used this to its advantage, as they were occasionally able to coerce former participants into becoming informants. The urban population, unaware of the events in the countryside, had supported the intervention and were convinced by the government and with the help of various statements made by revolutionaries against the Congress, that they were indulging in an unnecessary peasants' partisan warfare after the annexation. On the other hand, the division weakened the communists. Many of the peasants had abandoned the rebellion, especially those from the middle and richer peasantry, some of whom were dissatisfied with the latest land ceiling and who used to provide important contacts and financial support. Despite the desertions, most of the peasants remained sympathetic towards the guerrillas who had decided to keep fighting, and refused to cooperate with the police.
In December 1948, the administration began a large-scale counterinsurgency campaign designed to frighten villagers into not assisting the guerrillas. The States Department sent Captain Nanjappa to act as the Special Commissioner of Police (Spl.CP) for the operation. Nanjappa ordered indiscriminate arrests, burning down of entire villages where land redistribution had occurred and extrajudicial executions of suspects after capture. Around 2,000 peasants, armed and unarmed, were killed and 25,000 arrested by the end of August 1949. The communes were dis-established and the former durra estates restored in their respective areas. The guerrillas had to retreat into the dense forests of the Godavari Basin and to the forests across the Krishna River in the Nallamala Range, with the support of the Koya and Lambadi tribals respectively. The landless and impoverished peasants, which included most of the tribals and untouchables, formed the backbone of the rebellion. The guerrillas adopted even more clandestine tactics; the size of individual squads was reduced to five from ten. They started leading civilian lives among the rural population without readily available arms, depended on intermediaries for communication and occasionally organised to conduct operations. The government adopted the strategy of the Briggs Plan in response; tribal communities were evacuated en masse and placed in large detention camps but guerrillas with widespread support from the locals continued to be able to operate and remain supplied.
#### De-escalation
The military force, with its high morale and modern equipment, had forced the Nizam and the razakar to surrender within weeks. Despite this, they were unable to suppress the poorly armed peasants for three years. Nehru was concerned with the continued military rule in the state imposed by Patel; civil authorities were introduced in the state after 16 months of military administration. Land reform measures such as the enactment of the Jagirdari Abolition Regulations and setting up of the Agrarian Enquiry Committee were introduced to contain the popularity of the communists. This somewhat reduced the power of the durras in the process. In 1950, the Constitution of India came into force and the dominion became a republic. Fearing the loss of credibility as a democratic government and with the understanding that further repression would only popularise the communists, the Congress administration started making reconciliatory gestures towards the Communist Party from early 1951. There was increasing distrust of the Congress in the state as information from the Telangana countryside was spreading. The leftist congressmen involved in the earlier agitations against the Nizam had started being harshly critical of the government, referring to brutal and unjust repression. There were also ongoing student and labour agitations since 1948–49 in the urban areas.
Meanwhile, Ranadive, who had become the general secretary in 1948 and adopted the policy of continuing the rebellion, was replaced by Chandra Rajeswara Rao in 1950. Opinions critical of the continuation rose through the year. Puran Chand Joshi was aggressively campaigning within the party for withdrawal of the rebellion. In April 1951, Acharya Vinoba Bhave spoke with a number of Communist Party leaders in detention and was able to secure the release of a large number of them. The guerrillas, who maintained a sophisticated courier system for communications and had made enormous sacrifices for the rebellion, were eventually convinced by the party to accept the continuation of armed struggle was a mistake. The rebellion was on the defensive, restricted to its remote safe havens in the forests and had no hopes for regaining lost ground. In the plains, the peasants had also started frequent agricultural strikes and agitations since the dissolution of the communes. The party attempted to negotiate with the Congress to retain some of the gains made by the peasantry by sending a three-man team to Hyderabad and in anticipation of taking the electoral route in the 1951–52 elections, the first ones to be held in independent India and with universal adult franchise. The demands included a halt on all land evictions, withdrawal of the military and release of all detained communists. These were rejected by the Congress, but the communists decided to call off the rebellion regardless.
On 25 October 1951, the Central Committee of the Communist Party officially declared the end of the rebellion. In the state election and federal elections, communist leaders, who were formerly part of the rebellion, were elected from almost all rural constituencies they contested in Telangana; Ravi Narayana Reddy, who had just been released from jail, was the candidate with the highest margin in any constituency in India, greater than that of Jawaharlal Nehru, which became a major source of embarrassment for the Congress. The Communist Party of India was still banned in the state and had contested through a registered, unrecognised organisation called the People's Democratic Front (PDF) with no official symbol or much campaigning; the ban was lifted after the election. In 1956, the long-standing demand of the Andhra communists for Visalandhra was fulfilled through the States Reorganisation Act. Hyderabad State was dissolved, and the region of Telangana merged with Andhra State to form Andhra Pradesh. Under pressure from the party, the Congress government separated Andhra State from Madras State in 1953.
## Communes and guerrilla squads
### Structure and organisation
The communist peasant rebellion set up a system of governance called gram rajyams (village communes) which managed all administrative and judicial functions. They consisted of samitis (committees) elected in village meetings with universal adult franchise. The number of members in each samiti ranged from five to seven and varied between villages. The samitis supervised the redistribution of land and organised systems for dispute resolution, and to address complaints, conflicts and abuses including family and personal issues. The former role of the deshmukhs was replaced by these systems. The communes in the later stage established judicial courts with a jury system. The individual communes lacked coordination with each other and suffered from isolation through the entire duration of the rebellion.
The Andhra Mahasabha and Communist Party of India were undifferentiated by the villagers and collectively were simply known as Sangham (Association), from their reference to the initial village level organisations called sanghams (associations). The porosity in membership of the Sangham was very high, anyone who supported and participated was de facto considered a member of the party which in turn made entire villages an extension of the party itself. Any villager could be elected to positions within it.
The dalams (brigades) were initially created for defensive purposes. They developed into an armed force and were reorganised separately from the organisation of the communes. The garrison village brigades remained within them while guerrilla brigades were divided into five area groups, each with a number of zones and a commanding officer in each zone overseeing several brigades. The individual squads were composed of 10 combatants. The revolutionary headquarters became the coordination centre for the brigades. The brigade leaders in the early stages were usually middle peasantry with small landholding while the majority of the members were landless labourers and rural poor. The disparity existed as a consequence of much of the population being illiterate, and literacy became a requirement for effective long-distance communication. Only 10% of the population in Telangana was literate and the ones that could be found were from the middle peasantry.
### Social revolution
The new system of governance marked a radical shift from a feudal autocracy to a network of decentralised village democracies, causing a social revolution in the duration of the rebellion. The entire feudal hierarchy intertwined with theological and caste-based justifications broke down in favour of a vision of an egalitarian new order. Chakali Ilamma later recalled, "I was so proud of the Sangham. They said that the poor would be equal and their time would come ... How can the dream of a new order that they spoke of ever leave us?" Ilamma was part of one of the first instances of resistance to durra coercion during the agitations of 1944–46.
The village samitis instituted crash course education schemes, literacy programs, prohibited forced marriages, and legalised and introduced programs to destigmatise divorces and widow remarriages. Caste distinctions broke down during the rebellion as the villagers and especially the brigade members were necessitated into working together. One of the most significant impacts of the rebellion was a change in the relations between sexes. The workforce participation of women increased substantially and prevalent domestic gender norms were questioned. In the early stages, women had begun serving in auxiliary roles for the brigades. They eventually began to be recruited in the brigades themselves despite the abundance of male and female volunteers. Discriminatory attitudes persisted to an extent with a harsher reception to mistakes made by women. Beliefs in gods, demons and superstitions also declined in the population during this period.
The early onset of the land seizures marked the beginning of the land redistribution process. The task of managing land distribution was taken over by the samitis; land revenues were abolished. The communes also introduced regulations on interest rates, guarantees on repayments and price control measures. The period was marked by exhilaration among the peasantry. The rebels no longer had to pay exorbitant rents, taxes or repay debts. They had gained land through redistribution instead, and were able to feed themselves two meals a day for the first time in their lives.
The lands of jagirdars and deshmukhs were the primary targets for redistribution, but government owned wastelands and forest lands also came under the redistribution scheme. Lands acquired by durras through coercion and lands worked by evicted tenants were readily granted to the evicted cultivators. The ceiling of land ownership was progressively reduced over time and ceiling surplus lands were redistributed. Initially set at 500 acres, it was reduced to 200 acres and eventually after pressure from the majority of the peasantry was reduced to 100 dry acres and 10 wet acres. Over one million acres of land were redistributed by 1948.
Contrary to expectations, the land redistribution program resulted in an expansion of agricultural production in spite of the ongoing conflict with the state. The grains produced were hidden in scattered storage deposits in the fields. The communes were still dependent on the external market to sell the produce and had to bribe middlemen to market goods from the rebel villages.
### Medical support
The medical facilities of the rebels in Telangana were poor, and preventative measures were emphasised. The city of Bezawada (Vijayawada) served as the primary source of medical support for the rebellion. Doctors sympathetic to the rebellion arranged a special ward in the Vijayawada General Hospital to treat injured combatants. They also supplied the rebellion with first aid kits and anti-venom against snake bites. Two doctors from the city joined the rebels to provide combat medic training to squad members. The paramedics trained in ad hoc facilities by the doctors, were able to contain a cholera outbreak in villages near Bhongir during the rebellion by emphasising on disinfection of drinking water with the use of coal and lime.
## Legacy
No official account of the attempted suppression of the rebellion, was released to the public even 70 years later. Meanwhile, the divisions that emerged within the rebel camp persisted and led to the 1964 split in the Communist Party of India. There was a renewed interest in the rebellion among academics and activists in the 1970s and 80s. The rebellion has since become a source of legends and inspiration among Telangana's population as well as the radical and progressive left across India. Krishan Chander's Hindi/Urdu novella Jab Khet Jage was based on the Telangana Rebellion. "Palletoori Pillagada", a song describing the rebellion was written by Suddala Hanmanthu and retained its popularity years afterwards particularly among the tribal population where it was incorporated into folk adaptations. The Telugu film Maa Bhoomi (1980) was set in the rebellion and became a significant commercial success. The cinematographer Rajendra Prasad made his first feature film Nirantharam (1995), in Telugu, starring Raghubir Yadav and Chinmayee Surve on the subject.
## See also
- Tebhaga movement
- Nankar Rebellion
- Rojava conflict |
# Nick Abruzzese
Nicholas Abruzzese (born June 4, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Growing up in New York, Abruzzese played for numerous junior hockey teams before joining the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 2017 to 2019. During his time with the Steel, Abruzzese thrived under new coach Greg Moore and led the league in scoring with 80 points in 69 games. As such, he was named to the 2018–19 All-USHL First Team and was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
Following the draft, Abruzzese joined the Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team from 2020 to 2022 while majoring in psychology. His freshman season was the best under coach Ted Donato as Abruzzese accumulated 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points through 31 games. As a result of his play, Abruzzese was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Rookie of the Year. He was also selected for ECAC First All-Star Team, First Team All-Ivy, and All-Rookie Team. In March 2020, Abruzzese was also selected for the AHCA Second Team All-American.
## Early life
Abruzzese was born on June 4, 1999, in Slate Hill, New York. His father played hockey in New York growing up and got his son interested in the sport. Beyond ice hockey, Abruzzese also played baseball, lacrosse, and soccer. Abruzzese graduated from Minisink Valley High School in 2017
## Playing career
### Amateur
Growing up in New York, Abruzzese played with 13U AAA New Jersey Colonials, the 16U AAA New Jersey Avalanche, 16U Westchester Express teams, and the 18U AAA New Jersey Avalanche. He also played with the Mid-Fairfield Yankees in 2014 and scored one goal and three assists to help the team qualify for the Toyota-USA Hockey Tier I Youth National Championships. During the 2015–16 season, Abruzzese tallied 35 points in 24 Atlantic Youth Hockey League games and 17 goals and 30 points in 32 Tier 1 Elite Hockey League games. Following this, Abruzzese joined the North American Hockey League's New Jersey Junior Titans for the 2016–17 season. During this time, he attended Minisink Valley and committed to play Division 1 ice hockey for the University of Vermont.
Following his commitment to the University of Vermont, Abruzzese played junior hockey with the Chicago Steel in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 2017 to 2019. In his rookie season with the Steel, Abruzzese posted 13 goals and 36 points through 56 games but remained undrafted in the National Hockey League (NHL). During his second USHL season, Abruzzese changed his collegiate commitment and decided to join the Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey team for the 2019–20 season. He improved offensively during the 2018–19 season under new coach Greg Moore and led the league in scoring with 80 points in 69 games. As a result of his impressive season, Abruzzese was named to the All-USHL First Team. He was also selected 124th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
### Collegiate
Following the NHL Entry Draft, Abruzzese began his collegiate career with the Harvard Crimson in the ECAC Hockey Conference while majoring in psychology. He recorded his first collegiate goal and added two assists on November 1, 2019, in a 7–3 win over Dartmouth. By December, he had accumulated 16 points through 14 games to lead all NCAA first-years in scoring per game with 1.14 points per contest. As such, he was recognized by the ECAC Conference with their ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month Award for December. Later in January, Abruzzese notched his first multiple-goal game and was named a nominee for the Hobey Baker Award as the top NCAA men's ice hockey player. He finished the month of February tied amongst skaters and leading all freshmen with 12 points. Abruzzese also led the league in points per game with 1.34, accumulating 39 points overall. As such, he received his third ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Month honor.
After his freshman season, Abruzzese had accumulated 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points through 31 games which was the best freshman season under coach Ted Donato. As a result of his overall play, Abruzzese was named the ECAC Hockey Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Rookie of the Year and was selected for ECAC First All-Star Team, First Team All-Ivy, and All-Rookie Team. In March 2020, Abruzzese was also selected for the AHCA Second Team All-American. However, following his successful freshman season, Harvard — along with the rest of the ECAC's Ivy League schools and Union — did not play during the 2020-21 NCAA season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, Abruzzese returned home to New York to complete online classes and underwent hip surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery.
Once collegiate hockey resumed for the 2021–22 season, Abruzzese returned to Harvard as their team co-captain alongside Casey Dornbach. In this role, he contributed 33 points through 28 games. Before leaving for the 2022 Winter Olympics, Abruzzese was one of Harvard's top point producers with 21 points through 17 games. He also ranked tenth in the country with an average of 1.24 points per game. After returning from the Olympics, Abruzzese helped guide the team to the NCAA regional semifinal by scoring the game-tying goal in an eventual win over the Clarkson Golden Knights men's ice hockey team in the ECAC Semi-Finals. Upon reaching the NCAA Albany Regional semifinals against Minnesota State, the Crimson fell 4–3 and were subsequently eliminated. Following the elimination, Abruzzese was named to the 2021–22 NCAA ECAC First All-Star Team.
### Professional
Abruzzese ended his collegiate career by signing a two-year, entry-level contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 26, 2022. He made his NHL debut on April 4, 2022, in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers where he skated for nine minutes through 15 shifts. Abruzzese scored his first career NHL goal, a game winner, against the Boston Bruins on April 29, 2022.
On July 21, 2023, Abruzzese signed a two-year, $1,550,000 contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a restricted free agent.
## International play
During his junior year at Harvard, Abruzzese and teammate Sean Farrell were named to Team USA's men's national ice hockey team for the 2022 Winter Olympics. He scored the game-tying goal in an eventual 3–2 loss to Slovakia that eliminated Team USA from the tournament. Abruzzese ended the tournament with one goal and three assists for four points through four games.
## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs
### International
## Awards and honors |
# HMS Mars (1896)
HMS Mars was a Royal Navy pre-dreadnought battleship of the Majestic class, the seventh member of a class of nine ships. The ship was laid down in the Laird Brothers shipyard in June 1894, she was launched in March 1896, and she was commissioned into the fleet in June 1897. She was armed with a main battery of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns and a secondary battery of twelve 6-inch (152 mm) guns. The ship had a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph).
Mars served in the Channel Fleet after her commissioning and was present at the Coronation Fleet Review for Edward VII in 1902. She was reduced temporarily to the Reserve in March 1906 before returning to service with the Channel Fleet in October. The following March she was reassigned to the Home Fleet. As tensions in Europe rose dramatically in late July 1914, Mars was mobilized with her sister ships into the 9th Battle Squadron, based as a guard ship in the Humber. In December, she was transferred to the Dover Patrol, though in February 1915, she was decommissioned in Belfast and disarmed. Mars served as a troop ship during the Dardanelles Campaign before being converted into a depot ship. She remained in service until July 1920; the old ship was sold for scrap in May 1921 and broken up in November.
## Design
Mars was 421 feet (128 m) long overall and had a beam of 75 ft (23 m) and a draft of 27 ft (8.2 m). She displaced up to 16,060 long tons (16,320 t) at full load. Her propulsion system consisted of two 3-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines powered by eight coal-fired, cylindrical fire-tube Scotch marine boilers. By 1907–1908, she was re-boilered with oil-fired models. Her engines provided a top speed of 16 knots (30 km/h; 18 mph) at 10,000 indicated horsepower (7,500 kW). The Majestics were considered good seaboats with an easy roll and good steamers, although they suffered from high fuel consumption. She had a crew of 672 officers and ratings.
The ship was armed with a main battery of four BL 12-inch (305 mm) Mk VIII guns in twin-gun turrets, one forward and one aft. The turrets were placed on pear-shaped barbettes; six of her sisters had the same arrangement, but her sisters Caesar and Illustrious and all future British battleship classes had circular barbettes. Mars also carried a secondary battery of twelve QF 6-inch (152 mm) /40 guns. They were mounted in casemates in two gun decks amidships. She also carried sixteen QF 12-pounder guns and twelve QF 2-pounder guns for defence against torpedo boats. She was also equipped with five 18 in (457 mm) torpedo tubes, four of which were submerged in the ship's hull, with the last in a deck-mounted launcher.
Mars and the other ships of her class had 9 inches (229 mm) of Harvey steel in their belt armour, which allowed equal protection with less cost in weight compared to previous types of armour. This allowed Mars and her sisters to have a deeper and lighter belt than previous battleships without any loss in protection. The barbettes for the main battery were protected with 14 in (356 mm) of armour, and the conning tower had the same thickness of steel on the sides. The ship's armoured deck was 2.5 to 4.5 in (64 to 114 mm) thick.
## Service history
HMS Mars was laid down at the Laird Brothers shipyard in Birkenhead on 2 June 1894. She was launched on 30 March 1896. She commissioned on 8 June 1897 for service with the Channel Fleet, where she served in the Portsmouth division. She was present at the Fleet Review at Spithead for the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria on 26 June 1897. Captain Henry John May was appointed in command on 5 January 1899, and succeeded by Captain Henry Deacon Barry who was appointed in command in September 1900. She took part in the Coronation Fleet Review for King Edward VII on 16 August 1902, and the following two months she was part of a squadron visiting Nauplia and Souda Bay at Crete for combined manoeuvres between the Channel and Mediterranean fleets. On 16 August 1904, Mars began a refit at Portsmouth. During her refit, the Channel Fleet became the Atlantic Fleet in a reorganization on 1 January 1905, and she remained in the renamed unit. Her refit was completed in March 1905. Her Atlantic Fleet service ended on 31 March 1906, when she commissioned into the Reserve at Portsmouth.
Mars recommissioned at Portsmouth for service in the new Channel Fleet on 31 October 1906. This service ended when she paid off at Portsmouth on 4 March 1907. Mars recommissioned on 5 March 1907 for service in the Devonport Division of the new Home Fleet which had been organized in January 1907, and was based at Devonport. During this service, she underwent refits in 1908–1909 and 1911–1912. By July 1914, she was in the 4th Division, Home Fleet. With war appearing to be imminent, the Royal Navy undertook a precautionary mobilization on 27 July 1914. As part of this, Mars and her sister ships Hannibal, Magnificent, and Victorious formed the 9th Battle Squadron, which was based in the Humber under the Admiral of Patrols. Mars was serving as a guard ship at the Humber when the First World War began in August 1914, and continued in that duty after the 9th Battle Squadron was dissolved on 7 August 1914.
Mars was transferred to the Dover Patrol on 9 December 1914, and was based at Dover briefly before moving to Portland on 11 December 1914. She was based at Portland until February 1915. The Majestic-class ships were by then the oldest and least effective battleships in service in the Royal Navy. In February 1915, Mars transferred to Belfast, where she paid off on 15 February 1915. In March and April 1915 she was disarmed there by Harland and Wolff, retaining only four of her 6-inch (152-mm) guns and some lighter guns; her 12-inch (305-mm) guns were taken to arm the new Lord Clive-class monitors Earl of Peterborough and Sir Thomas Picton. After that, she was laid up in Loch Goil in April 1915.
In September 1915, Mars recommissioned to serve as a troopship in the Dardanelles campaign. Mars and her similarly disarmed sister ships Hannibal and Magnificent, also acting as troopships, arrived at Mudros on 5 October 1915. At the Dardanelles, Mars took part in the evacuation of Allied troops from Anzac Cove on 8 and 9 December 1915 and from West Beach at Cape Helles on 8 and 9 January 1916. During the West Beach evacuation, Mars was covered by what had once been her 12-inch (305-mm) guns, now mounted on Sir Thomas Picton. Mars returned to Devonport in February 1916, then paid off at Chatham, where she underwent a refit for conversion to a harbor depot ship. She recommissioned as a harbor depot ship on 1 September 1916, and served in this capacity at Invergordon until July 1920. Mars was placed on the sale list at Invergordon on 7 July 1920. She was sold for scrapping on 9 May 1921 and left Invergordon for scrapping at Briton Ferry in November 1921. |
# Orison (The X-Files)
"Orison" is the seventh episode of the seventh season of the science fiction television series The X-Files. It premiered on the Fox network in the United States on January 9, 2000. It was written by Chip Johannessen, directed by Rob Bowman, and featured guest appearances by Nick Chinlund and Scott Wilson. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, unconnected to the series' wider mythology. In addition, "Orison" serves as a sequel, and brings closure, to the second season episode "Irresistible", with Chinlund reprising his role as Donnie Pfaster. "Orison" earned a Nielsen household rating of 9.4, being watched by 15.63 million people in its initial broadcast. The episode received mixed reviews from critics, with some criticizing the final scene featuring Scully killing Pfaster, calling it a betrayal of characterization.
The show centers on FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) who work on cases linked to the paranormal, called X-Files. Mulder is a believer in the paranormal, while the skeptical Scully has been assigned to debunk his work. In this episode, Reverend Orison releases Donnie Pfaster, Scully's former kidnapper, from jail in the hopes of passing judgment on him. What he discovers instead is that he has released pure evil, and it's headed for Scully.
"Orison" was written by Johannessen, who had formerly been an executive producer on the television series Millennium. Johannessen's first draft featured an escaped prisoner who could stop time. Executive producers Chris Carter, Frank Spotnitz, and John Shiban enjoyed the premise and decided to bring back Donnie Pfaster.
## Plot
At a prison in Marion, Illinois, an inmate loses his fingers in a workshop accident. Time seems to slow down as another inmate, Donnie Pfaster (Nick Chinlund)—a "death fetishist" and serial killer who kidnapped Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) five years earlier—walks out of the room and leaves the prison. Hearing about the escape, Scully and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) investigate. They learn that three men escaped from three prisons, all of whom had contact with a prison chaplain named Reverend Orison (Scott Wilson). Eventually, the US Marshals corner Pfaster and Orison at a diner, but Orison uses his power of persuasion to distract the Marshals, allowing the two to escape. Pfaster takes Orison's car and runs him over. Meanwhile, Scully keeps hearing the Dennis Edwards song "Don't Look Any Further" everywhere she goes, soon believing it is a sign. The agents find and question Orison, who is himself an ex-convict and claims that he is doing the work of God.
After a medical exam, Mulder finds out that Orison has three times the bloodflow capacity of the brain due to a hole he has drilled into his own head, allowing him to perform mental tricks by hypnotizing people. Orison hypnotizes the security guard in his room and easily escapes. Meanwhile, at Orison's apartment, a prostitute escapes when Pfaster attacks her for wearing a wig. Orison then finds Pfaster and takes him at gunpoint. In the woods, Orison digs a grave for Pfaster, who morphs into a demonic beast and kills him, burying him in his own shallow grave. Pfaster then calls the police, telling them where Orison is buried, and goes to Scully's house. He attacks Scully, who tells him that the only reason he was not given the death penalty was because she asked the judge for life. He overpowers her and locks her in her own closet. Mulder thinks something may be wrong when he hears the same song on his radio and calls Scully. After receiving no answer, he goes over to her house and stumbles upon Pfaster, promptly arresting him. Meanwhile, Scully escapes from the closet and shoots Pfaster, despite him being unarmed, killing him. Scully later confides in Mulder, telling him she's scared because she's not sure who's in control of her, God or something else.
## Production
### Writing
"Orison" was written by Chip Johannessen, who had formerly been an executive producer on the Chris Carter-created television series Millennium. In Johannessen's first draft of the episode, the main antagonist was a prisoner who could stop time. Executive producers Carter, Frank Spotnitz, and John Shiban found the premise promising, with Carter enjoying the story because it bore stylistic similarities to the first season episode "Beyond the Sea".
After reading the first draft, Spotnitz and Carter decided to reintroduce Donnie Pfaster, a character from the second season episode "Irresistible". Carter noted that, "we had talked about possibly revisiting some old monster this season, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity." In his first appearance, Donnie Pfaster was portrayed as a "death fetishist", with his brief appearances in the guise of a demon intended to reflect the psychological impact of being held captive. Although the character's ambiguous presentation remains consistent, in "Orison" it was decided to approach Pfaster as a true demon. Shiban explained "we decided late in the process to turn him into this totally demonic character, essentially evil as an entity."
Spotnitz was very excited about bringing closure to the Pfaster-Scully story, saying, "For me, what really justified bringing Donnie back was the final act of the script when Donnie comes for Scully and she ends up shooting him full of holes." The final scene, however, proved difficult to script. Director Rob Bowman noted, that the act "was a tough scene. Frank and I had spoken on the phone about the dialogue in the wrap-up scene with Mulder and Scully. Even though she shot him in the heightened state, you couldn't deny the fact that she killed Donnie Psaster [sic] in cold blood. How do we deal with that?"
### Casting and filming
Nick Chinlund returned to the series to reprise his role as Pfaster. Rick Millikan, the show's casting director, eventually settled on Scott Wilson for the role of Orison believing that he could pull off the "dual nature" of the character better than anyone else. The episode featured several scenes making use of complex effects, most notably the shot at the beginning, where time grinds to a halt. Bowman used several different takes, all filmed at different speeds and then combined in post-production, to achieve the right effect. The final fight scene between Scully and Pfaster, which takes up only a small portion of the episode, took over a day to film. Many of the episodes scenes were filmed in Downey, California. Make-up for the episode was done by John Vulich, who sought to "pay homage" to the make-up in the original episode. Vulich perused several fan sites and downloaded photos from "Irresistible" to aid him in this process.
### Music
The song in the episode that Scully keeps hearing is a cover version of the song "Don't Look Any Further", originally by former Temptations lead singer Dennis Edwards. The production staff went through several cover versions in order to find the right one for the episode. Unfortunately, according to Paul Rabwin, none of the songs "really worked." Rabwin wanted Lyle Lovett to record a cover for the episode, but he was unavailable, so the staff asked singer-songwriter John Hiatt, whose version Rabwin later called "chilling, eerie, and soulful." Mark Snow, the show's composer, used various musical effects for emphasis, explaining: "There's a slo-mo scene where Mulder comes in the room with Scully and guns are drawn. They're looking around, and I do these big boom single hits with a lot of reverb. There's nothing else but that. Sometimes, that is really effective."
## Broadcast and reception
"Orison" first aired in the United States on January 9, 2000. This episode earned a Nielsen rating of 9.4, with a 14 share, meaning that roughly 9.4 percent of all television-equipped households, and 14 percent of households watching television, were tuned in to the episode. It was viewed by 15.63 million viewers. The episode aired in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Sky1 on April 30, 2000. and received 0.78 million viewers, making it the fourth most watched television episode of any program that week. Fox promoted the episode with the tagline "Five years ago, a demonic madman tried to murder Scully. Tonight he strikes again."
The episode received mixed reviews from critics. Kenneth Silber from Space.com wrote positively of the episode, saying, "'Orison' rises above its origins in the depressing, hackneyed genre of serial-killer dramas. The episode combines a fast pace with a richly gloomy mood, and even serves to blur the all-too-sharp distinction between standalone X-Files stories and the series' 'mythology arc.'" Rich Rosell from Digitally Obsessed awarded the episode 4.5 out of 5 stars and called the episode "creepy, dark and wonderful". Rosell argued that the episode "adds fuel to the fiery argument that it is [Scully], and not Mulder, that the real heart of the series was built on." Tom Kessenich, in his book Examinations, gave the episode a largely positive review, writing "['Orison'] was a journey filled with horror, mystery, and self-analysis. It was also one of the most exhilarating journeys the seventh season has produced thus far." Furthermore, Kessenich defended Scully's actions at the end of the episode writing that "what we saw at the end of 'Orison' was a human being pushed beyond the breaking point by a man [...] it doesn't make what she did right, but it certainly wasn't a difficult thing to understand." Zack Handlen of The A.V. Club awarded the episode a "B" and felt that the episode, despite its faults, had elements that were particularly interesting. He noted that the titular chaplain was a "potentially fascinating figure" who was never explored to his full extent, and that the ending was effective in that it "helps transform the episode's climax into something more than a simple regurgitation". Finally, he positively compared the mood and thematic elements of the episode to Carter's other series Millennium.
Not all reviews were positive. Robert Shearman and Lars Pearson, in their book Wanting to Believe: A Critical Guide to The X-Files, Millennium & The Lone Gunmen, were extremely critical of the episode and rated it one star out of five. Shearman and Pearson called the episode a "mess", with the effect that "it cheapens 'Irresistible' badly". The two, however, point out the sequence wherein Scully murders Pfaster as the worst scene in the episode, arguing that the scene was "at worst a betrayal of characterization that has badly damaged the moral fibre of the series." Paula Vitaris from Cinefantastique gave the episode a largely negative review and awarded it one star out of four. Vitaris heavily criticized the episode as "a retread of 'Irresistible'". Furthermore, she derided the ending, noting that "nothing in the episode [indicated] that Scully [was] on the verge of losing her self-control".
## See also
- List of unmade episodes of The X-Files |
# Plumb (Field Music album)
Plumb is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Field Music. It was released by Memphis Industries on 13 February 2012. With 15 tracks over 35 minutes, the album consisted of short tracks that weave and intertwine together like an extended suite. This marked a deliberate departure from Field Music's previous double album Measure (2010), marking a return to the more fragmentary nature of the band's first two albums, Field Music (2005) and Tones of Town (2007). Plumb was nominated for the 2012 Mercury Prize, much to the band's surprise.
Plumb has been described as a "melting pot of genres, influences, and styles", incorporating elements from the funk style of Peter Brewis' side project The Week That Was, and the new wave and synth rock of David Brewis' School of Language. The songs on Plumb featured a wide variety of instrument combinations, from horns and strings to synthesizers and keyboards, as well as a great deal of falsetto vocals and sophisticated harmonies. The album featured interchanging time signatures, rapidly changing tempos, and sudden changes in tone and mood.
The lyrics of Plumb touched on several topics, including financial difficulties from the Great Recession and frustration with the state of politics at the time. Other themes included loneliness and nostalgia, everyday life for the British working class, and dissatisfaction with consumerism as well as other aspects of the modern world. The album title Plumb was chosen due to the various connotations based upon the word's definition of straight or level. The album cover and artwork involved a great deal of the color purple because of the rhyme between the words "plumb" and "plum".
This marked the first Field Music album without the band's former keyboardist Andrew Moore. Plumb was the first of five consecutive albums Field Music recorded in a new studio in Sunderland following the closure of a space the band shared for 10 years with the Futureheads. The album received positive reviews, and appeared on several year-end lists of the best albums of 2012. Several reviewers compared Plumb to the work of such artists as XTC, Pink Floyd, Yes, the Beach Boys, Todd Rundgren, Electric Light Orchestra, and the Beatles.
## Background
Plumb was the fourth studio album by Field Music, the English rock band led by brothers David and Peter Brewis. Released through the band's label Memphis Industries, it marked Field Music's second album since returning from a hiatus in 2010. Andrew Moore, former Field Music keyboardist, did not perform on Plumb. David Brewis said the album title Plumb was the most entertaining option from a list of possible titles they prepared. He said the title had "a bunch of connotations" based upon the word plumb's definition of straight or level. The album cover and artwork involved a great deal of the color purple because of the rhyme between the words plumb and plum.
The cover of the album is a drawing of a filling station, which David said the band was attracted to because of the political, economic, and environmental implications of such stations. Peter Brewis made the collage, while both brothers provided input about its use in the album layout. Peter sought for the cover to be part collage and part naturalistic, which the band felt reflected the way they record music. The image was also partially inspired by a print in Peter's bathroom of an Edward Ruscha painting called Standard, which showed a gas station rendered to highlight different perspectives, geometry, and colours. The band tried to commission artist Richard Galpin, who has also created works involving filling stations, to create the Plumb cover, but he was unavailable because he was working on artwork for another album.
## Musical style and composition
### Album structure
While Field Music's previous release Measure was a 75-minute double album, the band sought to make a significantly shorter and tighter album with Plumb, which has a running time of just over 35 minutes. Peter Brewis said: "We wanted to do something that was in opposition to the previous record, which was long, too long some people might say, and that really worked as an album that could be listened to all the way through and flowed as a whole." David Brewis noted that when preparing an album, "we usually do the opposite of what we did before", and that since Measure embraced more traditional rock conventions in the style of bands like Free and Led Zeppelin, Field Music wanted to move in a different direction with Plumb. Peter Brewis said: "We weren't reinventing the wheel with every song but we were trying to, I think in my mind, make it short and coherent and concise but every track to be different as well."
Prior to the recording of Plumb, David and Peter had written several pieces of music short pieces of music that did not conform to the traditional structure of three-minute pop song, including fragmentary tracks and unused ideas from Measure and other recording sessions. Most songs on the album are under three minutes, with several that two minutes or less. The longest is "A New Town" at about four minutes, while the shortest is "How Many More Times?" at 40 seconds. The band felt stretching them to a traditional song length would have felt contrived, so instead they sought to structure the album in such a way to support the shorter pieces. Peter Brewis said: "The idea was to be dictated by the music, not by the convention."
As a result, Plumb consists largely of short tracks that weave and intertwine together, like an extended suite. The songs flow into each other, and most lack the traditional verse-chorus-verse structure. This marked a departure from the more conventionally-structured Measure, and was more similar to the fragmentary nature of their first two albums, Field Music (2005) and Tones of Town (2007). David Brewis said the individual tracks are modular and shift rapidly between sections in a more linear way than normally found on a pop album. David also said he believed listeners would at times believe they had heard multiple songs while they had in fact only listened to one, and vice versa.
For example, Aaron Lavery of Drowned in Sound said the opening track, "Start the Day Right", sounds as if it consists of three different songs, even though the track is only slightly more than two minutes long. Likewise, Gareth James of Clash wrote that "Choosing Sides" is "itself several songs in one". In particular, the first three songs on the album – "Start The Day Right", "It's Okay To Change", and "Sorry Again, Mate" – blend into each other with direct transitions and time signature changes; Helen Clarke of musicOMH said they "sound like one long, Queen-inspired epic". However, there are also full-length, individual songs that the album is built around, such as "A New Town", "(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing", and "From Hide and Seek to Heartache".
Brent Ables of cokemachineglow described this structure as a "juxtaposition of discrete musical ideas that obey their own logic", with tracks that "flow together as fluently as the individual parts of each". Ian King of PopMatters called it a "linear collage-pop structure", while Pitchfork writer Aaron Leitko called it "a record of sweetly melodic miniatures" that take form only long enough to shift into an entirely new suite. David Brewis said the approach was "quite anachronistic" in a way because it adhered strongly to the concept of an album, rather than the more modern concept of individual digital tracks. Brewis said he prefers becoming immersed in a full album, adding: "I don't think we have particularly embraced the iPod world or the iPod Shuffle". He added that Field Music tends to structure its albums in two distinct halves, like two sides of a vinyl record, and he noted the largest gap between songs on Plumb is in the middle of the album because that would be the spot where a record would be switched to the other side.
### Mix of genres
Plumb has been described as a work of multiple genres, including indie rock, chamber pop, indie pop, neo-prog, progressive rock, baroque pop, art rock, art pop, alternative rock, power pop, progressive pop, and britpop. A review in Sputnikmusic.com described the album as "a melting pot of genres, influences, and styles". Some reviewers said Plumb pays homage to classic rock.
Plumb incorporated elements from each of the Brewis brothers' side projects, including the funk style of Peter Brewis' The Week That Was and the new wave and synth rock of David Brewis' School of Language. Kyle Lemmon of Prefix Magazine said this was particularly prevalent in the track "(I Keep Thinking About) a New Thing". Helen Clarke of musicOMH wrote that the combination of the two styles resulted in "a collection of overblown, juddering XTC staccato rhythms". Some of the album's more funky moments include the guitar mantra in "A New Town", and the song "Is This the Picture?", which Clash writer Gareth James described as "highly strung plastic-funk". Several of the songs combine prog rock and pop sensibilities, while songs like "A New Town", "Choosing Sides", "Who'll Pay the Bills?", and "Is This The Picture?" blend elements of prog rock and new wave. One of the more prog-heavy songs is "A Prelude to Pilgrim Street", a piano and dulcimer miniature, which began with the sound of church bells, before segueing into continuing with piano chords and rapid drumming in a style reviewers have compared to Pink Floyd and The Who.
The album explored a progressive rock sound that had been featured more moderately in past Field Music works. It can be heard particularly in the reverberating bassline in "Who'll Pay the Bills?" and the heavy synthesizer undertone in "Choosing Sides". Tim Sendra of AllMusic said the progressive rock sound featured in Plumb was not the excessively challenging kind, but rather the accessible type that was prevalent on AOR stations in the 1970s. Likewise, Clarke described the one-minute interlude "It's Okay to Change" as "bonkers prog-rock with lashings of post-punk synths". Additionally, chamber pop elements can found in several songs with elaborate vocal choruses, and instrumental orchestral flourishes. For example, Lemmon called "So Long Then" a "lovely piano-led chamber piece", and Clarke described "Sorry Again, Mate" as having a "wonky, luscious chamber pop sound", while NME writer Hamish MacBain said it featured "a harmony-laden chorus that's almost Coldplay-like". "Ce Soir" also featured classical-leaning instrumentation, with strings and piano, which Lemmon sounded like the soundtrack a 1920s silent film.
The Brewis brothers have said musicals were an influence on the album, and reviewers have compared portions of Plumb to film scores; Memphis Industries said the album bears similarities to "20th century film music from Bernstein to Willy Wonka". The album's introduction in opening track "Start the Day Right", in particular, bears similarities to the soundtracks of Walt Disney films, with wind chimes, strings, and a four-note melody on bells, before segueing into boisterous drums and an electric guitar riff.
### Instrumentation and vocals
In addition to Field Music's usual intricate guitar work and powerful drumming, the songs on Plumb included a wide variety of instrument combinations, including horns, clarinets, and string instruments like violins and cellos. The album also includes more synthesizers and keyboards than past Field Music albums, in part because the band was able to set up a greater number of keyboards in their new studio. "From Hide And Seek To Heartache" in particular makes prominent use of string instruments, as well as driving piano and rhythmic percussion parts.
Plumb includes a great deal of falsetto vocals, and lush, sophisticated harmonies, with David Brewis singing the higher parts. Songs like "A New Town" and "Is This The Picture?" in particular feature falsetto vocals, and Mark Jenkins of Blurt wrote that the falsetto passages feel as if Field Music "will settle for nothing less than the highest possible notes". Several reviewers compared the harmonies on Plumb to those of The Beach Boys, particularly on the track "How Many More Times?", the first a cappella track Field Music had ever recorded.
Plumb featured several interchanging time signatures, rapidly changing tempos, and sudden changes in tone and mood. This was particularly illustrated in the song "Choosing Sides", which began with slow, low-pitched keyboard sounds, which NOW music editor Carla Gillis described as "psychedelic", and M.T. Richards of East Bay Express called "space rock synths". However, the drums quickly built to a fast-paced tempo, and the song settled into a time signature, with funk elements, bass-driven grooves, and non-lexical vocables. This quickly changed as well, with the song switching back to a time signature, and concluding in an electro-funk style.
While many songs on Plumb had multiple sections or shifting musical styles, some were simpler variations over a repeating motif, like in "A New Town", which was built over a minimalist, groovy bassline, and a repetitious guitar riff. David Brewis described "(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing" as the "most normal" track on the album, comparing it to Michael Jackson's "Black or White" in the style of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Aaron Lavery of Drowned in Sound said the track contained all the ingredients of the Plumb album itself, including "an instant, insistent riff, ideas piled on top of one another, and questioning, self-doubting lyrics. On close examination, it is complex, meticulously arranged, undeniably prog, yet fun and exciting, slipping past you in a flash."
## Lyrics and themes
Plumb was the first Field Music album to substantially include politically-themed songs, something that continued to be prevalent in most of the band's subsequent works. Kieron Tyler of Mojo described the album as a "35-minute state of the nation address". David Brewis had been studying economic theory and dabbling in political activism in the years prior to Plumb, particularly in response to the Great Recession. He described himself as angry and frustrated with the state of politics at the time, and called the song "(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing" himself "venting my fury". The song is also about the limitations of pop music and mass communication when it comes to succinctly addressing and simplifying complicated issues. Some of the songs were influenced by past financial difficulties in the United Kingdom, particularly in the Brewis brothers' native North East, depicting what The Quietus writer Barnaby Smith called "scenes of the grimness and humiliation that many endured as austerity measures which took hold in Britain at that time". James Rainis of The Cornell Daily Sun wrote that Plumb discussed "politics, suburban disaffection, and life in an English industrial town", while Aaron Lavery of Drowned in Sound said the album reflected a passionate attitude about politics, culture, and community, as well as "uncertainty over what can be done to make a difference in those areas".
Several songs on Plumb included lyrics about loneliness and nostalgia; Lavery described the album as an "existential crisis in a post-industrial north-east town"; likewise, Forrest Cardamenis of No Ripcord said it included "existential, boredom-induced lyrics" with a heavy use of irony. Lemmon wrote that the album addresses themes of nostalgia, damaged relationships, and "an all-encompassing befuddlement" through a series of grandiose gestures and rapid movements. He wrote: "The blurring arrangements act as both an astringent for the protagonist's bleeding heart and a distraction from the pain." "So Long Then" included themes of loneliness and separation, as does "Ce Soir", which Andy Gill of The Independent described as a "tiny evocation of loneliness". The brief lyrics of "So Long Then" began as an everyday conversation between two people, before ending with "Wish I'd seen you before you'd gone", which Will Hodgkinson of The Times called "a subtle evocation of sadness, depicting how life unfolds for most of us". "Sorry Again, Mate" was about sadness and solitude, particularly reflected by the closing line: "Can I afford another day on my own / Sat in the kitchen with the radio on?" "From Hide and Seek to Heartache" reminisced about the simpler pleasures of childhood, while "Choosing Sides" was about what Hodgkinson described as "watching your life's possibilities grow increasingly limited".
The album expressed dissatisfaction with many aspects of the modern world, which MacBain said was illustrated by the fact that three of the song titles are questions: "Who'll Pay The Bills?", "Is This The Picture?" and "How Many More Times?" In particular, several songs on Plumb addressed the negative effects of consumerism, as well as Field Music's own determination to shun economic pressure and the idea that the band's success should be based upon how much money their music makes. David Brewis said the song "Choosing Sides" in particular "is about aspiration and how it has been hijacked across our generation to mean that to have more money is to have status [...] It's become something that's about money and status, and that infuriates me." Eric Harvey of The A.V. Club also suggested the song "(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing" addressed "how consumerism structures our thought patterns".
Plumb also included lyrics about everyday life for the British working class, highlighting predictable daily rituals of that are easy to overlook and the effect they have on the ability for people to relate to each another. "Who'll Pay the Bills?" was about simple domestic issues that everyone faces, while "A New Town" focused on the anxiety of adapting basic routines to foreign or unfamiliar places; Harvey said it emphasized "the subtle wonder of seeing for the first time what's always been there". "Sorry Again, Mate" was also about the everyday commute and work week routine, with lyrics from the perspective of someone apologizing for being late after driving through traffic to catch a train. The lyrics included brief statements that reflect a banality associated with everyday routines, such as the opening lines "Trying to beat the traffic / Meet the train"; Beats Per Minute writer Daniel Griffiths said of the song gives an impression that Plumb's concise nature "there isn't much point fretting over a missed train or listening to the radio when you can do something better." "A Prelude to Pilgrim Street" illustrated a resentment of city living, demonstrated by the lyric describing "greasy streets, starved of sun", words that Clarke said reflect "a grinding industrial, urban tone", and which Hodgkinson said "capture a very English mood: downbeat and gloomy but not without beauty".
Griffiths wrote that Plumb addressed simple, real-life matters in often very personal ways, making it an honest and engaging album: "It comes across as a record they've poured their heart and soul into, and have thus given their listeners an insight into their feelings." Lavery called it an "album made by youngish men trying to work out what they're doing in their particular worlds". Several reviewers said the lyrics are occasionally cathartic, with Jenkins citing a line from "Choosing Sides" that particularly expressed the "fed-up sentiments" of the band: "I want a different idea of what better can be which doesn't involve treating somebody else like shit".
## Recording and production
Prior to the recording of Plumb, Field Music had spent 10 years sharing studio space with The Futureheads. That studio, called 8 Music, became unavailable after the Recession forced the community building in which it was located to close. So Field Music built their own new studio, which was located on a light industrial estate in Sunderland overlooking the River Wear, close to the previous studio. David called it "a horrible little 1970s industrial unit saved from demolition by the economic downturn". The brothers got a good deal on the rent, moved in at the beginning of 2011, and recorded Plumb over the course of six months in that year. The brothers also mixed and mastered the album themselves there. Plumb marked the first of five consecutive albums Field Music recorded in the studio over seven years.
The period of time between the release of Measure and Plumb was longer than the usual gap between Field Music albums, though once the recording process began, it took about the same amount of time as any of the band's other works. Field Music usually begins work on the next album after finishing the last, but in this case they spent about a year touring after releasing Measure, so they did not get to write for Plumb until after the studio move. David said: "We were desperate to be in the studio after a lot of touring." David also injured a nerve in his right arm while painting the studio, which largely incapacitated him for the first three months of the year. Peter did "the majority" of drumming on the album as a result of David's injury.
Peter said the process of creating Plumb felt different than with Measure because they had to adapt to "the sound of the new room". The brought the curtains from the old studio into the new space because David said: "We were worried our music wouldn't sound the same without the old touches". As with their other albums, David and Peter Brewis worked closely together in the studio. Peter believed the band was "a little bit more relaxed and experimented with things a little bit more" because it was their own studio, adding: "We would go in at 10 a.m. every day and just see where the day would take us without feeling too much pressure." Peter and David would each prepare rough sketches of the songs on their own, then bring them to the studio to refine them and prepare the arrangements. Peter said of the process: "We do everything ourselves as well, so it probably takes us a little bit longer. We come in, set the microphones up, might play around for an hour or so, have a cup of tea, and then say OK we need to start something properly now. It takes a while to get everything sorted out."
Carla Gillis of NOW described Plumb as having "clean, natural-sounding production", while Harriet Gibsone of The Sunday Times said the album was "seeped in glowing George Martin-inspired production". Langhoff wrote: "The sound is pristine, an audiophile's dream, and the songs are so well-recorded you could diagram the entrance of every instrument". During the recording sessions for Plumb, Field Music recorded a song called "How We Gonna Get There Now?", which Collin Robinson of Stereogum described as "a groovy jam with rhythmic guitars ramping up and down in energy as the duo glides through sections with smooth harmonies". The band ultimately excluded it from Plumb because they felt it sounded too much like a Todd Rundgren song and was not a right fit for the album. They released the track online in September 2016.
## Release
The forthcoming release of Plumb was first announced in November 2011, with the release date set for 13 February 2012. The album's first single was "(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing", an MP3 of which was released on Field Music's website as a teaser for the album. The song was playlisted on BBC Radio 6 Music, and was considered a favorite of that station. The album's second single, "A New Town", was also made available for download on the band's website in February 2012, and was included on a list of "Essential Tracks" by The Times on 4 February 2012.
Field Music embarked on a tour of the U.K. in support of Plumb. It included eight stops, starting on 6 February at the Caley Picture House in Edinburgh, with subsequent stops in Newcastle, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Nottingham, Bristol, and a final stop at King's College London on 24 February. Ian Black, the bass guitar player who previously performed in tours supporting Field Music's Measure (2010), was unavailable for the Plumb tour, and was replaced by bassist Andrew Lowther. Kevin Dosdale also supported the live performances on synthesizer and guitar. Former Field Music keyboardist Andrew Moore joined the band for their performance at The Cluny in Newcastle on 10 February, playing some of the band's earlier songs. Field Music also performed at the Split Festival in Sunderland on 23 September, and toured again in support of the album from 3 October to 20 October, starting with a performance at The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen.
The band Stealing Sheep served as an opening act during portions of Field Music's tour. David Brewis had heard one of the band's tracks on Marc Riley's show on BBC Radio 6 Music and was impressed by the music and vocals, so he sought out more of their music. He felt they complimented Field Music well, and they were invited to participate in the tour. During tour appearances, Peter said Field Music did not seek to replicate the exact production or intricate compositions of their songs exactly as they sounded on the album because they considered live performances and records to be very different: "A live show should be an interpretation, not a replication. I like there to be a different feel live, a different energy, a different drive." Peter said the a capella "How Many More Times" and the harmonies on it were a particular challenge to perform live: "It's just got to be in tune, and in time. It should be fine. But that's easier said than done."
## Reception
### Critical reception
Plumb received positive reviews, with an aggregated Metacritic rating of 77/100, which the website characterised as "generally favorable reviews". It made several year-end lists of the best albums of 2012, including \#6 on The Oklahoman, and \#15 on Herald & Review, and year-end round-ups of the best albums of 2012 by The Kansas City Star, O Globo, and Creative Loafing.
Tim Sendra of AllMusic called it Field Music's most precise, progressive, and immediately satisfying album so far, and describing it as the band "perfecting their sound (and) breaking it down to key elements". Beats Per Minute writer Daniel Griffiths said, "Quite simply, Plumb is how pop music should sound", calling it a personal and introspective album featuring the band's distinctive and intelligent brand of pop music "that ranges from angular to grandiose, sweeping to ditty, with a great amount of delicate added to the measure". Herald & Review entertainment editor Tim Cain called Plumb Field Music's best album, as did Harriet Gibsone of The Sunday Times, who said it demonstrated the band has "mastered the conventions of the unconventional". Gareth James of Clash magazine called it an "exhilarating and ambitious collection", writing: "Plumb cements Field Music's reputation for truly magnificently crafted classic pop-rock, with an unashamed love of the grandiose soundscapes of the Seventies and a taste for adorning songs with neatly selected sounds from real life."
Kevin Harley of The Independent wrote: "Hustled busily forward by a wealth of detail and observation ... Plumb is in a league of its own." Helen Clarke of musicOMH wrote that despite the short running length, Plumb "packs in more sounds and ambitions than (Field Music's) entire back catalogue put together". Eric Harvey of The A.V. Club said Plumb is "polite and smart, arranging its unceasing collection of hooks like books on a shelf". Sunday Star-Times writer James Belfield called it "a surprisingly listenable mish-mash of poppy hooks, staccato time-signature shifts and elegantly scruffy everyday lyrics", and said while the unusual structure can be off-putting at times, the "overall effect is majestic". Likewise, Matt Wescott of The Northern Echo called Plumb a richly-layered album best heard in one sitting.
Michelle Read of mX called the album "beautiful, challenging and thought provoking", writing: "just when the songs get too self-indulgent and threaten to run away, the brothers turn around and beckon with something intriguing". A review in Mojo magazine called Plumb a "delicious tasting menu of rock history", praising the suite-like structure and calling it "easier to digest, more delicately seasoned, and with better portion control than 2010's blow-out Measure". Aaron Lavery of Drowned in Sound called it Field Music's most accessible album thus far and "some of the most thoughtful, intelligent pop in the country". Michael Dix of The Quietus called it "perhaps the finest distillation to date of the various elements that comprise the group's distinctive sound". A review in Sputnikmusic.com called Plumb a work of "ongoing innovation with unparalleled musicianship" and "a melting pot of genres, influences, and styles that have found a way to live amongst each other in harmony". Kyle Lemmon of Prefix Magazine called Plumb one of the best albums of 2012 so far and praised the band's "openness to continually tinker with pop music's DNA." The New Zealand Herald writer Lydia Jenkin praised the album's interchanging time signatures and interchanging hooks, called Plumb "an album for album lovers" and "a magical soundtrack, a set of miniatures that are full of life and energy, even in their brevity doling out emotional pinpricks".
Michael Dix of The Quietus said it was "likely to be yet another overlooked masterpiece from the brothers Brewis", calling it "aesthetically pleasing and structurally sound creations (that) hide in plain sight, taken for granted". The Phoenix reviewer Jonathan Donaldson said Field Music combines experimental music with the ability to deliver a strong pop hit, and "it's hard to see much room for improvement" for Field Music after Plumb. Iain Moffat of The Fly wrote: "Plumb exposes every inch of the Brewises' brilliance". Hamish MacBain of NME said Plumb could be the band's "moment for wider acceptance", praising the album as music that "demands repeated visits and devoted attention to fully unlock" and "doesn't sit still for a second". BBC writer Chris Beanland said the album has a "suburban, provincial sweetness (that) is eminently loveable", praising the off-kilter song structures, asymmetric pop sound, and "endearingly weird Wearside aesthetic". Will Hodgkinson of The Times said the album "complex, ambitious music (that) takes random experiences and refines them into little musical gems".
Tom Cardy of The Dominion Post said the album was unlikely to attract people who dislike art rock, but said it was just as satisfying and challenging as Measure and "while not mind-blowing, succeeds on its own terms". Toronto Sun writer Darryl Sterdan called Plumb an outstanding album of "quirk, strangeness and charm" that rewards repeated listening. Uncut claimed that the band were "able to mine considerable emotional capital from their seemingly parochial concerns" and that the group were "fast becoming the cherished eccentrics of British guitar music". Michael Edwards of Exclaim\! said Plumb is Field Music's first album that works well as a whole, calling it a "rich, complex album". Noel Mengel of The Courier-Mail said the time changes and flourishes of Plumb never feel like a novelty, and that the album's subtle lyrics and sharp melodic sense keep it in check. DIY writer Luke Morgan Britton called Plumb the band's most cohesive album so far, in part thanks to the album's short running time. George Lang of The Oklahoman said despite the short track lengths on Plumb, the album was "economical and thoughtfully organized, not loud and fast, (and) engineered to exact specifications, perfect in its construction". Mark Jenkins of Blurt called it a "short yet bountiful album". In a review for the Kidderminster Shuttle, Kevin Bryan wrote that Plumb "serves up a generous helping of the fragmented and deliciously incoherent weirdness which has become the brothers' trademark".
Lauren Murphy of The Irish Times said Plumb called it an album of "vibrant, progressive songs that will seduce you with their sophisticated orchestral beauty as easily as they'll spur you on to shake a leg". Steve Moffatt of the North Side Courier called the album "kaleidoscopic" and "bursting with ideas and there's not a note or word out of place". NOW music editor Carla Gillis called Plumb "as ambitious, clear-headed and progressive as ever, with 15 seamless songs that consistently keep interest". Gordon Barr of the Evening Chronicle called it "a sterling effort – no two songs sound the same, and it's hugely listenable". A review in The Daily Telegraph wrote of Field Music, "this unsung quartet continue to make stately progress where others have sunk". NME writer Larry Bartleet said the album displayed an "industry-dismissing eccentricity". Jeff Glorfeld of The Age called Plumb a more challenging album than the band's previous album Measure, but wrote: "it still sounds wonderful, but when the brothers turn up the basic guitars-bass-drums format, it sounds like they're having more fun". Tom Lamont of The Observer called it "a disorienting but compelling listen". Brent Ables of cokemachineglow wrote that the structure of the songs can make it a challenging listen at first, but that Plumb was Field Music at their best.
The Northern Echo writer Matt Westcott said "their style won't appeal to everyone, but I found them a refreshing alternative to more mainstream bands". Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald called the album "entertaining, even as it disorients", and said "Once the initial head-spinning has passed, the oddities and quirks become part of the patchwork of clever pop songs." Dave Simpson of The Guardian said Plumb can sound "baffling" on first listen because of the shifts in time signature and tone, but that "perseverance brings rich rewards, as the complexities start to make a weird sense and you end up swept along in their ever-changing moods". East Bay Express writer M.T. Richards said Plumb "often feels like several albums forcibly wedged into one" which leads to an uneven listening experience. Nevertheless, he said "even its more superfluous failures are endearing". Pitchfork writer Aaron Leitko reviewed Plumb positively, but expressed some disappointment at the album's deconstructionist approach compared to the more conventional structure of Measure, saying: "Plumb is a little too fussy", with strong hooks being abandoned too quickly and before being rushing into the next musical idea. Leitko said the songs don't stand as well on their own when removed from the context of an album. UCSD Guardian writer Taylor Hogshead said Plumb "may be the duo's most inspired work to date", though he said there were "a handful of throwaways that seem half-heartedly attached merely for their technical elegance", like "Ce Soir" and "So Long Then". Mike Evans of Electric City gave the album a mixed review, calling Field Music a "polarizing band" whose intricacies you either love or find too intrusive.
Not all reviews of Plumb were positive. Daniel Orr of The Westmorland Gazette wrote: "It wasn't for me, but it might be for you." PopMatters writer Ian King described the album as ornate and "noble, if occasionally unbalanced" that is "both rapturous and jumpy". Josh Langhoff, also of PopMatters, said the album feels "cold and severe, emotionally forbidding", and cycled too quickly through its musical ideas. The Daily Telegraph reviewer Thomas H. Green called it "very British, twitchy, literate, intellectual guitar pop that would run screaming at the first whiff of any macho posturing". In her review, Kitty Empire of The Observer said Field Music "remain more impressive than lovable". Rick Pearson of Evening Standard said the brief album has so many ideas that at its worst moments, it "sounded like the musical equivalent of channel hopping". Arne Sjostedt of The Canberra Times called the album "a bit wacky, structured and almost surreal" and said "in the end, it failed to make a huge impression". Andy Gill of The Independent wrote: "There's an awful lot of music crammed into Plumb's 35 minutes, but it's rarely organised into the most attractive shapes – and on the few occasions it is, they alter course within seconds and head off in some less appealing direction." Luke Winkie of Paste said Field Music has a "near-neurotic frenzy of cramming dozens of complex sound-geek ideas into microscopic time slots", but that the album "feels mostly like an over-concentrated mess of misplaced ambitions". Forrest Cardamenis of No Ripcord called the album's fragmented approach "too gimmicky and unfulfilling ... a new approach just for the sake of a new approach". A review in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner called the album "bizarre (and) as impossible to understand as it is unfathomable in its conception and execution".
Multiple reviewers compared Plumb to the work of XTC, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes, The Beach Boys, Todd Rundgren, Electric Light Orchestra, Prince, Supertramp, Split Enz, and The Beatles, as well as Paul McCartney as a solo artist. Several reviewers compared the album's shifting and fragmentary structure to that of the Beatles song "A Day in the Life", and Plumb also drew comparisons to Abbey Road due to its orchestrations, collage style, and segues and shifts between songs. Bun E. Carlos, drummer for the band Cheap Trick, praised the album, as did comedian Vic Reeves, who wrote on Twitter: "Field music [sic] may be Britains [sic] greatest current group".
### Commercial performance
As of 18 October 2012, Plumb had sold about 9,000 copies. It received a boost in sales after the album was nominated for the Mercury Prize in September 2012, experiencing a 17% increase on the Official Charts Company through 1 November 2012.
### Mercury Prize nomination
On 12 September 2012, it was announced that Plumb had been nominated for the 2012 Mercury Prize. The judges for the prize described the album as "playful harmonies, quirky rhythms, the stop start sounds of everyday life, love and daydreams in today's British city – gripping and affecting". After the nomination was announced, Field Music posted this message on their website:
> "Well, blow us down and knock our socks off – Plumb has only been nominated for the Mercury Prize. We're a few albums in now and we were fairly convinced our chances of ever making the Mercury shortlist were minimal to nil, so this is a really nice surprise. Thanks for sticking with us, coming to the shows, buying the records and trying to convince the uninitiated to check us out."
David and Peter Brewis said they were surprised by the nomination, and that they almost didn't submit the album for consideration in the first place because, David said, "Generally speaking, thinking of music as a competition is a bad thing." Peter said: "It feels quite odd to be on the list. I think we are a minor concern compared to a lot of the other acts." Field Music was less well-known than many of the other nominees, and sold fewer albums than most of them; for example, by October 2012 Plumb, had sold about 9,000 copies, compared to 80,000 copies sold of the competing album Given to the Wild (2012) by The Maccabees. The brothers also said they felt Plumb unusual nominee compared to the others, and Peter said it might be "unfair" if they won: "The music industry would be right royally pissed off if somebody who has sold half as many copies as some of the others ended up winning." The bookmaker William Hill gave Plumb 16⁄1 odds of winning. An Awesome Wave (2012) by the indie rock band Alt-J ultimately won the Mercury Prize.
## Track listing
All songs written and composed by David and Peter Brewis.
1. "Start the Day Right" – 2:18
2. "It's Okay to Change" – 0:58
3. "Sorry Again, Mate" – 2:08
4. "A New Town" – 3:58
5. "Choosing Sides" – 3:12
6. "A Prelude to Pilgrim Street" – 1:48
7. "Guillotine" – 3:12
8. "Who'll Pay the Bills?" – 2:20
9. "So Long Then" – 2:06
10. "Is This the Picture?" – 2:41
11. "From Hide and Seek to Heartache" – 2:49
12. "How Many More Times?" – 0:40
13. "Ce Soir" – 1:13
14. "Just Like Everyone Else" – 3:00
15. "(I Keep Thinking About) A New Thing – 3:16
Piccadilly Records "Live Studio Sessions" bonus disc For a limited period, customers who ordered copies of Plumb on vinyl or CD from Manchester independent record store Piccadilly Records also received a free bonus CD, containing live studio session versions of the following songs:
1. "Start the Day Right"
2. "It's Okay to Change"
3. "Sorry Again, Mate"
4. "A New Town"
5. "Who'll Pay the Bills?"
6. "Effortlessly"
7. "Rockist" (School Of Language cover)
Rise Records "Best of" bonus disc Customers who ordered copies of Plumb from Bristol independent record store Rise Records also received a free bonus "Best of" CD, with the following tracks:
1. "Shorter Shorter" (from Field Music)
2. "If Only the Moon Were Up" (from Field Music)
3. "Got to Get the Nerve" (from Field Music)
4. "Tones of Town" (from Tones of Town)
5. "A House Is Not a Home" (from Tones of Town)
6. "In Context" (from Tones of Town)
7. "Rockist Part 1" (from School of Language album Sea From Shore)
8. "Rockist Part 2" (from School of Language album Sea From Shore)
9. "Scratch the Surface" (from The Week That Was album The Week That Was)
10. "Its All Gone Quiet" (from The Week That Was album The Week That Was)
11. "Let's Write a Book" (from Field Music (Measure))
12. "Choosing Numbers" (from Field Music (Measure))
13. "Them That Do Nothing" (from Field Music (Measure))
## Personnel
- Peter Brewis – vocals, composer, guitar, drums
- David Brewis – vocals, composer, drums
- Andrew Lowther – bass guitar
- Kevin Dosdale – synthesizer
- Emma Fisk – violin
- Pauline Brandon – violin
- Peter Richardson – cello
- Hugo Everard – trumpet, clarinet |
# Space Launch System
The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis Moon landing program, SLS is designed to launch the crewed Orion spacecraft on a trans-lunar trajectory. The first SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis I, which took place on 16 November 2022.
Development of SLS began in 2011 as a replacement for the retiring Space Shuttle as well as the canceled Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles. SLS was built using existing Shuttle technology, including solid rocket boosters and RS-25 engines. The rocket has been criticized for its political motivations, seen as a way to preserve jobs and contracts for aerospace companies involved in the Shuttle program at great expense to NASA. The project has faced significant challenges, including mismanagement, substantial budget overruns, and significant delays. The first Congressionally mandated launch in late 2016 was delayed by nearly six years.
All Space Launch System flights are to be launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first three SLS flights are expected to use the Block 1 configuration, comprising a core stage, extended Space Shuttle boosters developed for Ares I and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) upper stage. The improved Block 1B configuration, with the powerful and purpose-built Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), is planned to be introduced on the fourth flight; a further improved Block 2 configuration with new solid rocket boosters is planned for the ninth flight. After the launch of Artemis IV, NASA plans to transfer production and launch operations of SLS to Deep Space Transport LLC, a joint venture between Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
## Description
The SLS is a Space Shuttle-derived launch vehicle. The rocket's first stage is powered by one central core stage and two outboard solid rocket boosters. All SLS Blocks share a common core stage design but differ in their upper stages and boosters.
### Core stage
Together with the solid rocket boosters, the core stage is responsible for propelling the upper stage and payload out of the atmosphere to near orbital velocity. It contains the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks for the ascent phase, the forward and aft solid rocket booster attach points, avionics, and the Main Propulsion System (MPS), an assembly of the four RS-25 engines, associated plumbing and hydraulic gimbal actuators, and equipment for autogenous pressurization of the vehicle's tanks. The core stage provides approximately 25% of the vehicle's thrust at liftoff, the rest coming from the solid rocket boosters.
The stage measures 213 ft (65 m) long by 28 ft (8.4 m) in diameter and is visually similar to the Space Shuttle external tank. It is made mostly of 2219 aluminum alloy, and contains numerous improvements to manufacturing processes, including friction stir welding for the barrel sections, and integrated milling for the stringers. The first four flights will each use and expend four of the remaining sixteen RS-25D engines previously flown on Space Shuttle missions. Aerojet Rocketdyne refits these engines with modernized engine controllers, higher throttle limits, as well as insulation for the high temperatures the engine section will experience due to their position adjacent to the solid rocket boosters. Later flights will switch to an RS-25 variant optimized for expended use, the RS-25E, which will lower per-engine costs by over 30%. The thrust of each RS-25D engine has been increased from 492,000 lbf (2,188 kN), as on the Space Shuttle, to 513,000 lbf (2,281 kN) on the sixteen modernized engines. The RS-25E will further increase per-engine thrust to 522,000 lbf (2,321 kN).
### Solid Rocket Boosters
#### Shuttle derived
Blocks 1 and 1B of the SLS will use two five-segment solid rocket boosters. They use casing segments that were flown on Shuttle missions as parts of the four-segment Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters. They possess an additional center segment, new avionics, and lighter insulation, but lack a parachute recovery system, as they will not be recovered after launch. The propellants for the solid rocket boosters are aluminum powder, which is very reactive, and ammonium perchlorate, a powerful oxidizer. They are held together by a binder, polybutadiene acrylonitrile (PBAN). The mixture has the consistency of a rubber eraser and is packed into each segment. The five-segment solid rocket boosters provide approximately 25% more total impulse than the Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters.
#### BOLE
The stock of SLS Block 1 to 1B boosters is limited by the number of casings left over from the Shuttle program, which allows for eight flights of the SLS. On 2 March 2019, the Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension program was announced, with the goal of developing new solid rocket boosters for SLS Block 2. These boosters will be built by Northrop Grumman Space Systems, and will be derived from the composite-casing solid rocket boosters then in development for the canceled OmegA launch vehicle, and are projected to increase Block 2's payload to 290,000 lb (130 t) to low Earth orbit (LEO) and at least 101,000 lb (46 t) to trans-lunar injection. As of July 2021, the BOLE program is under development, with first firing expected in 2024.
### Upper stages
#### Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage
The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is a temporary upper stage for Block 1 versions of SLS, built by United Launch Alliance, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. The ICPS is essentially an "off-the-shelf" Delta Cryogenic Second Stage, with minimal modifications for SLS integration. The ICPS is intended as a temporary solution and slated to be replaced on the Block 1B version of the SLS by the next-generation Exploration Upper Stage, under design by Boeing.
The ICPS used on the Artemis I mission was powered by a single RL10B-2 engine, while the ICPS for Artemis II and Artemis III will use the RL10C-2 variant. Block 1 is intended to be capable of lifting 209,000 lb (95 t) to low Earth orbit (LEO) in this configuration, including the weight of the ICPS as part of the payload. At the time of SLS core stage separation, Artemis I was travelling on an initial 1,806 by 30 km (1,122 by 19 mi) transatmospheric orbital trajectory. This trajectory ensured safe disposal of the core stage. ICPS then performed orbital insertion and a subsequent translunar injection burn to send Orion towards the Moon. The ICPS will be human-rated for the crewed Artemis II and III flights.
The SLS Block 1 has a conical frustum-shaped interstage called the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter between the core stage and the ICPS. It consists of sixteen aluminum-lithium panels made of 2195 aluminum alloy. Teledyne Brown Engineering is its builder. The first one cost $60 million, and the next two cost $85 million together.
#### Exploration Upper Stage
The Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) is planned to first fly on Artemis IV. The EUS will complete the SLS ascent phase and then re-ignite to send its payload to destinations beyond LEO. It is expected to be used by Block 1B and Block 2. The EUS shares the core stage diameter of 8.4 meters, and will be powered by four RL10C-3 engines. It will eventually be upgraded to use four improved RL10C-X engines. As of March 2022, Boeing is developing a new composite-based fuel tank for the EUS that would increase Block 1B's overall payload mass capacity to TLI by 40 percent. The improved upper stage was originally named the Dual Use Upper Stage (DUUS, pronounced "duce"), but was later renamed the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS).
### Block variants
## Development
### Funding
During the joint Senate-NASA presentation in September 2011, it was stated that the SLS program had a projected development cost of US$18 billion through 2017, with $10 billion for the SLS rocket, $6 billion for the Orion spacecraft, and $2 billion for upgrades to the launch pad and other facilities at Kennedy Space Center. These costs and schedules were considered optimistic in an independent 2011 cost assessment report by Booz Allen Hamilton for NASA. An internal 2011 NASA document estimated the cost of the program through 2025 to total at least $41 billion for four 209,000 lb (95 t) launches (1 uncrewed, 3 crewed), with the 290,000 lb (130 t) version ready no earlier than 2030. The Human Exploration Framework Team estimated unit costs for 'Block 0' at $1.6 billion and Block 1 at $1.86 billion in 2010. However, since these estimates were made, the Block 0 SLS vehicle was dropped in late 2011, and the design was not completed.
In September 2012, an SLS deputy project manager stated that $500 million is a reasonable target average cost per flight for the SLS program. In 2013, the Space Review estimated the cost per launch at $5 billion, depending on the rate of launches. NASA announced in 2013 that the European Space Agency will build the Orion service module. In August 2014, as the SLS program passed its Key Decision Point C review and was deemed ready to enter full development, costs from February 2014 until its planned launch in September 2018 were estimated at $7.021 billion. Ground systems modifications and construction would require an additional $1.8 billion over the same time.
In October 2018, NASA's Inspector General reported that the Boeing core stage contract had made up 40% of the $11.9 billion spent on the SLS as of August 2018. By 2021, development of the core stage was expected to have cost $8.9 billion, twice the initially planned amount. In December 2018, NASA estimated that yearly budgets for the SLS will range from $2.1 to $2.3 billion between 2019 and 2023.
In March 2019, the Trump administration released its fiscal year 2020 budget request for NASA, which notably proposed dropped funding for the Block 1B and Block 2 variants of SLS. Congressional action ultimately included the funding in the passed budget. One Gateway component that had been previously planned for the SLS Block 1B is expected to fly on the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
On 1 May 2020, NASA awarded a contract extension to Aerojet Rocketdyne to manufacture 18 additional RS-25 engines with associated services for $1.79 billion, bringing the total RS-25 contract value to almost $3.5 billion.
#### Budget
NASA has spent $26.4 billion on SLS development since 2011, through 2023, in nominal dollars. This is equivalent to $32 billion in 2024 dollars using the NASA New Start Inflation Indices.
In 2024, the US Congress approved "up to" $2,600 million for the NASA Space Launch System.
In January 2024 NASA announced plans for a first crewed flight of the Orion spacecraft on the SLS, the Artemis II mission, no earlier than September 2025.
Included in the above SLS costs above are (1) the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), a $412 million contract and (2) the costs of developing the Exploration Upper Stage (below).
Excluded from the SLS cost above are the costs to assemble, integrate, prepare and launch the SLS and its payloads, funded separately in the NASA Exploration Ground Systems, currently at about $600 million per year, and anticipated to stay there through at least the first four launches of SLS. Also excluded are payloads that launch on the SLS, such as the Orion crew capsule, the predecessor programs that contributed to the development of the SLS, such as the Ares V Cargo Launch Vehicle project, funded from 2008 to 2010 for a total of $70 million, and the Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle, funded from 2006 to 2010 for a total of $4.8 billion in development, including the 5-segment Solid Rocket Boosters used on the SLS.
### Early plans
The SLS was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, Public Law 111–267, in which NASA was directed to create a system for launching payloads and crew into space that would replace the capabilities lost with the retirement of the Space Shuttle. The act set out certain goals, such as being able to lift 70–100 tons into low earth orbit with evolvability to 130 tons, a target date of 31 December 2016 for the system to be fully operational, and a directive to use "to the extent practicable" existing components, hardware, and workforce from the Space Shuttle and from Ares I.
On 14 September 2011, NASA announced their plan to meet these requirements: the design for the SLS, with the Orion spacecraft as payload.
The SLS has considered several future development routes of potential launch configurations, with the planned evolution of the blocks of the rocket having been modified many times. Many options, all of which just needed to meet the congressionally mandated payload minimums, were considered, including a Block 0 variant with three main engines, a variant with five main engines, a Block 1A variant with upgraded boosters instead of the improved second stage, and a Block 2 with five main engines plus the Earth Departure Stage, with up to three J-2X engines.
In the initial announcement of the design of the SLS, NASA also announced an "Advanced Booster Competition", to select which boosters would be used on Block 2 of the SLS. Several companies proposed boosters for this competition, all of which were indicated as viable: Aerojet and Teledyne Brown proposed three booster engines each with dual combustion chambers, Alliant Techsystems proposed a modified solid rocket booster with lighter casing, more energetic propellant, and four segments instead of five, and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Dynetics proposed a liquid-fueled booster named Pyrios. However, this competition was planned for a development plan in which Block 1A would be followed by Block 2A, with upgraded boosters. NASA canceled Block 1A and the planned competition in April 2014, in favor of simply remaining with the Ares I's five-segment solid rocket boosters, themselves modified from the Space Shuttle's solid rocket boosters, until at least the late 2020s. The overly powerful advanced booster would have resulted in unsuitably high acceleration, and would need modifications to Launch Complex 39B, its flame trench, and Mobile Launcher.
On 31 July 2013, the SLS passed Preliminary Design Review. The review included not only the rocket and boosters but also ground support and logistical arrangements.
On 7 August 2014, the SLS Block 1 passed a milestone known as Key Decision Point C and entered full-scale development, with an estimated launch date of November 2018.
#### EUS options
In 2013, NASA and Boeing analyzed the performance of several Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) engine options. The analysis was based on a second-stage usable propellant load of 105 metric tons, and compared stages with four RL10 engines, two MARC-60 engines, or one J-2X engine. In 2014, NASA also considered using the European Vinci instead of the RL10, which offered the same specific impulse but with 64% greater thrust, which would allow for the same performance at a lower cost.
In 2018, Blue Origin submitted a proposal to replace the EUS with a cheaper alternative to be designed and fabricated by the company, but it was rejected by NASA in November 2019 on multiple grounds; these included lower performance compared to the existing EUS design, incompatibility of the proposal with the height of the door of the Vehicle Assembly Building being only 390 feet (120 m), and unacceptable acceleration of Orion components such as its solar panels due to the higher thrust of the engines being used for the fuel tank.
#### SRB tests
From 2009 to 2011, three full-duration static fire tests of five-segment solid rocket boosters were conducted under the Constellation Program, including tests at low and high core temperatures, to validate performance at extreme temperatures. The 5-segment solid rocket booster would be carried over to SLS. Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems has completed full-duration static fire tests of the five-segment solid rocket boosters. Qualification Motor 1 was tested on 10 March 2015. Qualification Motor 2 was successfully tested on 28 June 2016.
## Launch costs
NASA has been reluctant to provide an official per-flight cost estimate for the SLS. However, independent agencies, such as the White House Office of Management and Budget and the NASA Office of Inspector General, have offered their own estimates.
A White House Office of Management and Budget letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee in October 2019 estimated that SLS's total cost to the taxpayer was estimated at "over $2 billion" per launch. When questioned by a journalist, a NASA spokesperson did not deny this per-flight cost estimate.
The NASA Office of Inspector General has conducted several audits of the SLS program. A November 2021 report estimated that, at least for the first four launches of Artemis program, the per-launch production and operating costs would be $2.2 billion for SLS, plus $568 million for Exploration Ground Systems. Additionally, the payload would cost $1 billion for Orion and $300 million for the European Service Module. An October 2023 report found that recurring production costs for SLS, excluding development and integration costs, are estimated to be at least $2.5 billion per launch.
NASA has said that it is working with Boeing to bring down the cost of SLS launches and that a higher launch frequency could potentially lead to economies of scale, and would allow fixed costs to be spread out over more launches. However, the NASA Office of Inspector General has called NASA's cost savings goals highly unrealistic and other potential government customers have made it clear they have no interest in using SLS.
## Operation
### Construction
As of 2020, three SLS versions are planned: Block 1, Block 1B, and Block 2. Each will use the same Core stage with its four main engines, but Block 1B will feature the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), and Block 2 will combine the EUS with upgraded boosters.
The ICPS for Artemis 1 was delivered by ULA to NASA about July 2017 and was housed at Kennedy Space Center as of November 2018.
#### Construction of core stage
In mid-November 2014, construction of the first core stage hardware began using a new friction stir welding system in the South Vertical Assembly Building at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility. Between 2015 and 2017, NASA test fired RS-25 engines in preparation for use on SLS.
The core stage for the first SLS, built at Michoud Assembly Facility by Boeing, had all four engines attached in November 2019, and it was declared finished by NASA in December 2019.
The first core stage left Michoud Assembly Facility for comprehensive testing at Stennis Space Center in January 2020. The static firing test program at Stennis Space Center, known as the Green Run, operated all the core stage systems simultaneously for the first time. Test 7 (of 8), the wet dress rehearsal, was carried out in December 2020 and the fire (test 8) took place on 16 January 2021, but shut down earlier than expected, about 67 seconds in total rather than the desired eight minutes. The reason for the early shutdown was later reported to be because of conservative test commit criteria on the thrust vector control system, specific only for ground testing and not for flight. If this scenario occurred during a flight, the rocket would have continued to fly normally. There was no sign of damage to the core stage or the engines, contrary to initial concerns.
The second fire test was completed on 18 March 2021, with all four engines igniting, throttling down as expected to simulate in-flight conditions, and gimballing profiles. The core stage was shipped to Kennedy Space Center to be mated with the rest of the rocket for Artemis I. It left Stennis on 24 April and arrived at Kennedy on 27 April. It was refurbished there in preparation for stacking. On 12 June 2021, NASA announced the assembly of the first SLS rocket was completed at the Kennedy Space Center. The assembled SLS was used for the uncrewed Artemis I mission in 2022.
The first SLS, for Artemis I, launched an Orion spacecraft into a lunar orbit on a test flight in fall 2022, and NASA and Boeing are constructing the next three rockets for Artemis II, Artemis III, and Artemis IV. Boeing stated in July 2021 that while the COVID-19 pandemic had affected their suppliers and schedules, such as delaying parts needed for hydraulics, they would still be able to provide the Artemis II SLS core stage per NASA's schedule, with months to spare. The spray-on foam insulation process for Artemis II was automated for most sections of the core stage, saving 12 days in the schedule. The Artemis II forward skirt, the foremost component of the core stage, was affixed on the liquid oxygen tank in late May 2021. By 25 September 2023 the core stage was functionally complete, as all sections were assembled and the four RS-25 engines had been installed. As of May 2023, the complete core stage was set to ship to NASA in late fall 2023, eight months later than was predicted originally. The complete core stage was delivered in July 2024. For Artemis III, assembly of elements of the thrust structure began at Michoud Assembly Facility in early 2021. The liquid hydrogen tank for Artemis III was originally planned to be the Artemis I tank, but it was set aside as the welds were found to be faulty. Repair techniques were developed, and the tank re-entered production and will be proof tested for strength, for use on Artemis III.
#### Construction of EUS for Block 1B
As of July 2021, Boeing is also preparing to begin construction of the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), which is planned to be used on Artemis IV.
### Launches
Originally planned for late 2016, the uncrewed first flight of SLS slipped more than twenty-six times and almost six years. As of earlier that month, the first launch was originally scheduled for 8:30 am EDT, 29 August 2022. It was postponed to 2:17 pm EDT (18:17 UTC), 3 September 2022, after the launch director called a scrub due to a temperature sensor falsely indicating that an RS-25 engine's hydrogen bleed intake was too warm. The 3 September attempt was then scrubbed due to a hydrogen leak in the tail service mast quick disconnect arm, which was fixed; the next launch option was at first a period in late October and then a launch in mid-November, due to unfavorable weather during Hurricane Ian. It launched on 16 November.
NASA originally limited the amount of time the solid rocket boosters can remain stacked to "about a year" from the time two segments are joined. The first and second segments of the Artemis I boosters were joined on 7 January 2021. NASA could choose to extend the time limit based on an engineering review. On 29 September 2021, Northrop Grumman indicated that the limit could be extended to eighteen months for Artemis I, based on an analysis of the data collected when the boosters were being stacked; an analysis weeks before the actual launch date later extended that to December 2022 for the boosters of Artemis I, almost two years after stacking.
In late 2015, the SLS program was stated to have a 70% confidence level for the first Orion flight that carries crew, the second SLS flight overall, to happen by 2023; as of November 2021, NASA delayed Artemis II from 2023 to May 2024. In March 2023, NASA announced they had delayed Artemis II to November 2024 and in January 2024 the mission was further delayed to September 2025.
#### Usage beyond Artemis
Efforts have been made to expand the Artemis missions to launching NASA's robotic space probes and observatories. A significant challenge to this effort is that the large solid-rocket boosters produce significant vibrations, and when NASA performed wind-tunnel testing on SLS, the torsional load values (a measurement of twisting and vibration) were nearly double the program's initial estimates. These vibrations can damage delicate scientific instruments. Although program officials later acknowledged the issue, they expressed confidence in their ability to mitigate it.
`NASA has studied using SLS for Neptune Odyssey, Europa Lander, Enceladus Orbilander, Persephone, HabEx, Origins Space Telescope, LUVOIR, Lynx, and Interstellar probe.`
Initially, Congress mandated that NASA use the SLS to launch the Europa Clipper probe. However, concerns about the SLS's availability led NASA to seek congressional approval for competitive launch bids. SpaceX ultimately won the contract, saving the agency an estimated US$2 billion in direct launch costs over SLS, albeit at the cost of a longer flight.
After the launch of Artemis IV, NASA plans to transfer production and launch operations of SLS to Deep Space Transport LLC, a joint venture between Boeing and Northrop Grumman. The agency hopes the companies can find more buyers for flights on the rocket to bring costs per flight down to $1 billion. However, finding a market for the large and costly rocket will be difficult. Reuters reported that the US Department of Defense, long considered a potential customer, stated in 2023 that it has no interest in the rocket as other launch vehicles already offer them the capability that they need at an affordable price.
## Criticism
The SLS has been criticized based on program cost, lack of commercial involvement, and non-competitiveness of legislation requiring the use of Space Shuttle components.
### Funding
As the Space Shuttle program drew to a close in 2009, the Obama administration convened the Augustine Commission to assess NASA's future human spaceflight endeavors. The commission's findings were stark: NASA's proposed Ares V rocket, intended for lunar and Martian missions, was unsustainable and should be canceled. The administration further advocated for a public-private partnership, where private companies would develop and operate spacecraft, and NASA would purchase launch services on a fixed-cost basis.
The recommendations faced fierce opposition from senators representing states with significant aerospace industries. In response, in 2011, Congress mandated the development of the SLS. The program was characterized by a complex web of political compromises, ensuring that various regions and interests benefited, maintaining jobs and contracts for existing space shuttle contractors. Utah Senator Orrin Hatch ensured the new rocket used the Shuttle's solid boosters, which were manufactured in his state. Alabama Senator Richard Shelby insisted that the Marshall Space Flight Center design and test the rocket. Florida Senator Bill Nelson brought home billions of dollars to Kennedy Space Center to modernize its launch facilities.
Almost immediately, Representative Tom McClintock called on the Government Accountability Office to investigate possible violations of the Competition in Contracting Act, arguing that the requirement that Shuttle components be used on SLS were non-competitive and assured contracts to existing suppliers.
The Obama administration's 2014 budget called for canceling SLS and turning over space transportation to commercial companies. The White House sent Lori Garver, the NASA deputy administrator, along with astronaut Sally Ride and other experts to defend the proposal, saying the SLS program was too slow and wasteful. However, Senators Shelby and Nelson quickly moved to fight efforts to cut the program and were ultimately victorious. After retirement from NASA, Garver would go on to recommend cancellation of the SLS.
During the Trump administration, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine suggested to a Senate committee that the agency was considering using the Falcon Heavy or Delta IV Heavy rocket to launch Orion instead of SLS. Afterward, the administrator was reportedly called into a meeting with Senator Shelby, who told Bridenstine he should resign for making the suggestion in a public meeting.
In 2023, Cristina Chaplain, former assistant director of the GAO, expressed doubts about reducing the rocket's cost to a competitive threshold, "just given the history and how challenging it is to build."
### Management
In 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that NASA had assessed the performance of contractor Boeing positively, though the project had experienced cost growth and delay. A March 2020 report by Office of Inspector General found NASA moved out $889 million of costs relating to SLS boosters, but did not update the SLS budget to match. This kept the budget overrun to 15% in FY 2019; an overrun of 30% would have required NASA to request additional funding from the U.S. Congress The Inspector General report found that were it not for this "masking" of cost, the overrun would have been 33% by FY 2019. The GAO stated "NASA's current approach for reporting cost growth misrepresents the cost performance of the program".
### Proposed alternatives
In 2009, the Augustine commission proposed a commercial 165,000 lb (75 t) launcher for lunar exploration. In 2011–2012, the Space Access Society, Space Frontier Foundation, and The Planetary Society called for the cancellation of the project, arguing that the SLS would consume the funds for other projects from the NASA budget. U.S. Representative Dana Rohrabacher and others proposed the development of an orbital propellant depot and the acceleration of the Commercial Crew Development program as an alternative to the SLS program.
An unpublished NASA study and another from the Georgia Institute of Technology found these approaches could have lower costs. In 2012, United Launch Alliance also suggested using existing rockets with on-orbit assembly and propellant depots as needed. In 2019, a former ULA employee alleged that Boeing viewed orbital refueling technology as a threat to the SLS and blocked investment in the technology. In 2010, SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk claimed that his company could build a launch vehicle in the 310,000–330,000 lb (140–150 t) payload range for $2.5 billion, or $300 million (in 2010 dollars) per launch, not including a potential upper-stage upgrade.
Former NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, expressed that the SLS could be replaced in the future in an interview with Politico in September 2020. Bolden said that the "SLS will go away ... because at some point commercial entities are going to catch up." Bolden further stated, "They are really going to build a heavy-lift launch vehicle sort of like SLS that they will be able to fly for a much cheaper price than NASA can do SLS. That's just the way it works."
## See also
- Austere Human Missions to Mars
- Comparison of orbital launch systems
- Criticism of the Space Shuttle program
- DIRECT, proposals prior to SLS
- Shuttle-Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle, a 2009 concept launch vehicle
- Ares V, a 2000s cargo vehicle design for the Constellation Program
- National Launch System, 1990s
- Saturn rocket family, 1960s
- Starship HLS, lunar variant of super heavy-lift vehicle Starship
- Studied Space Shuttle Variations and Derivatives |
# Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto
Fra' Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto (9 December 1944 – 29 April 2020) was the Prince and 80th Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Born in Rome to a noble family with extensive ties to the Vatican, he completed his studies at the Sapienza University of Rome and taught at the Pontifical Urban University. He joined the Order in 1985 and took full vows in 1993 to become a Knight of Justice. Dalla Torre served two separate stints as interim leader of the Order, from February to March 2008 and again from 2017 until 2018. He was elected Grand Master of the Order on 2 May 2018 and served until his death. During his time in office he endeavoured to repair the Order's relations with the Vatican, which had been strained since Pope Francis ordered his predecessor to resign.
## Family and personal life
Dalla Torre was born in Rome (part of the Kingdom of Italy at the time) on 9 December 1944, to a noble comital family that was originally from Treviso and has a strong affiliation with the Holy See. His father – Paolo dalla Torre, 3rd Count of Sanguinetto – was an art historian and Director General of the Vatican Museums from 1961 to 1975. His mother was Antonietta Pulvirenti De Grazia. His brother, Giuseppe dalla Torre [it], a lawyer, was the President of the Tribunal of the Vatican City State, and was formerly Lieutenant General of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. His grandfather Giuseppe Dalla Torre [it], a journalist, was the editor-in-chief of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano from 1920 to 1960. Furthermore, when Pope Benedict XVI was still a cardinal, he once entrusted his cat to dalla Torre's care while he was away from the Vatican.
Dalla Torre studied Christian archeology and art history at the Sapienza University of Rome. He held academic posts at the Pontifical Urban University, where he taught classical Greek and served as its Chief Librarian and Archivist. He published several academic writings on medieval art history and was an expert in the field. He was also a musical enthusiast, particularly for Italian opera. His knowledge of music was described by Times of Malta as "prodigious".
## Order of Malta
### Knight
Dalla Torre became a Knight of Honour and Devotion of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM) in 1985 and took solemn vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as a Knight of Justice eight years later in 1993. In doing so, he joined a select group of approximately 60 professed knights, out of a total of 13,500 knights and dames, and quickly rose through ranks of posts set aside for these knights. In 1994 he was elected Grand Prior of Lombardy and Venice, a position he held until 1999. From 1999 to 2004 he was a member of the Sovereign Council. Dalla Torre was elected Grand Commander of the Order in 2004. Four years later, as Grand Commander, he automatically became the acting head of the order – Lieutenant ad interim – when Andrew Bertie, the 78th Grand Master, died on 7 February. As the "leading Italian member" of the SMOM, he was viewed as a leading candidate to succeed Bertie, but Matthew Festing was elected the new Grand Master on 11 March.
Dalla Torre was elected Grand Prior of Rome on 24 January 2009 and re-elected on 12 February 2015. He held that office until he was elected Lieutenant of the Grand Master and acting head of the SMOM on 29 April 2017, following the resignation of Fra' Matthew Festing as Grand Master three months earlier. In advance of the election of a permanent replacement for Festing, dalla Torre was one of a small number of candidates who had the technical qualifications for the office and was seen as the early favourite. In December 2017, Ludwig Hoffmann-Rumerstein, Grand Commander of the SMOM, acting on his own initiative in what appeared to be an attempt to block dalla Torre's election, asked Pope Francis to abolish the Order's requirement that the Grand Master be of noble ancestry, which would have expanded the number of eligible candidates. Pope Francis rejected his suggestions, and on 2 May 2018 dalla Torre was elected Grand Master.
### Grand Master
Fifty-seven members of the SMOM were chosen to vote on the nomination of dalla Torre as Grand Master. Among them were two women, marking the first time in the history of the Order that female members participated in the selection of a new leader. Upon becoming Grand Master, his full title became "His Most Eminent Highness Fra' Giacomo dalla Torre del Tempio di Sanguinetto, Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of St. John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, Most Humble Guardian of the Poor of Jesus Christ". He took the oath of office on 3 May at Santa Maria del Priorato Church, in the presence of the Council Complete of State who elected him.
As a Vatican insider, dalla Torre sought to swiftly repair the Order's relations with the Holy See, according to the Associated Press. These had been damaged after Festing was requested to resign by Pope Francis in 2017. The Pope had also stepped in to reinstate the Grand Chancellor, Albrecht von Boeselager, whom Festing dismissed from the Order after the SMOM's charity wing under Boeselager's watch was unintentionally implicated in handing out condoms in Myanmar to prevent the transmission of HIV. Under dalla Torre's leadership, the Order's conservative bloc was "eased out" in favour of the reform-oriented group, and institutional changes were in the process of being rolled out. This led The Daily Telegraph to describe him as being "utterly in the hands of" the progressive German association of the Order.
Dalla Torre informed the Order in a letter issued on 10 June 2019 that all of its official liturgical celebrations had to use the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite and not the Extraordinary Form (also known as the Tridentine Mass). These celebrations include the SMOM's investitures, masses during its pilgrimages, memorial masses, and its solemnities and feasts. He highlighted how article 3 of Summorum Pontificum (the motu proprio issued by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007 on the use of the Tridentine Mass) grants the Major Superior of religious institutes like the Order of Malta the authority to decide which form of the Mass to be used. The letter made clear that this directive does not encompass – nor aims to encroach on – the "personal preferences" of members in their everyday lives outside of the Order. The diplomatic public affairs and press officer of the SMOM, Marianna Balfour, stressed that dalla Torre's letter was merely a restatement of existing principles, not the creation of new guidelines, and was "aimed only at fostering unity in the Order".
During his tenure as Grand Master, dalla Torre made state visits to countries such as Benin (January 2019), Cameroon (July 2019), Germany, Slovenia, and Bulgaria. On each of those occasions, he paid a visit to the healthcare facilities run by the SMOM, where he visited staff and patients. In September 2019, he expressed his interest in visiting Russia should he be given the opportunity to by the Grand Chancellor, given the Order's historical relations with the country; Paul I of Russia was his predecessor, serving as the de facto 72nd Grand Master from 1799 until 1801. Dalla Torre was also personally involved with many of the Order's charitable works for the sick and the poor. He served food to the homeless at Termini and Tiburtina train stations on a weekly basis. He also participated in the SMOM's pilgrimages to Lourdes, Loreto, and Assisi, as well as its international summer camps for disabled youths.
In his last official action as Grand Master, dalla Torre met with the Sovereign Council on 2 April 2020. They agreed to convene an extraordinary General Chapter in November 2020 to approve the reform of the SMOM Constitution of 1961. Dalla Torre issued a letter to that effect on 28 April.
## Death
Dalla Torre died in Rome shortly after midnight on 29 April 2020, at the age of 75. He had been receiving treatment for throat cancer in the months leading up to his death. Pope Francis praised him as "a zealous man of culture and faith" who embodied "a spirit of service for the good of the Church [and] dedication to the most suffering". The Minister for European and Foreign Affairs of Malta, Evarist Bartolo, also expressed his condolences on behalf of the government of Malta. His funeral Mass took place on 5 May at Santa Maria del Priorato Church, presided over by Giovanni Angelo Becciu. He was buried in the crypt of that church next to two of his predecessors, Angelo de Mojana di Cologna and Andrew Bertie. Although the election of a new leader usually takes place within three months after the death or resignation of a Grand Master, the Order confirmed that the election would probably be delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Grand Commander Ruy Gonçalo do Valle Peixoto de Villas Boas served as the interim leader of the SMOM until the election.
## Publications
-
- Frammenti di storia familiare, 2012 (with Giuseppe dalla Torre). Roma: Aracne, 2013.
- "Una scena rara e controversa della scultura paleocristiana", Bollettino dei musei comunali di Roma 19 (1972): 22–26.
## Honours
- Sovereign Military Order of Malta
- Knight Grand Cross since 2017 Collar of the Order pro Merito Melitensi
### Foreign honours
- Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Justice of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George (House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies) (1995)
- Knight Grand Cross with Star of Gold of the Order of Prince Danilo I (House of Petrović-Njegoš) (31 January 2006)
- Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (3 April 2006)
- Collar of the Order of Saint Januarius (17 December 2018)
- Grand Cordon of the Cameroon Order of Valour (18 July 2018)
- Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (21 October 2019)
- Grand Cross of the Order of the Balkan Mountains (13 December 2019) |
# 1985 Pacific hurricane season
The 1985 Pacific hurricane season is the third-most active Pacific hurricane season on record. It officially started on May 15, 1985, in the eastern Pacific, and on June 1, 1985, in the central Pacific, and lasted until November 30, 1985. These dates conventionally delimit the period of each year when most tropical cyclones form in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. At the time, the 1985 season was the most active on record in the eastern north Pacific, with 28 tropical cyclones forming. Of those, 24 were named, 13 reached hurricane intensity, and 8 became major hurricanes by attaining Category 3 status or higher on the Saffir–Simpson scale. At that time, the 24 named storms was a record; however, this record was broken seven years later in 1992, and was therefore recognized as the second busiest season within the basin, until it was surpassed exactly thirty years later by the 2015 season.
Despite the activity, only one system made landfall in 1985. Hurricane Waldo caused moderate damage in Northwestern Mexico and one death in Kansas. Surf from Hurricanes Pauline and Rick caused minor damage in Hawaii. Hurricane Nele resulted in disruption in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, while Hurricane Ignacio threatened Hawaii, but only ended up producing light rainfall and minimal damage.
## Seasonal summary
This year, 25 tropical cyclones formed in the eastern north Pacific (140°W to North America). Of those systems, three never strengthened beyond the depression stage, while 22 were named. This total was six storms above the 1966–1985 average seven above the 1971–2006 average and nine above the 1949–2006 average of 13. With a total 26 tropical cyclones and 24 named storms, this season was the most active on record, breaking the short-lived record held by the 1982 Pacific hurricane season, though the 1992 Pacific hurricane season surpassed this record. This season is now the third-most active, being recently also surpassed by the 2015 Pacific hurricane season, which is now the second-most active overall.
Of the named systems, 10 peaked as tropical storms, 12 as hurricanes, and 8 reached the intensity of major hurricanes by attaining Category 3 strength or higher on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane wind scale. The season lasted 170 days, three days longer than the 1984 Pacific hurricane season, but still then days longer than normal. The Eastern Pacific Hurricane Center (EPHC) issued 620 bulletins during the season, 35 more than the previous season. In the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's area of responsibility (140°W to the International Date Line), three tropical cyclones formed. One of those stayed as a tropical depression through its life. One strengthened into a hurricane, and another crossed into the northwestern Pacific before eventually returning to the central Pacific.
Although meteorologists expected a below-normal season, the season got on to a fast start though no storms formed in May. The activity picked up significantly thereafter, with five storms forming in June, including one major hurricane and was the most active month of June on record at the time, although this mark was tied in 2018. By the middle of July, a total of 10 storms had formed with another tropical storm forming off the coast of Central America roughly every 10 days. Throughout July, a record seven named storms formed, although this mark was matched in 2015 and 2016.
Within two more weeks, 13 tropical storms or hurricanes had formed, including 4 major hurricanes. By August 23, 2 more storms had been named. By early September, a total of 17 named storms had developed, 6 of which became hurricanes. Roughly two weeks later, two additional named storms were classified. After a lull in late September and early October, a total of 22 storms had formed by mid-October 21 of which developed in the EPHC's area of responsibility and the list of names was exhausted, forcing the agency to request emergency names.
The cause of the high activity in 1985 is unknown; however, this year continued a trend of above average seasons that began in 1982. The hurricane season took place during a La Niña event, which tends to inhibit Pacific hurricane activity. However, 1985 was during a warm phase of the Pacific decadal oscillation and in the middle of an era where all but the 1988 Pacific hurricane season were near or above average.
Several storms were investigated by hurricane hunter aircraft in 1985; the first was on July 24 during Hurricane Ignacio. On September 10, a flight was made into Rick, where the storms lowest pressure was recorded. Hurricane Sandra was investigated on September 12 on the way from Hawaii, where the hunters were on standby. The final two flights of the season were made on September 21 and 22 into Hurricane Terry while the storm was located off the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula. In addition to observations from Hurricane Hunter aircraft, the National Weather Service satellite station provided the basin with adequate satellite converge. The earlier loss of a GOES-East satellite and the move of a GOES-west satellite further west had little effect on EPHC operations. Enhanced infrared imagery was especially useful in determining cold-core centers.
Even though the early season storms were no threat to land, there were several notable storms during the season, with one writer describing the season as the "worst year ever". The first storm of series of storms to affect Hawaii, Hurricane Ignacio produced 10 ft (3.0 m) to 15 ft (4.6 m) waves along south-facing beaches. However, rainfall from Ignacio was light. The second storm to affect the state, Tropical Storm Linda dropped heavy rainfall along the windward slopes of the island chain. In early September, Hurricane Pauline came close enough to require a hurricane watch, but the watch was discontinued when Pauline veered north. However, the storm did produce high waves, with amplitudes of 10 ft (3.0 m) to 15 ft (4.6 m) on the eastern side of Puna and Kau. Days later, Hurricane Rick generated high waves; however, the waves were not nearly as high as they were during Pauline. The final storm to affect Hawaii was Hurricane Nele. Due to fears of a repeat from Hurricane Iwa, which struck during the 1982 Pacific hurricane season, a hurricane watch was issued. Although the watch was discontinued when Nele veered west, it later re-curved and struck the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, giving boats a rough night.
The only storm to make landfall during the year was Hurricane Waldo. Waldo destroyed hundreds of homes in Sinaloa and later produced significant rainfall across the Southwestern United States and Great Plains. One person was killed in Kansas. In addition, two trop cyclones affected California. The first, Tropical Storm Guillermo, helped firefighters put out fires during mid-July. The second, Tropical Storm Nora, brought light rainfall to the northern portion of the state in late August.
## Systems
### Tropical Storm Andres
On June 1, an area of thunderstorms south of Acapulco developed. It increased in size and, by June 5, was organized enough to be considered a tropical depression. The depression was upgraded to a tropical storm shortly after thereafter. While the Monthly Weather Review reported that Tropical Storm Andres operationally started out as a tropical depression. the HURDAT database does not give Andres an initial depression stage. Andres headed west, and two days after formation, it reached its maximum intensity of 70 mph (110 km/h) while located south of the Baja California Peninsula. It then slowly weakened as it moved around a weak upper-level high. It weakened to a depression on June 8. The low stayed a depression as it continued west until it dissipated on June 12 as the cyclone gradually increased in speed.
### Hurricane Blanca
Blanca originated from a tropical disturbance south of Nicaragua. A tropical depression formed on June 6 south of the Mexican coast. Shortly thereafter, it strengthened and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Blanca. By June 8, the EPHC reported that Blanca had intensified into a hurricane. Blanca fluctuated in intensity for several days, but Blanca did not intensify into a major hurricane, Category 3 or higher, until June 13. After reaching its peak intensity that day with winds of 120 mph (195 km/h) later that day, Hurricane Blanca began to weaken. It held on to hurricane strength until June 14, when the agency reported that Hurricane Blanca had fallen to tropical storm intensity. Steadily weakening, Blanca deteriorated into a tropical depression, before dissipating on June 16.
As a precaution, maritime operations were closed in the western states of Colima, Guerrero and Michoacán. Travel on the high seas and along the coast was also restricted.
### Tropical Storm Carlos
Carlos originated from a tropical disturbance moving that was moving westward along the northern edge of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The wave developed into the third tropical cyclone of the season at 1800 UTC on June 7. Due to weak steering currents, the depression moved north and then south, which subsequently resulted in a very small cyclonic loop. By 0000 UTC on June 10, the depression was upgraded to a Tropical Storm Carlos; at the time, the storm also attained its maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h). However, six hours later, Carlos weakened back to a tropical depression. Thereafter, the storm accelerated somewhat, and quickly merging with the remnants of Tropical Storm Andres at 1800 UTC on June 10.
### Hurricane Dolores
A disturbance located south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec moved westward along 10°N between June 24 and June 25. After interacting with an upper trough, the disturbance strengthened, and by the following day, it developed into the fourth tropical depression of the season at 0600 UTC. The depression steadily intensified and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Dolores late on June 27. Dolores strengthened further while tracking west-northwestward around the southern end of a deep layer ridge. By 1800 UTC on June 28, the storm had reached hurricane intensity. Thereafter, Dolores continued to steadily deepen, and by 0600 UTC on July 1, the storm peaked as a 115 mph (185 km/h) Category 3 hurricane. However, due to colder sea surface temperatures and increasing vertical wind shear, Dolores quickly weakened, and by early on July 2, it was downgraded to a tropical storm. Later that day, the storm further weakened to a tropical depression. At around 1800 UTC on July 5, Dolores dissipated.
### Tropical Storm Enrique
Enrique began as a tropical disturbance in the ITCZ west of the larger and very intense Hurricane Dolores. Moving west over 81 °F (27 °C) water, the system was designated as a tropical depression on June 27. Shortly thereafter, it intensified Tropical Storm Enrique. Turning west-northwest, the storm moved over slightly warmer water. Despite this, Enrique never strengthened beyond 40 mph (65 km/h) winds, and entered the CPHC's warming responsibility on July 1. Turning west beneath a ridge, Enrique rapidly weakened to tropical depression status. On July 4, the shallow and weak system turned slightly south of west. Enrique had dissipated by July 5. Despite its weak intensity, moisture carried by the system caused a few localized heavy showers on the windward side of the Big Island of Hawaii on July 5 and over the Kona slopes throughout the night hours of July 5 and 6.
### Tropical Storm Fefa
A tropical disturbance moved westward across the warm sea surface temperatures of the Gulf of Tehuantepec on July 1. At 1200 UTC on the following day, the disturbance was classified as Tropical Depression Six, while centered about 215 miles (346 km) south of Acapulco. Early on July 3, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Fefa, while moving parallel to the Pacific coast of Mexico. Fefa approached hurricane status and peaked as a 70 mph (110 km/h) tropical storm at 0000 UTC on July 4. However, thereafter, the storm began weakening as a short-wave trough in the westerlies moved into northern Mexico, which caused increased wind shear on Tropical Storm Fefa. Additionally, colder sea surface temperatures over the west coast of the Baja California Peninsula further weakened Fefa. By 1800 UTC on July 6, Fefa dissipated. At the time of dissipation, the low while located about 170 miles (270 km) east of La Paz.
### Tropical Storm Guillermo
The origins of Guillermo were from a tropical disturbance that formed within 300 mi (485 km) south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Moving rapidly west-northwest over moderately warm water, the disturbance was classified as a tropical depression. At this time, the depression was centered 270 mi (435 km) south of Acapulco on July 7. Roughly 24 hours later, the storm intensified slightly, enough to warrant an upgraded into Tropical Storm Guillermo. Tropical Storm Guillermo moved northwest at almost 15 mph (30 km/h) around the southwest side of a high pressure area over Central Mexico. Passing 50 mi (80 km) north of Socorro Island, Guillermo attained its maximum intensity of 60 mph (95 km/h) during the evening of July 9.
Shortly after its peak, Guillermo began to weaken rapidly due to a combination of strong wind shear and 77 °F (25 °C) waters. By 1800 UTC, most of the thunderstorm activity had dissipated and only a weak low-pressure area remained. Based on this, Guillermo was downgraded into a tropical depression. Finally, Guillermo turned west and ceased to exist as a tropical cyclone on July 12. The remnants of the storm brought light rainfall to the mountains and valleys of California, helping re-fill dry reservoirs and put out large fires.
### Tropical Storm Hilda
Tropical Depression Nine developed at 0000 UTC on July 18. Initially, the depression tracked northward due to weak southerly flow associated with an upper-level high centered near the southern tip of Baja California Sur. By 0000 UTC on July 19, the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Hilda; the storm reached its maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 km/h) at this time. Thereafter, Hilda turned westward. Due to sea surface temperatures of only 75 °F (24 °C), Hilda began to weaken and it dissipated on 1200 UTC July 20.
### Hurricane Jimena
Jimena originated from a tropical wave that moved across Central America and southern Mexico on July 18 and 19. Located along the northern edge of the ITCZ, a tropical depression formed by July 20. Initially moving west, the depression turned west-northwest and was upgraded into Tropical Storm Jimena early on July 21. Jimena attained hurricane intensity two days later. Hurricane Jimena remained a Category 1 hurricane for roughly another day, only to undergo a burst of intensification despite being above marginally warm ocean temperatures. The storm attained peak wind speed of 130 mph (210 km/h) while located roughly 600 mi (965 km) southwest of Cabo San Lucas.
After maintaining peak intensity for 12 hours, Jimena turned northwest, and respectively began a slow decline. Jimena fell below hurricane status on 1800 UTC July 26. Tropical Storm Jimena was downgraded into a tropical depression late on July 27. Jimena was no longer considered a tropical cyclone by July 29, as its center had dissipated over fairly cold water.
### Hurricane Ignacio
A tropical depression was spotted early on July 21 while located 1,623 mi (2,612 km) southwest of San Diego. Situated over warm waters, the depression attained tropical storm intensity a couple hours later. Intensifying further west than normal, Ignacio reached winds of 70 mph (110 km/h) on July 22, roughly 24 hours after formation, and subsequently entered the CPHC's warning zone. A Hurricane Hunter aircraft investigated Ignacio at daybreak on July 22, and found that Ignacio had developed a well-defined eye and winds of 85 mph (165 km/h). Based on this, the CPHC upgraded Ignacio to hurricane status. Continuing to rapidly intensify, the hurricane attained major hurricane status, Category 3 or higher on the SSHS, later that day. Subsequently, another Hurricane Hunter aircraft discovered that Hurricane Ignacio had reached its peak wind speed of 130 mph (215 km/h) and an estimated central pressure of 960 mbar (28 inHg). Operationally, Ignacio was believed to have peaked as a Category 5 hurricane.
The hurricane held peak intensity for several hours, however, an upper trough northwest of the Hawaiian Islands was gradually approaching Ignacio. Subsequently, the environment was rapidly becoming less conductive as the trough induced increased southwesterly wind shear and introduced colder and drier air into Ignacio's circulation. By 1800 UTC July 24, Ignacio was no longer a major hurricane as satellite imagery suggested that the eye had become irregular and soon disappeared. Air Force aircraft confirmed the weakening trend despite being located in an area where other hurricanes such as Hurricane Dot in 1959 and Hurricane Fico in 1978 maintained their intensity around the same time of the year. The hurricane resumed its westerly course, and Hurricane Ignacio was downgraded a Category 1 hurricane at 1800 UTC on July 25, and a tropical storm the next day. While passing south of Hawaii, Ignacio dropped to tropical depression status early on July 27, and dissipated shortly after that.
Because of a strong trough was located northwest of Ignacio, many tropical cyclone forecast models predicted a more northerly track than what ultimately occurred. On July 24, a high surf advisory was issued for east-facing shores of Hawaii; subsequently, a hurricane watch was issued the next day for the Big Island. Roughly 24 hours after the watch was issued, it was cancelled, though a small craft advisory remained in effect for the Hawaiian Islands. Ignacio resulted in 10 ft (3.0 m) to 15 ft (4.6 m) surf, peaking midday on July 25. Rainfall from the storm was generally light though many secondary roads that lead to the beaches were closed.
### Tropical Storm Kevin
A tropical wave crossed the Gulf of Tehuantepec on July 27 and developed into a tropical depression at 0000 UTC on July 29. While tracking west-northwestward between 7 and 11 mph (11 and 18 km/h), the depression slowly intensified, and was upgraded to Tropical Storm Kevin at 1800 UTC on July 31. Crossing marginally warm sea surface temperatures, Kevin maintained tropical storm intensity while tracking westward. However, by August 5, vertical wind shear began increasing, which was generated by an upper-level trough. As a result, Kevin weakened to a tropical depression at 0600 UTC on August 6 and dissipated 12 hours later.
### Tropical Storm Linda
A tropical wave formed on July 28 over fairly warm water. Moving west-northwest, the system was declared a tropical depression far from land the next day. It became Tropical Storm Linda later on July 29. A relatively weak cyclone, Linda peaked as a moderate tropical storm at 1200 UTC on July 31. Shortly after its peak, Tropical Storm Linda began to weaken over cooler waters and increased wind shear. Linda began to weaken and was downgraded into a tropical depression on August 2. Two days later, it passed into the CPHC's area of responsibility.
Upon entering the warning zone, the tropical depression was moving slowly toward the northwest and within six hours, Tropical Depression Linda began to re-intensify. On August 4, the storm had regained tropical storm status. Subsequently, Linda reaches its secondary peak with winds of 45 mph (75 km/h). Linda remained a tropical storm for about 24 hours before it started to weaken again on August 5. It was downgraded to a tropical depression early the next day. Meanwhile, Linda turned west under the influence of northerly trade winds. The depression came within 150 mi (240 km) of South Point, Hawaii, before dissipating early on August 9. Some heavy showers associated with the outer rainband's of the low fell on the windward slopes of the Big Island of Hawaii and Maui, where rainfall totals of 5–10 in (130–250 mm) were recorded.
### Hurricane Marty
A tropical disturbance crossed the coast of El Salvador and entered the Pacific Ocean on August 3. After moving westward over sea surface temperatures of 84 °F (29 °C), the disturbance developed into Tropical Depression Fourteen at 1800 UTC on August 6, while centered about 460 mi (740 km) southwest of Acapulco. While tracking west-northwestward at about 13 mph (21 km/h), the depression was upgraded to Tropical Storm Marty at 1200 UTC August 7. Further strengthening occurred and Marty became a hurricane on 0000 UTC August 9. However, after 18 hours as a hurricane, Marty weakened back to a tropical storm as it began tracking across colder sea surface temperatures. Early on August 13, Marty weakened to a tropical depression and dissipated later that day at 1800 UTC.
### Tropical Storm Nora
A tropical disturbance detached from the ITCZ on August 18. While tracking across an area of sea surface temperatures of 81 °F (27 °C), the disturbance slowly intensified and the EPHC reported that the system had developed tropical depression at 1800 UTC on August 19. Initially, the depression remained weak, though by 1200 UTC on August 21, it was upgraded to Tropical Storm Nora. Thereafter, Nora turned northwestward toward a deep-layer low-pressure area offshore of California. During this time, the storm began to weaken due to a decrease in sea surface temperatures. Nora weakened back to a tropical depression on August 22. Nora began to dissipate at 1200 UTC August 23 over 73 °F (23 °C) waters. Meanwhile, low-level clouds began to enter the storm's circulation. The high-level outflow associated with the storm moved northward and then eastward, resulting in light rainfall in Northern California on August 22 and 23.
### Hurricane Olaf
Olaf originated from a disturbed south of Acapulco on August 21 over extremely warm waters. Moving slowly west, the EPHC reported that a tropical depression formed on August 22. The depression attained tropical storm status the next day, and subsequently began to rapidly intensify. While turning northwest, Olaf became a hurricane 460 mi (740 km) south-southwest of La Paz. It headed west-northwest, and reached its peak intensity as a moderate Category 1 hurricane late on August 26, with winds of 85 mph (140 km/h).
Hurricane Olaf then moved slowing towards the west beneath a ridge and into progressively cooler waters. Olaf weakened into a tropical storm on August 28, and then degenerated into a tropical depression the next afternoon. Tropical Depression Olaf suddenly turned north towards an upper-level through off the U.S. West Coast. However, hostile conditions caused the system to cease to exist as a tropical cyclone early on August 31 several hundred miles west-southwest of San Diego, California.
### Hurricane Pauline
A small, westward moving area of thunderstorm activity become the 17th cyclone of the season. Turning southwest between an upper-level high over Baja California and a low near the southern coast of Mexico, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Pauline. Over the next couple of day, the cyclone turned west, and then west-northwest. Slowly strengthening despite underneath warm waters, Pauline attained hurricane intensity on September 7. Subsequently, Pauline turned towards the south. After peaking in intensity as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, the system crossed into the CPHC's area of responsibility.
It remained at hurricane intensity for three days. Shortly thereafter, Pauline began to weaken and turn northwest away from Hawaii. Due to interaction with trough, the hurricane veered north into an environment of strong wind shear. The result was rapid weakening; Hurricane Pauline was downgraded to a tropical storm late on September 8 and a tropical depression well north of the islands the next day. Pauline ceased to exist as a tropical cyclone by the evening hours of September 9. However, the remnants of Pauline moved northwest into an area of low pressure of the Gulf of Alaska. A recognizable circulation in the low level flow was visible for several days as it drifted westward far to the north of the Hawaiian Islands.
Hurricane Pauline threatened the islands enough to prompt the issuance of a hurricane watch on September 6. Around this time, officials drew plans to evacuate coastal residents and 100,000 people were asked to make emergency preparations. Instead, Pauline turned away from the islands and the watch was cancelled. However, Pauline did cause high surf along the east facing shores of all the Islands. up to 10–15 ft (3.0–4.6 m) surf was measured along the Big Island, Puna, and Kau coastlines. As a result, some roads were temporarily closed due to washed debris.
### Tropical Storm Skip
The origins of Skip were from a disturbance that passed well south of Hawaii in late August. The CPHC monitored the disturbance for several days prior to classifying it as Tropical Depression TwoC on August 30. The system crossed the International Date Line the next day, at which time the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) took over monitoring responsibilities. The depression was upgraded to a tropical storm and assigned the name Skip with the first JTWC advisory, at 06:00 UTC on August 31. Post season reanalysis found that Skip had attained tropical storm strength six hours earlier. Initially moving west, the depression was upgraded a typhoon at 12:00 UTC September 1. A Tropical Upper Tropospheric Trough then steered tip to the north and later towards the northeast. The typhoon briefly threatened Wake Island during this time. Skip subsequently recrossed the Date Line as it was rapidly weakening and gaining extratropical features; this extratropical transition was completed by 21:00 UTC on September 7. Three hours later, the CPHC issued the final advisory on the storm.
### Hurricane Rick
In late August, a tropical wave began meandering westward south of Salina Cruz. Initially disorganized due to strong wind shear counteracting the warm waters that it was in, satellite imagery on August 31 indicated that the thunderstorm activity had increased in the vicinity of the wave on. Further development occurred, and on September 1, the (EPHC) upgraded the low into Tropical Depression Eighteen, with it strengthening into Tropical Storm Rick the next day. Initially expected to turn north and approach the Baja California Peninsula, the system turned southwest due to a ridge, later resuming its westerly course on September 4. Despite being situated over warm waters and in a low wind shear environment, further intensification was initially slow to occur as Rick was 800 mi (1,285 km) east of Pauline, with it not attaining hurricane status until September 6.
After becoming a hurricane, Rick began to intensify more rapidly, becoming a Category 2 hurricane 30 hours later. By 1200 UTC on September 8, Rick reached Category 3 status,, later developing a large and well-defined eye. Several hours later, the storm's forecast responsibility was handed over to the CPHC, where Rick reached its peak intensity of 145 mph (233 km/h), with gusts up to 170 mph (270 km/h). Moved northwest, Rick soon encountered increased southwesterly shear, causing it to weaken. On September 10, Rick's eye started to become ragged and cloud-filled, when it was downgraded into a Category 3 hurricane. A dropsonde released into the eye of Hurricane Rick showed a central pressure of 951 mbar (951.00 hPa; 28.08 inHg). Recurving away from Hawaii, the system began to rapidly deteriorate and was reduced to a Category 1 hurricane during the evening hours of September 10. The next day, Rick was downgraded into a tropical storm east of Hilo, later merging with the same trough that absorbed Pauline. Despite this, a weak low-level circulation persisted for several more days.
Following a path similar to the one Pauline made a few days earlier, the powerful hurricane moved northwest. A weakening trend commenced on September 10; Hurricane Rick began to rapidly deteriorate. On September 11, Tropical Storm Rick merged with the same trough though weak low-level circulation persisted for several more days. Early forecasts noted uncertainty in the storm's path and meteorologists noted the potential to be more of a threat to Hawaii than Pauline. The hurricane approached the islands, coming close enough to require a high surf advisory. Even though Hurricane Rick turned north sooner than Pauline, the surf did rise somewhat.
### Hurricane Sandra
During the late evening of September 4, a large intense area of thunderstorm activity formed near the Guatemala–El Salvador coast. The thunderstorm developed a circulation about 24 hours later, and was thus upgraded into a tropical depression a few hundred miles south of the Mexican coast. Turning west-northwest over 84 °F (29 °C) waters, the depression was upgraded into Tropical Storm Sandra early on September 7. By 0600 UTC September 8, winds had increased to75 mph (120 km/h), and Sandra was upgraded into a hurricane. Sandra turned west, and quickly intensified, reaching Category 3 status later that day. On 0000 UTC September 9, Sandra peaked in intensity with winds of 125 mph (200 km/h).
After moving towards the west for an additional 18 hours, it subsequently began a sharp turn northwest and later west-northwest due to an intensifying trough off the west coast of Baja California. Meanwhile, Sandra slowly weakened. At 1746 UTC September 12, a Hurricane Hunter aircraft intersected Hurricane Sandra after being on standby in Hawaii. The aircraft penetrated Sandra twice, reaching the 700 mbar (700.00 hPa; 20.67 inHg) level. It also measured surface winds of 75 mph (120 km/h) and a surface pressure of 972 mbar (972.00 hPa; 28.70 inHg). The eye was reportedly open to the west with low-level banding, and the eye was 37 mi (60 km) in diameter.
Shortly after the flight, the cyclone then began to turn to the west and weaken further over 78 °F (26 °C) waters. Sandra was downgraded into a tropical storm the next day; however, the storm briefly regained minimal hurricane status. On 1800 UTC September 14, Sandra weakened back into a tropical storm roughly 600 mi (970 km) west of the Baja California Peninsula. Now over 77 °F (25 °C) sea surface temperatures, Sandra weakened into a tropical depression on September 15 and dissipated two days later.
### Hurricane Terry
A tropical wave moved through Nicaragua on September 14. Moving rapidly west over 86 °F (30 °C) warms, a circulation became evident and tropical depression developed at 1800 UTC September 15, the twentieth of the season. The system turned northwest; subsequently, the depression was upgraded into Tropical Storm Terry 24 hours after formation approximately 300 mi (480 km) south of Acapulco. Early on September 17, Terry attained hurricane status. Terry quickly reached Category 2 status and briefly reached Category 3 intensity, peaking with winds of 115 mph (185 km/h) on September 21 over 300 mi (485 km) south of Cabo San Lucas.
Shortly after its peak, a cold trough moved southward into Baja California Norte. This steered Hurricane Terry northward into cooler waters. A U.S. Air Force weather reconnaissance aircraft investigated the weakening Terry on 1800 UTC September 21 and 22 while the storm was west-southwest of the peninsula. Two penetrations were made in both flights. The second flight suggested that the hurricane had a poorly defined eye. A combination of cooler water and increased wind shear took its toll on Terry. The system weakened into a tropical storm at 0600 UTC September 23 due west of the Baja California Peninsula, and a tropical depression early the following day. By 1800 UTC, Terry dissipated while its center dissipated 500 mi (800 km) west-southwest of San Diego. The hurricane at one point in time was predicted to make landfall in central Baja California and threaten San Diego; however, this did not occur.
### Tropical Storm Vivian
A disturbance emerged from the northern ITCZ on September 17. By 0600 UTC on the following day, it developed into a tropical depression. Initially, the depression tracked northwestward in response to a strong upper-level trough centered over northern Baja California. After crossing an area of sea surface temperatures in excess of 82 °F (28 °C), the depression was able to strengthen into Tropical Storm Vivian at 0000 UTC on September 20. Under the influence of Hurricane Terry and an upper-level high pressure, Vivian turned west, southwest, and eventually southward. While tracking to the south, the storm re-entered the ITCZ, which caused Vivian to weaken and become indistinguishable. Vivian was downgraded to a tropical depression on September 21, shortly before dissipating on 1800 UTC on that same day.
### Hurricane Waldo
Tropical Depression Twenty-Three formed from a disturbance on October 7. In a favorable environment over warm waters, It rapidly intensified, reaching tropical storm intensity the same day it formed. Tropical Storm Waldo then began to turn to the north and while located 130 mi (210 km) south of Baja California Sur, Waldo was upgraded into a Category 1 hurricane. A trough started re-curving Waldo towards the Mexican coast. Shortly after peaking as a Category 2 hurricane, Waldo made landfall southwest of Culiacán. Waldo rapidly dissipated over land and eventually merged with a cold front.
Prior to the arrival of Waldo, the Mexican Army was put on standby in the event the Fuerte River flooded. While no deaths or injuries were reported, much farmland and 600 houses were destroyed. The Juarez River bursts its banks, flooding at least eight neighborhoods in Culiacán. Telephone service in Los Mochis, Guarmuchil, and Guasave was cut when a communications tower was blown over. A total of 10,000 people were left homeless across the state.
In combination with a cold front, Waldo contributed to major flooding in Kansas that forced many rivers and creeks to overflow their banks. One indirect death was reported and roughly 15 people were evacuated from their homes in one town. In Kansas City, Waldo produced 1 ft (30 cm) of water on roads, but none of the nearby homes received extensive damage. The Sedgwick County, the county fire department freed 35 trapped people from rising flood waters. Flash floods affected the southern one–third of New Mexico from rainfall associated from Waldo. Damage was estimated between $100,000–$1 million (1985 USD), mostly to crops, roads, and buildings. In all, Waldo's rain was comparable to Atlantic Hurricane Gloria.
### Hurricane Nele
The origins of Nele were from a tropical disturbance to the south-southeast of Hawaii on October 20. The tropical disturbance developed into Tropical Depression Three-C while located south-southeast of Hawaii on October 23. Although difficult to observe on satellite imagery, the CPHC upgraded it to Tropical Storm Nele early on October 24. Continuing to intensify, the storm tracked northwestward, following a similar path to Hurricane Iwa in 1982 and Hurricane Nina in 1957. On October 25, Nele attained hurricane strength as it turned to the north. On October 26 it attained peak winds of 90 mph (145 km/h). It entered an area of weaker steering currents due to a nearby trough. This caused concern for the CPHC, who noted that a continued path would result in the hurricane moving through the island chain. Instead, Nele turned to the northwest at a steady pace and instead moved through the Hawaiian Leeward Islands, passing about 100 mi (160 km) west of French Frigate Shoals and very near Tern Island. Around that time, reconnaissance aircraft measured winds of 85 mph (140 km/h) and a pressure of 982 mbar (982.00 hPa; 29.00 inHg). After passing through the island chain, the storm finally weakened and accelerated towards the north. Nele re-curved to the northeast, transitioning into an extratropical cyclone on October 30.
Due to fears of a repeat of Hurricane Iwa, a hurricane watch was issued for Hawaii. Officials moved beach equipment away from the beach in preparation. About 24 hours after the hurricane watch was issued, it was dropped as Nele moved away from the islands, alongside the cancellation of a high surf advisory. The hurricane produced 10 ft (3.0 m) waves along south-facing beaches. Upon passing through the Leeward Islands, a weather station on Tern Island recorded winds of 34 mph (55 km/h) with gusts of 50 mph (80 km/h), along with a pressure of 1,000 mbar (1,000.00 hPa; 29.53 inHg). Many fishing boats spent a tough night at French Frigate Shoals due to high waves and seas. One vessel was partially disabled due to a broken rudder and required assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard. Another vessel reported winds of hurricane-force and 30 ft (9.1 m) to 40 ft (12 m). Other fishing vessels near Maro Reef and Laysan Island had an easier time as they were in the weaker left of the hurricane.
### Hurricane Xina
Tropical Depression Twenty-Four developed at 0600 UTC on October 25, in the southwest quadrant of a quasi-stationary deep-layer mean anticyclone. The depression moved generally westward and slowly strengthened, becoming Tropical Storm Xina about 72 hours after becoming a tropical cyclone. Thereafter, the storm curved northwestward and gradually intensified, and by late on October 28, it was upgraded to a hurricane. Xina then rapidly deepened, peaking as a 115 mph (185 km/h) Category 3 hurricane at 1800 UTC on October 29. However, due to decreasing sea surface temperatures, Xina almost immediately began to weaken.
Shortly thereafter, the storm curved eastward, later followed by a south-southwestward turned early on October 31. Later that day, Xina was downgraded to a tropical storm. At around 0600 UTC on November 1, the storm had further weakened to a tropical depression. Xina briefly re-strengthened to a tropical storm at 0600 UTC on November 2, though it quickly weakened back to a tropical depression about six hours later. After weakening back to a tropical depression, the circulation of Xina became very disorganized and difficult to locate. Early on November 4, the depression curved southwestward, and by 0600 UTC on November 5, Xina had dissipated.
### Tropical depressions
Of the four tropical cyclones that did not reach tropical storm strength, the first was a weak disturbance that began to develop in the northern Intertropical Convergence Zone on July 10. After convection increased and a circulation formed, the system was upgraded to Tropical Depression Eight at 1800 UTC on July 11. However, deep convection quickly began to diminish, and by early on the following day, the depression dissipated.
The only tropical depression to develop in the CPHC's area of responsibility developed from a disturbance embedded in the trade wind flow south of the Hawaiian Islands that was about 35 mi (56 km) south of the Hawaiian Islands. A tropical depression was declared on August 20 as the system appeared to be intensifying while moving rapidly west-northwest. However, increased wind shear from a trough, an elongated area of low pressure, took toll on the storm and it weakened on August 21 near the Johnston Atoll. Due to the lack of a well-defined atmospheric circulation, the storm ceased to exist as a tropical cyclone two days after formation.
An area of convection within the ITCZ developed into Tropical Depression Twenty-Two at 0000 UTC on October 1. However, the depression never separated from the ITCZ. Despite sea surface temperatures in excess of 82 °F (28 °C), the depression did not strengthen, and on the following day, the center became ill-defined and difficult to locate on satellite imagery. Convection began decreasing, and as a result, the depression is estimated to have dissipated at 1800 UTC on October 2. Over a month later, a weak disturbance located about 345 mi (555 km) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California Sur developed a circulation; the system was promptly classified as Tropical Depression Twenty-Five at 0600 UTC on November 21. The depression drifted slowly southward at 3 mph (4.8 km/h), shortly before curving west-southwestward. Thereafter, the depression turned north-northwestward and dissipated later on November 21.
## Storm names
The following list of names was used for named storms that formed in the North Pacific Ocean east of 140°W in 1985. This is the same list used for the 1979 season, though names beginning with "X", "Y", and "Z" were added during season due to the high level of cyclogenesis. Storms were named Kevin, Linda, Marty, Nora, Olaf, Rick, Sandra, Terry, Vivian, Waldo, and Xina for the first time in 1985. The name Pauline was previously used on the old four-year lists. No names were retired from this list following the season, and it was used again for the 1991 season, though the name Dolores would be spelled as "Delores".
For storms that form in the North Pacific from 140°W to the International Date Line, the names come from a series of four rotating lists. Names are used one after the other without regard to year, and when the bottom of one list is reached, the next named storm receives the name at the top of the next list. One named storm formed within the region in 1985. Named storms in the table above that crossed into the area during the year are noted (\*).
## Season effects
This is a table of all of the tropical cyclones that formed in the 1985 Pacific hurricane season. It includes their name, duration, peak classification and intensities, areas affected, damage, and death totals. Deaths in parentheses are additional and indirect (an example of an indirect death would be a traffic accident), but were still related to that storm. Damage and deaths include totals while the storm was extratropical, a wave, or a low, and all of the damage figures are in 1985 USD.
## See also
- List of Pacific hurricanes
- Pacific hurricane season
- Weather of 1985
- 1985 Atlantic hurricane season
- 1985 Pacific typhoon season
- 1985 North Indian Ocean cyclone season
- South-West Indian Ocean cyclone seasons: 1984–85, 1985–86
- Australian region cyclone seasons: 1984–85, 1985–86
- South Pacific cyclone seasons: 1984–85, 1985–86 |
# A4061 road
The A4061 is the main road linking Bridgend with Hirwaun via the Ogmore and Rhondda Valleys in South Wales. It is a mix of streets connecting former mining communities, and mountain passes built as relief work for unemployed miners.
The road was originally a dead-end from Bridgend along the Ogmore Valley built in the 19th century, but concerns over travel difficulties, environment and post-World War I unemployment in the Rhondda led to a series of mountain roads being planned. The road was initially extended over the Bwlch-y-Clawdd towards Treorchy in 1928. A further section, from Treherbert northward to Hirwaun, opened the following year. As well as improving communications and transport, the A4061 allowed locals to visit the mountain summits easily for leisure purposes. Ice cream vans have been a regular feature at the two summits, Bwlch-y-Clawdd and Rhigos, since the 1930s.
The A4061 has been praised for its engineering and scenery, including a feature in National Geographic, and formed part of the Olympic Torch route in the run-up to the 2012 London Olympics.
## Route
The A4061 is about 25 miles (40 km) from south to north, but its winding sections make it longer in road miles. It has four main sections, which from south to north are:
- the road through the Ogmore Valley,
- the Bwlch-y-Clawdd Road (also known as "the Bwlch"), reaching a summit of 1,476 feet (450 m) between the Ogmore and Rhondda Fawr valleys,
- the road through the Rhondda Fawr valley, and
- the Rhigos Road, with a summit of 1,381 feet (421 m) between the Rhondda Fawr valley and Rhigos in the Cynon Valley.
The road meets the M4 (the motorway that runs across South Wales) at Sarn Park services; it also meets the A4107 mountain road to Abergwynfi, the A4058 Rhondda Fawr valley road to Porth and Pontypridd and the Heads of the Valleys Road. The two mountain sections feature numerous hairpin bends, and the section along the Bwlch-y-Clawdd is sited on top of a perfect geological fault.
Settlements served by the road include (from south to north) Bridgend, Sarn, Bryncethin, Blackmill, Lewistown, Ogmore Vale, Price Town, Nantymoel, Treorchy, Ynyswen, Penyrenglyn, Treherbert and Hirwaun. The road also connects Bridgend, Treorchy, Ynyswen and Treherbert railway stations.
## History
### Glamorgan Inter-Valley Road
The area was rural and sparsely populated until the mid 19th century, when the discovery of coal led to a major industrial boom. The geography of narrow river valleys sandwiched between mountains meant that land space was at a premium, with roads and railways running along limited land space. With relatively little sunlight reaching the valley floors, the local climate in the valleys was depressing. Visiting a town in a neighbouring valley, only a few miles away as the crow flies, could involve a 30-to-40-mile (50-to-65-kilometre) round trip. The A4061 was typical of this, and around 1900 it was a dead end road from Bridgend to Nantymoel, requiring a detour via the Ogwr Fach Valley and Tonyrefail to reach the Rhondda Valley.
The downturn of the coal mining industry after World War I hit the Rhondda particularly hard due to its isolation and lack of access, with high unemployment by the 1920s. In 1924 a series of new mountain roads, to connect isolated valleys, was proposed, including a new through route from Bridgend to Hirwaun via the Rhondda. As well as providing unemployment relief and connecting communities, Glamorgan County Council hoped the better access to the mountain summits would provide recreation, which Lord Temple described as "a playground for all time for those people". The Leader of the Opposition and Labour leader Ramsay MacDonald was particularly keen for the road to be built, knowing it would be good for local economy as well as communications, and he was keen to find ways of moving the economy of South Wales valleys away from the monoculture of coal mining. In addition to the A4061, the A4107 to Abergwnfi and a mountain road from Llyn Fawr to Maerdy in the Rhondda Fach valley were planned as part of the same project. The total estimated cost of the mountain roads, including neighbouring routes was around £400,000 (), of which 75% was to be paid by central Government and 25% by Glamorgan County Council.
The road schemes were designed by Ministry of Transport engineer and surveyor George Macpherson, with a standard planned width of 20 feet (6.1 m), with an additional 5 feet (1.5 m) on one side for pedestrians. The workforce was drawn largely from unemployed miners, and the mountain sections were quickly built. About halfway through construction, funding was withdrawn and work halted, though pressure in Parliament, particularly from MacDonald and Sir William Jenkins, ensured there would be a commitment to finish the road in 1928. By 1929, £356,431 (now ) had been spent on constructing 32.29 miles (51.97 km) of new road (including the A4107 and all connecting links). The Bwlch-y-Clawdd section opened at the end of 1928, while the Rhigos Road section, from Treherbert to Hirwaun, delayed by financial constraints, opened on 4 November 1929. Herbert Morrison, Minister of Transport, visited the works in 1930 and was impressed by the progress and effort expended in the project. The link road from Llyn Fawr to Maerdy was never built.
### Recent history
The landscape at the northern end of the A4061 has been extensively used for open cast mining, which remains an active industry.
In 2013, a large sink hole appeared on the Rhigos Mountain Road section. The road was shut for several days for repairs. In 2016, Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council announced a £1.25 million resurfacing package for the A4061 between Treherbert and Hirwaun. The road was closed for three weeks while the council laid around 6,000 tonnes of tarmac. In August 2018, the Rhigos and Bwlch sections were both closed because of a burst water main and essential remedial works respectively.
## Landmarks
The Paran Baptist Chapel was built at the junction of what is now the A4061 and A4093 at Blackmill. It was originally constructed in 1819, and expanded several times throughout the 19th century. It is now a Grade II listed building.
The Bwlch-y-Clawdd Road is well known for an ice cream van parked at the summit, with sheep regularly roaming the local area. Ice cream has a strong connection with the Rhondda following immigration to the valley by Italians during the 19th century, and the same family has been selling ice cream from the summit since the 1930s. In June 2001, National Geographic used a photograph of the summit as the centrepiece for an article on Wales.
## Legacy
The A4061 has been celebrated as one of the most ambitious road projects in Wales. Author Mike Parker has described the road as "the most famous of the miners' mountain passes." On a clear day it is possible to see the Bristol Channel, Exmoor and the Brecon Beacons from the summit. In 2006, a BBC News report described the road as the fifth bendiest in Britain.
In May 2012, as part of the preparation for the London Olympics, the Olympic torch was carried along the A4061 from Treorchy to Bridgend.
## See also
- Craig y Llyn |
# Roy Paul
Roy Paul (18 April 1920 – 21 May 2002) was a Welsh professional footballer who played as a half-back for Swansea Town and Manchester City. He also represented the Welsh national team over 30 times and is regarded as one of Wales' best ever players.
Brought up in the Rhondda Valley, Paul became a miner after leaving school, but an offer of a professional contract from Swansea gave him the opportunity to leave the colliery. His football career was then disrupted by Second World War, during which he was a physical training instructor. After the war, Paul made his League debut, and spent four years playing first team football for Swansea, winning the Third Division South championship in 1948–49. Transfer listed after an abortive move to Colombian club Millonarios, Paul joined Manchester City for £19,500 in June 1950.
At Manchester City Paul spent seven years as captain, leading the club to successive FA Cup finals in 1955 and 1956, losing the first and winning the second. In 1957 he became player-manager of Worcester City, and subsequently wound down his career in his native South Wales, becoming a lorry driver. He died in 2002 aged 82.
## Club career
### Early career
Paul was born on 18 April 1920 in Ton Pentre, Glamorgan, in the valleys of South Wales, and was one of 12 children. He attended Bronllwyn School in Gelli. Paul left school at 15, and like many boys from the Rhondda Valley he became a miner. While playing football for Ton Boys Club he was spotted by Swansea Town, for whom he signed first as an amateur, and then a month later as a professional. The Swansea captain was Bill Imrie, a former Scotland international. Paul named Imrie as a strong influence in his early career, particularly for instructing him in the fundamentals of good wing-half play. Paul played for Swansea's junior sides, but just as he was approaching the fringes of the first team, the league was suspended due to the outbreak of the Second World War.
At the start of the war Paul returned to the mines. He continued to represent Swansea in wartime leagues, and played for the senior team for the first time in 1939. Paul struggled to readapt to mining life, and volunteered for the Marines in 1940. He served as a sergeant physical training instructor, primarily in Devon, though he also spent part of the war in India. When in Devon he played football as a guest for Exeter City, and when in Wales he played wartime football for Swansea. Once the war was over Paul finally made his League debut for Swansea, having lost six years of his career to the war.
The Swansea coach in the immediate post-war period was Frank Barson, a notoriously aggressive character who was known as "the centre-forward's graveyard" in his playing days. Barson instructed Paul in the art of tackling during lengthy practise sessions, and made him aware of the tricks that a wily opponent could use to gain the upper hand in a physical battle. Paul went on to make 159 league appearances for Swansea in a four-year period, winning the Third Division South championship in 1948–49. An impressive appearance against top-flight club Arsenal in a 1950 FA Cup match resulted in the Londoners making an offer for the player, but Swansea turned it down.
Later that year, Paul received an offer of a trial with Colombian club Millonarios. Colombian clubs, who were not required to pay transfer fees as their governing body was not affiliated with FIFA, made similar offers to several British players. Paul was one of seven to make the trip to South America. Millonarios offered him a £3,000 signing on fee and £150 per month, far in excess of the £12 per week maximum wage in British football. Once in Colombia, Paul found himself unimpressed by the conditions. He remarked in his autobiography that seeing football pitches surrounded by barbed wire put him in mind of "a concentration camp, or maybe the monkey-house in the zoo". Paul stayed in Bogota for only ten days, without playing a single match. Swansea were angered by Paul's trip, and transfer-listed him upon his return. As a result, he transferred to Manchester City for £19,500, a British record for a half-back. Ken Barnes joined the club on the same day. The two became close friends; Paul was best man at Barnes' wedding.
### Manchester City
Paul joined a Manchester City side which had just been relegated to the Second Division, and were thus playing at the same level as Swansea. Paul made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 1950–51 season, a 4–2 victory against a Preston North End side featuring Tom Finney. Manchester City went ten matches unbeaten at the start of the season, until a 4–3 defeat at Doncaster Rovers, where City blew a 3–0 half-time lead. Paul played in all but one match that season, becoming club captain and helping his club win promotion, as runners-up behind champions Preston. Writer HD Davies, under his pen name Old International, attributed much of City's cohesive play over the season to the addition of Paul to the side.
Promotion meant Paul was playing club football at the highest level for the first time. For the next three seasons, his club languished in the lower reaches of the league table. During one spell of particularly poor form in 1953, newspapers wrote of a feud between Paul and his team-mate Ivor Broadis. Paul was critical of Broadis, a talented inside-forward, but one who in Paul's view did not exert sufficient effort when defending.[1] In the 1954–55 pre-season a new tactic was introduced which would change the direction of the club. Inspired by the Hungary team which had beaten England 6–3 the previous year, the club's reserves had used a tactical system in which Johnny Williamson was used as a deep-lying centre-forward, resulting in a lengthy unbeaten run. Manchester City manager Les McDowall decided to try the system at first team level, using Don Revie in the centre-forward role. Henceforth the system became known as The Revie Plan. The opening match of the season resulted in a 5–0 defeat at the hands of Preston North End. The following match the system was tweaked with Ken Barnes picked in place of John McTavish. City beat Sheffield United 5–2, and the system was retained for the remainder of the season. Paul's tactical role was relatively unchanged compared to that of some of his team-mates, but as captain he was responsible for retaining the cohesion of his players. The Manchester Guardian" regarded Paul to be well suited to the system, calling it "a strategy which shows off to perfection the strength and maturity of Paul among his younger defenders".
Using the new system, results improved. In September 1954 City beat Arsenal to go top of the league, though not without personal cost for Paul, as an elbow from Arsenal's Tommy Lawton resulted in the loss of four teeth. City could not sustain their title challenge, finishing seventh, but Paul's team enjoyed a successful run in the FA Cup, reaching the final, where they faced Newcastle United. An early goal by Jackie Milburn and an unfortunate injury to Jimmy Meadows on 18 minutes left City playing with 10 men and gave them an uphill task. Paul took the responsibility of changing tactics: "Like certain generals I believe that in dire emergency it is often better to attack. I clapped my hands and yelled "Let's show these Geordies the stuff that's taken us to Wembley"". The performance in the remainder of the first half was improved, resulting in an equalising goal by Bobby Johnstone, but in the second half Newcastle scored twice to win 3–1. Publicly, Paul vowed to take his team to Wembley again, but privately he blamed himself for the defeat, questioning whether he had failed as captain.
The following season the club surpassed the achievements of the previous season, finishing fourth in the league and again reaching the FA Cup final, this time facing Birmingham City. Conscious that early nerves had affected his team in 1955, in the dressing room he focussed on instilling each member of his team with confidence. This time it was Manchester City who scored an early goal, and with City leading in the second half Paul told his men to keep the ball in play as much as possible in order to tire out the Birmingham players. Then German goalkeeper Bert Trautmann badly hurt his neck in a collision with Peter Murphy. Paul instructed Roy Little to take Trautmann's place, but Trautmann insisted that he would keep playing. Then Manchester City held on for the victory, and Paul collected the trophy from Queen Elizabeth II. X-rays later revealed that Trautmann had played on with a broken neck. Paul took the match ball from the final as a souvenir, and gave it to his son.
After the cup win Paul played one more season for Manchester City. In the summer of 1957 he was offered a new contract, but instead retired from the professional game aged 37, citing loss of pace due to age as the deciding factor. His final appearance for the club came on 22 April 1957 against Everton. In total he made 293 appearances for Manchester City, scoring 9 goals.
Upon finishing his professional career, Paul returned to the Rhondda Valley, and settled in Gelli. He continued to play at semi-professional level, joining Worcester City, who paid him £20 a week and loaned him a car. Paul made 124 appearances for Worcester between 1957 and 1960, including a three-month spell as player-manager. In 1959 he was part of the Worcester side which knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup. He then moved to Brecon Corinthians, and later Garw Athletic, where he ended his career.
## Post-playing life
After the end of his football career, he became a lorry driver. He died on 21 May 2002 in Treorchy aged 82, following a long illness with Alzheimer's disease, leaving a wife, Beryl, and two children, Robert and Christine. He is buried in Treorchy Cemetery.
## International career
Paul gained 33 caps for Wales. He did not gain any under-age caps, as in his era Wales did not field an under-23 team. He received his first cap in October 1948, in a 3–1 defeat against Scotland. His only international goal came in a 5–1 win against Belgium in November 1949. In October 1955 Paul was part of the Wales team that beat England 2–1, the first Welsh victory against England in 18 years. Six months later Wales faced Ireland in their final match of that season's British Home Championship. Wales were leading 1–0 when a handball by Danny Blanchflower gave Wales a penalty. Paul took the kick, but it was saved by Norman Uprichard. Paul's failure cost Wales victory, as Jimmy Jones equalised in the second half and the match finished 1–1. A draw in the remaining fixture between Scotland and England meant that the miss also denied Wales victory in the tournament. Instead, for the first and only time there was a four-way tie. Paul did not play for Wales again.
## Playing style
Roy Paul played as a half-back, with the exact position varying during his career. At Swansea he was primarily used as a right-half, but when he joined Manchester City manager Les McDowall switched him to the left, a position which Paul preferred despite being right-footed. Internationally, he represented Wales in all three half-back positions over the course of his career.
Paul had a reputation as a physically tough player and inspirational captain. Team-mate Ken Barnes described him as a player who was "more about power than guile", and called him a "born leader" who was "brilliant in the air". Paul's approach to captaincy was to ensure that every player gave as much effort as possible, mixing the respect of his colleagues with the occasional attempt to frighten them into action; in the tunnel prior to the 1956 FA Cup Final his last action before leading out his team was to hold up his fist and shout "If we don't fucking win, you'll get some of this".
At Manchester City he was occasional penalty taker, but his success rate was not high and he was relieved when Don Revie joined the club and took the responsibility for penalties, commenting that "the only reason I took them was because no-one else fancied it".
## Honours
Manchester City
- FA Cup: 1955–56; runner-up: 1954–55
1. A Red Dragon of Wales, p. 57. |
# The Kat
Stacy Lee Carter (born September 29, 1970) is an American retired professional wrestling valet and professional wrestler. She is best known for her tenure in the World Wrestling Federation from August 1999 to February 2001 under the ring names Miss Kitty and The Kat, where she held the WWF Women's Championship once.
## Professional wrestling career
### Early career (1998–1999)
Carter was introduced to professional wrestling by her then-partner, Jerry Lawler. She made her wrestling debut on April 18, 1998 in Jonesboro, Arkansas for Power Pro Wrestling.
### World Wrestling Federation (1999–2001)
#### Alliance with Chyna; Women's Champion (1999–2000)
Carter first appeared on World Wrestling Federation (WWF)'s flagship program, Raw is War, on August 23, 1999. She debuted as Miss Kitty, an assistant to Debra, appointed to her by Jeff Jarrett, whom Debra managed. The partnership ended when Jarrett left the company after losing the Intercontinental Championship to Chyna at No Mercy. Because Jarrett was departing the company after the match, Miss Kitty began managing Chyna, and then started dressing in 'Chyna-like' clothing and wearing a black wig.
At Armageddon in December 1999, Miss Kitty won her only WWF Women's Championship in a Four Corners Evening Gown Pool match by defeating then-champion Ivory, Jacqueline, and Barbara "BB" Bush by stripping them of their gowns. The special guest referees were The Fabulous Moolah and Mae Young. After the match, Miss Kitty stripped out of her dress in celebration and quickly flashed the crowd her breasts. The following evening, she announced before successfully defending her title in a thong in a Chocolate Pudding Match against Tori that she was changing her name to The Kat. The Kat then appeared at the Royal Rumble in the 'Miss Royal Rumble Swimsuit Contest', where she appeared in a bikini made out of bubble wrap. The contest, however, was won by Mae Young. She lost the Championship on the January 31 edition of Raw to Hervina in a Lumberjill Snowbunny match, a match that took place in a snow filled pool surrounded by female wrestlers whose purpose was to keep The Kat and Hervina from leaving the pool.
#### Rivalry with Terri Runnels (2000)
The Kat then began an on-screen rivalry with Terri Runnels, although neither were fully trained wrestlers. At WrestleMania 2000, Runnels (accompanied by The Fabulous Moolah) defeated The Kat (with Mae Young) in a catfight. Val Venis was the special guest referee, but he was distracted during the match when Young kissed him, which allowed Moolah to pull The Kat out of the ring. When Venis saw her out of the ring, he declared Runnels the winner. Post-match, The Kat attacked Runnels by stripping off her pants to expose her thong. The feud continued, and the duo had an arm wrestling match at Insurrextion. The Kat was victorious, but after the match, Runnels pulled The Kat's top off, exposing her breasts, which The Kat allowed. The two women continued to feud throughout the summer, often in mixed tag matches. In June 2000, The Kat attempted to regain the Women's Championship by entering in the first-ever women's battle royal to become the \#1 contender, which also featured the likes of Lita, Jacqueline and Ivory, but was eliminated by her rival Terri. The feud resurfaced in a 'Thong Stink Face' match at SummerSlam, which The Kat won by performing a stinkface on Runnels. She would at times team up with Jerry Lawler, Rikishi and Al Snow in mix tag matches against Terri with Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn.
#### Rivalry with Right to Censor (2001)
In early 2001, The Kat began a new storyline with a stable called "Right to Censor", a group of wrestlers purportedly wanting to rein in the vulgarity of the "Attitude Era," during which she demanded equal time for the "right for nudity". During this time, The Kat also began competing in WWF's various developmental territories against the likes of Victoria, Molly Holly, Jasmine St. Claire and Cynthia Lynch. At No Way Out, Jerry Lawler, who was representing The Kat, lost a match to Steven Richards, the head of the stable, after The Kat mistakenly hit Lawler with the Women's Championship belt. As a result of Lawler losing the match, she was forced to join the stable.
On February 27, 2001, The Kat was abruptly released from the WWF in the middle of the Right to Censor storyline. As a result, her husband Jerry Lawler also quit the company. According to Lawler, The Kat was released from the WWF because Vince McMahon decided to end the angle with the Right to Censor. Other insiders cite The Kat's negative backstage attitude as the reason for her dismissal. In 2021, Professional wrestling commentator and WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross stated that the reason for The Kat's departure from the WWF was "based on what the writers said, she was too hard to work with. So, they caught Vince on a day when he was not in a really great mood, apparently. I got called in Vince's office, 'I want her gone.' 'What?' 'I want her gone today.'" So, you know, that's where your job becomes very challenging and Vince McMahon's word was final".
### Late career (2001, 2010-2011, 2015)
After Carter and Lawler left the World Wrestling Federation, they worked various independent wrestling events. She retired from wrestling in 2001. They also signed with Tri-Star Productions and worked at Memphis Championship Wrestling. Carter made her debut for Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (TWA) on June 5, 2010 at the TWA Homecoming event in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, where she teamed up with Demolition (Ax and Smash) in a winning effort defeating Sheeta and The Nigerian Nightmares (Maifu and Saifu) in a 6-person mixed-tag team match. Carter made her debut for Stranglehold Wrestling (SHW) on August 26, 2010 at the Stranglehold Devils Playground Tour in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, where she competed in an Arm-Wrestling match against Pissed off Pete in a no-contest. Later that event, Carter accompied Sinn Bohdi to the ring where he competed against George Terzis. Her last match was teaming with Sinn Bohdi defeating Massive Damage and Sexy Samantha at Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW) in Las, Vegas on April 18, 2011.
In 2015, Carter was featured as a guest in WWE's documentary titled Good To Be The King: The Jerry Lawler Story, which featured her ex-husband Jerry Lawler. In the same year, she also appeared in an episode of The WWE List, a digital series that aired on WWE.com.
## Personal life
Carter's family was originally from West Memphis, Arkansas. After her parents divorced, Carter's mother moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Stacy Carter, however, as well as her younger brother and sister, continued to live with their father, who worked as a policeman, in Arkansas. Carter moved to Memphis to live with her mother, Cathy, after graduating from high school.
Carter met Jerry Lawler, her future husband, at a charity softball game at Treadwell High School in Memphis on July 23, 1989, two months before her nineteenth birthday. She was attending the game with her mother, who was dating one of the players on the team for which Lawler also played. Lawler, however, was married at the time, and he claims that when he initially met Carter, he considered an affair. After Lawler separated from his wife, Carter moved in with him. When Carter first met Lawler, she was working as a bank teller. Lawler later helped her get a job at a photography studio, and she also opened and ran her own hair salon. Carter was less than sixteen months older than Lawler's son Brian.
Lawler and Carter married in September 2000. While they were together, former professional wrestler Missy Hyatt offered Carter $10,000 to pose nude on her website, but Carter refused the offer. Carter decided to leave Lawler in July 2001, and they separated not long after. She left professional wrestling upon separating from Jerry Lawler. She worked in the field of real estate in Lee County, Florida for Century 21 Real Estate for some time after the divorce.
Carter and professional wrestler Nick Cvjetkovich announced their engagement on June 12, 2010. Cvjetkovich and Carter were married in St. Petersburg Florida July 29, 2010 on the beach in front of many family and friends. Stevan Cvjetkovich (Nicholas' younger brother) and Edge both stood as best men. Jimmy Hart gave Carter away in the ceremony. They divorced in 2013.
## Filmography
### Film
### Video games
## Championships and accomplishments
- World Wrestling Federation
- WWF Women's Championship (1 time) |
# Saint Thomas Anglicans
Saint Thomas Anglicans (often called Anglican Syrian Christians or CSI Syrian Christians) are the Saint Thomas Christian members of the Church of South India (CSI); the self-governing South Indian province of the Anglican Communion. They are among the several different ecclesiastical communities that splintered out of the once undivided Saint Thomas Christians; an ancient Christian community whose origins goes back to the first century missionary activities of Saint Thomas the Apostle, in the present-day South Indian state of Kerala. The Apostle, as legend has it, arrived in Malankara (derived from Maliankara near Muziris) in AD 52.
The community began as a faction of Malankara Syrian Christians, who opted to join the Anglican Church, mostly between 1836 and 1840. This happened due to the influence of the Church Mission Society missionaries, who laboured amongst the Oriental Orthodox Christians of Travancore. In 1879, these St. Thomas Anglican congregations were organized as the Diocese of Travancore and Cochin of the Church of England. Other Saint Thomas Christians influenced by Anglican practice and belief would go on to found the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, a church in full communion with the Anglican Communion.
In 1930, a separate Anglican ecclesiastical province was founded from the Church of England dioceses in the British Indian Empire, establishing the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon. In 1947, soon after Indian independence, the Anglican dioceses of South India, merged with other Protestant Churches in the region, on the basis of the Lambeth Quadrilateral, forming the Church of South India. Anglican Syrian Christians have been members of the CSI, ever since.
## The Beginning
In November 1795, a treaty of perpetual friendship and tributary alliance was signed between the Raja of Travancore and the East India Company. The treaty was again modified in 1805, which established British paramountcy over Travancore. The British bureaucracy of colonial India was made up of many Evangelical Christians, who were surprised by the presence of an autochthonous Christian community. They believed that the indigenous Church, if properly equipped, could be used to reach and Christianize the Indian peoples. The British mindset was also shaped by the political ramifications of such an approach.
### Early contacts
The beginning of the relationship between the Anglican Church and the Malankara Church could be traced to the visits of Rev. R. H. Kerr and Rev. Claudius Buchanan to the Malabar Syrians in 1806, during the episcopate of Mar Dionysius I. These were facilitated by Gen. Colin Macaulay, the first British Resident of Travancore. The missionaries found the Malabar Syrian Christians in poor and depressed conditions. This is clear in the words of the Syrian Metropolitan, in his interview with Claudius Buchanan, recorded in Dr. Buchanan's famous book "Christian Researches in Asia"; in which Mar Dionysius I says, "you have come to visit a declining church".
### Establishment of a Seminary and Anglican Mission of Help for the Syrians
In 1810, Colonel John Munro, a man with deep Christian convictions became the Resident of Travancore, an office he held for the next 10 years. Col Munro persuaded Rani Gowri Lakshmi Bayi of Travancore, with whom he was on very good terms to donate land in Kottayam as well as the money and timber, in-order to build the Orthodox Pazhaya Seminary (founded 1815) for the Malankara Church. He also petitioned the Church Missionary Society to send missionaries on a Help Mission, to educate and train the clergy of the Malankara Church.
In the coming years, several pious Christian men like Benjamin Bailey, Joseph Fenn and Henry Baker (Sr) arrived in Kottayam and worked at the Pazhaya Seminary and among the Malankara Syrians. The missionaries took charge of the college as its early Principals, taught Biblical languages and worked on the translation of the Holy Bible to the native language Malayalam.
### Reform assembly of Mavelikkara
The CMS missionaries reckoned that a real improvement in the life and conditions of Malankara Syrians, could be achieved only by reforming their Church. They used their position in the Kottayam seminary propagate their ideas and shared them with Metropolitan Mar Dionysius III. To explore the feasibility of reforms, the Metropolitan convened an assembly of his prominent clergy and laity with the missionaries on 3 December 1818, at Mavelikkara. A committee of distinguished priests was appointed to identify areas of improvement. However, Metropolitan Mar Dionysius IV, who took office in 1825, was antagonistic towards these efforts.
The earliest British missionaries shared warm cordial ties with the successive Malankara Metropolitans of their time and were sensitive to their apprehensions and bearing. The Metropolitans too, were deeply appreciative of the much needed help and support provided by the missionaries and British Residents, to their Church. This is evident from the words of Mar Dionysius III, in his letter to the President of the CMS Lord Gambier, in which the Metropolitan likens Resident Colin Macaulay to Moses, Rev. Claudius Buchanan to Aaron, Resident John Munro to Joshua and expresses heartfelt gratitude to the missionaries, for their services to his Church.
### Dissolution of partnership between the Malankara Church and CMS
The cordial relations between the missionaries and the Malankara Syrians did not last very long. The younger missionaries who arrived later were uncompromising evangelists who insisted on major reforms to faith and doctrines of the Malankara Church, which the changed Jacobite leadership didn't want. Moreover, the British administration did intervene in the affairs of the Syrian Church, including the appointment of its Metropolitans. The Syrians, who bore the scars of the Portuguese Inquisition, felt that the excessive interest shown by the British in their Church, was indicative of an impending hostile take over.
The discord and misgivings eventually led to the 1836 Synod of Mavelikkara, in which the Malankara Syrian Community under Mar Dionysius IV, decided to keep all their age-old traditional practices and be subject to the authority of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. Inevitably, the missionaries and the Jacobites parted ways. However, two decades of their close cooperation, left a profound and lasting impact on the Malankara Syrian community. Members of the Reform Exploratory Committee of 1818, under the leadership of Abraham Malpan, initiated a reformation of the Malankara Church, from 1836.
### Birth of the Syrian–Anglican community
In 1836, as soon as the missionaries separated from the Malankara Syrian Church, a fraction of its members who were in favour of the reformed ideologies of the missionaries, sought admission into the Anglican Church, and were received. This Anglican Syrian community was initially concentrated in the regions of Kottayam, Thiruvalla, Mallapally and Mavelikkara, where the missionaries had earlier worked with the Jacobites.
St. Thomas Anglicans were the first Reformed group to emerge from the St. Thomas Christian community. They were also the first Saint Thomas Christians to worship and celebrate the Eucharist in their mother tongue, Malayalam. In the beginning, they worshipped using a Malayalam adaptation of the West Syriac Liturgy of Saint James, which did not have ingredients considered unscriptural by Anglicans. By 1840, this was replaced by a Malayalam rendition of the Book of Common Prayer.
## British Period
The first Anglican congregations of Travancore were entirely of Syrian extraction. The social order of 19th century Travancore was based on a rigid caste system, which served as the backbone of its agricultural subsistence economy and hence reinforced harshly by local rulers. The subhuman treatment of the majority, constituted by lower and outcaste groups, was very conspicuous under this system. The missionaries naturally felt the urge to do something about it.
### British approach to caste system
The British missionaries differed on the question of how to deal with caste system. The older more tenured missionaries favoured a cautious, long term strategy that involved St. Thomas Anglicans. They set up a network of educational institutions, staffed by well-trained Anglican Syrians, to draw upper castes to their missions. This included the Cotym College, the oldest college of Kerala and the second oldest of India. They also started the C.M.S. Press, the first printing press of Kerala. With these initiatives, the CMS missionaries became the pioneers, who promoted modern education in Travancore. In their view, the evangelization and enlightenment of upper classes was the key to social change.
The younger missionaries, believed that the slave classes have suffered long enough and any procrastination on their part, to improve the conditions of outcastes, was very unchristian. They also wanted to the use the influence that the British administration wielded over local rulers, to quicken the evangelization and emancipation of slaves. They began to proselytize lower castes.
### Anglican Syrians and caste
Anglican Syrians were fully supportive of religious reform, but did not hold progressive social views. They vehemently opposed the conversion of lower castes. As the Syrians understood it, caste was an essential Character Indelebilis, received by birth, which remains unaffected by one's religious faith, change of it, or even lack thereof. So they continued to observe pollution rules. In Thalavady, when a British missionary brought in low caste converts to a Syrian–Anglican congregation, the Syrians leaped out through the windows and fled. For several of them, this was a journey back to their Orthodox mother church. Syrian–Anglicans objected to the admittance of slaves to CMS educational institutions. Hence, the British Anglicans had to condone separate congregations for Syrians and outcastes, for almost the whole of nineteenth century.
As years and decades passed by, many Syrian–Anglicans came to understand that being agents of progressive change was nothing but partaking in the redemptive work of Christ. So gradually, several of them went all-in for social reform. St. Thomas Anglican missionaries like Rev. George Mathan, Rev. Jacob Chandy Sr., Rev K. Koshy, Rev. Oommen Mammen and Rev. J. Eapen, started to evangelize outcastes and work for their upliftment. CMS educational institutions became open for all. Notwithstanding all these, Anglican Syrians still continued as an in-marrying community.
### Attitudes of other Syrians
Other Syrians believed that their kinsmen in the Anglican Church, were about to bring calamity upon all St. Thomas Christians. They feared that the co-existence of Syrians and outcastes, even within a single Christian denomination, will result in the degradation and ousting of the entire Syrian Christian community, as polluting. They even pointed out for the benefit of other higher caste Hindus, so that they may avoid ritual defilement, any low caste convert who ventured to walk on public roads, and thereby pass for a Syrian.
St. Thomas Christians shared the prevalent view among higher castes that slaves, once enlightened, may no longer be docile; a very undesirable change that could ultimately lead up to their regrettable liberation. Such a scenario, which would disrupt the long-standing class structure of Travancore and shake the foundation of its economy, was inconceivable to high-caste groups. For this reason, the Anglican Syrian evangelists, who worked for the betterment of the deprived and destitute, were viewed as the enemies of state.
Saint Thomas Anglicans also tried to gain more Syrian recruits to their Church. They staged fiery revival meetings, exhorting attendees to rise up against popery, idolatry and various unchristian abuses. This sometimes resulted in tussles with other Syrians. In 1852, a Syrian–Catholic cleric made a bonfire out CMS tracts, in Kottayam. In 1861, a Malankara Syrian Cattanar spat on the translated New Testament, distributed by a CMS volunteer. In some other instances, Anglican Syrians joined hands with the pro-Reform lobby within the Malankara Church and publicly smashed several fetishized Syrian idols, provoking riots at times.
After these tumultuous times, by 1900, the sectarian boundaries with the Saint Thomas Christian population, somewhat stabilized. Albeit being a minority, early access to Western-style education, enabled Anglican Syrian Christians to achieve positions of leadership in government and society, that was perceptibly disproportionate to their share of the population.
### Travancore–Cochin diocese of the Church of India, Burma & Ceylon
The Diocese of Travancore and Cochin of the Church of England was established in 1879. The ecclesiastical hierarchy of the Travancore–Cochin diocese was composed almost entirely of St. Thomas Christians. The highest rank attained by native Indians within the Anglican Church, in the 19th century, was that of an Archdeacon. Rev. K. Koshy (Adn. 1885), an Anglican Syrian from the Travancore–Cochin diocese, was the first to raised to this position. This was followed by several others like Adn. Oommen Mammen (1902), Adn. Jacob Chandy Jr. (1906) and Adn. CK Jacob (1932).
In 1930, the Anglican dioceses in British India coalesced under the Metropolitan see of Calcutta, creating the autonomous Church of India, Burma and Ceylon, within the Anglican Communion. On 6 May 1945, Archdeacon C.K. Jacob was consecrated as bishop to the Travancore–Cochin diocese; the first native to hold that post. He was only the second Indian to be elevated to bishopric in the Anglican Church, after Rt. Rev. V. S. Azariah (Bp. 1912).
## Formation of the Church of South India
### Background
The pressure for the Indianization of the Anglican Church for the greater good, originally came from the British churchmen, serving in India, from last decades of the 19th century. This combined with the growing nationalist sentiments of Indian Protestants, who came under the sway of the Indian independence movement, inspired the idea of a united Indian Church. They were desirous of an indigenous Church leadership and governance, free of foreign control. Such a union was also meant to be an act of true Christian witness to the pluralistic Indian society, in which Christians constituted a small minority. The Anglican efforts in this direction began with the Tranquebar conferences of May 1919, convened by bishop V. S. Azariah of the Anglican Diocese of Dornakal.
### Negotiations
During the extensive dialogues that preceded the formation of the Church of South India, the Anglican party while accepting the ministries of all uniting denominations, argued for the introduction of an episcopate in historic succession from the Anglican Church into the envisioned United Church, by bestowing episcopal ordinations upon all candidates to bishoprics drawn from non-episcopal traditions. They also insisted that all ordinations after the union should be exclusively episcopal, conferred only by existing bishops with the imposition of hands, so that in the fullness of time, the entire ministry of the United Church would be in apostolic succession. These were eventually accepted.
### Bishop Cherakarottu Korula Jacob and the inauguration of the CSI
Due to the death of bishop Azariah in 1945, C. K. Jacob of the Travancore–Cochin diocese, transpired as the sole native bishop of the CIBC. In 1946, bishop Jacob, along with the bishops of the other South Indian dioceses of the CIBC, issued a signed statement that they have no objections to receiving the Eucharist, from any presbyter of the United Church, given that no non-episcopal ordained presbyter would minister to a congregation that conscientiously objects to his ministry. This declaration made in an atmosphere of strong Anglo-Catholic opposition, was a major milestone towards unification. He also contributed significantly to the last joint committee of the uniting Churches in 1947.
On 27 September 1947, during the inaugural service of the United Church, the presiding bishop Rt. Rev. Cherakarottu Korula Jacob, by the following proclamation, declared the Church of South India, as made:
> Dearly beloved brethren, in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, Who on the night of His Passion prayed that His disciples might be one; and by authority of the governing bodies of the uniting Churches, whose resolutions have been read in your hearing and laid in prayer before Almighty God; I do hereby declare that these three Churches, namely:
>
> the Madras, Travancore and Cochin, Tinnevelly, and Dornakal Dioceses of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon; the Madras, Madura, Malabar, Jaffna, Kannada, Telugu and Travancore Church Councils of the South India United Church; and the Methodist Church in South India, comprising the Madras, Trichinopoly, Hyderabad and Mysore Districts;
>
> are become one Church of South India, and that those bishops, presbyters, deacons and probationers who have assented to the Basis of Union and accepted the Constitution of the Church of South India, whose names are laid upon this holy table, are bishops, presbyters and deacons of this Church: in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Afterwards, bishop Jacob, along with other Anglican bishops and senior presbyters of the uniting denominations, vested all new candidates to bishoprics with episcopal ordinations. By 1965, eighty-five percent of CSI clergy were episcopally ordained.
## St. Thomas Anglicans within the Church of South India
After acceding to the CSI, the Anglican Diocese of Travancore and Cochin was renamed as the Madhya Kerala Diocese of the Church of South India and Anglican Syrian Christians came to be known as CSI Syrian Christians, too. Bishop C.K. Jacob served as the first Deputy Moderator of the CSI from 1948 to 1950.
While the CSI liturgy and rite was being developed, there was a recommendation to observe the Kiss of Peace with congregational participation, as in the local Syrian Churches. Malankara Syrians actually passed greetings hand-to-hand throughout the entire congregation, unlike in the Western Church, where it was greatly reduced or limited to the clergy. Bishop C.K. Jacob, despite being of Syrian stock, opposed it on the grounds that the Syrian Kiss of Peace was completely hypocritical, considering the bitter factionalism and incessant feuds among them. But others supported its inclusion, as this local practice was evidently prevalent in the Early Church. Thus it got incorporated into the CSI rite.
Even within the Church of South India, Anglican Syrians continued as an endogamous community. In protest against the casteism and domination of Syrian Christians in the Central Kerala Diocese, a group of Dalit Christians under the leadership of Rev. V.J. Stephen, seceded from the CSI in 1964.
The next St. Thomas Anglican to raised to the rank of Deputy Moderator is bishop Thomas K. Oommen. He was ordained as the bishop of the Madhya Kerala Diocese on 5 March 2011. In January 2014, he was elected the Deputy Moderator of Church of South India. Later, in January 2017, he was chosen as the Moderator and Primate of Church of South India and continued in that office till January 2020.
## Relations with other Saint Thomas Christians
By 1889, the reformists of the Malankara Church separated and established the Mar Thoma Church. This Reformed Syrian Church is in full communion with the Church of South India.
By the dawn of the 20th century, the shifting of Syrians between Anglican and Orthodox confessions ceased and thereafter, the original cordiality between the Anglican and Orthodox Churches revived. In the celebration of 1916, that marked the centenary of the CMS mission to Travancore, the head bishops and clergy of the various Syrian factions thankfully acknowledged how much they owed the missionaries, who gave them the Bible in Malayalam as well as Syriac, and reminisced the multitude of Malankara Syrians that passed through the CMS College Ever since, the relation between Anglican and Orthodox Churches has been of friendly cooperation. This continues between the CSI and the Orthodox and Jacobite factions of the old Malankara Church.
For all the ecclesiastical divisions among Saint Thomas Christians, they still constitute a single caste, on the whole. Hence, it is not uncommon for CSI, Orthodox, Jacobite and Mar Thoma Syrians to marry from and into one another's Churches. But the caste identity is maintained almost invariably, even while sectarian allegiance is switched through such marriages.
## Demographics
The roots of the majority of CSI Syrian Christians lie in the Madhya Kerala Diocese. However, after Indian independence, many of them moved out of Kerala to other Indian states and the rest of the world, starting new congregations. Many of these congregations are outside the South Indian Anglican province and hence fall under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the respective provincial bishops, at least technically. Hence, the task of determining the cumulative number of Syrian Christians in the South Indian and other global Anglican provinces, is quite challenging. However, sources generally tend to approximate it at 200,000. This is about 5 percent of the 4 million members of the Church of South India.
## A progressive community of several firsts
The association with the Church Mission Society, worked to the advantage of Anglican Syrian Christians, for they soon surfaced as a community of several firsts. Rev. George Mathan was not only an early Syrian–Anglican priest; he was also the first Malayali to produce an authoritative Grammar Book for Malayalam (1863), in Malayalam.
In the 19th century, Anglican Syrians became the pathfinders among Saint Thomas Christians, in education. Ergo, they were the first to express discontent at the Travancore government's policy of excluding Christians from high public offices. T. C. Poonen was the first Malayali to study law in England. In 1872, he was called to the Bar of England and Wales. However, he later returned to India, and was refused a post in the Travancore Government Service. Even so, he received posting as a judge, in the neighbouring Princely State of Cochin. In April 1898, leading Syrian Christians of all sects, formed the Travancore and Cochin Christian Association, to deal with the discriminatory policies of the government and promote their interests. Barrister T.C. Poonen was its first President. Owing to the various socio-political movements, which began from the late 19th century, the Travancore administration became a lot more inclusive and representative in the 20th century.
Padma Vibhushan Dr. John Matthai was the first Malayali to become a cabinet minister for independent India, handling Railways and later Finance portfolios. He was also the first chairman of the State Bank of India. Padma Vibhushan Dr. Verghese Kurien aka the Father of the White Revolution in India, was a social entrepreneur whose ideas and leadership, made India the world's largest milk producer. Padma Bhushan Dr. Jacob Chandy, the son of archdeacon Jacob Chandy Jr. was the first neurosurgeon of India. He is regarded as the father of modern neurosurgery in India, due to his trailblazing work in that specialty.
Historically, Saint Thomas Christians have been a downright male-dominant community. So, the right to inheritance, was solely confined to male descendants. From the early 20th century itself, Anglican Syrians like Justice P. Cherian were at the forefront of Syrian Christian women's rights causes. They advocated the passing of a new law, like the Indian Succession Act of 1865, that granted greater property rights to women. This eventually brought forth the Travancore Christian Succession Act of 1916, although a daughter's share in ancestral property, in lieu of dowry, was limited to a 4th of that of a son, due to fierce opposition from conservative Syrians.
Padma Shri Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose, was the first Malayali woman to earn a bachelor's degree, as well as the first Malayali woman to graduate in medicine, from Britain. Mary was the first female legislator (1922) of Travancore. Mary was also the first female Surgeon General (1938) of British India. She is reported to have been the first woman Surgeon General in the world; the first in the US, being appointed only in 1990. Mary Poonen, the niece of barrister T.C. Poonen, married K.K. Lukose, a Malankara Orthodox lawyer (later judge), and son of K.K. Kuruvilla, who was one of the most adamant opponents of women's inheritance rights. Independent scholars like Dr. Robin Jeffrey have opined that the death of Mr. Kuruvilla, prior to his son's marriage, along with the unqualified support Mary received from her well-educated husband, may have contributed positively to the building of her exemplary career.
Educator Mary Roy, almost single-handedly fought a legal battle (dubbed Mary Roy case), to overturn the archaic Travancore Christian Succession Act and its Cochin counterpart. The final verdict of 1986, accorded all Syrian Christian women, equal property rights as their male siblings. Suzanna Arundhati Roy, the first Indian national to win the Booker Prize for Literature (1997), is Mary Roy's daughter. Historical facets of Saint Thomas Anglican life and culture like missionaries, Syrianness, casteism, slaves, bygone Anglophilia etc. feature detectably in her award-winning novel, The God of Small Things.
## Gallery
## See also
- Church Missionary Society in India |
# VR Class Sm3
The Sm3 Pendolino (originally branded as Pendolino S220, and usually referred to simply as the Pendolino) is a class of high-speed body-tilting trains operated by VR Group. It is a member of the Pendolino train family; its design is based on the ETR 460. The first two trainsets were assembled in Finland by Rautaruukki-Transtech in the mid-1990s. The rest of the series of eighteen EMUs were built by Fiat Ferroviaria (later Alstom) between 2000 and 2006. The trains serve most of Finland's major cities such as Helsinki, Turku, Oulu and Joensuu with a maximum speed of 220 km/h (140 mph), although this speed is only attained between Kerava and Lahti. The train has a power output of 4,000 kW (5,400 hp) and weighs 328 tonnes (323 long tons; 362 short tons).
The Sm3 had a long prototype phase before the main series was ordered, with reliability issues being brought up by the press from time to time. Negative reporting continues to haunt the series' reputation. Reliability problems cannot be proven, as no statistics of specific train types are available. The train has not managed to cope with harsh Finnish weather conditions, and the time benefit of the tilting mechanism has not be taken into account since the timetables of winter 2011–2012. Nevertheless, the Sm3 has also received positive feedback from passengers and has led to increased operating speeds on the Finnish rail network.
## History
### 1992: Ordering
VR announced its 2 billion Finnish Mark Pendolino order on 7 February 1992, consisting of two firm orders and twenty-three options. ABB's X 2000 and the Talgo Pendular were considered in addition to the Italian train; the latter was chosen due to its lower price (70 million FIM per unit) and because it was already running. Only these two tilting trains were considered due to the twisting nature Finland's railway network. Thanks to its tilting mechanism, the Pendolino – unlike such other European high-speed trains like the TGV, Thalys, and AVE – does not need to run on specialised high-speed lines, which was important to VR; instead, it runs on existing lines, and was expected to surpass the speed attained by traditional trains by 35%. This has both beneficial and negative consequences. The trains cannot run at as high a speed as, for example, the TGV, due to the lines. However, the Pendolino can also run alongside normal non-tilting trains, allowing for greater use of the railway. Building trains that could ensure passenger comfort at high speed on these routes by tilting through the curves was seen as a much cheaper solution than reconstructing the railway network itself due to Finland's low population and long distances. The train was originally called the Sm200, but in May 1995 it was officially named Sm3 according to VR's nomenclature for multiple units.
It was expected that the train would, as in Italy, run at a maximum speed of 250 km/h (160 mph) and significantly shorten the travel times between major cities. As an example, the 2-hour and 7-minute travel time between Helsinki and Turku was expected to drop to 1:28 by 2010; however, the top speed of the train was limited to 220 km/h (140 mph) and the advertised times were never achieved. As of July 2011, 1:44 is the fastest train link between the two cities (on the S126).
### 1993–1997: Testing the prototypes
A test carriage from an ETR 460 arrived by boat into Finland from Italy in March 1993. It was used to test how the Pendolino would cope with Finland's winter and rail network by running it in Northern Karelia between Nurmes and Vieki. The carriage had to be fitted with new bogies over night at Hanko as it was designed for standard gauge instead of the broader Finnish gauge. Another carriage was built by Transtech according to the specifications of the new train (nomenclature KOEV from koevaunu, test carriage). It was later included in the first completed unit as the fourth car, TT 7401. Before a full trainset was finished, some test runs were made with only the first three carriages of the train in late 1994.
The first finished train was unveiled to the press on 14 October 1994, and the first two trainsets started their regular test traffic on 27 November 1995 between Helsinki and Turku on the coastal track. Test traffic was stopped only after three months, at the end of February 1996, due to technical difficulties with the trains. Testing later resumed, and VR announced in 1997 that it would start normal operations with the Pendolino despite electrical problems. The ability of the train to cope with the Finnish winter was put into question, but VR denied that coldness had been a factor in the electrical failures.
### 1997–2006: The main series
Testing ended in August 1997, after the two trainsets had covered a total of 815,000 kilometres (506,000 mi) during 3,870 trips between Helsinki and Turku. Only six of three thousand journeys were terminated due to technical issues. VR's CEO Henri Kuitunen was positive about the new train in 1998, stating that passengers feel it has been a good purchase. Passenger numbers rose by 17% between Helsinki and Turku in 1997.
Eight additional Pendolinos were ordered at the end 1997 at the price of FIM 77 million per train (€13 million). They were delivered between 2000 and 2002. The main series trains differed in various ways from the prototypes. The new trains allowed Pendolino traffic to extend: they started running between Helsinki and Jyväskylä on 22 October 2001. In June 2002, the network was expanded further, and routes were continued from Tampere onwards to Oulu and from Jyväskylä to Kuopio. One of the main series trains (number 7x08) was damaged during maritime transport in October 2001. The badly secured train had come loose during a storm on the Atlantic, almost causing the loss of M/S Traden, the ship carrying it. Thanks to good actions of the ship's crew, it was able to reach Le Havre and the train was sent back to Italy to be repaired.
Not all passengers were happy with the new train. In 2005, a delegation of commuters between Helsinki and Tampere collected criticism from fellow passengers on the Internet and delivered it to VR's head of passenger transport Antti Jaatinen. The delegation's leader, Kaj-Erik Fohlin, had made 30 trips between the two cities in January 2005 using the Pendolino, 12 of which had been on schedule.
The last eight trains were ordered in 2002 and delivered in 2004–2006, finalising the fleet of 18 trains. At that point it had become clear that the speed limits on the rail network were mostly too low for the trains to run at their maximum operating speed, even though they were chosen specifically to prevent the costly work of straightening existing lines. Work on lines has continued, and, on modernised lines, the speed difference between the Pendolino and non-tilting trains has become minimal. The Sm3 was able to attain its maximum operating speed in regular traffic only in 2006, when a new rail line was opened between Kerava and Lahti and the full Pendolino fleet was available.
### 2006 onwards: The New Train Era
VR advertised the arrival of the full Pendolino fleet with the slogan "New Train Era" (Finnish: Uusi juna-aika). It started on 3 September 2006, when the line between Kerava and Lahti was officially opened and timetables changed to take the full potential of the Sm3 into account. Travel times between Helsinki and eastern Finland were cut by up to an hour.
The Pendolino has received bad publicity since the first units were taken in service for its serious reliability issues, mostly caused by technical problems with the tilting system and the couplers. The coupling problems grew particularly important with the expansion of the Pendolino network in 2006, requiring rapid on-the-fly coupling of two trains at intersection stations. Because the units often could not be coupled the train units had to be run as two separate trains running one after another. This consumed one extra train slot on the heavily used rail sections causing cascading timetable delays. Sometimes two trains would not separate after coupling them, caused by moisture in the couplers. Due to the problems VR ended the practice of coupling Pendolino trains on-the-fly at the two intersection stations; in Tampere in late 2007 and in Kouvola during autumn 2008.
VR has given mixed statements about the fault-sensitivity of the train. Pentti Kuokkanen, project coordinator of VR Engineering downplayed the problems when questioned about the reliability of another Fiat Ferroviaria multiple unit, the Sm4, in 1999. According to him, the Pendolino had been VR's most reliable passenger train during winter 1998–1999. In 2006, VR's CEO Henri Kuitunen affirmed that the Pendolino was causing serious image problems to VR Group. In 2010, the company's head of traffic control Mauno Haapala stated that the Sm3 was not more fault-sensitive than their other trains. However during winter 2011, VR Group's head of service and production department Pertti Saarela gave a totally different answer, saying that Pendolinos are more prone to failures especially during winter. It is impossible to know if the train has more problems than VR's other rolling stock, as the company does not give out punctuality statistics for specific train types.
In the 2010s, the novelty of the Pendolino has worn off and VR has even used the train in regional traffic between Oulu and Rovaniemi due to rail works in summer 2011. The problematic tilting mechanism was not used during winter 2010–2011 and the time benefit of the tilting was not taken into account in timetables of winter 2011–2012.
On 19 August 2011, VR announced it would start a refurbishment of all its Sm3 units to improve the operating conditions during winter. The work will be done between 2012 and 2014 and will cost 10 million Euros. Alstom will cover half of the expenses. The problematic couplers will be changed to allow trains to be coupled on-the-fly again at intermediate stations. Heaters will be installed in the trains' undercarriages to prevent the formation of ice during the winter. In addition to these modifications, the tilt angle of the bogies will be lowered from the current eight degrees. The operating speed of the train will remain the same. As of January 2013, new couplers have been installed in at least Sm3 units 7x12 and 7x18.
VR has been experiencing high maintenance costs and a low availability of the tilting system in its daily operations with the original Italian-designed tilting hydraulics. The original solution is based on analog hydraulics with many servo valves, which the extreme temperature differences and contamination of hydraulic oil have made very failure-prone. VR contracted Finnish scientists of Tampere University of Technology to demonstrate the feasibility of a conversion of the tilting technology using digital hydraulic technology developed at the university. Digital hydraulics replace conventional continuously adjustable servo valves with a number of smaller intelligently controlled on/off valves. The result of the study was a retrofit kit for the conversion of all Pendolinos with a plug-and-play solution that fits seamlessly into the mechanical, hydraulic and electrical interfaces of present VR Pendolinos. The kit is provided by Rexroth. Two carriages were fitted with the new system in 2012. During two years of tests in Pendolino trains in normal use there was no single failure of the system. VR has decided to retrofit the entire Pendolino fleet with digital hydraulics.
Pendolino traffic on the coastal line ended in December 2012. The two remaining services were replaced with InterCity trains, which run at similar speeds.
## Technical information
With its eight asynchronous three-phase AC motors delivering 4,000 kW (5,400 hp) to move its weight of 328 tonnes (323 long tons; 362 short tons), the Sm3 does not accelerate particularly fast, reaching 200 km/h (120 mph) from a standstill only after 3 minutes and 13 seconds and a distance of 6.8 km (4.2 mi). The tilting mechanism lets the body tilt up to 8° at speeds of over 70 km/h (43 mph), which helps to lessen the G-forces in the corners and allows the train to achieve its maximum speed of 220 kilometres per hour (140 mph). According to VR, the tilting system enables a 30 to 40% higher speed compared to traditional trains. The highest speed ever reached by the class has been 242 km/h (150 mph) during testing.
Each train consists of six cars, from front to back: IM, CM, TTC, TT, CM and IM. The IM class carriages at each end of the train are powered and fitted with a driver's compartment. The CM class is a powered passenger car. Class TTC is unpowered, it is equipped with a pantograph and a restaurant. The TT class is an unpowered passenger car which has also a pantograph on its roof. Each of the powered carriages is fitted with one motor on each of the two bogies. If needed, two trains can be coupled together.
The prototype and series trains have various differences. The number of seats was increased from 264 to 309 by changing the seat configuration in second class from 2+1 to 2+2. The information screens on the outside of the carriages were moved from the center of the carriages to next to the doors. There are also differences with the light switch logic, which often leads to the trains running with both front and tail lights on at the same end. The prototypes differed also originally by their restaurant car and Extra class features. They were modified in the mid-2000s to be similar to the series trains.
The doors of the two prototype trains were changed in 1999 as they were not working properly.
VR does the maintenance work of the trains itself, getting expert advice from Alstom as needed. The work is done in Helsinki and Turku.
## Services
The Pendolino is designed as a premium facility train. The seats are fitted with audio sockets for radio and music channels; however the radio service was dropped in 2010 due to low usage. All seats have electricity sockets for laptops and mobile phones. All Sm3 trains offer a free onboard Wi-Fi Internet access since 2010. The passenger information monitors over the aisle in the carriages show a clock and the train's current speed in addition to VR's marketing material and station information. They are also used to convey passenger information for the deaf. The train is accessible for wheelchairs, contains pet spaces and seats for allergic passengers.
The train has an onboard bistro, named RavintoLAvaunu. It has a Nordic theme and serves traditional Finnish foods and snacks. First class passengers have access to a self-service counter with coffee, tea and the day's newspapers. Each train has also a closed-off conference compartment for business groups.
## Routes
The trains are distinguished in Finnish railway timetables by the letter S. The Pendolino network radiates out from the capital Helsinki. Five main routes serve most of Finland's big cities:
- Regular service
- Helsinki–Oulu(–Rovaniemi)
- Helsinki–Vaasa
- Helsinki–Jyväskylä-Pieksämäki
- Helsinki–Kouvola–Kuopio–Kajaani–Oulu
- Helsinki–Joensuu
- Helsinki–Turku
The newest service between Helsinki and Vaasa started on 12 December 2011, with the completion of the electrification work on the Seinäjoki–Vaasa line.
The trains can run at speeds up to 200 km/h (120 mph) on routes between Helsinki and Seinäjoki, Helsinki and Turku and Lahti and Luumäki as lines are being upgraded. Only the line between Kerava and Lahti permits operation at the maximum speed of 220 kilometres per hour (140 mph).
## Livery
At least two livery variants were tested on scale models, which were later exposed at VR's conference centre at Helsinki central railway station: one has a red strip for the whole length of the train, with the window backgrounds painted grey. The other is more similar to the final result, but the front of the train includes more red and no grey paint at all. VR finally settled to a combination of both of them, which bore resemblance to the company's InterCity livery. The bottom of the carriages is dark grey, with a red stripe distinguishing it from the white base colour. The top of the carriages is painted grey. Red colouring at the end of each car forms red parallelograms when the carriages are combined. When asked why the trains were not blue and white, VR's CEO answered that red and white fits the train and its design the best.
The trains were originally marked with only a V instead of the full VR logo to symbolise the company's high speed transport. The same logo was also used on the Sr2 locomotive. The text "Pendolino S220" was written on the units according to the train's original branding. On later units, VR's logo was fully painted (the same happened with the Sr2) and "S220" dropped.
Since 2009, VR has been repainting its fleet in new colours according to its changed visual identity. Green colour has replaced red, and each car now has two green parallelograms instead of one larger figure between carriages. Artwork showcasing Finnish nature decorates them. As of December 2012, Sm3 units 7x01 to 7x04, 7x06 to 7x10 and 7x12 have been repainted in the new livery.
## Incidents and accidents
On 9 January 2003 an improperly locked door came loose in a high-speed tunnel at Perniö. No-one was injured in the accident. The settings of all Sm3 doors were checked by the operator in the following days.
A Sm3 derailed near Karjaa on 25 July 2003 due to a defect in a turnout. The train derailed at a low speed after mechanics turned the turnout blades manually into the correct position, but forgot to check the turnout frog, which was set to a diverging track. The first three carriages of the train derailed completely, in addition to the first bogie of the fourth car.
In December 2021 two Sm3 units crashed on low speed near Tampere station. No one was hurt, but both of the trains were severely damaged.
## Sm6 Allegro
In December 2010, Karelian Trains, a joint venture by VR and RZhD, started a new service linking Helsinki to St. Petersburg, Russia using a new model of the Pendolino called the Sm6 Allegro. The Sm6 is technically based on the New Pendolino, but its looks are similar to the Sm3. The most significant difference is that an Sm6 unit is composed of seven carriages. The train is capable of dual-voltage running due to differences between the electric systems of the Finnish and Russian rail network and is equipped with four pantographs.
The Sm6 is reserved for international passengers and therefore cannot be used to travel inside of Finland. There are four trains per day in each direction.
The service has been suspended since 27 March 2022 due to the international sanctions, and in its half-year report VR Group announced that it wrote off all Allegro rolling stock and spare parts.
## See also
- List of high speed trains
- High-speed rail in Europe
- Sm6 Allegro |
# St Catherine's Hill, Hampshire
St. Catherine's Hill is a chalk downland hill and 43-hectare (110-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the outskirts of Winchester in Hampshire, England. It is owned by Winchester College but open to the public. It is managed by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, and topped by an Iron Age hillfort, a scheduled monument. In the Black Death, plague pits were dug in the dry valley on the south side of the hill. In the Early modern period, a mizmaze was cut on the hilltop. Winchester College football used to be played on the hill; in an old custom, members of the college assemble on the hill every year, early in the morning.
Geologically, the hill is part of a local anticline in the chalk, which is of Turonian age in the Upper Cretaceous. The local ecology is dominated by the chalk, which results in a thin dark soil, a rendzina, which favours lime-loving plants from orchids to bellflowers.
## History
### Iron Age
The top of St. Catherine's Hill is ringed by the ramparts of an Iron Age hillfort, a Scheduled Monument. The fortifications consist of a single rampart (univallate dump or glacis) with an outer ditch, begun in the Early Iron Age; much of the way around there is also a counterscarp bank. At the north-east side is an original entrance, with the rampart turned inwards. There is no evidence of an initial wooden rampart, unlike some other hillforts in Wessex. In the Middle Iron Age, c. 400–300 BC, the fortifications were made higher and the entrance was reshaped.
The site was occupied until the Middle Ages, as demonstrated by archaeological finds such as Iron Age pottery, a saddle quern, objects of worked bronze, iron, bone, and stone, as well as whetstones, spindle whorls, and remains of bones of sheep/goat, shorthorn oxen, horses, pigs, red deer, and dogs. From the Roman period there is pottery, a bronze coin of the emperor Carausius, and a bronze fibula.
### Medieval to Early modern
At the top of the hill, a copse of beech trees contains the site of the 12th-century chapel of St. Catherine. In the 14th century, Black Death, bubonic plague killed many people in the area. Plague pits were dug in the dry valley beside the hill when all Winchester's graveyards became full. There is a mizmaze near the hilltop copse, probably cut between 1647 and 1710 in the Early modern period. It was remade between 1830 and 1840.
### Modern
Winchester College pupils and teachers assemble twice a year, early in the morning, on top of the hill in one of its customs, "Morning Hills"; this is the only regular whole-school assembly practised by the college. The game of Winchester College football was formerly played on top of the hill; boys who were not playing stood beside the pitch to keep the ball from rolling down the hill. In 1922, The Old Wykehamist Lodge of Freemasons bought the hill and gave it to the college. The hill remains in the college's ownership, but is open to the public.
When the Didcot, Newbury and Southampton Railway was built in the 1890s, it separated the hill from the water meadows in the Itchen valley. The 1930s construction of the Winchester By-pass increased the severance. The hill has been rejoined to the city and college by the removal of the road, but it has been severed from the chalk hills on its east by the M3 motorway. That road, built in the 1990s, aroused the Twyford Down protests.
## Natural history
### Geology
St. Catherine's Hill is geologically within the upfolding of the chalk called the Winchester anticline. The anticline has eroded to expose older rocks to the north of the hill, with a surviving inward-facing circular escarpment encompassing St. Catherine's and other hills to the south, Oliver's Battery to the west, Magdalen Hill to the north, and Telegraph Hill and Chilcomb Down to the east. St. Catherine's Hill belongs to the roughly 90 million years old Upper Cretaceous 'New Pit Chalk Formation' within the Turonian stage. The hill is bounded to the south by Plague Pits Valley, a dry valley in the chalk of Twyford Down. To the west, the line of chalk hills has been transected by the River Itchen.
### Ecology
The soil on the hill is a thin dark rendzina, directly on top of the chalk; it is thinnest high on the slopes, thickening into the valleys. This provides a varied set of local environments supporting a range of communities of flowering plants, including small populations of numerous downland species of orchids. Species uncommon for southern England include bastard toadflax and juniper. The hill has accordingly been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is managed by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
Much of the site is chalk grassland, supporting the uncommon chalkhill blue butterfly. Where grazing has kept the grass short, the grassland is dominated by sheep's fescue grass, accompanied by lime-loving (calcicolous) plants such as common rock-rose, salad burnet, thyme, horseshoe vetch, kidney vetch, fairy flax, clustered bellflower, and orchids such as autumn lady's tresses and frog orchid.
The north-facing side of the dry valley beside the hill is covered with taller grasses such as meadow fescue and upright brome, accompanied by taller forbs such as basil, betony, wild carrot, yellow rattle, and perforate St John's wort. A feature of the plant community is the presence of forbs of relatively wet grassland, such as saw-wort, hemp agrimony, and devilsbit scabious.
There is some invasive scrub with bushes such as hawthorn, blackthorn, privet, dogwood, and wild rose, especially on the northern side. It is controlled by grazing and cutting. The hilltop wood consists of beech trees. |
# Young Modern
Young Modern is the fifth and final studio album by Australian alternative rock band Silverchair, released in Australia on 31 March 2007 and in the United States on 24 July 2007 and co-produced by Daniel Johns and Nick Launay. The title comes from a nickname given to Daniel Johns by composer Van Dyke Parks. The tracks "Straight Lines", "Reflections of a Sound", "If You Keep Losing Sleep" and "Mind Reader" were released as singles. Young Modern entered the Australian albums chart at No. 1 on 15 April 2007, their fifth consecutive album to do this, making Silverchair the first band to accomplish this feat in Australia. The album was certified Triple Platinum by the ARIA, peaked at No. 70 on the US Billboard 200 chart and opened at No. 8 on the New Zealand albums chart. Young Modern won six ARIA Awards in 2007, including Best Group, Best Rock Album, Single of the Year (for "Straight Lines") and Album of the Year. At the J Awards of 2007, the album was nominated for Australian Album of the Year.
## Recording and production
Silverchair spent five weeks in the Australian Hunter Region in late 2005 to practise and sharpen material that Daniel Johns had previously written. Following this, the band recorded intermediate full band demo versions of the songs. To record the final versions of these songs, the band travelled to Los Angeles to record with record producer Nick Launay at Seedy Underbelly Studios. Johns co-produced the album alongside Launay. During the L.A. sessions, additional songs were written and recorded. Van Dyke Parks was hired to compose orchestral arrangements for three songs: "If You Keep Losing Sleep", "All Across the World" and the three part epic "Those Thieving Birds/Strange Behaviour". Johns and Parks travelled to Prague to have the orchestral arrangements recorded by The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.
Unlike previous Silverchair albums, Young Modern was funded independently by the band rather than by a record label. This was done to "remove the added label pressures", according to Billboard. The name Young Modern comes from a nickname given to Silverchair's lead singer, Johns, by Van Dyke Parks during their time working together on Diorama in 2002. The album features various guest appearances from Australian and international musicians such as Luke Steele, Julian Hamilton and Paul Mac, the latter of whom performed with Johns as The Dissociatives.
## Album and single releases
Young Modern was released on 31 March 2007 in Australia, and 24 July 2007 in the United States of America. The album was released in several versions—the original contained 11 songs, while the iTunes version contained an extra song, "English Garden" which featured Judith Durham. A limited edition DVD was also released, which contained a documentary entitled "The making of Young Modern", as well as the "Straight Lines" music video. The album's artwork (as well as the music video for "Reflections of a Sound") is a three-dimensional homage to Mondrian art; specifically, it is a direct reference to Composition with Red Blue and Yellow and its variants.
The first single from Young Modern, "Straight Lines", was released on 10 March 2007, a week before the album's release. "Straight Lines" entered the ARIA Charts at No. 1 on 25 March 2007, and held that rank for four weeks. It also peaked at No. 11 on the RMNZ charts. "Straight Lines" was certified double platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association. On 28 October 2007, "Straight Lines" won Best Selling Australian Single at the ARIA Music Awards of 2007, as well as Single of the Year.
The second single, "Reflections of a Sound", was released on 14 July 2007 as a digital single. The music video for "Reflections of a Sound" was first screened on 8 June 2007, and was produced by Damon Escott and Stephen Lance of Head Pictures.
The third single from Young Modern was "If You Keep Losing Sleep", released on 9 October 2007. The song spent one week on the ARIA charts at No. 16, before dropping out of the charts. The music video for "If You Keep Losing Sleep" was orchestrated by Van Dyke Parks, and was produced by Damon Escott and Stephen Lance, who also created the "Reflections of a Sound" video. The video was described by Molly Meldrum as "the best video I've seen from Australia ever". Young Moderns fourth single, "Mind Reader", was released as an internet-only single on 23 February 2008. It had first appeared on radio in January that year.
## Reception
Young Modern was received with high acclaim from reviewers. AllMusic's review said the album contained "catchy melodic hooks, inspired lyrical themes, and stunning string arrangements", and called it the "pinnacle of the band's fascinating development". Reviewer Clayton Bolger heaped praise on most of the songs on the album, calling "Straight Lines" an "instant rock classic".
Rolling Stone reviewer David Fricke called Silverchair's members "young (in their late twenties)...[and] aggressively modern", and Entertainment Weekly called the album a "polished glam-rock suite". Sputnikmusic reviewer Tyler Fisher also approved of the album, although he did not think it was as good as it was made out to be, commenting "It is not as good as the ARIA awards will undoubtedly make it out to be but still one of the better mainstream listens of the year."
During his weekly entertainment segment on the popular Australian breakfast show Sunrise, Australian music personality Molly Meldrum made a sincere comparison of the album to the classic Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Nick Pearson of PopMatters, meanwhile, was critical of the album. He began his review with the statement "Once you reach the level of intellectual maturity where you can tell the difference between cryptic but poetic lyrics and nonsensical crap, you have outgrown Silverchair", and continued in the same fashion throughout. Pearson unfavourably likened Johns to Kurt Cobain, saying Johns shared a common inability: "[an] inability to write lyrics". His only praise was for the third single released from the album, "If You Keep Losing Sleep", stating "'If You Keep Losing Sleep' is proof that Silverchair are capable of recording interesting music".
The song "Straight Lines" was featured as downloadable content for the video game Rock Band in 2010.
## Track listing
All songs written by Daniel Johns unless otherwise noted.
1. "Young Modern Station" (Johns, Julian Hamilton) – 3:11
2. "Straight Lines" (Johns, Hamilton) – 4:18
3. "If You Keep Losing Sleep" – 3:20
4. "Reflections of a Sound" – 4:09
5. "Those Thieving Birds (Part 1) / Strange Behaviour / Those Thieving Birds (Part 2)" – 7:26
6. "The Man That Knew Too Much" – 4:20
7. "Waiting All Day" (Johns, Hamilton) – 4:29
8. "Mind Reader" (Johns, Hamilton) – 3:07
9. "Low" – 3:48
10. "Insomnia" – 3:06
11. "All Across the World" – 4:01
iTunes Store bonus tracks'
1.
<li value="12">
"English Garden" – 4:23 (featuring Judith Durham)
2. "Straight Lines" (The Presets Remix) – 3:53 (iTunes special edition)
Bonus DVD
1. The making of Young Modern documentary.
2. "Straight Lines" music video
- A vinyl version of the album has been made limited to 1000 copies worldwide (400 Available in Australia and 600 elsewhere)
## Personnel
Silverchair
- Ben Gillies – drums
- Chris Joannou – bass
- Daniel Johns – guitar, vocals
Production
- Nick Launay, Daniel Johns – producing
- David Bottrill – mixing
- Bob Ludwig – mastering
Additional musicians
- Matt Appleton – brass
- Alain Johannes – slide guitar
- Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
- Michel Rose – pedal steel guitar
- Paul Mac – keyboards, programming
- Luke Steele – guitar, backing vocals
- Nayo Wallace – backing vocals
- Judith Durham – guest vocalist on English Garden
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## Awards and nominations |
# Satsu (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
Satsu is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, a comic book continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Introduced as one of the strongest Slayers, she has a close relationship with her mentor Buffy Summers. Satsu develops romantic feelings for Buffy, and the two have a brief sexual relationship. She becomes the leader of her own Slayer squadron in Tokyo, and forms a friendship with fellow Slayer Kennedy during her performance review. She also makes a minor appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten.
Whedon and Wolves at the Gate writer Drew Goddard said that Satsu's sexual relationship with Buffy was developed as a way to explore both characters. Her tryst with Buffy drew mixed responses from the media. Several commentators felt that the story arc maintained the show's focus on exploring one's sexuality, and provided insight on Buffy's sexual identity. Others criticized it as a publicity stunt saying it was out of character for Buffy. Feedback to Satsu as a character was also mixed, with the focus placed on the portrayal of her sexuality and race.
## Arc
Born into a traditional Japanese family, Satsu was pressured by her parents to marry and have children. She faced a backlash from them after coming out as a lesbian. While attending high school, Satsu was activated as a Slayer because of the events of "Chosen" and received all the associated powers. After joining a squad of Slayers based in Scotland, she was recognized as one of the most skilled fighters, and worked closely with her mentor Buffy Summers. Satsu developed romantic feelings for Buffy, which becomes clear after she wakes Buffy from a mystical sleep with a true love's kiss. While taking Satsu on an assignment to destroy a nest of vampires, Buffy reveals that she knew of Satsu's feelings for her; she warns Satsu against pursuing a relationship with her because her past romances have ended in death.
Buffy and Satsu eventually have sex and are discovered in bed by Buffy's friends Willow Rosenberg, Xander Harris, Andrew Wells, and Dawn Summers. Count Dracula steals Buffy's scythe and she recruits Satsu as part of the team to recover it from Tokyo. During the trip to Japan, Willow comforts Satsu and reminds her of Buffy's responsibilities as a general and her heterosexuality. After successfully reclaiming the scythe, Satsu chooses to distance herself from Buffy by remaining in Japan as the leader of the country's Slayer squadron. Buffy and Satsu have sex one last time before they separate.
Fellow Slayer Kennedy is assigned to assess Satsu's performance as a leader and uses the opportunity to discuss her residual feelings for Buffy. She advises Satsu to accept that Buffy is straight and not interested in her sexually or romantically. While working in Japan, Satsu had proven to be an effective leader; one notable achievement being how she led her squad to commandeer a vampire-controlled submarine.
Kennedy and Satsu discover prototypes for a line of demonic stuffed animals known as the Swell. One of the demons possesses Satsu, causing her to behave more like a traditional Japanese woman, such as wearing a furisode-style kimono. When confronted by Kennedy, Satsu behaves in an increasingly misogynistic and homophobic manner. After Kennedy saves Satsu from the possession, the duo destroys the Swell's shipments. While vampire Harmony Kendall leads an anti-Slayer campaign, Buffy advises the Slayers to change themselves to better fit the new world; Satsu uses the speech as an incentive to abandon her feelings for Buffy.
Satsu later appears during the battle with the season's big bad Twilight and his army in Tibet. She initially disagrees with the plan to temporarily disable Slayer powers, along with the other members of the army, in an attempt to escape notice by Twilight, but she remains loyal to Buffy. She later responds angrily when she sees Buffy and Angel having sex to give birth to a new universe. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten, Buffy's boyfriend Spike mentions that he is aware of her sexual tryst with Satsu. Satsu would later reappear to convince Buffy to collaborate with the vampire community to handle the frequent demonic invasions on Earth. During this time, she is revealed to be working for the United States Armed Forces, and in a relationship with an undisclosed partner.
## Development
Satsu was one of several original characters introduced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, a comic book continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The show's creator Joss Whedon wanted Satsu's relationship with Buffy to progress organically during the development of the comics. Establishing Buffy as grappling with feelings of isolation and Satsu as in love with her, Whedon described the story arc as "an opportunity for drama and character exploration". He clarified that he wanted the storyline to portray Buffy as "young and experimenting, and [...] open-minded," and that this did not translate as the character coming out as gay.
When discussing Satsu's role in Buffy's character development Dark Horse Comics editor Scott Allie referred to their relationship as an "ill-conceived romance" that exemplifies Buffy's faults as a general to her army. Wolves at the Gate writer Drew Goddard said the transition of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to comics allowed for more creative freedom, and cited Satsu's relationship with Buffy as an example. Goddard explained that the character and her story arc with Buffy were not designed to be "a grand political statement," and said: "We just try to do what feels right for the characters. The rest takes care of itself."
Whedon acknowledged the criticism aimed at him for killing off lesbian character Tara Maclay in the show's sixth season as reflecting the "whole cliché about lesbians being killed"; he said that he would factor this response into his representation of Satsu, but explained: "You do have to be careful about the message you're sending out. It's a double-edged sword. You have to be responsible, but you also have to be irresponsible or you're not telling the best stories." When asked about the character's future, following her sexual tryst with Buffy, Whedon said that she would remain "in the rotation" as a recurring character in the comics. While discussing the possible reception to Satsu and Buffy having sex, Goddard predicted that readers would mirror the responses of the main characters by being "surprised at first, then intrigued as to what it all means" before moving forward to the next storyline.
## Critical reception
### Relationship with Buffy
The relationship between Satsu and Buffy was praised for carrying over the focus on exploring sexuality from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the comic books. GLAAD entertainment media director Damon Romine praised the storyline as an example of the "multidimensional lesbian characters in the Buffy universe". In her 2017 book The Fanfiction Reader: Folk Tales for the Digital Age, Muhlenberg College Professor Francesca Coppa wrote that Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan fiction writers had already explored the possibility of Buffy coming out as bisexual or a lesbian imagining her in romantic and sexual relationships with fellow Slayer Faith. Some critics felt that the pairing of Satsu and Buffy enabled the reader to better understand Buffy as a character. Jessica Maria MacFarlane of Nerdist.com wrote that Buffy's attraction to Satsu was portrayed in an organic manner, defining Satsu as providing "a sensible push in the right direction" for Buffy's character development. Curve"'s Lisa Gunther commended the characters as showcasing fluidity in sexual orientation.
Buffy's sexual identity, as represented by her relationship with Satsu, drew mixed responses from academics. Scholars interpreted Buffy's request for Satsu to keep their liaison a secret as homophobic, and sociologist Hélène Frohard-Dourlent felt that Buffy's decision to return to a heterosexual relationship as reaffirming heteronormative ideas. Other commentators had more positive interpretations of the pairing. While acknowledging Buffy as harboring "fears [of] becoming the target of homophobia," academic Lewis Call argued that her sexual liaisons with Satsu allowed for a deeper understanding of sexuality. Call viewed the pairing as "a positive image of a caring, consensual bi-sexual relationship," with a "mutual and flexible" approach to power dynamics, and defined Buffy as becoming "a symbol of this new queer politics" due to the storyline. Communications professor Erin B. Waggoner noted that the comics differed from other narratives on heteroflexibility through not immediately emphasizing Buffy as purely heterosexual following her interactions with Satsu. Several scholars identified Buffy's interactions with Satsu, and the post-coital images of the pairing, as establishing Buffy as a more masculine figure.
The story arc involving Satsu's sexual relationship with Buffy has been widely criticized as a publicity stunt. Several critics felt that Buffy was acting out of character as she had never previously displayed either a romantic or sexual interest in women. Teresa Jusino of The Mary Sue identified the pairing as "a clear example of wanting to show girls kissing each other for momentary shock value and reader titillation," and questioned how it contributed to Buffy's character development. She criticized the storyline as forced in comparison to the representation of Willow's sexuality, which she praised as "explored in an organic way over time." Stephen Krensky, author of the 2008 book Comic Book Century: The History of American Comic Books, interpreted the pairing as the writers' method of locating and selling to a niche market. A writer for PopMatters described Satsu and her relationship with Buffy as a failed attempt to reach out to an Asian audience. In response to the criticism, Scott Allie defended Whedon against claims that he developed the storyline for the sole purpose to make money or attract publicity. Allie categorized Satsu's sexual interactions with Buffy as an example of how Whedon writes about "often ill-conceived romance, full of twists and turns and heartbreak".
### Character analysis
Scholars also commented on the representation of Satsu's sexuality. She was described as fitting the image of a femme aesthetic or the lipstick lesbian. Lewis Call criticized Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight for not fully representing butch identity, citing it as "limit[ing] the comics' queer potential". Writer Lisa Gomez criticized the emphasis on Satsu's sexuality over other aspects of her character, writing that she was "degraded into being nothing but a lesbian slayer who sleeps with Buffy".
Satsu's appearance in the issue Swell was praised by some critics, who commented positively on the additional attention given to her and other secondary franchise characters. Sarah Warn, writing for AfterEllen.com, considered Satsu's friendship with fellow lesbian character Kennedy to be the highlight of the issue, and commended the comic for featuring a storyline involving queer people of color. Various academics had a more negative response to the character's inclusion in Swell. Lewis Call viewed the pairing of Satsu and Kennedy in a storyline as representative of "the drastic underrepresentation of lesbians in the Slayer army," pinpointing Kennedy's comment to Satsu—"Buffy sends the other lesbian slayer" to check up on me". In her discussion of the character's ethnicity, television studies professor Jessica Hautsch felt that the issue portrayed Satsu with stereotypes of Asian women, specifically those of the geisha and the Dragon Lady. |
# Jaws: The Revenge
Jaws: The Revenge is a 1987 American horror film produced and directed by Joseph Sargent. The fourth and final film in the Jaws franchise, it stars Lorraine Gary, who came out of retirement to reprise her role from the first two films, along with new cast members Lance Guest, Mario Van Peebles, Karen Young and Michael Caine. Acting as a sequel to Jaws 2 (retroactively ignoring the events of Jaws 3-D), the film focuses on a now-widowed Ellen Brody (Gary) and her conviction that a great white shark is seeking revenge on her family, particularly when it kills her youngest son, and follows her to the Bahamas.
The film was made in less than nine months, with production commencing in September 1986 so that the film could be released the following summer. The film was shot on location in New England and in the Bahamas and completed on the Universal lot. As with the first two films, Martha's Vineyard was the location of the fictional Amity Island for the opening scenes. Delays caused by the mechanical sharks and the weather led to concerns about whether the release date would be met. Many critics suggested that the rushed production compromised the quality of the film. The film was marketed with the now infamous tagline "This time, it's personal."
Jaws: The Revenge was the lowest grossing film of the franchise, with $51.9 million total gross on a $23 million budget barely breaking even. It was universally lambasted by critics and audiences alike, who lamented the weak story, poor acting, and cheap-looking effects, and felt like the franchise had run its course.
## Plot
On Amity Island, Martin Brody, famous for his deeds as the police chief, has died from a heart attack. Martin's widow, Ellen, still lives in Amity, close to her younger son, Sean, and his fiancée, Tiffany. Sean works as a police deputy, and when he is dispatched to clear a log from a buoy a few days before Christmas, a great white shark appears and tears off his arm. He screams for help, but the singing on land drowns out his cries. The shark sinks his boat and drags him underwater to his death.
Martin's older son, Michael, his wife, Carla, and their five-year-old daughter, Thea, come to Amity for the funeral. Michael works in the Bahamas as a marine biologist, and on his arrival, Ellen demands he stop his work. Having just received his first grant, Michael refuses. Thea convinces Ellen to return to the Bahamas with them.
The pilot of their small plane, Hoagie, takes an interest in Ellen when he flies them back. Wanting to take her mind off her recent losses and finding herself attracted, she begins spending time with him. Michael introduces his mother to his colleague Jake and his wife Louisa, and they spend Christmas and New Year's together.
A few days later, Michael, Jake, and their crew encounter the shark, which followed the family from Amity. Jake is eager to research it because great white sharks have never been seen in the Bahamas due to the warm water. Michael asks him not to mention the shark to his family. During the day, Ellen can keep her mind off the shark, but at night she has nightmares of being attacked by it. She is also able to feel when the shark is about to attack one of her loved ones.
Jake decides to attach a device to the shark that can track it through its heartbeat. Using chum to attract it, Jake stabs the device's tracking pole into the shark's side. The next day, the shark ambushes and chases Michael through a sunken ship, and he narrowly escapes.
Thea goes on an inflatable banana boat with her friend Margaret and her mother. While Carla presents her new art sculpture, the shark attacks the back of the boat, killing Margaret's mother. After Thea is safe, Ellen boards Jake's boat to track down the shark, intending to kill it to save her family. After hearing about what happened, Michael confesses he knew about the shark, infuriating Carla.
Michael and Jake are flown by Hoagie to search for Ellen and find the shark in pursuit of their boat. During the search, Hoagie explains to Michael about Ellen's belief that the shark that killed Sean is hunting her family. When they find her, Hoagie lands the plane on the water, ordering Michael and Jake to swim to the boat as the shark drags the plane and Hoagie underwater.
Hoagie escapes from the shark, and Jake and Michael hastily put together a device that emits electrical impulses. As Jake moves to the front of the boat, the shark lunges up and mauls him. Jake manages to get the device into the shark's mouth before being dragged underwater. Michael begins blasting the shark with the impulses, which drive it mad; it repeatedly jumps out of the water, roaring in pain.
Michael continues blasting the shark with the impulses, causing it to leap out of the water again. Ellen steers the sailboat towards the shark, while thinking back to the shark's attack on Thea and also imagining Sean's death, and Martin defeating the first shark. As the shark is rearing up, she rams the broken bowsprit of the boat into it.
In the original version of the film that was screened in the U.S., the shark bleeds out and dies after being impaled. In the revised ending (for international theaters and DVD release), the impaling causes the shark to immediately explode, and its corpse sinks to the bottom of the ocean (footage from the ending of the first film is used to show this). Also in the revised ending, Michael hears Jake calling for help, seriously injured but still alive (Jake died in the original cut). A short time later, Hoagie flies Ellen back to Amity Island.
## Production
### Development
As MCA Universal was going through a difficult period, its CEO Sidney Sheinberg saw that a third sequel to Jaws was likely to make a good profit, following the commercial success of Jaws 3-D, despite generally attracting negative reviews. Sheinberg also saw an opportunity to promote the Jaws ride at Universal Studios.
The studio fast-tracked Jaws: The Revenge into production in September 1986 so that it could be released the following summer. Steve De Jarnatt had been approached by Universal's Head of Production Frank Price about writing the script for Jaws IV, as it was then known as. De Jarnatt's script, however, was shelved when Price resigned in September 1986 following the disappointing performance of Howard the Duck. Around this time, Sheinberg approached Joseph Sargent about directing the film. Sargent had worked with Lorraine Gary in 1973's The Marcus-Nelson Murders, for which he won his first Directors Guild of America Award. Indeed, Steven Spielberg cites this television film, which later spawned Kojak, as motivation for casting Gary as Ellen Brody in the original Jaws film, in addition to the fact she was the wife of the studio's chief executive Sidney Sheinberg at that time. Regarding Revenge, Gary remarked in an interview: "I made a good deal on this film, but I didn't make as good a deal as I would have if I weren't married to Sid."
In an interview with the Boston Herald, Sargent called Revenge "a ticking bomb waiting to go off", saying that... MCA Inc. president Sid Sheinberg "expects a miracle." Sheinberg asked Sargent to direct the film in late September 1986. According to Sargent, Sheinberg "cut through all the slow lanes and got Jaws: The Revenge off and running." In a 2006 interview, Sargent stated that the premise was born "out of a little bit of desperation to find something fresh to do with the shark. We thought that maybe if we take a mystical point of view, and go for a little bit of ... magic, we might be able to find something interesting enough to sit through."
Sargent hired Michael De Guzman to write a script, within five weeks, with the shooting script being completed during production. According to the writer, they had the "bare bones of a story" by October 1986, and by the 2nd November they had a workable outline for the production team. The first draft was completed in mid-December, and the final draft of the screenplay was dated 23 January 1987, just nine days before filming began in Edgartown.
The film was developed under the working title Jaws '87, but by February 1987, the title Jaws: The Revenge was being used. The colon within the title is used by some sources although the colon is not included in the film's opening credits, or on the poster.
The film has no continuity from Jaws 3-D. In its predecessor, Mike is an engineer for SeaWorld, whereas in Jaws: The Revenge, he is a marine research scientist. One of the Universal press releases for Jaws: The Revenge refers to this fourth film in the series as the "third film of the remarkable Jaws trilogy." De Guzman's script featured a cameo by Matt Hooper, while the producers still hoped to recruit Richard Dreyfuss to the project.
It was proposed that Martin Brody be the shark's first victim. When Roy Scheider was unavailable, Sargent reports that his character had been dead for 18 months "when we enter the story... and deal with Ellen Brody's emotional problem--her obsession with the death of another member of her family." For De Guzman, it "is a story of obsession and fear. Whether what Ellen Brody has in her mind is true or not will be left up to the audience to decide. No statement is being made in that regard... but it's about any kind of fear so great and so strong that it begins to take control of a human being's life."
De Guzman and Sargent were inspired by the first film's "less is more" approach. Replicating the idea of the yellow barrels in the original, they believed that having the shark swallow meat attached to a sonar device, emitting the sound of the shark's heartbeat, would create tension and be more effective than constantly seeing the shark or people being eaten. De Guzman asserts that the strongest characters in drama are often those off-screen, another justification for not showing the shark too often. Sargent expected the audience to appreciate what they tried to do, and had ambitions that it would not be seen as "a tired version of the first one."
### Casting
Lorraine Gary portrayed Ellen Brody in the first two films. In a press release, Gary says Jaws: The Revenge is "also about relationships which ... makes it much more like the first Jaws." This was Gary's first film role since she had appeared in Spielberg's 1941 eight years earlier, as well as being her final film role. The press release proposes that the character "had much more depth and texture than either of the other films was able to explore. The promise of further developing this multi-dimensional woman under the extraordinary circumstances ... intrigued Gary enough to lure her back to the screen after a lengthy hiatus."
Gary is the only principal cast member from the original film who returned. Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss refused to participate. Scheider had other commitments, and also had clearly expressed a desire not to play the character again. Lee Fierro made a brief cameo as Mrs. Kintner (the mother of Alex Kintner who was killed in Jaws), as did Fritzi Jane Courtney, who played Mrs. Taft, one of the Amity town council members in both Jaws and Jaws 2. Cyprian R. Dube, who played Amity Selectman Mr. Posner in both Jaws and Jaws 2, is upgraded to mayor following the death of Murray Hamilton, who played Amity Mayor Larry Vaughan, in the first two Jaws films.
Gary states that one of the reasons she was attracted to the film was the idea of an on-screen romance with Oscar winner Michael Caine.
> The first day we were to work together I was nervous as a schoolgirl. We were shooting a Junkanoo Festival with noisy drums and hundreds of extras. But he never faltered in his concentration and he put me completely at ease. It was all so natural. He's an extraordinary actor – and just a nice human being.
Caine had mixed feelings about both the production and the final version. He thinks that it was a first for him to be involved with someone his own age in a film. He compares the relationship between two middle-aged people to the romance between two teenagers. Although disappointed not to be able to collect an Academy Award because of filming in the Bahamas, he was glad to be involved in the film. In the press release, he explains that "it is part of movie history ... the original was one of the great all-time thrillers. I thought it might be nice to be mixed up with that. I liked the script very much." However, Caine later claimed: "I have never seen it [the film], but by all accounts it is terrible. However, I have seen the house that it built, and it is terrific\!" In his 1992 autobiography What's it All About?, he says that the film "will go down in my memory as the time when I won an Oscar, paid for a house and had a great holiday. Not bad for a flop movie."
Lance Guest played Ellen's eldest son Mike. Guest had dropped out of his sophomore year at UCLA (1981) to appear in another sequel to a horror classic; Halloween II. Karen Young played his wife Carla. She commended the director's emphasis upon characterization.
Mario Van Peebles played Jake, Michael's colleague. His father, Melvin Van Peebles, has a cameo in the film as Nassau's mayor. Mitchell Anderson appeared as Ellen's youngest son, Sean. Lynn Whitfield played Louisa, and stunt performer Diane Hetfield was the victim of the banana boat attack.
In addition to the 124 cast and crew members, 250 local extras were also hired. The majority of the extras were used as members of the local high school band, chorus and dramatic society that can be seen as the Brodys walk through the town, and during Sean's attack. A local gravestone maker produced 51 slabs for the mock graveyard used for Sean's funeral.
### Filming
Principal photography for Jaws: The Revenge took place on location in New England and in the Bahamas, and completed on the Universal lot. Like the first two films of the series, Martha's Vineyard was the location of the fictional Amity Island for the film's opening scenes. Edgartown welcomed the production because it brought more business to the tourist town, which was usually very quiet in February. Production commenced on February 2, 1987, by which time "snowstorms had blanketed" the island for almost a month, "providing a frosty backdrop for the opening scenes." Cinematographer John McPherson recalls that filming in the Vineyard was very cold, and required seven generators and lots of equipment. He says the six-day shoot covered 22 pages of the script.
The cast and crew moved to Nassau in the Bahamas on February 9, beginning principal photography there the next day. Like the production of the first two films, they encountered many problems with varying weather conditions. The location did not offer the "perfect world" that the 38-day shoot required. Cover shots were filmed on shore and in interior sets. Cinematographer McPherson reports that some scenes had to be filmed across several days, presenting challenges for matching the weather.
The underwater sequences were coordinated from an 85 ft boat called Moby II. Second Unit Director Jordan Klein says that it was initially challenging for the actors to get used to the "foreign environment" of performing underwater. Stunt performer Gavin McKinney stood in for Lance Guest in the scene with the moray eel because it was potentially dangerous.
Principal photography completed in Nassau on May 26, although the special effects team continued working until 4 June. Production then moved to the two sets which had been constructed at Universal Studios for the Neptune's Folly sequences, and also some reshoots of Sean's death. A tank had been painted to replicate Nassau's seabed, and a huge backdrop was painted to look like the Bahamas sky. However, as John McPherson points out, the backdrop looked rather artificial, which the production had no remaining time to resolve.
The film was shot in the Super 35 format, with Arriflex cameras equipped with Zeiss Superspeed lenses for underwater sequences. Cinematographer John McPherson also supervised the underwater unit, which was headed by Pete Romano. Whereas underwater photography was normally filmed with an anamorphic lens, requiring overhead lighting, Romano filmed these "sequences with Zeiss, a 35 mm super-speed lens, which allows the natural ambiance to come through on film."
The special effects team, headed by Henry Millar, had arrived at South Beach, Nassau on January 12, 1987, almost a month before principal photography commenced there. In the official press release, Millar says that when he became involved "we didn't even have a script ... but as the story developed and they started telling us all what they wanted ... I knew this wasn't going to be like any other shark anyone had ever seen."
The shark was to be launched from atop an 88-foot (27 m) long platform, made from the trussed turret of a 30-foot (9.1 m) crane, and floated out into Clifton Bay. While the sharks for the first two Jaws films were pneumatically operated, the larger shark used in Revenge and more precise movements lead to a decision to power this shark hydraulically. According to Hydraulics & Pneumatics magazine, "the articulated shark was mounted on top of a hydraulically operated scissor lift ... which raised and lowered the shark so it would appear that he had surfaced or submerged." The carriage was capable of propelling "the shark through the water at speeds to 7 kt." Seven sharks, or segments, were constructed from a combination of fibreglass, a metal frame and latex skin. The models were operated from a platform capable of rotating 180 degrees underwater, with a hydraulic arm operating the sharks.
> Two models were fully articulated, two were made for jumping, one for ramming, one was a half shark (the top half), and one was just a fin. The two fully articulated models each had 22 sectioned ribs and movable jaws covered by a flexible water-based latex skin, measured 25 feet (7.6 m) in length and weighed 2500 pounds. Each tooth was half-a-foot long and as sharp as it looked. All models were housed under cover ... in a secret location on the island.
Universal had originally considered tasking Industrial Light & Magic to create a miniature free-swimming shark akin to the whale in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. The whale's designer suggested that the model could be easily converted into a shark, but its scale would be too problematic, and the proposal was aborted.
Instead, Ted Rae, who had worked on Jaws 3-D, was commissioned to create a stop-motion shark for Jaws: The Revenge. When designing and sculpturing the models, Rae tried to strike a balance between matching the full-scale sharks built by Millar, and the live action footage. Rae criticised the full-scale models, saying they "looked like a concrete log with teeth... and doesn't look as good as the shark in the first film." The animatronic puppets would subsequently appear in 3 or 4 shots in the completed film. Rae also constructed shark and miniature boat for the climatic sequences; however, Sargent didn't like Rae's footage, and took the models to Universal for completion there.
The film company returned to Universal to finish shooting on April 2. Additional underwater photography was completed in a water tank, measuring 50 feet (15 m) by 100 feet (30 m) across, and 17 feet (5.2 m) in depth, in Universal Studio's Stage 27. Also, a replica of Nassau's Clifton Bay and its skyline was created on the man-made Falls Lake on the studio backlot. Principal photography was completed in Los Angeles on May 26. Millar's special effects team, however, remained in Nassau, completing second unit photography on June 4.
Adverse weather conditions and problems with the mechanical sharks meant that the product was delayed and exceeded its $23m budget. Despite this, the production was hurried in order to meet the July 1987 release date. According to associate producer and production manager Frank Baur during the sequel's filming, "This [Revenge] will be the fastest I have ever seen a major film planned and executed in all of my 35 years as a production manager."
A television documentary, "Behind the Scenes with Jaws: The Revenge", was broadcast in the U.S. on July 10, 1987. Twenty-two minutes in length, it was written and directed by William Rus for Zaloom Mayfield Productions.
### Ending changes
In the ending of the original US theatrical version, Ellen rammed Neptune's Folly into the shark, impaling it on the prow of the boat, mortally wounding it. The shark then causes the boat to break apart with its death contortions, forcing the people on the boat to jump off to avoid going down with it. American audiences disapproved of this ending. Sid Sheinberg says that the impact of the shark and Jake dying "was too much for the audience in one finale". Following this, additional footage was filmed to portray Jake's survival, and special effects shots using miniatures which, Downey says, "saw the shark inexplicably explode after being speared by the boat". Universal used this ending on home media releases. The re-shot ending reportedly began filming only five days after the film was released in the United States. The original ending can be seen on cable broadcasts. In his review of the film, Roger Ebert said that he could not believe "[t]hat the director, Joseph Sargent, would film this final climactic scene so incompetently that there is not even an establishing shot, so we have to figure out what happened on the basis of empirical evidence."
Re-shooting the ending prevented Michael Caine from collecting his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for Hannah and Her Sisters in person. In a 2010 interview with Time.com, Caine said that he had asked Universal to reschedule filming, but it was not possible due to the logistics of all of the boats and equipment that was involved.
## Music
The score was composed and conducted by Michael Small, who had previously provided music for Klute, Marathon Man (both of which featured Jaws star Roy Scheider) and The Parallax View. John Williams' original shark motif is integrated into the score which, soundtrack producer Douglass Fake says, reflects the fourth film's return to "original characters and story threads". The music for the film was recorded and mixed in June 1987 at The Burbank Studios in California.
However, much of Small's music was unused in the final film. Some phrases were "dialled out" early, some were dropped entirely, and some cues were used in scenes other than they had been written for. The changes to the film's ending also required edits to the music during post-production.
Soundtrack.net says that "Small's score is generally tense, and he comes up with a few new themes of his own." The film also contained the songs "Nail it to the Wall", performed by Stacy Lattisaw, and the 1986 hit "You Got It All", performed by The Jets. A soundtrack album was announced by MCA Records when the film opened; however, the release was cancelled following the film's disappointing performance at the box office. A promotional version of the album was released in 2000 on Audio CD and Compact Cassette. Reviews for the soundtrack album were more positive than for the film. Indeed, writing for Film Score Monthly, AK Benjamin says that "on a CD, Small's material fares better since it's not accompanied by the film." Dismissing the film as "engagingly unwatchable", he says that "Small certainly gave Revenge a lot more than it deserved – and this a much better score than Deep Blue Sea ... whatever that means." Benjamin portrays Small as 'knowing' and his work as being superior to the film.
> The hysterical coda tacked onto the end of "Revenge and Finale" is almost worth the price of the disc, as it no doubt sums up Small's opinion of the film. It's sad that the great Michael Small was delegated utter crap like Jaws the Revenge in the late '80s – and even worse that he never found his way back to the material that he deserves.
Upon Small's death in 2003, The Independent wrote that the "composer of some distinction ... had the indignity of working on one of the worst films of all time". Like most reviews of the soundtrack, the article criticizes the film whilst saying "Small produced a fine score in the circumstances, as if anyone noticed."
In 2015, Intrada Records, which previously reissued Jaws 3-D on compact disc, released the complete score. CD producer Douglass Fake was given access to the complete session mixes, meaning that the disc included every cue recorded by Small, including unused and unedited versions of the tracks.
## Release
The film was released in 1,606 screens in the US on July 17, 1987. It debuted in third place, behind RoboCop and a re-screening of Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $7,154,890, almost half of what Jaws 3-D had grossed in its first weekend. By the end of its theatrical run, Jaws: The Revenge had grossed a worldwide total of $51,881,013 on a $23 million budget. So, Jaws: The Revenge grossed the lowest of the entire Jaws franchise and in contrast to its commercially successful predecessors, it did barely break-even.
The film was marketed with a poster by artist Mick McGinty, with an image of the shark inspired by Roger Kastel's original artwork for Jaws. McGinty created different versions of the poster, with and without the character (resembling Ellen Brody) on a boat in the foreground.
### Television airings
Jaws: The Revenge was originally screened on AMC in the United States and on BBC in the United Kingdom. The AMC version includes a number of deleted and extended scenes that were removed from the original theatrical release. These include spoken narration prior to the opening credits explaining that some circumstances can be due to fate, and more dialogue between Ellen and Hoagie as well as between Michael and Jake. There are additional shots of the shark diving towards the submersible and slightly different angles showing Jake's death.
The film's first broadcast on BBC became notorious for showing the film in an open matte (4:3) format, rather than the 2.35:1 ratio in which the film was intended to be exhibited. This meant that some wires needed to operate the mechanical shark were visible, rather than being obscured by black bars or a pan and scan system.
### Home media
Jaws: The Revenge was the first film of the series to be released on DVD. It was released on Region 1 as a 'vanilla' disc by Goodtimes, featuring Spanish and French subtitles. The feature is presented in a non-anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen transfer. The soundtrack was presented in Dolby Digital 4.1, with one reviewer saying that the "stereo separation is great with ocean waves swirling around you, the bubbles going by during the scuba scenes, and Hoagie's airplane flying around behind you." The same reviewer praised the image transfer of McPherson's "extremely well photographed" cinematography. The film was re-released on DVD by Universal on June 3, 2003, in an anamorphic transfer. In 2015, Jaws: The Revenge was re-released on DVD as part of a three movie multi-pack, along with Jaws 2 and Jaws 3-D.
Universal Pictures released Jaws: The Revenge on Blu-ray on June 14, 2016. The bonus features on the disc are the film's theatrical trailer and the restored original theatrical ending in high definition. Universal released Jaws: The Revenge on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 23, 2024, alongside Jaws 3-D.
## Reception
### Critical response
Jaws: The Revenge was universally panned by critics and audiences alike. It has a 2% 'rotten' rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on 42 reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C−" on an A+ to F scale.
For her performance, Gary was nominated for both a Saturn Award for Best Actress and a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress; she lost to Jessica Tandy for \*batteries not included and Madonna for Who's That Girl, respectively. It was rated by Entertainment Weekly as one of "The 25 Worst Sequels Ever Made". It was voted number 22 by readers of Empire magazine in their list of The 50 Worst Movies Ever.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film zero stars, writing in his review that it "is not simply a bad movie, but also a stupid and incompetent one." He lists several elements that he finds unbelievable, including that Ellen is "haunted by flashbacks to events where she was not present". Ebert joked that Caine could not attend the ceremony to accept his Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor earned for Hannah and Her Sisters because of his shooting commitments on this film, because he may not have wanted to return to the shoot if he had left it. On their review show, both Ebert and his colleague Gene Siskel slated the film, also pointing out a number of "logical errors amongst many logical errors" including a scene near the end where Michael Caine's shirt is dry despite the character having just hauled himself out of the water. Siskel concluded his review by saying "let's hope this is the end of the Jaws saga".
Critics also addressed the implausibility of some aspects of the plot. Given the Brodys' history, Caryn James of The New York Times asked "Why hasn't this family moved to Nebraska?" The sequence in which the shark "literally leaps out of the water and can roar like a lion" became so notorious that it inspired the title of the 2022 making-of book The Shark is Roaring. Other implausible elements include the shark swimming from a Massachusetts island to the Bahamas (approx. 1,920 km (1,193 mi; 1,037 nmi)) in less than three days, somehow knowing that the Brody family went to the Bahamas, or following Michael through an underwater labyrinth, as well as the implication of such a creature seeking revenge. The Independent pointed out that "the film was riddled with inconsistencies [and] errors (sharks cannot float or roar like lions)". Consequently Entertainment Weekly pointed out that the promotional material's claim that it is "the most incredible" Jaws film is "technically correct".
In contrast, however, I.Q. Hunter writes, "the cheap shark effects aren't especially disastrous considering what was possible before CGI." Derek Winnert ends his otherwise lukewarm review by stating, "the Bahamas backdrops are pretty and the shark looks as toothsome as ever". Critics commented upon the sepia-toned flashbacks to the first film. A scene with Michael and Thea imitating each other is interspersed with shots from a similar scene in Jaws of Sean (Jay Mello) and Martin Brody. Similarly, the shark's destruction contains footage of Martin Brody aiming at the compressed air tank, saying "Smile, you son of a ... ". Caryn James comments that "nothing kills a sequel faster than reverence ... Joseph Sargent, the director, has turned this into a color-by-numbers version of Steven Spielberg's original Jaws."
In a 2019 scholarly article, I.Q. Hunter argues that the film "is valuable as a case study because it is not a 'standard' SoBIG ["so bad it's good"] failure. It is neither a weird anomaly with a passionate and visible fan-base, nor the product of an archaic cash-strapped production context, nor was it a massive flop, redolent of budgetary overkill and artistic vanity." In contrast to films such as The Room and Plan 9 from Outer Space, which are framed either as "at odds with the norms of mainstream Hollywood" and created by "passionate, but hopelessly untalented" filmmakers, Jaws: The Revenge"'s position within the Hollywood system renders it "by universal consensus, a very bad film."
### Accolades
### Legacy
The increasing number of sequels in the Jaws series was spoofed in the 1989 film Back to the Future Part II (whose preceding film was produced by Steven Spielberg and featured Jaws 3 star Lea Thompson), when Marty McFly travels to the year 2015 and sees a theater showing Jaws 19 (fictionally directed by Max Spielberg), with the tagline "This time it's REALLY REALLY personal\!". This alludes to the tagline of Jaws: The Revenge: "This time it's personal." After being "attacked" by a promotional volumetric image of the shark outside the theatre, Marty says "the shark still looks fake." In celebration of "Back to the Future Day" in 2015, Universal released a parody trailer for Jaws 19, where the sequels after The Revenge would have included sharks in various environments, prequels, and even a love story titled Jaws 17: Fifty Scales of Grey.
The film is listed in Golden Raspberry Award founder John Wilson's book The Official Razzie Movie Guide as one of The 100 Most Enjoyably Bad Movies Ever Made.
## Novelization
The novelization was written by Hank Searls, who also adapted Jaws 2. While Searls' Jaws 2 novelization was based on an earlier draft of that film and was significantly different from the finished film, his Jaws: The Revenge novelization sticks fairly close to the final film, although it does contain some extra subplots to, as Paul Downey writes, "establish a more cohesive plot". The novel contains a subplot in which Hoagie is a government agent and he transports laundered money. The only reference to this in the film is when Michael Brody asks, "What do you do when you're not flying people?" to which Hoagie replies, "I deliver laundry." In Searls' novel, the character of Jake is ultimately killed by the shark; Jake was originally supposed to die in the film, but the script was changed to allow him to survive.
The novelization suggests that the shark may be acting under the influence of a vengeful voodoo witch doctor (who has a feud with the Brody family), and the shark's apparent revenge has magical implications. Taken from the earlier drafts of the screenplay, the shark is directed by a voodoo curse laid by Papa Jacques, a Haitian witch doctor. Film scholar I.Q. Hunter explains, "The revenge of the title is, therefore, Papa Jacques' and not the shark's, which entirely changes the story's meaning: the shark, impelled by 'stranger forces man could never understand,' is an instrument of postcolonial revenge." Searls explained to the Poughskeepsie Journal that "in the book, I don't contend that the shark is thinking at all. That's why I've got the voodoo guy standing in for him." Searls says that it works in the book, but it was "too corny" for the film. However, at one point in the theatrical version, Michael Brody says, "Come on, sharks don't commit murder. Tell me you don't believe in that voodoo."
Reviews of the novel were mixed. Author and journalist Matt Serafini calls it a "fast-moving and vivid read", rating it higher than the actual movie. However, writing for The Miami Herald", Joe Achenbach calls it "the literary equivalent of a sausage".
## See also
- List of killer shark films
- List of films considered the worst |
# Vikos–Aoös National Park
The Vikos–Aoös National Park ( Ethnikós Drymós Víkou–Aóou) is a national park in the region of Epirus in northwestern Greece. The park, founded in 1973, is one of ten national parks in mainland Greece and is located 30 kilometres (19 mi) north of the city of Ioannina in the northern part of the Pindus mountain range. It is named after the two major gorges of the area and encompasses 12,600 hectares (31,135 acres) of mountainous terrain, with numerous rivers, lakes, caves, deep canyons, dense coniferous and deciduous forest. The park is part of the Natura 2000 ecological network and one of UNESCO Geoparks and spans an elevation range from 550 to 2,497 meters (1,804 to 8,192 ft). Over 100,000 people visit the park each year and take part in activities including rafting, canoe-kayaking, hiking and mountain biking.
The core of the park, an area of 3,400 hectares (8,402 acres), comprises the spectacular Vikos Gorge, carved by the Voidomatis river. The gorge's main part is 12 km (7 mi) long, which attains a depth of 1,000 meters (3,300 ft), and has a width ranging from 2500 m to only a few meters at its narrowest part. The Aoös gorge, Mt Tymphe (2,497 meters (8,192 ft) at Gamila peak), and a number of traditionally preserved settlements form the park's peripheral zone. The park's remoteness and relatively small human population, combined with the great variation of biotopes and microclimatic conditions favors the existence of a rich variety of flora (1,800 species) in the area. Vikos–Aoös National Park supports a wide diversity of fauna, with a plethora of large mammals such as the brown bear, for which the park is one of the last European strongholds, and a variety of natural habitats and ecosystems that rank it among the most valuable parks for nature conservation in Greece.
The first evidence of human presence in the area is dated between 17,000 and 10,000 years ago. The area of the park has been sparsely populated throughout historical times, however from the 17th to the 19th century the local communities of Zagori acquired an autonomous status, flourished economically due to increased trade, and became a major center of folk medicine. In recent decades, ecotourism is seen as a remedy to the economic decline of heavily depopulated local settlements, while preserving the natural environment and local architecture.
## Geography and geology
### Vikos Gorge
The Vikos Gorge is located on the southern slopes of Mt Tymphe. Its main part is located between the villages of Vikos and Monodendri and attains a depth of about 1,000 m (3,281 ft), with a southeast–northwest direction. The landscape of the 20 km (12 mi) long gorge, 12 km (7 mi) which belongs to the park's core zone, presents a diverse relief and is characterized by abrupt changes in altitude. At one point the gorge measures 900 m (2,953 ft) deep and 1,100 m (3,609 ft) wide from rim to rim, and as a result is listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the deepest canyon in the world in proportion to its width, though some gorge lobbyists contest that claim. Steep slopes and precipitous rocky cliffs dominate in the middle and higher zones respectively. Numerous gullies dissect both sides of the gorge and the weathering action of water down its walls creates extended screes.
The Vikos Gorge has been carved over millions of years by the Voidomatis river, a tributary of the Aoös. The Voidomatis is mostly seasonal, with year-round flow occurring only in the lower part of the gorge. Due to its nature, the area of the gorge is precipitous and impassable most of the year.
As the Vikos Gorge is a deep cross section of the mountain, its slopes expose a series of rock formations of various ages. The upper layers, at a depth of 0–200 m (660 ft), consist of relatively young Eocene limestone, at a depth of 200 m (660 ft)–700 m (2,300 ft) they consist of a stratum from the Campanian era, while below 700 m (2,300 ft) they consist of Jurassic and Cretaceous limestone. In the deepest layers, grey Jurassic dolomite is dominant. Sedimentary and lithological investigation in the Voidomatis basin revealed that the innermost alluvial deposits consist of limestone-derived material, carried by the Voidomatis river from higher elevations by glacial action about 30,000 years ago. The subsequent (middle) deposits are the product of de-glaciation and the extended run-off from the uplands about 20,000 years ago, while the outer unit is attributed to human activities associated with pastoralism, which caused extended deforestation and soil erosion. The Voidomatis basin contains evidence for three major phases of glaciation, with the two largest and earliest taking place during the Middle Pleistocene. The final phase of glacial activity probably occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum, between 22,000 and 20,000 ago.
A special feature of the limestone, resulting from its weathering by water, is its karstic nature. During the large Middle Pleistocene glaciations, surface runoff from glacial meltwaters would have fed directly into the river channel network because much of the upland limestone terrain was covered by ice, and many conduits in the karst would have been choked with sediment or permanently frozen. As a result, the glacier snouts came close to the modern valley bottoms. In contrast, during interglacial and interstadial periods, more effective coupling occurred between the surface drainage network and the internal karst drainage system. Since limestone dissolves as the water percolates through its pores, an extended underground drainage system has developed, with caves and channels that enlarge with time when their roofs collapse, producing rocky exposures and perpendicular slopes, which is also the reason why the water is scarce. Only when an impenetrable stratum is met, does water appear on the surface.
### Aoös Gorge
In the northern part of the Park, and very close to the town of Konitsa, the Aoös river passes through channels formed by the bulges of the nearby mountains of Trapezitsa 2,022 m (6,634 ft), Mt Tymphe and Raidovouni 1,957 m (6,421 ft), creating the Aoös Gorge that is 10 km (6 mi) long. It has an east–west direction and features numerous stone single-arched bridges from the 17th to 19th centuries, as well as monasteries built in the local architectural style. It is characterized by the great number of secondary gullies and currents, while the southern part of the gorge is steeper than the northern part. Deep and steep ravines within the perpendicular walls carry down into the Aoös large quantities of material resulting from limestone-weathering. The compact dolomites that lie on the bottom of the gorge date to the Early Jurassic period and are the oldest rock formations in the Park. Their age has been determined by means of sea fossils found inside them.
### Mt Tymphe
Between the two gorges lies the Tymphe mountain range. Its highest peaks are Gamila 2,497 m (8,192 ft), Astraka 2,436 m (7,992 ft), Ploskos 2,400 m (7,874 ft), and Lapatos 2,251 m (7,385 ft). A unique feature of this area is natural pools formed by the erosion of local stream beds. A number of alpine lakes are found in the high-altitude zone of Mt Tymphe, surrounded by alpine pasture, which are home to several rare amphibian species. The biggest lake of the National Park, Drakolimni ("Dragonlake"), a formation that was created after the retreat of the glaciers, is located at a height of 2,000 m (6,562 ft) on Mt Tymphe. Its maximum depth is 4.95 m (16 ft), while its surface covers 1 ha (2 acres).
A number of vertical caves and precipices are found in the area around the village of Papingo, which lies near the Gamila and Astraka peaks. Some of them bear names inspired from mythology, such as the Hole of Odysseus and Chasm of Epos. These are being studied and explored by caving enthusiasts. The cave of "Provatina" ("Ewe's Cave"), with a depth of 408 m (1,339 ft), one of the deepest worldwide, was first discovered in 1965 by British speleologists of the Cambridge University Caving Club, and has since then been surveyed by a large number of expeditions. The nearby Chasm of Epos, with a depth of 451 m (1,480 ft), drains the water coming from the surrounding plateaus.
Mt Tymphe represents a series of uplifted fault blocks and faulted escarpments and is largely composed of Palaeocene-Eocene limestone, with some exposures of Campanian-Jurassic dolomite and limestone on the northern scarp. The lower slopes are dominated by younger flysch rocks, which consist of thin beds of graded sandstones intercalated with softer, fissile siltstones. Extended glacial conditions prevailed on the uplands of Mt Tymphe during the Late Quaternary period, ca. 28,000 years ago. The glacial landscape is well-developed, especially on the southern slopes of Mt Tymphe, across the Astraka-Gamila plateau, and in the upland terrain above the villages of Skamneli and Tsepelovo, where lateral and terminal moraines form major landscape features. Additional forms of glacial deposits, which extend down to 850 m (2,789 ft) above sea level, include rock glaciers and limestone pavements.
### Settlements
There are four villages inside the Vikos–Aoös National Park, and an additional nine near the borders of the peripheral zone. All of these settlements, in the western part of the Zagori region, are sparsely populated with a total population of 1,515 people. The villages have a nucleus-like form, with the houses situated around the central square and interconnected by pathways paved by slate or cobblestone. Historically, all the villages of the Zagori region were connected by a system of paths or small roads and they functioned more like a single entity rather than as separate communities.
The economic affluence of Zagori's past is still reflected in the architecture of the villages, while today the preservation of the local architectural legacy is enshrined in a law which dictates that all buildings in the area must be constructed with local traditional materials and in compliance with local architecture. One of the characteristic features of the National Park is its stone bridges, which were the only connection to the outside world until roads were built in the 1950s. Sixteen of these stone bridges and seven churches in the region have been listed as protected historical monuments.
## Climate
The climate of the Vikos–Aoös National Park is Mediterranean, transitioning to continental. The Mediterranean character is characterized by the annual distribution of precipitation, high in the winter months and experiencing a drought period of two to three months in summer. The continental climatic element is attributed to the high amplitude of annual temperature variation, to such a degree that the difference between mean maximum and mean minimum annual temperature, exceeds 40 °C (104 °F). The climate of the area is quite unique due to the complex relief, variation in altitude, and the position of the area with regard to the Ionian Sea coastline. The mean annual temperature and annual precipitation are 11.9 °C (53 °F) and 1,100.9 mm (43.34 in) respectively. Extremely low temperatures occur in the area during the winter months. Compared to Mediterranean bioclimatic divisions, the area belongs to the humid zone with cold winters.
## Wildlife
The park's varied geology and topography have resulted in a unique variety of flora and fauna. There are three main habitat zones: (1) Sub-mediterranean woodland which mainly consists of deciduous broadleaf forests and woodlands and extends up to an elevation of about 1,500 m (4,921 ft). (2) Combined areas of agricultural land with tree hedges and various woodlots, in addition to semi-open shrublands and rocky sites of the lower and middle slopes near human settlements. (3) Uplands with subalpine grasslands and rocky cliffs. This habitat is found above 1,500 m (4,921 ft) altitude and hosts rare bird species such as the Mediterranean golden eagle.
### Flora
The forests are composed of diverse species of deciduous and coniferous trees and a great variety of wildflowers. An important element of the region's flora, apart from the rich variety of plant species, is the high degree of endemism in Balkan (23%) and Greek species (5.8%). Recent studies on the flora of the National Park counted 873 vascular plants, including more than 250 medicinal, aromatic, and poisonous taxa. The park's forests are abundant in species associated with the cool local climate, such as Wych Elm, Nettle-leaved Bellflower, Horse-chestnut and Large-leaved Linden. In the valley of the Vikos Gorge, Platanus orientalis form an azonal gallery forest along the banks of the Voidomatis. The woodland in the mountain area around the village of Papingo is characterized by the predominance of different juniper species, such as Juniperus communis, foetidissima, oxycedrus and excelsa. In the upper hills Juniperus foetidissima dominates, with exceptionally high (more than 10 m (33 ft)) trees. At higher altitudes, pure conifer forests of either pine or fir are found.
Studies on the non-vascular flora recorded the presence of about 150 moss species in the area of the national park, including one newly described taxon. Many herbs of the Vikos Gorge and other areas within the park were regarded to have medicinal properties and were once harvested by local healers, colloquially referred to as "Vikos doctors" (, "Vikoiatri"). These herbal healers used special recipes that were often copies of ancient Greek recipes of Hippocrates or Dioscorides and became famous beyond the borders of Greece. The plants used in these recipes include the lemon balm Melissa officinalis, Tilia tomentosa, the spearmint Mentha spicata, the gas-plant Dictamnus albus, St John's Wort Hypericum perforatum, absinth Artemisia absinthium, the very popular Sideritis raeseri, known colloquially in Greece as "mountain tea", and the elder bush Sambucus nigra. A chemical screening of these native plant species has shown that a high number of them are characterized by biologically active ingredients. A collection of 2,500 dried species of local plants and herbs is exhibited in the local natural history museum in the village of Koukouli.
### Fauna
The Vikos–Aoös National Park preserves one of the richest mountain and forest ecosystems in terms of wildlife diversity in Greece. Numerous species of large mammals such as wolves, foxes, wild horses, and roe deer are found in the area year-round. Otters and wild cats live around the area of Mt Tymphe, with the latter being quite rare. The Pindus range, of which Vikos–Aoös is part, is home to the endangered brown bear and lynx, and is also the southernmost point of their European habitat. One of the park's special attractions is the existence of the chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra), a rare species that lives at higher altitudes far from human activity, especially on the rocky cliffsides of the gorges, for example in Megas Lakos, a secondary ravine of the Vikos Gorge.
A total of 121 bird species have been observed in the park, with twenty-six of them being considered of conservation priority. The area hosts fifteen raptor species and populations of bird species with limited distribution in Greece, such as the hazel grouse, Tengmalm's owl, wallcreeper and willow tit. Two bird communities that inhabit the subalpine and forest ecosystems are considered among the most complete in Greece: The first community includes species that nest and feed in the subalpine area, like the alpine chough, shore lark, western rock nuthatch and alpine swift, while the second comprises birds of prey like the griffon vulture, Egyptian vulture, peregrine falcon and common kestrel, that search for food in a wider zone.
The Vikos-Aoös area also contains a variety of suitable habitats that support dense populations of amphibians and reptiles. Vipera ursinii lives in the subalpine meadows and is considered a threatened taxon. The amphibian alpine newts (Triturus alpestris), living in the alpine lakes of the Tymphe region, mostly in Drakolimni, are associated with local folktales of dragons and dragon battles. Yellow-bellied toads (Bombina variegata) are also common in that same area. Numerous fish, such as brown trout, roach, and barbel are to be found in the park's rivers. Regarding invertebrate species, due to the structural complexity of the forests and the close proximity of various small biotopes, i.e. streams, ponds, forest openings, rocky sites, dead trees, old pollards, and coppices, a very diverse fauna exists, especially at the various ecotones, which often includes very specialized species.
## Human history
The first evidence of human presence in the area is dated to between 17,000 and 10,000 years ago. During this period, favorable climatic conditions prevailed that permitted the hunting of the ibex and the chamois on a seasonal basis. Important epipaleolithic artifacts have been unearthed from a rock shelter on the banks of the Voidomatis. During the 9th–4th centuries B.C., a small Molossian settlement existed between Monodendri and Vitsa, including stone houses and two cemeteries that have yielded important findings. However, for most of the historical period the local population was sparse. The land was mainly used for pastoralism and supplying firewood.
In the era of Ottoman rule, and especially from the 17th to the 19th century, the local Greek Orthodox communities were granted special privileges by the Ottoman authorities. At that time the area of Zagori acquired an autonomous status inside the Ottoman Empire, whereby the locals were exempt from the heavy taxation that affected the lowland communities. During this period large groups of villagers emigrated to metropolitan centers. Many among them became members of successful professional classes before finally returning to their home villages, endowing the region with wealth and building luxurious mansions. In such an environment, the art of herbal healing by the so-called Vikos doctors developed and flourished. This was accompanied by an impressive cultural and intellectual life that produced many renowned scholars and benefactors of Greece.
The area is nowadays sparsely populated as the result of urbanization after World War II. Many of the dwellings now remain shut, while abandonment of the traditional rural economy has affected the cultural landscape. Epirus, of which Vikos–Aoös is part, is considered one of the most underdeveloped regions in Greece. Tourism constitutes the principal source of revenue for the local economy, although it has a highly seasonal character. Intense development in terms of accommodation and tourism infrastructure occurred in the 1980s, mainly through state initiatives.
## Park management
The Vikos–Aoös area was designated as a National Park in 1973, in an effort by the Greek Government to conserve the richness of the local fauna and flora and the geological formations of the area.
The administration and management of the Vikos–Aoös National Park belongs to two district forest offices, supervised by a forest directorate at the prefecture level. Moreover, the office of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in the village of Papingo plays an essential role in management issues. Apart from government efforts, incentives have been given to local management organizations and the local population to participate in the protection of the park. Forestry activities, grazing, hunting, and fishing are prohibited by law in the park's core. There are no such restrictions in the peripheral zone but the Forest Service can take any necessary measure for the realization of the aims of the park. Apart from the above-mentioned activities, dangers to the park include land erosion, landslides, and wildfires which threaten the local flora and fauna. Another issue is the impact of tourism in recent decades. On the other hand, extreme geophysical conditions make the construction and maintenance of the necessary infrastructure network, mainly access routes and telecommunications, difficult.
The vast area of the National Park and the present lack of road infrastructure make remote sensing the only means for monitoring the human activities in the area and their impact on the ecosystem. An analysis has begun by taking a detailed picture of the territory covering at least the following items: orography and slopes, road networks, land cover and use, human settlements, and tourist sites. The use of remote sensing and geographic information system techniques is of essential value for the park's management and constitutes the basis for further evaluations and impact analysis.
The objective of the present state and regional policy is to carefully combine tourism development in the area with the preservation of its natural and cultural heritage. Ecotourism poses an ideal solution, since it has the potential of bringing about the desired balance between socio-economic development and environmental protection. Specific objectives of ecotourism development include reviving traditional activities such as small-scale farming and stock-raising, as well as establishing a network of communities of chamois biotopes.
## Recreation
The Vikos–Aoös National Park is a natural tourist attraction, with high ecotourism and agrotourism potential. The local tourism industry has been favored by national and European funds and provides modest accommodation and tourism services, respectful towards the local tradition and culture. Characteristically, the Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe (FNNPE) stated that "the need for a sustainable form of tourism has never been greater in the area".
The rivers in the Vikos–Aoös area are a destination for rafting and canoe-kayaking enthusiasts. Additional forms of adventure sports include climbing, hiking and mountain biking along local paths in order to observe the area's natural features and architecture. Popular trails in the region include the crossing of the Vikos Gorge, which lasts approximately six to seven hours and is considered of medium difficulty, as well as hiking around the peaks of Mt Tymphe. Several lookouts that offer panoramic views of the Vikos Gorge, such as the Oxya and Beloe lookouts and the 15th century Monastery of Saint Paraskevi, are accessible only by foot.
## Gallery
## See also
- Geography of Greece
- Tourism in Greece |
# Excuse Me Mr.
"Excuse Me Mr." is a song by American band No Doubt for their third studio album, Tragic Kingdom (1995). The song was written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont, while produced by Matthew Wilder. It was released as the fourth single from the album on August 21, 1996. The song has also been included on the band's 2003 greatest hits album, The Singles 1992–2003. Musically, the former is a rock-influenced ska track with lyrics describing a woman trying to get the attention of a man. A country version of the song was also created but never released. The single received positive reviews from music critics who labelled it a successful breakup song and as one of the best tracks on Tragic Kingdom.
Commercially, "Excuse Me Mr." had a minimal impact on record charts, reaching the top 40 of the alternative charts in both the United States and Canada and peaking at number 11 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. Sophie Muller directed the accompanying music video in January 1997. The visual features two different storylines, with the first showing No Doubt playing the song to an empty room that eventually becomes crowded with paparazzi, while the second storyline has Stefani tying herself to train tracks in the hopes that a man will come to her rescue. No Doubt has performed the song for a number of live appearances, including during their 1995–97 Tragic Kingdom World Tour, on Saturday Night Live in December 1996 while serving as the guest musical act, and at the band's Return of Saturn Tour (2000).
## Background and release
"Excuse Me Mr." was written by Gwen Stefani and Tom Dumont, while produced by Matthew Wilder. It was featured as the second track on No Doubt's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom, which was released on October 10, 1995. The album was the band's first record with minimal contributions from Gwen's brother, Eric Stefani, who had left the group due to creative differences earlier in 1995. Kenneth Partridge from The A.V. Club felt that this encouraged the members of No Doubt to incorporate the influences that helped popularize the band; Partridge later stated that this allowed Tragic Kingdom songs like "You Can Do It", "Hey You\!", and "Excuse Me Mr." to be recorded. The original version of "Excuse Me Mr." was more melodic and mellow, according to Tony Kanal, but the members preferred the "harder version" that was released as a single. No Doubt disagreed with their then-producer Wilder, who wanted the band to record a country-influenced rendition. Member Adrian Young said:
> When we recorded ['Excuse Me Mr.'], we used to play it the way it is now, and our producer wanted us to play it almost kind of like a country-shuffle, and so we gave it a shot. We later decided that we didn't really like that, but the other version was erased from the tape. We had to go back in—it must've been months later—we re-recorded it the way we used to play it.
According to the liner notes for No Doubt's 2003 greatest hits album, The Singles 1992–2003, the debate over which version of "Excuse Me Mr." would be featured on Tragic Kingdom became a debacle. The band told Interscope Records that they would refuse to record "Spiderwebs", the latter's eventual second single, unless they could re-record the punk rock version of "Excuse Me Mr.". The song was first released as an airplay single in the United States on August 21, 1996. Commercial CD singles for "Excuse Me Mr." were not distributed in the United States; however, promotional CD singles were created and sent to radio stations across that country. A Japanese promotional CD single was also made using the same cover art from No Doubt's "Sunday Morning" (1997).
## Composition and lyrics
Musically, "Excuse Me Mr." is a ska punk, ska and punk rock song that is reminiscent of No Doubt's previous releases. Partridge described the track as a rock-influenced song that pays homage to the music which helped form the band. Diffuser.fm's Brendan Manley noted the track's "Dixieland brass breakdown" during the bridge and cited "Excuse Me Mr." as an example of the one of many different styles of songs on Tragic Kingdom. David Browne discussed in his Entertainment Weekly review of the album that the track is able to combine various genres within a duration of three minutes.
According to Musicnotes.com, "Excuse Me Mr." is set in common time, with a double time-like feel and has a very fast tempo of 146 beats per minute. The key of the song is set in F major, with Gwen Stefani's vocal range spanning nearly an octave and a half, from A<sub>3</sub> to F<sub>5</sub> in scientific pitch notation. The song progresses in the following chord progressions of F–C–Dm–C in each of the two verses.
The song's lyrics describe a woman who is actively trying to capture the attention of a male. The message is the opposite of that conveyed within "Spiderwebs", and Stefani sings in an anxious tone. Partridge felt that the point in the song where it switches to circus music helps secure the idea that love is absurd. Loren Diblasi from MTV News noted that the lyrics of "Excuse Me Mr." suggest that No Doubt was detailing a painful breakup; Stefani sings during the middle eight, "It's almost as if I'm tied to the tracks / And I'm waiting for him to rescue me / The funny thing is, he's not going to come". These lyrics, specifically, were described as "sonically slapstick" by Noisey's Nick Levine, while Browne from Entertainment Weekly compared the lyrics' "rescue-me blankness" to Mariah Carey's songwriting abilities. Seija Rankin speculated that the subject of the song was Kanal, who Stefani had broken up with prior to writing the material for the album.
## Reception
"Excuse Me Mr." was met with positive reviews from music critics, with several describing it as one of the highlights on Tragic Kingdom. In honor of the 20th anniversary of the album, a panel of critics from The A.V. Club reanalyzed it. Annie Zaleski from the publication admired the track in addition to "Happy Now?" and "Sunday Morning"; she noted that all three of the songs "have just the right amount of pep". Marah Eakin described "Excuse Me Mr." as a "banger" that "aged well" despite being released over 20 years ago; she also selected the track as one of the album's singles that sounds "fucking good". Expressing a similar opinion, Ilana Kaplan from The New York Observer called it "one of the buzzy tracks that erupted" from Tragic Kingdom; she also classified the track as perhaps the "fastest song ever made". Diblasi was impressed by the track and listed it as the fifth-best "breakup song" on the album. She also found the track to be emotive and one of the "most gut-wrenching tracks" on Tragic Kingdom because of its ability to help someone "survive a breakup".
In the US, "Excuse Me Mr." peaked at number 17 on Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart. It did not enter the RPM singles chart in Canada, though it did reach the Top Rock/Alternative Tracks chart, with the track debuting at number 27. Similarly, it became the fourth consecutive entry from Tragic Kingdom to make an appearance on the chart. During its 9th week within the rankings, the track reached a peak of number 12 on March 31, 1997. Outside of the alternative charts in the United States and Canada, "Excuse Me Mr." only charted in one country. On May 25, 1997, the song debuted at number 38 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart. The track ultimately peaked at number 11, becoming the 4th top 40 entry from the album.
## Music video
The music video for "Excuse Me Mr." was directed by Sophie Muller and released in early 1997. It served as the fourth of five videos created for the songs of Tragic Kingdom. Filming for the visual had been completed by January 1997 and took place around No Doubt's touring schedule.
The video opens with the band performing in a dimly-lit room. As the camera pans to the other members, Stefani tries her best to remain in front of it whenever possible, with her resorting to pushing them out of her way. Various women dressed in vaudeville-inspired outfits are spaced evenly throughout the room and dance provocatively, as the camera approaches them. Before the song's second verse begins, Stefani ties herself to rail tracks in front of an oncoming train with the hopes that nearby people Dumont, Kanal, or Young will come to her rescue. The men fail to do so and Stefani stands up, departs the scene and reenters the dark room. The band resumes playing while a group of paparazzi enters and disrupts them. The video ends with No Doubt posing for a group picture in front of the paparazzi.
The clip was selected for rotation on several music-related television networks, including MTV, where it charted within the top 10 on the channel's official "most-played clips" playlist. In 2004, the video was featured on No Doubt's compilation DVD The Videos 1992–2003. It was also included as a bonus feature on the second CD of a two part CD single series for "Spiderwebs" that was released exclusively in the United Kingdom.
## Live performances
"Excuse Me Mr." was performed as the second song on No Doubt's 1995–97 Tragic Kingdom World Tour. The performance of the song at the July 1, 1997 show in Anaheim, at The Arrowhead Pond, was recorded and released on the band's first live album, Live in the Tragic Kingdom (1997). On the December 7, 1996 episode of the American television series Saturday Night Live, No Doubt served as the special musical guest, whereas Martin Short was the episode's host. During their appearances, they performed their previous single, "Don't Speak", followed by "Excuse Me Mr.".
The song was performed for No Doubt's Return of Saturn Tour in 2000. A majority of the tracks performed during the event featured Stefani singing about marriage and romance, but when No Doubt returned with tracks from Tragic Kingdom, like the song and "Happy Now?", Rolling Stone's Greg Kot found the audience to be more engaged. Kanal and Stefani "bounc[ed]" around the stage during the performance, and Kot compared Stefani's vocals to a cross between cartoon character Betty Boop and American performer Lydia Lunch. For No Doubt's 2002 Rock Steady Tour, the song was performed during the concert's middle segment, in between them singing "In My Head" and "Different People". The band's performance of "Excuse Me Mr." at the November 22–23 and 29, 2002 shows at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach were recorded and featured on their second live album, Rock Steady Live (2003).
During a reunion concert in 2009, their first official show since 2004, No Doubt performed a revised version of "Excuse Me Mr." to the crowd. According to Rolling Stone's Christopher R. Weingarten, the song had a "radical makeover" as it was "slowed down and skanked [sic] up until it sounded like the English Beat". At the first Rock in Rio USA music festival in 2015, No Doubt headlined the main stage during the beginning day of the event. They performed several songs from Tragic Kingdom, including "Don't Speak", "Sunday Morning", and "Excuse Me Mr.".
## Track listings
## Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Tragic Kingdom.
- Gwen Stefani – writer, vocals
- Tony Kanal – bass
- Matthew Wilder – producer
- Adrian Young – drums, percussion
- Tom Dumont – writer, guitar
- Eric Stefani – keyboards, piano
- Phil Jordan – trumpet
- Robert Vosgien – mastering
- David Holman – mixing
- Paul Palmer – mixing
- Phil Kaffel – recording
- George Landress – recording
## Charts
## Release history |
# Megawhaitsia
Megawhaitsia is an extinct genus of large therocephalian therapsids who lived during the Late Permian (Wuchiapingian) in what is now Eastern Europe. The only known species is M. patrichae, described in 2008 from several fossils discovered in various oblasts of European Russia. The fossils are representative of a large animal whose skull size is estimated to be 40–50 cm (16–20 in) long.
The most notable feature of Megawhaitsia is that it has a maxilla with canals directly connected to the tooth root of the canines. Based on the characteristics present in the related genus Euchambersia, Russian paleontologist Mikhail Ivakhnenko raises the possibility that the animal may have had a venom gland. If it is true, then it would then be one of the oldest tetrapods known to have this attribute. Subsequent studies have challenged this proposition.
The imposing size of Megawhaitsia and its position as an apex predator could be linked to the disappearance or absence of large gorgonopsians at the end of the Late Permian in certain regions of present-day European Russia. Megawhaitsia could thus have occupied the ecological niches previously occupied by the gorgonopsians.
## Discovery and naming
The holotype specimen of Megawhaitsia was discovered in the mid-1950s during excavations carried out in the locality of Vyazniki-2, located in Vladimir Oblast, in European Russia, before being cataloged as PIN 1100/101. This site is dated to the Wuchiapingian stage of the Late Permian. It had originally been incorrectly recorded as the jawbone of a gorgonopsian similar to Inostrancevia. Given the low presence of gorgonopsians during the Late Permian in Russia, the fossil was reassigned to a large therocephalian in a work published in 1997, without however receiving a binomial name. In 2001, Mikhail Feodosievich Ivakhnenko attributed two additional fossil remains to the still unnamed taxon. The first is a partial maxillary bone, cataloged PIN 1538/39, discovered in the locality of Purly, in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. The second is the right part of an incomplete mandible, cataloged PIN 4417/101, discovered in the locality of Shabarshata, in the Kirov Oblast.
Ivakhnenko published in 2008 a formal description of the new taxa, based on the specimens PIN 1100/101 and PIN 1538/39, describing it as the first Late Permian whaitsiid from Eastern Europe. Subsequently, the scope of whaitsiids was expanded to include discoveries made earlier in the Permian deposits of the same Russian regions, including Moschowhaitsia and Viatkosuchus, described in 1963 and 1995 respectively. The genus name Megawhaitsia comes from the Ancient Greek μέγας (megas, "great"), combined with the name of another therocephalian genus, Whaitsia (name witch is today synonymous with Theriognathus). The specific epithet patrichae honors the Australian paleontologist Patricia Vickers-Rich.
## Description
The known fossils of Megawhaitsia are very incomplete, thus preventing any complete reconstruction of the animal's anatomy. However, the structure of the two known maxillary bones proves that it is a therocephalian.
The animals' maxillary bone was massive with the largest preserved fragment measuring about 10 cm (3.9 in) in length. Based on the proportions of the fuller skulls of the smaller South African representatives of the group, the total length of the animal's skull is estimated to be between 40–50 cm (16–20 in), which would make Megawhaitsia the largest therocephalian known to date. On the lower edge of the maxilla there is a large space that can accommodate the lower canine. Behind are the sockets of three large upper canines, the two anterior being somewhat larger. The roots of the teeth are deep, all three having a deep alveolar fossa. The partial mandible attributed to Megawhaitsia has the socket of a very large canine but lacks those of the cheek teeth.
A feature of the maxillary bone is that it has three channels which start in the region of the lacrimo-nasal duct, pass along the roots of the teeth and open near the sockets of each of the canines. By analogy with the hypotheses on the venomousness of another genus of therocephalians, Euchambersia, Ivakhnenko interprets these canals as a possible proof of the presence of poisonous glands in Megawhaitsia, which would be used to slaughter large prey. However, since the venomousness of Euchambersia has been questioned in a study published in 2017, in particular on the basis of the comparison with various modern venomous animals, the authors of the 2017 study suggest other explanations of the presence of these maxillary canals might be possible.
## Classification
During the second half of the 20th century, the fossil maxillary bones of Megawhaitsia were considered to belong to a gorgonopsid similar or identical to the genus Inostrancevia. In 1997, the fossils were reassigned to an undetermined therocephalian in the family Whaitsiidae, then to the Moschorhinidae family in 2001. In the 2008 article of Ivakhnenko, Megawhaitsia is included again in the family Whaitsiidae, within the superfamily Whaitsioidea. At that time, the Whaitsioidea taxon included the Euchambersiidae and the Whaitsiidae as sister-groups, due to their similar appearance. A study published less than a year later by Adam Huttenlocker estimated that the families Euchambersiidae, Moschorhinidae and Annatherapsididae represented junior synonyms of Akidnognathidae, considered the sister-group of Whaitsiidae. It was in 2016 that Huttenlocker and Christian Sidor concluded that the Akidnognathidae are in fact close to the Chthonosauridae, the two forming the sister-group of a clade containing the Whaitsioidea and the Baurioidea. The superfamily Whaitsioidea remains recognized as a valid taxa, although it now only contains whaitsiids and a few related genera.
## Paleobiology
In comparison to South African therocephalians, Megawhaitsia had a noticeably larger size corresponding to a specialized carnivorous predator niche. It fed on fairly large prey, notably dicynodonts, which were numerous in Russian regions of Europe during the Upper Permian. The possible presence of venom glands in Megawhaitsia would be consistent with the warm-blooded dicynodont hypothesis, as venom offers a significant advantage especially in hunting active warm-blooded prey.
One of the types of large coprolites found in the Vyazniki locality is associated with Megawhaitsia or closely related whaitsiids such as Moschowhaitsia. It reveals a high content of bony material, including bones bearing traces of a rich network of blood vessels, probably belonging to dicynodonts, indicating a predator that occupied the top position in the trophic chain. Additionally, remains of fish scales and material interpreted as ganoine have been found in morphotype A coprolites, as well as fur-like structures. These are interpreted as the oldest fossil coat remains known to date, although it remains unclear whether they belong to prey or were swallowed by a predator as a result of grooming.
## Paleoecology
The locality of Viazniki-2, where the holotype of Megawhaitsia was discovered, contains numerous fossils of tetrapods dating from the Wuchiapingian, including the temnospondyl Dvinosaurus, as well as non-amniote reptiliomorphs, including the seymouriamorph Karpinskiosaurus and numerous chroniosuchians. Sauropsids present include pareiasaurs such as Obirkovia and archosauriforms of the family Proterosuchidae, such as Archosaurus. The latter would also have been one of the main predators of the area. Other therapsids are present in the locality, such as an indeterminate dicynodont and even other therocephalians, including Annatherapsidus, Malasaurus and Moschowhaitsia.
Researchers speculate that due to their increased size, East European whaitsiids occupied the ecological niche of the large gorgonopsians, which at that time had disappeared from Eastern Europe, possibly due to a climate cooling.
## See also
- Euchambersia
- Ichibengops |
# Seaforth railway station
Seaforth railway station is a suburban railway station in Gosnells, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. It is on the Armadale line which is part of the Transperth network, and is 22.6 kilometres (14.0 mi) southwest of Perth station and 7.8 kilometres (4.8 mi) north of Armadale station. The station opened on 4 May 1948 with low level platforms. High level platforms were added in 1968. The station consists of two side platforms with a pedestrian level crossing. It is not fully accessible due to steep ramps and a lack of tactile paving.
Services are operated by the Public Transport Authority. Peak services reach seven trains per hour in each direction, whilst off-peak services are four trains per hour. The station is one of the least used ones on the Transperth network, with just 136 boardings per day in October 2017. Since November 2023, the station has been temporarily closed for construction of the Victoria Park-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project and the Byford rail extension.
## Description
Seaforth station is along the South Western Railway, which links Perth to Bunbury. The northern 30.4 kilometres (18.9 mi) of this railway, between Perth and Armadale, is used by Armadale line suburban rail services as part of the Transperth network. The line and the station is owned by the Public Transport Authority (PTA), an agency of the Government of Western Australia. Seaforth station is located between Gosnells station to the north and Kelmscott station to the south, within the suburb of Gosnells, Western Australia. The station is between Albany Highway to the east and Seaforth Avenue to the west, 22.6 kilometres (14.0 mi), or a 25-minute train journey, from Perth station, and 7.8 kilometres (4.8 mi), or a 10-minute train journey, from Armadale station. This places the station in Transperth fare zone three.
Seaforth station consists of two side platforms which are approximately 100 metres (330 ft) long, enough for a four-car train but not a six-car train. The only way to cross the tracks is at a pedestrian level crossing at the southern end of the station. Two car parks with 41 bays in total are on Seaforth Avenue. Seaforth station is not fully accessible due to the ramps to the platforms being too steep and a lack of tactile paving.
## History
After a campaign by the South-East Gosnells Progress Association, the station opened on 4 May 1948, although at the time, all it had were low level platforms and no name. Later that month, the Gosnells Road Board passed a motion that the name "Seaforth" be suggested to the Western Australian Government Railways (WAGR) after the name of a local estate. When WAGR sought approval for the name from Canberra, they were reluctant to approve the name as it was used for stations in all other Australian states. The station had since become colloquially known as "Woop Woop". Seaforth was eventually approved though in April 1949.
In 1968, high level platforms were constructed.
## Services
Seaforth station is served by Armadale line services operated by the PTA. Since 20 November 2023, the station has been temporarily closed for construction of the Victoria Park-Canning Level Crossing Removal Project and the Byford rail extension, which require that large sections of the Armadale line's track be rebuilt to be elevated. The line goes between Perth station and Armadale station. Armadale line services reached seven trains per hour during peak, dropping down to four trains per hour between peaks. At night, there were two trains per hour, dropping to one train per hour in the early hours of the morning. Apart from at night and on Sundays/public holidays, most train services followed the "C" stopping pattern, which skips Burswood, Victoria Park, Carlisle, Welshpool and Queens Park stations. There are also two "B" stopping pattern services which ran during the afternoon Armadale-bound. Those services were the same as the "C" pattern except they stop at Queens Park. Starting at night, trains stopped at all stations. On Sundays and public holidays, half of all trains are "C" pattern trains and half are all stops trains.
On Seaforth Avenue is a pair of bus stops for route 907, the rail replacement bus service. On Albany Highway is a pair of bus stops for route 220, which runs along Albany Highway from Perth to Armadale.
In the 2013–14 financial year, Seaforth station had 51,887 boardings, making it the least used station on the Armadale and Thornlie lines. On an average weekday in October 2017, the station had 136 boardings, making it the least used Transperth station. The weekend average number of boardings was 170 in October 2018, making it the second least used Transperth station after Success Hill station. In 2018, City of Armadale Mayor Henry Zelones said that several hundred hectares of vacant land nearby had been set for high density development, which would increase patronage. |
# Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a 2017 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is the second Spider-Man film reboot and the 16th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The film was directed by Jon Watts from a screenplay by the writing teams of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, Watts and Christopher Ford, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers. Tom Holland stars as Peter Parker / Spider-Man, alongside Michael Keaton, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Donald Glover, Jacob Batalon, Laura Harrier, Tony Revolori, Bokeem Woodbine, Tyne Daly, Marisa Tomei, and Robert Downey Jr. In the film, Parker tries to balance high school life with being Spider-Man while facing the Vulture (Keaton).
In February 2015, Marvel Studios and Sony reached a deal to share the film rights for Spider-Man, integrating the character into the established MCU. The following June, Holland was cast as the title character, and Watts was hired to direct. This was followed shortly by the hiring of Daley and Goldstein. In April 2016, the film's title was revealed, along with additional cast, including Downey in his MCU role of Tony Stark / Iron Man. Principal photography began in June 2016 at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, and continued in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York City. The other screenwriters were revealed during filming, which concluded in Berlin in October 2016. The production team made efforts to differentiate the film from previous Spider-Man films.
Spider-Man: Homecoming premiered in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 28, 2017, and was released in the United States on July 7, as part of Phase Three of the MCU. Homecoming grossed over $880 million worldwide, becoming the second-most-successful Spider-Man film and the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2017. It received praise for the light tone, its focus on Parker's high school life, and the performances, particularly of Holland and Keaton. Two sequels have been released: Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). A new trilogy of live-action films from Sony and Marvel Studios is in development.
## Plot
Following the Battle of New York in 2012, Adrian Toomes and his salvage company are contracted to clean up the city, but their operation is taken over by the Department of Damage Control (DODC), a partnership between Tony Stark and the U.S. government. Enraged at being driven out of business, Toomes persuades his employees to keep the Chitauri technology they have already scavenged and use it to create and sell advanced weapons, including a flying Vulture suit Toomes uses to steal Chitauri power cells.
Eight years later, after being drafted into the Avengers by Stark to help with an internal dispute in Germany, Peter Parker resumes his studies at the Midtown School of Science and Technology when Stark tells him he is not yet ready to become a full-time Avenger. Parker quits his school's academic decathlon team to spend more time focusing on his crime-fighting activities as Spider-Man. His best friend, Ned, eventually discovers his secret identity.
Parker comes across Toomes's associates Jackson Brice / Shocker and Herman Schultz selling weapons to local criminal Aaron Davis. Parker saves Davis before being caught by Toomes in the Vulture suit and dropped in a lake, nearly drowning after becoming tangled in a parachute built into his suit. He is rescued by Stark, who is monitoring the Spider-Man suit he gave Parker and warns him against further involvement with the criminals. Toomes accidentally kills Brice with one of their weapons and Schultz becomes the new Shocker.
Parker and Ned study a weapon Brice left behind, removing its power core. When a tracking device on Schultz leads to Maryland, Parker rejoins the decathlon team and accompanies them to Washington, D.C. for their national tournament. Ned and Parker disable the tracker Stark implanted in the Spider-Man suit, and unlock its advanced features. Parker tries to stop Toomes from stealing weapons from a DODC truck but is trapped inside, causing him to miss the decathlon tournament. When he discovers that the power core is an unstable Chitauri grenade, he races to the Washington Monument, where the core is activated and explodes, trapping Ned and their friends in an elevator. Parker saves them, including his classmate and crush Liz. Days later, in New York City, aboard the Staten Island Ferry, Parker captures Toomes's new buyer Mac Gargan but Toomes escapes and a malfunctioning weapon tears the ferry in half. Stark helps Parker save the passengers, but confiscates his suit as punishment for his recklessness.
Parker returns to his high school life and asks Liz to go to the homecoming dance with him. On the night of the dance, he discovers that Toomes is Liz's father. Deducing Parker's secret identity, Toomes threatens him. Parker realizes Toomes is planning to hijack a DODC plane transporting weapons from Avengers Tower to the team's new headquarters in Upstate New York. He leaves the dance and dons his old homemade Spider-Man suit. Though he is ambushed outside by Schultz, he defeats him with Ned's help. He races to Toomes's lair, where Toomes attacks Parker, destroying the building's support columns, and leaves Parker to die, trapped in the rubble of the collapsed building. Parker escapes and intercepts the plane, steering it to crash on the beach at Coney Island. He and Toomes continue fighting, ending with Parker saving Toomes's life after the damaged Vulture suit explodes. Parker leaves Toomes for the police along with the plane's cargo. After her father's arrest, Liz moves away. Parker declines an invitation from Stark to join the Avengers full time, and Stark proposes to Pepper Potts. Stark also returns the Spider-Man suit to Parker, who puts it on just as his aunt May walks in.
In a mid-credits scene, an incarcerated Gargan approaches Toomes in prison, saying he has heard that the latter knows Spider-Man's real identity, though Toomes denies this.
## Cast
- Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man:
A 15-year-old who gained spider-like abilities after being bitten by a radioactive spider. Producers Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal were impressed by Holland's performances in The Impossible (2012), Wolf Hall (2015), and In the Heart of the Sea (2015). Holland took inspiration from previous Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield but also hoped to deliver something "new and exciting" with his take on the character, the first to focus on Parker as "dealing with everyday problems that a 15-year-old deals with as well as trying to save the city". Holland attended the Bronx High School of Science in the Bronx for a few days to prepare for the role, where other students did not believe he was cast as Spider-Man. Holland felt this would carry over well to the film, where other characters do not suspect Parker of being Spider-Man. It took 25 to 45 minutes for Holland to get into costume, depending on if he had to wear a stunt harness underneath the suit. Holland initially signed for six MCU films, including three Spider-Man films.
- Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes / Vulture:
A salvager-turned-arms-trafficker after his company is forced out of business. He uses a suit with mechanical wings forged from Chitauri technology. Toomes is revealed to be the father of Liz, Parker's love interest. Director Jon Watts wanted him to be a "regular guy", closer to John C. Reilly's Nova Corpsman Rhomann Dey from Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) than other MCU villains like Thanos and Ultron, to go with Spider-Man as a "regular kid who becomes a superhero". This helped avoid Toomes drawing the attention of the Avengers, and provided someone that Parker would be able to defeat while still learning to use his abilities. Keaton said Toomes was not completely villainous, as "there's parts of him that you go, 'You know what? I might see his point.'" Co-producer Eric Hauserman Carroll likened Toomes to "the dark Tony Stark", a "businessman with a family. He wants to look out for his kids ... He doesn't have these big delusions of grandeur where he wants to take over the world, or replace the government, or even defeat the Avengers or anything. He just wants his shot at the good life." Keaton was not hesitant to portray another comic book character after playing Batman in Tim Burton's 1989 film and its 1992 sequel.
- Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan:
The former head of security for Stark Industries and Tony Stark's driver and bodyguard. Hogan is "looking after" Parker in the film, with Favreau saying that Parker "needs someone to help him out". Favreau previously portrayed Hogan in the Iron Man films, having also directed the first two of those, and described returning as just an actor as fun, allowing him "to maintain the relationship with the MCU ... Especially when the filmmakers are taking care of you, and taking care of the characters and the story."
- Gwyneth Paltrow as Pepper Potts: Tony Stark's fiancée and the CEO of Stark Industries.
- Zendaya as Michelle:
One of Parker's classmates, also known as "MJ". Zendaya, calling her awkward but intellectual, said that "she just feels like she doesn't need to talk to people" because of her intelligence. She added that it was "refreshing" that Michelle was weird and different, feeling that "a lot of young people—especially young women—can relate to that." Watts likened the character to Ally Sheedy's Allison Reynolds from The Breakfast Club (1985) or Linda Cardellini's Lindsay Weir from Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000). The character is not a direct adaptation of Mary Jane Watson, but was given the initials "MJ" to "remind you of that dynamic", with the writers "plant[ing] the seeds in this movie" for comparisons to Watson, but also making her "wholly different". Feige added that Michelle is "not obsessed with" Parker like Watson is at times in the comics, "she's just observant". Her full name, Michelle Jones-Watson, was revealed in Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
- Donald Glover as Aaron Davis:
A criminal looking to purchase weapons from Toomes. Davis is the uncle of Miles Morales, an inheritor of the Spider-Man mantle, in the comics. Glover voiced Morales in the Ultimate Spider-Man television series, and campaigned to portray Spider-Man in a film in 2010. Watts was aware of the campaign, and as soon as he was hired he asked Feige about casting Glover. The role was designed as "a surprise treat for fans", with Davis mentioning his nephew to set up Morales potentially appearing in a future MCU film. Watts insisted Glover accept the part, assuring him that if he declined the offer, he would have scrapped Davis from the film.
- Jacob Batalon as Ned:
Parker's best friend, who is a "complete gamer". Batalon described him as "the quintessential best guy, the best man, the number two guy, the guy in the chair" for Parker. Marvel used Ned Leeds as a basis for the character, who does not have a last name in the script or film, but essentially created their own character with him. Carroll said that Ned and other characters in the film are composites of several of their favorites from Spider-Man comics, notably Ganke Lee, who is Miles Morales' best friend in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man. He is given the last name "Leeds" in the sequel Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019), which was confirmed in No Way Home.
- Laura Harrier as Liz: A senior, Parker's love interest, and Toomes's daughter, with a "type-A" personality.
- Tony Revolori as Flash:
Parker's rival and classmate. It was noted that the character is generally depicted as a white bully in the comics; the Guatemalan American actor received death threats upon his casting. Revolori worked hard "to do him justice", as he is an important character to the fans. Rather than being a physically imposing jock, Flash Thompson was reimagined as "a rich, smug kid" to reflect modern views of bullying, by crafting him more into a social media bully and rival for Parker opposed to a jock; this depiction was largely informed by Holland's visit to the Bronx High School of Science. Revolori said that Flash has to work hard to match Parker's intelligence, which is "one of the reasons he doesn't like Peter. Everyone else seems to like Peter, so he's like, why don't they like me like they like him?" Revolori gained 60 lb (27 kg) for the role.
- Bokeem Woodbine as Herman Schultz / Shocker: An accomplice of Toomes who is the second person to use modified, vibro-blast shooting versions of Brock Rumlow's gauntlets.
- Tyne Daly as Anne Marie Hoag: The head of the U.S. Department of Damage Control.
- Marisa Tomei as May Parker:
Peter's aunt. First reports of Tomei's casting caused backlash on social media, with comic book fans opining that the actress was "too young and attractive to portray the character", especially after the character had previously been depicted by actresses older than Tomei. Regarding the casting, Captain America: Civil War (2016) co-writer Stephen McFeely said that, for the MCU, they were trying to make Peter "as naturalistic as possible...That's partly why his aunt isn't 80 years old; if she's the sister of his dead mother, why does she have to be two generations ahead?" Carroll added that the creative team was looking for more of a "big sister" or someone closer in age to Peter Parker in the casting process. After researching the character, Tomei did make "a case to age me up, but no they didn't do it". Tomei felt there was a "blank slate" from which she could develop the character, and talked to Watts about May being "a community organizer or invested in the neighborhood" to indicate where Peter's values come from.
- Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark / Iron Man:
A self-described genius, billionaire, playboy, and philanthropist with electromechanical suits of armor of his own invention who is Parker's mentor and the creator of the U.S. Department of Damage Control. Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman noted that, beyond the commercial advantage of featuring Downey in the film, the inclusion of Stark was important due to the relationship established between him and Parker in Captain America: Civil War. Watts noted that after Stark's actions in Civil War, introducing Parker to life as an Avenger, there are "a lot of repercussions to that. Is it a first step towards Tony as some sort of mentor figure? Is he comfortable with that?" Co-writer Jonathan Goldstein compared Stark to Ethan Hawke's father character in Boyhood (2014).
Additionally, Kerry Condon and Chris Evans reprise their roles as F.R.I.D.A.Y. and Steve Rogers / Captain America from previous MCU films, respectively. Rogers appears in public service announcements played at Parker's school. Garcelle Beauvais portrays Doris Toomes, Adrian's wife and Liz's mother, and Jennifer Connelly provides the voice of Karen, the A.I. in Parker's suit. Hemky Madera appears as Mr. Delmar, the owner of a local bodega, while Gary Weeks portrays Damage Control agent Foster. Logan Marshall-Green plays Jackson Brice, the first Shocker, who is an accomplice of Toomes who uses modified, vibro-blast shooting versions of Brock Rumlow's gauntlets. Other business partners of Toomes include: Michael Chernus as Phineas Mason, Michael Mando as Mac Gargan, and Christopher Berry as Randy Vale.
Faculty at Parker's high school include: Kenneth Choi, who previously played Jim Morita in the MCU, as Jim's descendant Principal Morita; Hannibal Buress as Coach Wilson, the school's gym teacher, who he described as "one of the dumbass characters that don't realize [Parker is] Spider-Man"; Martin Starr, who reprises his previously unnamed role from The Incredible Hulk (2008), as Mr. Harrington, a teacher and academic decathlon coach; Selenis Leyva as Ms. Warren; Tunde Adebimpe as Mr. Cobbwell; and John Penick as Mr. Hapgood. Parker's classmates include: Isabella Amara as Sally; Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Jason Ionello; Josie Totah as Seymour; Abraham Attah as Abraham; Tiffany Espensen as Cindy; Angourie Rice as Betty Brant; Michael Barbieri as Charles; and Ethan Dizon as Tiny. Martha Kelly appears in the film as a tour guide, Zach Cherry appears as a street vendor who asks Spider-Man to "do a flip", and Kirk Thatcher makes a cameo appearance as a "punk", an homage to his role in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986). Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee also has a cameo, as a New York City apartment resident named Gary who witnesses Parker's confrontation with a neighbor.
## Production
### Development
Following the November 2014 hacking of Sony's computers, emails between Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal and president Doug Belgrad were released, stating that Sony wanted Marvel Studios to produce a new trilogy of Spider-Man films while Sony retained "creative control, marketing, and distribution". Discussions between Sony and Marvel broke down, and Sony planned to proceed with its own slate of Spider-Man films. However, in February 2015, Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios announced that they would release a new Spider-Man film, with Kevin Feige and Pascal producing (the latter through her company Pascal Pictures). The character would first appear in an earlier Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film, later revealed to be Captain America: Civil War (2016). Marvel Studios would explore opportunities to integrate MCU characters into future Spider-Man films, which Sony Pictures would continue to finance, distribute, and have final creative control over. Both studios have the ability to terminate the agreement at any point, and no money was exchanged with the deal. However, a small adjustment was made to a 2011 deal that gave Marvel full control of Spider-Man's merchandising rights, in exchange for a one-time payment of $175 million to Sony and paying up to $35 million for each future Spider-Man film rather than receiving their previous five percent of a Spider-Man film's revenue—Marvel could now reduce their $35 million payment if the co-produced film grossed more than $750 million. Marvel Studios still received five percent of first dollar gross for the film. Lone Star Funds also co-financed the film with Sony, via its LSC Film Corporation deal, covering 25 percent of the $175 million budget, while Columbia Pictures officially served as co-producer with Marvel Studios. Sony also paid Marvel Studios an undisclosed producer fee.
Marvel had been working to add Spider-Man to the Marvel Cinematic Universe since at least October 2014, when they announced their slate of Phase Three films, with Feige saying, "Marvel doesn't announce anything officially until it's set in stone. So we went forward with that Plan A in October, with the Plan B being, if [the deal] were to happen with Sony, how it would all shift. We've been thinking about [the Spider-Man film] as long as we've been thinking about Phase Three." Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, producers for The Amazing Spider-Man series, were set to serve as executive producers, with neither director Marc Webb nor actor Andrew Garfield returning for the new film. Sony was reportedly looking for an actor younger than Garfield to play Spider-Man, with Logan Lerman and Dylan O'Brien considered front-runners. In March 2015, Drew Goddard was being considered to write and direct the film, while O'Brien said he had not been approached for the role. Goddard, who was previously attached to a Sony film based on the Sinister Six, later said he declined to work on the new film as he thought he "didn't really have an idea" for it and struggled with the idea of working on a new film after spending a year working on the Sinister Six film and being in that mindset. The following month, while promoting Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), Feige said the character of Peter Parker would be around 15 to 16 years old in the film, which would not be an origin story, since "there have been two retellings of that origin in the last [thirteen years, so] we are going to take it for granted that people know that, and the specifics". Parker's Uncle Ben is still referenced in the film, but not by name. There was some discussion to include a direct reference to Ben when Peter is getting ready for his homecoming by the revelation that his wardrobe consisted of Ben's clothes, but the writers desisted because they felt that the moment veered away from Parker's character arc and made Ben's death feel like a "throwaway line". Later in April, Nat Wolff, Asa Butterfield, Tom Holland, Timothée Chalamet, and Liam James were under consideration by Sony and Marvel to play Spider-Man, with Holland and Butterfield as the front-runners. Joseph Quinn and Chandler Riggs also auditioned for the role.
In May 2015, Jonathan Levine, Ted Melfi, Jason Moore, the writing team of John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, and Jared Hess were being considered to direct the film. Butterfield, Holland, Judah Lewis, Matt Lintz, Charlie Plummer, and Charlie Rowe screen-tested for the lead role against Robert Downey Jr., who portrays Tony Stark / Iron Man in the MCU, for "chemistry". The six were chosen out of a search of over 1,500 actors to test in front of Feige, Pascal, and the Russo brothers—the directors of Captain America: Civil War. Lintz would later be cast as Bruno Carrelli in the Marvel Studios Disney+ series Ms. Marvel (2022). By early June 2015, Levine and Melfi had become the favorites to direct the film, with Daley and Goldstein and Jon Watts also in consideration, while Feige and Pascal narrowed the actors considered to Holland and Rowe, with both screen-testing with Downey again. Holland also tested with Chris Evans, who portrays Steve Rogers / Captain America in the MCU and emerged as the favorite. On June 23, Marvel and Sony officially announced that Holland would star as Spider-Man and that Watts would direct the film. The Russos "were pretty vocal about who [sic] [they] wanted for the part", pushing to cast an actor close to the age of Peter Parker to differentiate from the previous portrayals. They also praised Holland for having a dancing and gymnastics background. Watts was able to read the Civil War script, talk with the Russos, and was on set for the filming of Spider-Man's scenes in that film. He was able to "see what they were doing with it" and provide "ideas about this and that", including what Parker's bedroom and wardrobe looked like "so that my movie transitions seamlessly with theirs". On joining the MCU and directing the film, Watts said he was excited to explore the "ground level" of the MCU, a world where characters like the Avengers exist but have only been depicted in previous films at "the Penthouse level of the Marvel world".
Before getting the job of director, Watts created images of Nick Fury as Parker's mentor in the story in early "mood reels" saying, "I don't know what the situation would be, but that would be a person he'd want to get in trouble with." Feige said the films of John Hughes would be a major influence and that Parker's personal growth and development would be just as important as his role as Spider-Man. He noted that "at that age, in high school, everything feels like life or death". He also said that the film hoped to use one of Spider-Man's rogues that have not been seen in film yet, and that filming would begin in June 2016. In July 2015, it was reported that Marisa Tomei had been offered the role of May Parker, Peter's aunt. It was also revealed that Daley and Goldstein, after missing out on the director role, had begun negotiations to write the screenplay, and were given three days to present Marvel with their pitch; both confirmed shortly after that they had reached a deal to write the screenplay. The pair had proposed a take on the character that was "diametrically opposed" to the previous Spider-Man films, creating a laundry list of all the elements seen in those films and actively trying to avoid re-using them. They chose to focus on the high school aspects of the character rather than the "drama and weight of the tragedy that leads to the origin of Spider-Man". They felt this would differentiate him from the other MCU superheroes as well. Daley said the film was about Parker "finding his place" in the MCU, with the writing team wanting the film to focus on him "coming to terms with his new abilities and not yet being good with them, and carrying with him some real human fears and weaknesses", such as a fear of heights when he has to scale the Washington Monument. Daley noted, "Even within the context of this movie, I don't think you would feel that fear of heights or even the vertigo the audience feels in that scene if you establish him as swinging from skyscrapers at the top of the movie." The writers also wanted to avoid the skyscrapers of Manhattan because of how often they were used in the other films, and instead wrote the character into locations such as "the suburbs, on a golf course, the Staten Island Ferry, Coney Island, and even Washington, D.C." One of the first sequences they pitched was "seeing Spider-Man attached to a plane 10,000 feet up in the air, where he had absolutely no safety net. ... you're familiar with the sort of areas he's been in, [so] why not turn it on its head and make it something different that people haven't seen before?" The pair conceded that the film took a more grounded, "low-stakes" approach than previous films, which avoided having to explain why the Avengers were not helping, since a world-threatening problem would logically require the "big guys".
Marvel encouraged Daley and Goldstein to express their own sense of humor in the script, with Daley saying, "When you're seeing the world through the eyes of a fun, funny kid, you can really embrace that voice, and not give him the cookie-cutter one-liners that you're so accustomed to hearing from Peter Parker." Inspired by their experiences working on sitcoms, the writers also looked to create "a network of strong characters" to surround Parker with in the film. In October 2015, Watts said he was looking to make the film a coming-of-age story to see the growth of Parker, citing Can't Buy Me Love (1987), Say Anything... (1989), and Almost Famous (2000) as some of his favorite films in that genre. It was this aspect of the film that had initially got Watts interested in directing it, as he had already been looking to make a coming-of-age story when he heard that the new Spider-Man would be younger than previous incarnations. Watts re-read the original Spider-Man comics in preparation for the film, and "came to a new realization" about the character's original popularity, feeling that he introduced a new perspective to the comics that had already established "a crazy spectacular Marvel Universe ... to give a regular person's perspective on it". He felt that this was also the responsibility of this film since it had to introduce Spider-Man to the already established MCU. Specific comics that Watts noted as potential influences were Ultimate Spider-Man and Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane. In December, Oliver Scholl signed on to be the production designer for the film.
### Pre-production
Watts wanted to heavily pre-visualize the film, especially its action sequences, as he does on all his films. For Homecoming, Watts worked with a team to "figure out the visual language for the action sequences and ... try stuff out before" filming began to help Watts practice given his lack of experience working on large-scale films. For the "web-slinging" sequences, Watts wanted to avoid the big "swoopy" camera moves that had been previously used and instead "keep it all as grounded as possible. So, whether it was shooting with a drone camera or a helicopter or a cable-cam, or even just handheld, up on a roof chasing after him, I wanted it to feel like we were there with him."
In January 2016, Sony shifted the film's release date from July 28, 2017, to July 7, 2017, and said the film would be digitally remastered for IMAX 3D in post-production. J. K. Simmons expressed interest in reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films. In early March, Zendaya was cast in the film as Michelle, and Tomei was confirmed as May Parker. The following month, Feige confirmed that characters from previous MCU films would appear, and clarified that the deal formed with Sony does not specify which characters can and cannot crossover. He noted that the sharing between the studios was done with "good faith" in order "to have more toys to play with as we put together a story", and that "the agreement was that it is very much a Sony Pictures movie... we are the creative producers. We are the ones hiring the actor, introducing him in [Civil War], and then working right now on the script and soon to be shooting." Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman further added that Sony has final greenlight authority, but were deferring creatively to Marvel. At CinemaCon 2016, Sony announced the title of the film to be Spider-Man: Homecoming, a reference to the common high school tradition homecoming as well as the character "coming home" to Marvel and the MCU. Tony Revolori – who had auditioned for Peter Parker – and Laura Harrier joined the cast as classmates of Parker's, and Downey Jr. was revealed to be in the film as Stark. Watts noted that Stark "was always a part of" the film's story because of his interactions with Parker in Civil War. Downey Jr. was paid $10 million for his involvement.
Also in April, Michael Keaton entered talks to play a villain, but dropped out of discussions shortly thereafter due to scheduling conflicts with The Founder (2016). At this point, John Leguizamo was approached to fill the role and entered negotiations to do so. Keaton soon reentered talks for the role after a change in schedule for The Founder, which necessitated Marvel to ask Leguizamo if he would step away from the role in order to cast Keaton; Keaton closed the deal in late May. Marvel offered to cast Leguizamo in another role, which he considered "tiny" and declined. Mark Hamill was interested in playing the film's villain in case Keaton turned down the offer, but Keaton reconsidered the offer in time. In June, Michael Barbieri was cast as a friend of Parker's, Kenneth Choi was cast as Parker's high school principal, and Logan Marshall-Green was cast as another villain alongside Keaton's character, while Donald Glover and Martin Starr joined the cast in undisclosed roles. Watts said that he wanted the cast to reflect Queens as "one of [the] most diverse places in the world", with Feige adding that "we want everyone to recognize themselves in every portion of our universe. [With this cast] especially, it really feels like this is absolutely what has to happen and continue." This is also different from the previous films, which were "set in a lily-white Queens high school". Additionally, Marvel made a conscious decision to mostly avoid including or referencing characters who appeared in previous Spider-Man films, outside of major ones like Peter and May Parker, and Flash Thompson. This included the Daily Bugle, with co-producer Eric Hauserman Carroll saying, "We toyed with it for a while, but again, we didn't want to go down that road right away, and if we do do a Daily Bugle, we want to do it in a way that feels contemporary". This also included the character Mary Jane Watson, but Zendaya's Michelle was eventually given the initials "MJ" as a nod to that character. Feige said that the point of this is "to have fun with [references] while at the same time having it be different characters that can provide a different dynamic".
Spider-Man's costume in the film has more technical improvements than the previous suits, including the logo on the chest being a remote drone, an AI system similar to Stark's J.A.R.V.I.S., a holographic interface, a parachute, a tracking device for Stark to track Parker, a heater, an airbag, the ability to light up, and the ability to augment reality with the eyepieces. Stark also builds in a "training wheels" protocol, to initially limit Parker's access to all of its features. Carroll noted Marvel went through the comics and "pull[ed] out all the sort of fun and wacky things the suit did" to include in the Homecoming suit. Spider-Man's web-shooters have various settings, first teased at the end of Civil War, which Carroll explained allowed him to "adjust the spray" to different settings like the spinning web, web ball, or ricochet web. He compared this to a DSLR camera.
### Filming
Principal photography began on June 20, 2016, at Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayette County, Georgia, under the working title Summer of George. Salvatore Totino served as director of photography. Filming also took place in Atlanta, with locations including Grady High School, Downtown Atlanta, the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Piedmont Park, the Georgia World Congress Center, and the West End neighborhood. Holland said building New York sets in Atlanta was cheaper than actually filming in New York, a location closely associated with the character, though the production may "end up [in New York] for one week or two". A replica of the Staten Island Ferry was built in Atlanta, with the ability to open and close in half in 10 to 12 seconds and be flooded with 40,000 gallons of water in 8 seconds. Additional filming also occurred at two magnet schools in the Van Nuys and Reseda neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Casting continued after the start of production, with the inclusion of Isabella Amara, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Josie Totah, Hannibal Buress, Selenis Leyva, Abraham Attah, Michael Mando, Tyne Daly, Garcelle Beauvais, Tiffany Espensen, and Angourie Rice in unspecified roles, with Bokeem Woodbine joining as an additional villain. At San Diego Comic-Con in 2016, Marvel confirmed the castings of Keaton, Zendaya, Glover, Harrier, Revolori, Daly, and Woodbine, while revealing Zendaya, Harrier, and Revolori's roles as Michelle, Liz Allan, and Flash Thompson, respectively, and announcing the casting of Jacob Batalon as Ned. It was also revealed that the Adrian Toomes / Vulture would be the film's villain, while the writing teams of Watts and Christopher Ford, and Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers, joined Goldstein and Daley in writing the screenplay, from Goldstein and Daley's story. Eric Pearson, a member of Marvel Studios' writing program who had written the Marvel One-Shot films, did uncredited work on the film as well. Watts praised Goldstein and Daley's drafts as "really fun and funny", and said that they "sort of established the broad strokes of the movie", with him and Ford, close friends since childhood, then re-writing the script based on specific ideas that Watts had and things that he wanted to film, which he said was a "pretty substantial structural pass, rearranging things and building it into the sort of story arc we wanted it to be." McKenna and Sommers then joined the film to deal with changes to the script during filming, as "it's all a little bit flexible when you get to set. You try things out, and you just need someone to be writing while you're shooting."
Harrier noted that the young actors in the film "constantly refer to ourselves as The Breakfast Club". Shortly after, Martha Kelly joined the cast in an unspecified role. In August, Michael Chernus was cast as Phineas Mason / Tinkerer, while Jona Xiao joined the cast in an unspecified role, and Buress said he was playing a gym teacher. By September 2016, Jon Favreau was reprising his role as Happy Hogan from the Iron Man series, and filming concluded in Atlanta and moved to New York City. Locations in the latter area included Astoria, Queens, St. George, Staten Island, Manhattan, and Franklin K. Lane High School in Brooklyn. Additionally, UFC fighter Tyron Woodley said he had been considered for a villain role in the film, but had to drop out due to a prior commitment with Fox Sports. Principal photography wrapped on October 2, 2016, in New York City, with some additional filming taking place later in the month in Berlin, Germany, near the Brandenburg Gate.
### Post-production
In November 2016, Feige confirmed that Keaton would play Adrian Toomes / Vulture, while Woodbine was revealed as Herman Schultz / Shocker. In March 2017, Harrier said the film was undergoing re-shoots, and Evans was set to appear as Steve Rogers / Captain America in an instructional fitness video. Watts was inspired by The President's Fitness Challenge for this, feeling that Captain America would be the obvious version of that for the MCU. He then started brainstorming other public service announcements (PSA) starring Captain America, about "just anything you could think of, we had poor Captain America do it". Watts said that many of the additional PSA videos would be featured on the home media of the film. According to Goldstein, additional videos featuring other Avengers were planned at some point. Watts confirmed that the company Stark creates that leads Toomes on his villainous path in the film is Damage Control, which Watts felt "just fit in with our overall philosophy with the kind of story we wanted to tell" and created a lot of practical questions Watts wanted to use "to drive the story".
The film features multiple post-credit scenes. The first gives the Vulture a chance at redemption, showing him protect Parker from another villain. Watts said this "was a really interesting thing in the development of the story. You couldn't just rely on the tropes of the villain being a murderer and killing a bunch of people. He had to be redeemable in some capacity in the end and that he believes everything he said, especially about his family." The second post-credits scene is an additional Captain America PSA, where he talks about the value of patience—a meta-referential joke at the expense of the audience, who have just waited through the film's credits to see the scene. This was a "last-minute addition" to the film. Watts completed work on Homecoming at the beginning of June 2017, approving the final visual effects shots. He stated that he had never been told that he could not do something by Marvel or Sony, saying, "You assume you'll have to fight for every little weird thing you wanna do, but I didn't really ever run into that. I got to do kind of everything I wanted to." That month, Starr explained that he was playing the academic decathlon coach at Parker's high school, and Marshall-Green was said to be portraying another Shocker.
In July, Feige discussed specific moments in the film, including an homage to The Amazing Spider-Man issue 33 where Parker is trapped underneath rubble, something Feige "wanted to see in a movie for a long, long time". Daley said that they added the scene to the script because of how much Feige wanted it, and explained, "We have [Parker] starting the scene with such self-doubt and helplessness, in a way that you really see the kid. You feel for him. He's screaming for help, because he doesn't think he can do it, and then ... he kind of realizes that that's been his biggest problem." Feige compared the film's final scene, where Parker accidentally reveals that he is Spider-Man to his Aunt May, to the ending of Iron Man (2008) when Stark reveals that he is Iron Man to the world, saying, "What does that mean for the next movie? I don't know, but it will force us to do something unique." Goldstein added that it "diminishes what is often the most trivial part of superhero worlds, which is finding your secret. It takes the emphasis off that [and] lets her become part of what's really his life." Feige also talked about the film's revelation that the Vulture is the father of Parker's love interest, feeling that if it did not work, the film would not work. The team "worked backwards and forwards from that moment ... You had to believe that we had set it up so that you would buy it [and it] doesn't seem like something out of left field". Watts said the revelation scene and the following interactions between the Vulture and Parker were, "more than anything else, [what] I was looking forward to, and I got to have a lot of fun shooting that stuff". Goldstein said the scene after the reveal, where Vulture realizes that Parker is Spider-Man while driving him to the school dance, was the moment he was most proud of in the film, and Daley said that scene's effect on audiences was the dramatic equivalent of an audience laughing at a joke they had written. He added that the writers were "giddy when we first came up with [that twist], because it's taking the obvious tension of meeting the father of the girl that you have a crush on, and multiplying it by 1,000, when you also realize he's the guy you've been trying to stop the whole time."
#### Visual effects
Visual effects for the film were completed by Sony Pictures Imageworks, Industrial Light & Magic, Luma Pictures, Digital Domain, Cantina Creative, Iloura, Trixter, and Method Studios. Executive producer Victoria Alonso initially did not want Imageworks, which worked on all previous Spider-Man films, to work on Homecoming, in order to give it a different look than those earlier films. She changed her mind after seeing what she called "phenomenal" test material from the vendor. The film's main-on-end title sequence was designed by Perception.
Trixter contributed over 300 shots for the film, including the opening scene at Grand Central Terminal, the sequence that retells the events of Civil War from Parker's perspective, the sequence where Toomes takes Liz and Parker to the dance, the school battle between Parker and Schultz, and the scene around and within the Avengers compound. They also worked on both Spider-Man suits and the spider tracer. Trixter created additional salvage workers to populate the Grand Central scene, whose clothes and proportions were able to be altered to create variation. For the battle between Parker and Schultz, Trixter used an all-digital Spider-Man in his homemade suit, which came from Imageworks, with Trixter applying a rigging, muscle, and cloth system to it "to mimic the appearance of the rather loose training suit". They also created the effects for Schultz's gauntlets and had to change the setting from the Atlanta set to Queens, by using a CGI school and adding 360 degrees of matte paintings for the mid to far-distance elements. Trixter received concept art and basic geometry that was used previously for the Avengers compound, but ended up remodeling it for the way it appears in Homecoming. Models and textures for Spider-Man's Avengers costume were created by Framestore for use in a future MCU film, with Trixter creating the vault that it appears in. Trixter VFX supervisor Dominik Zimmerle said the idea was "to have a clean, high tech, presentation Vault for the new suit. It should appear distinctively 'Stark' originated".
Digital Domain worked on the Staten Island Ferry battle, creating the CGI versions of Spider-Man, the Vulture suit, Iron Man, and Spider-Man's drone. Digital Domain was able to LIDAR an actual Staten Island Ferry, as well as the version created on set, to help with creating their digital version. Lou Pecora, visual effects supervisor at Digital Domain, called that sequence "brutal" because "the way they were shot, it was lit to be a certain time of day, and afterwards it was decided to change that time of day." Sony Pictures Imageworks created much of the third act of the film when Parker confronts Toomes on the plane and beach in his homemade suit, and Toomes is in an upgraded Vulture suit. Some elements of Vulture's first suit were shared with Imageworks, but the remainder were created by them "based on a maquette". For the plane's cloaking ability, Imageworks was inspired by Adaptiv IR Camouflage tank cloaking system by BAE Systems, which "uses a series of titles to cloak against infrared". For their web design, which was based on the one created for Civil War, Digital Domain referenced polar bear hair because of its translucent nature. Imageworks also looked to the Civil War webs, as well as to those they had created for previous Spider-Man films, in which "the web[s] had [...] tiny barbs that aided in hooking on to things." For this film, they "dialed back the barbs" to line up more closely with the other web designs created for this film. Method Studios worked on the Washington Monument sequence. Iron Man's armor in the film, the Mark XLVII, is a recolored version of the MK XLVI armor introduced in Civil War; this was done because Sony did not have the budget to create a new Iron Man suit. Feige requested the color scheme resemble the Ultimate Iron Man armor from the comics.
## Music
While promoting Doctor Strange in early November 2016, Feige accidentally revealed that Michael Giacchino, who composed the music for that film, would compose the score for Homecoming as well. Giacchino soon confirmed this himself. Recording for the soundtrack began on April 11, 2017. The score includes the theme from the 1960s animated series. The soundtrack was released by Sony Masterworks on July 7, 2017.
## Marketing
Watts, Holland, Batalon, Harrier, Revolori, and Zendaya appeared at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con to show an exclusive clip of the film, which also had a panel at Comic Con Experience 2016. The first trailer for Homecoming premiered on Jimmy Kimmel Live\! on December 8, 2016, and was released online alongside an international version, which Feige thought was different enough that "it would be fun for people to see both." The shots of Vulture descending through a hotel atrium and Spider-Man swinging with Iron Man flying beside him were created specifically for the trailer. Watts explained that the Vulture shot was created for Comic-Con and "was never meant to be in the movie", but he was able to repurpose the angle for Vulture's reveal in the film. The Spider-Man and Iron Man shot was created because the marketing team wanted a shot of the two together, and existing shots "just didn't look that great" then. The trailer shot used a background plate taken when filming the subway in Queens. The two trailers were viewed over 266 million times globally within a week.
On March 28, 2017, a second trailer debuted after screening at CinemaCon 2017 the night before. Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, noted that the new Justice League trailer had received more Twitter mentions in that week but there was "clearer enthusiasm for Spider-Man". The Homecoming trailer was second for the week of March 20–26 in new conversations (85,859) behind Justice League (201,267), according to comScore's PreAct service, which is "a tracking service utilizing social data to create context of the ever-evolving role of digital communication on feature films". An exclusive clip from the film was seen during the 2017 MTV Movie & TV Awards. On May 24, Sony and Marvel released a third domestic and international trailer. Ethan Anderton of /Film enjoyed both trailers, stating Homecoming "has the potential to be the best Spider-Man movie yet. Having the webslinger as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe just feels right". TechCrunch's Darrell Etherington agreed, saying, "You may have feelings about a tech-heavy Spider-Man suit or other aspects of this interpretation of the character, but it's still shaping up to be better than any Spider-Man depicted in movies in recent memory." Ana Dumaraog for Screen Rant said the second trailer "arguably showed too much of the movie's overarching narrative", but the third "perfectly shows the right amount of new and old footage". She also appreciated the attention to detail that Watts and the writers put into the film, as highlighted by the trailers. Siddhant Adlakha of Birth.Movies.Death also felt the trailers were giving away too many details, but enjoyed them overall, especially the "vlogging" aspect. Collider's Dave Trombore expressed similar sentiments to Adlakha. After the release of the trailers, comScore and its PreAct service noted Homecoming was the top film for new social media conversations, that week and the week of May 29.
Alongside the release of the third trailers were domestic and international release posters. The domestic poster was criticized for its "floating head" style, which offers "a chaotic mess of people looking in different directions, with little sense of what the film will deliver". Dan Auty for GameSpot called it a "star studded hot mess", while Vanity Fair's Katey Rich felt the poster was "too bogged down by the many different threads of the Marvel universe to highlight anything that's made Spider-Man: Homecoming seem special so far". Adlakha felt the posters released for the film "have been alright thus far, but these ones probably tell general audiences to expect a very bloated movie". Adlakha was more positive of the international poster, which he felt was more "comicbook-y" and "looks like it could be an actual scene from the film". Both Rich and Adlakha criticized the fact that Holland, Keaton, and Downey appeared twice on the domestic poster, both in and out of costume. Sony partnered with ESPN CreativeWorks to create cross-promotional television ads for Homecoming and the 2017 NBA Finals, which were filmed by Watts. The ads were made to "weave in a highlight from the game just moments" after it occurred. The promos see Holland, Downey Jr., and Favreau reprise their roles from the film, with cameo appearances from Stan Lee, DJ Khaled, Tim Duncan, Magic Johnson, and Cari Champion. Through June and July 2017, a Homecoming-inspired cafe opened in the Roppongi Hills complex in Tokyo, offering "arachnid-themed foods and drinks, including a Spider Curry, Spider-Sense Latte and a sweet and refreshing Strawberry Spider Squash drink", as well as a free, limited-edition sticker with any purchase.
For the week ending on June 11, comScore and its PreAct service noted that new social media conversations for the film were second only to Black Panther and its new trailer; Homecoming was then the number one film in the next two weeks. That month, Sony released a mobile app allowing users to "access" Parker's phone and "view his photos, videos, text messages, and hear voicemails from his friends". The app also provided an "AR Suit Explorer" to learn more about the technology in the Spider-Man suit, and use photo filters, GIFs, and stickers of the character. Sony and Dave & Buster's also announced an arcade game based on the film, playable exclusively at Dave & Buster's locations. A tie-in comic, Spider-Man: Homecoming Prelude, was released on June 20, collecting two prelude issues. On June 28, in partnership with Thinkmodo, a promotional prank was released in which Spider-Man (stuntman Chris Silcox) dropped from the ceiling in a coffee shop to scare customers; the video also featured a cameo appearance from Lee. Sony also partnered with the mobile app Holo to let users add 3D holograms of Spider-Man, with Holland's voice and lines from the film, to real-world photos and videos. Before the end of June, Spider-Man: Homecoming—Virtual Reality Experience was released on the PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, and HTC Vive for free, produced by Sony Pictures VR and developed by CreateVR. It allows users to experience how it feels to be Spider-Man, with the ability to hit targets with his web-shooters and face off against the Vulture. It was also available at select Cinemark Theatres in the United States and at the CineEurope trade show in Barcelona.
Ahead of the film's release, for the week ending on July 2, the film was the top film for the third consecutive week for new social media conversations, according to comScore, which also noted that Spider-Man: Homecoming had produced a total of 2.67 million conversations to date. Other promotions included Audi and Dell (both also had product placement in the film), Pizza Hut, General Mills, Synchrony Bank, MovieTickets.com, Goodwill, Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin' Donuts, Danone Waters, Panasonic Batteries, M\&M's, Mondelez, Asus, Bimbo, Jetstar, KEF, Kellogg's, Lieferheld, PepsiCo, Plus, Roady, Snickers, Sony Mobile, Oppo, Optus, and Doritos. Watts directed a commercial for Dell's marketing efforts as well, which earned 2.8 million views online. Goodwill hosted a build-your-own Spider-Man suit contest, with the winner attending the film's premiere. Overall, the campaign generated over $140 million in media value, greater than those for all previous Spider-Man films and Marvel Studios' first 2017 release, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This does not include merchandising for the film, which is controlled by Marvel and Disney. Marketing of the film in China included partnering with Momo, iQiyi, Tencent QQ, Baidu, Mizone, CapitaLand, Xiaomi, HTC, and corporate parent Sony. To help target the teenage audience, Holland "recorded a high school entrance exam greeting" while The Rap of China contestant PG One recorded a theme song.
## Release
### Theatrical
Spider-Man: Homecoming held its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 28, 2017, and was released in the United Kingdom on July 5. It opened in additional international markets on July 6, with 23,400 screens (277 of which were IMAX) in 56 markets for its opening weekend. The film was released in the United States on July 7, in 4,348 theaters (392 were IMAX and IMAX 3D, and 601 were premium large-format), including 3D screenings. It was originally slated for release on July 28. Spider-Man: Homecoming is part of Phase Three of the MCU.
In March 2024, Sony announced that all of their live-action Spider-Man films would be re-released in theaters as part of Columbia Pictures' 100th anniversary celebration. Spider-Man: Homecoming was re-released on May 20, 2024.
### Home media
Spider-Man: Homecoming was released on digital download by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on September 26, 2017, and on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on October 17, 2017. The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel. The physical releases in its first week of sale were the top home media release, according to NPD VideoScan data. The Blu-ray version accounted for 79% of the sales, with 13% of total sales coming from the Ultra HD Blu-ray version.
In April 2021, Sony signed a deal with Disney giving them access to their legacy content, including past Spider-Man films and Marvel content in Sony's Spider-Man Universe, to stream on Disney+ and Hulu and appear on Disney's linear television networks. Disney's access to Sony's titles would come following their availability on Netflix. Homecoming had previously been available on Starz and FX. The film became available on Disney+ in the United Kingdom and Australia on June 17, 2022, and became available in the United States on May 12, 2023.
## Reception
### Box office
Spider-Man: Homecoming grossed over $334.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $546 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $880.2 million. The film had the second-biggest global IMAX opening for a Sony film with $18 million. In May 2017, a survey from Fandango indicated that Homecoming was the second-most-anticipated summer blockbuster behind Wonder Woman. By September 24, 2017, the film had earned $874.4 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing superhero film of 2017, and the sixth-largest film based on a Marvel character. Deadline Hollywood calculated the film's net profit as $200.1 million, accounting for production budgets, marketing, talent participations, and other costs; box office grosses and home media revenues placed it seventh on their list of 2017's "Most Valuable Blockbusters".
The film earned $50.9 million on its opening day in the United States and Canada (including $15.4 million from Thursday night previews), and had a total weekend gross of $117 million, the top film for the weekend. It was the second-highest opening for both a Spider-Man film and a Sony film, after Spider-Man 3's $151.1 million debut in 2007. Early projections for the film from BoxOffice had it earning $135 million in its opening weekend, which was later adjusted to $125 million, and Deadline Hollywood noting industry projections at anywhere between $90–120 million. In its second weekend, the film fell to second behind War for the Planet of the Apes with $44.2 million, a 62% decline in earnings, which was similar to the declines The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3 had in their second weekends. Additionally, Homecoming's domestic gross reached $208.3 million, which surpassed the total domestic gross of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ($202.9 million). The film fell to third in its third weekend. By July 26, Homecoming's domestic gross reached $262.1 million, surpassing the total domestic gross of The Amazing Spider-Man ($262 million), leading to a fifth-place finish for its fourth weekend. The next weekend, Homecoming finished sixth, and finished seventh the following five weekends. By September 3, 2017, the film had earned $325.1 million, surpassing the $325 million projected amount for its total domestic gross. In its eleventh weekend, Homecoming finished ninth.
Outside of the United States and Canada, Spider-Man: Homecoming earned $140.5 million its opening weekend from the 56 markets it opened in, with the film becoming number one in 50 of them. The $140.5 million was the highest opening ever for a Spider-Man film. South Korea had the highest Wednesday opening day gross, which contributed to a $25.4 million five-day opening in the country, the third-highest opening ever for a Hollywood film. Brazil had the largest July opening day of all time, with $2 million, leading to an opening weekend total of $8.9 million. The $7 million earned from IMAX showings was the top opening of all time for a Sony film internationally. In its second weekend, the film opened in France at number one and number two in Germany. It earned an additional $11.9 million in South Korea, to bring its total in the country to $42.2 million. This made Homecoming the highest-grossing Spider-Man film and the top-grossing Hollywood film of 2017 in the country. Brazil contributed an additional $5.7 million, for a total of $19.4 million from the country, which was also the largest gross from a Spider-Man film. The film's third weekend saw the Latin America region set a record as the highest-grossing Spider-Man film of all time, with a region total of $77.4 million. Brazil remained the top-grossing market for the region, with $25.7 million. In South Korea, the film became the 10th-highest-grossing international release of all time. Homecoming opened at number one in Spain in its fourth weekend. In its sixth weekend, the film opened at number one in Japan, with its $770,000 from IMAX the fourth-largest IMAX weekend for a Marvel film in the country. The film opened at number one in China on September 8, 2017, grossing $23 million on its opening day, including Thursday previews, making it the third biggest opening day for a Marvel Cinematic Universe film, behind Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War, and the largest opening day gross for a Sony film in the country. The $70.8 million Homecoming earned in China for its opening weekend was the third-highest opening behind Age of Ultron and Civil War, with $6 million from IMAX, which was the best IMAX opening weekend in September, and the best IMAX opening weekend for a Sony film. As of September 24, 2017, the film's largest markets were China ($115.7 million), South Korea ($51.4 million), and the United Kingdom ($34.8 million).
### Critical response
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of , with an average score of , based on reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Spider-Man: Homecoming does whatever a second reboot can, delivering a colorful, fun adventure that fits snugly in the sprawling MCU without getting bogged down in franchise-building." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 73 out of 100, based on 51 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 89% overall positive score and a 74% "definite recommend".
Mike Ryan at Uproxx felt Homecoming was the best Spider-Man film yet, specifically praising the light tone, younger and more optimistic portrayal of Parker, and Keaton's performance—Ryan named the Vulture twist reveal as one of his favorite scenes in the MCU. He said Homecoming is "the kind of movie you leave and you're just in the best mood—and still will be days later." Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times called the film unique and refreshing, praising its lower stakes and focus on the character's school life. He praised Holland as "terrific and well-cast", as well as the other cast members; Roeper believed that Keaton's performance is more interesting than the character otherwise could have been. Owen Gleiberman of Variety felt the film was "just distinctive enough" from the previous Spider-Man films to become a "sizable hit", and highlighted its focus on making Peter Parker a realistically youthful and grounded character. He found Holland to be likable in the role and thought the Vulture twist was a positive direction for that character. He did criticize the vague take on Spider-Man's origin and powers, but "the flying action has a casual flip buoyancy, and the movie does get you rooting for Peter." At IndieWire, David Ehrlich criticized the film's superhero genre clichés and underwritten female characters, but praised the elements of the film that leaned into Parker's high school life and the humanity of the Vulture.
Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a mixed review, criticizing the "juvenile" depiction of Parker and Watts' "unevenly orchestrated" direction, but feeling that the film "finds its pace and rhythm by the end" and praising Keaton's performance. The Hollywood Reporter's John DeFore found the film to be "occasionally exciting but often frustrating", and suggested it might have worked better if less focus had been put on integrating the film with the MCU. DeFore did praise Holland's performance as "winning" despite the script and called Zendaya a scene-stealer. Mick LaSalle, writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, said the film was a "pretty good Spider-Man movie" that "breaks no new ground", not exploring the human side of the character enough and instead focusing on action that is not thrilling. At The Telegraph, Robbie Collin argued that "a little of the new Spider-Man went an exhilaratingly long way in Captain America: Civil War last year. But a lot of him goes almost nowhere in this slack and spiritless solo escapade." Collin criticized Watts's direction but was positive of the cast, including Holland, Keaton, Tomei, and Zendaya.
### Accolades
## Sequels
A sequel, Spider-Man: Far From Home, was released on July 2, 2019. Watts returned to direct, from a script by McKenna and Sommers. Holland, Favreau, Zendaya, Tomei, and Batalon reprise their roles, with Jake Gyllenhaal joining as Mysterio. Samuel L. Jackson and Cobie Smulders also reprised their roles as Nick Fury and Maria Hill, respectively, from previous MCU media.
A third film was announced by Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures in September 2019, after an impasse between the two companies was resolved during negotiations. Watts returned to direct, from a script by McKenna and Sommers. Holland, Zendaya, Favreau, Tomei, Batalon, and Revolori reprise their roles, while Benedict Cumberbatch and Benedict Wong reprise their MCU roles as Doctor Strange and Wong. Actors reprising their roles from previous Spider-Man films include Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield returning as their versions of Spider-Man from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy and Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films, respectively, alongside Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn / Green Goblin, Alfred Molina as Otto Octavius / Doctor Octopus, and Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko / Sandman from Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, along with Rhys Ifans as Curt Connors / Lizard and Jamie Foxx as Max Dillon / Electro from Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man films. Spider-Man: No Way Home was released on December 17, 2021.
In November 2021, Pascal revealed that Sony and Marvel Studios were planning on making at least three more Spider-Man films starring Holland, with work on the first of those films getting ready to begin.
## See also
- Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, an animated series set in an alternate timeline where Norman Osborn becomes Parker's mentor instead of Tony Stark |
# 2009 Samsung 500
The 2009 Samsung 500 was the seventh stock car race of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It was held on April 5, 2009, at Texas Motor Speedway, in Fort Worth, Texas before a crowd of 176,300 people. The 334-lap race was won by Jeff Gordon of the Hendrick Motorsports team after starting from second position. His teammate Jimmie Johnson finished second and Roush Fenway Racing's Greg Biffle placed third.
Gordon was the Drivers' Championship leader with 959 points entering the event. David Reutimann won the pole position by recording the fastest lap time in the qualifying session, and maintained his lead going into the first corner to begin the race, but Gordon took over the lead before the first lap was over. Afterward, Reutimann took back the lead, holding it until Matt Kenseth passed him on lap 47. Gordon led after the final pit stops. In the final laps, Johnson was gaining on Gordon, but Gordon maintained the lead to achieve the race victory. There were six cautions and twenty-eight lead changes among thirteen different drivers during the race.
The race was Gordon's first win of the 2009 season, and the eighty-second of his career. The result kept Gordon in the lead of the Drivers' Championship, one-hundred and sixty-two ahead of Johnson, and one-hundred and eighty ahead of Kurt Busch. Chevrolet increased its lead in the Manufacturers' Championship, ten points ahead of Ford, who bumped Toyota to third place, with twenty-nine races remaining in the season remaining. The race attracted 7.4 million television viewers.
## Background
The 2009 Samsung 500 was the seventh of thirty-six scheduled stock car races of the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. It took place on April 5, 2009, in Fort Worth, Texas, at Texas Motor Speedway, an intermediate track that holds NASCAR races. The standard track at Texas Motor Speedway is a four-turn quad-oval track that is 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long. The track's turns are banked at twenty-four degrees, and both the front stretch (the location of the finish line) and the back stretch have a five degree banking.
Before the race, Jeff Gordon led the Drivers' Championship with 959 points, followed by Clint Bowyer with 870. Kurt Busch was third with 827 points, Jimmie Johnson was fourth with 817 and Denny Hamlin was fifth with 811 points. Kurt's younger brother Kyle Busch, along with Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top ten. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet was leading with 39 points, five points ahead of their rival Toyota. Ford, with 32 points, was five points ahead of Dodge in the battle for third place. Edwards was the race's defending champion.
Jeff Gordon had not won a race at Texas Motor Speedway in 16 attempts and said he would not base anything based on his second-place finish at the circuit in late 2008, "The team worked hard over the offseason and our performances on intermediate tracks have improved. We are just a different team with different race cars right now. Texas is one of those places that is on my radar. I want to turn things around and conquer it."
## Practice and qualifying
Three practice sessions were before the Sunday race — one on Friday, and two on Saturday. The first session lasted 90 minutes, while the second session lasted 45 minutes. The third and final practice session lasted 60 minutes. During the first practice session, Mark Martin was fastest with a lap of 28.467 seconds, placing ahead of David Reutimann in second and Kurt Busch in third. Greg Biffle was scored fourth, and Johnson placed fifth. Jeff Gordon, Edwards, Dale Earnhardt Jr., David Stremme and David Ragan rounded out the top ten fastest drivers in the session.
Forty-eight drivers were entered in the qualifier on Friday afternoon; according to NASCAR's qualifying procedure, forty-three were allowed to race. Each driver ran two laps, with the starting order determined by the competitor's fastest times. Reutimann clinched his second pole position in the Sprint Cup Series, with a time of 28.344 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Jeff Gordon, who held the pole position until Reutimann's lap. Matt Kenseth qualified third, Ragan took fourth in his best qualifying performance of the season, and Paul Menard started fifth to put three Fords in the first five places. Kahne in sixth was the sole Dodge driver in the top ten positions. Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch, Johnson were in places seventh to ninth. Joey Logano followed in tenth place due to his car being difficult to steer. The five drivers who failed to qualify were Joe Nemechek, Scott Speed, Jeremy Mayfield, Todd Bodine and Scott Riggs. After the qualifier Reutimann said, "We had a great car all day, right off the truck. This pole reminds me of how much things have changed for me in the past few years. I didn't make the field here two years ago, during a bad time in my racing career."
On Saturday morning, Reuitmann was fastest in the second practice session by setting a time of 28.999 seconds, ahead of Johnson in second, and Hamlin in third. Edwards was fourth quickest, and Jeff Gordon took fifth. Stewart, Kurt Busch, Kenseth, Bobby Labonte and Jeff Burton rounded out the top ten. Later that day, Johnson paced the final practice session with a time of 29.393 seconds, with Hamlin and Kyle Busch followed in second and third respectively. Jamie McMurray was fourth fastest, ahead of David Gilliland and Burton. Martin placed seventh, Edwards eighth, Juan Pablo Montoya ninth, and Martin Truex Jr. tenth.
### Qualifying results
## Race
Television coverage for the race began at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time live in the United States on Fox. Commentary was provided by Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip. Wind speeds at the start of the race were between 23 and 25 miles per hour (37 and 40 km/h). Roger Marsh of Texas Alliance Raceway Ministries began pre-race ceremonies with the invocation. Pianist Lewis Warren Jr. performed the national anthem, and contest winner Mark Fredde commanded the drivers to start their engines. No driver was required to move to the rear of the grid at the start of the race.
The race began at 2:17 p.m. Jeff Gordon passed Reuitmann almost immediately by the end of the first lap. Three laps later, Kurt Busch collided with Robby Gordon, with the latter sustaining minor damage and both drivers managed to continue. On lap eight, Reutimann took back the lead from Jeff Gordon by passing him in the third turn. Jeff Gordon dropped a further position when he was passed by Kenseth during the following lap. By lap 20, Reuitmann had a lead of about 1.6 seconds over Kenseth. Kurt Busch, who began the race in twenty-sixth, had moved up seven positions to nineteenth by lap 24. On lap 29, Stewart claimed fifth from Menard.
By lap 30, Earnhardt had moved up eight positions to twelfth. Ten laps later, Reutimann had maintained a lead of 1.7 seconds over Kenseth. On lap 42, Marcos Ambrose moved into seventh. Five laps later, Kenseth claimed the lead off Reutimann who was blocked by Casey Mears. On lap 51, green flag pit stops began, as Kenseth made a pit stop handling the lead to Stewart. On lap 54, Kyle Busch became the new race leader after Stewart came into pit road. Kyle Busch made a pit stop one lap later, handing the lead back to Kenseth. By lap 60, Kenseth had built up his lead over Reutimann by over two seconds. Eight laps later, Stewart passed Reutimann for second. On lap 79, Biffle passed Reutimann for third. Seven laps later, Stewart claimed the lead from Kenseth. During the 97th lap, debris was spotted on the backstretch, prompting the first caution of the race. During the caution, all of the drivers on the lead lap made pit stops. Kenseth reclaimed the lead and maintained it at the restart on lap 103.
On the 109th lap, Kyle Busch's car suffered a cut left front tire from contact with John Andretti, forcing Kyle Busch to come to pit road. Seven laps later, Biffle passed Kenseth on the outside in the dogleg for the lead, while Jeff Gordon passed Reuitmann for fourth thirteen laps later. By the 135th lap, Biffle had built a lead over Kenseth to three seconds. Green flag pit stops began on the 152nd lap; Kenseth made his pit stop on the same lap. Johnson and Biffle made a pit stop the next lap, handing the lead to Jeff Gordon. After pit stops, Biffle reclaimed the first position. On lap 157, Elliott Sadler spun out exiting the final corner and went sideways across the start/finish line, causing the second caution. None of the leaders elected to pit under the caution. The race restarted on lap 162 with Biffle in the lead, ahead of Kenseth and Jeff Gordon. By the 190th lap, Biffle's lead was three seconds. Another round of green flag pit stops began on lap 203 when Truex made a pit stop; Kenseth was the first of the leaders to pit the following lap. On lap 208, Jeff Gordon became the new race leader after Biffle came into pit road. After pit stops, Biffle reclaimed the top position.
On lap 220, the third caution was given when Ambrose's car suffered an engine failure. Jeff Gordon on the advice of his crew chief Steve Letarte over the radio remained on the circuit, and this promoted him to the lead and his car would not be affected by aerodynamic turbulence. Martin also stayed out on the circuit, while some of the leaders came to pit road. Earnhardt was required to make an additional pit stop because his crew needed to replace a missing lug nut. Jeff Gordon led the field back up to speed on the restart on lap 226. Five laps later, Sam Hornish Jr. spun exiting the second turn while driving alongside Bowyer and Labonte collided with the outside wall, prompting the fourth caution. During the caution, Johnson, Earnhardt and Hamlin made pit stops. Jeff Gordon stayed out of pit road and the led the field to restart on lap 237. Four laps later, Logano collided with the wall, but escaped with minor damage.
Edwards moved into sixth on lap 247 during the 247th lap. Four laps later, a fifth caution came out when Robby Gordon's car suffered an engine failure. All of the leaders elected to pit under caution, giving the lead to Earnhardt. Kenseth was demoted from second to 15th position when lug nut issues on the right-rear tire during his pit stop caused him to remain in the pit lane for longer than usual. The race restarted on lap 259. On lap 260, Jeff Gordon moved back into the lead, while Earnhardt fell to the seventh position. Three laps later, Edwards passed Brian Vickers to move into ninth.
On lap 290, Earnhardt was forced onto pit road after colliding with the wall at turn two. One lap later, Ragan drove to pit road because of overheating issues. On the 294th lap, Edwards reclaimed the lead off Gordon, who was delayed by a slower vehicle, while Ragan entered the garage, three laps later. On lap 298, Stewart moved into second after passing Jeff Gordon. Four laps later, a sixth and final caution came out, after Stremme collided with the wall and spun going into turn three. Edwards relinquished the lead to Jeff Gordon during the yellow flag pit stop cycle when the front tires on his car were slow to be fitted; he was demoted to 11th position and fell out of contention for the victory.
Jeff Gordon led on the lap 309 restart. On the same lap, Johnson passed Stewart for the second position, while Jeff Gordon built up a 1.4 second lead four laps later. On the 314th lap, Biffle moved into the fourth position after overtaking Johnson. By lap 323, Jeff Gordon had increased his lead to 1.7 seconds over Johnson. Biffle overtook Stewart for third on the 330th lap. Jeff Gordon maintained the lead to win his first race of the 2009 season. Johnson finished second, ahead of Biffle in third, Stewart in fourth, and Kenseth in fifth. Martin, Montoya, Kurt Busch, Burton and Edwards rounded out the top ten finishers. There were twenty-eight lead changes among fourteen different drivers during the course of the race. Jeff Gordon led six times for a total of 105 laps, more than any other driver.
### Post-race
Jeff Gordon appeared in victory lane to celebrate his first win of the 2009 season in front of 176,300 who attended the event, earning $541,874 in race winnings. Gordon was delighted with his victory: "Incredible team effort. This whole year has been amazing. What a great car. I've never had a car like this at Texas. We finally had one and put it in position." Johnson was happy with his second-place result, saying, "It was nice to get our car up front and get some clean air on it. We had to work really hard all day long to keep the car right. I'm very proud of the team." Third-place finisher Biffle was candid with his performance: "We worked our way all the way back to fourth, third – 15 more laps, would've passed [runner-up Jimmie Johnson] and then a little while longer we could've gotten [Gordon]. But, I just ran out of time, lost track position and weren't able to capitalize on it."
Earnhardt described his accident late in the race as him "Trying too hard and run well, and just got in to the wall down there in the middle of one and two. The car jumped sideways" and talked about his performance, "We were running pretty good all day. We were really fast." Edwards appeared to be certain that there would have been a different result had his slow pit stop late in the race not happened, saying, "I thought, 'If we can have just one more [good pit stop], we'll be all right. And then we went in leading and came out 11th, and that's what cost us the race." His teammate Kenseth commented on the lug nut fault that lost him positions and caused him to finish fifth, "You can't really do much about it. We just got to the back and it was extremely tough to pass, and we were just stuck back there racing with them guys." Stewart described his fourth-place as his team being "good today, we just weren't good enough", and said his team's vehicle was the quickest on the circuit at any time during the race after approximately 25 laps. Eighth-placed finisher Kurt Busch said his team believed that they could not challenge the major competitors, but admitted his strong result was "exactly what we needed. ... Our car was better on the long runs. We needed to be out there as long as we could and stretch it out."
The race results kept Jeff Gordon in the lead of the Drivers' Championship with 1154 points. Johnson, who finished behind Gordon, moved to second on 992, eighteen points ahead of Kurt Busch and twenty-five ahead of Bowyer. In the Manufacturers' Championship, Chevrolet increased their points total to 48, while Ford advanced to second with 38 and Toyota was bumped to third with 37. 7.4 million people watched the race on television. The race took three hours, twenty-five minutes and twenty-two seconds to complete, and the margin of victory was 0.378 seconds.
### Race results
## Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
- Manufacturers' Championship standings
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for the driver standings. |
# St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd
St Mary's Church, Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd is a small medieval parish church near the village of Dwyran, in Anglesey, north Wales. The building probably dates from the 15th century, with some alterations. It contains a 12th-century carved stone font and a 13th-century decorated coffin lid. The bell is inscribed with the year of its casting, 1582. The historian Henry Rowlands was vicar of St Mary's in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Maurice Wilks, who invented the Land Rover, is buried in the churchyard.
Although at one time during the 19th century St Mary's was too dilapidated to permit services to be held, repairs were carried out in the 19th century. The church is used for worship by the Church in Wales, one of five in a combined parish. Services are held once per month between April and September. St Mary's is a Grade II\* listed building, a national designation given to "particularly important buildings of more than special interest", in particular because it is regarded as "a good example of a simple, substantially unaltered, late Medieval church". It is also said to be "an important survival" because many of the older churches in Anglesey were extensively rebuilt or repaired during the 19th century, and the alterations at St Mary's were less extensive.
## History and location
St Mary's Church is located in a churchyard about 100 yards (90 m) from the road in the countryside near the village of Dwyran, in Anglesey, north Wales. The church is about 5.5 miles (9 km) from the county town of Llangefni, and just under 1 mile (1.5 km) from the neighbouring church of St Ceinwen's, Llangeinwen. Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd takes its name in part from the church: the Welsh word llan originally meant "enclosure" and then "church", and "-fair" is a modified form of the patron saint's name (Mair being the Welsh for "Mary", here referring to St Mary, the mother of Jesus). Cwmwd means "commote" (a type of Welsh land division), so the full name of the parish means "St Mary's Church in the commote".
The date of construction of the church is uncertain, but it is a medieval building, probably from the 15th century. The 19th-century clergyman and antiquarian Harry Longueville Jones thought that the church was probably 16th-century in date, but might have been built using material from an older structure. The historian Antony Carr has suggested that Llanfair-yn-y-Cwmwd was the church dedicated to St Mary that was sacked by Normans in 1157. St Mary's was formerly one of the chapels of ease to St Nidan's, Llanidan, along with St Deiniol's, Llanddaniel Fab and St Edwen's, Llanedwen. St Nidan's and its chapels were owned by the Augustinian priory at Beddgelert, Gwynedd; the date of transfer is uncertain, since not all the records have survived, but St Nidan's is mentioned as belonging to the priory in a charter of 1360. Carr has written that "we shall never know" how the "distant community" in Beddgelert came to possess the four Anglesey churches, but thought that it might be significant that the priory also controlled two churches on the mainland, on the other side of the Menai Strait.
During the 16th century, the windows of the nave had mullions (stonework supporting the window structure) added, and the roof trusses date from later in the same century (or early in the following century). In her 1833 history of Anglesey, the antiquarian Angharad Llwyd said that the church had been "for years in a state of such dilapidation as to preclude the performance of divine service", but she noted that it was being rebuilt at that time. However, compared to other churches in Anglesey, the 19th-century changes were not substantial. Repairs were undertaken in 1936 under the supervision of the architects Harold Hughes and William G. Williams.
St Mary's is still used for worship by the Church in Wales. A service of Holy Communion (in Welsh) is held on one Sunday afternoon per month between April and September; no services are held during the rest of the year. It is one of five churches in the combined benefice (parishes combined under one priest) of Newborough with Llanidan with Llangeinwen and Llanfair-yn-y-Cymwd. St Mary's is within the deanery of Tindaethwy and Menai, the archdeaconry of Bangor and the Diocese of Bangor. As of 2012, the priest in charge of the group of parishes is E. Roberts.
People associated with the church include Henry Rowlands, a clergyman and antiquarian. He was the incumbent priest of St Nidan's and its chapels of ease from 1696 until his death in 1723, and wrote a history of Anglesey, Mona Antiqua Restaurata. Maurice Wilks, who invented the Land Rover, is buried in the churchyard. He had a farm nearby in Newborough and some prototype testing of the Land Rover was carried out in Anglesey.
## Architecture and fittings
The church is built from rubble masonry, dressed with sandstone, and measures 47 by 14 feet (14.3 by 4.3 m). The entrance is at the west end of the north wall. The roof, which is made from slate, has a bellcote with one bell at the west end. The inscription on the bell states that it was cast in 1582, and the bell is also marked with a fleur-de-lys and the thrice-repeated initials "AMN".
Inside, although there is no structural division between the nave and the chancel, there is a 19th-century wooden screen with wrought-iron gates between them, and a step up into the chancel. The sanctuary is marked with a further step, as is the base of the altar; both steps are decorated with encaustic tiles. The internal woodwork of the roof, which has seven bays (or sections), is exposed.
The window in the centre north wall has two lights (sections of window separated by a mullion); there are two pairs of two-light windows in the south wall. The window at the east end had a pair of lights, topped by trefoils (a stonework pattern of three overlapping circles).
The roughly oval gritsone font at the west end of the nave, which is from the 12th century, has a zig-zag pattern, and three sides decorated with a cross. The base of the font, which is rectangular with rounded corners, has misshapen carved human heads at the corners and in the middle of one side, and a snake on two of the sides. A P-shaped sign on the east side of the font may have been added later. St Mary's has a coffin lid dating from the middle of the 13th century, displayed upside down on the north wall of the chancel. It is decorated with a carved cross and a foliage design. One 19th-century visitor noted another three old plain coffin lids on the church floor, with another in the churchyard near the east window. As well as an 18th-century slate plaque on the south wall of the nave, there are also various memorials from the 19th and 20th centuries.
## Assessment
The church has national recognition and statutory protection from alteration as it has been designated as a Grade II\* listed building – the second-highest of the three grades of listing, designating "particularly important buildings of more than special interest". It was given this status on 30 January 1968, and has been listed because it is regarded as "a good example of a simple, substantially unaltered, late Medieval church." Cadw (the Welsh Government body responsible for the built heritage of Wales and the inclusion of Welsh buildings on the statutory lists) also notes that many old churches in Anglesey were rebuilt or restored during the 19th century, and that St Mary's "can be considered an important survival."
Writing in 1846, Harry Longueville Jones said that St Mary's was "one of the smallest buildings of its class in the island" and had "no feature of any architectural value." He noted the "elaborate" coffin lid, and said that the font (a "rude production of the twelfth century") was "one of the most remarkable in the collection of Anglesey monuments". The historian and clergyman Edmund Tyrrell Green, writing a survey of Anglesey church architecture and contents in 1929, referred to the coffin lid as one of the county's "outstanding examples" of sepulchral memorials.
A 2006 guide to the churches of Anglesey describes St Mary's as "a good example of a small unspoilt country church." It notes the "simple" rood screen and the "well-maintained" churchyard. A 2009 guide to the buildings of the region refers to the church as a "small unicameral church of undeterminable date" and says that the font, on its "strangely carved rectangular base", is "inconsistent" with the Romanesque fonts found elsewhere in Anglesey |
# Blood Harmony
Blood Harmony is the debut extended play by American singer-songwriter Finneas. It was released by his record label OYOY, distributed by AWAL, on October 4, 2019. All of the material on the EP was produced and written by Finneas.
Blood Harmony was supported by the release of four singles, from 2018 to 2019. The lead single, "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" peaked at numbers 17 and 24 on the US Billboard Alternative Songs and Rock Airplay charts, respectively. Finneas toured the United States throughout October 2019 in support of the EP. A deluxe edition was released on August 7, 2020, featuring the 2018 single "Break My Heart Again" and a new version of "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" entitled "Let's Fall in Love for the Night (1964)". The EP peaked at number 14 on the US Heatseekers Albums chart and number 47 on the Lithuanian Albums chart.
## Background and release
Finneas teased Blood Harmony in August 2019. The EP marked Finneas' first solo release after co-writing and producing material for his sister Billie Eilish for several years. He expressed a desire for the "title to remain ambiguous to listeners, and for everyone to be able to imbue it with their own meaning and justification", but clarified that "blood harmony" is an "expression for what it sounds like when siblings sing together, that biologic chemistry — I think that speaks for itself".
## Composition and lyrics
Blood Harmony is primarily a pop record. The EP opens with "I Lost a Friend", an electropop ballad. The song features minimalist production of bass guitar, piano, drums, layered harmonies, an aggressive beat, and synthesizer. Lyrically, it addresses the pain and confusion when losing a friend. The following track, "Shelter", is a pop-based track. The track features a tropical beat, electric guitar, Latin-based guitars, drum beats, gospel choir effect[s] that appear during the chorus, reverb'd handclaps, bluesy vocal embellishment, and rapid phrasing in the bridge. Lyrically, "Shelter" is about a love for a girl that brings Finneas peace but has an undercurrent of trouble. Tosten Burks, writing for Spin magazine, compared the track to the works of Ed Sheeran. "Lost My Mind" is a more subdued track. Lyrically, Finneas realizes he is in love and wonders if his feelings are really true.
"I Don't Miss You at All" was described as a "longing" dark pop track. It sees Finneas sing about F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of the 1925 classic novel The Great Gatsby, and express his desire to reunite with his past lover while getting angry when the past seemingly blends gets into the present. "Partners in Crime" addresses a story of a dangerous and fading love, and reveals the result of buying into Hollywood stereotypes of intertwining love and thrill-seeking. "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" is a pop track. The song's lyrics are about a girl Finneas has never met in person but finds comfort by dreaming about being together with her in an alternate universe, but only temporarily. Blood Harmony closes with "Die Alone", a romantic meditation about love.
The deluxe edition of Blood Harmony contains two extra tracks. "Break My Heart Again" is an indie pop ballad. The sound of typing and sending messages is heard for the majority of the song, with it being almost entirely composed of real texts between Finneas and a former lover. Lyrically, Finneas confesses to being constantly hurt by the one he cares about. An alternative version of "Let's Fall in Love for the Night", titled "Let's Fall in Love for the Night (1964)", is a lullaby-influenced track. Critical commentary noted the influence of Frank Sinatra.
## Release and promotion
Blood Harmony was released by Finneas' record label OYOY, and distributed by AWAL, on October 4, 2019. A deluxe edition of the EP was released on August 7, 2020. "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" was released as the lead single from Blood Harmony on October 19, 2018. Although the song did not chart initially, it became a sleeper hit in 2020, peaking at number 17 and 24 on the US Billboard Alternative Songs and Rock Airplay charts, respectively. It has received a gold certification in Canada by Music Canada (MC), which denotes track-equivalent sales of forty-thousand units based on sales and streams. A music video for the track was released on March 19, 2020, and received its broadcast on MTV Live, MTVU, MTV International, and the Viacom Times Square Billboards. The music video was shot in one take and directed by Sam Bennett, while choreographed by Monika Felice Smith. "I Lost a Friend" was released on May 3, 2019, as the second single from Blood Harmony. An accompanying music video was released on June 25, 2019, and was also directed by Bennett and shot in one take in Lanchester, California. The song received a remix by Marian Hill, which was released on December 13, 2019. The EP's third single, "Shelter", was released on August 22, 2019. A music video for "Shelter" was directed by Bennett on September 30, 2019. It was also shot in one take. "I Don't Miss You at All" was released as the fourth and final single from Blood Harmony on September 30, 2019.
### Live performances
Finneas promoted Blood Harmony with a series of public appearances and televised live performances. He toured throughout the United States during October 2019, in support of Blood Harmony. That same month, Finneas performed a majority of Blood Harmony's songs at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. In December 2019, Finneas performed "I Lost a Friend" and "I Don't Miss You at All" on Jimmy Kimmel Live\!. On February 3, 2020, he performed "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and was joined by a live band.
## Reception
Will Richards writing for NME, said the songs on Blood Harmony are "exquisite" and have an update "with fresh, modern production tweaks". For Billboard magazine, Glenn Rowley praised the EP, saying "Finneas' work as a solo artist is decidedly brighter, his soulful voice tying each song together as his lyrics swings through the vast spectrum of human emotion". Nicole Almeida of Atwood Magazine wrote that Blood Harmony is the "most transitional point of Finneas' career". She continued, saying the EP is a "songwriting and production triumph". Blood Harmony was a commercial underperformance, peaking at number 14 on the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and number 47 on the Lithuanian Albums chart.
## Track listing
## Personnel
- Finneas – production
- Justin Hergett – mixing
- John Greenham – mastering
- Luke Fenstemaker – cover art, design
## Charts |
# Eurovision Song Contest 1975
The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was the 20th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 22 March 1975 in the Sankt Eriks-Mässan in Stockholm, Sweden and presented by Karin Falck. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR), the contest was held in Sweden following the country's victory at the with the song "Waterloo" by ABBA. Nineteen countries were represented at the contest – a new record number of participants. made its first entry in the contest, and and returned after a one- and two-year absence, respectively. , after participating for the first time in the previous year's event, opted not to participate in 1975.
The winner was the with the song "Ding-a-dong", composed by Dick Bakker, written by Will Luikinga [nl] and Eddy Ouwens, and performed by the group Teach-In. This was the Netherlands' fourth contest victory, matching the record number of contest wins previously set by France and . Having been the opening song of the contest, it was also the first time that a country had won from first position in the running order. The , , France and Luxembourg rounded out the top five positions, with the UK achieving a record-extending ninth second-place finish. A new voting system was introduced at this contest; each country gave 12 points to its favourite, 10 points to its second favourite, and then 8 points to 1 point to other countries in descending order of preference. This numerical order of awarded points has since been used in every subsequent edition of the contest.
## Location
The 1975 contest took place in Stockholm, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Waterloo" performed by ABBA. It was the first time that Sweden had hosted the event. The chosen venue was the Sankt Eriks-Mässan, an exhibition centre in the Älvsjö district of southern Stockholm opened in 1971; in 1976 the venue was renamed to Stockholmsmässan.
The Swedish broadcaster Sveriges Radio (SR) had initially been reluctant to stage the event, mainly due to the high costs that came with it which would have been placed on the organisation. There had also been considerable pressure and disquiet from left-wing groups in the country that initially opposed the amount of money being spent by the public broadcaster on a commercial event, which subsequently developed into a wider protest against the general commercialisation of music in Sweden; this led to street protests and a counter-festival, Alternativfestivalen [sv] (), being held during the week of Eurovision 1975.
SR had attempted to negotiate with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and other participating broadcasters to enact a form of cost-sharing to fund the event, however a solution failed to materialise prior to the contest and SR was ultimately faced with funding the contest alone. These discussions, however, did eventually lead to the introduction of a new financing system for and future events, with the running costs of the event being split across all participating countries. Fears of the potential costs required to host the event should Sweden have won again, coupled with the pressure from left-wing groups, however meant that SR ultimately decided not to participate in the 1976 event.
## Participating countries
A total of 19 countries participated in the 1975 contest – a new record number of participants. This included the first ever appearance of , and entries from and , which last participated in and , respectively. Broadcasters in , which participated for the first time in , and , last seen in the contest in 1972, had also considered participating in the contest, however no entries from these countries were ultimately submitted; Greece had reportedly decided against participating at a late stage, and may have opted to refuse to compete alongside Turkey following the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Ellen Nikolaysen competed in the contest for for a second time, having previously participated in 1973 as a member of the Bendik Singers. Additionally, John Farrar, a member of the Shadows representing the , had previously supported Cliff Richard at the 1973 contest as a backing vocalist.
## Production and format
The Eurovision Song Contest 1975 was produced by SR. Roland Eiworth [sv] served as executive producer, Bo Billtén [sv] served as producer and director, Bo-Ruben Hedwall [sv] served as designer and Mats Olsson served as musical director, leading the orchestra. A separate musical director could be nominated by each country to lead the orchestra during their performance, with the host musical director also available to conduct for those countries which did not nominate their own conductor. On behalf of the contest organisers, the EBU, the event was overseen by Clifford Brown as executive supervisor.
Each participating broadcaster submitted one song, which was required to be no longer than three minutes in duration. As in 1973 and 1974, artists were able to perform in any language, and not necessarily that of the country their represented. A maximum of six performers were allowed on stage during each country's performance. Each entry could utilise all or part of the live orchestra and could use instrumental-only backing tracks, however any backing tracks used could only include the sound of instruments featured on stage being mimed by the performers.
Rehearsals in the contest venue for the competing began on 19 March 1975, with each participating act having a 50-minute slot on stage to perform through their entry with the orchestra. The first rehearsals for all countries were held over two days on 19 and 20 March and were conducted without their stage costumes. A second round of rehearsals, this time in costume, was held for all acts on 21 March, with each country given 20 minutes on stage. This was followed that evening by a complete run-through of the whole show, including dummy voting. Technical rehearsals were held on the morning of 22 March, and a second full dress rehearsal was held that afternoon ahead of the live contest. Some of the participating acts performed their songs in a different language at the dress rehearsals, which were also heard by the juries, and in the live contest; specifically, the Yugoslav and Portuguese acts performed their entries in English in the dress rehearsal, and then in Slovene and Portuguese in the final, respectively. The Dutch entrants were given an additional rehearsal shortly before the live transmission; this was requested by Dick Bakker, the composer of the Dutch song. Bakker felt that during the general rehearsals the sound quality was noticeably poorer during their entry, the first to perform each time, and that the sound technicians needed time to fix their equipment, which was generally done during their rehearsal slot.
There was a tight security situation at the venue in the run-up to, and during, the event; the Swedish Security Service (SÄPO) had received intelligence reports that the contest may become a target of the West German far-left militant group the Red Army Faction (RAF). The threat to the contest did not ultimately materialise, however one month after the event the RAF targeted the West German embassy in Stockholm.
### Voting procedure
Following the abandoned attempt at introducing a new voting system at the previous year's event, plans for a new system to replace both the system used between 1971 and 1973 and that used in 1974 came to fruition in autumn 1974. A sub-group, comprising individuals from Germany's ARD, Sweden's SR, and Finland's YLE, was set-up, and various new voting systems were proposed: ARD suggested that each country should identify its top nine entries and award points ranging between 1 and 10, while YLE proposed a scoring system to award points to eight countries, with the favourite of each country given 14 points, then 10, 7 and 5–1. The Finnish broadcaster also proposed as a compromise awarding to nine countries 10 and 8–1 points. Based on the above ideas, the UK's BBC proposed the 12, 10 and 8–1 pattern which was later adopted for this contest, and which had been used in all subsequent editions as of 2024.
Each country had a jury of eleven members ranging from ages 16 to 60, with a recommendation that there should be a balance between the sexes and that half should be under 25 years old. Each jury member awarded all songs a score between one and five immediately after they had been performed, with no abstentions allowed and without voting for the country they represented. The song which gained the most votes received 12 points, followed by 10 points to the song which got the second highest number of votes, and then between 8 and 1 points for the third- to tenth-placed songs. Ties for any of the positions would be decided by a show of hands. The order of presenting the points by each country's spokesperson was done in performance order; it would not be until that the points would be awarded in ascending order, starting at 1 point and finishing with 12 points.
## Contest overview
The contest was held on 22 March 1975, beginning at 21:00 (CET) and lasting 2 hours and 12 minutes. The contest was presented by the Swedish television presenter, producer and director Karin Falck. Following the confirmation of the 19 participating countries, a draw was held in Geneva on 24 January 1975 to determine the running order (R/O) of the contest.
The contest was opened by a film montage portraying various cultural stereotypes of Sweden and the Swedish people. Each entry was preceded by a video postcard, which served as an introduction to that country's entry and to create a transition between entries to allow stage crew to make changes on stage; the postcards showed each country's entrant backstage painting a portrait of themselves and the flag of their nation onto a blank canvas. The interval act was entitled "The World of John Bauer" (), comprising a montage of examples of the Swedish illustrator's work, particularly from his anthology Among Gnomes and Trolls, set to music from the orchestra. The medallions awarded to the winning songwriters were presented by the Secretary-General of the European Broadcasting Union Henrik Hahr [sv].
The winner was the represented by the song "Ding-a-dong", composed by Bakker, written by Will Luikinga [nl] and Eddy Ouwens, and performed by Teach-In. It was the Netherlands' fourth contest win, following victories in , and ; the Netherlands thus joined and as the countries with the most contest wins at that point. It was additionally the first time that the song which was performed first had gone on to win the contest. The UK came second for a record-extending ninth time, and Malta, which had come last in its two previous contest appearances, achieved their best result to date with a twelfth-place finish. Turkey, meanwhile, finished in last place on its debut appearance.
### Spokespersons
Each country nominated a spokesperson, connected to the contest venue via telephone lines and responsible for announcing, in English or French, the votes for their respective country. Known spokespersons at the 1975 contest are listed below.
- Spain – José María Íñigo
- Sweden – Sven Lindahl
- United Kingdom – Ray Moore
## Detailed voting results
Jury voting was used to determine the points awarded by all countries. The announcement of the results from each country was conducted in the order in which they performed, with the spokespersons announcing their country's points in English or French in performance order. The detailed breakdown of the points awarded by each country is listed in the tables below, with voting countries listed in the order in which they presented their votes.
### 12 points
The below table summarises how the maximum 12 points were awarded from one country to another. The winning country is shown in bold. The Netherlands received the maximum score of 12 points from six of the voting countries, with the UK receiving four sets of 12 points, Finland and France each receiving two sets of maximum scores, and Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal and Switzerland receiving one maximum score each.
## Broadcasts
Broadcasters competing in the event were required to relay the contest via its networks; non-participating EBU member broadcasters were also able to relay the contest. Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their television viewers.
In addition to the participating nations, the contest was also reportedly aired, live or deferred, by broadcasters in Eastern European countries via Intervision, in countries bounding the Mediterranean Sea, and in Hong Kong, Iceland, Japan, Jordan and South Korea. The contest was reported to have had a possible maximum audience of over 700 million people.
A planned broadcast in Chile by its public broadcaster Televisión Nacional de Chile was prevented by SR, following pressure from the Swedish Musicians' Union in opposition to the Chilean military dictatorship. Rolf Rembe, spokesman for the union, said that broadcasting the festival to Chile "would give the impression that relations between Chile and world artists are normal".
Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the tables below. |
# New Jersey Route 155
Route 155 was a short state highway in the community of Palmyra, New Jersey in Burlington County. The route ran from the ferry docks to the north of the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge (Route 73) through the community, terminating at an intersection with U.S. Route 130. The highway was a former alignment of Route 73 before the construction of the bridge. The route originated as Route S41N in the 1927 renumbering. The route was decommissioned and turned over to Burlington County, who designated it as an extension of County Route 607.
## Route description
New Jersey Route 155 began at the ferry docks in Palmyra, just to the north of the Tacony–Palmyra Bridge. The route headed eastward along Cinnaminson Avenue, intersecting with several local roads as it progressed from the harbor and into downtown Palmyra. A short distance later, Route 155, paralleling Route 73, and intersected with Broad Street (County Route 543) in Palmyra. The highway continued eastward to the southeast, following Cinnaminson Avenue until leaving downtown Palmyra. After leaving the community for Cinnaminson Township, the highway ended at an intersection with U.S. Route 130, a four-lane highway in the local area.
## History
The original alignment of Cinnaminson Avenue in the community of Palmyra was originally a part of New Jersey State Highway Route 2, which was assigned in 1922, as a part of the original state highway system in New Jersey. Five years later, the highway re-designated during the period between the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering and year of 1941 as a spur of State Highway Route S-41, which is currently Route 73. The route designation remained intact for several years until the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, when numerous highways around the state were given new designations. After the spur routes were dropped in the renumbering, the highway was re-designated as Route 155. Route 155's alignment was later turned over to the county of Burlington, who re-designated it as an extension of County Route 607.
## Major intersections
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## See also
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# Bless Me Indeed (Jabez's Song)
"Bless Me Indeed (Jabez's Song)" (sometimes called "Bless Me Indeed") is a song by Christian rock band MercyMe. Written by the band and produced by Pete Kipley, it was released as the lead single from the band's 2001 album Almost There. The song was written at the request of the band's record label, who wanted to produce a song based on the popular book The Prayer of Jabez (2000). Although the band did not want to write it at first, they eventually relented and recorded it.
Lyrically, "Bless Me Indeed" asks God for blessing, paralleling Jabez's prayer in 1 Chronicles. It received a mixed to positive response from critics; lead singer Bart Millard has since described it as one of the band's worst songs. The song did not perform well at Christian radio, peaking at number 27 on the Radio & Records Christian AC chart, leading to initial album sales that were lower than expected.
## Background and composition
The idea behind "Bless Me Indeed (Jabez's Song)" came from MercyMe's record label, INO Records, who wanted to capitalize off the success of Bruce Wilkinson's popular book The Prayer of Jabez (2000). According to lead singer Bart Millard, the label figured that the book could introduce the band and set up a successful career. Although the band did not want to write the song, they eventually relented. "Bless Me Indeed (Jabez's Song)" was written by Jim Bryson, Nathan Cochran, Bart Millard, Mike Scheuchzer, and Robby Shaffer - all five members of MercyMe at the time. Like the rest of Almost There, it was recorded at Ivy Park, The Indigo Room, Paradise Sound, and IBC Studios. Kipley produced and programmed the song, while Skye McCaskey and Julian Kindred engineered it. Salvo mixed the song. String instruments were recorded by the Paltrow Performance Group.
"Bless Me Indeed (Jabez's Song)" has a length of four minutes and fourteen seconds. According to the sheet music published by Musicnotes.com, it is in set common time in the key of C major and has a tempo of 108 beats per minute. Bart Millard's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of G<sub>4</sub> to the high note of F<sub>5</sub>. The song lyrically relates to the Biblical figure Jabez. In 1 Chronicles 4:10, Jabez requests that God bless him by expanding his territory and keeping him free from evil, a request God accepts. In "Bless Me Indeed (Jabez's Song)", Millard requests the same from God.
## Reception
"Bless Me Indeed" received a mixed to positive response from critics. Steve Losey of AllMusic selected it as a 'track pick'. The J Man of Crosswalk.com described it as a "winner", and appreciated that it was based on The Prayer of Jabez. In Amazon.com's product description of Almost There, the reviewer stated the track "is a glimmer of brilliance where the group brings it all together". However, Russ Breimeier of Christianity Today described the song as "[not] particularly remarkable", preferring another song based on Jabez, According to John's "Song of Jabez". In an interview in 2014, Millard stated that it is one of "one of the worst songs we've ever done".
## Chart performance
"Bless Me Indeed" was released as the first single from Almost There. Although the label anticipated the song's connection with The Prayer of Jaebz would make it a success, it performed poorly on Christian radio. The song debuted at number 29 on the Radio & Records Christian AC chart for the week of August 31, 2001. The following week, it advanced to its peak of number 27. The song spent four weeks on the chart before dropping off. The poor performance of the song at radio led to initial album sales that were lower than anticipated, although the album would later be certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) following the success of the album's second single, "I Can Only Imagine".
## Credits and personnel
Credits from the album liner notes)
- MercyMe
- Bart Millard – lead vocals
- Mike Scheuchzer – guitars
- Jim Bryson – keys
- Nathan Cochran – bass guitar, background vocals
- Robby Shaffer – drums
- Additional performers
- Paltrow Performance Group – strings
- Technical/Misc.
- Peter Kipley – producer, programmer
- Steve McCaskey – engineer
- Julian Kindred – engineer
- Salvo – mixing
- Shane Wilson – mixing
- Elizabeth Workman – design
- Shawn Sanders – band photos
## Charts |
# Woman Suffrage Procession
The Woman Suffrage Procession on March 3, 1913, was the first suffragist parade in Washington, D.C. It was also the first large, organized march on Washington for political purposes. The procession was organized by the suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Planning for the event began in Washington in December 1912. As stated in its official program, the parade's purpose was to "march in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded."
Participation numbers vary between 5,000 and 10,000 marchers. Suffragists and supporters marched down Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday, March 3, 1913, the day before President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration. Paul had selected the venue and date to maximize publicity but met resistance from the D.C. police department. The demonstration consisted of a procession with floats, bands, and various groups representing women at home, in school, and the workplace. At the Treasury Building, a pageant of allegorical tableaux was acted out during the parade. The final act was a rally at the Memorial Continental Hall with prominent speakers, including Anna Howard Shaw and Helen Keller.
Before the event, Black participation in the march threatened to cause a rift with delegations from Southern states. Some Black people did march with state delegations. A group from Howard University participated in the parade. Some sources allege that Black women were segregated at the back of the parade; however, contemporary sources suggest that they marched with their respective state delegations or professional groups.
During the procession, district police failed to keep the enormous crowd off the street, impeding the marchers' progress. Many participants were subjected to heckling from spectators, though many supporters were present. The marchers were finally assisted by citizens' groups and eventually the cavalry. The police were subjected to a congressional inquiry due to security failures. The event premiered Paul's campaign to refocus the suffrage movement on obtaining a national constitutional amendment for woman's suffrage. This was intended to pressure President Wilson to support an amendment, but he resisted their demands for years afterward.
The procession was featured in the film Iron Jawed Angels in 2004. A new U.S. ten-dollar bill with parade imagery is planned for circulation in 2026.
## Background
American suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns spearheaded a drive to adopt a national strategy for women's suffrage in the National American Woman Suffrage Association. Paul and Burns had seen first-hand the effectiveness of militant activism while working for Emmeline Pankhurst in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in Britain. Their education included rallies, marches, and demonstrations, knowledge the two would put to work back in America. They already had first-hand experience with imprisonment as a backlash against suffrage activism. They had gone on hunger strikes and suffered force-feeding. They were not afraid to be provocative, even knowing the potential consequences. The procession would be their first foray into moving into militant mode on a national stage.
Paul and Burns found that many suffragists supported the WSPU's militant tactics, including Harriot Stanton Blatch, Alva Belmont, Elizabeth Robins, and Rhetta Child Dorr. Burns and Paul recognized that the women from the six states that had full suffrage at the time comprised a powerful voting bloc. They submitted a proposal to Anna Howard Shaw and the NAWSA leadership at their annual convention in 1912. The leadership was not interested in changing the state-by-state strategy and rejected the idea of holding a campaign that would hold the Democratic Party responsible. Paul and Burns appealed to prominent reformer Jane Addams, who interceded on their behalf, resulting in Paul being appointed chair of the Congressional Committee.
Until this time, the women's suffrage movement had relied on oratory and written arguments to keep the issue before the public. Paul believed it was time to add a strong visual element to the campaign, even grander than she had planned for the NAWSA 1912 conference. While her tactics were nonviolent, Paul exploited elements of danger in her events. Her plan for using visual rhetoric was intended to have lasting impact. She felt it was time for women to stop begging for suffrage and demand it with political coercion instead. Though the suffragists had staged marches in many cities, this would be a first for Washington, D.C. It would also be the first large political demonstration in the nation's capital. The only previous similar demonstration was made by a group of five hundred men known as Coxey's Army, who had protested about unemployment in 1894.
At the time Paul and Burns were assigned to lead the Congressional Committee of the NAWSA, it was merely a shadow committee headed by Elizabeth Kent, wife of a California congressman, with an annual budget of ten dollars that mostly went unspent. With Paul and Burns in charge, the committee revived the push for a national suffrage amendment. At the end of 1913, Paul reported to the NAWSA that the committee had raised and expended over $25,000 on the suffrage cause for the year.
Paul and Burns persuaded NAWSA to endorse an immense suffrage parade in Washington, D.C., to coincide with newly elected President Woodrow Wilson's inauguration the following March. The NAWSA leadership turned over the entire operation to the committee. They organized volunteers, planned, and raised funds in preparation for the parade with little help from the NAWSA.
## Planning
### Committees and recruiting
Once the board approved the parade in December 1912, it appointed Dora Lewis, Mary Ritter Beard, and Crystal Eastman to the committee, though they all worked outside of Washington. All money Paul collected had to be directed through the NAWSA, though she did not always comply.
Paul arrived in Washington, D.C., in December 1912 to begin organizing the event. By the time the Congressional Committee had its first meeting in its new Washington headquarters on January 2, 1913, more than 130 women had shown up to start work. Using the list of former committee members, Paul found few still alive or in the city, but she did find assistance.
Among local suffragists, she was aided by attorney Florence Etheridge and teacher Elsie Hill, daughter of a congressman. Kent, the former committee chair, was instrumental in opening doors in Washington to Paul and Burns. From the NAWSA, Paul recruited Emma Gillett and Helen Hamilton Gardener to be treasurer and publicity chair, respectively. Belva Lockwood, who had run for president in 1884, also attended the initial meeting. Paul recruited Hazel MacKaye to design professional floats and allegorical tableaux to be presented simultaneously with the procession. The parade was officially named the Woman Suffrage Procession. Per the event program, the stated purpose was to "march in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded." Doris Stevens, who worked closely with Paul, stated that "...the procession was to dramatize in numbers and beauty the fact that women wanted to vote - that women were asking the Administration in power in the national government to speed the day."
The timing of the date for the procession, March 3, was important because incoming president Woodrow Wilson, whose inauguration was to take place the following day, would be put on notice that this would be a key issue during his term. Paul wanted to put pressure on him to support a national amendment. It also ensured that the procession would enjoy a large audience and publicity. Many factors deterred Paul regarding her selected date: District suffragists worried about the weather; the superintendent of police objected to the timing; even Paul herself was concerned about the need to attract a large number of marchers in a short time frame and get them organized. Fortunately, Washington had congressional delegations from all the states, and some of their wives could be counted on to represent those states. Likewise, the embassies could provide marchers from distant countries.
To maximize the use of funds for publicity and building a national network, the Congressional Committee made it clear that participating organizations and delegations would need to fund their own travel, lodging, and other expenses.
### Parade route and security
Just as the parade's timing was tied to the inauguration, so was the route Paul preferred to have the maximum impact on public perception. She requested a permit to march down Pennsylvania Avenue from the Peace Monument to the Treasury Building, then on to the White House before ending at Continental Hall. District superintendent of police, Major Richard H. Sylvester, offered a permit for Sixteenth Street, which would have taken the procession through a residential area, past several embassies. He later claimed he had thought the suffragists wished to hold the parade at night, and the police could not have provided sufficient security if they marched from the Capitol. Sylvester pointed out the rough character of lower Pennsylvania Avenue and the type of people likely to attend the inauguration. Paul was not satisfied with his alternative route. She took her request to the District commissioners and the press. Eventually, they relented and granted her request. Elsie Hill and her mother had also pressured Sylvester by appealing to Elsie's father in Congress. Congress had the ultimate responsibility and funding control over the District police department.
The presidential inauguration brought a huge influx of visitors from around the country. Media estimated crowds of a quarter to a half million people. Anticipating that most of these people would come to observe the suffrage parade, Paul was concerned about the ability of the local police force to handle the crowd; her disquiet proved to be justified by events. Sylvester had only volunteered a force of 100 officers, which Paul considered inadequate. She attempted to get intervention from President William Howard Taft, who referred her to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson. The week before the parade, Congress passed a resolution directing district police to halt all traffic from the Peace Monument to 17th Street from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on the day of the parade and prevent any interference with the procession. Paul recruited a woman with political connections to intervene. Elizabeth Selden Rogers contacted her brother-in-law, Secretary Stimson, to request cavalry to provide additional security. He first claimed that using the soldiers for that purpose was prohibited, but later agreed to place troops on standby in case of emergency.
### Countering anti-suffrage sentiments
Paul strategically emphasized beauty, femininity, and traditional female roles in the procession. Her chosen theme for the procession was "Ideals and Virtues of American Womanhood". These characteristics were perceived by anti-suffragists as being most threatened by giving women the vote. She wanted to show that women could be all those things and still be intelligent and competent to vote and fill any other role in society. Attractiveness and professional talent were not mutually exclusive. These ideals were embodied in the selection of the parade's herald, Inez Milholland, a labor lawyer from New York City who had been dubbed "the most beautiful suffragette". Milholland had served in the same role in a suffrage march in the city the previous year.
## The procession
### The lineup of marchers
Media reported that the suffrage parade outshone even the inauguration. Special suffrage trains were hired to bring spectators from other cities, adding to the crowds in Washington. The novelty of the procession attracted enormous interest throughout the eastern U.S. As the parade participants gathered near the Peace Monument around noon, the police began roping off part of the parade route. Even before the parade began, the ropes were badly stretched and coming loose in places. The procession drew such a crowd that President-elect Wilson was mystified about why there were no people to be seen when he arrived in town that day. Jane Walker Burleson on horseback, accompanying a model of the Liberty Bell brought from Philadelphia, led the procession as Grand Marshal, immediately followed by the herald, Milholland, on a white horse. A pale-blue cape flowed over her white suit, held on by a Maltese cross. Her banner proclaimed "Forward into Light", a phrase originated by Pankhurst and later used by Blatch. Immediately behind the herald was a wagon that boldly stated "We Demand An Amendment To The Constitution Of The United States Enfranchising The Women Of This Country". Next was the national board of the NAWSA, headed by Shaw.
To add to the visual impact, Paul dictated a color scheme for each group of marchers. The rainbow of colors represented women coming into the light of the future out of the darkness of the past. To add drama between groups of marching women, "Paul recruited 26 floats, 6 golden chariots, 10 bands, 45 captains, 200 marshals, 120 pages, 6 mounted heralds, and 6 mounted brigades", according to Adams and Keene. Estimates about the number of participants in the procession varied from 5,000 to 10,000.
The first section had marchers and floats from countries where women already had the vote: Norway, Finland, Australia, and New Zealand. The second section had floats depicting historic scenes from the suffrage movement in 1840, 1870, and 1890. Then came a float representing the state of the campaign in 1913 in a positive tableau of women inspiring a group of girls. A series of floats depicted men and women working side by side at home and in various professions. They were followed by one with a man holding a representation of government on his shoulders while a woman with hands tied stood helpless at his side.
A float depicted nurses, followed by a marching group of nurses. Groups of women representing traditional roles of motherhood and homemaking came next to change the image of suffragists as being sexless working women. There followed a carefully orchestrated order of professional women, beginning with various nursing groups, the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and the PTA, before finally adding in non-traditional careers such as lawyers, artists, and businesswomen.
After a float depicting the Bill of Rights came a banner that showed the nine suffrage states in bright colors with the remaining states in black. This theme was also graphically depicted using women dressed similarly. They carried a banner suggesting that vote-less women were enslaved to men with the vote, quoting Abraham Lincoln: "No Country Can Exist Half Slave and Half Free". Another Lincoln quote was featured at the top of the official program: "I go for all sharing the privilege of the government who assist in bearing its burdens, by no means excluding women." Women from the suffrage states displayed their colorful organization banners on chariots that preceded each group.
One prominent group featured in the procession was the pilgrims led by "General" Rosalie Jones. The brown-caped hikers covered more than 200 mi (320 km) from New York City to Washington in sixteen days. Their journey received considerable press coverage, and a large crowd assembled to greet them upon their arrival in the city on February 28.
### Allegorical tableaux
Simultaneous with the procession, an allegorical tableau unfolded on the Treasury Building's steps. The pageant was written by dramatist Hazel MacKaye and directed by Glenna Smith Tinnin. These scenes were performed by silent actors to portray various attributes of patriotism and civic pride, which both men and women strove to emulate. The audience would recognize the presentation style from similar holiday events nationwide. MacKaye set each scene using women clad in toga-style costumes and accompanied by symbolic parlor music that would also be familiar to the audience.
The act began with a relay of trumpet calls from the Peace Monument to the Treasury Building. The first scene featured Columbia, who stepped forward on stage to the strains of "The Star-Spangled Banner". She summoned Liberty, Charity, Justice, Hope, and Peace to join her. In the final scene, Columbia placed herself as guardian over all these others, and they assembled to watch the approaching procession of suffragists. By creating this stunning drama, Paul differentiated the American suffrage movement from Britain's "by fully appropriating the best possibilities of nonviolent visual rhetoric" per Adams and Keene.
### Notable participants
Some women listed were well-known before the event, while others became noteworthy later. Most names come from the official event program.
- Dr. Nellie V. Mark served as marshal of the professional women of Maryland in the Maryland portion of the parade.
- Jeannette Rankin, from Montana, marched under her state's sign; she returned to Washington four years later as a U.S. Representative.
- Charlotte Anita Whitney, who later became a political figure in her home state of California, served as NAWSA's 2nd vice president and marched with the officers.
- Mary Ware Dennett, of New York, also marched with the NAWSA board as corresponding secretary.
- Susan Walker Fitzgerald, NAWSA recording secretary from Boston, later went on to serve in the Massachusetts legislature.
- Katherine Dexter McCormick, NAWSA treasurer, became a notable philanthropist and major funder of birth control research.
- Harriet Burton Laidlaw, 1st auditor on the NAWSA board, was from New York and a political activist on many issues.
- Abby Scott Baker, a D. C. resident and activist, organized the floats and marchers in the section for foreign countries.
- Dorothy Bernard, born in South Africa, had an acting career in California, and organized the group of actresses in the procession.
- Jane Delano, chair and founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service, organized the nurse's group.
- Carrie Clifford, American feminist author, clubwoman and civil rights activist
- Lavinia Dock, a pioneer in nursing education, assisted Delano with the nursing section of the parade.
- Bertha McNeil was an American civil rights activist, peace activist, and educator.
- Fola La Follette, Broadway actress from Wisconsin and lifelong activist, led the actress group in the march.
- Lillian Wald, founder of community nursing and involved in founding the NAACP, led the nurses' section.
- Georgiana Simpson, philologist and the first African-American woman to receive a PhD in the United States.
- Ellen Spencer Mussey, a D.C. attorney who later founded the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia, led women lawyers in the procession. She secured legislation in Congress to give women in D. C. equal rights to their children.
- Mary Johnston, of Virginia, was a popular writer of historical fiction. She spoke at the rally at Continental Hall after the parade.
- Estelle Willoughby Ions, a composer from Louisiana, led the musicians section.
- Elizabeth Thacher Kent, worked to pass suffrage legislation in California, and was also an environmentalist. She contracted and organized the bands for the procession.
- Julia Lathrop, Chief of the U. S. Children's Bureau, was the first woman to head a federal bureau, appointed by President Taft. She marched with the banner for Women in Government Service.
- Annie Jenness Miller, clothing designer, advocate for dress reform, prominent lecturer, and building contractor, organized the grandstand committee.
- Genevieve Clark Thomson, who later ran for Congress from Louisiana, led the Missouri delegation.
- Harriet Taylor Upton, who became the first female to serve as vice-chair of the Republican National Committee, led the delegation from Ohio.
- Florence Fleming Noyes, a dancer who played the role of Liberty, choreographed the entire tableaux.
- Ann Washington Craton, a labor organizer who was then a student at George Washington University and who marched in cap and gown.
### Security failure
The parade and tableaux at the Treasury Building were scheduled to begin simultaneously at 3 p.m. However, the trumpet call starting the procession did not sound until 3:25 p.m. At the lead were several police escort vehicles and six mounted officers in a wedge formation. By the time the front of the parade reached 5th Street, the crowd had completely blocked the avenue. At that point, the police escort seemed to vanish into the crowd. Milholland and others on horseback used the animals to help push back the crowds. Paul, Burns, and other committee members brought a couple of automobiles to the front to help create a passage for the procession. The police had done little to open the parade route as they'd been ordered to do by Congress. Sylvester, who was at the train station awaiting Wilson's arrival, heard about the problem and called the cavalry unit on standby at Fort Myers. However, the mounted soldiers did not arrive on the scene until around 4:30 p.m. They were then able to usher the parade to its completion.
Male and female spectators surged into the street, though men were the majority. There were both hecklers and supporters, but parade-marshal Burleson and other women in the procession were intimidated, particularly by the hostile chants. The Evening Star (Washington) published a review highlighting positive responses to the parade and pageant. The crush of people led to trampling: More than two hundred people were treated for injuries at local hospitals. At one point, Paul sympathetically acknowledged that the police were overwhelmed and not enough of them had been assigned to the parade, but she soon changed her stance to maximize publicity for her cause. The police arrested some spectators and fined them for crossing over the ropes.
Before the cavalry arrived, other people began helping with crowd control. At times the marchers had been forced to go single file to move forward. Boy Scouts with batons helped push back spectators. A group of soldiers linked arms to hold people back. Some of the Black people who drove the floats also stepped in to help. The Massachusetts and the Pennsylvania national guards stepped in, too. Eventually, boys from the Maryland Agricultural College created a human barrier protecting the women from the angry crowd and helping them reach their destination.
### Rally at Continental Hall
The final act was a meeting at the Memorial Continental Hall (later part of the expanded DAR Constitution Hall), the national headquarters of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Speakers were Anna Howard Shaw, Carrie Chapman Catt, Mary Johnston, and Helen Adams Keller. Shaw, reflecting on the failure of police protection, stated that she was ashamed of the national capital, but she praised the marchers. She also recognized that they could use publicity about police failures to the suffragists' advantage. Blatch had used a similar security failure in New York in 1912 to the suffragists' advantage.
## Aftermath
### Alice Paul's response
Though she first sympathized with the overwhelmed police force at the parade, Paul quickly capitalized on the verbal abuse the marchers had endured. She blamed the police for colluding with violent opposition to the nonviolent demonstration. She asked participants to write affidavits about negative reactions they'd experienced, which Paul used to request Congressional action against Chief Sylvester. She also used these statements to generate press releases in Washington and nationwide, garnering additional publicity for the suffrage procession. The resulting publicity also brought in additional donations that helped Paul cover the event's cost of $13,750.
Paul's publicity campaign stressed that the marchers had demonstrated bravery and nonviolent resistance to the hostile crowd. Several suffragists pointed out in the media that a government that couldn't protect its female citizens could not properly represent them. Paul's deft handling of the situation made woman's suffrage one of the most-discussed subjects in America.
Paul also orchestrated a meeting, primarily of political men who were suffrage supporters, at the Columbia Theater. The purpose was to pressure Congress to hold hearings about police misconduct. Key participants included activist attorney Louis Brandeis (who became a Supreme Court justice in 1916) and Minnesota senator Moses Edwin Clapp. She kept her role in organizing the event out of the spotlight.
### Congressional response
The Senate Committee on the District of Columbia quickly organized a subcommittee hearing to determine why the crowds at the parade had gotten out of hand. They listened to testimony and read numerous affidavits. Hearings were held March 6–13 and April 16–17. Sylvester defended his actions and blamed individual police officers for disobeying his orders. In the end, Sylvester was exonerated, but public opinion toward him was unfavorable. When he was finally forced to resign in 1915 due to an unrelated incident, the mishandling of the 1913 parade was seen as instrumental in his ouster.
### President Wilson
Alice Paul and the Congressional Union asked President Wilson to push Congress for a federal amendment, beginning with a deputation to the White House shortly after the parade and in several additional visits. He responded initially by saying he had never considered the matter, though he told a Colorado delegation in 1911 that he was pondering the subject. Though he assured the women he would consider it, he did not act on the issue; eventually, he flatly remarked there was no room for suffrage on his agenda. The deputation wished Wilson to press his party to support suffrage legislation. He asserted that he had no influence over his party's actions in Congress. Still, for issues he considered important, he did use his leverage in a partisan manner, such as with repealing the Panama Canal tolls act.
When asked if it had been unwise for her to push Wilson for his stance on woman's suffrage, Paul responded that it was important to make the public aware of his position so they could use it against him when the time came to put pressure on the Democrats during an election. It took until 1918 for Wilson to finally change his stance on the suffrage amendment.
### Impacts on the suffrage movement
Paul inaugurated her leadership in the American suffrage movement with the 1913 procession. This event revived the push for a federal woman's suffrage amendment, a cause that the NAWSA had allowed to languish. Little more than a month after the parade, the Susan B. Anthony amendment was re-introduced in both houses of Congress. For the first time in decades, it was debated on the floor. The demonstration on Pennsylvania Avenue was the precursor to Paul's other high-profile events that, along with actions by the NAWSA, culminated in the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution in 1919 and its ratification in 1920.
Paul's focus on a federal amendment contrasted sharply with the NAWSA's state-by-state approach to suffrage, leading to a rift between the Constitutional Committee and the national board. The committee disassociated from the NAWSA and became the Congressional Union. The Congressional Union eventually became subsumed by the National Woman's Party, also led by Paul, in 1916.
## Miscellaneous
### In film
The Woman Suffrage Procession was featured in the 2004 film Iron Jawed Angels, which chronicles the strategies of Alice Paul, Lucy Burns, and the National Woman's Party as they lobby and demonstrate for the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would assure voting rights for all American women.
### United States currency
On April 20, 2016, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announced plans for the back of the new $10 note to feature an image of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession that passed the steps of the Treasury Department where the allegorical tableaux took place. It is also planned to honor many of the leaders of the suffrage movement, including Lucretia Mott, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Alice Paul. The front of the new $10 note is to retain the portrait of Alexander Hamilton. Designs for new $5, $10, and $20 bills were to be unveiled in 2020. Later, it was said that the new note would not be ready for circulation until 2026.
### Anti-Black racism
The woman's suffrage movement, led in the nineteenth century by women such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, had its genesis in the abolitionist movement, but by the dawn of the twentieth century, Anthony's goal of universal suffrage was eclipsed by a near-universal racism in the United States. While earlier suffragists had believed the two issues could be linked, the passage of the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment created a division between African American rights and suffrage for women by prioritizing voting rights for Black men over universal suffrage for all men and women. In 1903, the NAWSA officially adopted a platform of states' rights that was intended to mollify and bring Southern U.S. suffrage groups into the fold. The statement's signers included Anthony, Carrie Chapman Catt, and Anna Howard Shaw.
With the prevalence of segregation throughout the country and within organizations such as the NAWSA, Black people had formed activist groups to fight for their equal rights. Many were college educated and resented their exclusion from political power. The fiftieth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 also fell in 1913, giving them even further incentive to march in the suffrage parade. Nellie Quander of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority asked for a place in the college women's section for the women of Howard. In a letter dated February 17, 1913 to Alice Paul, Quander discusses the desire for the women of Howard to be given a desirable place in the march and requests Paul to identify a suitable speaker to replace Jane Addams, who was scheduled to address the sorority in March but was preparing to travel to Egypt. These letters were follow up discussions to the one began by Paul and initiated by Elise Hill when Hill went down to Howard University at the request of Paul to recruit the Howard women. The Howard University group included "Artist, one—Mrs. May Howard Jackson; college women, six—Mrs. Mary Church Terrell, Mrs. Daniel Murray, Miss Georgia Simpson, Miss Charlotte Steward, Miss Harriet Shadd, Miss Bertha McNiel; teacher, one—Miss Caddie Park; musician, one— Mrs. Harriett G. Marshall; professional women, two— Dr. Amanda V. Gray, Dr. Eva Ross. Illinois delegation—Mrs. Ida Wells-Barnett; Michigan—Mrs. McCoy, of Detroit, who carried the banner; Howard University, group of twenty-five girls in caps and gowns; homemakers—Mrs. Duffield, who carried New York banner, Mrs. M. D. Butler, Mrs. Carrie W. Clifford." One trained nurse, whose name could not be ascertained, marched, and a child caregiver was brought down by the Delaware delegation.
But the Virginia-born Gardener tried to persuade Paul that including Black people would be a bad idea because the Southern delegations threatened to pull out of the march. Paul had attempted to keep news about Black marchers out of the press, but when the Howard group announced they intended to participate, the public became aware of the conflict. A newspaper account indicated that Paul told some Black suffragists that the NAWSA believed in equal rights for "colored women" but that some Southern women were likely to object to their presence. A source in the organization insisted that the official stance was to "permit negroes to march if they cared to". In a 1974 oral history interview, Paul recalled the "hurdle" of Terrell's plan to march, which upset the Southern delegations. She said the situation was resolved when a Quaker leading the men's section proposed that men march between the Southern and Howard University groups.
While in Paul's memory, a compromise was reached to order the parade as southern women, then the men's section, and finally the Black women's section, reports in the NAACP paper, The Crisis, depict events unfolding quite differently, with Black women protesting the plan to segregate them. What is clear is that some groups attempted, on the day of the parade, to segregate their delegations. For example, a last-minute instruction by the chair of the state delegation section, Genevieve Stone, caused an additional uproar when she asked the Illinois delegation's sole Black member, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, to march with the segregated group of Black people at the back of the parade. Some historians claim Paul made the request, though this seems unlikely after the official NAWSA decision. Wells-Barnett eventually rejoined the Illinois delegation as the procession moved down the avenue. In the end, Black women marched in several state delegations, including New York and Michigan. Some joined in with their co-workers in professional groups. There were also Black men driving many of the floats. The spectators did not treat the Black participants any differently.
## See also
- Suffrage Hikes
- Mud March, 1907 suffrage procession in London
- Women's Sunday, 1908 suffrage march and rally in London
- Women's Coronation Procession, 1911 suffrage march in London
- Great Pilgrimage, 1913 suffrage march in the UK
- Silent Sentinels, 1917 to 1919 protest in Washington, D.C.
- Selma to Montgomery march, 1965 suffrage march in the US
- List of suffragists and suffragettes
- Timeline of women's suffrage
- Timeline of women's suffrage in the United States |
# Nirmala (novel)
Nirmala is a Hindi novel written by Indian writer Munshi Premchand. The melodramatic novel is centered on Nirmala, a young girl who was forced to marry a widower of her father's age. The plot unfolds to reveal her husband's suspicion of a relationship between her and his eldest son, a suspicion that leads to the son's death.
A poignant novel first published between 1925 and 1926, Nirmala's reformist agenda is transparent in its theme which deals with the question of dowry, and consequently mismatched marriages and related issues. The story uses fiction to highlight an era of much needed social reform in 1920s Indian society. Nirmala was serialised in Chand, a women's magazine in which the novel's feminist character was represented. Nirmala is somewhat like Godaan (published in 1936) in that it deals with the exploitation of the village poor, and Nandita (2016) in similarities of being shackled by society's narrow expectations of how a woman should be. Nirmala was translated by multiple scholarly translators. It was first translated in 1988 as The Second Wife by David Rubin, and in 1999 as Nirmala by Alok Rai, Premchand's grandson.
## Plot
Udayabhanu Lal, a lawyer, arranged to marry off his 15-year-old daughter Nirmala to Bhuvanmohan Sinha, son of Bhalchadra Sinha. Kalyani, Nirmala's mother advises Lal not to spend too much money on Nirmala's marriage as he also has the duty of getting her second daughter, Krishna married. Angered by Kalyani's words, he decides to teach her a lesson by leaving his old dresses along the riverbank and going out to the next village for sometime to make Kalyani believe that he is dead. Lal was later murdered by his rival Mathayi, who was once tried in court by Lal and sentenced to jail. The death of Lal caused the Sinhas to withdraw from the arranged marriage since there was no longer a large dowry as anticipated prior to Lal's death. Kalyani writes a letter to Rangili bai, Bhuvanmohan sinha's mother telling about her pitiful situation. Rangili bai's effort of making her husband and son understand ends up in vain. With the help of Pandit Motaram, Kalyani searches a groom for Nirmala. Financial hardship forced Nirmala's mother, Kalyani, to marry her off to Totaram, a lawyer 20 years her senior. Totaram tried his best to seduce his beautiful young wife but to no avail. He once tells a false story that he killed two thieves who had big swords with them to make her feel that her husband is full of bravery. But Nirmala who knows that it is a false story, still smiles and acts as though she is happy. She had no feelings for him other than respect and a sense of duty, which fell short of the love he expected to receive from his wife.
Totaram had three sons from his first marriage. His eldest son Mansaram was only a year older than Nirmala. It was not long before Totaram grew suspicious of Nirmala due to his widow sister, Rukmini's words and her relationship with his son Mansaram. Jealousy and suspicion caused him to send Mansaram away to live in a hostel, a decision they all soon came to regret. Mansaram's health soon deteriorated in the hostel environment. It was Bhuvanmohan who treated Mansaram at the hospital. When Mansaram was in need of blood it was Nirmala who donated her blood after which Totaram realises his mistake. Bhuvanmohan learned about Nirmala, he arranged for his brother to marry Nirmala's sister, Krishna, as penance. Bhuvanmohan was haunted by his thoughts of Nirmala and her distress. Mansaram eventually died of tuberculosis.
Totaram was heartbroken and guilt ridden over his role in his son's death. Rukmini fuels the fire in Jiyaram and Siyaram that Nirmala was the reason for their brother's death. They believe in Rukmini's false words. It was not long thereafter when his second son, Jiyaram absconded with Nirmala's jewels and fled from Totaram's house. He later committed suicide. Totaram's third son Siyaram also fled, having been lured away by a false saint. Depressed over the loss of his sons, Totaram set off on a mission to find his only living son, Siyaram.
Meanwhile, Bhuvanmohan was back in Nirmala's life as the husband of her friend, Sudha. He tried to seduce Nirmala, but his wife learned of it and criticised him harshly. Bhuvanmohan became emotionally distressed, and out of sorrow and his love for her, he committed suicide. Depressed by the sad turn of events and her own failing health, Nirmala gave her daughter Asha to Rukhmini and died. A much older Totaram returned home to discover Nirmala had died. Rukmini realised her mistake.
## Characters
- Nirmala the protagonist; a 15-year-old girl, married off to Totaram who is 20 years her senior.
- Totaram Nirmala's husband, a lawyer of 35.
- Mansaram Totaram's eldest son from his first wife; suspected of having a relationship with Nirmala, and forces him out of the house to live in a hostel where he eventually dies.
- Jiyaram Totaram's second son from his first wife; he blames his father for the death of his older brother and flees from home after absconding with Nirmala's jewelry. He eventually commits suicide.
- Siyaram Totaram's third son from his first wife; he is lured away from his father's house by a false saint.
- Asha Totaram and Nirmala's daughter.
- Rukhmini Totaram's widowed sister.
- Udayabhanu Lal Nirmala's father.
- Kalyani Nirmala's mother.
- Krishna Nirmala's younger sister.
- Bhuvanmohan Sinha former fiancé of Nirmala. After the death of Nirmala's father, he learns there will not be a dowry and withdraws from the marriage.
- Sudha Bhuvanmohan's wife and the companion of Nirmala.
- Bhalchandra Sinha father of Bhuvanmohan Sinha.
- Rangili bai Bhalchandra sinha's wife and Bhuvanmohan sinha's mother.
- Pandit Motaram a wise priest.
- Bhungi maid in Totaram's house.
- Saros Nirmala Sister
- Sooraj Nirmala's Lover
- Samay Nirmala's uncle
## Background
Set against a background of pre–independent India, Nirmala depicts a realistic and picturesque portrait of the 1920s, the language and milieu of the era. It characterises the evils of the dowry system, and in doing so reflects the author's desire to bring about social reform and raise the status of women in society. The author's words illustrate his country's poor, and paints a picture of rural India consisting largely of a static society, the clashes of castes, its poverty and exploitation, and the rich character of its people. The novel covers a time span of about six years during which time Nirmala transitions from student to wife and thereafter, a mother. It was an era when self-respect and public image were of fundamental importance in the society. Eating meals was observed with an extreme ritualistic importance. In traditional homes, women did not eat with the men, and waited for them to finish before they were permitted to eat. There was also a fear of hospitals [and also of blood transfusion] which explains the hesitation of the character Totaram and his guilt over sending his son to a hospital. The generations that have passed since the novel was first written have seen dramatic changes in "attitude, sensibility and aspiration". Nirmala is a reflection of a time in Indian society when a young girl's "greatest sin was to require a husband who would accept her without a dowry".
## Publication
Nirmala was one of Premchand's most popular novels of its time in India, a time of oppression for women in Indian society that drew increasing attention from writers and poets. Prior to being published in its entirety, Nirmala was serialised in the magazine Chand between November 1925 and November 1926. It was during the time when Premchand first embarked on writing fiction based on contemporary social issues. Unlike his other works, Nirmala has a darker tone and ending, and its characters are less idealised. It was translated into English for the first time in 1988.
## Legacy
Francesca Orsini called it a prime example of Premchand's combination of social realism and drama. Gulzar believed the novel was a little outstretched, and had a tendency to repeat many emotions, but also had its diversions and contradictions. He further explained that Premchand specialised in subjects that revolved around a young girl under 18 years old who suddenly becomes a woman after marrying a man who is much older.
Many films based on the story's theme were also produced, such as Tehreer Munshi Premchand Ki directed by Gulzar and shown in Doordarshan. Nirmala's role was played by the Marathi actress Amruta Subhash who received many accolades.
Ananya Khare played the lead role in the Doordarshan TV serial Nirmala in 1987. |
# French ironclad Belliqueuse
The French ironclad Belliqueuse ("Bellicose") was a wooden-hulled, armored corvette, built for the French Navy in the 1860s and designed as a cheap ironclad. She was the first French ironclad to sail around the world, which she did between December 1867 and May 1869. She spent the bulk of her career in the Pacific before returning to Toulon, where she was used as a target in 1886.
## Design and description
Belliqueuse was designed as a small and cheap ironclad suitable for foreign deployments. Her armament and armor was concentrated in the middle of the ship like a central battery ironclad, but unlike those ships she lacked armored transverse bulkheads and was very vulnerable to raking fire. Like most ironclads of her era she was equipped with a bronze ram; hers weighed 2,200 kilograms (4,900 lb).
Belliqueuse measured 68.05 meters (223 ft 3 in) at the waterline and 70 meters (229 ft 8 in) between perpendiculars, with a beam of 14.01 meters (46 ft). She had a draft of 6.97 meters (22 ft 10 in) and displaced 3,777 metric tons (3,717 long tons).
### Propulsion
The ship had a single horizontal return connecting-rod steam engine driving a single propeller. Her engine was powered by four oval boilers. The engine produced a total of 1,200 indicated horsepower (890 kW) and gave a top speed of 11 knots (20 km/h; 13 mph). On sea trials the engine produced 1,227 indicated horsepower (915 kW) and the ship reached 11.83 knots (21.91 km/h; 13.61 mph). Belliqueuse carried 250 metric tons (250 long tons) of coal which allowed the ship to steam for 1,410 nautical miles (2,610 km; 1,620 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).
Belliqueuse was barque-rigged; initially she had a sail area of 1,450 square meters (15,600 sq ft), but this was later increased to 1,800 square metres (19,000 sq ft) in 1869.
### Armament
Belliqueuse mounted her four 194-millimeter (7.6 in) Modèle 1864 guns in the central battery on the battery deck along with four of her six 164-millimeter (6.5 in) Modèle 1864 guns. The other two 164 mm guns were carried on pivot mounts fore and aft on the upper deck. She was partially rearmed in 1870 and exchanged her 164 mm pivot guns for a pair of 138-millimeter (5.4 in) Modèle 1870 guns. In addition four 37-millimeter (1.5 in) Hotchkiss 5-barrel revolving guns each were added. They fired a shell weighing about 500 g (1.1 lb) at a muzzle velocity of about 610 m/s (2,000 ft/s) to a range of about 3,200 meters (3,500 yd). They had a rate of fire of about 30 rounds per minute.
### Armor
Belliqueuse was completely armored with 150 millimeters (5.9 in) of wrought iron from the battery deck down to 1.5 meters (4 ft 11 in) below the waterline. The sides of the battery itself were protected with 120 millimeters (4.7 in) of armor, but the ends were closed only by light screens. Fore and aft of the battery, her sides were unprotected.
## Service
Belliqueuse was laid down at Toulon in September 1863, and launched on 6 September 1865. The ship began her sea trials on 30 December 1865, but did not enter service until 30 October 1866. That day she was commissioned as the flagship of the Pacific Station under command of Contre-amiral (Rear Admiral) Jérôme-Hyacinthe Penhoat. On 22 December 1867, the ship departed Toulon in an attempt to circumnavigate the world. Belliqueuse arrived at Brest on 26 May 1869 after 396 days at sea, the first French ironclad to do so. On 15 November 1869 she hoisted the flag of Rear Admiral Chevalier as commander of the Levant Squadron. During 1870 she was transferred to New Caledonia as flagship of the Western Pacific Division (Division de l'Océanie Occidentale), but returned to Toulon on 5 June 1871 after Chevalier's death. In 1872 the ship was sent to the China Station and relieved the French ironclad Alma as flagship of the station on 1 October 1872. She returned to Toulon on 3 May 1874.
Belliqueuse served with the Squadron of Evolutions (Escadre d'évolution) for six months from 5 June 1877 and was reduced to reserve afterwards. She was paid off on 15 November 1884 and struck off the navy list on 3 May 1886. Belliqueuse was then used as a target in experiments with high capacity shells. Belliqueuse was sold at Toulon for demolition in 1889. |
# Sermons of Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift, as Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, produced many sermons during his tenure from 1713 to 1745. Although Swift is better known today for his secular writings such as Gulliver's Travels, A Tale of a Tub or the Drapier's Letters, Swift was known in Dublin for his sermons that were delivered every fifth Sunday. Of these sermons, Swift wrote down 35, of which 12 have been preserved. In his sermons Swift attempted to impart traditional Church of Ireland values to his listeners in a plain manner.
Of the surviving twelve sermons, four have received serious consideration: "Doing Good", "False Witness", "Mutual Subjection" and "Testimony of Conscience". These sermons deal with political matters and are used to give insight to Swift's political writing; the sermon "Doing Good" and its relationship with the Drapier's Letters is one such example. However, the audience at St. Patrick's Cathedral did not come to hear connections to political works, but to enjoy the well-known preacher and be "moved by his manners".
Each sermon begins with a scriptural passage that reinforces the ideas that will be discussed in the sermon and each was preceded with the same opening prayer (which Swift also delivered). The sermons are plainly written and apply a common-sense approach to contemporary moral issues in Dublin. Swift patterned his sermons on the plain style of the Book of Common Prayer and the Church of Ireland Authorized Version of the Bible.
## Background
As Dean of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Jonathan Swift spent every fifth Sunday preaching from the pulpit. Although many of his friends suggested that he should publish these sermons, Swift felt that he lacked the talent as a preacher to make his sermons worthy of publication. Instead, Swift spent his time working more on political works, such as Drapier's Letters, and justified this by his lacking in religions areas.
Members of St. Patrick's community would ask, "Pray, does the Doctor preach today?" Swift's sermons had the reputation of being spoken "with an emphasis and fervor which everyone around him saw, and felt." In response to such encouragement to preach, Swift was reported to say that he "could never rise higher than preaching pamphlets." Swift's friend, Dr. John Arbuthnot, claimed, "I can never imagine any man can be uneasy, that has the opportunity of venting himself to a whole congregation once a week." Regardless of what Swift thought of himself, the cathedral was always crowded during his sermons.
Swift wrote out his sermons before preaching and marked his words to provide the correct pronunciation or to emphasise the word ironically. He always practised reading his sermons, and, as Davis claims, "he would (in his own expression) pick up the lines, and cheat his people, by making them believe he had it all by heart." However, he wanted to express the truth of his words and impart this truth in a down-to-earth manner that could be understood by his listeners.
Swift believed that a preacher had to be understood, and states, "For a divine hath nothing to say to the wisest congregation of any parish in this kingdom, which he may not express in a manner to be understood by the meanest among them." He elaborates further when he says, "The two principal branches of preaching, are first to tell the people what is their duty; and then to convince them that it is so."
Shortly before his death, Swift gave the collection of 35 sermons to Dr. Thomas Sheridan, saying, "You may have them if you please; they maybe of use to you, they never were of any to me." In 1744, George Faulkner, the Dublin publisher of Swift's 1735 Works, printed the sermons entitled "On Mutual Subjection," "On Conscience," and "On the Trinity."
## Surviving sermons
There are twelve surviving sermons that have been collected, and each sermon was introduced with a corresponding scriptural passage and the following prayer given by Swift:
> Almighty and most merciful God\! forgive us all our sins. Give us grace heartily to repent them, and to lead new lives. Graft in our hearts a true love and veneration for thy holy name and word. Make thy pastors burning and shining lights, able to convince gainsayers, and to save others and themselves. Bless this congregation here met together in thy name; grant them to hear and receive thy holy word, to the salvation of their own souls. Lastly, we desire to return thee praise and thanksgiving for all thy mercies bestowed upon us; but chiefly for the Fountain of them all, Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name and words we further call upon thee, saying, 'Our Father,' \&c."
The order of the sermons is presented according to the 1763 Sermons of the Reverend Dr. Jonathan Swift "carefully corrected" edition, which published the first nine of the twelve known sermons.
### On the Trinity
Its introductory passage from scripture comes from First Epistle of John 5:7 – "For there are three that bear record in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these Three are One."
Swift relies on 1 Corinthians in this sermon, but unlike other uses by Swift of 1 Corinthians, his use of the epistle in "On the Trinity" describe man's inability to understand the complex workings of God. Swift states "Behold I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed." The primarily use of this sermon is to describe the divine mysteries in a simple manner; Swift is not giving answers to the mysteries, but only explaining how Christians are to understand them. Swift attempts to describe the ambiguous nature of the Trinity and how many should understand it when he says:
> Therefore I shall again repeat the doctrine of the Trinity, as it is positively affirmed in Scripture: that God is there expressed in three different names, as Father, as Son, and as Holy Ghost: that each of these is God, and that there is but one God. But this union and distinction are a mystery utterly unknown to mankind.
Although Swift constantly answers moral problems with common sense and reason, Swift believed that reason cannot be used when it comes to the divine mysteries. Instead, faith is all that man needs and, as Swift claims:
> This is enough for any good Christian to believe on this great article, without ever inquiring any farther: And, this can be contrary to no man's reason, although the knowledge of it is hid from him.
### On Mutual Subjection
"On Mutual Subjection" was first given on 28 February 1718, and it was first printed in 1744. Its introductory passage from scripture comes from First Epistle of Peter 5:5 – "--Yea, all of you be subject one to another."
The sermon relies on scripture to emphasise the divine will in calling people to serve their fellow men, which is a common theme in Swift's sermons. This calling, as Swift claims, is based on historical events that reinforce scripture and allow mankind to know of the divine will. In particular, the development of the state and of the human body are parallel to each other, and England may soon be entering into a decline. However, Swift emphasises that man is imperfect, and that sin is a symbol of this imperfectness.
Swift summarises this message with the Parable of the Talents as he says:
> God sent us into the world to obey His commands, by doing as much good as our abilities will reach, and as little evil as our many infirmities will permit. Some He hath only trusted with one talent, some with five, and some with ten. No man is without his talent; and he that is faithful or negligent in a little shall be rewarded or punished, as well as he that hath been so in a great deal." To this John Boyle, Lord Orrery states, "A clearer style, or a discourse more properly adapted to a public audience, can scarce be framed. Every paragraph is simple, nervous, and intelligible. The threads of each argument are closely connected and logically pursued.
Although the sermon deals primarily with subjection to higher powers, some of Swift's contemporaries viewed the sermon as political propaganda. John Evans, Bishop of Meath, told the Archbishop of Canterbury that he heard "a strange sermon... It was somewhat like one of Montaigne's essays, making very free with all orders and degrees of men among us – lords, bishops, \&c. men in power. The pretended subjects were pride and humiliation." He later continued to claim that "in short, [Swift] is thought to be Tory... all over, which (here) is reckon'd by every honest man Jacobite."
However, Evans may have overly emphasised a political interpretation of the sermon for his own political gain; the see of Derry had just opened and Evans wished to have his friend William Nicolson take the position. Evans' political intrigue provoked Swift during an inspection of the clergy of Meath at Trim. Swift, as vicar of Laracor spoke during a synod to defend himself, his sermons, and his politics, and instead of resolving the issue, only caused more dispute between the two.
The emphasis on religious unity, also found in "On the Wisdom of this World", comes from Swift's understanding of St. Paul's treatment of religious dissension among the early Christians. Paul's words, "that there should be no schism in the body", were important in the formation of this sermon, and served as part of Swift's encouragement to the people of Ireland to follow the same religion.
### On the Testimony of Conscience
"On the Testimony of Conscience" was first printed in 1744. Its introductory passage from scripture comes from 2 Corinthians 1:12 – "For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience." Part of the sermon relied on discussing the nature of rewards and punishments to come in the afterlife.
Religious dissension is the topic of this sermon and argues that dissenters do not want to embrace freedom, but instead exist only to destroy established Churches, especially the Church of Ireland. In the sermon, Swift conflates all dissenters with the Whig political party, and they are "those very persons, who under a pretence of a public spirit and tenderness towards their Christian brethrene, are so jealous for such a liberty of conscience as this, are of all others the least tender to those who differ from them in the smallest point relating to government." To Swift, tolerating dissent is the same as tolerating blasphemy.
The work is filled with innuendo towards the rule of King George and his toleration of Whigs and dissenters as tyrannical; Swift claims that a leader who tolerates religious dissenters was like a "heathen Emperor, who said, if the gods were offended, it was their own concern, and they were able to vindicate themselves." To Swift, such leaders would eventually lose power, because God's divine will manifests itself in historic outcomes.
In particular, Swift relies on a quote from Tiberius, as reported by Tacitus, to describe the "heathen" thoughts. Swift relied on Tiberius' quote when mocking leaders who would undermine religious unity or those who were completely opposed to Christianity, such as in An Argument against Abolishing Christianity. Swift believed in the need for citizens to be required to follow Anglican religious practices and to honor the king as head of the Church, and a king who would who did not believe in the same could be nothing less than pagan.
Part of the sermon is dedicated to comparing the actions of the Irish church, in its struggle against religious dissenters and political uncertainty, with that of the primitive church. In particular, Swift claims, "For a man's Conscience can go no higher than his Knowledge; and therefore until he has thoroughly examined by Scripture, and the practice of the ancient Church, whether those points are blamable or no, his Conscience cannot possibly direct him to condemn them." However, Swift does not believe that experience alone could make one capable of understanding virtue or being capable of teaching virtue.
Regardless of the innuendo about Roman religious tyranny or comparisons to early Christian history, the sermon is given, as Ehrenpreis claims, with an "air of simplicity, frankness, common sense, and spontaneity" that "disarms the listener." This sermon, in its plain language, is able to convey Swift's message in a manner that could be seen as contradictory if it was embellished by history, allusions, or complex reasoning.
### On Brotherly Love
"On Brotherly Love" was given on 29 November 1717. Its introductory passage from scripture comes from Hebrews 8:1 – "Let brotherly love continue."
Although Swift is preaching on "brotherly love", he dwells on the topic of true religion and political dissent, and he uses his sermon to preach against those who are politically and religiously different from himself and the members of St. Patrick's community. He introduces this claim when he says:
> This nation of ours hath, for an hundred years past, been infested by two enemies, the Papists and fanatics, who, each in their turns, filled it with blood and slaughter, and, for a time, destroyed both the Church and government. The memory of these events hath put all true Protestants equally upon their guard against both these adversaries, who, by consequence, do equally hate us. The fanatics revile us, as too nearly approaching to Popery; and the Papists condemn us, as bordering too much on fanaticism. The Papists, God be praised, are, by the wisdom of our laws, put out of all visible possibility of hurting us; besides, their religion is so generally abhorred, that they have no advocates or abettors among Protestants to assist them. But the fanatics are to be considered in another light; they have had of late years the power, the luck, or the cunning, to divide us among ourselves;
Throughout this sermon, Swift emphasises that history is connected to the divine will throughout this sermon to criticise those who dissent. For example:
> And others again, whom God had formed with mild and gentle dispositions, think it necessary to put a force upon their own tempers, by acting a noisy, violent, malicious part, as a means to be distinguished. Thus hath party got the better of the very genius and constitution of our people; so that whoever reads the character of the English in former ages, will hardly believe their present posterity to be of the same nation or climate.
This work was printed and distributed as a solo tract in 1754.
### On the Difficulty of Knowing One's Self
Although "On the Difficulty of Knowing One's Self" was printed in 1745 along with some of Swift's other sermons, its authorship is not completely established, since the original printing of the work came with the following disclaimer:
> The manuscript title page of the following sermon being lost, and no memorandum writ upon it, as there were upon the others, when and where it was preached, made the editor doubtful whether he should print it as the Dean's, or not. But its being found amongst the same papers; and the hand, though writ somewhat better, bearing a great similitude to the Dean's, made him willing to lay it before the public, that they might judge whether the style and manner also does not render it still more probable to be his."
The sermon deals with the issues of understanding one's self and how to act towards others in a Christian manner. Its introductory passage from scripture comes from 2 Kings 8:13 -"And Hazael said, But what, is thy servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?" and the sermon concludes with the golden rule:
> let him keep an eye upon that one great comprehensive rule of Christian duty, on which hangs, not only the law and the prophets, but the very life and spirit of the Gospel too: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them." Which rule, that we may all duly observe, by throwing aside all scandal and detraction, all spite and rancour, all rudeness and contempt, all rage and violence, and whatever tends to make conversation and commerce either uneasy, or troublesome, may the God of peace grant for Jesus Christ his sake, \&c.
Swift relies on Gospel of Matthew in this sermon (Swift quotes from the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:12) instead of the other Gospels; this is standard practice for Swift, because the Gospel features a simple, non-controversial history that complements Swift's religious views.
### On False Witness
"On False Witness" was given in 1715. Its introductory passage from scripture comes from Exodus 20:16 – "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour."
This sermon deals primarily with the topic of informers; an informer had produced evidence that Swift was breaching King George's order against preachers involving themselves in political matters. Swift, as a Tory propagandist, had been sent a package from another Tory; the package was intercepted by a customs officer and it put Swift into hot water from the Whig politicians in power at the time. The sermon was used to attack those who "catch up an accidental word" and misstate situations to hurt others. Swift alludes to such people when he says:
> Such witnesses are those who cannot hear an idle intemperate expression, but they must immediately run to the magistrate to inform; or perhaps wrangling in their cups over night, when they were not able to speak or apprehend three words of common sense, will pretend to remember everything the next morning, and think themselves very properly qualified to be accusers of their brethren. God be thanked, the throne of our King is too firmly settled to be shaken by the folly and rashness of every sottish companion.
Half of the sermon is used to criticise the Whigs and their political activities. The other half is devoted to condemning Tories who betray other Tories as criminals, to gain favour with the Whigs. The Whigs are characterised as the persecutors of the early Christians, and betraying Tories are characterised as apostates.
Although King George I had issued a royal edict against speaking about political informers in regards to potential Jacobite rebellion, Swift felt that the issue was necessary to not only defend himself, but to defend all politically oppressed people. Immediately after the sermon, Prime Minister Robert Walpole used his power to form "The Committee of Secrecy" and deemed that Swift's allies, Lord Bolingbroke, Lord Oxford, Lord Strafford, and Duke Ormonde would be sent to the Tower of London. However, Lord Bolingbroke and Duke Ormonde fled to France, and Oxford was taken to the Tower. This placed Swift at a political disadvantage, but he was mostly ignored.
### On the Poor Man's Contentment
Its introductory passage from scripture comes from Epistle to the Philippians 4:11 – "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content".
In this sermon, Swift was worried about how guilt affects mankind or how the lack of guilt is a sign of mankind's problems: "the Shortness of his Life; his Dread of a future State, with his Carelessness to prepare for it." He explains this:
> And, it is a mistake to think, that the most hardened sinner, who oweth his possessions or titles to any such wicked arts of thieving, can have true peace of mind, under the reproaches of a guilty conscience, and amid the cries of ruined widows and orphans.
Swift is trying to convince his listeners that they needed to contemplate their life and their death, and that they need to understand the rewards and punishments that await them in the afterlife. He emphasises this point when he explains the importance of meekness and modesty:
> Since our blessed Lord, instead of a rich and honourable station in this world, was pleased to choose his lot among men of the lower condition; let not those, on whom the bounty of Providence hath bestowed wealth and honours, despise the men who are placed in a humble and inferior station; but rather, with their utmost power, by their countenance, by their protection, by just payment of their honest labour, encourage their daily endeavours for the support of themselves and their families. On the other hand, let the poor labour to provide things honest in the sight of all men; and so, with diligence in their several employments, live soberly, righteously, and godlily in this present world, that they may obtain that glorious reward promised in the Gospel to the poor, I mean the kingdom of Heaven.
But it is not just knowing your own fate in the afterlife, but also recognising the good in others and respecting that good.
### On the Wretched Condition of Ireland
The sermon is properly titled "A Sermon on the Wretched Conditions of Ireland". Its introductory passage from scripture comes from Psalms 144: 14–15 – "That there be no complaining in our streets. Happy is the people that is in such a case."
This sermon has been characterised as being particularly grounded in politics, and Swift sums up many of the political issues that he had previously addressed in pamphlets and essays. The solution to fixing the misery of the Irish people is:
> to found a school in every parish of the kingdom, for teaching the meaner and poorer sort of children to speak and read the English tongue, and to provide a reasonable maintenance for the teachers. This would, in time, abolish that part of barbarity and ignorance, for which our natives are so despised by all foreigners: this would bring them to think and act according to the rules of reason, by which a spirit of industry, and thrift, and honesty would be introduced among them. And, indeed, considering how small a tax would suffice for such a work, it is a public scandal that such a thing should never have been endeavoured, or, perhaps, so much as thought on.
However, lack of education is not the only problem for Ireland; many problems come from the vices of the Irish citizenry. These vices span the way of dress to the inactivity of the common person. To correct the problems of Ireland, Swift emphasises the need for his people to contribute to various charities, and concludes:
> I might here, if the time would permit, offer many arguments to persuade to works of charity; but you hear them so often from the pulpit, that I am willing to hope you may not now want them. Besides, my present design was only to shew where your alms would be best bestowed, to the honour of God, your own ease and advantage, the service of your country, and the benefit of the poor. I desire you will all weigh and consider what I have spoken, and, according to your several stations and abilities, endeavour to put it in practice;
Some critics have seen Swift as hopeless in regards to actual change for Ireland. The rich could never change from their absentee landlord mentality that has stripped Ireland of its economic independence, and that is why Swift spends the majority of his sermon discussing the poor. Swift proposes a remedy of sorts that would help the poor; they should be educated and the free travel of beggars should be restricted. These ideas were intended to limit the amount that the poor consumed in society, which, combined with a proposal for the poor to act more virtuously, should correct many of the problems that plague Ireland, but these ideas were never put into effect.
### On Sleeping in Church
Its introductory passage from scripture comes from Acts of the Apostles 20:9 – "And there sat in a window a certain young man, named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep; and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead."
In this sermon, Swift criticises a "decay" in preaching that has led to people falling asleep in church. Throughout the Sermon, Swift constantly relies on the Parable of the Sower. Swift emphasises the wording of St. Matthew when he says, "whose Hearts are waxed gross, whose Ears are dulled of hearing, and whose eyes are closed," and he uses "eyes are closed" to connect back to those sleeping in Church.
People not attending Church is another problem addressed in the sermon. Swift states:
> Many men come to church to save or gain a reputation; or because they will not be singular, but comply with an established custom; yet, all the while, they are loaded with the guilt of old rooted sins. These men can expect to hear of nothing but terrors and threatenings, their sins laid open in true colours, and eternal misery the reward of them; therefore, no wonder they stop their ears, and divert their thoughts, and seek any amusement rather than stir the hell within them."
He describes these people as:
> Men whose minds are much enslaved to earthly affairs all the week, cannot disengage or break the chain of their thoughts so suddenly, as to apply to a discourse that is wholly foreign to what they have most at heart."
The people are unwilling to be confronted by the results of their actions in the afterlife, and it is this problem that Swift wants to prevent.
### On the Wisdom of this World
"On the Wisdom of this World" was originally titled "A Sermon upon the Excellence of Christianity in Opposition to Heathen Philosophy" in the 1765 edition of Swift's Works. Its introductory passage from scripture comes from I Corinthians 3:19 – "The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God." This sermon emphasises the nature of rewards and punishments, and how such aspects of Christianity had been lacking in the classical philosophies.
Except for The Gospel of St. Matthew, Swift relied on I Corinthians more than any other Biblical book. I Corinthians was a favourite work for Swift to rely on, because the epistle emphasises how to act as a proper Christian and how to conform to united principles. Although the Anglican mass emphasises the Epistle to the Romans, Swift relied on Corinthians in order to combat religious schismatic tendencies in a similar manner to his criticism of dissenters in "On Mutual Subjection".
However, a second aspect of I Corinthians also enters into the sermon; Swift relies on it to promote the idea that reason can be used to comprehend the world, but "excellency of speech" is false when it comes to knowledge about the divine. To this, Swift said, "we must either believe what God directly commandeth us in Holy Scripture, or we must wholly reject the Scripture, and the Christian Religion which we pretend to confess".
### On Doing Good
"On Doing Good: A Sermon on the Occasion of Wood's Project" was given in 1724. Its introductory passage from scripture comes from Galatians 6:10 -"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men."
It is unsure when the sermon was actually given, but some critics suggest it was read immediately following the publication of Swift's Letter to the Whole People of Ireland while others place it in October 1724.
According to Sophie Smith, Swift's "On Doing Good" sermon is about a patriotic ideal that is "higher than most ideals published in text-books on that subject." "On Doing Good" calls the people to act on a higher level of ethics, which Smith describes as "Baconian".
Smith claims that Swift discusses this ideal when he says:
> Under the title of our neighbour, there is yet a duty of a more large, extensive nature incumbent on us – our love to our neighbour is his public capacity, as he is a member of that greatly body, the Commonwealth, under the same government with ourselves, and this is usually called love of the public, and is a duty to which we are more strictly obliged than even that of loving ourselves, because wherein ourselves are also contained – as well as all our neighbours – is one great body.
And:
> But here I would not be misunderstood. By the love of our country, I do not mean loyalty to our King, for that is a duty of another nature, and a man may be very loyal, in the common sense of the word, without one grain of public good in his heart. Witness this very kingdom we live in. I verily believe, that since the beginning of the world, no nation upon earth ever shewed (all circumstances considered), such high constant marks of loyalty in all their action and behaviour as we have done; and at the same time, no people ever appeared more utterly void of what is called public spirit ... therefore, I shall think my time not ill-spent if I can persuade most and all of you who hear me, to shew the love you have for your country by endeavouring in your several situations to do all the public good you can. For I am certain persuaded that all our misfortunes arise from no other original cause than that general disregard among us to the public welfare.
Swift felt that it was his duty as Dean to raise the "Irish self-esteem" to liberate the Irish from English economic oppression.
Beyond basic "self-esteem" issues, Swift used the sermon to reinforce the moral arguments incorporated into the Drapier's Letters with religious doctrine and biblical authority. One image, that of Nineveh and Nimrod, appears in both the sermon and the letters. Nimrod represents Ireland's desire to coin its own currency and he is a warning to the English that Ireland will not tolerate England's despotic control. Furthermore, the use of "Nineveh" reinforces Swift's claim that Ireland is under "God's special providence".
Because of the correlation between this sermon and the Drapier's Letters, Swift remarked, "I never preached but twice in my life; and then they were not sermons, but pamphlets.... They were against Wood's halfpence." Even if this sermon was more of a pamphlet, Swift emphasises the divine will and how it guides history. Like the Drapier's Letters, "On Doing Good" caused the Irish people to respect Swift as a hero and a patriot.
### On the Martyrdom of King Charles I
"On the Martyrdom of King Charles I" was given on 30 January 1725. Its introductory passage from scripture comes from Genesis 49:5–7 –
> Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations./ O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall./ Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
The letter served two purposes: the first was to honour the martyrdom of King Charles I and the second was to criticise dissenters against the Church of Ireland. Swift emphasises both when he says:
> I know very well, that the Church hath been often censured for keeping holy this day of humiliation, in memory of that excellent king and blessed martyr, Charles I, who rather chose to die on a scaffold, than betray the religion and liberties of his people, wherewith God and the laws had entrusted him."
To Swift, the dissent that led to King Charles I's martyrdom defied God's divine will.
Swift concludes his sermon with:
> On the other side, some look upon kings as answerable for every mistake or omission in government, and bound to comply with the most unreasonable demands of an unquiet faction; which was the case of those who persecuted the blessed Martyr of this day from his throne to the scaffold. Between these two extremes, it is easy, from what hath been said, to choose a middle; to be good and loyal subjects, yet, according to your power, faithful assertors of your religion and liberties; to avoid all broachers and preachers of newfangled doctrines in the Church; to be strict observers of the laws, which cannot be justly taken from you without your own consent: In short, 'to obey God and the King, and meddle not with those who are given to change.'
## Reception
Lord Orrery favourably described that some of Swift's sermons were more properly moral or political essays. Lord Orrery prefaced the 1763 edition of The Sermons with:
> These Sermons are curious; and curious for such reason as would make other works despicable. They were written in a careless hurrying manner; and were the offspring of necessity, not of choice: so that one will see the original force of the Dean's genius more in these compositions, that were the legitimate sons of duty, than in other pieces that were natural sons of love.
The Bishop of Meath, John Evans, agreed with Lord Orrery's critique of the sermons as political works, and he compared a sermon to the writing of Montaigne.
Sir Walter Scott wrote:
> The Sermons of Swift have none of that thunder which appals, or that resistless and winning softness which melts, the hearts of an audience. He can never have enjoyed the triumph of uniting hundreds in one ardent sentiment of love, of terror, or of devotion. His reasoning, however powerful, and indeed unanswerable, convinces the understanding, but is never addressed to the heart; and, indeed, from his instructions to a young clergyman, he seems hardly to have considered pathos as a legitimate ingredient in an English sermon. Occasionally, too, Swift's misanthropic habits break out even from the pulpit; nor is he altogether able to suppress his disdain of those fellow mortals, on whose behalf was accomplished the great work of redemption. With such unamiable feelings towards his hearers, the preacher might indeed command their respect, but could never excite their sympathy. It may be feared that his Sermons were less popular from another cause, imputable more to the congregation than to the pastor. Swift spared not the vice of rich or poor; and, disdaining to amuse the imaginations of his audience with discussion of dark points of divinity, or warm them by a flow of sentimental devotion, he rushes at once to the point of moral depravity, and upbraids them with their favourite and predominant vices in a tone of stern reproof, bordering upon reproach. In short, he tears the bandages from their wounds, like the hasty surgeon of a crowded hospital, and applies the incision knife and caustic with salutary, but rough and untamed severity. But, alas\! the mind must be already victorious over the worst of its evil propensities, that can profit by this harsh medicine. There is a principle of opposition in our nature, which mans itself with obstinacy even against avowed truth, when it approaches our feelings in a harsh and insulting manner. And Swift was probably sensible, that his discourses, owing to these various causes, did not produce the powerful effects most grateful to the feelings of the preacher, because they reflect back to him those of the audience.
> But although the Sermons of Swift are deficient in eloquence, and were lightly esteemed by their author, they must not be undervalued by the modern reader. They exhibit, in an eminent degree, that powerful grasp of intellect which distinguished the author above all his contemporaries. In no religious discourses can be found more sound good sense, more happy and forcible views of the immediate subject. The reasoning is not only irresistible, but managed in a mode so simple and clear, that its force is obvious to the most ordinary capacity. Upon all subjects of morality, the preacher maintains the character of a rigid and inflexible monitor; neither admitting apology for that which is wrong, nor softening the difficulty of adhering to that which is right; a stern stoicism of doctrine, that may fail in finding many converts, but leads to excellence in the few manly minds who dare to embrace it. In treating the doctrinal points of belief, (as in his Sermon upon the Trinity,) Swift systematically refuses to quit the high and pre-eminent ground which the defender of Christianity is entitled to occupy, or to submit to the test of human reason, mysteries which are placed, by their very nature, far beyond our finite capacities. Swift considered, that, in religion, as in profane science, there must be certain ultimate laws which are to be received as fundamental truths, although we are incapable of defining or analysing their nature; and he censures those divines, who, in presumptuous confidence of their own logical powers, enter into controversy upon such mysteries of faith, without considering that they give thereby the most undue advantage to the infidel. Our author wisely and consistently declared reason an incompetent judge of doctrines, of which God had declared the fact, concealing from man the manner. He contended, that he who, upon the whole, receives the Christian religion as of divine inspiration, must be contented to depend upon God's truth, and his holy word, and receive with humble faith the mysteries which are too high for comprehension. Above all, Swift points out, with his usual forcible precision, the mischievous tendency of those investigations which, while they assail one fundamental doctrine of the Christian religion, shake and endanger the whole fabric, destroy the settled faith of thousands, pervert and mislead the genius of the learned and acute, destroy and confound the religious principles of the simple and ignorant.
Scott's contemporary Edmund Burke said concerning Swift's sermon on "Doing Good,":
> The pieces relating to Ireland are those of a public nature; in which the Dean appears, as usual, in the best light, because they do honour to his heart as well as to his head; furnishing some additional proofs, that, though he was very free in his abuse of the inhabitants of that country, as well natives as foreigners, he had their interest sincerely at heart, and perfectly understood it. His sermon upon Doing Good, though peculiarly adapted to Ireland and Wood's designs upon it, contains perhaps the best motives to patriotism that were ever delivered within so small a compass.
## In Swift's later works
- Aspects of "On False Witness" are used by Gulliver in his attack against informers.
- "On Doing Good" is alluded to in the Drapier's fifth letter.
- "On Doing Good" is mentioned in the Drapier's sixth letter when he states, "I did very lately, as I thought it my duty, preach to the people under my inspection, upon the subject of Mr. Wood's coin; and although I never heard that my sermon gave the least offence, as I am sure none was intended; yet, if it were now printed and published, I cannot say, I would insure it from the hands of the common hangman; or my own person from those of a messenger." |
# Dhoom 2
Dhoom 2 (), also known as Dhoom 2: Back in Action, is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language caper action thriller film directed by Sanjay Gadhvi with script and dialogues written by Vijay Krishna Acharya from a story by Aditya Chopra, who produced the film under Yash Raj Films. The film, a sequel to Dhoom and the second installment of the Dhoom series, stars Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, and Uday Chopra.
Dhoom 2 was shot primarily in India, Durban and Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first major Hindi film to be shot in Brazil. Dhoom 2 was released on 24 November 2006 to positive reviews from critics, with praise for its action sequences, soundtrack, cinematography and cast performances (particularly Roshan), but criticism for its script and pacing. The film grossed over ₹1.514 billion and became the highest grossing Hindi film of 2006. It was also the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time at the time of its release, later being surpassed by Om Shanti Om, and the second highest-grossing Bollywood film in overseas markets behind Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.
At the 52nd Filmfare Awards, Dhoom 2 received 8 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Gadhvi) and Best Actress (Rai), and won Best Actor (Roshan). The film also marks the second collaboration between Roshan and Bachchan after Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon (2003), and the fourth collaboration between Bachchan and Rai after Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000), Kuch Naa Kaho (2003) and Umrao Jaan (2006).
Dhoom 2 also proved to be controversial post release, as there was an appeal by the Mumbai city police commissioner to censor the fast-paced rash driving scenes due to fears that it would inspire Indian youths to ride their motorcycles rashly, resulting in an increase in the number of road accidents. A sequel titled Dhoom 3 was released on 20 December 2013. Abhishek Bachchan has since named Dhoom 2 as his favorite film in the series.
## Plot
In the Namib Desert. Mr. A skydives onto a train that is carrying Queen Elizabeth II, where he steals her crown by disguising himself as the Queen, beats her guards and escapes. A.C.P Jai Dixit and newly promoted Sub Inspector Ali Akbar Khan are introduced to Shonali Bose, Jai's best friend and a special officer assigned to investigate Mr. A's case. During the initial investigation, Jai analyses the underlying trend in Mr. A's heists and concludes that the theft will follow in one of two famous Mumbai city museums. Jai realizes that the artifact in the museum, which he is guarding, happens to be imperfect and rushes to the other museum, where a disguised Mr. A steals a rare diamond and escapes from the museum.
Mr. A is about to catch a flight, but he sees on the TV that someone else is claiming to be himself. The imposter challenges the cops by saying that they will steal an ancient warrior sword. In response, Jai, Shonali and Khan enforce a strict guard at the location of the sword. Mr. A meets the thief who made the claim on TV in the room that holds the sword. The police are alerted, but they manage to steal the sword. Shonali is injured in the confrontation and they manage to escape. The impersonator turns out to be Sunehri, a woman who idolises Mr. A. Sunehri wants to form an alliance with Mr. A, but he turns her down. After a game of basketball between Mr. A and Sunehri, Mr. A finally agrees to work together.
In Rio de Janeiro, Mr. A and Sunehri plan their next heist. As Jai's analysis has named Rio as the location of Mr. A's next heist, Jai and Ali travel there and meet Monali, Shonali's twin sister. Later, Sunehri meets with Jai to discuss her partnership with Mr. A, revealing that they are working together and Jai has promised Sunehri freedom from prison in exchange. The plan is for Sunehri to get close to Mr. A and find out his next plan so that the police can arrest him, but she begins to have her doubts. Mr. A and Sunehri fall in love with each other, where he unveils his real identity as Aryan Singhania. During the Rio Carnival, Aryan, disguised as one of the entertainers, sees Sunehri and Jai together and realizes that Sunehri has been working undercover for Jai.
The next day, Aryan forces Sunehri to play a game of Russian roulette, though she doesn't want to shoot him. After six attempted shots, neither is killed, because Aryan never loaded the gun. Sunehri admits that she betrayed Aryan and confesses her love for him. In their final heist, Aryan and Sunehri steals some early Lydian coins while disguised as performing dwarfs. With the heist successfully pulled off, Jai realises that he has been betrayed, as Sunehri called him on the phone to reveal that she wants to stay with Aryan and breaks off their deal, forcing Jai and Ali to chase them. After the chase, all of them end up on the top of a waterfall, where Ali catches Sunehri. Sunehri, despite conveying her feelings for Aryan, shoots him. Aryan falls from the waterfall, after which Jai allows Sunehri to go free.
Six months later, it is revealed that Aryan survived and has opened a restaurant in the Fiji islands with Sunehri. Jai meets Aryan and Sunehri at the restaurant and states that he does not wish to imprison the couple despite their crimes. Aryan reveals that the all stolen artifacts can be found via a digital watch. Jai is aware of the couple's feelings towards each other and releases them with a warning against returning to their life of crime. After leaving, Jai receives a phone call, and informs Ali that they should be heading back to India for their next case.
## Cast
- Hrithik Roshan as Aryan Singhania ("Mr. A")
- Abhishek Bachchan as A.C.P Jai Dixit
- Aishwarya Rai as Sunheri Kaur, a thief and Mr. A's love interest
- Bipasha Basu in a dual role as
- A.C.P Shonali Bose, Jai's colleague
- Monali Bose (Shonali's twin sister), Ali's love interest
- Uday Chopra as Sub Inspector Ali Akbar Fateh Khan, Jai's right-hand man
- Rimi Sen as Sweety Dixit, Jai's wife (special appearance)
- Yusuf Hussain as Mumbai Police Commissioner
- Mohit Chauhan as Chief Security Guard
- Sushant Singh Rajput as an uncredited background dancer behind Hrithik Roshan in song "Dhoom Again"
## Production
### Development
The Dhoom franchise began with the release of Dhoom in 2004. The film emerged as a commercial success at the box-office and received positive reviews from audiences, but mixed-to-negative reviews from critics. As a result, producer Yash Chopra announced plans for a sequel, titled Dhoom 2 – Back in Action. John Abraham, portrayer of Kabir Sharma, the villain of the predecessor, was eliminated from the sequel because Chopra did not want Dhoom 2 to repeat the stories featured in its predecessor. Instead, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai were introduced into the franchise as the sequel's main villains. Rai's character was summarized as Catwoman, a female fictional comic book femme fatale or anti-hero. Rai stated, "All I can tell you is it would be nothing like anything you've seen me do before." Producer Aditya Chopra told Rai to lose weight after she gained it for her role in Bride & Prejudice (2004). Yash Chopra stated, "But yes, the role does require Rai to convey oodles of sensuality. She has asked for a couple of months to get into shape. We (at Yash Raj Films) are very clear about every character in every script and what's required of the actors. Before Dhoom, Esha Deol was specifically briefed about the look and the attitude she needed to cultivate. She readily agreed, and look at what Dhoom did to her career\!" Roshan also lost 5 kg for his role at Aditya Chopra's request. With the exception of Abraham and Deol, all of the other main actors in Dhoom reprised their roles for Dhoom 2.
### Filming
Dhoom 2 was filmed in Mumbai (India), Namibia, Durban (South Africa), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), making it the first Bollywood movie to be shot in Brazil. In total, production lasted 18 months and cost of ₹350 million. To ensure the sequel would be different from the original, which became famous for its brash motorcycle stunts, director Sanjay Gadhvi included very few motorcycles in Dhoom 2. Nonetheless, Roshan's role required him to perform several dangerous stunts involving activities such as roller-blading, sand boarding and snow-boarding.
Dhoom 2 made extensive use of visual effects, which were filmed at Yash Raj Studios. While shooting at Yash Raj Studios, the film suffered from a flood that destroyed the studio sets and delayed production. Fight and action sequences were storyboarded before being shown to Gadhvi and Allan Amin, who would make changes. The scenes were then sketched, given "proper shot-list[s]", and shared with Tata Elxsi, who oversaw the pre-visualization of the sequences. Several scenes were filmed with the use of green screen and computer-generated imagery. For example, the stunts Roshan performed on a train in the Namib Desert used green screen; after Roshan recorded the stunts on a set, Gadhvi traveled to the desert to film the background. Other stunts were performed by stuntmen whose faces were later digitally exchanged with the actors'.
The bullet effects and Roshan's gadgets and the mechanical arm were also computer-generated. The scene involving Bachchan coming out of a lake using a jet ski was created using a green screen. The stunt came out at 90 degrees, but Gadhvi wanted a 60 degrees jump. So, it was shot with a Super 35, and hence the angle could be changed. Gadhvi discussed the use of technology in an interview:
> We've done animation and pre-visualization for all the action sequences in Dhoom 2 and that is very important in terms of planning, cost effectiveness and also it's a new way of preparing for the shoot and the film especially which is as set on such a large canvas such as Dhoom 2. In Dhoom, we had all the action sequences broken down and written. In this movie, we had very big action sequences, so we had all the scenes storyboarded, and they would be checked, double checked and triple checked by myself, Alan Amin, and Adi, and we would then rectify if needed, and that would be our level of planning.
## Music
The soundtrack of Dhoom 2 was recorded at YRF Studios. The music was composed by Pritam Chakraborty with background score by Salim–Sulaiman. The lyrics were penned by Sameer except "Dhoom Again" by Asif Ali Beg and "Crazy Kiya Re — Remix" was remixed by Bunty Rajput. Although most of the song's lyrics are primarily written in Hindi with some English, "Dhoom Again" is almost entirely in English. The soundtrack received mixed reviews from critics but high praise from the audience. It became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year. The film's soundtrack is the first in Indian cinema to be released in DVD-Audio in addition to other audio formats. The tracks have been mixed in London in 5.1 Surround Sound. The soundtrack sold 2 million units and was the highest selling Bollywood soundtrack album of the year.
## Release
Dhoom 2 was released on 24 November 2006 in India, where it received the widest release in Indian cinema at the time with over 1800 prints, including 250 digital copies. Some locations raised ticket prices for the film.
## Marketing
Dhoom 2's teaser trailer was released along with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, which released on 11 August 2006.
It was promoted with several tie-ins. Coca-Cola promoted the film as "Coke Uthale, Dhoom Machale". India's video game producing company FXLabs developed two games based on the film: Dhoom 2 (2007) and Dhoom 2.5 (2008). Pepe Jeans sold Dhoom 2-related garments, including shirts, jeans, bandannas, caps, and metal accessories. Chetan Shah, the country head of Pepe Jeans London, stated – "Pepe Jeans is tremendously excited to be associated with the most awaited movie of the year Dhoom:2. The incredible ensemble cast of Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu and Uday Chopra and the exciting and explosive content of the film encapsulates everything that the Pepe Jeans brand stands for - young, cool, trendy, hip, fashionable and innovative. While promoting Dhoom 2, Roshan admitted feeling foolish over his past statements about his co-star Rai being a "pretty face with no talent" after they worked together for the first time in Dhoom 2. The duo were again cast opposite each other in Jodhaa Akbar (2008) and Guzaarish (2010), and thus went on to become one of the most-loved on-screen pairs of Bollywood.
### Legal issues
Mumbai police commissioner calls for censoring of the fast-paced rash driving scenes in the film due to fears that it would inspire Indian youths to ride their motorcycles rashly, resulting in an increase in the number of road accidents. Unlike the original, the robberies depicted in Dhoom 2 were not inspired by any real-life crimes. Dhoom 2 allegedly inspired the robbery of a man by his nephew, who wore clothing similar to Hrithik Roshan in the film while committing the crime. Following the release, Aishwarya Rai received legal notices from several viewers and fans for a kissing scene with Hrithik Roshan.
## Box office
In India, Dhoom 2 broke several box-office records, mainly those for opening day and opening weekend grosses, including a first week of ₹66 million in Mumbai and ₹179 million for all of India. In Mumbai, distributors received a profit of ₹94 million on the first week's business. Box Office India awarded it a "blockbuster" rating after the film netted ₹803 million in India and grossed ₹1.5 billion worldwide on a budget of ₹350 million. It is currently the 13th highest-grossing film in India (unadjusted for inflation).
Dhoom 2 grossed US$979,000 in North America in 63 theatres over its three-day opening weekend ($1.3 million over four days), becoming the third largest opening weekend for a Bollywood film in North America. Overall, it was the seventeenth ranked film at the American box office. Box Office Mojo reports it earned a total of $2,643,586 inside the United States and a total of $29,752,841 in other countries, including India. In Dubai, it achieved the highest first day opening for a Bollywood film.
Dhoom 2 ranked sixth among the highest-grossing opening weekends for international films at the United Kingdom box office with a gross (average per screen) of £8,151. At the Australian box office, it had the twelfth highest opening and collected approximately A$176,462. It grossed approximately NZ $51,453 on five screens in New Zealand. Dhoom 2 grossed over US$8,750,000 total in the overseas markets.
## Reception
### India
Dhoom 2 received positive reviews from critics.
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 4.5/5 stars and wrote "Dhoom 2 is a winner all the way. For Yash Raj Films, who've not only produced but also distributed the film, Dhoom 2 should emerge as one of the biggest hits of their career." Rajesh Karkera of Rediff gave 3.5/5 stars and wrote "A complete roller-coaster ride which left me completely enthralled and exhausted. Sure, there are faults when you stop to think rationally. But that does not stop you from being dazzled by the film." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave 3/5 stars and wrote that Dhoom 2 is without doubt better than its predecessor, and that Roshan is the heart and soul of the film.
### International
Rotten Tomatoes reported 93% of 14 critics were positive and gave it a "fresh" certificate.
Variety wrote "Loaded with enough attitude, Bollywood star-power and buff bodies to stop a speeding train, Dhoom 2 has been doing humongous biz since its 24 November worldwide opening, and provides adequate proof that Yash Raj Films is good for more than just family-oriented romantic comedy-dramas." Rachel Saltz of The New York Times wrote "The pleasure principle is palpable in the giddy, slick Dhoom 2, a satisfying example of the new, thoroughly modern Bollywood. It may represent the new-fangled Bollywood, but old-fashioned star power is what animates and elevates it above its occasional narrative flaws and longueurs."
Ethan Alter of Film Journal International wrote "Dhoom 2 has all of the benefits of a big-budget Bollywood production – big-name stars, exotic locales, well-produced musical numbers and elaborate (by Bollywood standards, anyway) action sequences. It makes no lasting contributions to world cinema, but if 2.5 hours of disposable entertainment are all you're after, you could do far worse." David Chute of L.A. Weekly stated the film was, "A movie meal as satisfying as this one can make you feel that nothing else matters."
Jaspreet Pandohar of BBC wrote "By roping in acclaimed action director Alan Amin to take care of the thrills and spills, you'd expect Gadhvi to have spent time crafting out a sophisticated storyline instead of simply sending his cast on a cat-and-mouse chase around the globe. It's only Roshan's charismatic performance as the criminal mastermind, and the sizzling chemistry he shares with Rai's sassy cohort, that rescues this adventure from becoming an elongated tourism commercial." Manish Gajjar, Bollywood correspondent for BBC Shropshire, wrote "With its high-powered action sequences matching Hollywood standards, Dhoom 2 is a winner all the way at the box office\!."
## Accolades
Dhoom 2 was nominated for several awards that year, but only picked up a few of the major ones. At the 52nd Filmfare Awards, Roshan won Best Actor, out of 8 total nominations for the film. At the 8th IIFA Awards, the film won for Best Costume Design and Best Makeup. At the 2007 Stardust Awards, Rai won Star of the Year – Female and Gadhvi won the Hottest Young Filmmaker.
- 52nd Filmfare Awards::
Won
- Best Actor – Hrithik Roshan
Nominated
- Best Film – Yash Chopra
- Best Director – Sanjay Gadhvi
- Best Actress – Aishwarya Rai
- Best Music Director – Pritam
- Best Background Score – Salim–Sulaiman
- Best Special Effects – Tata Elxsi
- Best Action – Allan Amin
2007 MTV India Style Awards:
At the 2007 MTV India Style Awards, Dhoom 2 swept nearly all of the film awards, winning the following:
- Most Stylish Film – Dhoom 2
- Most Stylish Actor – Male – Hrithik Roshan
- Most Stylish Actor – Female – Aishwarya Rai
- Most Stylish New Look – Hrithik Roshan
- Most Stylish Body – Hrithik Roshan
- Most Stylish Couple – Hrithik Roshan & Aishwarya Rai
- Most Stylish Song in A Film – Shiamak Davar (choreographer)
- Most Stylish Bollywood Designer – Anaita Shroff Adajania
## Home media
Dhoom 2 was released in DVD format in February 2007 by Yash Raj Films in all regions as a two-disc set and for region 1 as a single-disc set. The film was released on Blu-ray in December 2009.
## Sequel
## See also
- List of highest-grossing Bollywood films
- List of Bollywood films of 2006 |
# Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
"Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" (also listed as "Memphis Blues Again") is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his seventh studio album, Blonde on Blonde (1966). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. It has nine verses, each featuring a distinct set of characters and circumstances. All 20 takes of "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" were recorded in the early hours of February 17, 1966, at Columbia Records's A Studio in Nashville, Tennessee, with the last take selected for the album. This version also appears on Dylan's second compilation album, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971).
An earlier take of the song was released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack in 2005, and other takes were issued on The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966 in 2015. "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" has received a positive reception from critics, who have variously praised Dylan's lyrics, his vocal performance, and its musicianship.
Dylan played the song live in concert 748 times from 1976 to 2010. A live version recorded in May 1976 was included on the live album from that tour, Hard Rain (1976), and was also released as a single with "Rita May" as the B-side. The Hard Rain version received a generally negative critical reception.
## Background and recording
The album Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964) saw Bob Dylan start to move away from the contemporary folk music sound that had characterized his early albums. Bringing It All Back Home (1965) featured both electric and acoustic tracks, and Highway 61 Revisited later that year was purely electric. In 1965, Dylan hired the Hawks as his backing group, but recording sessions in New York for a new album were not productive with them, and he accepted a suggestion from his producer Bob Johnston that the sessions should transfer to Nashville, Tennessee. Dylan went to Nashville in February 1966, with Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson from the New York sessions also making the trip.
"Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" was written by Dylan, who sang and played harmonica on the song, with Kooper on organ, and members of the A-Team of studio musicians that had been engaged for the album sessions: Charlie McCoy, Wayne Moss and Joe South (guitars), Hargus Robbins (piano), Henry Strzelecki (electric bass) and Kenneth Buttrey (drums). All 20 takes of the song were recorded in the early hours of February 17, 1966, at Columbia Studio A. Dylan reworked the song in the studio, revising lyrics and changing the song's structure as he recorded different takes. According to Clinton Heylin, most of the revisions were to the song's arrangement, rather than to the words. Eventually, after recording for three hours, a master take, the twentieth and final take, lasting seven minutes and six seconds, was chosen. It was released as the second track on side two of Dylan's seventh studio album, the double album Blonde on Blonde, on June 20, 1966. Take five was released on The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (2005).
In 2015, take 13 was released on the two-disc edition of The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966. This, and four additional takes were on the six-disc Deluxe edition, and the entire recording session was released on the 18-disc Collector's Edition. The song has sometimes been listed as "Memphis Blues Again" or "Stuck Inside Of Memphis With The" on album releases; the correct title first appeared when it was included on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971).
## Analysis and reception
Michael Gray identified several possible influences on "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again", including "The Memphis Blues" by W.C. Handy, who wrote the music, published in 1912, and George A. Norton, who wrote the lyrics the following year. He further notes the influence of Ma Rainey's "Memphis Bound Blues" (1925); "South Memphis Blues" by Frank Stokes (1929); and "North Memphis Blues" by Memphis Minnie (1930). Gray saw similarities with the Bukka White song "Aberdeen Mississippi Blues" (1940), which has the line "Sittin' down in Aberdeen with New Orleans on my mind".
The song has nine verses, each, according to critic Andy Gill, providing "an absurd little vignette illustrating contemporary alienation". Musicologist Wilfrid Mellers described the song as strophic; Literature scholar Timothy Hampton felt that Dylan's "technique of varying the chorus as a way of isolating the singer from the listener" as he employed on some of the Blonde on Blonde tracks is in evidence on "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again", where the chorus is sung differently by Dylan each time.
Journalist Oliver Trager suggested that, like other Dylan songs of the time, the themes were "suspicion of authority figures, solicitous females, and a confused, persecuted, and possibly intoxicated narrator". Mellers wrote that the song, which features a list of characters including Shakespeare, Mona, Ruth, a ragman, a senator, a preacher, a rainman, railroad men, and a deceased grandfather, gave "evidence of the interdependence in Dylan's songs of everyday reality and myth". Each verse includes a distinct set of characters and circumstances. Mike Marqusee felt that "thwarted escapism blends with a sense of impending doom" in the song. He added that:
> urban and rural, tradition and innovation are held in a churning stasis. The mysteriously impassable distance between Mobile, the Gulf Coast oil town, and Memphis, the great honey pot on the Mississippi, is the distance between depression and elation, isolation and community, anonymity and recognition, fatalism and freedom. The journey from one to the other is constantly obstructed.
The sociologist John Wells argued that the song "cannot possibly be wholly experienced as a truly remarkable work of art" from reading the lyrics alone, but only when listening to Dylan's performance. He posited that after listening to the track numerous times, listeners would realise, "Mobile no longer just means being stuck in an Alabama city, but ... represents the grotesque, turbulent world we all inhabit." Communication studies scholar Keith Nainby wrote that Dylan "enacted an alienated, tumultuous narrative persona that was troubled, not comforted, by his place and time".
In a positive review of Blonde on Blonde for Asbury Park Press, Dave Margoshes considered the song, which he called a "surrealistic frenetic blues"," to be one of the four "outstanding" tracks on the album. Paul Williams named the track as his favorite from the album when he wrote in Crawdaddy\! in 1966 that it was "a chain of anecdotes bound together by an evocative chorus". He offered, "Dylan relates specific episodes and emotions in his offhand impressionistic manner, somehow making the universal specific and then making it universal again in that oh-so-accurate refrain." Williams also praised the musicianship, adding that he had never heard the organ "played so effectively" as by Kooper on the number. In the Record Mirror review, Norman Jopling wrote that the song was "jolly .. with a teen-beaty backing" and was "quite amusing".
Neil Spencer gave the song a rating of 5/5 stars in an Uncut magazine Dylan supplement in 2015, rating it as one of the three "grand statements" on Blonde on Blonde, alongside "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" and "Visions of Johanna". Author John Nogowski rated the song as "A+". He described it as "a brilliantly funny portrait in black velvet of a world gone mad", and one of Dylan's "most perfectly realized songs".
## Live performances
According to his website, Dylan played "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" 748 times in concert between 1976 and 2010. The first live performance was at the University of West Florida, Pensacola, on April 28, 1976, during the Rolling Thunder Revue tour. The performance at Tarrant County Convention Center Arena, Fort Worth, Texas, on May 16, 1976, was included on the live album from the tour, Hard Rain, released on September 10, 1976. The album was produced by Don DeVito and Dylan. The Hard Rain version has a duration of six minutes and six seconds. An edited version of this album track, lasting three minutes and 35 seconds, was also released as a single in the United States on November 30, 1976, with "Rita May" as the B-side; the single did not chart. Critics received the Hard Rain version of the song, which omitted three verses from the original, negatively. Nogowski rated the version as a B+, but preferred the musicianship on the original.
## Personnel
The personnel for the original album session were as follows.
Musicians
- Bob Dylan – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Charlie McCoy – acoustic guitar
- Wayne Moss – electric guitar
- Joe South – electric guitar
- Al Kooper – organ
- Hargus Robbins – piano
- Henry Strzelecki – electric bass
- Kenneth Buttrey – drums
Technical
- Bob Johnston – production |
# Donald William Kerst
Donald William Kerst (November 1, 1911 – August 19, 1993) was an American physicist who worked on advanced particle accelerator concepts (accelerator physics) and plasma physics. He is most notable for his development of the betatron, a novel type of particle accelerator used to accelerate electrons.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Kerst developed the first betatron at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, where it became operational on July 15, 1940. During World War II, Kerst took a leave of absence in 1940 and 1941 to work on it with the engineering staff at General Electric, and he designed a portable betatron for inspecting dud bombs. In 1943 he joined the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, where he was responsible for designing and building the Water Boiler, a nuclear reactor intended to serve as a laboratory instrument.
From 1953 to 1957 Kerst was technical director of the Midwestern Universities Research Association, where he worked on advanced particle accelerator concepts, most notably the FFAG accelerator. He was then employed at General Atomics's John Jay Hopkins Laboratory from 1957 to 1962, where he worked on the problem of plasma physics. With Tihiro Ohkawa he invented toroidal devices for containing the plasma with magnetic fields. Their devices were the first to contain plasma without the instabilities that had plagued previous designs, and the first to contain plasma for lifetimes exceeding the Bohm diffusion limit.
## Early life
Donald William Kerst was born in Galena, Illinois November 1, 1911, the son of Herman Samuel Kerst and Lillian E Wetz. He entered the University of Wisconsin, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1934, and then his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in 1937, writing his thesis on "The Development of Electrostatic Generators in Air Pressure and Applications to Excitation Functions of Nuclear Reactions". This involved building and testing a 2.3 MeV generator for experiments with the scattering of protons.
## Betatron
After graduation, Kerst worked at General Electric Company for a year, working on the development of x-ray tubes and machines. He found this frustrating, as x-ray research required high energies that could not be produced at the time. In 1938 he accepted an offer of an instructorship at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, where the head of the physics department, F. Wheeler Loomis encouraged Kerst in his efforts to create a better particle accelerator. The result of these efforts was the betatron. When it became operational on July 15, 1940, Kerst became the first person to accelerate electrons using electromagnetic induction, reaching energies of 2.3 MeV.
In December 1941 Kerst decided on "betatron", using the Greek letter "beta", which was the symbol for electrons, and "tron" meaning "instrument for". He went on to build more betatrons of increasing energy, a 20 MeV machine in 1941, an 80 MeV in 1948, and a 340 MeV machine, which was completed in 1950.
The betatron would influence all subsequent accelerators. Its success was due to a thorough understanding of the physics involved, and painstaking design of the magnets, vacuum pumps and power supply. In 1941, he teamed up with Robert Serber to provide the first theoretical analysis of the oscillations that occur in a betatron. The original 1940 machine was donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 1960.
## World War II
During World War II, Kerst took a leave of absence from the University of Illinois to work on the development of the betatron with the engineering staff at General Electric in 1940 and 1941. They designed 20 MeV and 100 MeV versions of the betatron, and he supervised the construction of the former, which he brought back to the University of Illinois with him. He also designed a portable 4 MeV betatron for inspecting dud bombs.
Kerst's engineering and physics background placed him near the top of the list of scientists that Robert Oppenheimer recruited for the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory, which was set up to design the atomic bomb. In August 1943, Kerst was placed in charge of the Laboratory's P-7 Group, which was responsible for designing and building the Water Boiler, a nuclear reactor intended to serve as a laboratory instrument to test critical mass calculations and the effect of various tamper materials. Primarily drawn from Purdue University, his group included Charles P. Baker, Gerhart Friedlander, Lindsay Helmholtz, Marshall Holloway, and Raemer Schreiber. Robert F. Christy provided help with the theoretical calculations.
Kerst designed an aqueous homogeneous reactor in which enriched uranium in the form of soluble uranium sulfate, was dissolved in water, and surrounded by a beryllium oxide neutron reflector. It was the first reactor to employ enriched uranium as a fuel, and required most of the world's meager supply at the time. A sufficient quantity of enriched uranium arrived at Los Alamos by April 1944, and the Water Boiler commenced operation in May. By the end of June it had achieved all of its design goals.
The Los Alamos Laboratory was reorganized in August 1944 to concentrate on creating an implosion-type nuclear weapon. Studying implosion on a large scale, or even a full scale, required special diagnostic methods. As early as November 1943, Kerst suggested using a betatron employing 20 MeV gamma rays instead of x-rays to study implosion. In the August 1944 reorganization, he became joint head, with Seth Neddermeyer, of the G-5 Group, part of Robert Bacher's G (Gadget) Division specifically charged with betatron testing. Oppenheimer had the 20 MeV betatron at the University of Illinois shipped to Los Alamos, where it arrived in December. On January 15, 1945, the G-5 Group took their first betatron pictures of an implosion.
## Later life
Kerst returned to the University of Illinois after the war. From 1953 to 1957 he was technical director of the Midwestern Universities Research Association, where he worked on advanced particle accelerator concepts, most notably the FFAG accelerator. He developed the spiral-sector focusing principle, which lies at the heart of many spiral ridge cyclotrons that are now in operation around the world. His team devised and analysed beam stacking, a process of radio frequency acceleration in fixed field machines that led to the development of the colliding beam accelerators.
From 1957 to 1962 Kerst was employed at the General Atomics division of General Dynamics's John Jay Hopkins Laboratory for Pure and Applied Science in La Jolla, California, where he worked on plasma physics, which it was hoped was the doorway to the control of thermonuclear energy. With Tihiro Ohkawa he invented toroidal devices for containing the plasma with magnetic fields. The two completed this work at the University of Wisconsin, where Kerst was a professor from 1962 until his retirement in 1980. Their devices were the first to contain plasma without the instabilities that had plagued previous designs, and the first to contain plasma for lifetimes exceeding the Bohm diffusion limit. From 1972 to 1973 he was also chairman of the Plasma Physics Division of the American Physical Society.
Kerst was married to Dorothy Birkett Kerst. They had two children, a daughter, Marilyn, and a son, Stephen. After he retired, Kerst and Dorothy moved to Fort Myers, Florida. He died on August 19, 1993, at the University Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin, from a brain tumor. He was survived by his wife and children. His papers are in the University of Illinois Archives.
## Awards and honors
- Honorary degree, Lawrence College, 1942.
- Awarded Comstock Prize in Physics, National Academy of Sciences, 1943.
- Awarded John Scott Award, City of Philadelphia, 1946.
- Awarded John Price Wetherill Medal, Franklin Institute, 1950.
- Elected to the National Academy of Sciences, 1951.
- Honorary degree, University of São Paulo, 1953.
- Honorary degree, University of Wisconsion, 1961.
- Founding member of the World Cultural Council, 1981.
- Awarded James Clerk Maxwell Prize in plasma physics, American Physical Society, 1984.
- Awarded Robert R. Wilson Prize for accelerator physics, 1988.
- Honorary degree, University of Illinois, 1989. |
# Military history of Gibraltar during World War II
The military history of Gibraltar during World War II exemplifies Gibraltar's position as a British fortress from the early-18th century onwards and as a vital factor in British military strategy, both as a foothold on the continent of Europe, and as a bastion of British sea power. During World War II, Gibraltar served a vital role in both the Atlantic Theatre and the Mediterranean Theatre, controlling virtually all naval traffic moving between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.
In addition to its commanding position, Gibraltar provided a strongly-defended harbour from which ships could operate both in the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean. The Royal Navy's Force H, under the command of Vice-Admiral James Somerville was based in Gibraltar and had the task of maintaining naval superiority and providing a strong escort for convoys to and from the besieged island of Malta. During the course of the war, Gibraltar came under aerial bombardment from Vichy French aircraft and from aircraft of the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) based on Sardinia. Additionally, the fortress was the focus of underwater attacks by the Italian Royal Navy (Regia Marina) commando frogman unit (Decima Flottiglia MAS) and their human torpedoes. This Italian unit was based on the interned Italian ship SS Olterra in the nearby Spanish harbour of Algeciras. A number of attacks were also carried out by Spanish and Gibraltarian agents acting on behalf of the German Abwehr.
Inside the Rock of Gibraltar itself, miles of tunnels were excavated from the limestone. Masses of rock were blasted out to build an "underground city". In huge man-made caverns, barracks, offices, and a fully-equipped hospital were constructed, complete with an operating theatre and X-ray equipment.
Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa in November 1942, was coordinated from the "Rock". General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was given command of the operation, set up his headquarters in Gibraltar during the planning phases of the operation. Following the successful completion of the North African campaign in May 1943 and the surrender of Italy in September 1943, Gibraltar's role shifted from that of a forward operating base to that of a rear-area supply position. The harbour continued to operate dry-docks and supply depots for the convoy routes through the Mediterranean until V-E Day in 1945.
## Prelude and evacuation
The Second World War dramatically changed the lives of Gibraltarians. The decision to enforce mass evacuation in order to increase the strength of the Rock with more military and naval personnel meant that most Gibraltarians (some for up to ten years) had nowhere to call 'home'. Only those civilians with essential jobs were allowed to stay but it gave the entire community a sense of being 'British' by sharing in the war effort.
In early June 1940, about 13,500 evacuees were shipped to Casablanca in French Morocco. However, following the capitulation of the French to the German armies later in June 1940, the new Pro-German French Vichy Government found the presence of Gibraltarian evacuees in Casablanca an embarrassment and sought opportunities for their removal. The opportunity soon arose when 15 British cargo vessels arrived under Commodore Crichton, repatriating 15,000 French servicemen who had been rescued from Dunkirk. Once their own rescued servicemen had disembarked, the ships were interned until they agreed to take away all the evacuees. Although Crichton was unable to obtain permission to clean and restock his ships (and contrary to British Admiralty orders which forbade the taking on of evacuees), when he saw the mass of civilians pouring through the dockyards, he opened up his gangways for boarding. Just beforehand, the British fleet had destroyed a number of French warships at Mers el-Kebir in order to prevent them ending up in German hands. The attack, during which 1,297 French sailors died, led to high tensions, which were evident when families were forced at bayonet point by French troops to board taking only what they could carry, leaving many possessions behind. However, when they arrived at Gibraltar, the governor would not allow them to land, fearing that once the evacuees were back on the Rock, it would be virtually impossible to evacuate them a second time. Crowds gathered in John Mackintosh Square in the centre of Gibraltar as the news broke, speeches were made and two city councillors accompanied by the acting president of the exchange and commercial library went to see the governor (Sir Clive Liddell) to ask that the evacuees be allowed to land. After receiving instructions from London, a landing was allowed as long as the evacuees returned when other ships arrived to take them away from the Rock, and by 13 July the re-evacuation back to Gibraltar had been completed.
British conservative politician Oliver Stanley agreed to accept the evacuees in the United Kingdom, but he argued with Gibraltar over the number of people involved. The Governor, he declared, had given the number of evacuees first as 13,000, then as 14,000 and finally as 16,000. He asked for the situation to be clarified, stressing the shortage of accommodation in Britain and insisting that only 13,000 could be accepted, 2,000 of whom were to be sent to the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira. The situation, replied General Liddell on 19 July, "is that this is a fortress liable to heavy and immediate attack and there should be no civilians here whereas there are 22,000. The 13,000 was the number sent to Morocco, and more would have been sent had the situation there not altered." In London the evacuees were placed in the hands of the Ministry of Health, and many were housed in Kensington area. Concern for them in Gibraltar mounted as the air raids against London intensified, coupled with the arrival of harrowing letters, describing the circumstances in which the evacuees were living.
In September rumours were already circulating among the evacuees, and in Gibraltar, that the possibility of re-evacuating the Gibraltarians once more was being mooted, this time the destination being Jamaica, in the West Indies. After much contention, it was decided to send a party directly from Gibraltar to the island, and 1,093 evacuees left for Jamaica direct, on 9 October, with more following later on. However, petitions followed and the demands were met, partly for strategic reasons and the lack of available shipping. The situation at the end of 1940, therefore, was that approximately 2,000 evacuees were in Jamaica and a lesser number in Madeira, with the bulk of around 10,000 housed in the London area.
## Royal Air Force involvement: 1939–1941
Construction of a solid surface runway began in late 1939 and in 1940 it was proposed to extend the existing runway to a length of 1,550 yards (1,417 m). The land reclamation commenced towards the end of 1941 along with the construction of an RAF camp at the "North Front", now RAF Gibraltar. The RAF dispatched their next squadron to Gibraltar at this time and it was in September 1939 that war with Germany was declared and the strong possibility of German submarines concentrating in the Strait of Gibraltar and using Spanish port facilities, loomed large in Admiralty thinking. So at 09:00 (UTC) on 9 September 1939, No. 202 Squadron RAF was ordered to Gibraltar, loaded to the gunwales with equipment.
On 25 September 1939, No. 200 (Coastal) Group RAF was formed as a subordinate formation to HQ RAF Mediterranean in control of No 202 Squadron. The Group's function was the control of Royal Air Force units operating from Gibraltar. In late 1940 the Group was transferred to Coastal Command. Later a combined headquarters was formed which commenced operations in early 1942.
## Threats of military action by Spain
On 19 June the Spanish leader Francisco Franco offered to bring Spain into the war on the side of Germany, then on 18 July 1940 Franco declared that Spain had 2,000,000 soldiers ready to retake Gibraltar and expand Spanish interests in North Africa. Nothing came of these threats as Spain realised how well defended Gibraltar was and the economic effects of a blockade of Spanish ports, especially on oil imports, so they pulled back the offer of being willing to enter the war with the Axis forces.
## Vichy French attacks: 1940
On 18 July 1940, after the attack on the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir by the British, the Vichy government authorized a bombing raid of Gibraltar as a response. Little damage was reported to have been done but caused the first casualties. The attack was half-hearted and the majority of the bombs were deliberately dropped short of their target. However, one soldier and four civilians were killed in the bombing.
On Tuesday, 24 September, the Italian Stefani news agency reported: "As a reprisal for the bombardment of Dakar yesterday morning, one-hundred-and-twenty French aircraft based in Morocco attacked Gibraltar." On the same day, the United Press Agency reported: "The French government has issued an official denial of reports, according to which French aircraft were said to have attacked Gibraltar. Up until now, no reprisals have been undertaken." But the United Press report ended on an ominous note with: "French reprisals are imminent."
Again, on the same day, the Vichy French government issued orders for the naval base and city of Gibraltar to be bombarded. As a result, six bomber squadrons of the Vichy French Air Force (Armée de l'Air de Vichy) and four squadrons of the Vichy French Navy (Marine nationale de Vichy) were employed in the operation. The 64 bombers flew from bases in Oran, Tafaroui (in Algeria), Meknes, Mediouna, and Port Lyautey (in Morocco). The French action was approved by both the German Armistice Commission and the Italian Armistice Commission.
The French dropped 150 bombs on Gibraltar during the raid. They inflicted heavy damage on the fortress and encountered no British aircraft while doing so. The South Mole and a large ship in the harbour were heavily damaged. In the northern part of Gibraltar, fires broke out. However, most of the Vichy bombs again fell into the sea.
On 25 September, the French returned with a larger force of eighty-three bombers to cause additional damage to the naval base and harbour installations. Again, aircraft of the British Royal Air Force made no appearance. However, the French crews did report encountering heavy anti-aircraft fire. One LeO 451 bomber was lost and 13 other aircraft were lightly damaged during the two days of bombing attacks. The British armed trawler was sunk by bombs, and several civilians were killed. The Vichy authorities made it clear that bombing raids of Gibraltar would continue as long as the British continued to attack Dakar.
The air attack on 25 September was the last by Vichy forces on Gibraltar.
## Operation Felix: 1940–1941
> For the aerial attack on the harbour of Gibraltar forces are to be designated which will guarantee abundant success. For the subsequent operations against naval objectives and for support of the attack of the Rock mainly dive bombers units are to be transferred to Spain. Sufficient anti-aircraft artillery is to be allocated to the army units including its use against ground targets.
The Rock came through the war relatively unscathed but, given its strategic importance, Germany made plans to capture Gibraltar. Codenamed "Felix", the plan, which was signed by Adolf Hitler himself, was formulated at the highest level of command. With or without permission, Germany would take entry through Spain and attack Gibraltar, driving the British out of the Western Mediterranean. The Strait would be effectively closed to the Allies once Gibraltar was in German hands, forcing Asia-bound Allied shipping to steam all the way around Africa rather than to proceed to the east via the shorter route through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal. The Rock was to be heavily dive bombed by planes leaving France but landing afterward at Spanish air bases. To deny a possible Spanish capture of the base, the German planners decided that the final attack to seize Gibraltar was to be made by German troops alone.
Diplomatic failure at the highest levels of government (Meeting at Hendaye) prevented the operation, which had been drawn up in detail by the Wehrmacht in the summer and autumn of 1940, from occurring at the beginning of 1941.
General Ludwig Kübler's XLIX Corps would conduct the actual attack on the Rock. The assault forces would comprise the Infantry Regiment Großdeutschland, the 98th Regiment of the 1st Mountain Division, 26 medium and heavy artillery battalions, three observation battalions, three engineer battalions, two smoke battalions, a detachment of 150 Brandenburgers, and up to 150 miniature remote controlled demolition vehicles (Goliaths), packed with high explosives.
As part of a combined-force operation, the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) would contribute Ju 88As, Stukas, Messerschmitts, three light AA battalions, and three heavy AA battalions. Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine would cooperate by using U-boats to interfere with British naval movement and emplacing coastal batteries to further discourage the Royal Navy.
On 10 March 1941, with Operation Barbarossa looming, Felix was amended to Operation Felix-Heinrich, whereby German troops would be withdrawn from the USSR to capture Gibraltar. As a result of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco's intransigence, the operation was postponed, modified, and ultimately abandoned.
## Italian bombing of Gibraltar
From Sardinia, Italian Piaggio P.108 bombers attacked Gibraltar several times, mainly in 1942. The last raids on Gibraltar were during Operation Torch, when the same bombers also attacked Oran.
The only unit of the Regia Aeronautica (Royal Air Force) ever to fly the Piaggio P.108 was the "274th Long-Range Bombardment Squadron". This unit was formed in May 1941 around the first machines that came off the assembly lines. The training of the crews lasted far longer than anticipated and only in June 1942 the 274th became operational. The most spectacular raids with the P. 108 bombers were flown in October 1942 when several night attacks against Gibraltar were undertaken from Sardinia.
After the armistice of Cassibile (8 September), the German-allied Italian Social Republic launched at least two raids on Gibraltar: one on the night of 4–5 June 1944 with ten SM.79bis aircraft and another on 6 June with nine aircraft. Both sorties were undertaken by the Gruppo Aerosiluranti "Buscaglia–Faggioni".
## Italian frogmen raids 1940–1943
Known as the "Floating Trojan Horse of Gibraltar", Decima Flottiglia MAS, an Italian commando frogman unit created during the fascist government, engaged in numerous attacks against the harbour at Gibraltar.
Gibraltar was a very tempting target for the Italians, who saw it as a refuge for British warships and allied merchant shipping. The Italian frogmen originally used a Spanish villa (Villa Carmela) located two miles (3 km) from Gibraltar owned by an Italian officer who had married a Spanish woman named Conchita Ramognino. Their base was shifted later to the Italian tanker SS Olterra, interned in Algeciras.
## Abwehr saboteurs from Spain
Lesser known than the Italian actions were the sabotage operations and limpet-mine attacks carried out by Spanish and Gibraltarian agents recruited in the Campo de Gibraltar by the Germans. The Abwehr contacted a Spanish staff officer from Campo de Gibraltar, Lieutenant Colonel Eleuterio Sánchez Rubio, a Spanish officer, member of Falange and coordinator of the intelligence operations in the Campo, to establish a network of saboteurs with access to Gibraltar. Sánchez Rubio designated Emilio Plazas Tejera, also a member of Falange, as operations chief of the organisation. Most of the recruits for the sabotage operations were Spaniards from the Campo. A combination of financial reward, ideological commitment and some threats and intimidation were used to gather a significant number of agents. According to the British intelligence, there were at least 183 Spaniards and Gibraltarians involved in the espionage and sabotage operations against Gibraltar.
Sabotage operations were ordered from Berlin in the late autumn of 1940, but actual work did not start until early 1941. The first operations were unsuccessful. A first attempt to smuggle a bomb into Gibraltar was aborted, as the timing device was faulty. In February there was a large explosion in the North Tunnel, and in April a bomb blew up near the airfield. In June 1941, however, the British intelligence foiled a new attempt, by a German agent, to attach a mine alongside an Allied cargo ship. Another attempt failed when Plazas placed a bomb inside an ammunition store but was not able to prime the explosive. It was not until 1942 that the operations begun to succeed. In January 1942, two Spanish agents managed to destroy two aircraft at the North Front landing strip.
Financed, trained and equipped by the Germans, the Spanish saboteurs sank the armed trawler , and destroyed the auxiliary minesweeper , which resulted in the deaths of an officer from the carrier HMS Argus and six British ratings on 18 January 1942. Plazas was assisted by the Spanish naval commander of Puente Mayorga, Manuel Romero Hume, who allowed him to beach a rowboat there. The British intelligence was able however to counteract the sabotage operations. In March 1942, a Gibraltarian, José Key, one of the most prominent agents working for the Germans, responsible for the collection of information on military movements for the Abwehr was arrested and executed in Wandsworth Prison in late 1942. By September 1942, Plazas, whose activities were closely monitored by the British at that time, resigned and left Carlos Calvo, his second in command, in charge of the operations. In late 1942, the German headquarters in Berlin ordered the sabotage operations being expanded. In early 1943, the arrival of an experienced head of Abwehr operations in Spain improved the outreach of the operations.
In March 1943 an ammunition dump was blown up by Calvo's agents. The British, growing suspicious of some of the saboteurs, banned them from entering Gibraltar. This forced the Abwehr to ask Calvo for new personnel. A Spaniard working on the Rock, José Martín Muñoz, was responsible for the explosion and fire at a large fuel tank at Coaling Island on 30 June 1943. This mission, however, would be the first and the last for Muñoz, because he was cornered and arrested by British authorities in August, when he tried to smuggle a bomb into a weapons magazine inside Ragged Staff Cave. After being sentenced to death as a saboteur, he was hanged on 11 January 1944 in Gibraltar by British executioner Albert Pierrepoint. A member of an unrelated Abwehr sabotage network, Luis López Cordón-Cuenca (also arrested in 1943) was executed by Pierrepoint on the same day. Calvo himself was put under arrest by the Spanish police and neutralized. He would be a free man again in December, when he rejoined the Abwehr in Madrid, under direct orders of Wolfgang Blaum, aka Baumann, head of the sabotage section in Spain. After a Falangist attempt against the life of pro-allied General José Enrique Varela, perpetrated by Sánchez Rubio network's agent Juan José Domínguez and a meeting between Anthony Eden and the Spanish ambassador at London, Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, Abwehr activities around Gibraltar came to an end.
## Operation Tracer: 1941–1942
Operation Tracer was a top-secret British stay-behind spying mission that was only to be implemented if Gibraltar was captured by the Axis Powers. Six men were to be sealed in a cave and left with enough supplies for 7 years. The volunteers—two doctors, three signalmen and their leader—would run an observation post with one 12-inch (300 mm) by 6-inch (150 mm) slit looking over the harbour and a concealed outdoor terrace over the Mediterranean. The team would then wire back all shipping movements to the British Admiralty.
They were told there would be no way out and anyone who died within the chamber would have to be embalmed and cemented into the brick floor.
As the threat of invasion was clearly felt in late 1941, an idea for a series of secret observation posts (first in Gibraltar and later in other places like Malta and Aden) was put together under Operation Tracer.
Work in Gibraltar began immediately under Commander Geoffrey Birley and his chief engineer Colonel Fordham. The site chosen at Lord Airey's Battery on the southern tip of the Rock already had an existing tunnelling scheme for a shelter. Extensive trials of the equipment began in January 1942 under the eye of MI6 radio expert Colonel Richard Gambier-Parry. Much thought was also given to the type of men needed for such a strange and demanding task. A member of Scott's ill-fated expedition to the Antarctic, George Murray Levick was called up as Surgeon-Commander to advise on survival techniques. There were practical matters such as diet, exercise, sanitation, and clothing to consider as well as vital "psychology of the personnel". The full team was in place by the end of summer 1942 and their cavern fully equipped and ready for occupation. A comprehensive manual was prepared on all aspects of the operation and it was considered that similar secret lookout posts should be prepared throughout the world in the event of future wars. However, Operation Tracer was never needed, as Adolf Hitler turned his attention away from Gibraltar and towards the Eastern Front.
The operation had been clouded in mystery until the discovery of papers at the Public Record Office in Kew UK. Previously in the 1960s, details of the story were told to a journalist by his intelligence service contacts and he wrote these up as "Operation Monkey", yet facts were very sparse.
In 1997 "Stay Behind Cave" (as it was nicknamed) was discovered in Gibraltar by the Gibraltar Caving Group, but no account was ever obtained from anyone associated with the mission. The discovery came about when the group encountered a strong gust of wind in a tunnel. Further searching led them to break through a wall into chambers which had never been used and had remained sealed for over 50 years.
In November 2006 Jim Crone and Sergeant Major Pete Jackson, senior tunnel guide with the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, met possibly the only member of Operation Tracer still alive when they travelled to meet Dr. W. A. Bruce Cooper at his home in England. Cooper, 92 at the time, provided an opportunity to shed light on the operation with his direct involvement in the mission as a Surgeon-Lieutenant in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR). He recalled stories about his colleagues, his training, and his feelings about the task.
## Mediterranean U-boat Campaign: 1941–1944
The Mediterranean U-boat Campaign lasted approximately from 21 September 1941 to May 1944. The Kriegsmarine tried to isolate Gibraltar, Malta, and Suez and disrupt Britain's trade routes. More than sixty U-boats were sent to interdict Allied shipping in the Mediterranean Sea. Many of these U-boats were themselves attacked negotiating the Strait of Gibraltar controlled by Britain. Nine U-boats were sunk while attempting passage and ten more were damaged.
## North African Campaign: 1942
Plans for the Allied counter offensive after the attack on Pearl Harbor were ongoing by mid-1942. An invasion of Europe in 1943 would be unworkable, but the allies could attack the "soft underbelly of Europe" through the Mediterranean, as Prime Minister Winston Churchill put it. Devised by President Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill and code named Operation Torch, the plan was to occupy French North Africa: Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. From these French colonies, attacks could be launched that would drive Italy out of the war.
In July 1942, Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed Allied Commander-in-Chief of Operation Torch. Churchill placed Gibraltar under the command of General Eisenhower as the temporary headquarters for this, the first large-scale Anglo-American operation of the war. He arrived in Gibraltar on 5 November 1942 to take over, not just command of Operation Torch itself, but also military command of Gibraltar.
General Eisenhower stayed at The Convent, the official governor's residence, but his operational headquarters were in a small chamber in a tunnel in the heart of the Rock. In his memoirs General Eisenhower wrote:
> The subterranean passages under the Rock provided the sole available office space, and in them was located the signal equipment by which we expected to keep in touch with the commanders of the three assault forces. The eternal darkness of the tunnels was here and there partially pierced by feeble electric bulbs. Damp, cold air in block-long passages was heavy with stagnation and did not noticeably respond to the clattering efforts of electric fans. Through the arched ceilings came a constant drip, drip, drip of surface water that faithfully but drearily ticked off the seconds of the interminable, almost unendurable, wait which always occurs between completion of a military plan and the moment action begins.
One hundred thousand soldiers on the high seas in a multitude of transports converged on Gibraltar. More than 400 aircraft of all types were crammed into the dispersal areas around the Gibraltar runway. Fighters had been shipped in crates and assembled on the airfield. Every available area of storage was taken up with ammunition, fuel, and other essential supplies. 168 American pilots were housed in the RAF messes at North Front.
On 8 November 1942, 466 aircraft from Gibraltar landed on captured North African airfields.
From their headquarters in Gibraltar, General Eisenhower and Admiral Sir Andrew Browne Cunningham directed Operation Torch, the first major combined combat operation during World War II involving American and British forces.
### War tunnels
Given that Gibraltar was a small town with only a few defences protecting it, the solution was to build a massive series of tunnels and chambers inside the natural protection of the Rock of Gibraltar. This "town" inside the Rock contained its own power station, water supply, and hospital. Some soldiers posted here would not see the light of day for months on end. Two Canadian engineer companies, the only soldiers with diamond-tipped drills and 5 British engineer companies, added some 30 miles (48 km) of such tunnels, a feat thought impossible at the time. That was enough to hold all 30,000 troops on the rock. Today, the rock has more tunnels than roads.
## Death of Władysław Sikorski: 1943
On 4 July 1943, a Liberator bomber from RAF Transport Command took off from Gibraltar for England. On board was General Władysław Sikorski, Prime Minister of Poland's London-based government in exile and Commander-in-Chief of its armed forces, returning from visiting Polish troops in the Middle East.
The aircraft climbed normally from the runway, levelled off to gather speed but then suddenly lost height and crashed into the harbour. The 62-year-old general died, along with 15 others. The sole survivor was the Czech-born pilot, Eduard Prchal, who was rescued by an RAF launch. The bodies of five passengers and crew, including Sikorski's daughter, were never found.
The coffins of General Sikorski and his Chief-of-Staff, General Kilimecki, were draped in the Polish National Flag and lay in state in the Cathedral of St. Mary the Crowned. After a Requiem Mass, the bodies were carried in procession to H.M. Dockyard with full Military Honours to be shipped to London in anticipation that General Sikorski's remains would one day be returned to a liberated Poland. The route to the dockyard was lined by British troops and the coffins carried and escorted by Polish Servicemen.
### Investigation
In 1943 a British Court of Inquiry investigated the crash of Sikorski's Liberator II AL523, but was unable to determine the probable cause, finding only that it was an accident and the "aircraft became uncontrollable for reasons which cannot be established". A popular theory was insufficient technical maintenance leading to jamming aircraft controls. Despite the court's finding, the political context of the event, coupled with a variety of curious circumstances, immediately gave rise to speculation that Sikorski's death had been no accident, and may in fact have been the direct result of a Soviet, British or even Polish conspiracy.
## Aftermath
The surrender of Italy in September 1943 lifted any possible objections to the return of the evacuees to the Rock. As a result, a Resettlement Board was established in November, and at a meeting of the Board on 8 February 1944 repatriation priorities were finally agreed. On 6 April 1944 the first group of 1,367 repatriates arrived on the Rock directly from the United Kingdom and on 28 May, the first repatriation party left Madeira, and by the end of 1944 only 520 non-priority evacuees remained on the island.
In London, home-comers were making claims on the evacuees' wartime accommodation and 500 Gibraltarians were re-evacuated to Scotland and 3,000 to camps in Northern Ireland. Although the governor, Lt. General Sir Noel Mason-MacFarlane, fought valiantly on behalf of the evacuees and did not accept the lack of accommodation as a sufficient reason for the delays. As late as 1947 there were still 2,000 in Northern Irish camps. The last of the evacuees did not see the Rock again until 1951.
## See also
- Military history of the British Commonwealth in the Second World War
- Spain during World War II |
# Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält, BWV 178
Wo Gott der Herr nicht bei uns hält (If God the Lord does not remain on our side), BWV 178, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed it in Leipzig for the eighth Sunday after Trinity and first performed it on 30 July 1724.
It is the eighth cantata Bach composed for his chorale cantata cycle, the second cantata cycle he started after being appointed Thomaskantor in 1723. The cantata is based on the eight stanzas of the hymn "" (1524) by Justus Jonas, a paraphrase of Psalm 124. Different from most cantatas in the cycle, the text retains not only the first and last stanza of the chorale but six stanzas, two of them expanded by contemporary lines by an unknown librettist, who also paraphrased two stanzas into aria texts. The first movement is a chorale fantasia, the second a chorale stanza with recitative, the third an aria, the fourth and central movement is a chorale for a solo voice, the following two movements repeat the pair of chorale with recitative and aria, and the cantata is closed by two stanzas in a four-part setting. Bach thus wrote five different ways of chorale setting.
The cantata is scored for three vocal soloists (alto, tenor and bass), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of a horn doubling the chorale melody, two oboes, two oboes d'amore, strings and basso continuo.
## History and words
Bach composed the cantata in his second year in Leipzig for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity. The prescribed readings for the Sunday are from the Epistle to the Romans, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (), and from the Gospel of Matthew, the warning of false prophets from the Sermon on the Mount (). The cantata text is based on the hymn "", published in 1524 by the Lutheran reformer Justus Jonas as a paraphrase of Psalm 124. The theme of the psalm, the need of help against raging enemies, corresponds to the Gospel.
Compared to Bach's other chorale cantatas of the period, the unknown poet kept much of the original text, six of the eight stanzas, expanding two of them by recitative to connect even closer to the Gospel. He paraphrased only stanzas 3 and 6 to an aria each. In the last aria, in a statement of opposition to rationalism, the poet expands the words of the reformers' hymn, "" (Reason cannot grasp it), making it an appeal to reason, described as unstable and frenzied, to be silent.
Bach led the first performance of the cantata, with the Thomanerchor, on 30 July 1724, as the eighth chorale cantata of his second annual cycle.
Most of Bach's output was neglected after his death in 1750 until the Bach Revival of the 19th century. However, there was continued interest in the chorale cantatas. There is evidence that Bach's son Wilhelm Friedemann performed this cantata in Halle. Also, Bach's biographer Johann Nikolaus Forkel, despite having little to say about the cantatas in his life of the composer, borrowed the manuscripts of chorale cantatas from Wilhelm Friedemann, and copied two of them, Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 9, and this cantata.
## Music
### Structure and scoring
Bach structured the cantata in seven movements. Both text and tune of the hymn are retained in the outer choral movements, a chorale fantasia and a four-part closing chorale, and also in the central movement, a chorale for a solo voice, and in two recitatives that include chorale text and melody, one for a solo voice, the other using the choir for the chorale part. Bach scored the work for three vocal soloists (alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B), a four-part choir, and a Baroque instrumental ensemble of a horn (Co) to reinforce the chorale melody, two oboes (Ob), two oboes d'amore (Oa), two violin parts (Vl), one viola part (Va), and basso continuo. The duration of the cantata is given as 23 minutes.
In the following table of the movements, the scoring, keys and time signatures are taken from Dürr. The continuo, which plays throughout, is not shown.
|}
### Movements
#### 1
As in most of Bach's chorale cantatas, the opening chorus, "" (If God the Lord does not remain on our side), is a chorale fantasia. The chorale tune was published in 1529 by an anonymous author in Wittenberg.
The instruments begin a concerto, with the strings playing dotted rhythms" and the oboes adding "agitated sixteenth notes", both throughout the movement. While Sven Hiemke wrote in the foreword of the 2017 Carus edition that "Bach makes it clear that this cantata deals with confrontation and conflict", Dürr noted that it gives the movement a sense of unity.
The soprano sings the chorale melody line by line in augmented tempo, doubled by the horn, as a cantus firmus. The lower voices sing partly in homophony, partly in independent lines similar to the instruments. Bach uses this contrast to illustrate the text in the first lines without regard to its negation. "" is set in homophony, and the last word "" (literally: "holds") is held as a long note, whereas in "" the raging of the enemies is expressed in dotted rhythm and fast runs. When the bar form's is repeated in the following lines, Bach repeats the music also, although it doesn't reflect the text. John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage in 2000, summarised: "Bach constructs an opening chorus of immense power, sustained energy and astonishing compositional prowess with which to box his listeners' ears."
#### 2
The second movement is a combination of chorale, "" (What human power and wit conceives shall not easily frighten us), and interspersed recitative, "" (For God the Highest stands with us and frees us from their traps). Bach distinguishes the chorale lines from the secco recitative by a continuo line on a repeated motif that is derived from the beginning of the respective chorale tune, but four times as fast".
#### 3
The first aria, sung by the bass, begins "" (Just as the wild sea surf crushes a ship with fury). It illustrates the image of "wild sea surf" in undulating lines in the voice and also in the obbligato part of the violins in unison, and in the continuo. The bass voice has to sing challenging coloraturas on the words "" and especially "" (be wrecked). Gardiner noted that the setting evokes both a sea storm and the fury of the enemies for which the analogy stands, wondering how Bach, a resident of landlocked Thuringia, might have experienced a disorienting storm that he illustrated well by varied grouping in 16th-runs.
#### 4
The centre of the cantata is an unchanged stanza of the chorale, "" (They pursue us as heretics, they seek our blood). The tenor's unadorned melody is accompanied by the oboes d'amore and the continuo as equal partners, with autonomous motifs.
#### 5
The fifth movement is again a combination of chorale, "" (They stretch open their yawning gullet wide), and recitative, "" (like lions with rumbling roaring;). While Bach differentiates chorale and recitative in the second movement instrumentally, he uses different vocal forces here, treating the chorale lines to four-part settings, while the recitatives are assigned to individual singers in the sequence bass, tenor, alto, bass. The continuo unifies the movement by a constant independent regular motion in arpeggio motifs based on triads; therefore the recitatives here are not in free tempo as usual.
#### 6
The last aria is sung by the tenor, "" (Be silent, hush, frenzied reason\!),. Gardiner understood "frenzied reason" here as "weasel words of rationalists, who would bring down the whole Lutheran theological edifice".
Bach uses a setting for strings that illustrates the instability of reason in syncopated rhythm, interrupted by chords on the repeated appeal "" (be silent); "bizarre" melodic lines are interrupted by rests, and the harmonies are unstable. The drama of the aria comes to a rest only at the end of the middle section, when the words "" (they will be revived with solace) are marked adagio and lead to a fermata.
#### 7
The cantata is closed by two stanzas of the chorale, "" (The enemies are all in your hand, together with all their thoughts), both stanzas in the same four-part setting.
## Manuscripts and publication
Bach's eldest son Wilhelm Friedemann possessed of a set of parts for the cantata. These manuscripts were written by various scribes including the composer. The set is preserved in Leipzig.
The cantata was first published in 1888 in the first complete edition of Bach's work, the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe. The volume in question was edited by Alfred Dörffel. In the Neue Bach-Ausgabe it was published in 1966, edited by Alfred Dürr, with a critical report following in 1967.
## Recordings
A list of recordings is provided on the Bach Cantatas Website. Ensembles playing period instruments in historically informed performance are shown with a green background. The type of choir is generally not indicated, an exception being made for the recording directed by Sigiswald Kuijken, which is unusual for being sung one voice per part. This version was favourably reviewed in the Gramophone, whose critic suggested that this cantata was one of those suited to a small-scale performance. |
# Cyclone Mekunu
Extremely Severe Cyclonic Storm Mekunu (/mɛˈkuːnu/) was the strongest storm to strike Oman's Dhofar Governorate since 1959. The second named storm of the 2018 North Indian Ocean cyclone season, Mekunu developed out of a low-pressure area on May 21. It gradually intensified, passing east of Socotra on May 23 as a very intense tropical cyclone. On May 25, Mekunu reached its peak intensity. The India Meteorological Department estimated 10 minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph), making Mekunu an extremely severe cyclonic storm. The American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated slightly higher 1 minute winds of 185 km/h (115 mph). While at peak intensity, Mekunu made landfall near Raysut, Oman, on May 25. The storm rapidly weakened over land, dissipating on May 27.
While passing near Socotra, Cyclone Mekunu dropped heavy rainfall, causing landslides and flooding that killed 20 people. In the eastern Yemeni mainland, the cyclone caused power outages and flooding, resulting in four fatalities. In Oman, Cyclone Mekunu killed seven people and caused about US$1.5 billion in damage. Rainfall from Mekunu reached 617 mm (24.3 in) in Salalah. The rainfall created desert lakes in the Empty Quarter, or Rub' al Khali, contributing to a locust outbreak that affected 10 countries, including Pakistan where the outbreak led to a state of emergency.
## Meteorological history
On May 18, an area of convection persisted in the Arabian Sea, northwest of the Maldives, with a broad circulation. With very warm ocean temperatures over 29 °C (84 °F) and moderate wind shear, atmospheric conditions were conducive for eventual tropical cyclone development. At the same time of the disturbance's formation, Cyclone Sagar was located in the Gulf of Aden. On May 20, a distinct low-pressure area developed over the central Arabian Sea. The convection became increasingly organized, aided by good outflow to the north and south. On May 21, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) classified the system as a depression. The American-based Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) followed suit and began issuing advisories on the system early on May 22, designating it Tropical Cyclone 02A.
Upon its formation, the storm was moving northwestward toward the Arabian Peninsula, steered by a ridge to the northeast. Both the IMD and the JTWC anticipated steady intensification, due to decreasing wind shear. On May 22, the IMD upgraded the depression to a deep depression, and later a cyclonic storm, naming it Mekunu. An eye feature developed in the center of the storm on May 23, indicative of an intensifying storm. That day, the IMD upgraded Mekunu to a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm – the equivalent of a minimal hurricane – while the storm passing east of Socotra. There was uncertainty in predictive storm models around this time whether Mekunu would continue to the northwest, or turn to the northeast, although the storm would continue its northwest trajectory for the remainder of its duration.
On May 24, Mekunu weakened slightly due to a bout of easterly wind shear, causing the eye to become ragged. However, the storm re-intensified, and the thunderstorms organized into a compact area near the center around the eye. The IMD upgraded Mekunu to an extremely severe cyclonic storm on May 25, estimating peak 3-minute sustained winds of 175 km/h (110 mph). On the same day, the JTWC estimated peak winds of 185 km/h (115 mph), equivalent to a Category 3 on the Saffir–Simpson scale. At its peak intensity, Mekunu had a compact 13 km (8 mi) eye, which was visible on satellite imagery. Between 18:30–19:30 UTC on May 25, Mekunu made landfall at peak intensity on southern Oman, near Raysut. It was the first storm of hurricane intensity to strike Dhofar Governorate since 1959. The storm rapidly weakened over the dry, mountainous terrain of western Oman. On May 27, the IMD downgraded Mekunu to a well-marked low-pressure area, near the borders of Oman, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.
## Preparations and impact
In tracking the storm, the IMD issued a variety of warnings for fishermen and other people in the storm path. Ahead of the storm, Omani officials evacuated hospitals and other areas near the country's border. Salalah Airport was shut down for a period of 24 hours.
Cyclone Mekunu dropped heavy rainfall on Socotra island while passing to its east, causing floods that knocked out most of the island's communications. This spurred the Yemeni government to declare a state of emergency. More than 1,000 households evacuated, utilizing 11 shelters in the island's capital, Hadibu, or otherwise staying with relatives. Flooding washed out the main road connecting Hadibu with Socotra Airport, and roads on the east and west side of the island. Landslides covered farms, destroyed food stocks, knocked down palm trees, and washed away thousands of animals. The storm also damaged water wells, causing interruptions to sewage systems, and leaving residents without clean drinking water. Five cars were destroyed by the floods, and several houses were damaged. The storm capsized 120 fishing boats and wrecked over 500 fishing net. Throughout the island, Mekunu killed at least 20 people.
On the Yemeni mainland, flooding rains damaged roads, vehicles, and buildings in Hadhramaut and Al Mahrah Governorates. The cyclone damaged power lines and generators, causing power outages. In Alaibri, flooding isolated about 2,000 people for about three days. The storm capsized two ships in Al Ghaydah. Across the Yemeni mainland, Mekunu killed four people and injured twenty others.
Cyclone Mekunu struck Oman at peak intensity, bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall. Over a four-day period, the cyclone dropped 617 mm (24.3 in) in Salalah, which is five times the average annual rainfall. During a 24-hour period, the storm dropped 278 mm (10.9 in) of rainfall. The heavy rainfall flooded roads, low-lying areas, and wadis, or dry river beds. The rains collected in area dams, and created lakes in Rub' al Khali, or the Empty Quarter, a large desert that typically receives 30 mm (1.2 in) of annual rainfall. The rains created the first lakes in the desert in nearly 20 years, which was expected to grow vegetation that could feed local camels for two years. Salalah, just east of the landfall location, recorded sustained winds of 96 km/h (60 mph). Dhalkoot, along the coast, recorded wind gusts of 110 km/h (70 mph). Across Oman, particularly near Salalah, Mekunu damaged houses, cars, boats, and other property, resulting in 1,123 insurance claims as of December 31, totalling ریال155 million (US$403 million). The Aon insurance company estimated US$1.5 billion in damage. Seven people died in Oman, including one who died after being in a coma for nine days.
## Aftermath
After the scope of the damage became evident on Socotra, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, and Kuwait provided shelter, medical, and other emergency supplies. Saudi Arabia sent its first plane of aid on May 27. The UAE also sent helicopters to search for missing people, and airlifted 17 people injured during the storm. The crew from the UAE helped reopen the island's roads. The Qatar Red Crescent Society sent five medical teams, along with emergency supplies. By May 26, Socotra's airport and port were reopened. The United Nations Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) carried four flights of food, shelter, and water supplies. On the Yemeni mainland, local Red Cross chapters provided water and food to affected residents. Workers cleared roads to restore access to isolated villages.
The Oman State Council Bureau noted that national unity during the storm helped mitigate storm effects, including cooperation between military, police, information agencies, and volunteers. The General Directorate of Nature Conservation worked with the Dhofar governorate to plant 600 seedlings of Avicennia, to replace the plants washed out during the storm.
The heavy rainfall from Mekunu created favorable breeding conditions for locusts in the Rub' al Khali, or the Empty Quarter. Five months after the storm, Cyclone Luban brought additional rainfall to the region, allowing for more locusts to breed. By February 2019, a locust infestation had spread across the Arabian Peninsula and into Iran, and later into the Horn of Africa, India, and Pakistan, eventually reaching 10 countries. In February 2020, Pakistan declared an emergency due to the locusts threatening food security.
## See also
- Weather of 2011
- Tropical cyclones in 2011
- List of Arabian Peninsula tropical cyclones
- Cyclone Gonu (2007)
- Cyclone Phet (2010)
- Cyclone Keila (2011)
- Cyclone Tej (2023) |
# What Now (song)
"What Now" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her seventh studio album, Unapologetic (2012). It was written by Olivia Waithe, Parker Ighile, Maestro The Baker and Nathan Cassells with production handled by Maestro The Baker, Ighile and Cassells. A remix collection was released exclusively to Beatport on August 29, 2013 and later via iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play on September 17, 2013. The single was serviced to US rhythmic radio on September 24, 2013, before impacting mainstream radio on October 1, 2013 as the fifth single from Unapologetic. Another remix collection was released to Beatport on October 29, 2013. The song is a mid-tempo piano ballad which incorporates sounds which resemble "sonic bombs" during the chorus and "crashing" drums.
"What Now" received generally positive reviews from music critics, with many calling it an emotional, stand-out song on the album and praising Rihanna's vocals. Following the release of Unapologetic, "What Now" made appearances on various charts around the world. Following its release as a single, the song re-peaked in multiple territories, having it also reach new peaks at number 25 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 25 on the UK Singles Chart, while topping the US Dance Club Songs chart and attaining a top three peak on the UK Hip Hop and R\&B Singles Chart.
The song's accompanying music video was directed by Jeff Nicholas, Jonathan Craven, and Darren Craig from Uprising Creativity. It portrays Rihanna having an "emotional breakdown" and performing exorcism-type dance moves. Critics complimented the video and compared it to Rihanna's 2008 video for the song "Disturbia". Rihanna promoted "What Now" on Alan Carr: Chatty Man and the song is included on the set list of her Diamonds World Tour (2013). British television network ITV used the song for their "Where Drama Lives" 2014 advertisement.
## Production and release
Rihanna began "working on the new sound" for her seventh studio album in March 2012, even though she had not yet begun recording. On September 12, 2012, Def Jam France announced via Twitter that Rihanna would release a new single the upcoming week while her seventh studio album was scheduled to be released in November 2012. On October 11, 2012, in one of her tweets revealed that the title of her new album is Unapologetic along with its cover.
"What Now" was written by British singer-songwriter Livvi Franc together with Rihanna, Parker Ighile, Maestro The Baker and Nathan Cassells. Ighile, Maestro and Cassells recorded the music for the track in Metropolis Studios located in London, United Kingdom, and provided all of the instrumentation and programming. Kuk Harrell provided the vocal production of the song and also recorded Rihanna's vocals together with Marcos Tovar at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California. Blake Mares and Robert Cohen served as assistant vocal engineer of "What Now". It was mixed by Phil Tan at Ninja Club Studios in Atlanta, Georgia with Daniela Rivera serving as assistant mixing engineer.
"What Now" was released as the sixth single from the album Unapologetic. Ten remixes of the song were digitally released via Beatport on August 28, 2013 in the United States. The same remixes, were also added on the iTunes Store on September 17. "What Now" was serviced to rhythmic contemporary radio in the United States on September 24. It was later sent to contemporary hit radio on October 1. Via her Instagram account, Rihanna revealed the official artwork for the song on October 16. It features the singer dressed in black and "stares out with piercing eyes" while her name is written on chalkboard behind her. Jocelyn Vena of MTV News described Rihanna's style on the artwork as goth and noted that it is reminiscent of the behind-the-scenes shot she posted during filming the song's video.
## Composition
"What Now" is a piano-led mid tempo pop and R\&B ballad which lasts four minutes and three seconds. According to Sony/ATV Music Publishing's digital sheet music for the song, it is composed in the key of G minor and set in compound duple meter ( time) with a moderately slow groove of 60 beats per minute. Rihanna's vocals span from the low note of A<sub>3</sub> to the high note of C<sub>5</sub>. "What Now" follows a chord progression of Gm–B2–F–Fsus4–F. The instrumental features "crashing" drums; Dean Martin of NME described it as a 'bonkers marriage of pianos and bass-pop'. According to Mesfin Fekadu of The Huffington Post, the song "builds nicely from its calming verse to its electrified hook."
The Urban Daily's Smokey D. Fountaine compared "What Now" to the works by singer Pink as according to him contains "yell-as-long-as-you-have-a-great-hook style". Its structure "flips" from verse to chorus "like they're from two different planets", according to Michael Gallucci of PopCrush. Gallucci also felt that Rihanna's over-sings on the track, in contrast with Chris Younie of 4Music who said that Rihanna sounds "sweet". During the "roaring" chorus, sounds which resemble "sonic bombs" are included in the background.
## Critical reception
A Billboard reviewer praised "What Now" and called the song an "emotional highlight on an album filled with moments of resonance in its second half." Giovanny Caquias of Culture Blues wrote that the song feels like the first "candid" and "insightful" track on Unapologetic. He continued, "Rihanna gets a little introspective on What Now, and doesn't resort to being overtly sexual or defiantly callous (more on that later), which gave me the feeling that she stripped away her armor for a moment and actually allowed herself to be 'real'." Daily News Jim Farber wrote that the song shows a heft.
Brad Stern of MTV Buzzworthy praised Rihanna's vocals on the song and referred to it as a "most poignant offering on the record". The Star-Ledger's reviewer labelled the song as "staggering power ballad that makes all her other mid-tempo numbers sound featherweight by comparison." Andy Kellman of Allmusic praised "What Now" and called it a "massive, slamming, wailing power ballad". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times positively reviewed the song writing, "Rihanna is doing some of her most direct, ambitious singing here. It's the album's one real purge, and a sign of a pulse beneath the armor." Genevieve Koski for The A.V. Club criticised "What Now", writing that it (as well as "Stay") are the types of "milquetoast ballads" which have never been Rihanna's speciality.
## Commercial performance
Upon the release of Unapologetic, "What Now" charted in France and on two charts in the United Kingdom due to strong digital download sales. It debuted on the French Singles Chart at number 144 for the week dated December 1, 2012, and remained on the chart for one week. On July 13, 2013, it re-entered the chart at number 174; the song peaked at number 83 two weeks later. On December 2, 2012, it debuted at number 165 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 32 on the UK Hip Hop and R\&B Singles Chart. "What Now" was later serviced to radio in Australia as the fourth single from the album. It debuted at number 37 on the ARIA Singles Chart on August 18, 2013, and peaked at number 21. According to IFPI, the song has sold 2 million copies worldwide.
## Music video
### Production and synopsis
Rihanna shot the music video for "What Now" inside a warehouse in Phuket, Thailand on September 17, 2013, during a tour stop of the Diamonds World Tour. It was directed by Jeff Nicholas, Jonathan Craven, and Darren Craig from Uprising Creativity. Nicholas and Craven previously worked on the video for Justin Timberlake's single "Tunnel Vision" from his third studio album The 20/20 Experience. According to Steven Gottlieb of VideoStatic the double-exposure body shots are a visible common similarity of the two videos. On November 13, Rihanna unveiled a behind-the-scenes video via her official Vevo account. During it she explained the concept of the video, "It's gonna be kind of eerie, very creepy because 'What Now' is one of those songs that you can get really boring with the visual. You can get really almost expected. Everybody's probably expecting narrative type of video, a love story of some sorts or something really soft and pretty" and then says, "It is pretty and kind of soft, but it's really a little demented." Prior to the video's release, Rihanna posted a sneak peek of the video on YouTube. The official music video was released to VEVO on November 15, 2013.
Rob Newman is the producer of the video, while Craven, Nicholas and Thananath Songchaikul executively produced the visual. Sing Howe Yam performed the direction of the photography while Clark Eddy is the editor. The video opens to Rihanna appearing on a static television screen in a simple nude gown and crucifix necklace. She then begins to sing whilst being in a darkened room with a black gown on and later appearing in a brightened room with a white gown on. The video switches between the creepy and the pretty Rihanna as she mopes in a sparse warehouse space, possessed by her loneliness.
### Reception
Jocelyn Vena of MTV compared the video to four of Rihanna's past videos, with "Disturbia" being one of the four, she says "both 'What Now' and 'Disturbia' have a dark, supernatural vibe about them. And in addition to sharing that similarity, the visuals' shots are layered, giving off a sort of 3-D effect." Other comparisons included were "Diamonds" and "Stay", which is also included on her 2012 Unapologetic, and "We Found Love". Even Rachel Brodsky of MTV's Buzzworthy Blog used seven comparisons of how the video relates to the 1996 film The Craft. Jason Lipshutz of Billboard says that Rihanna "dials it down" for the video after the "twerking, pole-dancing and general skin-showing" video she released for "Pour It Up" the month before. Other reviewers gave similar opinions, as an anonymous reviewer of The Huffington Post says "The clip shows the 25-year-old singer in a spooky place, writhing in a sparse room shot in a fashion similar to many horror movies."
## Live performances
On September 27, 2013, Rihanna performed the song on Channel 4's Alan Carr: Chatty Man. It is also included on the set list of her Diamonds World Tour (2013).
## Credits and personnel
- Recording
- Recorded at Metropolis Studios, London, United Kingdom.
- Vocals recorded at Westlake Recording Studios, Los Angeles, California.
- Mixed at Ninja Club Studios, Atlanta, Georgia.
- Personnel
- Songwriting – Olivia Waithe, Robyn Fenty, Parker Ighile, Nathan Cassells, Ifeoluwa Oladigbolu
- Production – Ighile, Cassells, Oladigbolu
- Recording engineers – Ighile, Cassells
- Assistant vocal engineer – Blake Mares, Robert Cohen
- Vocal recording – Kuk Harrell, Marcos Tovar
- Vocal production – Kuk Harrell
- Mixing – Phil Tan
- Additional/assistant engineering – Daniela Rivera
- Instruments and programming – Ighile, Cassells, Maestro The Baker
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Unapologetic, Def Jam Recordings, SRP Records.
## Track listing
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications
## Release history
## See also
- List of Billboard Dance Club Songs number ones of 2013 |
# Laura Bush
Laura Lane Bush (née Welch; born November 4, 1946) is an American educator who was the first lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009 as the wife of George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States. Bush was previously the first lady of Texas from 1995 to 2000 when her husband was governor.
Born in Midland, Texas, Bush graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968 with a bachelor's degree in education, and took a job as a second grade teacher. After attaining her master's degree in library science at the University of Texas at Austin, she was employed as a librarian.
Bush met her future husband, George W. Bush, in 1977, and they were married later that year. The couple had twin daughters in 1981. Bush's political involvement began during her marriage. She campaigned with her husband during his unsuccessful 1978 run for the United States Congress, and later for his successful Texas gubernatorial campaign.
As First Lady of Texas, Bush implemented many initiatives focused on health, education, and literacy. In 1999–2000, she aided her husband in campaigning for the presidency in a number of ways, such as delivering a keynote address at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which gained her national attention. She became first lady after her husband was inaugurated as president on January 20, 2001.
Polled by The Gallup Organization as one of the most popular first ladies, Bush was involved in national and global concerns during her tenure. She continued to advance her trademark interests of education and literacy by establishing the annual National Book Festival in 2001. She encouraged education on a worldwide scale. She also advanced women's causes through The Heart Truth and Susan G. Komen for the Cure organizations. She represented the United States during her foreign trips, which tended to focus on HIV/AIDS and malaria awareness. She is the oldest living former First Lady, following the death of Rosalynn Carter in 2023.
## Early life and career
Laura Lane Welch was born on November 4, 1946, at Midland Memorial Hospital in Midland, Texas, the only child of Harold Bruce Welch and Jenna Louise (née Hawkins) Welch. She is of English, French, and Swiss ancestry.
Her father was a house builder and later successful real estate developer, while her mother worked as the bookkeeper for her father's business. Early on, her parents encouraged her to read, leading to what would become her love of reading. She said, "I learned [how important reading is] at home from my mother. When I was a little girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and going to the library ever since. In the summer, I liked to spend afternoons reading in the library. I enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie and Little Women books, and many others ... Reading gives you enjoyment throughout your life." Bush has also credited her second grade teacher, Charlene Gnagy, for inspiring her interest in education.
On the night of November 6, 1963, two days after her 17th birthday, Laura Bush ran a stop sign and struck another car, killing its driver. The victim was her close friend and classmate Michael Dutton Douglas. By some accounts, Douglas had been Bush's boyfriend at one time, but she stated that he was not her boyfriend at that time but rather a very close friend. Bush and her passenger, both 17, were treated for minor injuries. According to the accident report released by the city of Midland in 2000, in response to an open-records request, she was not charged in the incident. In 2000 Laura Bush's spokesman said, "It was a very tragic accident that deeply affected the families and was very painful for all involved, including the community at large." In her book Spoken from the Heart, she said that the crash caused her to lose her faith "for many, many years".
She attended James Bowie Elementary School, San Jacinto Junior High School, and Robert E. Lee High School in Midland. She graduated from Lee in 1964 and went on to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. She graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science degree in education.
After graduating from SMU, she began her career as a school teacher at Longfellow Elementary School in the Dallas Independent School District. She then taught for three years at John F. Kennedy Elementary School, a Houston Independent School District school in Houston, until 1972.
In 1973, Bush attained a Master of Science degree in Library Science from the University of Texas at Austin. She was soon employed as a librarian at the Kashmere Gardens Branch at the Houston Public Library. The following year, she moved back to Austin and took another job as a librarian in the Austin Independent School District school Dawson Elementary until 1977. She reflected on her employment experiences to a group of children in 2003, saying, "I worked as a teacher and librarian and I learned how important reading is in school and in life."
## Marriage and family
Bush met her husband in July 1977 when mutual friends Joe and Jan O'Neill invited them to a backyard barbecue at their home. He proposed to her at the end of September and they were married on November 5 of that year, the day after her 31st birthday, at the First United Methodist Church in Midland, the same church in which she had been baptized. The couple honeymooned in Cozumel, Mexico. George W. Bush detailed his choice to marry Laura as the "best decision of [his] life". Laura, an only child, said she gained "brothers and sisters and wonderful in-laws" who all accepted her after she wed George W. Bush.
The year after their marriage, the couple began campaigning for George W. Bush's 1978 Congressional candidacy. According to George Bush, when he asked her to marry him, she had said, "Yes. But only if you promise me that I'll never have to make a campaign speech." She soon relented and gave her first stump speech for him in 1978 on the courthouse steps in Muleshoe, Texas. After narrowly winning the primary, he lost the general election.
Bush attended the inauguration of her father-in-law George H. W. Bush as Ronald Reagan's vice-president in January 1981, after Reagan won the 1980 United States presidential election. She credited her father-in-law's election to the vice presidency with giving her and her husband national exposure.
The Bushes had tried to conceive for three years, but pregnancy did not happen easily. On November 25, 1981, Laura Bush gave birth to fraternal twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna. The twins were born five weeks early by an emergency Caesarean section in Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, as Laura had developed life-threatening pre-eclampsia (toxemia).
George W. Bush credited his wife with his decision to stop drinking in 1986. She reflected that she thought her husband "was drinking too much" amid her knowing it was not his desired way of living. Approaching him, she related that her father had been alcoholic and it was not a pattern she wished to repeat in their family. She is also credited with having a stabilizing effect on his private life. According to People magazine reporter Jane Simms Podesta, "She is the steel in his back. She is a civilizing influence on him. I think she built him, in many ways, into the person he is today."
Bush traveled to Kuwait in April 1993, accompanying her in-laws as well as brothers-in-law Jeb and Marvin Bush after former president Bush was invited to return to the Middle East for the first time since his presidency.
Several times a year, Bush and her husband travel to their sprawling family estate, the Bush compound, better known as Walker's Point. Located in Kennebunkport, Maine, the compound is where Bush family gatherings have been held for nearly 100 years.
## First Lady of Texas
Bush became the First Lady of Texas when her husband was elected as the Governor of Texas and served as first lady of that state from January 17, 1995, to December 21, 2000. When asked about her interest in politics, she responded "It doesn't drive me."
Though during her years in the Governor's Mansion, she did not hold a single formal event, Laura worked for women's and children's causes including health, education, and literacy. She implemented four major initiatives: Take Time For Kids, an awareness campaign to educate parents and caregivers on parenting; family literacy, through cooperation with the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy, she urged Texas communities to establish family literacy programs; Reach Out and Read, a pediatric reading program; and Ready to Read, an early childhood educational program.
She raised money for public libraries through her establishment of the Texas Book Festival, in 1995. She established the First Lady's Family Literacy Initiative, which encouraged families to read together. Bush further established "Rainbow Rooms" across the state, in an effort to provide emergency services for neglected or abused children. Through this, she promoted the Adopt-a-Caseworker Program to provide support for Child Protective Services. She used her position to advocate Alzheimer's disease and breast cancer awareness as well.
Her husband announced his campaign for President of the United States in mid-1999, something that she agreed to. She did say, however, that she had never dreamed that he would run for office. The Bush campaign worked to assure voters that as First Lady, she would not seek to emulate then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, who had faced controversy for leading several policy initiatives from within the White House despite being unelected. When asked who she would be like out of the past First Ladies, she insisted it would be herself. In July, she delivered a keynote address to the delegates at the 2000 Republican National Convention, which put her on the national stage. In December 2000, her husband resigned as Governor of Texas to prepare for his inauguration as President of the United States in January 2001.
## First Lady of the United States
As First Lady, Bush was involved in issues of concern to children and women, both nationally and internationally. Her major initiatives included education and women's health.
### Education and children and the National Book Festival
Early into the administration, Bush made it known that she would focus much of her attention on education. This included recruiting highly qualified teachers to ensure that young children would be taught well. She also focused on early child development.
In 2001, to promote reading and education, she partnered with the Library of Congress to launch the annual National Book Festival. More than 60 organizations that promote reading, literacy, and libraries—including the National Basketball Association participated. Bush served as Honorary Chair from 2001 to 2008.
In January 2002, Bush testified before the Senate Committee on Education, asking for higher teachers' salaries and better training for Head Start programs. She is also credited with creating a national initiative called "Ready to Read, Ready to Learn", which promotes reading at a young age. To promote American patriotic heritage in schools, she helped launch the National Anthem Project. In 2006, Bush and media executives worked together to provide a $500,000 grant for school libraries along the Gulf Coast which had been devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Immediately following the September 11, 2001 attacks, Bush spoke regarding America's children:
> "We need to reassure our children that they are safe in their homes and schools. We need to reassure them that many people love them and care for them, and that while there are some bad people in the world, there are many more good people."
The following day, she composed open letters to America's families, focusing on elementary and middle school students, which she distributed through state education officials. She took an interest in mitigating the emotional effects of the attacks on children, particularly the disturbing images repeatedly replayed on television. On the one-year anniversary, she encouraged parents to instead read to their children, and perhaps light a candle in memoriam, saying, "Don't let your children see the images, especially on September 11, when you know it'll probably be on television again and again – the plane hitting the building or the buildings falling."
Later in her tenure, she was honored by the United Nations, as the body named her honorary ambassador for the United Nations' Decade of Literacy. In this position, she announced that she would host a Conference on Global Literacy. The conference, held in September 2006, encouraged a constant effort to promote literacy and highlighted many successful literacy programs. She coordinated this as a result of her many trips abroad where she witnessed how literacy benefited children in poorer nations.
On July 28, 2008, she visited Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina, where she met with superintendent Connie Backlund and the Friends of Carl Sandburg Home's President Linda Holt as well as various students from Boys and Girls Club of Henderson County, North Carolina.
On October 3, 2008, she visited Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum where she praised her works such as Farmer Boy, These Happy Golden Years and Little House on the Prairie, the last of which she had felt an association with as a child. During the same Laura Ingalls Wilder's estate visit, she said that she read her books to her daughters and gave the writer Save America's Treasures grant.
### September 11 attacks
On September 11, 2001, Bush had been hosting her in-laws George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush at the White House and was scheduled to give a testimony to Congress on education. Instead, during the September 11 attacks, Bush was taken to inside the White House and placed in an underground bunker, later being met by her husband, who had returned to Washington from Florida.
Two weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks, Bush inaugurated a music concert at the Kennedy Center, organized to raise funds for families of the victims. Though she received applause, she returned the compliment to members of the audience and added that although the event was tragic, Americans had deepened their appreciation "of life itself, how fragile it can be, what a gift it is and how much we need each other". Senator Ted Kennedy, who introduced Bush at the event, praised her and said he knew his late brother, President John F. Kennedy, would also be proud of her. Bush believes the September 11 attacks ignited the interest in the way Afghan women were treated.
### Women's health and rights
Another of her signature issues were those relating to the health and well-being of women. She established the Women's Health and Wellness Initiative and became involved with two major campaigns.
Bush first became involved with The Heart Truth awareness campaign in 2003. It is an organization established by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to raise awareness about heart disease in women, and how to prevent the condition. She serves in the honorary position of ambassador for the program leading the federal government's effort to give women a "wake up call" about the risk of heart disease. She commented on the disease: "Like many women, I assumed heart disease was a man's disease and cancer was what we would fear the most. Yet heart disease kills more women in our country than all forms of cancer combined. When it comes to heart disease, education, prevention, and even a little red dress can save lives." She has undertaken a signature personal element of traveling around the country and talking to women at hospital and community events featuring the experiences of women who live, or had lived, with the condition. This outreach was credited with directly saving the life of at least one woman who went to the hospital after experiencing symptoms of a heart attack after hearing her message.
With her predecessor, former First Lady Nancy Reagan, Bush dedicated the First Ladies Red Dress Collection at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in May 2005. It is an exhibit containing red suits worn by former First Ladies Lady Bird Johnson, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Laura Bush meant to raise awareness by highlighting America's first ladies. She has participated in fashion shows displaying red dresses worn on celebrities as well.
Bush's mother, Jenna Welch, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 78. She endured surgery and had no further signs of cancer. Laura Bush has become a breast cancer activist on her mother's behalf through her involvement in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure. She applauded the foundation's efforts in eliminating cancer and said, "A few short years ago, a diagnosis of breast cancer left little hope of recovery. But thanks to the work of the Komen Foundation ... more women and men are beating breast cancer and beating the odds." She used her position to gain international support for the foundation through the Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research of the Americas, an initiative that unites experts from the United States, Brazil, Costa Rica and Mexico.
In November 2001, she became the first person other than a president to deliver the weekly presidential radio address. She used the opportunity to discuss the plight of women in Afghanistan leading up to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, saying "The brutal oppression of women is a central goal of the terrorists." Her husband was originally to give the address but he felt that she should do it; she later recalled, "At that moment, it was not that I found my voice. Instead, it was as if my voice found me." Her words summarized one of the goals and moral rationales of the U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and it became one of the more famous speeches of his administration. In May 2002, she made a speech to the people of Afghanistan through Radio Liberty. In March 2005, she made the first of three trips to that country as First Lady.
### Campaigning
Bush campaigned for Republicans around the country in 2002 for that year's midterm elections, attending and hosting fundraisers as well as giving speeches.
Opponents deemed this as the Bush administration "working against women's rights issues and using women to do their dirty work" and partly a test for Bush on how well she could campaign for her husband in the impending two years when he sought re-election.
During the 2004 election cycle, Bush made joint appearances with her husband on the campaign trail, including in battleground states such as Florida. She advocated for his re-election in a speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention, and was credited with having raised $15 million for her husband's campaign as well as the Republican Party while still succeeding in keeping a separate schedule that allowed for her to tend to the traditional duties she had as First Lady. In a July 2004 interview, Teresa Heinz, wife of Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, said, "Well, you know, I don't know Laura Bush. But she seems to be calm, and she has a sparkle in her eye, which is good. But I don't know that she's ever had a real job—I mean, since she's been grown up." Heinz later apologized for the remark, stating that she had forgotten that Laura Bush was a teacher and librarian prior to her marriage. Bush stated that she forgave her while insisting her apology was unnecessary, citing her understanding of the "trick questions" asked by the media.
Bush was a participant in the 2006 midterm elections, beginning her campaigning in April. Though her poll numbers had decreased from an 80% approval rating, they still superseded that of President Bush, whose approval rating was only praised by a third of Americans. Ed Henry of CNN noted Bush's popularity, writing, "The first lady is treated like a rock star on the campaign trail – with local Republicans lining up for photographs and autographs – as she criss-crosses the country to help candidates." Bush relied on a strategy of praising the Republican candidate for their achievements and attending events alongside them. In September 2008, Bush spoke during the first night of the 2008 Republican National Convention, her joint appearance with Cindy McCain geared toward raising hurricane relief funds for victims of Hurricane Gustav.
### Popularity and style
Laura Bush's approval ratings have consistently ranked very high. In January 2006, a USA Today/CBS/Gallup poll recorded her approval rating at 82 percent and disapproval at 13 percent. That places Bush as one of the most popular first ladies. Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer said, "She is more popular, and more welcome, in many parts of the country than the president ... In races where the moderates are in the most trouble, Laura Bush is the one who can do the most good."
Jude Ellison Sady Doyle reasoned that Bush was hard to dislike due to her adopting "the least partisan causes" such as literacy and breast cancer, which would attract the support of most Americans and her coming off as a "mild, polite, ordinary woman who might go to church with your mother, or organize suburban potlucks". Doyle furthered that her statements were never enough to offend others and the harshest criticism that could be bestowed upon her was that she was boring.
She disagreed with Fox News' Chris Wallace in 2006 when Wallace asked why the American people were beginning to lose confidence in President Bush, saying, "Well, I don't think they are. And I don't really believe those polls. I travel around the country, I see people, I see their response to my husband, I see their response to me. There are a lot of difficult challenges right now in the United States ... All of those decisions that the President has to make surrounding each one of these very difficult challenges are hard. They're hard decisions to make. And of course some people are unhappy about what some of those decisions are. But I think people know that he is doing what he thinks is right for the United States, that he's doing what he – especially in the war on terror, what he thinks he is obligated to do for the people in the United States, and that is to protect them ... When his polls were really high they weren't on the front page."
During the January 2005 second inauguration ceremonies for her husband, Laura Bush was looked highly upon by People magazine, The Washington Post, and others for her elegance and fashion sense. At the inauguration she wore a winter white cashmere dress and matching coat designed by Oscar de la Renta. Following the inauguration were the inaugural galas, to which Bush wore a pale, aqua lace gown, sprinkled with crystals, with long sleeves in a silver blue mist. The tulle gown was also designed for her by de la Renta. According to The Washington Post, "[I]t made her look radiant and glamorous."
### Foreign trips
During her husband's second term, Bush was more involved in foreign matters. She traveled to numerous countries as a representative of the United States.
As First Lady, she took five goodwill trips to Africa. The purpose of these has mostly been to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS and malaria as part of the Bush administration's initiative to address the global epidemics, but Bush has also stressed the need for education and greater opportunities for women. She has taken many other trips to other countries to promote and gain support for President Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS relief; these countries include Zambia (2007), Mozambique (2007), Mali (2007), Senegal (2007), and Haiti (2008).
In mid-2007, she took a trip to Myanmar where she spoke out in support of the pro-democracy movement, and urged Burmese soldiers and militias to refrain from violence. Later that October, she ventured to the Middle East. Bush said she was in the region in an attempt to improve America's image by highlighting concern for women's health, specifically promoting her breast cancer awareness work with the US-Middle East Partnership for Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. She defined the trip as successful, saying that stereotypes were broken on both sides.
Overall, Bush traveled to 77 countries in the eight years of her husband's presidency, touring 67 of those during the second term.
### Views on policy
Bush is a Republican and has identified herself with the GOP since her marriage.
When asked about abortion in 2000, Bush said she did not believe Roe v. Wade should be overturned. She did not comment on whether women had the right to an abortion. She did say, however, that the country should do "what we can to limit the number of abortions, to try to reduce the number of abortions in a lot of ways, and that is, by talking about responsibility with girls and boys, by teaching abstinence, having abstinence classes everywhere in schools and in churches and in Sunday school".
Bush responded to a question during a 2006 interview concerning the Federal Marriage Amendment by calling for elected leaders not to politicize same-sex marriage, "I don't think it should be used as a campaign tool, obviously. It requires a lot of sensitivity to just talk about the issue ... a lot of sensitivity."
On July 12, 2005, while in South Africa, Bush suggested her husband replace retiring Supreme Court justice Sandra Day O'Connor with another woman. On October 2, during a private dinner at the White House with his wife, President Bush nominated Harriet Miers to replace O'Connor. Later that month, after Miers had faced intense criticism, Laura Bush questioned whether the charges were sexist in nature.
### Legacy
In late October 2008, days before that year's presidential election, Bush hosted a three-hour session with staffers and historians discussing how she would like to be remembered, leading to this meeting being termed the "legacy lunch". According to historian Myra Gutin, this was the first time in history that a First Lady had ever directly reached out to historians to talk about her accomplishments. Attendants of the meeting said that Bush wanted to change the perception that she was a traditional First Lady in that she always stayed by her husband's side. At a 2014 National Press Club, Anita McBride opined that it would be harder for people to understand where Bush had "the greatest impact" due to the several signature issues that Bush advocated for while First Lady.
In 2017, journalist Brooke Baldwin suggested Bush's efforts toward improving the lives of Afghan women may have contributed to more Afghanistan women being in positions within the Afghanistan private sector.
Bush enjoyed widespread approval by the American public both as the incumbent First Lady and during her retirement. The Washington Post contributor Krissah Thompson recalled Bush's favorability being "as close to universal popularity as any modern political figure" when the Bushes left the White House in 2009 and called her "the most high-profile promoter of the George W. Bush legacy — a burden she carries lightly and with a smile." A 2014 poll which asked who was the most popular First Lady in the past 25 years found Bush ranked in fourth place (out of 4 candidates), behind Hillary Clinton, mother-in-law Barbara and direct successor Michelle Obama.
## Subsequent activities
In February 2009, the month after she and her husband left office, Laura and George W. Bush moved into a new residence in Dallas. In November 2009, the former First Lady, accompanied by her husband, made a visit to families of veterans in Fort Hood. The couple expressed their wishes that the trip not be publicized. However, Fox News revealed the trip the following morning.
In May 2010, Bush released her memoir, Spoken from the Heart, in conjunction with a national tour.
On May 11, 2010, during an interview on Larry King Live, Bush was asked about same-sex marriage. She said she viewed it as a generational issue and believed it would be made legal in the future. Bush offered support for the issue by saying "when couples are committed to each other and love each other ... they ought to have the same sort of rights that everyone has." Bush referred to her 2000 interview, reaffirming her support for Roe v. Wade, "I think it's important that [abortion] remain legal. Because I think it's important for people – that for medical reasons and, and other reasons." On February 22, 2013, without her consent, she was included in a pro-gay advertisement from the Respect of Marriage Coalition. A statement from Bush's spokesperson states that Bush "did not approve of her inclusion in this advertisement nor is she associated with the group that made the ad in any way. When she became aware of the advertisement last night, we requested that the group remove her from it."
Bush continued to remain involved and concerned over the state of women in Afghanistan, speaking out editorials and appearances during 2013 that the women and girls who had been helped could not be abandoned during and after the planned withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. In March 2016, Bush wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post on changes occurring among women in Afghanistan while noting continued violence and calling for American involvement in Afghanistan to be consistent and predictable in continuing along with the international community "to provide significant development assistance in the areas of health care, entrepreneurship and education". In June 2016, Bush stated that she hoped the US remained in Afghanistan and had consulted with women there who feared the departure of American troops would create "a vacuum" similar to Iraq, furthering that the US "would have to start all over again" if they withdrew troops. In late 2017, Bush and First Lady of Afghanistan Rula Ghani traveled to Washington to rally lawmaker support for Afghanistan and women there.
In April 2015, Bush criticized Rand Paul's isolationist stance on U.S. foreign aid, calling the view "not really realistic" and asserting the United States should save lives whenever it can. That August, she shared the first public photos of her newborn granddaughter Poppy Louise.
### Public appearances
On October 26, 2009, Bush spoke at the 25th Annual Women's Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah.
On May 31, 2012, Bush and her husband unveiled their official portraits painted by John Howard Sanden in a ceremony at the White House attended by several members of their family and former members of the Bush administration. Bush jokingly told then First Lady Michelle Obama at the ceremony that "nothing makes a house a home like having portraits of its former occupants staring down at you from the walls". Bush was portrayed in the White House's Green Room in her portrait, wearing a midnight blue gown.
On July 25, 2012, she spoke at the Luisa Hunnewell's estate, where she praised Edith Wharton's works, in particular Ethan Frome on her 150th anniversary. She also said that prior to this speech she also visited houses of Mark Twain at his 166th anniversary on November 29, 2001, and was a guest of the show Mark Twain Tonight. Ten years prior to the Luisa Hunnewell's estate visit she also visited Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts at which she met with the National Trust for Historic Preservation's President and listened to Concord-Carlisle High School's chorus.
In April 2013, Bush was in attendance at a news conference, where she said the recently built George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum was not a monument for her husband but instead a representation of the White House and the struggles of America during his tenure. She also mentioned not having trouble donating clothes to the library, admitting that she probably would have never worn them again in the first place. That month it was announced that she would serve as a keynote speaker for the 2013 Global Business Travel Association Convention in August. At the convention, she stressed the importance of child literacy, continuing her advocating of an issue that she had become associated with since her tenure as First Lady. In early August 2013, she reported that her husband was in stable condition after having a stent implanted in his heart, calling it "terrific" that it was caught in time, and stressed the importance of regular check ups with doctors. In September, she appeared at a fundraiser for the organization Solutions for Change.
On April 26, 2014, she gave a speech at the Ericsson Center in Plano, Texas, where she spoke on behalf of the company's mentoring program for girls. Throughout the month, she made appearances at fundraisers for schools in Colorado. On May 9, 2014, she was scheduled to speak at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing. She was to arrive there with her daughter Barbara Pierce Bush, her husband George W. Bush, and Soledad O'Brien, a journalist.
In 2015, Bush had several speaking arrangements on issues relating to her husband's presidency. In July, the former First Lady, accompanied by her husband, attended the centennial anniversary of Tioga Road In Yosemite National Park in July and appeared in New Orleans in order to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. In October, she was a featured speaker for Wayland Baptist University.
Bush was keynote speaker at the Go Red for Women Summit in Austin in February 2016, an event designed to promote both financing and awareness for women fighting heart disease. In March, Bush attended the funeral of Nancy Reagan in California. and attended the memorial service for victims in the Dallas police officers shooting four months later in July.
On February 4, 2017, Bush appeared at the annual Union Regional Foundation's Heart of a Woman brunch, saying women do not worry about their own health due to often taking care of someone else and that their improving in health would benefit those around them. On March 8, Bush was keynote speaker at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center's annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner, Bush relating that she had learned about the Holocaust through her father. In April, Bush was the keynote speaker of the 25th annual Art of Hope Gala at the Dallas Museum of Art. On May 17, Bush made her second visit to the Andrew Johnson Hermitage and gave the keynote address at the 117th Spring Outing celebration. On May 31, Bush delivered a speech at the South-Central Monarch Symposium on the monarch butterfly decline in recent years. On June 3, Bush served as the keynote speaker at the National Willa Cather Center dedication in Red Cloud, Nebraska and officially opened the center with a ribbon cut. The following month, Bush accepted an invitation to join the eminent international Council of Patrons of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The university, which is the product of east–west foundational partnerships (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Open Society Foundation, IKEA Foundation etc.) and regional cooperation, serves extraordinarily talented women from 15 countries across Asia and the Middle East, including Afghanistan and Myanmar. In September, Bush delivered the keynote address at the Gateway to Opportunity luncheon at the Omni Dallas Hotel.
In April 2020, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Bush and Michelle Obama made a joint appearance on the One World: Together At Home televised concert special by the Global Citizen Festival where they expressed appreciation for healthcare workers, first responders, pharmacists, veterinarians, sanitation workers as well as grocery store workers and those delivering food and supplies to homes.
On September 11, 2021, Bush and her husband commemorated the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks at the Flight 93 National Memorial.
### Obama administration
Over the course of the Obama presidency, she developed an alliance with Michelle Obama, her immediate successor as First Lady. Despite their political differences, Michelle Obama has called Laura Bush both her friend and a role model, crediting Bush with setting "a high bar" for her during her tenure as First Lady. Bush defended Obama during her husband's campaign for president in 2008, publicly coming to her defense when she received criticism for a remark she made about being proud of her country for the first time in her adulthood during the campaign. Obama sent Bush a note thanking her and after the election met with Bush at the White House in November 2008, Bush giving Obama a tour of her and her family's soon-to-be home.
In September 2009, Bush openly praised President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. She reasoned that President Obama was performing well in the presidency despite having multiple initiatives taking place and complimented the First Lady's transformation of the White House into "a comfortable home for her family".
The following year, in September 2010, Bush and Obama commemorated the ninth anniversary of the September 11 attacks by leading a ceremony from a mountaintop to national memorial park. The two both acted as keynote speakers and met with the families of the 40 victims of United Airlines Flight 93 plane crash. In their remarks, the two sang each other's praises. Obama thanked Bush for her handling of the aftermath of September 11 attacks, while Bush called her a "first lady who serves this country with such grace".
In July 2013, Bush and Obama appeared together in Africa at the First Ladies Summit. Their husbands were also present, leading White House staffer Ben Rhodes to refer to the joint appearance as proof of the support for Africa in the United States regardless of political party. In their remarks, both Bush and Obama stressed the importance of being role models.
Nine months later, on April 18, 2014, Bush spoke to Inquisitr regarding income inequality where she said next regarding Michelle Obama's income: "I want to make sure that when she's working she's getting paid the same as men. I gotta say that First Ladies right now don't [get paid], even though that's a tough job\!" In August 2014, Bush and Obama appeared together at the Kennedy Center. Shortly afterward, Bush told The Washington Post that she believed Obama was ready to leave the White House.
In March 2015, Bush and Obama were named as co-chairs of the Find Your Park campaign, an attempt to increase national park support and introduce millennials to the park service before its centennial the following year. The pair made a joint appearance at the George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in September 2015, Bush appearing physically while Obama was present through a video call. Obama spoke of her admiration for Bush, who in turn mentioned their collaborations as "a great example for the world to see that women in different political parties, in the United States, agree on so many issues".
### Trump administration
On January 20, 2017, Bush and her husband attended the inauguration of Donald Trump. In a November interview, Bush stated that she wished the Trumps "the very best" given that she knew what it was like to live in the White House and confirmed that she both been in contact with former First Lady Melania Trump and been invited to the Diplomatic Reception Room by retained personnel from the Bush administration.
On June 17, 2018, Bush wrote an opinion piece firmly opposing the Trump administration family separation policy in The Washington Post. She mentioned how her mother-in-law Barbara Bush had picked up a crying AIDS baby while on a visit to the HIV/AIDS shelter "Grandma's House" in 1989. She mentioned this to indicate her shock upon discovery that the workers at the children's border shelter have been instructed "not to pick up or touch the children to comfort them".
### Biden administration
On January 20, 2021, Bush and her husband attended the inauguration of Joe Biden.
### Involvement with GOP
In the later months of 2012, Bush campaigned for Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, hosting a fundraiser in September with Ann Romney and appearing in Livonia, Michigan, the following month for a Romney campaign event. Michigan spokeswoman for the Romney campaign Kelsey Knight said having Mrs. Bush there would "just fuel the fire and the momentum we are seeing". She also campaigned for vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan, telling a crowd in Detroit that he and Romney had "better answers" on the economy and foreign policy.
After the 2012 election, where Romney lost to President Obama, Bush was asked in March 2013 during an interview whether the GOP's positions on social issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion led to more than half of female voters voting for the President. Bush responded that some of the candidates had "frightened some candidates", but at the same time expressed her liking of the Republican Party having room for difference of opinion and that within the party, "we have room for all".
Throughout 2015, Bush was active in the presidential campaign of brother-in-law Jeb Bush, hosting fundraisers and endorsing him. This was the most politically involved she had been since leaving the White House seven years prior, supporting her brother-in-law alongside the rest of her family because, in her words, he was "our candidate". In March she affirmed her support for her brother-in-law, calling herself and her husband "huge Jeb supporters". It was reported that she would be assisting the campaign's fundraising in Florida in October, Bloomberg News commenting that Jeb Bush was "calling in help from perhaps the most popular member of his family". According to Clay Johnson, a friend of the Bush family, she was reportedly surprised by Donald Trump's becoming frontrunner over the course of the election cycle. In February 2016, amid her brother-in-law's campaign trailing Trump in South Carolina polls, Bush traveled there with her husband. Jeb Bush dropped out of the race after the South Carolina primary. The following month, Bush declined answering if she would vote for Trump, who was the frontrunner in the Republican primary, should he become the nominee and said the U.S. was going through a xenophobic period at the time of the election cycle. Ultimately, Bush and her husband refused to vote for a president in 2016.
## Libraries
Bush created the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries "to support the education of our nation's children by providing funds to update, extend, and diversify the book and print collections of America's school libraries". Every year, the Laura Bush Foundation's grants award more than $1,000,000 to US schools.
The Laura Bush 21st Century Library Program grant, offered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, provides funding for "the recruitment and education of library students and continuing education for those already in the profession, as well as the development of new programs and curricula". Bush's 21st Century Library Program is an equal opportunity grant that does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.
In May 2015, Bush bestowed a $7,000 grant to six schools within Austin, Texas.
After Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita in 2005, the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries awarded grants of $10,000 to $75,000 to school libraries whose collections were damaged or destroyed in the hurricanes. In 2017, after the devastation from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria as well as the California wildfires, the foundation again is going to dedicate their resources to disaster-affected schools to rebuild their book collections.
## Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health
In August 2007, the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health (LWBIWH) was founded at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. This institute aims to integrate research, education and community outreach in a multidisciplinary approach to women's health and has begun efforts to establish a multi-campus women's health institute in Amarillo, El Paso, Lubbock and the Permian Basin.
A subsidiary of the center, the Jenna Welch Women's Center, opened in Midland, Texas, on August 10, 2010, to deliver expert medical care to women and their families. Operating in partnership with the Laura Bush Institute, the Jenna Welch Center, named for Bush's mother, strives for excellence in research, education and community outreach.
## Writings and recordings
Bush wrote her first book with her daughter Jenna called Read All About It\!. It was published on April 23, 2008. Bush's memoir, Spoken from the Heart, was published in 2010. The book received mixed reviews from critics but got positive responses from readers. The book earned Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Memoir and Autobiography (2010). Her non-fictional book about oppressed women of Afghanistan titled We Are Afghan Women: Voices of Hope was published on March 8, 2016. She wrote another children's book with her daughter Jenna, Our Great Big Backyard. The book was published on May 10, 2016. She was the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Junior League of Dallas, of which she is a member.
## Awards and honors
During and after her tenure as the First Lady, Laura Bush received a number of awards and honors. In October 2002, the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity honored her in recognition of her efforts on behalf of education. Also in 2002, she was named Barbara Walters' Most Fascinating Person of the year.
The American Library Association honored her for her years of support to America's libraries and librarians in April 2005.
On October 18, 2003, she was conferred by the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo the Order of Gabriela Silang, a single-class order which makes her the first U.S. First Lady recipient during the state visit of President George Bush to the Philippines.
She received an award in honor of her dedication to help improve the living conditions and education of children around the world, from the Kuwait-American Foundation in March 2006. She accepted The Nichols-Chancellor's Medal on behalf of disaster relief workers around the world in May 2006 from Vanderbilt University. In 2007, she received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
Four learning facilities have been named for her: the Laura Welch Bush Elementary School of Pasadena ISD in Houston, Texas, the Laura W. Bush Elementary School in the Leander ISD in Travis County, Texas, just outside Austin, the Laura Bush Middle School (Lubbock-Cooper ISD) in Lubbock, Texas, and the Laura Bush Education Center at Camp Bondsteel, a U.S. military base in Kosovo. She was awarded the 2008 Christian Freedom International Freedom Award. Bush is on the Board of Selectors of Jefferson Awards for Public Service.
In 2012, Bush—along with Hector Ruiz, Charles Matthews, Melinda Perrin, Julius Glickman and Admiral William H. McRaven, the Navy Seal who oversaw the raid that killed Osama bin Laden—was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Texas at Austin.
In October 2015, Bush was conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Wayland Baptist University in recognition of her longtime advocacy on behalf of education, health care and human rights following an address she gave on the university's campus. November, she received the 2015 Prevent Blindness Person of Vision Award.
In November 2016 Bush received 10 for 10 award from Women's Democracy Network in recognition of her years of work on behalf of Afghan women's rights.
In May 2017 Bush received an honor at the Women Making History Awards in Washington, D.C.
In 2018 Laura Bush and former President George W. Bush were awarded the National Constitution Center Liberty Medal for their work with U.S. military veterans since leaving the White House.
In 2021 Bush received the Concordia Leadership Award.
## In popular culture
Laura Bush is portrayed by Elizabeth Banks in Oliver Stone's film W. Curtis Sittenfeld's bestselling novel American Wife is largely based on her life.
In 2018, Bush appeared in an episode of HGTV's Fixer Upper".
## See also |
# Horizon (Star Trek: Enterprise)
"Horizon" is the twentieth episode of the second season of the science fiction television series Star Trek: Enterprise, and originally aired on April 16, 2003, on UPN. The episode was written by André Bormanis and directed by James A. Contner. The episode's guest stars included Nicole Forester, who had previously appeared in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; Joan Pringle; and Corey Mendell Parker.
Set in the 22nd century, the series follows the adventures of the first Starfleet starship Enterprise, registration NX-01. When the ship detours to observe volcanic activity on a planet, Ensign Mayweather (Anthony Montgomery) takes the opportunity to visit his family on board the E.C.S. Horizon.
Montgomery had previously suggested the appearance of Mayweather's parents at the end of season one, and was pleased to see them introduced. Several sets to create the Horizon were created on a soundstage, with the related scenes filmed in the second half of the episode's shoot after the main cast were dismissed, with the exception of Montgomery. Critical response was mixed, and the episode received the lowest ratings for a first-run episode of the series so far, viewed by 3.36 million viewers.
## Plot
At the direction of Starfleet, Enterprise makes a detour to a planet passing between two gas giants in order to observe the gravitational forces and subsequent volcanic activity. Their new course takes the ship close to that of E.C.S. Horizon, the cargo vessel on which Ensign Mayweather grew up. He requests permission for a further detour to rejoin his family on Horizon, as his father is ill and he hasn't been able to visit him in four years. Captain Archer readily agrees, but bad news arrives when Mayweather learns that his father died some six weeks earlier.
As planned, Mayweather boards Horizon and receives a warm welcome from most of the crew, including his mother Rianna. He finds that his brother, Paul, has been named acting captain, but he doesn't seem to be coping well with his new responsibilities. Mayweather offers to make a few repairs and upgrades to systems on the ship, but Paul tells him to stop, making him feel uneasy and out of place. Soon afterward the ship comes under attack, and a homing device is placed on the hull. Mayweather then recommends a boost in the ship's fighting capability, but Paul insists that the safest course is to flee to the nearest port and yield the cargo as needed.
Back on Enterprise, Commander Tucker arranges a movie night for the crew featuring the Frankenstein film trilogy, and invites Sub-Commander T'Pol. She eventually consents, and finally finds in the film an insightful view into historical human-Vulcan relations. Meanwhile, Mayweather makes his intended modifications without permission, resulting in a confrontation when Paul finds out. The ship comes under further attack from an alien vessel, and Paul offers up the cargo as planned. The aliens refuse and demand the vessel as well. Left without any other option, Paul tells Mayweather to reinitiate the modifications and to detach the command module from the cargo section. They soon disable the alien ship. The brothers reconcile and Mayweather leaves, promising to visit again soon.
## Production
In an interview conducted towards the end of the first season of Enterprise, Anthony Montgomery suggested that it would be good to see Travis Mayweather's parents make an appearance in the show. Montgomery was pleased when this came true in "Horizon", saying, "It was really a touching episode for me, you get a feel of how hard it was for Travis to leave the family and join Starfleet."
Production began on January 28, 2003 and lasted for seven days. The first three days of filming took place on the Enterprise standing sets. The second day in particular took place mostly on the set for the gravity neutral "sweet spot" first seen in the Enterprise pilot, "Broken Bow". The main cast, with the exception of Montgomery, were only required for the first three days. Montgomery filmed his scenes over the course of all seven days along with the guest cast. Several sets were created on a soundstage to appear as the Horizon. These included the bridge of the cargo ship, a cargo hold, Mayweather's old quarters, a mess hall, and a variety of corridors. The Horizon itself was rendered using computer-generated imagery and was to appear as a similar type of cargo vessel to that seen in season one's "Fortunate Son".
Nicole Forester, who previously played a Dabo girl on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, appeared in "Horizon" as Nora. Corey Mendell Parker and Joan Pringle both made their Star Trek debuts in this episode. The episode was written by André Bormanis, who had previously written episodes of Star Trek: Voyager and was the story editor for Enterprise during the first and second seasons.
## Reception
"Horizon" originally aired on UPN on April 16, 2003. In overnight figures from Nielsen the episode was thought to have received a 3.5/5% share among adults, beating The WB's Dawson's Creek in its timeslot. With those figures, while it would have continued a decrease in recent weeks, it would have still been more than the all-time low of "Vanishing Point", which recorded a share of 3.4%. The final adjusted ratings showed that "Horizon" received 3.36 million viewers, fewer than "Vanishing Point", setting the lowest rating record for a first-run episode of Enterprise at the time. Also Dawson's Creek actually beat Enterprise, with higher ratings although a lower number of viewers overall.
Michelle Erica Green, writing on the website TrekNation, enjoyed the performance of Anthony Montgomery after wondering why he hadn't been featured much so far in Enterprise. She said that the sub-plot was "witty" but didn't feel that the Mayweather family were well characterized. She found the episode frustrating because it seemed "to have all the elements in place to be a good episode". Jamahl Epsicokhan at his website Jammer's Reviews was neutral about the episode, saying that it was "not bad, but not particularly good or conclusive, either. Just simply 'there.'". He gave the episode a score of two and a half out of four. In scores given by readers of the website TrekWeb for the second season of Enterprise, "Horizon" was ranked 21st out of 26 episodes by average score. Based on the number of ten out of ten votes, it was placed last overall. James Gray of The Digital Fix criticized the episode as "just a variation on Season One's Favourite Son" [sic]. Baz Greendland also of The Digital Fix wrote: "'Horizon' is a largely dull, generic story with the dull, generic Mayweather" and said it "doesn't do anything interesting with the boomer concept introduced in season one." Jordan Hoffman writing for Playboy.com ranked this episode 498 out of 695 Star Trek episodes, and wrote: "Decent world building as we visit Mayweather's family aboard their merchant vessel, but could use more oomph." In his 2022 rewatch, Keith DeCandido of Tor.com gave it 6 out of 10.
## Home media release
The episode was released on DVD as part of the season two box set on November 1, 2005 in the United States. A release on Blu-ray Disc for season two occurred on August 20, 2013. |
# Adam Stansfield
Adam Stansfield (10 September 1978 – 10 August 2010) was an English professional footballer who played as a striker. He competed professionally for Yeovil Town, Hereford United and Exeter City, and won promotion from the Football Conference to The Football League with all three teams.
Having played for three counties as a child, Stansfield began his career in non-league with Cullompton Rangers and Elmore, and had unsuccessful trials at league teams. At the age of 23, he signed his first professional contract with Yeovil Town, after impressing their manager Gary Johnson in a match against them. In his first season, he helped them win the FA Trophy, scoring in the 2002 final. The following season, Yeovil won the Conference and promotion into The Football League, although Stansfield was ruled out with a broken leg in the first game. In 2004, he transferred to Hereford United, where he won promotion to The Football League via the 2006 play-offs, and repeated the feat with Exeter City two years later. He also helped Exeter earn promotion into League One in 2009. At international level, Stansfield played five matches and scored one goal for England's national semi-professional team, winning the 2005 Four Nations Tournament.
Stansfield was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in April 2010. He returned to training after surgery and chemotherapy, but died on 10 August that year. A foundation in his name was posthumously set up by his family to provide sporting opportunities and raise awareness of colorectal cancer. He has posthumously been featured on a Flybe airliner livery and a local currency banknote in Exeter.
## Early and personal life
Stansfield was born in Plymouth, Devon, as the third of four children, and supported Nottingham Forest. On 2 June 2001 he married Marie, with whom he had three sons. By the 2019–20 season, his son Jay was scoring regularly for Fulham's Under 18 team, and in 2022 joined Exeter on loan from the Craven Cottage side, wearing number 9, the shirt number synonymous with his father's legacy at the club. He made his debut as a substitute during Exeter's 1–0 victory over MK Dons. Devon journalist Gary Andrews remembered Stansfield senior as a man who would spend time with his family after matches while speaking to fans and the press. He wrote that "I had the pleasure of interviewing Adam on a regular basis... I say pleasure, because his answers were thoughtful and intelligent and he came across as a man who was delighted to be back home with his friends and family."
## Career
### Early career
Stansfield's first club was Evesham Colts under-10s. He played at county level for Worcestershire, Leicestershire and Devon. When his family settled back in Devon he joined Twyford Spartans, scoring 84 goals in 54 matches. He played in Tiverton Town's youth team as a left back before reverting to being a striker at his first senior club, non-League side Cullompton Rangers. He later moved to Elmore, where he attracted trials from Exeter City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Torquay United, all of which were unsuccessful. His siblings joined the Royal Air Force and he thought of joining them, but continued searching for a breakthrough in professional football.
### Yeovil Town
In October 2001, Stansfield's performances for Elmore impressed Yeovil Town manager Gary Johnson to sign him. He made his debut in the Conference on 9 November, playing the entirety of a 3–0 loss away to Southport. His first goal came on 1 December, concluding a 3–1 victory at Northwich Victoria. His first season at Huish Park was a success, finishing as the top scorer with 16 goals, eight of which came in the club's victorious FA Trophy run. He scored twice in a fourth round replay at Doncaster Rovers, as Yeovil came from 0–3 down for an eventual 5–4 victory. In the final on 12 May he scored the second goal of a 2–0 win over Stevenage Borough at the Villa Park, Birmingham.
On the first day of the following season, Stansfield was substituted through injury after 16 minutes of an eventual 2–2 home draw with Gravesend & Northfleet to be replaced by Abdoulai Demba. It was later confirmed to be a break of the tibia and fibula. He missed the remainder of the season, in which Yeovil won the Conference to be promoted to The Football League for the first time.
He recovered to feature in the next campaign, making his league debut on 16 August 2003. In that match, Yeovil's first in The Football League, he came on as an 80th-minute substitute for Kirk Jackson in a 3–0 win against Carlisle United. His first of six goals in the Third Division season came on 6 September, opening a 2–0 home win over Swansea City. He was given a rare start in that match as first-choice forward Kevin Gall was away with Wales under-21.
### Hereford United
On 14 June 2004, Stansfield returned to the Conference with Hereford United, signed by Graham Turner to replace their previous season's top scorer Steve Guinan, who had been sold to Cheltenham Town. He scored 20 goals across the season, including two on 25 March 2005 in a 6–0 win at Farnborough Town. In that match, he came on in the 77th minute for Daniel Carey-Bertram, who had also scored two. Hereford reached the promotion play-offs, where they lost in the semi-finals to Stevenage. In the following season they won promotion by the play-offs, with Stansfield starting in the final on 20 May 2006 at the Walkers Stadium in Leicester, a 3–2 extra-time victory over Halifax Town.
### Exeter City
On 12 June 2006, with his contract expired, Stansfield decided to remain in the Conference, joining Exeter City. He told local radio that his aim was not to achieve promotion or reach a certain tally of goals, but to influence the club's younger players.
He scored nine times in 40 league games in his first season, including two in a 2–1 home win over relegated Southport on 28 April 2007 in order to seal a play-off place. Eleven days later, in the second leg of the play-off semi-final away to Oxford United, he scored a goal which took the match to extra time and eventually a penalty shootout which his side won. In the final on 20 May at Wembley Stadium, he came on as a 36th-minute substitute for goalscorer Lee Phillips in a 1–2 loss to Morecambe.
On 26 April 2008, Stansfield scored in Exeter's 4–4 draw at Burton Albion which qualified them for that season's play-offs. He started in the final, whereby the team returned to The Football League for the first time in five years with a 1–0 Wembley win over Cambridge United.
He scored 10 goals in 37 league games as they won a second consecutive promotion into League One in the 2008–09 season. This included consecutive braces on 27 September and 4 October, in wins over Macclesfield Town (4–1 away) and Gillingham (3–0 home). The following campaign, despite never having previously played at as high a level, he was a regular starter for Exeter in League One, scoring eight goals in a season curtailed by his cancer diagnosis.
### International career
Stansfield earned five caps and scored one goal for the England national semi-professional team. He featured in the 2002 edition of the Four Nations Tournament, and made his debut in England's opening match, a 1–1 draw with Wales at York Street in Boston on 14 May. Stansfield was injured in the first half of the last match, a 2–0 win against Scotland at Rockingham Road in Kettering on 18 May, while Wales won the title. In 2005, while back in the Conference with Hereford, he was again called up for the tournament by manager Paul Fairclough. Stansfield played in two matches as England won the tournament with three wins.
## Illness and death
Stansfield suffered from persistent abdominal pain in the early part of 2010, and was admitted to hospital for tests at the end of March. On 8 April 2010, Exeter City confirmed to the media that he had been diagnosed with a form of colorectal cancer. Manager Paul Tisdale told local news programme BBC Spotlight that "there's little good on this subject... but if there's someone who can deal with it and meet it head on with real purpose, Adam's the man".
Later that month, Stansfield underwent surgery to remove part of his colon. Club vice-chairman Julian Tagg reported that the operation was successful, and that Stansfield appeared happy and was making jokes. He joined the Exeter squad for the first day of pre-season training in July, appearing weak from chemotherapy. His condition deteriorated rapidly and he died on 10 August in Exeter, with his death being announced shortly after Exeter's loss to Ipswich Town in the League Cup.
As a mark of respect, Dagenham & Redbridge postponed the game Exeter were due to play against them at Victoria Road four days after his death. Exeter retired his shirt number 9 for nine seasons. His son, Jay Stansfield, wore the number 9 shirt for Exeter City, when he was on loan from Fulham in the 2022–23 season.
Stansfield's body was taken from St James Park to his funeral service at Exeter Cathedral on 25 August, attended by more than 1,000 mourners. A private family service was held later.
### Posthumous recognition
At his funeral, Stansfield's widow Marie had an idea to set up the Adam Stansfield Foundation, which by the fourth anniversary of his death had raised over £150,000. It works in offering children football in Devon, Somerset and Herefordshire, the three counties in which he played professionally, as well as increasing opportunities for the disabled to take part in the sport. The foundation also aims to increase awareness of bowel cancer.
Stansfield continues to be remembered by fans of his former teams. On 9 August 2014, as Exeter started the new season against Portsmouth, a giant flag resembling his club shirt was displayed by the crowd. Hereford, the phoenix club of Hereford United, gave a minute's applause to Stansfield in the ninth minute – his number for the Bulls — in the 2016 FA Vase Final. Exeter and Yeovil agreed that on their meeting at St James Park on 8 August 2015, there would be a minute's applause in the seventh minute and ninth, for the numbers he wore at each club. Earlier the same day, there was also a match between the two clubs' supporters in Topsham, Devon, to raise funds for his foundation.
In March 2011, Elmore named their new stand at Horsdon Park after Stansfield, ahead of a game against Hengrove Athletic. The match attracted over 100 fans, ahead of a usual average of 35. From 2011 to 2015, an aeroplane belonging to Flybe bore an image of Stansfield, with other aeroplanes belonging to the company featuring such former footballers as George Best and Kevin Keegan. In 2015, Stansfield was featured on £5 Exeter Pound notes in the city. In recognition of his achievements at Exeter City, Stansfield was in 2017 inducted into the Exeter City Hall of Fame alongside Sidney Thomas, Graham Rees and Peter Hatch. In 2018 Exeter City named their new stand the Stagecoach Adam Stansfield Stand.
## Career statistics
## Honours
Yeovil Town
- FA Trophy: 2001–02
- Football Conference: 2002–03
Hereford United
- Conference National play-offs: 2006
Exeter City
- Conference National play-offs: 2008
England semi-professional
- Four Nations Tournament: 2005 |
# CMLL World Trios Championship
The CMLL World Trios Championship (Spanish: "Campeonato Mundial de Trios") is a professional wrestling championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico. The title has existed since 1991 and is contested for by teams of three wrestlers.
The first champions were Los Infernales ("The Infernal Ones"; MS-1, Pirata Morgan and El Satánico) who won a tournament on November 22, 1991. Since then 28 trios have held the championship. The current champions are Los Infernales (Euforia, Averno and Mephisto). They won the titles by defeating Máscara Dorada, Star Jr. and Neón at Noche de Campeones on September 27, 2024, in Mexico City, Mexico. The championship has been vacated on four occasions, each time leading to CMLL holding a tournament to determine new champions. Only two teams have held the title on more than one occasion, Los Infernales and the trio of Héctor Garza, Hijo del Fantasma and La Máscara.
## History
With the emergence of trios (tag teams consisting of three people) such as Los Misioneros de la Muerte, Los Brazos and more, the six-man tag team match became increasingly popular in the early 1980s. Its popularity led to the trios format becoming the most prevalent match format in Lucha libre to this day. In 1985, the Mexican lucha libre, or professional wrestling, promotion Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre ("Mexican Wrestling Enterprise"; EMLL) was given control of the newly created Mexican National Trios Championship. Over the subsequent six years, that championship became the focal point of the very popular trios division, serving as the highest honor EMLL could bestow on a trio at the time. In 1991, EMLL changed their name to Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ("World Wrestling Council") and began to establish a series of CMLL-branded world championships, relegating the Mexican National championships to being a secondary level of championships within the company. In 1991, CMLL added a CMLL-branded world championship for the trios division. They held a 16-team tournament to crown the first champions, a tournament that saw "Los Infernales" ("The Infernal Ones"; MS-1, Pirata Morgan and El Satánico) defeat "Los Brazos" ("The Arms"; El Brazo, Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata) to become the first CMLL World Trios Champions. Over the next couple of years, the championship would be held by such teams as "Los Intocables" ("The Untouchables" Jaque Mate, Masakre and Pierroth Jr.) and "La Ola Blanca" ("The White Wave"; Gran Markus Jr., El Hijo del Gladiador and Dr. Wagner Jr.). In 1993, the then-reigning Mexican National Trios Champions left CMLL, and the Mexico City Boxing and wrestling commission allowed the champions to take the Mexican National Trios Championship with them. From 1993 through 2001, when the Mexican National Trios Championship returned to CMLL, the CMLL World Trios Championship was the only championship for the division.
In 1997 then-reigning champion Héctor Garza, who held the title along with Dos Caras and La Fiera, left CMLL, forcing the championship to be vacated. Subsequently, the team of Rey Bucanero, Emilio Charles Jr. and El Satánico won the championship in a tournament final over Apolo Dantés, Black Warrior, and Dr. Wagner Jr. In October 1998, the championship was vacated again when Mr. Niebla was injured, forcing his teammates Atlantis and Lizmark to give up the championship. The Lagunero team of Black Warrior, Blue Panther and Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated "Los Guapos" ("The Hansome Ones"; Bestia Salvaje, Scorpio Jr. and Zumbido) in the tournament finals, but vacated the championship in February 2002. Blue Panther and Dr. Wagner Jr. replaced Black Warrior with Fuerza Guerrera and defeated Black Warrior's new team of Mr. Niebla, Antifaz del Norte and Black Warrior himself. In 2006, the championship were vacated once again after not being defended for almost 20 months. Los Guerreros de Atlantida ("The Warriors from Atlantis"; Atlantis, Tarzan Boy and Último Guerrero) won the championship on September 29, 2006, and began defending it on a regular basis. In February 2007 Los Perros del Mal ("The Bad Dogs"; Perro Aguayo Jr., Mr. Águila and Héctor Garza) won the championship and held it for 15 months before splitting up and vacating the championship. The team of El Hijo del Fantasma, Héctor Garza and La Máscara won the tournament, defeating Blue Panther, Dos Caras Jr. and Místico in the finals. In 2015 CMLL's Guadalajara branch brought back the Occidente ("Western") Trios Championship, specifically for their shows held in Jalisco, Guadalajara. The Occidente championship is considered tertiary to both the world and national championships.
## Reigns
The current champions are Los Infernales (Euforia, Averno and Mephisto). They won the titles by defeating Máscara Dorada, Star Jr. and Neón at Noche de Campeones on September 27, 2024, in Mexico City, Mexico; they are the 37th overall championship team. Black Warrior, Blue Panther and Dr. Wagner Jr. holds the record for the longest single reign of any team, but due to the uncertainty of when the championship was vacated it can only be verified that they held them for a minimum of 1,141 days. Dr. Wagner Jr.'s four reigns combine to 2,051 days, the highest of any wrestler. Héctor Garza's five individual reigns is the record for the most reigns of any individual wrestler. All title matches take place under two out of three falls rules.
## Tournaments
### 1991
CMLL held a 16-trios team tournament from October 25, 1991 to November 22, 1991 to determine the first ever CMLL World Trios Championship team. This was the third CMLL-branded world championship created by CMLL after the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship in May and the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship in September 1991. In the finals, Los Infernales (El Satánico, MS-1 and Pirata Morgan) defeated Los Brazos (El Brazo, Brazo de Oro and Brazo de Plata) to win the championship.
- Tournament brackets
### 1997
In early 1997 Héctor Garza, who was one-third of the reigning CMLL World Trios Champions alongside Dos Caras and La Fiera, left CMLL to join rival promotion AAA. CMLL vacated the championship and decided to hold a one-night, eight-team tournament to crown the new trios champions. The tournament took place on Friday March 21, 1997 on the undercard of the 1997 Homenaje a Salvador Lutteroth ("Homage to Salvador Lutteroth") show. In the finals, Emilio Charles Jr., Rey Bucanero and El Satánico defeated Apolo Dantés, Black Warrior, and Dr. Wagner Jr.
- Tournament brackets
### 1998
In October 1998, Mr. Niebla suffered an injury, which forced CMLL to vacate the CMLL World Trios Championship as it was not clear when Mr. Niebla would be able to wrestle again. They held a three-show, eight-team tournament from December 4 to December 12, 1998. Former champions Atlantis and Lizmark teamed up with Emilio Charles Jr. for the tournament, while Mr. Niebla actually returned to action in time to be in the tournament as well, teaming up with Rayo de Jalisco Jr. and Shocker. In the finals the trio of Dr. Wagner Jr., Blue Panther and Black Warrior defeated Los Guapos (Scorpio Jr., Bestia Salvaje and Zumbido) to lay claim to the championship.
- Tournament brackets
### 2008
In the summer of 2008 then-CMLL World Trios Champions Los Perros del Mal kicked Héctor Garza out of the group; at the time Garza held the championship alongside Perros members Perro Aguayo Jr. and Mr. Águila, forcing the championship to be vacated. CMLL held an eight-team tournament for the vacant championship, starting on May 30, with the finals on June 13, 2008, during CMLL's 2008 Infierno en el Ring event.
- Tournament brackets
### 2013
In May 2013 long-time CMLL World Trios Champions El Bufete del Amor (Marco Corleone, Máximo and Rush) were forced to vacate the championship due to Corleone suffering a serious knee injury. CMLL held an eight-team, two-night tournament to determine the next champions. The tournament started on June 9, 2013 and the finals took place on June 16.
- Tournament brackets |
# My Bloody Valentine (band)
My Bloody Valentine (often stylised in all lowercase or abbreviated as MBV) are an Irish-English alternative rock band formed in Dublin in 1983 and consisting since 1987 of founding members Kevin Shields (vocals, guitar, sampler) and Colm Ó Cíosóig (drums, sampler), with Bilinda Butcher (vocals, guitar) and Debbie Googe (bass). Their work is characterized by warped, distorted guitar textures, subdued androgynous vocals, and unorthodox production techniques. They are widely cited as a pioneering act in the shoegaze genre.
Following several unsuccessful early releases and membership changes, My Bloody Valentine signed to Creation Records in 1988. The band released several successful EPs and the albums Isn't Anything (1988) and Loveless (1991) on the label; the latter is often described as their magnum opus and one of the greatest rock albums of all time. However, My Bloody Valentine were dropped by Creation after its release due to the album's extensive production costs. In 1992, the band signed to Island Records and recorded several albums worth of unreleased material, remaining largely inactive.
Googe and Ó Cíosóig left the band in 1995; they were followed by Butcher in 1997. Unable to complete a follow-up to Loveless, Shields isolated himself and, in his own words, "went crazy". In 2007, My Bloody Valentine reunited and subsequently embarked on a world tour. They released the compilation EP's 1988-1991 in 2012. Their long-delayed third studio album, m b v, was released in 2013 to critical acclaim and was supported by further touring.
## History
### 1978–1985: Formation
In 1978, Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig were introduced to each other at a karate tournament in South Dublin. The duo became friends in what has been described as "an almost overnight friendship" and later formed the Complex, a punk rock band, with Liam Ó Maonlaí, Ó Cíosóig's friend from Coláiste Eoin. The band, who performed "a handful of gigs" consisting of Sex Pistols and Ramones songs, disbanded when Ó Maonlaí left to form Hothouse Flowers. Shields and Ó Cíosóig later formed A Life in the Day, a post-punk trio, but failed to secure performances with more than a hundred people present.
Following A Life in the Day's dissolution, Shields and Ó Cíosóig formed My Bloody Valentine in early 1983 with bass player Mark Loughlin (nowadays recording as The Engineer) and lead vocalist David Conway. Conway, who performed under the pseudonym Dave Stelfox, suggested a number of potential band names, including the Burning Peacocks, before the quartet settled on My Bloody Valentine. Shields has since claimed he was unaware that My Bloody Valentine was the title of a 1981 Canadian slasher film when the name was suggested. Second guitarist Stephen Ivers also joined the band at this time
My Bloody Valentine experienced a number of line-up changes during their initial months. Lead guitarist Stephen Ivers and bassist Mark Ross were recruited in April 1983 and the band would often rehearse near Smithfield and Temple Bar in rehearsal spaces owned by Aidan Walsh. Walsh, who booked some of the band's early performances, said the rehearsals were "too noisy" and "crazy" that "next door were giving out hell". Ross left the band in December 1983 and was replaced by Paul Murtagh, who left the band in early 1984. In March 1984, Shields, Ivers and Conway recorded the band's first demo on a four-track recorder in Shields' parents' home in Killiney. Shields and Ó Cíosóig overdubbed bass and drum tracks at Litton Lane Studios, and the tape was later used to secure a contract with Tycoon Records.
Soon after recording the demo, Ivers left My Bloody Valentine and Conway's girlfriend, Tina Durkin, joined as a keyboard player. Around this time, Conway, on the suggestion of Shields, contacted Gavin Friday, the lead vocalist of the post-punk band Virgin Prunes. According to Shields, Conway approached Friday in Finglas, asked him for advice and was told to "get out of Dublin." Shields agreed with the advice, commenting in January 1991 that "there was no room for us" in Ireland; Ó Cíosóig explained that the Irish music scene was not receptive to their style. Friday provided the band with contacts that secured them a show in Tilburg, Netherlands. The band relocated to the Netherlands after the show and lived there for a further nine months, opening for R.E.M. on one occasion on 8 April 1984. Due to a lack of opportunities and a lack of correct documentation, the band relocated to West Berlin, Germany in late 1984 and recorded their debut mini album, This Is Your Bloody Valentine (1985). The album failed to receive much attention and the band returned temporarily to the Netherlands, before settling in London in the middle of 1985.
### 1985–1986: Independent releases
Following their relocation to London in 1985, members of My Bloody Valentine lost contact with each other while looking for accommodation and Tina Durkin, not confident in her abilities as a keyboard player, left the band. When the remaining three members regained contact with one another, the band decided to audition bassists, as they lacked a regular bassist since their formation. Shields acquired Debbie Googe's telephone number from a contact in London, invited her to audition and subsequently recruited her as a bassist. Googe managed to attend rehearsals, which were centered around her day job. Rehearsal sessions were regularly held at Salem Studios, which was connected to the independent record label Fever Records. The label's management were impressed with the band and agreed to release an extended play, provided the band would finance the recording sessions themselves. Released in December 1985, Geek\! failed to reach the band's expectations; however, soon after its release, My Bloody Valentine were performing on the London gig circuit, alongside bands such as Eight Living Legs, Kill Ugly Pop and The Sting-rays.
Due to the band's slow progress, Shields contemplated relocating to New York City, where members of his family were living at the time. However, Creation Records co-founder Joe Foster had decided to establish his own record label, Kaleidoscope Sound and persuaded My Bloody Valentine to record and release an EP. The New Record by My Bloody Valentine, produced by Foster, was released in October 1986 and was a minor success, peaking at number 22 on the UK Indie Chart upon its release. On the strength of the release, the band began performing more frequent shows, later developing a small following and travelling outside London for live performances, supporting and opening for bands such as The Membranes.
### 1987: Lazy Records and Butcher's recruitment
In early 1987, My Bloody Valentine signed to Lazy Records, another independent record label, which was founded by the indie pop band the Primitives and their manager, Wayne Morris. My Bloody Valentine's first release on the label was the single "Sunny Sundae Smile", released in February 1987. It peaked at number 6 on the UK Indie Singles Chart and the band toured following its release. After a number of performances throughout the U.K., the band managed to secure a support slot with the Soup Dragons, but on that tour in March 1987, David Conway announced his decision to leave the band, citing a gastric illness, disillusionment with music and ambitions to become a writer.
Conway's departure left the band without a lead vocalist, and Shields, Ó Cíosóig and Googe advertised in the local music press for a new singer. The audition process, which Shields described as "disastrous and excruciating," was unsuccessful because he had mentioned the Smiths in the advertisements "because [he] liked their melodies," attracting a number of vocalists whom he called "fruitballs." Although considering forming another group, the band experimented with vocalists Bilinda Butcher and Joe Byfield, both of whom had been recommended to the band by other musicians. Butcher, whose musical experience consisted of playing classical guitar as a child and singing and playing tambourine "with some girlfriends for fun," had learned that My Bloody Valentine needed a backing vocalist from her partner, who had met Ó Cíosóig on a ferry from the Netherlands. At her audition, she sang "The Bargain Store," a song from Dolly Parton's 1975 album of the same name. She was invited to join the group, with Byfield deemed unsuitable as a lead vocalist.
Following Butcher's recruitment, Shields shared lead vocals with her. Commenting on the transition, Shields noted that Butcher "sounded all right and she could sing one of our songs, we just had to show her how to play guitar." Shields was initially reluctant to take on a vocal role within the band, but said that he had "always sung in the rehearsal room [...] and made up the melodies." With the new lineup in place, the band intended to drop the My Bloody Valentine moniker, but according to Ó Cíosóig and Shields, the band was unable to decide on a name and kept the moniker "for better or for worse."
Under pressure from Lazy Records to release a full-length album, the band compromised and agreed to release a single and subsequent mini-album, citing the need for time to stabilize their new lineup. "Strawberry Wine", a three-track single, was released in November 1987 and Ecstasy was released a month later. Both received moderate critical acclaim, and peaked at number 13 and 12 on the independent singles and albums chart, respectively. However, "Strawberry Wine" was described as "certainly the better of the two releases", as Ecstasy was plagued by production difficulties, including errors in the mastering process. Ecstasy was criticised as the product of "a group who appeared to have run out of money halfway through recording," which was later confirmed, as the band were funding the studio sessions themselves. My Bloody Valentine's contract with Lazy stated that the label would handle promotion of releases, whereas the band would finance the recording sessions. Following their departure from Lazy, which later rereleased "Strawberry Wine" and Ecstasy on the compilation album Ecstasy and Wine (1989) without the band's consent, Rough Trade Records offered a deal to finance the recording and release of a full-length album, but the band turned it down.
### 1988–1991: Creation Records and Loveless
In January 1988, My Bloody Valentine performed in Canterbury, opening for Biff Bang Pow\!, a band that featured Creation Records founder Alan McGee. After "blowing [Biff Bang Pow\!] off the stage," My Bloody Valentine were described as "the Irish equivalent to Hüsker Dü" by McGee, who approached the band after the show and invited them to record and release a single on Creation. The band recorded five songs at a studio in Walthamstow, East London in less than a week. In August 1988, they released the You Made Me Realise EP, which was received well by the independent music press and, according to AllMusic's Nitsuh Abebe, "made critics stand up and take notice of the brilliant things My Bloody Valentine were up to ... it developed some of the stunning guitar sounds that would become the band's trademark." It debuted at number 2 on the UK Indie Chart. Following the success of You Made Me Realise, the band released their debut full-length studio album, Isn't Anything, in November 1988. Recorded in rural Wales, the album was a major success, receiving widespread critical acclaim, peaking at number 1 on the UK Indie Chart and influencing a number of "shoegazing" bands, who according to AllMusic, "worked off the template My Bloody Valentine established with [the album]."
In February 1989, My Bloody Valentine began recording their second studio album at Blackwing Studios in Southwark, London. Creation Records believed that the album could be recorded "in five days," but it soon "became clear that wasn't going to happen." Following several unproductive months, during which Shields assumed main duties for the musical and technical aspects of the sessions, the band relocated to a total of 19 other studios and hired a number of engineers, including Alan Moulder, Anjali Dutt and Guy Fixsen. Because of the extensive recording time, Shields and Alan McGee agreed to release another EP, and the band released Glider in April 1990. Containing the lead single "Soon", the EP peaked at number 2 on the UK Indie Chart and the band toured in the summer of 1990 to support its release. In February 1991, while still recording their second album, My Bloody Valentine released Tremolo, which was another critical success and topped the UK Indie Chart.
Released in November 1991, Loveless was rumoured to have cost more than £250,000 and bankrupted Creation Records, claims that Shields has denied. Critical reception to Loveless was nearly unanimous with praise, although the album was not a commercial success; it peaked at number 24 on the UK Albums Chart but failed to chart internationally. McGee dropped My Bloody Valentine from Creation Records soon after the release of Loveless because of the album's extensive recording period and his interpersonal problems with Shields. However, Loveless proved to have a lasting influence, inspiring bands such as Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Mogwai, Nine Inch Nails and more.
### 1992–1997: Island Records and breakup
My Bloody Valentine signed with Island Records in October 1992 for a reported £250,000 contract. The band's advance went toward the construction of a home studio in Streatham, South London, which was completed in April 1993. Several technical problems with the studio sent the band into "semi-meltdown," according to Shields, who was rumoured to have been suffering from writer's block. The band remained largely inactive, but they recorded and released two cover songs from 1993 to 1996—a rendering of "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong for Peace Together and a cover of "Map Ref. 41°N 93°W" by Wire for the tribute album Whore: Tribute to Wire.
In 1995, Debbie Googe and Colm Ó Cíosóig left My Bloody Valentine. Googe, who briefly worked as a taxi driver following her departure, formed the indie rock supergroup Snowpony with Katharine Gifford, who also performed with Stereolab and Moonshake. Ó Cíosóig relocated to the United States, forming Hope Sandoval & the Warm Inventions with Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star. Shields and Butcher attempted to record a third studio album that Shields claimed would be released in 1998. Butcher departed the band in 1997. Unable to finalise a third album, Shields isolated himself, and, in his own words, "went crazy," drawing comparisons in the music press to the eccentric behavior of Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys and Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd. Shields later became a touring member of Primal Scream, collaborated with a number of artists including Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr. and Le Volume Courbe and recorded songs for the soundtrack to the 2003 film Lost in Translation.
Rumours have spread among fans that albums worth of material had been recorded and shelved prior to the band's breakup. In 1999, it was reported that Shields had delivered 60 hours of material to Island Records, and Butcher confirmed that there existed "probably enough songs to fill two albums." Shields later admitted that at least one full album of "half-finished" material was abandoned, stating "it was dead. It hadn't got that spirit, that life in it."
### 2007–2013: Reunion and m b v
In August 2007, reports emerged suggesting that My Bloody Valentine would reunite for the 2008 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. Similar reports had circulated in 2003 stating that Shields, Butcher and Ó Cíosóig were together in Berlin to rerecord five songs originally recorded for Glider that would be included in an upcoming box set. In 2007, reports suggested that the band were to perform at a series of Pod-organised concerts at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, Dublin. Shields later confirmed the reunion and said that the band's third studio album, which he had begun recording in 1996, was near completion. Three live shows in the U.K. were announced in November 2007, and on 13 June 2008, My Bloody Valentine performed in public for the first time in 16 years with two live rehearsals at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.
My Bloody Valentine embarked upon an extensive worldwide tour throughout summer and autumn 2008. The band performed at European music festivals, including the Roskilde Festival in Roskilde, Denmark, Øyafestivalen in Oslo, Norway and Electric Picnic in Stradbally, Ireland, as well as the Fuji Rock Festival in Niigata, Japan. From 19 to 21 September, the band curated and performed at the 2008 All Tomorrow's Parties festival in New York and later performed throughout North America, including dates in Chicago, Toronto, Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Austin. The band spent £200,000 on equipment for their world tour, which was their first since 1992 in support of Loveless.
Following additional touring in 2009, My Bloody Valentine dedicated their time to completing their third album. Rumours of a box set, which had circulated in April 2008 following a listing on HMV Japan's web site, recirculated. In March 2012, after a number of reported delays, Sony Music Ireland announced the release of the compilation album EP's 1988–1991—a collection of the band's Creation Records extended plays, singles and unreleased tracks. The compilation album was released on 4 May 2012 along with remastered versions of Isn't Anything and Loveless.
In November 2012, Kevin Shields announced plans to release My Bloody Valentine's third album online before the end of the year. In December, the band announced on Facebook that the album was completed and mastered, and on 27 January 2013, during a warmup show at Electric Brixton in London, Shields told the audience that the album "might be out in two or three days." The album, titled m b v, was released through the band's official website on 2 February 2013, and the resulting high traffic crashed the site. Upon its release, m b v received "universal acclaim," according to Metacritic, and the band went on a worldwide tour.
### 2013–present: Future plans
In 2013, Shields announced plans to release a My Bloody Valentine EP "of all-new material," which would be followed by a fourth studio album. In September 2017, it was reported that Shields was working on material for a new My Bloody Valentine album that was projected for release in 2018. As of 2018, two EPs were expected to be released in 2019, but all previously announced release estimates have not been met.
In April 2020, American clothing brand Supreme announced a collaboration with My Bloody Valentine, licensing the album art of Glider, Feed Me With Your Kiss and Loveless for the company's Spring 2020 clothing collection.
On 29 March 2021, My Bloody Valentine published a promotional video which features the cover art of previous releases as well as the text "31 03". On 31 March 2021, it was announced that My Bloody Valentine signed with Domino Recording Company. The band's full discography from 1988 to 2013 was made available on streaming services worldwide for the first time, as well as announcing CD and LP re-releases of their music for 21 May. While promoting My Bloody Valentine's re-releases, Shields confirmed that the band is working on new material, and said that they plan on finishing a melodic, song-oriented album and a more experimental album.
In 2022, My Bloody Valentine accused music streaming service Spotify of showing "fake lyrics" which the band called "completely incorrect and insulting".
On November 25, 2024, the band announced a one-off concert (its first in seven years) to take place on November 22, 2025 at the 3Arena in Dublin.
## Style
### Influences
My Bloody Valentine's musical style progressed throughout their career. The band were originally influenced by post-punk acts such as The Birthday Party, The Cramps and Joy Division; according to author Mike McGonial the band "brought together the least interesting elements" of their influences. They were also influenced by certain dark post-punk bands who were experimenting: "the best of all was Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Cure and Killing Joke". Their debut mini album, This is Your Bloody Valentine (1985), incorporated a further gothic rock sound which AllMusic referred to as "unfocused and derivative". However, when the band began experimenting with pop melodies on The New Record by My Bloody Valentine (1986), it marked "a vital point in the development of their sound", which was influenced primarily by The Jesus and Mary Chain. The band later took a "rarified, effete and poppy approach to Byrdsian rock" with their two successive releases, "Strawberry Wine" and Ecstasy (1987). Isn't Anything and its preceding releases were influenced by American bands, most notably the distorted guitar-based noise rock of Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth, as well as the experimental dream pop of British group A.R. Kane, during which time Shields developed his trademark guitar techniques.
The band were also influenced by dance music and especially hip hop, of which Shields said "it beats the shit out of most rock music when it comes to being experimental, it's been a constant source of inspiration to us." Shield's experimentation with guitar tone would be influenced by sampled sounds employed by Public Enemy and the Bomb Squad, which Shields described as "half-buried or muted, a real sense of sounds being semi-decayed, or destroyed, but then re-used." The band began experimenting with samplers around the time of the Glider EP, utilizing them to play back and manipulate their own guitar feedback and vocals on keyboards; by the time of the Tremolo EP, they had acquired a professional Akai sampler. In the mid-1990s, Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig began recording music influenced by the rapid rhythms of the UK's underground jungle and drum and bass rave scene.
### Sound
One of the most recognisable aspects of My Bloody Valentine's music is Shields' electric guitar sound, which "use[s] texture more than technique to create vivid soundscapes." During the late 1980s, Shields began customising the tremolo systems for his Fender Jaguars and Jazzmasters; extending the tremolo arm and loosening it considerably, to allow him to manipulate the arm while strumming chords, which resulted in excessive pitch bending. Shields used a number of alternate and open tunings that together with his tremolo manipulation achieved "a strange warping effect that makes the music wander in and out of focus", according to Rolling Stone. Shields' most notable effect is reverse digital reverb, sourced from an Alesis Midiverb II or Yamaha SPX90 effects unit. Together with the tremolo manipulation and distortion, he created a technique known as "glide guitar". Shields effects rig, which is composed largely of distortion, graphic equalizers and tone controls, consists of at least 30 effects pedals and is connected to a large number of amplifiers, which are often set to maximum volume to increase sustain. During live performances, in the closing song "You Made Me Realise", My Bloody Valentine perform an interlude of noise, which can last for half an hour and often reaches 130 dB. Shields later remarked "it was so loud it was like sensory deprivation. We just liked the fact that we could see a change in the audience at a certain point."
Bilinda Butcher's vocals have been referred to as a trademark of My Bloody Valentine's sound, alongside Shields' guitar techniques. On a number of occasions during the recording of Isn't Anything and Loveless, Butcher was awoken and recorded vocals, which she said "influenced [her] sound" by making them "more dreamy and sleepy". The vocals in most My Bloody Valentine's recordings are low in the mix as Shields intended for the vocals to be used as an instrument. Critics have often described the band's vocals as androgynous.
### Lyrical themes
My Bloody Valentine's lyrics are mostly written by Shields. However, Butcher wrote a third of the lyrics on both Isn't Anything and Loveless. Spin writer Simon Reynolds has noted that the band's lyrics often contain sexual themes, which are "a paradoxical blend of force and tenderness". Butcher herself has referred to a lot of the lyrics as "plain nonsense." According to Butcher, she "didn't have a plan and never thought about lyrics until it was time to write them. I just used whatever was in my head for the moment." Some of her lyrics were written as a result of attempting to interpret rough versions of songs Shields had recorded. Butcher has said: "He [Shields] never sang any words on the cassettes I got but I tried to make his sounds into words." Butcher and Shields would often spend eight to ten hours a night writing lyrics, even though few changes actually resulted. Of this, Shields spoke:
> Words are extremely important in the sense that we've spent way more time on the lyrics than ever on the music. Music is spontaneous and it's either good or bad so you just take it or leave it. Where lyrics, all the stuff comes out and then we usually just finish them right before we have to sing so it's usually these nights of eight or ten hours just trying to desperately make sure it's going to be as good as possible, even though most of it's there anyway and it's always been there. There's nothing worse than bad lyrics. For me a bad lyric is a lyric that jumps out at you, and that's offensive, it takes you completely away from enjoying the music.
## Legacy
My Bloody Valentine are regarded by some as the pioneers of the alternative rock subgenre known as shoegaze, a term coined by Sounds journalists in the 1990s to describe certain bands' "motionless performing style, where they stood on stage and stared at the floor". The band's releases on Creation Records influenced shoegaze acts, including Slowdive, Ride and Lush, and are regarded as providing a platform to allow the bands to become recognised. Following the release of Loveless (1991), My Bloody Valentine were "poised for a popular breakthrough", although never achieved mainstream success. However, the band are noted to have been "profoundly influential in the direction of '90s alternative rock", according to AllMusic. In 2017, a study of AllMusic's database indicated My Bloody Valentine as its 26th most frequently cited influence on other artists.
Several alternative rock bands have cited My Bloody Valentine as an influence. The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan was influenced by Isn't Anything upon its release and attempted to recreate its sound on the band's debut album Gish (1991), particularly the closing track "Daydream" which Corgan described as "a complete rip-off of the My Bloody Valentine sound." The Smashing Pumpkins two successive studio albums, Siamese Dream (1993) and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995), were also influenced by the band. Courtney Love cited the band as an influence on Hole's third album Celebrity Skin (1998).
Other bands and artists that have cited My Bloody Valentine as an influence include American Football, Veruca Salt, Mogwai, Oneohtrix Point Never, Thursday, Naked Giants, and Quicksand.
Actor Michael Imperioli of The Sopranos fame has cited My Bloody Valentine as one of his favorite bands, and described seeing them live as "a very profound experience, very physical and very visceral".
## Members
### Current members
- Kevin Shields – vocals, guitars, bass, sampler keyboard (1983–1997, 2007–present)
- Colm Ó Cíosóig – drums, sampler keyboard (1983–1995, 2007–present)
- Bilinda Butcher – vocals, guitars (1987–1997, 2007–present)
- Debbie Googe – bass (1985–1995, 2007–present)
### Touring musicians
- Anna Quimby – flute (1991–1992)
- Jen Macro – keyboards, guitars (2013–present)
### Early members
- David Conway – vocals (1983–1987)
- Mark Loughlin – bass (1983)
- Stephen Ivers – guitar (1983–1984)
- Mark Ross – bass (1984)
- Paul Murtagh – bass (1984–1985)
- Tina Durkin – keyboards (1984–1985)
- Joe Byfield – vocals (1987)
### Timeline
## Discography
- Isn't Anything (1988)
- Loveless (1991)
- m b v (2013)
## See also
- The Scene That Celebrates Itself
- List of alternative rock artists
- List of Irish musical groups |
# 2018 Santiago ePrix
The 2018 Santiago ePrix (formally the 2018 Antofagasta Minerals Santiago E-Prix) was a Formula E electric car race held at the Santiago Street Circuit in the Chilean capital city of Santiago on 3 February 2018. It was the fourth round of the 2017–18 Formula E Championship and the inaugural running of the event. The 37-lap race was won by Techeetah driver Jean-Éric Vergne from pole position. Vergne's teammate André Lotterer finished second and e.Dams-Renault driver Sébastien Buemi was third.
Vergne won pole position by recording the fastest lap in qualifying, and held off Nelson Piquet Jr. early in the race, which was neutralised for four laps after two cars were left stranded at the side of the track from getting involved in separate accidents on the first lap. Vergne kept the lead after every driver made their mandatory pit stops to enter into a second car and his teammate Lotterer passed Piquet for second. Vergne, who was saving electrical energy due to a loss in pit-to-car radio communication, held off his teammate Lotterer for the rest of the race to win for the second time in Formula E and Lotterer finished second to achieve the first one-two finish in series history.
The result moved Vergne to the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time with 71 points, five ahead of previous leader Felix Rosenqvist. Sam Bird finished fifth and fell to third as Buemi's third-place finish moved him to fourth. Techeetah took the lead of the Teams' Championship with Mahindra two points behind in second. Virgin fell to third while e.Dams-Renault moved to fourth with eight races left in the season.
## Background
In February 2017 a diplomatic committee led by former driver Eliseo Salazar began talking to Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag in Buenos Aires about the possibility of holding a race in the Chilean capital of Santiago. The race was officially confirmed by the world governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), in June, and was added to the 2017–18 Formula E calendar by the FIA World Motor Sport Council three months later. It was the fourth of twelve single seater electric car races of the season and took place on 3 February 2018. Prior to the event, a non-championship Formula One race won by Juan Manuel Fangio was held on the streets of Santiago in 1950. Despite also having hosted regional soccer tournament Copa América (in 1991 and 2015) or Dakar Rally (in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015), the press predicted the race would be the largest sporting event in Chile since the 1962 FIFA World Cup, and organisers expected 20,000 people to attend. A total of 20 drivers each representing ten teams of two competitors each were entered for the race.
Heading into the ePrix Mahindra driver Felix Rosenqvist led the Drivers' Championship with 54 points, four ahead of Sam Bird in second and a further seven in front of Jean-Éric Vergne in third. Nelson Piquet Jr. was fourth with 25 points and Edoardo Mortara (24 points) was the highest-placed rookie in fifth. In the Teams' Championship, Mahindra led with 75 points with Virgin 18 points behind in second place. Techeetah and Jaguar were third and fourth with 43 and 40 points respectively and Venturi was fifth with 30 points.
Starting from Santiago, the minimum pit stop time, which had been implemented since the championship began in 2014, was discarded. It came after the world governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), deferred the ruling at the preceding Marrakesh ePrix three weeks before the Santiago race after teams raised concerns over safety. To prepare for the change, chassis manufacturer Spark Racing Technology designed an endurance racing-style seat belt in its aim to improve the efficiency of its application and team and driver safety. Some teams were handed samples to practice with. The FIA later permitted teams to employ spotters behind the pit lane wall and directly opposite their garages to guide drivers into their correct stopping positions. Someone holding a sign to direct the driver into the garages was allowed to move outside the boundaries of their pit box.
The layout of the 1.53-mile (2.46 km) clockwise 12-turn track was unveiled on 12 October 2017. Drivers started on Santa Maria Avenue before crossing the Mapocho River and passed through Parque Forestal before returning to Santa Maria Avenue to finish a lap of the circuit. Construction of the track began on 22 January, 12 days before the race, and finished on 2 February. In response to concerns over several dogs frequenting the Parque Forestal, a local veterinary company was employed to feed them in non-circuit areas in an attempt to stop them straying onto the circuit during the weekend. Piquet believed that the layout of the track would be "technical", while the series manager of the championship's tyre supplier Michelin felt it would be a mixture of the Montreal and the Berlin Street Circuits.
## Practice
Two practice sessions—both on Saturday morning—were held before the late afternoon race. The first session ran for 45 minutes and the second lasted half an hour. A half an hour untimed shakedown session was held on Friday afternoon to allow teams to check the reliability of their cars and their electronic systems. The track was cleaned overnight after drivers described the tarmac surface as dirty and slippery, but nobody chose to set a lap time at 200 kW (270 hp) as several participants ventured onto the track's run-off areas after locking their tyres. Bird set the fastest lap in the cold first practice session at 1 minute, 19.439 seconds, more than two-tenths of a second faster than any one else on the circuit. Rosenqvist, Vergne, Mitch Evans, André Lotterer, Alex Lynn, José María López, Mortara, Oliver Turvey and Piquet rounded out the top ten drivers. Sébastien Buemi pushed, and lost control of his car's rear after losing grip leaving turn twelve. Buemi struck a tyre barrier, damaging his right-rear suspension and ending his session early. Race director Scot Elkins stopped the session with three minutes to go when Maro Engel locked his brakes and understeered into the turn three TecPro barrier, damaging his front wing. Engel was unhurt.
In the second practice session, Vergne used 200 kW (270 hp) of power to set the fastest lap of the whole race meeting at 1 minute, 18.662 seconds. Lynn followed three-hundredths of a second behind in second and Evans followed in third. The Mahindra duo of Nick Heidfeld and Rosenqvist were fourth and fifth and Bird, Mortara, Daniel Abt, Buemi and Lucas di Grassi completed the top ten ahead of qualifying. Ten minutes into practice, Piquet slid into the turn three run-off area and stopped his vehicle before he could hit the barrier. An oversteer caused López to make light contact with the turn one wall but was able to return to the pit lane and switch into a second car. Nico Prost ran wide driving towards the 90-degree left-hand turn nine and ploughed into the barrier, removing his rear wing, and prematurely ending the session with five minutes remaining.
## Qualifying
Saturday's afternoon qualifying session ran for an hour and was divided into four groups of five cars. Each group was determined by a lottery system and was permitted six minutes of on-track activity. All drivers were limited to two timed laps with one at maximum power. The fastest five overall competitors in the four groups participated in a "Super Pole" session with one driver on the track at any time going out in reverse order from fifth to first. Each of the five drivers was limited to one timed lap and the starting order was determined by the competitor's fastest times (Super Pole from first to fifth, and group qualifying from sixth to twentieth). The driver and team who recorded the fastest time were awarded three points towards their respective championships. Car grip appeared to be affected as track temperatures rose between second practice and qualifying and saw many drivers glancing or narrowly avoiding the tyre barriers.
In the first group of five runners, Buemi was the early pace setter with Abt second. Heidfeld took third and António Félix da Costa fourth. Evans locked his brakes, meaning he drove straight into the turn three barrier, and began from the tenth row of the grid. Bird was the fastest driver in the second group, followed by Vergne in second and Piquet third. Rosenqvist was fourth-quickest after he made errors, and Mortara locked his front left wheel entering the hairpin, meaning he was the slowest driver in the second group. Lynn led the third group, going a tenth of a second faster than Turvey. Prost was third-fastest while López and Engel rounded out the third group's slowest two drivers. Di Grassi was the initial pace setter in group four until Lotterer surprised everyone by setting the fastest overall lap in group qualifying at 1 minute, 18.796 seconds. Jérôme d'Ambrosio (Dragon), Tom Blomqvist (Andretti) and Luca Filippi (NIO) rounded out group four's top five.
At the end of group qualifying, Lotterer, di Grassi, Bird, Vergne and Buemi qualified for super pole. Vergne took his second pole position of the season and the sixth of his career with a time of 1 minute, 19.161 seconds, and was joined on the grid's front row by Buemi. Di Grassi was unable to replicate his pace from group qualifying and was third. Lotterer hit a bump in the tarmac surface entering turn one, and broke his front wing against the turn one wall. Lotterer slowed for the rest of his lap as the front wing slowly lodged itself under his car's bodywork. Bird lost control of the rear of his car entering the turn five and six double-right hand turn through carrying too much speed into the corner. Bird struck a TecPro barrier with his vehicle's rear but was able to drive back to pit lane for a replacement rear wing and the session was briefly red-flagged. After qualifying, di Grassi was automatically demoted ten places on the grid for changing his inverter, and Prost dropped two places for exceeding the number of permitted laps. The rest of the grid lined up after penalties as Piquet, Lynn, Turvey, López, Abt, Prost, Engel, d'Ambrosio, di Grassi, Rosenqvist, Heidfeld, Félix da Costa, Mortara, Blomqvist, Filippi and Evans.
### Qualifying classification
Notes:
- — Lucas Di Grassi was deducted ten grid places for changing his inverter.
- — Nico Prost was deducted two grid places for exceeding the permitted number of laps during qualifying.
## Race
The 37-lap race began at 16:00 Chile Summer Time (UTC+03:00). The weather was hot and sunny and the air temperature ranged from 29.1 to 29.9 °C (84.4 to 85.8 °F) and the track temperature was between 36.1 and 36.67 °C (96.98 and 98.01 °F). A special feature of Formula E is the "Fan Boost" feature, an additional 100 kW (130 hp) of power to use in the driver's second car. The three drivers who were allowed to use the boost were determined by a fan vote. For the Santiago race, Buemi, di Grassi and López were handed the extra power. After his poor qualifying performance, NIO started Filippi from the pit lane for tactical reasons. Vergne led the field into the first corner. Piquet made a quick start to move from fifth to second and Vergne held him off. Lotterer overtook the slow-starting Buemi for third place, while a brisk start from López gained him three places. López attempted to overtake Bird on the outside at turn four; Bird put López into the tyre wall.
As drivers swerved to avoid piling into López's stricken car, Heidfeld hit Abt's rear wheel into turn four, causing both of their car's suspensions to fracture. Heidfeld made an unscheduled pit stop while Abt continued driving for a short period of time before doing the same. Engel drew alongside Turvey under braking for turn five and the pair made contact after Turvey braked later than him. Three corners later, Engel drew alongside Turvey on the outside and further contact was made at turn nine, breaking Engel's left-rear suspension. Engel became the race's second retiree when Rosenqvist lunged him on the outside into turn nine, putting him over to the exit and damaged the car's front-left corner, sending him into the right-hand side wall. These incidents prompted Elkins to deploy the safety car to allow marshals to move the cars off the circuit. All surviving vehicles were ordered to drive through the pit lane to prevent any impediment of the recovery work.
Amidst all the action, Rosenqvist moved from fourteenth to eleventh while Evans gained eight positions over the same distance in spite of a ten-second penalty for changing one of his car's inverters before the start of the race. The safety car was withdrawn after five laps and Vergne led the field back up to speed at the restart. Piquet was caught off guard, and Vergne distanced himself as Piquet fended off Lotterer and Buemi. Despite this, Piquet closed back up to Vergne. While attacking Vergne, Piquet ran into the rear of the latter's car, detaching its left-rear wheel guard. Piquet chose not to brake later than Vergne as he feared he would be put in the wall like in the 2017 Monaco ePrix. Hence the race began to stagnate as the few battle for positions on the circuit could not be completed due to the tight track. The fastest lap was exchanged between Vergne and Piquet later on as the latter started to form another challenge for the lead. However, Piquet was distanced by Vergne who was looking to extend his advantage at the front before the pit stops.
Further back, Abt joined the list of retirements when he drove into his garage because of a loss in power after completing seven laps. Although it was difficult to overtake owing to the tight nature of the circuit, overtaking opportunities occurred throughout the field. Lotterer made an attempt at getting ahead of Piquet for second place but he did not succeed. Di Grassi passed Turvey for eighth, while Mortara half spun on lap 13, dropping him to seventeenth. Di Grassi overtook Prost for seventh soon after. Lotterer steered left onto the inside and overtook Piquet for second place into the turn three right-hander on the 19th lap. The mandatory pit stops to change into a second car began on lap twenty when the leaders drove into the pit lane. Bird and Félix da Costa led the field for one lap before making their own stops. After the completion of the pit stops, the Techeetahs of Vergne and Lotterer retained first and second while Piquet kept third. Swift work from his pit crew moved Rosenqvist to fifth place while Bird fell to seventh.
Four cars were affected by problems over the next six laps. An electrical problem slowed di Grassi and he stopped in the centre of the track at the exit of the pit lane to retire on lap 23. Turvey lost power in his car leaving the pit lane and performed a full reset to continue driving. Heidfeld lacked electrical energy to complete the race in his second vehicle and parked inside his garage to retire on lap 26. A gearbox issue traced to an accessory production deviation ended Lynn's race early while in seventh two laps later. As the two Techeetahs began to battle for the lead due to both drivers losing radio communication with their garage owing to a pit lane technical failure and causing Vergne to conserve electrical energy, Buemi used his FanBoost to attack Piquet on lap 28 but the latter blocked the pass. Further round the lap, Buemi tried again, and was successful this time round, passing Piquet for third at the turn eight hairpin.
At the front on the following lap, Lotterer attempted to overtake teammate Vergne on the outside for the lead but was forced wide by the latter. A battle between Buemi and Piquet for third position ended when Piquet locked his brakes during a pass on Buemi on the inside into turn three and drove onto the run-off area. Piquet then lightly hit a TecPro barrier and fell to sixth. Bird set the race's fastest lap on the 30th lap, completing a circuit in 1 minute and 20.235 seconds, earning him one point. Meanwhile, Lotterer was focused on closing the distance between himself and teammate Vergne. Driving on the main straight on lap 33, Lotterer attacked Vergne and his attempt caused him to lock his tyres. Lotterer lodged his front nose cone into the rear wing of Vergne's car, pushing him through the braking phase for turn three. Both drivers made the corner without significant damage. This allowed Buemi, Rosenqvist and Bird to close up, and the top five jostled for position on the bumpy tarmac surface over the final four laps.
Buemi, Rosenqvist and Bird ran close together but electrical energy management restricted their attempts at overtaking, while Vergne successfully held off teammate Lotterer for the rest of the race by having more usable electrical energy to claim his second career victory. With Lotterer second, Techeetah secured the first one-two finish in Formula E history. Buemi took third to complete the final spot on the podium. Off the podium, Rosenqvist finished fourth with Bird close behind in fifth. The Jaguar duo of Piquet and Evans were sixth and seventh. d'Ambrosio, Félix da Costa and Prost rounded out the top ten. The final finishers were Blomqvist, Filippi, Mortara and Turvey. There was one lead change throughout the race and two drivers reached the front of the field. Vergne led for a total of 36 laps, out of 37.
### Post-race
The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in a later press conference. Vergne spoke of his relief over winning the race and said he hoped the success would strive his team to achieve more but noted the close competition that is seen in Formula E: "It would be wrong to focus at the championship at the moment because it is won at the end of the season, not now. [This competition] is extremely tough and you need to be on it every time because as soon as you make a small mistake you pay in cash." Lotterer was euphoric over finishing second after a poor start to his season due to misfortune, putting it down to additional set-up work undertaken by Techeetah in their simulator before the race, which led to an improved understanding on how his car worked. Third-place finisher Buemi revealed that a chassis defect reappeared from the season-opening Hong Kong double header led to him losing electrical energy and overall pace. He urged his team to focus on rectifying the issue but reserved congratulations for Techeetah on their achievement.
Techeetah and Dragon were placed under investigation by the stewards on the Saturday evening after the race for issues relating to their car's seat belts. Techeetah were issued with a €15,000 fine for each of their cars while Dragon were given the same penalty for d'Ambrosio's vehicle; the FIA mandated full payment within 48 hours. It came after the FIA deemed both teams to have modified the harness of the seat belts without consulting its technical delegate before they installed the extra components. However, unlike previous rulings in series history, the penalties did not alter the final result of the race. Reaction to the penalty was negative with several Formula E figures expressing anger over the FIA's inconsistency in its decision making and the message it sent out. Mark Preston, the team principal of Techeetah, suggested the wording of the FIA regulations was unclear and the sport's governing body responded by announcing it would clarify the rules before the Mexico City round. The motorsport press theorised the ruling was made after discord among fans and series figures was evident after Abt's disqualification from the victory in Hong Kong and spoke of their belief Techeetah's achievements possibly swayed the FIA into not disqualifying them.
Engel spoke of his displeasure over retiring on the first lap, accusing Turvey of causing the contact purposefully but stated his feeling Rosenqvist was ahead of him by the time he hit the wall. Turvey did not respond to Engel's accusations. Audi team principal Allan McNish said he was puzzled why Abt did not have the same unreliability as his teammate di Grassi and was uncertain whether it was the same problem from Marrakesh, "That's the frustrating part for us, for Lucas, and for the guys that put in so much effort from Marrakech until now. We thought we'd got a solution and we came away with no points." Di Grassi described the situation concerning the unreliability of his car as "unbelievable", adding that "To have so many issues consecutively, like that, it's really frustrating because we have the pace. The first thing in racing that you learn is to win a race, first you have to finish. We're not finishing any races." Concerning their collision at turn five on the first lap, Abt accepted an apology from Heidfeld on Twitter after Heidfeld admitted to causing it.
The result moved Vergne to the lead of the Drivers' Championship for the first time in his career with 71 points. Rosenqvist's fourth-place finish dropped him to second while Bird fell to third another five points behind Vergne. Buemi moved to fourth and Piquet dropped to fifth by finishing sixth. Techeetah's one-two finish promoted to the lead the Teams' Championship with 89 points, two ahead of Mahindra in second place. Virgin fell to third while Jaguar maintained fourth position. e.Dams-Renault's efforts moved them to fifth with eight races left in the season.
## Controversies
The route of the track was criticized by residents of Barrio Lastarria who argued the race would lead to the further impoverishment of the existing roadside infrastructure and the natural scenery. Claudio Orrego, the intendent of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, later admitted to the press the natural scenery would be left untouched and there would be no bleachers installed. Furthermore, a group of local residents filed an appeal for protection before the Court of Appeal to cancel the race but it was rejected on 31 January. On 20 February, the mayor of Santiago Felipe Alessandri announced Formula E could remain in the city but Parque Forestal was no longer authorised for racing.
Despite Orrego's promise, several residents reported that some cobblestones had been damaged in Purísima Street after the asphalt layer intended to protect from impoverishment was removed. Additionally, while the trackside structures were being dismantled, a truck collided with the Rebeca Matte Bello designed sculpture of Daedalus and Icarus mounted at the entrance to the Chilean National Museum of Fine Arts, moving it from its base and fracturing one of the statues's legs. This prompted race organisers to take responsibility for covering all expenses associated with the restoration of the sculpture.
## Race classification
Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold.
Notes:
- — Three points for pole position.
- — One point for fastest lap.
## Standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
- Teams' Championship standings
- Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. |
# 2005 Football League Two play-off final
The 2005 Football League Two play-off final was an association football match played on 28 May 2005 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Southend United and Lincoln City. The match determined the fourth and final team to gain promotion from Football League Two, English football's fourth tier, to Football League One. The top three teams of the 2004–05 Football League Two season gained automatic promotion to League One, while the teams placed from fourth to seventh in the table took part in play-off semi-finals; the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2005–06 season in League One. Southend United finished in fourth place while Lincoln City ended the season in sixth position. They defeated Northampton Town and Macclesfield Town, respectively, in the semi-finals.
The match was refereed by Martin Atkinson in front of 19,653 spectators. The first 90 minutes finished goalless, and was described by Jamie Jackson in The Observer as "tepid, uninventive fare", so the game went into extra time. The first goal was scored just before half-time in the first period of extra time, when Spencer Prior flicked on Nicky Nicolau's corner and Freddy Eastwood struck Matt Bloomer's clearance into the Lincoln goal. With ten minutes of extra time remaining, Eastwood ran at the Lincoln defence and passed the ball square to Duncan Jupp who scored his first league goal in a decade to give Southend a 2–0 lead. No further goals were scored, securing Southend a 2–0 win and promotion to League One.
Lincoln City ended their following season in seventh position in League Two and qualified for the play-offs where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Grimsby Town in the semi-final. Southend United secured back-to-back promotions when they finished the following season as champions of League One.
## Route to the final
Southend United finished the regular 2004–05 season in fourth place in Football League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, two places ahead of Lincoln City. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to Football League One and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Southend United finished two points behind Swansea City and Scunthorpe United (who were promoted in third and second place respectively, the latter having superior goal difference) and five behind league winners Yeovil Town. Lincoln City ended the season six points behind Southend United.
Lincoln City's opposition for their play-off semi-final was Macclesfield Town and the first match of the two-legged tie took place at Sincil Bank in Lincoln on 14 May 2005. Gareth McAuley scored in the 11th minute when he headed a free kick from Kevin Sandwith into the Macclesfield goal. Although Lincoln dominated the second half, they failed to increase their lead and the match ended 1–0. The second leg of the semi-final was held a week later at Moss Rose in Macclesfield. Once again, McAuley gave Lincoln an early lead, scoring with a header in the 15th minute. Paul Harsley equalised for Macclesfield in the 76th minute with a shot on the turn but the match ended 1–1 and Lincoln progressed to the final with a 2–1 aggregate victory.
Southend United faced Northampton Town in the second semi-final with the first leg hosted at Sixfields Stadium in Northampton on 15 May 2005. Both sides had chances to score and although the visitors were more dominant, the match ended 0–0. The second leg took place six days later at Roots Hall in Southend-on-Sea. The first half ended 0–0 but four minutes into the second, Nicky Nicolau was fouled in the Northampton penalty area and Freddy Eastwood converted the resulting penalty. It gave Southend a 1–0 victory both in the match and on aggregate, and they qualified for the final.
## Match
### Background
It was Southend United's first appearance in the play-offs. They had played in the third tier of English football since they were relegated at the end of the 1997–98 season. This was their second visit to the Millennium Stadium of the season, having played in the Football League Trophy Final the month before where they lost 2–0 to Wrexham. Lincoln City were making their third consecutive appearance in the play-offs, having lost 5–2 against Bournemouth in the 2003 Football League Third Division play-off final and failing to progress past the semi-final in the 2004 play-offs. They had played in the third tier since being relegated in the 1998–99 season. Both matches between the sides during the regular season ended in 1–1 draws, first at Sincil Bank in August 2004, and again at Roots Hall the following March. Simon Yeo was Lincoln City's top scorer with 23 goals in the regular season (21 in the league, 2 in the League Cup) followed by Gary Taylor-Fletcher with 11 (10 in the league, 1 in the League Cup). Eastwood led the scoring for Southend United with 19 goals (all in the league) while both Adam Barrett and Wayne Gray had 11 (all in the league).
The referee for the match was Martin Atkinson from Yorkshire. Southend adopted a 4–4–2 formation and Lincoln played as a 3–4–3.
### Summary
The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 28 May 2005 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in front of 19,653 spectators. The match was an even affair during the first half: early on, Francis Green's header for Lincoln was off-target, and the team then saw a goal from Yeo ruled out. Southend had two goal-bound chances cleared as the Lincoln goalkeeper Alan Marriott saved shots from both Carl Pettefer and Mark Bentley. Southend dominated the second half, with Eastwood creating the best chance in the 56th minute but falling over the ball with only Marriott to beat from around 8 yards (7.3 metres). Green then blocked a shot from Southend's Che Wilson before Bentley was denied a penalty after Paul Morgan appeared to foul him. Regular time ended goalless, sending the match into extra time. Jamie Jackson, writing in The Observer, described the first 90 minutes of the match as "tepid, uninventive fare". The first goal was scored just before half-time in the first period of extra time. Spencer Prior flicked on Nicolau's corner and Eastwood struck Matt Bloomer's clearance into the Lincoln goal to make it 1–0. With ten minutes of extra time remaining, Eastwood ran at the Lincoln defence and passed the ball square to Duncan Jupp who scored his first league goal in a decade to give Southend a 2–0 lead. With no further additions to the scoreline, the match ended 2–0 and Southend secured promotion to League One.
### Details
## Post-match
Steve Tilson, the winning manager, praised his side's resilience: "After not getting automatic promotion, to bounce back and win today was a great achievement ... I thought we were worthy winners in the end." His counterpart Keith Alexander suggested that his team needed to be improved: "We have to go out and get a better team ... I've got to get better players and we have to go up from the top three."
Lincoln City ended their following season in seventh position in League Two and qualified for the play-offs where they lost 3–1 on aggregate to Grimsby Town in the semi-final. Southend United finished the following season as champions of League One, securing back-to-back promotions, to participate in the Championship for the 2006–07 season. |
# Murder of Irene Garza
Irene Garza (November 15, 1934 – April 1960) was an American schoolteacher and beauty queen whose death was the subject of investigation for several decades. She was last seen alive on April 16, 1960, when she went to confession at a church in McAllen, Texas. She was reported missing the following morning. Following the largest volunteer search to that date in the Rio Grande Valley, Garza's body was discovered in a canal on April 21. An autopsy concluded that she had been sexually assaulted before being killed; the cause of death was suffocation.
Fr. John Bernard Feit, the Catholic priest who heard Garza's last confession, was the only identified suspect in her death. Two clergymen, Fr. Dale Tacheny and Fr. Joseph O'Brien, came forward to authorities in 2002 to report that Feit had confessed to Garza's murder shortly after the crime. He had since left the priesthood, married and had a family. For many years, the district attorney in Hidalgo County considered the evidence against Feit to be too weak to secure a conviction. He brought the case before a grand jury in 2004, but Feit, Tacheny and O'Brien were not subpoenaed and the jury did not indict Feit.
The investigation into Garza's death was renewed in 2015 after a new district attorney took office in Hidalgo County. In February 2016, the 83-year-old Feit was arrested in Arizona in connection with Garza's death. He was later extradited to Texas. His murder trial began in late November 2017. On December 7, 2017, Feit was found guilty of murder and the next day was sentenced to life imprisonment. Feit died in February 2020.
## Background
Irene Garza was born in 1934. Her parents, Nicolas and Josefina, owned a dry cleaning business in McAllen, Texas, a city located in the South Texas border region known as the Rio Grande Valley. By the time Garza was a teenager, her parents' business had become successful, and the family was able to move from the south side of McAllen to a more affluent area on the north side. She graduated from McAllen High School, where she had become the first Latina to perform as a twirler or head drum majorette. Garza was crowned the 1958 Miss All South Texas Sweetheart and was a homecoming queen at Pan American College.
At the time of her death, Garza was a second-grade schoolteacher; she taught indigent students at an elementary school on the south side of McAllen. In a letter written to a friend before her disappearance, she described herself as extremely shy but expressed fulfillment in her work. Noting that she had recently become secretary of her parent-teacher association, Garza said that she was beginning to feel more confident in herself. A member of the Legion of Mary, she took her Catholic faith seriously. In her letter, Garza indicated that she found comfort in attending daily Mass and Communion.
On Saturday, April 16, 1960, Garza–who lived with her parents–told them that she was going to confession at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen. She was often conspicuous in the congregation because of her striking appearance, and several parishioners remembered seeing Garza at the church that night. When her parents did not hear from her that evening, they first thought that she had stayed at the church for the Easter Vigil mass. When Garza did not return home by 3:00 a.m., they went to the McAllen Police Department to report their daughter missing.
## Investigation
On April 18, in a trail of evidence stretching several hundred yards down a McAllen road, passersby found Garza's purse, her left shoe and her lace veil. Authorities and volunteers started a search that was the largest in Rio Grande Valley history at that time. A woman claiming to be Garza called her home, saying that she had been kidnapped and taken to a hotel in nearby Hidalgo, but the call was found to have been false. Another person told an Edinburg waitress that he had killed Garza, but that was found to be a joke made after the man had been drinking heavily.
Garza's body was found in a canal on April 21, in an area several miles away from the other evidence. From the postmortem examination, medical examiners could tell that Garza had died of suffocation. She had been raped while unconscious and beaten. There was bruising over both of her eyes and to the right side of her face. Any physical evidence that might have identified an attacker, such as hair, blood or semen, appeared to have been washed away during the time the body spent in the canal.
Law enforcement officials questioned about 500 people across several Texas cities, including known sex offenders and Garza's family members, co-workers and ex-boyfriends. They carried out almost fifty polygraph examinations, and offered a $2,500 reward for information about her death, which was larger than any amount of money previously offered in a Rio Grande Valley murder case. South Texas businessmen later posted $10,000 of reward money.
### John Bernard Feit
The priest who heard Garza's last confession, Father John Feit (27), came under suspicion soon after her disappearance. Feit had been at the McAllen church since completing seminary training in San Antonio. Church members reported that Feit's confession line moved slowly on the night Garza disappeared and that he was away from the sanctuary several times. When the canal was drained several days after the discovery of Garza's body, Feit's photo slide viewer was found. Fellow priests had noticed scratch marks on Feit's hands after Easter Vigil mass, and said it was irregular for Feit to have taken Garza to the church rectory to hear her confession as he had reportedly done that night. McAllen police initially stated that Feit passed polygraph tests, but the tests were later said to be inconclusive.
Feit initially denied hearing Garza's confession in the rectory, but later admitted to having done so. He accounted for his absence from the sanctuary by claiming that he had broken his glasses that night; he said that he often played with his glasses nervously as he listened to confession. Feit stated that he had driven back to his church's pastoral house, a short drive away, to get another pair of glasses, and when he arrived he had no key, so he had to climb into the house on the second floor. He said that he sustained the scratches on his hands as he was climbing the outside of the brick structure.
Three weeks before Garza's death, a woman named Maria America Guerra had been sexually assaulted while kneeling at the communion rail at another Catholic church in the McAllen area. Rumor held that Feit was responsible, but local church leaders discouraged people from considering the possibility that a priest could have been involved in a violent crime. Feit admitted to visiting a priest at that church on the day of Guerra's attack, but he denied assaulting her. He was later charged with rape, and the trial ended in a hung jury. In 1962, rather than face a second trial, Feit entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault and paid a $500 fine. Years later, Feit said he did not understand that a no contest plea would be considered a conviction in the case.
## Stagnation in the case
After the legal proceedings in the Guerra case, Feit was sent to Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Missouri. An abbot at Assumption Abbey told monk Dale Tacheny that Feit had killed someone and asked Tacheny to counsel Feit for a few months to determine whether he had the disposition to become a monk. Tacheny said that Feit confessed to hurting a young lady and murdering another one, but he said it was not his job to judge Feit at the time. Feit's confession went unreported to authorities for many years.
Feit did not feel comfortable with the monastic lifestyle at Assumption Abbey. He was sent to Jemez Springs, New Mexico, to a treatment retreat for troubled priests run by the Servants of the Paraclete, after which he joined the order as a staff member and worked his way into a supervisory role at the center. Fr. James Porter came to the center after he was known to have begun molesting children in the 1960s, and Feit cleared him for placement in another parish. Porter was later defrocked and imprisoned after abusing as many as 100 children.
Feit left the priesthood in the 1970s. He married, moved to the Phoenix area and had three children. He worked at the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul as a food charity volunteer for seventeen years.
In 2002, Tacheny decided he could no longer keep the secret of Feit's confession. Thinking that the murder had taken place in San Antonio because Feit had trained there, Tacheny called authorities in that city. The investigation into Garza's death was reopened that year. Texas Rangers investigator Rudy Jaramillo contacted Fr. Joseph O'Brien, a priest who had worked with Feit at the time of Garza's death. While O'Brien had told a television program in 2000 that he did not know anything about the murder, he admitted to Jaramillo that Feit had confessed shortly after it had taken place. Later in 2002, the polygraph examiner who had tested Feit in 1960 said that he questioned the reported results. The initial report said that Feit passed the polygraph, but the report was later edited to say that the results were inconclusive; the examiner felt all along that Feit had failed the test.
Rene Guerra (no relation to Maria America Guerra), the district attorney of Hidalgo County from the 1980s until 2014, chose not to bring the Garza case before a grand jury until 2004. Tacheny, O'Brien and Feit did not receive subpoenas in the case, and the grand jury declined to indict Feit. O'Brien died in 2005. Guerra was reluctant to revisit the case, saying that the early police investigation had been shoddy, that O'Brien was suffering from dementia when he was questioned and that there was no physical evidence. He said that Jaramillo had inappropriately fed Tacheny the location of the murder after the monk mistakenly said it occurred in San Antonio. Guerra angered Garza's family by asking, "Why would anyone be haunted by her death? She died. Her killer got away."
## Renewed interest
In 2014, district court judge Ricardo Rodriguez campaigned to unseat Guerra as district attorney, and the Garza case arose as a campaign issue. Rodriguez said that he wanted justice for the Garza family, and promised to take a new look at the case if he were elected. In the days following Rodriguez' election as district attorney, Guerra sought to appoint him as a special prosecutor in the Garza case. Rodriguez declined, saying that he preferred to take a new look at the evidence once he took office in January 2015. In April, he announced that the Garza case was reopened.
In February 2016, Feit was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 83 at the time of his arrest, and he used a walker when he appeared in court. Feit was extradited to Texas in March 2016 and incarcerated at the Hidalgo County Sheriff Adult Detention Facility. He entered a plea of not guilty. The prosecution requested a $750,000 bond, while the defense team asked for a $100,000 bond, adding that Feit had stage 3 kidney and bladder cancer. Judge Luis Singleterry set a $1 million bond.
Status hearings in the case were held in June and November 2016, and the discovery process was ongoing as of November. In February 2017, a judge set a late April trial date, and Feit remained under medical supervision at the Hidalgo County jail. In April 2017, Feit's defense filed for a change of venue because they believed that their client would not receive a fair and impartial trial in Hidalgo County. They filed a 700-page document with evidence showing that reporters allegedly condemned Feit as a murderer, and that the only reason why he avoided prosecution for years was because the Roman Catholic Church had protected him. Sometime in March, Tacheny testified against Feit in closed deposition. This was permitted under Texas law given the witness' age and exclusive knowledge of the case.
On May 24, Judge Singleterry heard arguments from the prosecution and the defense on the request for the change of venue. On June 7, he denied a request for a change of venue after considering that the defendant failed to prove that there was prejudice against him in the Hidalgo community. On July 19, Feit appeared in court for a prehearing. The trial was expected to begin on September 11. However, on September 10, the court decided to push the trial back because of scheduling conflicts; one of Feit's attorneys was defending another high-profile murder suspect in Hidalgo County. Feit appeared in court on September 11 – for the first time without a prison uniform – expecting to face trial that week. The initial phase of jury selection was done in mid-September; the trial was delayed until mid-October. On October 30, Feit's defense filed a motion for continuance; jury selection was reset to November 14 and the November 6 trial date was moved back to November 28.
On December 7, Feit was convicted of Garza's murder. In the sentencing phase of the trial, Feit's defense attorney asked that Feit be given probation, citing his lack of felony convictions since Garza's death. The prosecution asked for a sentence of 57 years, which was symbolic of the amount of time that had passed since Garza's death, but on December 8, 2017, the jury pronounced a sentence of life in prison.
Feit was incarcerated at the W. J. Estelle Unit, ten miles (16 km) north of central Huntsville, Texas. He died of natural causes on February 12, 2020.
## See also
- List of solved missing person cases |
# Serious Sam: Next Encounter
Serious Sam: Next Encounter is a 2004 first-person shooter game developed by Climax Solent and published by Global Star Software. As a spin-off in the Serious Sam series, it follows Sam "Serious" Stone, who tracks an unidentified enemy through ancient Rome, feudal China and Atlantis, and eliminates the forces the enemy controls to eventually uncover their identity. The player controls Sam through enclosed levels, fighting waves of enemies with an assortment of weapons and, occasionally, vehicles. Defeating enemies is a prerequisite to advance in a level and killing twenty in rapid succession temporarily grants a strength, speed and score boost in a "Super Combo". Two players can complete the campaign cooperatively and up to eight can engage in versus modes.
The game's development, originally under the name Serious Sam: Word to the Mothership, began at Climax Solent with a game engine created for the GameCube. The twenty-strong development team drew influence from previous Serious Sam games, GoldenEye 007, Perfect Dark, Smash TV, Ikari Warriors, and Contra. In later stages of development, the "Super Combo" system was introduced and emphasis was put on improving the frame rate. Global Star Software announced Next Encounter in January 2004 and released it for GameCube and PlayStation 2 in April. The game was met with a mixed reception. While the stable frame rate was praised, the graphics were heavily criticised. The controls and multiplayer modes were well received. Conflicting opinions were raised regarding the game's music and humour, and additional criticism was given to the game's repetitiveness and level design.
## Gameplay
Serious Sam: Next Encounter is a first-person shooter. The player, controlling Sam "Serious" Stone, traverses enclosed levels frequently composed of narrow corridors and open areas. There are forty-two levels, distributed among three thematic worlds. In each level, the player encounters various enemies, of which some use melee and others fire projectiles at Sam. Foes are teleported into a room and can approach from any side. The player often needs to clear a room of one or more waves of enemies before proceeding to the next room. In other instances, multiple objects need to be collected and inserted into pre-determined slots to unlock the way forward. The game also features some platforming elements and secrets hidden within levels.
Next Encounter contains various weapons, among them ten ranged weapons and a chainsaw for melee. By default, Sam brandishes two handguns that have unlimited ammunition. Some guns have several types of ammunition that can be switched between. Holding down the button to fire a weapon causes guns to discharge continuously. With an optional setting, enemies are automatically targeted. Every few levels, the player can use a vehicle—a jeep, submarine, or combine harvester—and kill enemies by running them over or using the vehicle's attached weaponry.
Killing enemies and collecting hidden treasures increases the score. Based on the final score in a level, the player is awarded a medal, where collecting certain amounts of gold medals unlocks additional "lost levels". Killing twenty enemies in quick succession activates a "Super Combo", which increases Sam's movement speed and his weapons' rate of fire and damage against villains, as well as doubles the score obtained for every further enemy. This state lasts approximately ten seconds. When Sam's health is depleted, gameplay pauses, the character is reset to most recently passed checkpoint, and the player receives a score penalty. A four-step difficulty setting adjusts how easily either Sam or the enemies are defeated.
Two players can complete the campaign cooperatively in a local split-screen mode. There are three versus modes: "Deathmatch", "Pass the Bomb", and "Hold the Flag". On the PlayStation 2, these can be played one-on-one in split-screen or with up to eight players online, while up to four local players can compete via split-screen on the GameCube.
## Plot
Serious Sam: Next Encounter is a "side chapter" in the Serious Sam series. It begins as Mental—the antagonist in the series—instructs an unidentified, childlike minion of his not to meddle with Mental's Time-Lock while he is absent. The minion insincerely agrees, eventually using the Time-Lock to travel to an unknown destination. Later, a scientist observed a space-time flux disturbance and called Sam "Serious" Stone (voiced by John Dick) to his laboratory. The scientist explains the situation and sends Sam to the Colosseum in ancient Rome, where Sam faces and defeats several waves of enemies from Mental's horde. Enraged, the minion orders Sam's execution, when the scientist announces an error with the teleporter and Sam is transported to the villa of Senator Cicero in Rome's outskirts. Sam is tasked with returning to the Colosseum on foot while preparing for future battles. Fighting his way through more of Mental's forces, he progresses into the city and re-enters the Colosseum. With multiple waves of enemies defeated, the minion summons a giant beast known as the Diablotaur. Sam triumphs over it and observes the minion fleeing through a nearby Time-Lock, with Sam following closely behind.
Sam lands near Xifengkou in feudal China. His Neurotronically Implanted Combat Situation Analyzer (NETRICSA) finds that another Time-Lock is present in the region, as well as further enemy forces, although less organised than before. Sam passes over the Great Wall to Juyongguan, then through the desert to Jiayuguan and through the city of Dunhuang to reach the Forbidden City, where NETRICSA finds that the Time-Lock is hidden in a temple in the city centre. Within that temple, Sam encounters and defeats the Subterranean Emperor Hydra and travels further through its Time-Lock, appearing on an isolated island on an ice floe above Atlantis. Sam enters an underground city complex through a steam vent, where NETRICSA records large energy spikes emerging from the Atlantean throne room. Sam is guided there and ascends the throne, when the ground beneath it opens up to his surprise, leading him to fall into a mothership of the Sirian alien race. NETRICSA detects that an unknown entity is trying to start the ship and requests Sam to stop it. In the ship's engine core, he is met with the ship's secret weapon: the Sirian Darklord, a combination of technology and a Sirian warrior. After Sam destroys it, he witnesses the minion exit the Sirian Darklord's head and gives him a spanking. The minion admits that he was responsible for Sam's previous troubles and states that he was an evil clone of Sam and the "ultimate warrior of evil", although he still had to grow up. Unimpressed, Sam takes the clone through a Time-Lock to the laboratory for examination. After they leave, a cloning device in the ship activates, spawning several more copies of the evil clone.
## Development and release
Serious Sam: Next Encounter was developed by Climax Group through its Climax Solent studio. According to lead designer Sam Barlow, the team of around twenty people worked in a positive atmosphere. The development began when Climax Solent received development units of the GameCube and created a game engine for the system. The game was the built from scratch for the GameCube and PlayStation 2, such that it did not need to be ported to another platform later on. The game, during the development called Serious Sam: Word to the Mothership, drew inspiration from several sources: Previous Serious Sam games were used as the base template, the controls were designed to be as responsive and intuitive as those in GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, the enemy wave designs were influenced by Smash TV, and the vehicles were modelled after those in Ikari Warriors. Producer Matt Cooper also cited Contra as an influence. Original enemy designs were created alongside foes also featured in previous Serious Sam games. The original designs remained exclusive to this game.
Employees kept up morale through playtesting and frequently shared high scores on internal message boards. Additional testers were taken "off the street", of whom some showed significant interest in video games and were difficult to remove from the office after a testing session. The "Super Combo" system was introduced late into development, which Barlow said "completely changed the game" and how it was played by testers. Several elements—including jet packs, wasp enemies, multiplayer vehicle races, and a gun that adopts the powers of enemy projectiles it absorbs—were cut for reasons such as technical limitations and design decisions. Climax Solent occasionally shared its progress with Croteam, the creators of Serious Sam. Near the end of the production, artists and programmers were urged to improve the game's frame rate. Global Star Software, the budget-range publishing label of Take-Two Interactive, announced Next Encounter for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 in January 2004, alongside Serious Sam Advance for the Game Boy Advance. The company released both games in North America on 14 April 2004. A European release followed on 30 April 2004.
## Reception
Serious Sam: Next Encounter received "mixed or average reviews", according to the review aggregator website Metacritic, which calculated weighted average ratings of 69/100 for the GameCube release and 65/100 for the PlayStation 2 version. Several critics commended the game's high and stable frame rate but found poor graphics as a trade-off: Ed Lewis of IGN faulted "simple" textures and low poly models of the enemies and environments, comparing the look to that of games for the original PlayStation, although he felt that the character design was the "best part" of the visuals. Editors of Edge said that the environments lacked intricacy and were "blocky" and "simplistic", Jes Bickham described them as "primitive" in NGC Magazine, and Ryan Davis of GameSpot called them "ugly". Mike David of GameZone found that enemies looked "sloppy" and appeared pixelated or "grainy" when in close-up. HomeLAN's John Callaham cited the graphics as the game's greatest shortcoming, as "the lighting of the game is so flat and the level and art textures so poorly detailed that at times we though we were playing a PS1 game instead of a PS2 title". In contrast, Jeff Shirley of Nintendo World Report appreciated the "nice" textures and use of bump mapping. Adam Biessener of Game Informer felt that the graphics were good enough for a budget-price game.
David and his colleague Scott Kuvin opined that the controls in Next Encounter were aptly designed for the GameCube and PlayStation 2. Bickham called them "robust" for the GameCube version. The Edge editors lauded the auto-aiming functionality for counteracting inaccuracies of the DualShock 2's analogue sticks. Kristan Reed of Eurogamer regarded the enemy wave designs as the "most amusingly deranged gaming spectacles of all time". Shirley stated that, although the size of some levels was impressive, it caused much unnecessary traversal over empty areas after a conflict with enemies. The Edge editors opined that the level design was "flat" and further said that the enemies were not as well-executed as in past Serious Sam games. Davis said that the game, overall, was not as good as previous entries in the series. Shirley, Lewis, and Reed criticised the game's repetitiveness, with Shirley saying that he felt as though he was repeatedly playing the first level in the game. Bickham labelled the gameplay as "one-dimensional". Joe Dodson of GameRevolution disliked the game's use of platforming elements, stating that they had no place in first-person shooters. Dodson and Lewis also said that the "Super Combo" system was poorly implemented and should have allowed the player to extend the phase with higher kill streaks.
Biessener thought that the multiplayer modes added some replay value to the game, even if they were not innovative. Bickham likened the design of cooperative mode in particular. Shirley and Doug Trueman of GMR criticised Next Encounter's plot as "just filler, and not very good filler" and a "total throwaway", respectively. Trueman also disliked the humour and found that the delivery of Sam's one-line jokes fell flat. Conversely, Biessener noted that the humour fit "perfectly" into the style of the series, while David considered it "sly". Bickham deemed the game's music "incessant speed-metal nonsense", although Davis regarded it as a good audio cue to indicate incoming enemies. |
# John Ogilby
John Ogilby, Ogelby, or Oglivie (17 November 1600 – 4 September 1676) was a Scottish translator, impresario, publisher and cartographer. He was probably at least a half-brother to James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Airlie, though neither overtly acknowledged this. Ogilby's most-noted works include translations of the works of Virgil and Homer, and his version of the Fables of Aesop.
Ogilby established Ireland's first theatre in Werburgh Street, Dublin, and following the Restoration, that country's first Theatre Royal. Ogilby played a significant part in arrangements for the coronation of King Charles II. Following the Great Fire of 1666, Ogilby's large-scale map of the City of London was founded on precise survey work, and his Britannia is the first road atlas of England and Wales to be based on surveys and measurements, and drawn to scale.
## Life
### Childhood and youth (1600–1618)
John Ogilby's birthplace and parentage are historically uncertain; most early biographies of Ogilby rely on the notes of his assistant John Aubrey that were made for Aubrey's Brief Lives, a collection of biographies of Ogilby and others. The accuracy of Aubrey's account is questionable; Aubrey noted Ogilby was evasive about his origins, saying only he was born "near Edinburgh" in 1600 "of a gentleman's family". Later scholarship has discovered in 1653, Ogilby consulted the noted astrologer Elias Ashmole, and that Ashmole subsequently included Ogilby's horoscope in a personal collection of his horoscopes of notable people. The horoscope required precise data; Ashmole gives the exact location of Ogilby's birth as "Killemeure" (Kirriemuir near Dundee) and the exact date and time as 17 November 1600 at 04:00.
Ogilby believed himself to be at least a half-brother to James Ogilvy, 1st Earl of Airlie, given at birth to John Ogilby (senior), a well-off gentleman's tailor in Edinburgh, to be adopted. He was most likely educated at the Merchant Taylors' grammar school in London. At eleven years old, Ogilby was indentured as an apprentice to John Draper, one of just three licensed dance masters in London. At the time, a dancing master had expertise in "grammar (elocution), rhetoric, logic, philosophy, history, music, mathematics and in other arts": ability to dance in "Old Measures" was considered an essential skill for the upper classes. In 1617, Draper became a barrister at Gray's Inn and released Ogilby, who by then was highly accomplished as a dancer and a teacher, from the apprenticeship, allowing him to set up as a master in his own right and to take part in theatrical performances. A fall while dancing in a masque in February 1619 (aged 18), however, lamed him for life and ended his career as a dancer, though not as a teacher.
### Early adulthood (1619−1633)
Information about John Ogilby's early adulthood is limited. According to Ashmole's horoscope, in 1625, Ogilby suffered from a "double quotidian ague" – a form of malaria – he most probably contracted while fighting in the Low Countries under Colonel Sir Charles Rich. In May 1626, he is recorded as holding the rank of lieutenant in the army of Count Mansfield, subsequently becoming a prisoner of war in Dunkirk from July 1626 to June 1627. From June to November 1627, Ogilby was one of the few survivors of the ill-fated English Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré, returning to England as acting Captain of a supply ship.
### Ireland (1633−1646)
In August 1633, Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, the newly appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland, invited Ogilby to Ireland to be dancing tutor to his wife and children, and a member of his troop of guards. While in Dublin, Ogilby established Ireland's first theatre, the Werburgh Street Theatre. In 1637, as a consequence of this enterprise and to discourage competitors, Wentworth appointed Ogilby Master of the Revels for Ireland, with power to permit and forbid performances. The theatre remained open for four years; it had mixed success but it had to be closed as a result of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. With theatre and dancing ruled out, Ogilby spent his time learning Latin and then translating the complete works of Virgil.
### Writer and publisher, marriage (1647−1660)
Ogilby returned to England in January 1647, being shipwrecked on his homeward journey. The manuscript of his Virgil translation, which he had carefully placed in waterproof wrapping, survived the incident and was published in October 1648 with the sponsorship of Royalist gentlefolk and nobility.
In 1650, Ogilby married rich heiress Christian Hunsdon, a widow in her sixties and about 17 years Ogilby's senior. The following year, he published the first edition of his work The fables of Aesop paraphras'd in verse, and adorn'd with sculpture and illustrated with annotations, which was illustrated by Francis Cleyn. Ogilby's version of the text was very successful, running to five editions in the following 15 years.
During the next few years, Ogilby learnt Greek with the intention of creating and publishing a new translation of Homer's Iliad; he planned it to be a magnificent undertaking with an estimated production cost of £5,000. The venture required sponsorship to pay for the engraved illustrations, each of which would cost about £10, but he secured only 47 sponsors. When the work published in March 1660, it had 600 pages but was substantially less illustrated than Ogilby had planned. With his known Royalist sympathies, Ogilby was a risk to potential patrons who needed to avoid offending the Puritan Commonwealth government.
### Restoration of the monarchy, the Great Fire and Royal Cosmographer (1661–1676)
The Restoration of Charles II brought favour back to Ogilby. In 1661, he was granted the unpaid title "Master of the Royal Imprimerie" (King's Printer). With Charles' coronation scheduled for 23 April 1661 – St. George's Day – the Common Council of the City of London contracted Ogilby to "compose speeches, songs and inscriptions" for the coronation procession from the Tower of London to Whitehall.
A year later, Ogilby was again made Master of the Revels in Ireland, and he started building a new theatre in Smock Alley, Dublin. The libretto of Katherine Philips' musical play Pompey, which was performed at Smock Alley in 1663, credits Ogilby as the composer of the tunes. His second sojourn in Ireland was short-lived; in July 1664, he returned to plague-stricken London, leaving his step-son to take his place. In 1665, he published a second, revised edition of The Fables of Aesop, which was this time illustrated with prints by Wenceslaus Hollar.
During the Great Fire of London in 1666, Ogilby's house in Shoe Lane, together with its printing works and most of his stock, was destroyed; he estimated he had lost £3,000. After the Great Fire, the Corporation of London appointed Ogilby and his wife's grandson William Morgan as "sworn viewers", members of a group of four trustworthy gentlemen directed by Robert Hooke, to plot disputed property in the city. Ogilby later made what he called "the most accurate Survey of the City of London and Libertyes therof that has ever been done". By 1668, he had a new house in Whitefriars, and was ready to resume his printing and publishing work.
Ogilby's next major venture was a series of atlases of China, Japan, Africa, Asia and America. The first of these was An Embassy from the East India Company of the United Provinces..., first published in 1669 for Ogilby by John Macock and then reprinted in better quality by Ogilby himself in 1673. This book was substantially a translation of Johan Nieuhof's Dutch publication of the same name with English copies of the Dutch engravings, supplemented by the first English translation of sections of Athanasius Kircher's China Illustrata, relating various information from the Jesuit China Mission. Ogilby's Africa appeared in 1670 and was followed in rapid succession by Atlas Japanennsis (1670), America (1671), Atlas Chinensis (1671) and Asia (1673). In 1671, in response to his proposal to make a detailed survey and atlas of Great Britain, the King appointed Ogilby Royal Cosmographer. Thus, at about the age of 70 and with the scientific advice of Robert Hooke, Ogilby began work on Britannia, the project for which he is best known among cartographers.
#### Britannia
In 1675, Ogilby issued his atlas, which he titled Britannia, in the form of a strip map for each major route. The work contains 100 strip road maps that are accompanied by a double-sided page of text giving additional advice for the map's use, and notes on the towns shown and the pronunciations of their names. The roads were measured using a surveyor's wheel, which Ogilby called his "way-wiser", and were plotted at one inch to the statute mile – a scale of 1:63,360 – an Ogilby innovation. The maps include details such as the configurations of hills, bridges and ferries, and the relative sizes of towns. Ogilby is noted in cartography for these innovations.
The cost of the survey and the resulting maps is not known but in a prospectus, Ogilby quotes a preiminary estimate made by the "Lords Referees" – advisors to the Privy Council – as £14,000 (equivalent to about £ million today). Ogilby worked hard to raise this considerable sum by holding lotteries, and with the help of Robert Hooke, who made multiple petitions to the Crown, the Court of Common Council and Court of Aldermen of the Corporation of London and to noble families. Writing in 1925, geographer Sir Herbert Fordham said:
> twice only ... has there been such [measurement of roads]: that of John Ogilby, in 1671-5, and that of John Cary, quite at the end of the following century. In neither case, singularly enough, did the Government take any steps for the publication of the results of the survey, everything being left, in this respect, to private and commercial enterprise.
### Death
Ogilby died in September 1676 and was buried in the vault of St Bride's Church, one of Sir Christopher Wren's new London churches. In his will, dated 27 February 1675, Ogilby bequeathed his entire estate to "my deare wife Christian Ogilby and to William Morgan, her grandchild". The value of his estate is not recorded but the British Museum has a copy of an announcement by Robert Morden, a factor, of a sale of "undisposed" books and maps from Ogilby's collection with an asserted value of £517.50 (equivalent to about £ today).
## Legacy
In the years that followed his death, Ogilby's reputation as a poetic translator suffered from attacks made on him by John Dryden in his satirical work MacFlecknoe, and by Alexander Pope in The Dunciad. Following their lead, Scottish philosopher David Hume used Ogilby's work to illustrate the idea that common sense frequently appeals to a "standard of taste" in aesthetic matters:
> Whoever would assert an equality of genius and elegance between Ogilby and [John] Milton, or [John] Bunyan and [Joseph] Addison, would be thought to defend no less an extravagance, than if he had maintained a mole-hill to be as high as Teneriffe [sic], or a pond as extensive as the ocean.
Other writers were even more critical; Ogilby's entry in the Encyclopaedia Londinensis (about 1800) reads:
> The chief merit of his Homer consists in a commendable and uniform fidelity to the sense of his author. As a poet, his pretensions to praise of any kind can scarcely be supported: he has neither animation of thought, accuracy of taste, sensibility of feeling, nor ornament of diction.
Such judgements stuck, and it is only since the mid-20th century that Ogilby's work has again been given scholarly attention, particularly his versions of Aesop's Fables. These, according to a short biography published by Theophilus Cibber in 1753, were "generally confessed to have exceeded whatever hath been done before in that kind". They renewed interest in the fable as a literary medium and arguably initiated suggestions of their adaptation to the troubled politics of the time.
## Gallery
## See also
- An Embassy from the East-India Company (1665 Dutch work translated by Ogilby)
- China Illustrata (1667 Latin work translated in part by Ogilby)
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- John Ogilvy (disambiguation) |
# Atlanticopristis
Atlanticopristis (meaning "Atlantic saw") is an extinct genus of sclerorhynchid (a sawfish-like chondrichthyan) that lived during the Middle Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of what is now the Northeast Region of Brazil, between 100.5 and 93.9 million years ago. Fourteen fossil teeth from Atlanticopristis were found in the Alcântara Formation, and referred to the closely related Onchopristis in 2007; a redescription in 2008 by Brazilian paleontologists Manuel Medeiros and Agostinha Pereira assigned it to a new genus containing one species, Atlanticopristis equatorialis.
Like all sawfish, it would have had a long snout armed with modified fish scales shaped into "teeth", but Atlanticopristis's teeth had barbs on both sides. Atlanticopristis inhabited fresh to brackish water estuaries near large conifer forests, and lived in the same time and place as many species of bony fish, cartilaginous fish, and lobe finned fish, as well as some crocodilians, and several dinosaurs. Many of the taxa present in the Alcântara Formation are also known from the Middle Cretaceous Kem Kem Beds in Morocco, due to the past connection of South America and Africa into the supercontinent Gondwana.
## Discovery and naming
Fossils of Atlanticopristis were discovered in the Maranhão state of northeastern Brazil, at the Alcântara Formation of the Itapecuru Group on Cajual Island. The formation, composed of Cretaceous sediments, outcrops at the coastline of the São Marcos Bay, and documents the separation of South America and Africa; while presenting a large quantity and variety of continental and marine vertebrates. Fossils from the Alcântara Formation are highly diverse and plentiful, yet often fragmentary. Fourteen rostral teeth from Atlanticopriostis were brought back from the Falésia do Sismito exposure; due to the fact that sawfish are made of cartilage, their skeletons do not fossilize easily, so most remains found consist of the teeth from their snouts. The specimens of Atlanticopristis are currently housed at the Centro de Pesquisa de História Natural e Arqueologia do Maranhão (Archaeology and Natural History Research Center of Maranhão), in São Luís.
The holotype tooth (CPHNAMA-VT 1174) was designated as such for being the most complete and well preserved specimen. Additionally, several specimens were assigned as paratypes: CPHNAMA-VT 1086, a single tooth and the largest specimen; CPHNAMA-VT 1085, two complete teeth; CPHNAMA-VT 1088 and CPHNAMA-VT 1173, two groups of four incomplete teeth each, all missing the tip of the crown; and CPHNAMA-VT 1173, two partial specimens with most of the crown.
Portuguese paleontologists Manuel Medeiros and Agostinha Pereira described the material in 2008. The genus contains one species, Atlanticopristis equatorialis. The generic name referring to the Atlantic Ocean, in which most sediments of the Alcântara Formation were deposited, and "pristis" being the Greek word for "saw". The specific name "equatorialis" was chosen due to the discovery site being in close proximity to the equator.
## Description
The teeth on the rostrum (snout) of Atlanticopristis have a varied number of barbs at the front and rear margins. They are also laterally compressed, with both sides displaying thin enamel ridges extending outward from the base of the tooth, forming a fan shape. Some of the teeth also have grooves running down their length on both sides. The peduncle (or base) of the tooth is enlarged, and covered in irregular ridges, the bottom is typically concave, having a sub-rectangular or ellipsoid shape.
The specimens range in size from 11.5 mm (0.45 inches) to 18.8 mm (0.74 inches). The holotype (CPHNAMA-VT 1174) is 15 mm (0.59 inches) in length, including the peduncle; which itself is 6.3 mm (0.24 inches) wide, and 3 mm (0.11 inches) long. It has a thickness of 3 mm (0.11 inches). The barb number on all specimens ranges from two to four barbs at the front margin and four to five at the rear, some specimens like CPHNAMA-VT 1085 having vestigial bumps that could be considered additional barbs.
Sawfish evolved long snouts armed with rows of teeth on both sides, although these spines do not represent true teeth, but highly modified fish scales, or dermal denticles. This adaptation could be related to their feeding habits, such as sifting through sand/mud to search for food or to slash at prey. Like extant sawsharks, these spines were attached to the rostrum of sclerorhynchids like Atlanticopristis using ligaments, compared to modern sawfish which have their teeth attached via alveoli (tooth sockets). The longitudinal ribbing, or ridges, of enameloid that can be seen on sclerorhynchid teeth would have aided in the attachment of these ligaments.
## Classification
Atlanticopristis belongs to the Sclerorhynchidae, a possibly monophyletic family of Cretaceous sawfish-like chondrichthyans dating from the Early to Late epochs of the Cretaceous Period. The fossilized teeth of Atlanticopristis had previously been referred to an indeterminate species of Onchopristis in 2007 by Pereira and Medeiros, based on the shape of the peduncle, the presence of multiple barbs, and the enamel ribbing. In 2008 the teeth were assigned to a new genus based on the lack of an intermediate form between Atlanticopristis and Onchopristis, as well as morphological differences that distinguish it from other sclerorhynchids. Pereira and Medeiros also stated that Atlanticopristis is so closely related to Onchopristis that, "any other subjective interpretation could consider them as synonyms." The barb number on the spines of Atlanticopristis more closely resembles that of Onchopristis dunklei than Onchopristis numidus, as O. numidus usually has no more than a single barb, while O. dunklei always has more than one. The sclerorhynchid Borodinopristis, also has multibarbed teeth, but is too distinct in all other aspects to suggest a close relation.
The formation of multiple barbs on both sides of the teeth is a characteristic also seen in the extinct Australian sawshark Ikamauius. In general, sclerorynchids all developed dentition closer to that of sawsharks than modern sawfish, but they are more closely related to the latter. This similarity is considered a case of convergent evolution, where unrelated organisms evolve analogous traits.
Atlanticopristis and Onchopristis exhibit similarities to a Bolivian species of sclerorhynchid Pucapristis branisi, such as the enamel ribbing and the formation of a barb on the posterior margin, however, their peduncles differ greatly. In 1987, French paleoichthyologist Henri Cappeta distinguished two groups inside of sclerorhynchidae, separating Onchopristis from Pucapristis.
## Paleoecology
Atlanticopristis originates from the Alcântara Formation, which is dated to the Cenomanian stage of the Middle Cretaceous Period, sometime between 100.5 and 93.9 million years ago. Like most modern sawfishes, it inhabited an estuarine environment of fresh to brackish water. Atlanticopristis likely came from the shallow marine regions of the southern Atlantic Ocean, and periodically entered estuarine waters. The area that is now Laje do Coringa locality would have comprised tidal estuaries of rivers and lagoons, alongside these would have been large forests of conifers, horsetails, and ferns. The animal would have shared its habitat with freshwater, marine, and estuarine fish like the closely related sclerorynchid Onchopristis numidus; Mawsonia gigas, a large coelacanth; Myliobatis sp. (of uncertain species), a ray; as well as many species of bony fishes, ray-finned fishes, and lungfish. Marine invertebrates were prominent in the region, as shown by the many mollusc genera discovered in the deposits. Atlanticopristis remains have also been found in association with those of land-based animals like crocodilians and dinosaurs, among these are two members of Spinosauridae (a family of crocodile-like dinosaurs); Oxalaia quilombensis, and Spinosaurus sp. An indeterminate Carcharodontosaurus species is known from the deposits, along with other small-to-medium-sized theropods, and the mesoeucrocodylian Coringasuchus anisodontis.
The paleoecological situation in Cenomanian Brazil highly resembles that of Middle Cretaceous north Africa, particularly the Kem Kem and Bahariya Formations; many of the same biota can be found in both north Africa and northeastern Brazil. This is a result of Gondwana, a supercontinent that comprised Africa and South America, after their separation, the taxa on each landmass would have continued to evolve separately; contributing to small anatomical differences between the transoceanic taxa. |
# Gaius Porcius Cato (consul 114 BC)
Gaius Porcius Cato (before 157 BC – after 109 BC in Tarraco) was a Roman politician and general, notably consul in 114 BC. He was the son of Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus and grandson of Cato the Censor.
Initially a friend of the Gracchi brothers, Gaius betrayed Gaius Gracchus in the late 120s BC. He became consul in 114, but was crushed by the Scordisci in Thrace. His defeat led to a religious hysteria at Rome, and he was sentenced to pay a fine at his return. He was sued again in 109 before the Mamilian commission, which investigated possible bribes received by Roman politicians from the Numidian King Jugurtha. In fact the commission's members were former supporters of the Gracchi and made Gaius pay for his betrayal by forcing him into exile. Gaius left for Tarraco (modern Tarragona) in Spain, and became a citizen of that town.
## Family background
Gaius Cato belonged to the plebeian gens Porcia, which became prominent at the beginning of the second century thanks to Cato the Censor, the grandfather of Gaius. Born before 157, his parents were Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus and Aemilia Tertia, the youngest daughter of Aemilius Paullus. As a result, Gaius was the nephew of Scipio Aemilianus, the eldest son of Aemilius Paullus and natural brother of his mother. In addition, Gaius was the younger brother of Marcus Porcius Cato, consul in 118, who died during his office.
## Career
### Early career
Gaius is first mentioned in the sources as a supporter of Tiberius Gracchus, the famous social reformer and tribune of the plebs in 133. Gaius probably met him within the Scipionic Circle—the literate court of Scipio Aemilianus—as Tiberius was also Scipio's brother-in-law. Gaius first recorded position was as triumvir monetalis in 123, the year of the first tribunate of Gaius Gracchus, which suggests he also supported Tiberius' younger brother. It seems that he deserted the cause of the Gracchi soon after though, as he was later prosecuted by a Gracchan court. Cicero describes him as a "mediocre orator".
Nothing is known of his activities until his consulship in 114, but Gaius was surely praetor by 117, as the Lex Villia required a three-year wait between holding magistracies. His province was likely Sicily, as Cicero tells that Gaius' baggage was confiscated by the Mamertines, the inhabitants of Messina. The reason is unknown, but Gaius was likely either on his way to or from his post in Syracuse. Before an article published by Ernst Badian in 1993, the academic consensus was that Gaius lost his baggage c.110 on his way to serve as legate in Numidia during the Jugurthine War, but former consuls serving as legates are extremely rare, and it is more likely that Gaius was praetor in Sicily in 117.
### Consulship (114 BC)
Gaius was elected consul in 114, alongside the other plebeian Manius Acilius Balbus. He is described as consul posterior while Balbus is consul prior, which means the Centuriate Assembly elected Balbus first. Erich Gruen considers that Gaius was a supporter of the conservative Caecilii Metelli—the most powerful family at the time—even though Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius was also candidate in the consular elections that year. T. R. S. Broughton however suggests that Caprarius could have withdrawn his candidacy.
Gaius was assigned Macedonia as his province, which was normally given to a praetor, but a war against the Scordisci—a Celtic or Illyrian tribe from east Serbia—had broken out and a consul was needed. During the summer Gaius nevertheless suffered a crushing defeat against the Scordisci in northern Thrace, who then could enter Roman territory as far as Delphi and the Adriatic. It was the first major Roman defeat in a generation.
The disaster triggered a "religious hysteria" at Rome, with a return to human sacrifice for the last time in Roman history. Two couples (one Greek and one Celtic) were therefore buried alive under the Forum Boarium. The defeat also led to the Trial of the Vestal Virgins, in which three vestals were accused of incestum. One vestal was sentenced to death in 114, but the acquittal of the other two was not accepted, and a tribune of the plebs forced their retrial in 113, which resulted in their death as well.
### Trials and exile (113–109 BC)
As was customary with defeated commanders, Gaius was not prorogued in his province and returned to Rome in 113. He was sued at his return for extortion under the provision of the Lex Acilia repetundarum. The sentence was particularly lenient, with a fine of only 8,000 sesterces. Gaius probably benefited from the support of influential friends to escape harsher punishment, but perhaps the plaintiffs were Macedonian provincials—which would mean that Gaius was only sued for some minor damages he caused in the province and not his defeat against the Scordisci, hence the mild verdict.
Apparently, Gaius did not suffer from this conviction. He kept his seat in the Senate and remained politically active, as he was sued again in 109 by the Mamilian commission—named after the tribune of the plebs Gaius Mamilius Limetanus. Officially, this special court was set up to investigate the bribes received by Roman politicians from Jugurtha, the King of Numidia, against whom Rome had been at war since 112. However, the jurors were all equites and the targeted individuals were men associated with the demise of the Gracchi (the equites had been made jurors in the criminal courts by Gaius Gracchus). The first man prosecuted was therefore Lucius Opimius, the consul who in 121 had ordered the murder of Gaius Gracchus and his supporters. Then followed Lucius Calpurnius Bestia (consul in 111), Gaius Sulpicius Galba, Spurius Postumius Albinus (perhaps the consul of 110), and thus Gaius Porcius Cato—who all can be linked to the Gracchi, as enemies or turncoats. Cicero makes it clear that they owed their condemnation to the Gracchan background of the jurors. Gaius may have not even waited for the result of the trial and went into exile.
Unlike most other exiled Romans, Gaius did not move to another city in Italy or the Greek East, but went instead to the less civilised Tarraco in Hispania Citerior, because the Porcii Catones had been the patrons of the city ever since Cato the Censor had served as consul and proconsul in Spain in 195–194. The name Porcius is more frequently encountered on inscriptions in the area, an indication of the Catones' influence over the town. Gaius' choice shows that he did not expect to be restored, because other exiles often remained closer to Italy in order to lobby for their return, such as Lucius Opimius who settled to Dyrrachium (now Durrës in Albania). Gaius received the citizenship of Tarraco, and presumably died there.
Gaius was possibly the grandfather of Gaius Porcius Cato, tribune of the plebs in 56 BC. |
# Idontwannabeyouanymore
"Idontwannabeyouanymore" is a song by American singer Billie Eilish from her debut EP, Don't Smile at Me (2017). Eilish and her brother, Finneas O'Connell, co-wrote the song, with the latter solely handling the production. It was released through Darkroom and Interscope Records on July 21, 2017, as the fifth single from the EP. Musically, the song is pop and R\&B track with a jazz and neo soul-influenced melody, that was heavily inspired by Eilish being depressed.
Commercially, "Idontwannabeyouanymore" reached number 96 on the Billboard Hot 100. It has also received several certifications, including double-platinum awards from the Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A.C. (AMPROFON) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song was performed live during Eilish's 2019 When We All Fall Asleep Tour and her Where Do We Go? World Tour in 2020, and again on her 2022 Happier Than Ever, The World Tour.
## Background and release
"Idontwannabeyouanymore" was conceived when Eilish was suffering from depression. In an interview with Genius, Eilish stated "I have still dealt with depression. 'Idontwannabeyouanymore' is about times I've felt this way. The real truth is that depression can happen to anyone no matter who you are or what you have and there is no shame to admitting that you feel this way. It's a very real thing and should never be ignored or labeled 'a choice'." She compared the song to her 2017 single "Copycat". On July 21, 2017, "Idontwannabeyouanymore" was released as the fifth single on Eilish's debut EP Don't Smile at Me (2017). "Idontwannabeyouanymore" was written by the singer and her brother Finneas O'Connell, the latter of which also produced it. Studio personnel John Greenham and Rob Kinelski handled the mastering and mixing, respectively.
## Composition and lyrical interpretation
According to sheet music website Musicnotes.com, "Idontwannabeyouanymore" has a gentle lilt tempo of 57 beats per minute (BPM) and is played in the key of E minor. Eilish's vocals range from G<sub>3</sub> to D<sub>5</sub>. Critical commentary described the song as a pop, and R\&B track with a jazz and neo soul-influenced melody. Many critics noted influences from Lana Del Rey and Amy Winehouse in the song. "Idontwannabeyouanymore" finds Eilish singing about self-doubt and negative self-esteem: "Hands getting cold/Losing feeling is getting old/Was I made from a broken mold?/Hurt, I can't shake/We've made every mistake/Only you know the way that I break."
The song starts off with a piano, before Eilish begins to sing about struggling with self-doubt while dealing with how society wants her to be. Eilish refers to models and people's tendencies to judge someone for what the clothes they wear: "If teardrops could be bottled/There'd be swimming pools filled by models/Told the tight dress is what makes you a whore." But as the song progresses, Eilish becomes accustomed to her dissatisfaction until she finally admits she doesn't want to be herself anymore. According to Libby Torres of Insider Eilish sings about being "determined to break out on her own and become her own person", but the chorus suggests that she feels complicit or to blame in her failed relationship with herself."
## Critical reception
Writing for Clash magazine, Steph Kretowicz described "Idontwannabeyouanymore" as a "breathy catharsis". Nicole Almedia of Atwood Magazine described Eilish's vocals as a "great display of [her] vocal capacity" and praised her capability of "delivering powerful sentimentality in every word". In her review for Earmilk, Jess Bartlet stated the track has a "vocal vulnerability and innocence that wouldn't sound out of place in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill". Insider's Libby Torres remarked that "Idontwannabeyouanymore" when combined with her "airy vocals" and "gently flowing piano", it makes the track a "perfect song". The song placed at number 20 on NME's "Every single Billie Eilish song ranked in order of greatness" list, with the staff calling it an "upbeat piano-pop [that] belies the painful grapple with weightier and more serious issues of self-esteem and depression".
## Commercial performance
"Idontwannabeyouanymore" became Eilish's third entry on the US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 songs chart. The song later went on to debut on the main Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 100, following the release of a viral short clip that featured the song. Following the release of Eilish's debut studio album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, "Idontwannabeyouanymore" rose to number 96 the chart and stayed there for three weeks. At the same time, Eilish broke the record for the most simultaneous Hot 100 entries for a female artist. "Idontwannabeyouanymore" received a double-platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which denotes track-equivalent sales of two million units based on sales and streams. In the United Kingdom, the single peaked at number 78 on the UK Singles Chart, and was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), for track-equivalent sales of 600,000 units "Idontwannabeyouanymore" was also successful in Canada, peaking at number 60 on the Canadian Hot 100 and being awarded a platinum certification from Music Canada (MC), for 80,000 track-equivalent unit sales.
## Promotion
In December 2017, Eilish premiered a Spotify-released vertical video to accompany the song. It was eventually released on YouTube on January 4, 2018. In the minimalistic visual, it portrays a silver-haired Eilish in an all-white room talking to her reflection in a mirror about how she hates herself. Shweta Patokar writing for Republic World commented that what makes the video scary is how "close it is to reality".
Eilish has promoted "Idontwannabeyouanymore" with several live performances. "Idontwannabeyouanymore" was performed live during Eilish's North American 1 by 1 tour in 2018. She performed the track live for BBC Radio 1 in February 2019. Eilish's performance of the song for German music platform COLORS remains the most viewed video on their YouTube channel, with over 100 million views. It was included on the setlist of her When We All Fall Asleep Tour (2019). She also performed the track at Pukkelpop in August 2019. Eilish performed the song live at Third Man Records with Finneas, and later released it on a live album entitled Live at Third Man Records (2020). In December of that year, She performed the track at the Steve Jobs Theater for the first annual Apple Music Awards after she won artist of the year, with Finneas playing the guitar. It was eventually added to the singer's 2020 Where Do We Go? World Tour.
## Remixes and covers
A remix by Elijah Hill was released on September 15, 2018, for Trap Nation through YouTube and SoundCloud. Dan Regan of Billboard praised the remix, saying Hill "catches it like a piece on confetti on the wind and brings it to the top of a mountain" and is another "future bass remix big enough to fill a stadium".
In November 2019, The Devil Clefs, an a cappella group from Arizona State University, covered the track. A few days later, it went viral on YouTube and TikTok. On February 25, 2020, 18-year-old singer Chelle from Indiana, sang "Idontwannabeyouanymore" for her audition on The Voice. In his audition for America's Got Talent on July 15, 2020, Australian masked singer Sheldon Riley covered the track. Judge Simon Cowell praised the cover, telling Riley he has an amazing voice. In August of the same year, American singer Kelly Clarkson, covered it for her talk show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, live from her home. Gil Kaufman of Billboard described the cover "steer[s] the ballad down a smoky avenue, turning the pop ballad kind of blue thanks to tasteful stand-up bass, brushed drums and soulful organ runs."
## Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.
- Billie Eilish – vocals, songwriter
- Finneas O'Connell – producer, songwriter
- Rob Kinelski – mixer
- John Greenham – mastering engineer
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
## Certifications |
# Crazy Rich Asians (film)
Crazy Rich Asians is a 2018 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jon M. Chu, from a screenplay by Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim, based on the 2013 novel of the same title by Kevin Kwan. The film stars Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, Lisa Lu, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, and Michelle Yeoh. It follows a Chinese-American professor, Rachel, who travels to Singapore with her boyfriend Nick and is shocked to discover that Nick's family is one of the richest families in Singapore.
The film was announced in August 2012 after the rights to the book were purchased. Many of the cast members signed on in the spring of 2017, and filming took place from April to June of that year in parts of Singapore, Malaysia and New York City. It is the first film by a major Hollywood studio to feature a majority cast of Chinese descent in a modern setting since The Joy Luck Club in 1993. Despite such praises in the United States, the film was also criticized for casting biracial actors over fully ethnically Chinese ones in certain roles. Additional criticism was also directed at the film for failing to acknowledge Singapore's multiracial demographic by including other Singaporean ethnic groups—such as Malay and Indian actors—as characters, as well as perpetuating stereotypes of East Asians.
Crazy Rich Asians premiered on August 7, 2018, at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles and was released theatrically in the United States on August 15, 2018, by Warner Bros. Pictures. A major critical and commercial success, the film grossed over $238 million on a budget of $30 million, making it the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the 2010s, and received high praise for the performances of its cast, the screenplay, and production design. The film received numerous accolades, including the 76th Golden Globe Awards nominations for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for Wu. It received a nomination at the 50th NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Motion Picture. It also received four nominations at the 24th Critics' Choice Awards, winning one for Best Comedy, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards. Two sequels, based on the novel's follow-ups China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems, are in development.
## Plot
Rachel Chu, a professor of economics at New York University, and her boyfriend Nick Young travel to Singapore for the wedding of Nick's best friend Colin Khoo and Araminta Lee. The following day, Rachel visits her college roommate Goh Peik Lin and her wealthy family, who reveal that Nick's family are extremely wealthy, have a real estate empire and are akin to royalty in Singapore. Later that evening, Rachel and Peik Lin arrive at the sprawling Young family estate for a dinner party. Nick introduces Rachel to his mother Eleanor, while his cousin Astrid Leong-Teo discovers that her husband Michael, who comes from a more humble background than the Youngs, has been having an affair. Rachel immediately senses that Eleanor dislikes her, but endears herself to Nick's grandmother, matriarch Shang Su Yi.
At Araminta's bachelorette party, Rachel meets Amanda Ling, who reveals she is Nick's ex-girlfriend and tells Rachel that she may face rejection by the Youngs due to her modest background, jealously accusing Rachel of being a gold digger; Rachel comforts herself by taking solace in Astrid, who helps her. Meanwhile, Nick attends Colin's bachelor party and reveals his plan to propose to Rachel. While happy for him, Colin expresses concern about the potential conflicts: apart from their class difference, Nick is expected to stay in Singapore and run his family's corporation, and marrying Rachel might mean he stays in New York. Nick apologizes to Rachel for not informing her of his wealth—because he wanted a normal relationship with her—and takes her back to the Young estate to make dumplings. Eleanor recounts her sacrifices to become a part of the family and calls out Rachel's stereotypically American pursuit of passion. She privately recounts to Rachel how Nick's father had to obtain her engagement ring because Su Yi disapproved of her and refused to give him the family ring, and tells Rachel that she will never be good enough for Nick or his family.
Peik Lin convinces Rachel to stand up to Eleanor and earn her respect. On the day of the wedding, Peik Lin and Oliver T'sien, Nick's second cousin, give Rachel a glamorous makeover. Meanwhile, en route to the wedding, Astrid confronts Michael, who blames his infidelity on the financial disparity between them. At the afterparty, Eleanor and Su Yi privately confront Rachel and Nick because they learned that Rachel's father is alive from a private investigator, and she was conceived through an extramarital affair, after which her mother Kerry fled to the United States. They demand that Nick stop seeing Rachel for fear of scandal. The shocked and heartbroken Rachel, whose mother told her that her father was dead, flees to Peik Lin's home, remaining in a depressed stupor.
Kerry later arrives at Nick's request, explaining that her abusive husband led to the comfort of an old classmate who then impregnated her; she fled in fear that her husband would kill them. Nick apologizes to Rachel and proposes, willing to abandon his family to be with her, but Rachel declines. She instead meets Eleanor at a mahjong parlor and points out that Eleanor has created a stalemate: Nick can forsake Rachel and remain dutiful but resentful of his family, or he can forsake his family for love. Making use of her expertise in game theory, she hands Eleanor the mahjong tile that lets her win and reveals that she could have kept the tile for herself and claimed victory. Having shown that she loves him enough to let him go, she heads to the airport with Kerry. Meanwhile, Astrid moves out with her son Cassian, and tells Michael that his insecurities caused their marriage to fail. Eleanor gives her blessing to Nick and Rachel by giving Nick her ring, which Nick uses to propose to Rachel on the plane before her flight departs. Rachel accepts, and they stay in Singapore for an engagement party atop Marina Bay Sands. There, Rachel locks eyes with Eleanor, who gives her an approving nod before leaving.
In a mid-credits scene, Astrid looks over at a man standing next to her and smiles, clearly recognizing him.
## Cast
- Constance Wu as Rachel Chu, Nick's girlfriend and Kerry's daughter
- Henry Golding as Nicholas "Nick" Young, Rachel's boyfriend and Phillip and Eleanor's son
- Gemma Chan as Astrid Leong-Teo, Nick's cousin and Michael's wife, a fashion icon and socialite
- Lisa Lu as Shang Su Yi, Nick's grandmother and the matriarch of the family
- Awkwafina as Goh Peik Lin, Rachel's charismatic confidante and best friend, and Wye Mun's daughter
- Ken Jeong as Goh Wye Mun, Peik Lin's wealthy father
- Michelle Yeoh as Eleanor Sung-Young, Nick's domineering mother and Phillip's wife
- Sonoya Mizuno as Araminta Lee, Colin's fiancée and heiress to a billion-dollar resort chain
- Chris Pang as Colin Khoo, Nick's childhood best friend and Araminta's fiancé
- Jimmy O. Yang as Bernard Tai, Nick and Colin's former classmate
- Ronny Chieng as Edison "Eddie" Cheng, Nick and Astrid's cousin and Fiona's husband from Hong Kong
- Remy Hii as Alistair Cheng, Eddie's brother and Nick and Astrid's movie-making cousin from Taiwan
- Nico Santos as Oliver T'sien, Nick's gay and campy second cousin. He refers to himself as "the rainbow sheep of the family" and becomes good friends with Peik Lin.
- Jing Lusi as Amanda "Mandy" Ling, lawyer and Nick's former girlfriend
- Harry Shum Jr. as Charlie Wu, Astrid's ex-fiancé. He only has a small role in the mid-credits scene, but the director confirmed that the sequel would focus more on him.
Other cast members include Carmen Soo as Francesca Shaw, Nick's snobby ex-girlfriend; Pierre Png as Michael Teo, Astrid's husband; Fiona Xie as Kitty Pong, Alistair's girlfriend and Taiwanese soap opera star; Victoria Loke as Fiona Tung-Cheng, Eddie's wife from Hong Kong and Nick's cousin-in-law; Janice Koh as Felicity Young, Astrid's mother and Su Yi's eldest child; Amy Cheng as Jacqueline Ling, Mandy's heiress mother and Eleanor's friend; Koh Chieng Mun as Neena Goh, Peik Lin's mother; Calvin Wong as P.T. Goh, Peik Lin's brother; Tan Kheng Hua as Kerry Chu, Rachel's mother; Constance Lau as Celine "Radio One Asia" Lim, gossiper and member of Radio One Asia; Selena Tan as Alexandra "Alix" Young-Cheng, Su Yi's youngest child; Daniel Jenkins as Reginald Ormsby, manager of the London Calthorpe Hotel; Peter Carroll as Lord Calthorpe, owner of the London Calthorpe Hotel; Kris Aquino as Princess Intan, a wealthy royal; Tumurbaatar Enkhtungalag as Nadine Shao, one of Eleanor's best friends; Charles Grounds as Curtis, one of Rachel's friends in New York City.
Crazy Rich Asians author Kevin Kwan has a cameo appearance during the Radio One Asia sequence. Singer Kina Grannis cameos as Colin and Araminta's wedding singer during the wedding sequence.
## Production
### Pre-production
Kevin Kwan published his comedic novel Crazy Rich Asians on June 11, 2013. One of the first producers to contact Kwan was Wendi Deng Murdoch, who had read an advance copy of the novel provided by Graydon Carter. Another of the producers who was initially interested in the project proposed whitewashing the role of heroine Rachel Chu by casting a Caucasian actress, prompting Kwan to option the rights to the film for just $1 in exchange for a continuing role for creative and development decisions. In August 2013, producer Nina Jacobson acquired rights to adapt the novel into a film. Jacobson and her partner Brad Simpson intended to produce under their production banner Color Force, with Bryan Unkeless developing the project. Their initial plan was to produce the film adaptation outside the studio system and to structure financing for development and production from Asia and other territories outside the United States. The freedom created by eschewing the typical funding structure would enable an all-Asian cast. Jacobson stated "Getting something in development and even getting some upfront money is an easy way to not ever see your movie get made."
In 2014, the US-based Asian film investment group Ivanhoe Pictures partnered with Jacobson to finance and produce Crazy Rich Asians. John Penotti, president of Ivanhoe, stated "For us, the book fell in our lap kind of like, 'This is why we're doing the company.' Unlike the Hollywood second-guessing, 'Oh my God, will this work? We don't know. It's all Asian,' it was exactly the opposite for us: 'That's exactly why it will work.'"
Screenwriter Peter Chiarelli was hired to write the screenplay before a director was brought on board. Director Jon M. Chu entered negotiations with Color Force and Ivanhoe Pictures in May 2016 to direct the film adaptation. He was hired after giving executives a visual presentation about his experience as a first-generation Asian-American. Chu was actually mentioned obliquely in the source novel as Kwan was friends with Chu's cousin Vivian. Upon joining the project, Chu insisted on bringing in a screenwriter of Asian descent, Adele Lim, to review and revise Chiarelli's script. Chiarelli was credited with focusing the plot on the dynamic between Eleanor, Rachel, and Nick. Lim also added specific cultural details and developed Eleanor's character.
In October 2016, Warner Bros. Pictures acquired the distribution rights to the project after what Variety called a "heated" bidding war. Netflix reportedly fervently sought worldwide rights to the project, offering "artistic freedom, a greenlighted trilogy and huge, seven-figure-minimum paydays for each stakeholder, upfront". However, Kwan and Chu selected Warner Bros. for the cultural impact of a wide theatrical release.
Although she had initially auditioned for the role of Rachel in mid-2016, Constance Wu could not accept due to a conflict with her work on the television series Fresh Off the Boat. However, Wu wrote to Chu explaining her connection with Rachel's character, and convinced him to push back the production schedule by four months. Production was slated to begin in April 2017 in Singapore and Malaysia.
### Casting
After Wu was chosen to play the lead Rachel Chu, newcomer Henry Golding was cast to play the male lead Nick Young. Michelle Yeoh joined the cast as Eleanor Young, Nick's mother, in March 2017. Rounding out the supporting cast was Gemma Chan as Nick's cousin Astrid Young and Sonoya Mizuno as Araminta Lee. Wu, Yeoh, and Chan were part of director Chu's "dream casting sheet" before casting was confirmed, along with Ronny Chieng and Jimmy O. Yang. On April 18, 2017, Filipino actress Kris Aquino was cast in a cameo role. On May 12, it was announced that Ken Jeong had joined the cast. Although Jeong had a minor role involving less than a week of filming, he stated "It's just something I wanted to be part of. It's about wanting to be part of something monumental. Something that's bigger than me. I'm so giddy I'm part of this, I can't even tell you."
The casting of Nick Young, Golding's eventual role, initially had been challenging for the filmmakers, as director Jon M. Chu reportedly was unsatisfied with the preliminary finalists from Los Angeles and China, as he felt that none of the actors could properly replicate the British accent Nick was described as having from the original book. After receiving a tip from his accountant Lisa-Kim Kuan, Chu began actively pursuing Golding for the role of Nick, who he felt had the proper accent and look for the character.
Biscuit Films, a production company based in Petaling Jaya that provided support for the film, commissioned casting director Jerrica Lai to provide local talent which included Carmen Soo (as Francesca Shaw, a socialite) and Calvin Wong (Peik Lin's awkward brother).
The film's casting prior to release was met with both praise—in the U.S. for its all-Asian cast—and criticism for its lack of Asian ethnic diversity, based on issues ranging from non-Chinese actors (Golding and Mizuno) playing Chinese roles; the film's ethnic Chinese and East Asian predominance as being poorly representative of Singapore; and as being a perpetuation of existing Chinese dominance in its media and pop culture.
### Filming
Principal photography began on April 24, 2017, and completed on June 23. The film was shot in various locations around Malaysia as well as in Singapore. The film was shot by Vanja Černjul using Panasonic VariCam PURE cameras equipped with anamorphic lenses. Production design is credited to Nelson Coates.
Producer Tim Coddington contacted Biscuit Films for potential locations in Southeast Asia similar to photographs he had of mansions in Thailand. With Malaysia being a cheap filming location, Biscuit convinced him of the country, which is also culturally more similar to Singapore, where the source novel is set. The ancestral Young family home, set at Tyersall Park in Singapore, was filmed at two abandoned mansions that make up Carcosa Seri Negara within the Perdana Botanical Gardens. Interior scenes were filmed at one building, and the exterior scenes were filmed at another; they had originally been built as residences for the British High Commissioner to Malaya in the early 20th century, and were recently used as a boutique hotel until it closed in 2015. The Carcosa Seri Negara buildings, owned by the Malaysian government, were then abandoned and dilapidated; as found in 2017, they were in disrepair and "filled with monkey feces". The set designers were inspired to decorate the interior set in the Peranakan style. Kevin Kwan, who was born in Singapore and lived with his paternal grandparents before moving to the United States, contributed vintage family photographs for the set. The set designers removed carpets, painted the floors to look like tiles, and commissioned local artists to create murals. The stuffed tiger in the foyer was a simulacrum created from foam and fur in Thailand; customs inspectors delayed the shipment because they thought it was an actual taxidermied animal.
The opening urban scenes set in London and the West Village were actually shot in Kuala Lumpur and Penang: the Calthorpe Hotel purchased by the Youngs is the E\&O Hotel in Penang; the lecture auditorium set at NYU was filmed in Putrajaya; and the restaurant where Nick asks Rachel to travel was filmed at BLVD House, Naza Towers at Platinum Park in Kuala Lumpur. The taxi drop-off scene set at John F. Kennedy International Airport also was filmed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Singapore Airlines was asked to participate in exchange for product placement, but declined as "they were not sure the movie would represent the airline and their customer[s] in a good light", according to producer Brad Simpson, leading to the creation of the fictional Pacific Asean Airlines for the film. After Nick asks Rachel to travel with him to Araminta and Colin's wedding, rumors about his mystery girlfriend soon reach Eleanor at a Bible study session, filmed in the private residence Be-landa House in Kuala Lumpur. The luxurious first-class suite on the Pacific Asean flight was a set built at the MINES International Exhibition & Convention Centre (MIECC) in Serdang. The scenes where Rachel and Nick arrive at Changi Airport and are then whisked away to Newton Food Centre by Colin and Araminta were shot on location. After settling in, Rachel and Nick stay at a luxury hotel (scenes were shot at the Raffles Hotel) instead of the ancestral Young estate at Tyersall. Astrid's character is introduced by showing her shopping for jewelry at an exclusive designer; the shop was created by redecorating the Astor Bar at the St. Regis Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. The Goh family's home is an actual residence off Cluny Park in Singapore, although the set decorators were responsible for the excessive gilding and pillars.
Colin and Nick escape the party barge (the set was built in a parking lot at MIECC, and a container ship was rented for exterior shots) to relax on Rawa Island (scenes filmed on Langkawi Island), and the bachelorette party takes place at the Four Seasons on Langkawi. After Eleanor intimidates Rachel at the dumpling party, she is cheered up by Peik Lin at the restaurant Humpback on Bukit Pasoh Road. The wedding of Araminta and Colin was shot at the CHIJMES, a former convent in Singapore built in the 19th century. After the wedding, the reception is held in the Supertree Grove at Gardens by the Bay. Rachel agrees to meet Nick at Merlion Park (this scene also featured locations filmed at Esplanade Park) before she returns to New York. Eleanor strides through archways in Ann Siang Hill near Singapore's Chinatown before arriving for the mahjong showdown with Rachel, which was filmed at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang, redecorated for the film as a mahjong parlor. Chu wanted that mahjong scene to be "very specifically choreographed", and had hired a mahjong expert to advise on the choreography. Nick's second proposal to Rachel with Eleanor's ring was filmed inside a twin-aisle jet parked at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.[1] After that scene had been fully scripted, storyboarded, and planned to be filmed as a static side-by-side conversation with simple over the shoulder shots, Chu realized the day before that the energy level was all wrong and changed it to a walk and talk improvised on the spot. The film's closing scenes are set at the Marina Bay Sands.
### Costumes
Costume design was handled by Mary Vogt, with Andrea Wong serving as a consultant and senior costume buyer. They used dresses and suits from fashion designers such as Ralph Lauren, Elie Saab, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, and Christian Dior;[2] many of the brands were eager to have their clothes shown off in the film. Looks were influenced by other movies cited by director Jon Chu, including The Wizard of Oz, Cinderella, and In the Mood for Love. 30 makeup artists were on set to help the actors, who were filming scenes in conditions of high heat and humidity while wearing formal clothing.
Before traveling to Southeast Asia, Vogt received help from Kwan, who shared vintage family photographs to explain how the old money society in Singapore "was very classy, very elegant", contrasting with the new money Goh family, who are "just flinging it around, wanting to show it [off]". Andrea Wong pointed Vogt to designers around Kuala Lumpur, who contributed not only clothes but also insight into local high-society fashions. Kwan, who had worked as a design consultant before writing the novel, relied on people he knew working in the fashion industry to bring in clothes for the film.
In an early scene, Astrid gives a watch to her husband Michael; it is a "Paul Newman" Rolex Daytona loaned following a request from Kwan for the filming. Yeoh used her friendships with wealthy Singaporean and Hong Kong tai tais to help shape final wardrobe choices, and loaned pieces from her personal jewelry collection, including the distinctive emerald engagement ring. Kwan and director Chu insisted that all the pieces worn by the Young family must be real; the orchid brooch worn by Su Yi (Ah Ma) at the wedding and a belt buckle for Eleanor (also originally a brooch, but used to make the dress fit Yeoh) were designed by Michelle Ong and loaned from Carnet. Some of the other jewelry pieces, including Astrid's pearl earrings, were loaned from Mouawad, and guards were employed to protect the jewelry, which sometimes dictated the filming. The extras who attended the wedding reception were drawn from the Peranakan Association, a historical society, and were asked to wear their own vintage formal clothing to add local flavor to the party.
### Music
During the production process, Chu and music supervisor Gabe Hilfer assembled a list of hundreds of songs about money, including songs by Kanye West ("Gold Digger"), Hall & Oates ("Rich Girl"), the Notorious B.I.G. ("Mo Money Mo Problems"), Lady Gaga ("Money Honey"), and Barrett Strong ("Money (That's What I Want)"). Seeking to create a multilingual soundtrack, Chu and Hilfer compiled Chinese songs from the 1950s and 1960s by Ge Lan (Grace Chang) and Yao Lee, as well as contemporary songs, then searched through YouTube videos for singers fluent in Mandarin Chinese to provide cover versions of songs. The film's soundtrack album and score album, by Brian Tyler, were both released on August 10, 2018, through WaterTower Music.
## Release
### Theatrical
Crazy Rich Asians was released in the United States on August 15, 2018, after previously having been scheduled for August 17. An early screening was held in April 2018 at the Theatre at Ace Hotel in Los Angeles, garnering strong emotional reactions from the audience; other advance screenings were held in San Francisco, Washington D.C., and New York City. The film premiered on August 7, 2018 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. The social media hashtag \#GoldOpen was used to bring attention to the film. The studio spent an estimated $72.18 million on prints and advertisements for the film.
Internationally, Crazy Rich Asians was released in Singapore on August 22, 2018, and was scheduled for a later release in parts of Europe, although the planned November 2018 U.K. release date was moved forward to September 14, 2018. Later that month, on September 28, 2018, Crazy Rich Asians released to 75 theaters in Japan. In October 2018, it was announced the film would be released in China on November 30, 2018. Crazy Rich Asians was originally planned to premiere in every Nordic country in September. However, it was delayed and eventually cancelled in Sweden and Denmark without any particular reason. The Swedish distributor Fox told Kulturnyheterna they do not know why the film did not have a Swedish or Danish premiere, and that the decision was made by Warner Bros. Los Angeles office. Kulturnyheterna has on several occasions tried to get Warner Bros. Los Angeles to comment, but to no avail.
The film was well received by Singaporean audiences, though some felt it overrepresented and dramatized the wealthy families living there. Writers and producers in the British film and television industry expressed a hope that Crazy Rich Asians positive financial reception would lead to more East Asian representation following the film's release in the United Kingdom as the film contained multiple British actors of East Asian descent acting in the picture.
In China, Crazy Rich Asians was met a tepid reception among viewers despite initial high expectations from Warner Bros. Pictures. Multiple possible reasons were cited for its failure to resonate with Chinese moviegoers. The film's discussion of excessive wealth felt off-putting to audiences due to the start of an economic slowdown, and the film has been compared to the Chinese film Tiny Times by some media in China, and the themes of ethnic and cultural identity were unrelatable and possibly bothersome to viewers. Unlike in the film's country of origin, the United States, an all-Asian cast was not considered novel in China, and the film lacked Chinese stars, other than Michelle Yeoh and Lisa Lu. The delayed release of about three-and-a-half months was also said to have hurt ticket sales, as much of the film's potential audience had pirated it or viewed it overseas. Even with its lackluster reception, a Chinese theatrical release was deemed important by producers, as China Rich Girlfriend, the second film in the series, was planned to be partially filmed in Shanghai, potentially as a Chinese co-production.
Tourism to Singapore increased following the release of Crazy Rich Asians, attributed in part to the numerous attractions showcased in the film, such as the Marina Bay Sands and Raffles Hotel. The Singapore Tourism Board partnered with Warner Bros. Pictures during the picture's premiere and contributed to talent and location scouting during production. The 2018 North Korea–United States summit held in Singapore, however, was also said to have increased tourist numbers. Sales of the original novel saw an increase of about 1.5 million copies after the film's theatrical release.
### Home video
Crazy Rich Asians was released on digital on November 6, 2018 and on DVD, Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray on November 20, 2018. The Blu-ray Combo Pack special features include commentary by director Jon M. Chu and novelist Kwan, a gag reel, and deleted scenes. As of January 27, 2019, roughly twelve weeks after the film's home video release, Crazy Rich Asians grossed an estimated $16 million domestically from 782,390 collective DVD and Blu-ray sales.
## Reception
### Box office
Crazy Rich Asians grossed $174.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $64 million internationally for a worldwide gross of $239 million, against a production budget of $30 million. In October 2018, it became the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the last 10 years, and the 6th-highest-grossing ever. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $120.8 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues.
Three weeks before its North American release, Crazy Rich Asians was projected to gross $18–20 million during its five-day opening weekend. By the week of its release, estimates had reached $26–30 million, with Fandango reporting pre-sale tickets were outpacing Girls Trip (which debuted to $31.2 million in July 2017). The film held special advance screenings on August 8, 2018, and made an estimated $450,000–500,000, selling out most of its 354 theaters. It then took in $5 million on its first day and $3.8 million on its second. It went on to gross $26.5 million in its opening weekend, for a five-day total of $35.2 million, finishing first at the box office. 38% of its audience was of Asian descent, which was the highest Asian makeup for a film in U.S. in the previous three years (besting The Foreigner's 18.4% in 2017). In its second weekend the film made $24.8 million, a box office drop of just 6%, which Deadline Hollywood called "unbelievable." The film continued to play well in its third weekend, making $22 million (a drop of just 11% from the previous week) and remaining in first. The film was finally dethroned in its fourth weekend, finishing third behind newcomers The Nun and Peppermint with $13.1 million.
In Singapore, where the film takes place, Crazy Rich Asians grossed over $5 million. The first-week ticket sales for the film, $2.5 million, were considered unusually high. Large numbers of organizations and individuals buying out theaters to host screenings, as well as general interest in seeing how Hollywood portrayed the city-state, were noted as major contributors to the film's high Singaporean box office totals.
On a panel about the future of film for The New York Times on June 23, 2019, director Chu said:
> After what I experienced with 'Crazy Rich Asians,' seeing the audience show up, it sort of reinvigorated the idea of going to the movies. That social aspect of sharing a movie with friends and strangers and family, that's such a strong part of our tradition. The success we had would not have been possible any other way.
The film's theatrical release in China was considered unsuccessful, finishing eighth at the box office opening weekend and losing half of its screens from Saturday to Sunday. Initial reports stated that the film failed to pass $1 million opening weekend following a combined $810,000 on Friday and Saturday, but the figure was later updated to a total of $1.2 million.
In South Korea, the film failed at the box office, finishing sixth on its opening weekend and by its second week the film fell to fourteenth place. In total, the film only made a little over $1.1 million there.
### Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 91%, based on 374 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "With a terrific cast and a surfeit of visual razzle dazzle, Crazy Rich Asians takes a satisfying step forward for screen representation while deftly drawing inspiration from the classic – and still effective – rom-com formula." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it an 85% positive score and a 65% "definite recommend". On the Chinese social networking website Douban, the film scored 6.2 out of 10, which Variety called a "middling" rating.
Joe Morgenstern, writing for The Wall Street Journal, found the film to be "bright, buoyant, and hilarious," making special note of the large number of quality performances from the cast members, writing: "And anyone with a sense of movie history will be moved by the marvelous Ms. Yeoh, who was so memorable as the love-starved fighter in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and by 91-year-old Lisa Lu, who plays Nick's grandmother and the matriarch of his family. Anyone, in this case, means anyone. Crazy Rich Asians includes us all." Ann Hornaday, writing for The Washington Post, deemed the film an "escapist rom-com delight" and remarked that "it will more than satisfy the sweet tooth of romantic comedy fans everywhere who have lately despaired that the frothy, frolicsome genre they adore has been subsumed by raunch and various shades of gray"; she also compared the film's rom-com themes to Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994).
Time magazine published an extended cultural review of the film by Karen Ho, which compared the high fashion appeal of the film to rival the best of previous films such as The Devil Wears Prada (2006). Ho summarizes the film's success as an uphill battle against the season's predominantly superhero oriented audiences, writing: "To many in Hollywood, Crazy Rich Asians might look like a risky bet. It's the first modern story with an all-Asian cast and an Asian-American lead in 25 years; the last Joy Luck Club, was in 1993. It's an earnest romantic comedy in a sea of action and superhero films... In fact, it seems destined to be a hit." In the same magazine, Stephanie Zacharek called the film as "simply great fun, a winsome romantic comedy and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags," while at the same time hailing the film as a breakthrough in representation and lauded the performances and chemistry of Wu and Golding as well as the supporting performances (particularly Yeoh, Ken Jeong, Nico Santos, and Awkwafina).
Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film four stars out of five; he called it "frothy fun" and a "hilarious, heartfelt blast" while hailing the film as "making history" in its cultural representation in mainstream cinema and highlighting the performances (particularly Yeoh, whose performance he called "layered"). Writing for Chicago Sun-Times, Richard Roeper described the film as a "pure escapist fantasy fun" and "24-karat entertainment" while praising Wu's and Golding's performances and chemistry, and complimented Golding's natural onscreen presence and his good sense of comedic timing. David Sims of The Atlantic lauded the film as a "breath of fresh air" and a "charming throwback" to the classic romantic comedy films while commending Chu's direction, the "hyperactive" screenplay, and the performances of Wu and Yeoh.
Justin Chang in a review for the Los Angeles Times found the film worthy of comparison to other films using an Asian ensemble cast including Memoirs of a Geisha, Letters from Iwo Jima, and The Joy Luck Club. Chang found the supporting cast performance of Yeoh to be exceptional, writing: "You can't help but hang on Eleanor's (Michelle Yeoh's) every word. In a crisp, authoritative, sometimes startlingly vulnerable performance that never lapses into dragon-lady stereotype, Yeoh brilliantly articulates the unique relationship between Asian parents and their children, the intricate chain of love, guilt, devotion and sacrifice that binds them for eternity."
In his review for The New York Times, A. O. Scott indicates that the film's appeal surpasses contemporary social mores dealing with wealth and touches on themes examined in the literature of "endless luxury" over the centuries stating that this is "...part of the film's sly and appealing old-fashionedness. Without betraying any overt nostalgia, Crazy Rich Asians casts a fond eye backward as well as Eastward, conjuring a world defined by hierarchies and prescribed roles in a way that evokes classic novels and films. Its keenest romantic impulse has less to do with Nick and Rachel's rather pedestrian love story than with the allure of endless luxury and dynastic authority. Which I guess is pretty modern after all". Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that the movie "expertly manages to balance the opulence of incalculable wealth with the pragmatic, well-grounded sensibility" of its protagonist; he also drew comparisons of the film's visual style and tone to Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (2013) as well to the wedding sequence in Mamma Mia\! (2008). Robbie Collin of The Telegraph gave the film four stars out of five, and wrote that the film was "a mouthwatering slice of deluxe romcom escapism" and "plays like a Jane Austen novel crossed with a Mr. & Mrs. Smith brochure" while lending his praise on the performances of Wu, Golding, Yeoh, and Awkwafina.
Scott Mendelson, writing for Forbes, found the film to be below average and to have an uneven plot line with contrived humor similar to his opinion of the 2002 film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, writing: "Without having read the book, I might argue that the core flaw of Crazy Rich Asians is that it's so determined to be the Asian-American version of the conventional Hollywood romantic comedy that it becomes a deeply conventional romantic comedy, complete with the bad, the good and the generic tropes. It's well-acted and offers plenty of cultural specificity, but the supporting characters are thin and the need to be universal hobbles its drama."
He was joined in his criticism by Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail, who wrote: "As the obscenities of wealth accumulate while a large cast of Asian and Eurasian actors render their many silly characters, the source of the laughter becomes troubling." David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter gave a mixed review, in which he criticized the film's pacing as "uneven" but nevertheless similarly praised the performances and chemistry of Wu and Golding, and singled out Wu's performance as the film's real heart. Tony Wong of Toronto Star argued the film "doesn't blow away stereotypes. It reinforces them. There is little room for subtlety here—the title underlines the mission statement. Asians are rich, vulgar and clueless".
Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu's article on reasons why the film was a box-office flop in China quoted Beijing-based filmmaker Stanley Tsang who described the film as "the Panda Express of Chinese culture". According to Hu Shan, a Beijing-based creative producer and self-described movie buff, the film worked for Westerners who have little knowledge of Asian culture or Asian diaspora who are happy to see their own culture presented in a Hollywood movie. According to popular reviews posted on Chinese movie websites mtime and douban, "Crazy Rich Asians wasn't a celebration of Asian culture – it was a demonisation of it," arguing that the film only shows Chinese culture in the eyes of Westerners and reinforced the cliche stereotypes. Other Chinese cinema lovers criticized the orientalism in the film, pointing out that the character Eleanor, who represented the Chinese tradition in the film, was portrayed as "villainous and backward" and Rachel, who represented the West, won in the end, implying "thanks to the wind from the West, the old and unprogressive East is given a new life".
### Legacy
Actor Ke Huy Quan, who had quit acting after Second Time Around (2002) due to the lack of opportunities for Asian actors, said he was inspired to return to the profession by the positive representation of Asians in Crazy Rich Asians. Quan said: "I saw my fellow Asian actors up on the screen, and I had serious FOMO because I wanted to be up there with them". This directly led Quan to appear in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), which stars Crazy Rich Asians actress Michelle Yeoh as the lead. Both Yeoh and Quan would go on to win Academy Awards for their performances. As a tribute to the film, clips of Yeoh on the red carpet promoting Crazy Rich Asians can be briefly seen in the universe where Yeoh's character Evelyn is an accomplished actress.
## Casting criticism
Although the film has been lauded in the United States for featuring a predominantly Asian cast, it was criticized elsewhere, particularly in Singapore, for casting biracial and non-Chinese actors as ethnically Chinese characters. The film was also criticized by Singaporeans for its inaccuracies by having supposed Singaporean characters speak only British English and American English and omitting Singaporean English entirely. In addition, the film has received criticism for poorly representing the actual ethnic makeup of Singapore by not portraying non-ethnically Chinese citizens such as Malays and Indians.
### Lead actors
The casting of lead actor Henry Golding, who is of Iban and English descent, as the Chinese Singaporean character Nick Young was controversial; several detractors negatively compared the casting to whitewashing and criticized it for perpetuating the idea that Asian actors cannot be Hollywood leading men without Eurocentric features, while supporters highlighted Golding's own Malaysian background and upbringing, noting that the criticisms reflected struggles that multiracial Asians face within the Asian community.
Korean American actress Jamie Chung, who had auditioned for a role but was turned down allegedly for not being "ethnically Chinese", responded to Golding's casting with "That is some bullshit. Where do you draw the line to be ethnically conscious?" Chung's remarks were met with both praise and criticism on social media, with some accusing her of being biased against Eurasians and noting that she had previously played ethnic Chinese characters in other works. Chung clarified her comments on social media, denying that she was bigoted against multiracial Asians as she would "one day have [her] own hapa babies", prompting further backlash. Chung subsequently apologized to Golding for her comments, which he accepted. She later expressed her support for Crazy Rich Asians, Golding and his castmates, stating that because of them "there will be other projects [...] that will be full Asian casts."
Golding initially called the criticism towards his casting "quite hurtful", but was later more open towards criticism as he felt that there "should be a conversation about it". Awkwafina jokingly stated it would have been bad only if the producers had cast Emma Stone as Nick, referring to the 2015 film Aloha.
The casting of Sonoya Mizuno, who is of Japanese, English and Argentine descent, as the Chinese Singaporean character Araminta Lee, attracted similar criticisms as Golding's, which Mizuno said "pissed [her] off". Mizuno called out the double standard of white actors being allowed to play different European ethnicities and nationalities without receiving criticism, noting the scarcity of multiracial roles for multiracial actors.
Sociologist Nancy Wang Yuen defended Golding's casting, surmising that the criticism towards him was fueled out of racial purity from full-blooded Asians. By deeming Golding "not Asian enough", detractors were choosing to ignore his Asian heritage. Yuen contrasted Golding's situation to the public perception of former U.S. President Barack Obama, who is also biracial. She noted how "the world sees President Obama as black, but his mother is white" and perceived double standard in "[erasing] Golding's Asian ancestry while obliterating Obama's white ancestry."
Director Jon M. Chu defended his decision to cast Golding, stating that questions about the cast and particularly Golding made him uneasy, later acknowledging:
> I realized that I was only getting angry at the people who felt that they had been burned. They were people like me who had watched Hollywood whitewash things, and watched roles go away because someone said an Asian man can't be the lead of this or that.
John Lui, a Singaporean reporter for The Straits Times, criticized the casting, opining that a single drop of Asian blood was enough for Hollywood, who was motivated to cast Golding (an "ethnically ambiguous face") because of his appeal to a wide variety of audiences. Lui disclaimed that his comments were not concerning Golding's identity but rather the objectivity of his looks, stating "it is wrong to sort actors into 'Asian' and 'not Asian enough' piles". Nick Chen of The Independent also spoke negatively about the casting, denouncing Golding's casting as whitewashing gone unnoticed by critics and moviegoers.
In an interview with Teen Vogue in November 2019, actress Brenda Song, who is of Hmong and Thai descent, stated that she was not permitted to audition for Crazy Rich Asians as, according to Song, her "image was basically not Asian enough, in not so many words". Song stated she felt disappointed by the response, questioning why the filmmakers were "fault[ing] [her] for having worked [her] whole life." This alleged response to Song was met with backlash from Asian Americans online, due to Song having portrayed the "original crazy rich Asian" London Tipton in the 2005 Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. Rachel Chang, writing for Forbes, stated that Song "single-handedly represented Asian Americans to a new generation of impressionable television viewers." Director Jon M. Chu responded to the comments on Twitter, stating that "it sucks if anything of that nature was ever communicated. It's gross actually". He added that he was a fan of Song's work, and would have cast her in the film without an audition if he knew. He later followed up the tweet with an article about the open casting call held for the film, citing it as one of his favorite memories during production.
While promoting his memoir We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story in a May 2022 episode of the podcast How To Fail With Elizabeth Day, Chinese Canadian actor Simu Liu revealed that he auditioned four times for the film but was rejected for allegedly lacking an "'it'" factor", which he said left him "devastated". The podcast renewed the controversy surrounding Golding's casting, with Liu's supporters arguing that he was more appropriate as Nick than Golding as he was fully Chinese like the character, alleging that he was denied a role for having different features. Golding's supporters, many of them of Southeast Asian descent, pointed out that Golding's Iban ancestry of Borneo and Malaysian background made him a better representative of Singapore than Liu, while reiterating the lack of Southeast Asians and overabundance of East Asians (especially those of Chinese descent) in the cast. In an apparent response to the controversy, Liu posted excerpts from his book on Twitter that discussed the incident but provided context. Liu confirmed that the "'it' factor" comments did not come from Chu, whom he befriended after the film's release, but from "a studio exec or a casting director" that got muddled when passed down through a number of people involved in production before reaching Liu's agent. Liu noted that Golding had already been cast as Nick when he auditioned and that he auditioned for the roles of Colin Khoo and Michael Teo, which ultimately went to Chris Pang and Pierre Png, respectively, with both actors also being fully Chinese. While admitting that the rejection hurt, Liu tweeted that the experience "led to some really meaningful feedback being shared about [his] work and craft". Liu defended Golding's casting, describing him as "perfectly cast" for Nick and praised the film for paving the way for Asian representation.
### Ethnic representation of Singapore
In contrast to those calling for Chinese actors to fill its roles, others, particularly those in Asian countries, expressed disappointment in the film's lack of ethnic Malays and Indians, who have a prominent presence in Singapore. Kirsten Han, a Singaporean journalist, said that the film "obscur[ed] the Malay, Indian, and Eurasian (and more) populations who make the country the culturally rich and unique place that it is". Some were critical towards the omission of the country's Malays and Indians—the second and third largest ethnic groups in Singapore, respectively—thus not representing its multiracial population wholly.
Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore, commented that the film "represents the worst of Singapore. Erases minorities. Erases the poor and marginalized. All you get are rich, privileged ethnic Chinese." Alfian Sa'at, a Malay Singaporean poet and playwright, commented on the film's title, referring to it as "Crazy Rich EAST Asians", and adding "Does a win for representation mean replacing white people with white people wannabes[?]" Multiple critics also criticized the comedic scene in which the characters Rachel Chu and Peik Lin were frightened by Sikh guards, noting that "the presentation of brown men as scary predators is played for laughs", is "blind to racial politics in Singapore", and presented a "buffoonish performance [that is] as excruciating as Mickey Rooney's as the Japanese photographer living above Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's." However, one commenter noted that the book which the film is based on "is aware of its lack of minority representation [and] actually alludes to the closed minded attitude of some social circles in Singapore. One of the family members got disowned for marrying a Malay."
Other critics defended the film's portrayal of ethnic representation. Ilyas Sholihyn, a Malay Singaporean writing for Coconuts, stated that "it's hard to imagine the story is even relatable to most Chinese Singaporeans" due to the film's focus on the extremely wealthy, noting that Crazy Rich Asians was highly Americanized and not made for native Singaporeans, but rather "a high-fantasy Hollywood film made for maximum appeal to East Asian-Americans". He also criticized certain decisions regarding representation, such as how the scene at the Newton Food Centre lacked accurate cultural diversity, and that the roles for the limited number of non-Chinese Singaporeans, such as guards and valets, was tokenism. Surekha A. Yadav of the Malay Mail defended the film's lack of non-ethnic Chinese Singaporeans, describing it as an accurate portrayal of Chinese Singaporeans, particularly wealthy ones, who, per statistics from the Institute of Policy Studies, have minimal and even discriminatory interactions with Singaporean minority ethnic groups. Regarding the film specifically, Yadav explained that "it is the extremely privileged edge of this upper segment of Singapore society that Crazy Rich Asians depicts. In reality, this is a world where minorities play a very small role."
In a 2021 interview with Insider, Chu had said he regretted casting non-Chinese people in subservient roles and "totally gets" the criticism.
## Accolades
## Sequels
Prior to the film's release, Jon M. Chu said he would be eager to direct a sequel if the first film was a success, stating, "We have other stories outside of the Crazy Rich Asians world that are ready to be told too, from filmmakers and storytellers who haven't had their stories told yet." On August 22, 2018, following the film's strong opening, Warner Bros. Pictures confirmed a sequel was in development, with Chiarelli and Lim returning to write the script, based on the book's sequel, China Rich Girlfriend. Chu and actors Wu, Golding, and Yeoh all have options for a sequel, although several of the key actors were committed to other projects until 2020. Producer Nina Jacobson later announced that China Rich Girlfriend and an adaptation of the final installment in Kwan's trilogy, Rich People Problems, would be filmed back-to-back in 2020 to reduce the wait time between those two films.
In September 2019, screenwriter Adele Lim, who had co-written Crazy Rich Asians with Peter Chiarelli, left production on the film's sequels following a pay dispute. Lim had reportedly been offered US$110,000 to write the sequels, while Chiarelli had been offered US$800,000-$1,000,000 for the same role. Lim stated, "that the pay difference represented a greater issue of sexism and racism in Hollywood, as the industry views women and people of color as "soy sauce"—or simply a means to add minor cultural details to screenplays, rather than to provide a substantial writing role". Director Jon M. Chu voiced support for Lim in a statement, explaining that, while he was disappointed she wouldn't return for the sequels, he would continue to work with Lim elsewhere and that "the conversation this has started is MUCH more important than ourselves... so who am I to get in the way of that." He added that he agreed with Lim's criticisms of the film industry, and requested that people refrain from criticizing Chiarelli, as "he is a good man, a creative force and has been a pro in the business for many many years". Warner Bros.' business affairs department issued a response as well, stating that Chiarelli had more experience working on films as Lim's résumé had only consisted of television credits prior to Crazy Rich Asians, and that "making an exception would set a troubling precedent in the business". They also noted that an alternative offer for Lim had been drafted, which she did not take. Lim later voiced thanks for the public support she had received, writing on Twitter: "To people going through their own fight - you are not alone. Also, I have only love for Jon M. Chu and the cast & crew of Crazy Rich Asians." On March 21, 2022, it was reported that Amy Wang was set to write the sequel, replacing Chiarelli and Lim.
In May 2022, it was reported that a spin-off film centered around Gemma Chan's character and her love story with Harry Shum Jr.'s character, as teased in the film's mid-credits scene, was in early development, with the script set to be penned by Jason Kim. In April 2024, it was reported that filming for the sequel was set to start at the beginning of 2025. Elle magazine reported in June 2024 that plans for a production of China Rich Girlfriend are underway from Warner Bros., stating that: "Amy Wang, who was the story editor on The Brothers Sun and worked on From Scratch, is writing the sequel script, Deadline reported in 2022."
## See also
- Flower Drum Song, the 1961 American film cited as the first with a majority Asian cast set contemporaneously, which was also adapted from a novel.
- Everything Everywhere All At Once", a 2022 American film which is heavily themed on aspects of Asian American identity.
## Musical adaptation
It was announced on April 17, 2024 that the movie is in development as a stage musical with Jon M. Chu directing, book by Leah Nanako Winkler, music by Helen Park, and lyrics by Amanda Green and Tat Tong.
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# Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle
Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle (c. 1270 – 3 March 1323), alternatively Andreas de Harcla, was an important English military leader in the borderlands with Scotland during the reign of Edward II. Coming from a knightly family in Westmorland, he was appointed sheriff of Cumberland in 1311. He distinguished himself in the Scottish Wars, and in 1315 repulsed a siege on Carlisle Castle by Robert the Bruce. Shortly after this, he was taken captive by the Scots, and only released after a substantial ransom had been paid. His greatest achievement came in 1322, when he defeated the rebellious baron Thomas of Lancaster at the Battle of Boroughbridge on 16–17 March. For this he was created Earl of Carlisle.
As one of the main military leaders on the border to Scotland, Harclay became frustrated with Edward II's inactivity, particularly the humiliating English defeat at the Battle of Old Byland on 14 October 1322, which made it clear that the war could not be won. Harclay initiated negotiations with the Scots on his own accord, and on 3 January 1323, he signed a peace treaty with Robert the Bruce. The act was without royal sanction, and amounted to treason. The king issued an arrest order for the earl, and on 25 February Harclay was taken into the king's custody. He was arraigned before royal justices on 3 March, denied a hearing, and executed the same day. He was hanged, drawn and quartered, and the various parts of his body displayed in different parts of the country. His alleged treason, capture and execution is described in the Lanercost Chronicle. Only after five years was he allowed a proper burial, but the conviction for treason was never annulled.
## Family and early career
The family name of Harclay derives from Hartley in Westmorland. Though relatively little is known about his early years, Andrew Harclay was probably the eldest son of Sir Michael Harclay and Joan, daughter of the Yorkshire landowner William Fitzjohn. His younger brother was the theologian Henry Harclay, a Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Michael Harclay was a retainer of the Clifford family, and served as sheriff of Cumberland from 1285 to 1296. The first documented appearance of Andrew Harclay was at a Westmorland eyre in 1292, at which point it must be assumed that he was at least twenty-one years old, and therefore born in the early 1270s.
## Military career
His military career can be traced back as far as 1304 when he took part in a campaign in the Scottish Wars. In 1309, he received a royal order to assist Robert de Clifford in the defence of the Marches against Scotland. His standing in local affairs was further advanced in 1311, when he was appointed sheriff of Cumberland, like his father had been before him. This was followed by his election as Knight of the Shire in 1312, and in December 1313, he distinguished himself as the leader of the defence against a Scottish invasion. He received further acclaim in the summer of 1315, when he successfully defended Carlisle Castle against a siege by Robert the Bruce. For this he was awarded a gift of 1000 marks from the king.
Late in 1315 or in 1316, Harclay was taken captive by the Scots, who demanded 2000 marks in ransom. His meteoric rise over the previous years had made him some enemies in local society, who now took the opportunity to spread slanderous rumours about him at court. The king nevertheless helped raise the necessary money to secure Harclay's freedom, but for the next few years he seems to have been out of royal favour. It was not until 1319 that he once more was appointed sheriff, and at the same time made keeper of Carlisle and Cockermouth castles, and Warden of the West Marches. In 1321 he also received a personal summons to parliament.
## Boroughbridge
Harclay's most prominent achievement came with the Battle of Boroughbridge in 1322. The battle was the culmination of an ongoing struggle between King Edward II and his most powerful earl, Thomas of Lancaster. The conflict stemmed from disagreement over the handling of the war with Scotland; Lancaster, and many others, found the king's war effort lacking. After failing to incite an insurrection against the king, Lancaster was in March 1322 fleeing northwards from the royal army. Meanwhile, Harclay, as sheriff of Cumberland, was ordered by the king to levy the forces of the northern counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, and move south. His orders were to meet up with the royal army, but while stopping at the town of Ripon in Yorkshire, he received intelligence that Lancaster would arrive at nearby Boroughbridge the next day. Harclay decided to take the initiative, and occupy the bridge that would prevent Lancaster's passage across the River Ure.
Lancaster's army arrived at Boroughbridge on 16 March. The rebels were greatly outnumbered; while Harclay commanded around 4000 men, Lancaster only had some 700 knights and men-at-arms, with followers, in his service. In addition to this, the loyalist forces were highly trained and experienced from the Scottish Wars. Harclay used tactics the English had learned from the Scots in these wars. The Lanercost Chronicle describes how Harclay employed the Scottish schiltron – a compact formation of infantrymen with pikes or spears, highly effective against Lancaster's cavalry-heavy forces. According to The Brut, Lancaster tried to persuade Harclay to join his side, in return for great rewards in land. Harclay had previously been a supporter of Lancaster, possibly also the earl's retainer; in 1318, a general royal pardon for Lancaster and his adherents contained Harclay's name. On this occasion, however, Harclay decided to remain loyal to the king, and turned down the earl's offer.
The engagement was short and one-sided. Lancaster's plan was to charge across a ford in the river, while the Earl of Hereford – one of the few magnates who had remained loyal to Lancaster – crossed the bridge. Hereford was killed on the bridge, his companion Roger de Clifford, 2nd Baron de Clifford was badly wounded, and this advance failed. Lancaster, meanwhile, came under such heavy archery fire that he had to call off his attack. Defections during the night, combined with royal reinforcements, forced him to surrender the next day, and on 22 March he was executed. The king was greatly pleased with Harclay's effort, and rewarded him lavishly. On 25 March, Harclay was created Earl of Carlisle, and given land worth 1000 marks a year. On 15 September, he was also made chief Warden of the Marches.
## Treason
On 14 October 1322, the English army was routed by the Scots, under the command of Robert the Bruce, at the Battle of Old Byland in Yorkshire. The English commander, John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond, was taken prisoner. King Edward, who did not take part in the battle, was fifteen miles away at Rievaulx Abbey. When he heard the news he fled to York leaving behind the Great Seal of England and a large amount of treasure. It was the worst defeat the English had suffered in the wars since the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Harclay had received a summons to join the royal army, but had not been able to bring his troops south in time to come to Richmond's rescue. The event convinced him that the war against Scotland could not be won under the leadership of the present king. Instead he entered into direct negotiations with the Scots, without the king's sanction. On 3 January 1323, he signed a peace treaty with Robert the Bruce at Lochmaben.
The treaty recognised Scotland as an independent kingdom. It stipulated that Robert was to pay 40,000 marks to the English, and that Edward should be allowed to choose a wife from his own family for Robert's heir. Implied in the text, however, was an alliance between Robert and Harclay to use force against Edward, if necessary, to implement the terms of the treaty. It seems unlikely that Harclay expected royal clemency for his actions. More likely he contemplated a defection to the side of Robert the Bruce; rumour had it he even planned marrying one of Bruce's daughters, however there is no evidence of this. It is nevertheless likely that his action grew out of genuine concern with the northern situation, and was a desperate attempt to make the best out of a disastrous situation.
Though historians have generally shown understanding for Harclay's actions, it is nevertheless common to refer to the event as "Harclay's treason". In the words of Maurice Keen: "To make a truce, or to indeed to give safe-conducts or make any agreement with the king's enemies without proper grant of powers, again constituted lèse majesté and can be found defined as such in other military cases". Harclay had received such powers in February 1322, but he was considered to have overstepped his prerogative by the 1323 treaty. It is also possible that Edward held a grudge against Harclay for the latter's failure to come to the rescue at Byland, and that this was behind the king's later, severe reaction. There is, however, no evidence that Harclay received the royal letter in time to arrive at the battlefield any earlier than he did.
## Death and aftermath
When Edward found out about Harclay's treason, he issued an order for the earl's arrest. As Harclay attempted to garner support for his cause, the king began to fortify the northern castles. The stalemate lasted until 25 February, when Sir Anthony Lucy arrested the earl at Carlisle Castle. Lucy, who acted with only a small force, was clearly trusted by Harclay, so the arrest must have been conducted as a surprise manoeuvre. The enmity between Lucy and Harclay could stem from a dispute over the honour of Papcastle. In 1322, Harclay had also briefly disseised Lucy of his lands after the 1322 rebellion, even though Lucy had taken no part in that event.
On 3 March, Harclay was arraigned before a royal justice in Carlisle, but was denied a proper hearing. He was brought forward apparelled in his robes of estate as a knight and earl. His spurs of knighthood were hewed off, and his sword was broken over his head. He was stripped of his robes, and proclaimed to be no knight, but a knave. He was then convicted as a traitor, and condemned to be hanged, drawn and quartered. He behaved with dignity at his execution, where he maintained that he had acted as he did out of concern for the best interest of the country. After his death, his head was taken to the king at Knaresborough in Yorkshire, before it was hung up on London Bridge. The four parts of his body were dispersed around the country, and displayed in Carlisle, Newcastle, Bristol, and Dover.
Harclay's head was on display in London for five years before it was taken down. His sister petitioned the king to return the various parts of the body for a Christian burial, and in 1328 her request was granted. Further clemencies were not awarded. In the reign of Edward III, Harclay's nephew Henry petitioned to have the charge of treason annulled, but the petition was ignored. As for the peace treaty, the wisdom of Harclay's policy was vindicated after his death. Edward II's inability to win the war against the Scots, combined with his refusal to give up his claim on the Scottish crown, proved untenable in the end. Furthermore, it was Harclay's military skills and well-organised forces that gave what little protection the northern borders had over the previous years. Less than three months after Harclay's execution, Edward agreed on a thirteen-year truce with Scotland.
## Harclay in fiction
Harclay's unauthorised negotiations with Robert the Bruce are dealt with in some significant detail in The Price of the King's Peace, the third volume of Nigel Tranter's Bruce trilogy, where he is called "Andrew Harcla".
## External sources
- The Battle of Boroughbridge at The Battlefields Trust.
[1270s births](Category:1270s_births "wikilink") [1323 deaths](Category:1323_deaths "wikilink") [Harclay](Category:Earls_of_Carlisle "wikilink") [People executed under the Plantagenets for treason against England](Category:People_executed_under_the_Plantagenets_for_treason_against_England "wikilink") [People executed under the Plantagenets by hanging, drawing and quartering](Category:People_executed_under_the_Plantagenets_by_hanging,_drawing_and_quartering "wikilink") [Year of birth uncertain](Category:Year_of_birth_uncertain "wikilink") [People of the Wars of Scottish Independence](Category:People_of_the_Wars_of_Scottish_Independence "wikilink") [High sheriffs of Cumberland](Category:High_sheriffs_of_Cumberland "wikilink") [English MPs 1321](Category:English_MPs_1321 "wikilink") [Executed English people](Category:Executed_English_people "wikilink") [English politicians convicted of crimes](Category:English_politicians_convicted_of_crimes "wikilink") |
# Alucard (Castlevania)
Adrian Fahrenheit Țepeș (Japanese: アドリアン・ファーレンハイツ・ツェペシュ, Hepburn: Adorian Fārenhaitsu Tsepeshu), better known as Alucard (Japanese: アルカード, Hepburn: Arukādo), is a character in Konami's Castlevania series of video games. His first appearance in the series was in the 1989 game Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse, but he is best known for his role in the critically acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, released in 1997. His design in Symphony of the Night was created by Ayami Kojima, marking her first contribution to the Castlevania franchise.
In the series, Alucard is the son of Dracula, the antagonist of the Castlevania series. Due to his human mother, Lisa, Alucard is a dhampir, a half-human, half-vampire. His mother's death and admonition not to hate humanity caused him to take up arms against his father. In Dracula's Curse and Castlevania Legends, he fights against his father alongside the vampire hunters of the Belmont clan, and he is featured as the protagonist of Symphony of the Night. Alucard additionally is present in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and the follow-up sequel Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, where he interacts with the protagonist of both games, Soma Cruz, as the Japanese government agent Genya Arikado (有角 幻也, Arikado Gen'ya). The Lords of Shadow reboot series, starting with the character's introduction in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, introduces a reimagined Alucard with a new backstory, revealing him as Trevor Belmont, once a mortal who was transformed into a vampire after his death at the hands of his biological father, the remorseful Dracula.
Several video game publications have provided praise and criticism on Alucard's character. While Alucard debuted in Dracula's Curse, his characterization stood out more in Symphony of the Night for being a different type of protagonist from his predecessors. In Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow, where Alucard was present as Genya Arikado, reviewers noted that although he fell into a stereotypical character mold, the greater concentration on supporting characters was a welcomed change from previous Castlevania games. Alucard's portrayal in the Lords of Shadow and Netflix series also led to positive response by the media.
## Conception and development
Alucard was intended to be a mirror image of his father, as evidenced by his name, his father's name spelled backwards. The original Castlevania games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) contained references to the Universal Horror films, with Alucard being a tribute to Lon Chaney Jr.'s role as Count Alucard from the 1943 film, Son Of Dracula.
The idea of using Alucard as a protagonist in Symphony of the Night came from Konami's idea for a character whose abilities could grow and change, and also a character who could transform into other things. Given those two points, and the need to connect the protagonist to the history of Castlevania, they chose Alucard. The original design was not found appealing by the staff, and they redesigned him. While the game does not explain it, Alucard can use holy weapons thanks to his human heritage.
The ending of Symphony of the Night where Maria chases after Alucard was left to the player's interpretation. Though the idea about a romantic interaction was planned, the team did not want Alucard to turn Maria into another vampire. Another idea Igarashi had was that Alucard defeated Dracula in the original plotline by Bram Stoker, instead of Quincy Morris. Despite pressure for the change of protagonist, Alucard was highly popular to the fanbase with the staff members thinking it was due to him being cool.
When it came to the reboot Castlevania: Lords of Shadow, Mercury Steam told the audience the spin-off Mirror of Fate would include Trevor Belmont and Alucard as different playable characters, before later revealing them to be the same character but transformed. With Mirror of Fate, Mercury Steam wanted to explain the story that connects the Belmont Clan with Dracula. Alcuard plays a major in the sequel due to his connection with Dracula. For the DLC of the next game, Alucard became playable with the plot being focused more on his relationship with Dracula before the events of Lords of Shadow 2.
For the Netflix series of Castlevania, the art team were given directions from Konami staff members. One of those factors was Alucard's ambidextrous talents, or lack thereof. In the original animation for the show's fourth and final episode of its first season, animation director Spencer Wan had drawn Alucard holding a sword in his left hand. It was only after revisiting notes from Konami that Wan remembered the video game publisher had reminded the art team at Powerhouse Animation that Alucard had to be drawn as right-handed. This led to several changes in the making of the series in order to make Netflix's Alucard fit Konami's ideas. The first encounter between Alucard and Trevor was one of the most challenging fights to animate but the staff found that Alucard being shirtless made it easier. Despite the narrative focusing too much on tragedy, the staff made sure to give Alucard and Trevor Belmont a friendly relationship that often comes across as childish to balance the tone. For the fourth season, the team promised the emotionally destroyed Alucard would recover his humanity in this new arc.
The writers always planned to bring back Alucard for Nocturne even if he only appeared in the last scene from its first season. They wanted to make it a surprise return as well as make it as beautiful as possible. In retrospective, Producer Adi Shankar said that Symphony of the Night stood out for deviating from the franchise's common narrative elements of the Belmont clan and instead focused on Alucard who is too different from previous protagonists. He further compared the story with how different the Marvel Universe films are as they go from Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) to Captain America: Civil War (2016). This version of Alucard was later confirmed as bisexual on Twitter by Sam Deats, one of the series directors. Alucard also appears in Castlevania: Nocturne.
### Design
Alucard debuted in Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the Nintendo Entertainment System, where he was designed by T. Fujimoto and I. Urata. Much of the original artwork for the game was lost during the Great Hanshin earthquake. Alucard's subsequent appearances would largely be designed by Ayami Kojima, who managed the character designs for Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow.
Kojima's work in Symphony of the Night was her first breakthrough into the gaming industry, and her dark, gothic style borrows heavily from bishōnen-style art. From a visual perspective, Toshiharu Furukawa found it appealing to have a stylish man as the lead for this installment. Along with the change in lead, there was also a switch in visual style from an anime-esque look to one inspired by Baroque art. Kojima was inspired by the novels Vampire Hunter D illustrated by Yoshitaka Amano when working in the game, with Alucard being highly influenced by its title and main character.
In Aria of Sorrow, Kojima's designs followed the new theme that producer Koji Igarashi was attempting to pursue by placing it in a futuristic setting. Following this theme, Alucard's appearance as Genya Arikado was made much more contemporary, featuring modern attire compared the historical appearances of previous Castlevania characters. Kojima was not present in the design team for Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, and Arikado, along with the rest of the cast, were drawn in an anime style. Igarashi, also the producer of Dawn of Sorrow, wished to utilize the anime style as a marketing technique due to his belief that the Nintendo DS targeted a younger audience than previous systems had. The anime style would also serve as a litmus test as to whether future Castlevania games would incorporate the style. For the Netflix series, Alucard's design was inspired by Symphony of the Night with the director noting it was "deep" for the character despite Trevor and other characters being influenced by other games.
For Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate, Alucard's human form, Trevor Belmont, was created as a parallel to Dracula's former self, Gabriel Belmont. MercurySteam had more freedom with this game resulting in connections between the Belmont and Dracula. Despite being Dracula's child, Alucard was designed with the idea of being his opposite as shown with how he is attached to the light. The staff wanted Trevor to stand out and not look identical to Gabriel. Meanwhile, there were less hints about Simon Belmont being Trevor's son. The themes of fate and the parallels involving Alucard and Dracula was inspired by Christopher Nolan's film, Memento (2000). The powers Alucard has access to in the Lords of Shadow reboot were loosely based on Symphony of the Night.
### Voice actors
Symphony of the Night is the second Castlevania game to employ voice actors for the characters (the first being the Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo for the PC Engine Super CD-ROM2). The Japanese voice actor for Alucard was Ryōtarō Okiayu, and the English voice actor was Robert Belgrade. Igarashi especially liked the final scene, when Alucard says "Trouble the soul of my mother no more\!" as it emphasizes the character's humanity, in contrast to his quiet and emotionless lines earlier in the game. The English actor, Robert Belgrade, grew fond on the game and noticed he received favorable feedback from the fans. Belgrade lamented he was not called by Konami for later works which he attributes due to the localization team being moved.
Igarashi noted that due to fan complaints over the voice acting in Symphony of the Night, a new script for the game as well as a set of new voice actors were used in The Dracula X Chronicles. Yuri Lowenthal replaced Belgrade for this version.
In the Lords of Shadow series, Alucard is voiced by Richard Madden. Producer Dave Cox claimed Madden was chosen due to his popularity and talent in order to fit with other famous actors like Robert Carlyle and Patrick Stewart.
James Callis voices Alucard in the 2017 Netflix series Castlevania and its 2023 sequel, Castlevania: Nocturne. Callis originally auditioned for Trevor. However, the way he did his Trevor audition was exactly how he voices Alucard, which the staff found funny. This led to Callis taking the role of Alucard. The team enjoyed recording several lines due to how violent and humorous some interactions were.
Caliis recalls being a fan of vampire stories in his youth but played few Castlevania games during that time. As a result, he had no knowledge of the franchise when being cast for the role. He was impressed by Netflix's Castlevania. In describing his character, he considers it fair to say that he plays his Alucard's very close to himself. He added that the character "has lived, loved, experienced humanity in all its glory and its despair" and manages to become more human when interacting with the human race. He felt that if he had one word to describe his tragic heritage, it would be a "torn". Callis further claimed Alucard "as having the visage and demeanor of a placid lake", repressing his human instincts.
## Appearances
### In video games
In the 1989 Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse for the NES, Alucard is initially a boss encountered by the primary protagonist, Trevor Belmont. If the player defeats Alucard, he can be utilized as a playable character in the game.
Alucard's following appearance in the series is in the 1997 game, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, where he is featured as the game's protagonist and primary playable character. Due to the brainwashing of the current member of the Belmont clan, Richter Belmont, Alucard heads to his father's castle to find Richter and ensure that Dracula does not return. He encounters Richter, who has been controlled by the dark priest Shaft into believing he is the lord of Dracula's castle, and Alucard manages to free him from the spell controlling him. In response, Shaft creates an inverted version of Dracula's castle for Alucard to travel through, and Alucard defeats him, and ultimately, Dracula as well. Symphony of the Night also expands on Alucard's background, revealing how his human mother, Lisa, was hunted down and executed by humans who believed her to be a witch. Despite this, Lisa admonished Alucard to respect humans and not hate them as his father did. In an alternative ending, the young Maria either chases Alucard in the hope of helping him, or resigns herself to Alucard's fate and leaves with Richter.
The 1997 Castlevania Legends was Alucard's third appearance in the series. Similar to his initial appearance in Dracula's Curse, he is a boss challenging the skills of the game's protagonist, Sonia Belmont. After she defeats him, he accepts her strength and decides to submerge his powers by entering a deep sleep, believing that she will defeat Dracula in his stead.
In the 2003 Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, Alucard is disguised as the enigmatic Japanese government agent Genya Arikado in order to prevent the powers of his father, who was finally killed by Julius Belmont, from ending up in the wrong hands. He meets the game's protagonist, Soma Cruz, and explains his "power of dominance," or his ability to absorb the souls of the monsters he defeats and use their abilities. He instructs him to seek out the castle's throne room, where Soma realizes that he is Dracula's reincarnation. Arikado subsequently advises Soma to destroy the flow of chaos in the castle to free himself from his fate, which Soma succeeds in doing.
Alucard reprises his role as Arikado in the sequel to Aria of Sorrow, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (2005), where he works to stop the machinations of a cult headed by Celia Fortner to create a new dark lord by killing Soma. Arikado initially requests that Soma does not become involved, but gives him a letter and talisman from Mina when he encounters him later in the game. After both of Celia's "dark lord's candidates," Dmitrii Blinov and Dario Bossi, are defeated, Arikado stops Celia's attempt to force Soma to awaken as the new dark lord, but inadvertently allows Dmitrii to revive himself. He confronts him, but is stopped when Dmitrii uses Celia as a sacrifice to seal his powers. Following Soma's battle with Menace, a giant demon that sprouts from Dmitrii, Arikado explains to Soma that he is not destined to become the dark lord, nor does he need to. In the game's Julius Mode, Arikado is playable as Alucard after he is found in the castle. Alucard was one of the playable characters in Castlevania Judgment for the Nintendo Wii, a fighting game based on the series.
Alucard appears in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow – Mirror of Fate, the second installment in the Lords of Shadow reboot series. In the first half, Alucard assists the protagonist, his son Simon Belmont, into defeating Dracula. The second half reveals that Alucard's human life as Trevor Belmont who goes on a journey to kill his father. However, Trevor is defeated by Dracula who learns in his last moments he is his son. Shocked, Dracula passes Trevor his blood, reviving him as the vampire Alucard. Alucard later appears in the sequel Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 as a supporting character... His human persona appears to Dracula requesting him to reform the Mirror of Fate. In the climax, it is revealed that the real Alucard had sent his father into a comatose state in order to make their enemies Zobek prepare for Satan's return and end the world. When Alucard remembers this, it is revealed Alucard has been taking the form of Zobek's bodyguard. Both Dracula and Alucard join forces to defeat Zobek but Satan returns and possesses the young vampire. Dracula manages to kill Satan while saving Alucard at the same time. Alucard then asks his father what will they do as the father breaks the Mirror of Fate. MercurySteam also released a downloadable content chapter Revelations, where Alucard is the playable character as he protects his father in preparations for the events of Lords of Shadow 2, while also defeating one of Zobek's guardians to take his armor and remain hidden.
Alucard makes a cameo appearance as an Assist Trophy in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. He also debuted as a playable fighter in Brawlhalla on October 19, 2022.
Alucard appears as a Legendary skin for Trevor Belmont in Dead by Daylight, released alongside him with the Castlevania expansion in August 2024.
### In other media
A version of Alucard makes a minor appearance in Captain N: The Game Master. Here, he is depicted as a rebellious teenager who enjoys skateboarding and music, much to his father's chagrin. He appears in the Season 3 episode "Return to Castlevania", initially posing as an ally to the heroes before revealing himself to be in league with the Count.
Alucard, voiced by James Callis, appears as a major character in the 2017 Castlevania animated series, which is primarily based on the 1989 video game Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse. In the first season, Alucard meets and engages Trevor and Sypha. Alucard reveals that the myth of the "sleeping soldier" was actually himself, and that he was testing their abilities. The three prepare to challenge Dracula and end the conflict for good. For the second season, the trio go to locate Dracula's castle, as it can teleport from place to place. Trevor fights off the demons as Alucard uses the distance mirror to locate Dracula's castle. Eventually, Alucard reaches the study and attacks Dracula. Dracula is overcome by remorse before allowing Alucard to stake him through the heart, killing him. Alucard is upset about having killed his father, eventually being overcome by grief and breaks down crying.
In the third season, a month after Dracula's death, Alucard tries to adjust to his loneliness, but he misses Trevor and Sypha and fears he is going insane. At the Belmont Hold, Alucard is visited by a pair of vampire hunters from Japan, Sumi and Taka, who wish to be trained by him in order to defend their people, which he accepts. During the night, Sumi and Taka enter Alucard's room to have sex with him in an attempt to trap him. They accuse Alucard of withholding his knowledge of magic from them and not teaching them how to operate the castle. Before they can stake him, he uses his sword to slit their throats. A grieving Alucard leaves Sumi and Taka's impaled bodies outside of Dracula's castle as a warning to future visitors, just as Dracula had before him. During season four, Alucard accepts the village leader Greta's request to act as its protector. Alucard also meets Saint Germain who request to protect their people. Alucard and Greta lead the refugees in a desperate fight against the vampire Dragan's forces, but are eventually forced back into Dracula's castle. Trevor and Sypha arrive through the mirror at Dracula's castle, where they reunite with Alucard and fight through the invaders. After defeating Death, the three reflect on all they survived together and look forward to a brighter future. Alucard also makes a cameo in the spin-off Castlevania: Nocturne.
## Reception
Alucard has received praise and criticism from several video game publications, primarily concentrating on his role in Symphony of the Night. GameSpot featured him in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero". Magazines have also described him as one of the best and greatest video game character. In a review of Symphony of the Night, RPGFan celebrated the fact that Alucard was not a member of the Belmont clan, the protagonists of most Castlevania games, and that the fact he was Dracula's son added "an element of depth to the plot" due to the varied reactions he would receive from the inhabitants of Dracula's castle. RPGamer disagreed with this assessment, noting that the plot and Alucard's role "isn't very deep" and secondary to the concentration on gameplay. James Paul Gee noted that "even though Alucard is a vampire hunter, he has no distinctive skills associated with this profession". In the book A New Literacies Sampler, the writer expressed a favoritism in Alucard though he did not find his skills and moves were unique for a vampire hunter or soldier when compared with Full Spectrum Warrior, and wrote that instead his moves feel more similar to Mario. In contrast to Ritcher, Alucard's encounter with the villain was seen as more personal as the game explores the father and son relationship with heavy emphasis on Alucard's mental state as the dialogue he shares with Dracula embodies the theme of grief and identity. Another major area the two vampires share is the fate of Lisa, Alucard's mother and Dracula's wife, who none of the characters managed to surpass.
Kojima's design of Alucard from Symphony of the Night was noted to be highly popular within the audience to the point Polygon noticed it popularized the "vampire skin," which appeared as a full-blown trend in 2022. Writer Kazuma Hashimoto from the same website dressed as Alucard too, praising the design the character has. Artist Brock Otterbacher was fond of Kojima's designs, claiming "I had always come across and looked at her art, especially from the game. And this one image in particular that always kind of stuck out to me, which was an image of Alucard. His cape is part-bat, part-wolf, and that direct image is the inspiration for this. This was made years ago, I was like, 'Wow, I would love to someday get the opportunity to do the statue of this.'" Game Informer was in particular shocked by an Alucard cosplayer who managed to look nearly identical to his later incarnations.
Alucard's appearance in Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow as Genya Arikado was also noted by reviewers. RPGamer celebrated how the greater concentration on supporting characters, including Arikado, were a welcome change from previous Castlevania games. RPGFan derided Arikado's "cool and impassive personality" as stereotypical, but praised the game's character development as setting him apart from previous supporting characters in the series. The switch to an anime style for the character designs in Dawn of Sorrow was notably criticized, as many reviewers preferred the designs made by Ayami Kojima. GameSpy deplored the "shallow, lifeless anime images" and IGN called the images "down to the level of 'generic Saturday morning Anime' quality." While noting his role in Symphony, James Paul Gee praised the handling of Alucard for coming across as one unique character due to how different he was from previous playable characters.
Comic Book Resources praised the handling of Alucard's characterization in the Lords of Shadow series for how he handles his relationship with his father even if the ending might come across as too tragic as both father and son appeared to hate their own nature and wanted to end the Belmont bloodline with their own lives. GameSpot said there was a major confusion about the identity of Alucard in Lords of Shadow due to him being first known as the hunter Trevor Belmont who dies fighting Dracula and later being revealed to have revived as Alucard in Mirror of Fate. In retrospect, GameSpot praised the handling of Alucard in the Lords of Shadow trilogy as the twist of Trevor being future Alucard subverted their expectations due to its emotional value. However, they criticized Dracula's and Alucard's final showdown in Lords of Shadow 2 as the both father and son fail to conquer their inner demons. Alucard's DLC Revelations was praised by the media for how different are Alucard's abilities from Dracula's as well as more entertaining.
The animated version of Alucard's characterization in Netflix's Castlevania series earned mixed responses, as he and his allies were overshadowed by Dracula's underlings, who were seen as more fleshed out cast members than Alucard. GameSpot agreed that the trio's appearances in the first episodes were underwhelming and that their relationship gets uninteresting quickly, as the cast spends most of their time interacting in a library. On the other hand, Blasting News felt that the second season of Castlevania gave more screen time to develop the chemistry between Alucard and his friends, in contrast to his brief role in the first season. A review from Destructoid expressed similar sentiments, largely due to the way Alucard and Trevor push aside their differences to defeat Dracula while insulting each other across the story, leaving good comic relief in the process. IGN felt that the relationship between Alucard and his father was one of the best aspects of the second season due to the performance of their voice actors. In an analysis from the franchise, E. Charlotte Stevens from Birmingham City University claimed that Alucard's gaming appearance make him noticeably androgynous, stylish and glammorised. Paul Martin noticed the character often shows signs of humanity despite the idea that he is a monster whereas the Netflix anime makes him look more sympathetic and lonely as a result of his father's death.
## See also
- List of fictional dhampirs |
# Abdallah Nasur
Abdul Abdallah Nasur (1946 – 18 April 2023) was a Ugandan military officer and administrative official. Under President Idi Amin he served as Governor of Central Province from January 1975 to January 1976 and from August 1976 to April 1979, when Amin was overthrown. He also served as Governor of Karamoja Province from January to August 1976.
Born in 1946 in Nakatonya, Bombo, Uganda, Nasur enlisted in the Uganda Army in 1964 and was involved in military athletics. He rose in the ranks before being made Governor of Central Province, and in this office he played a leading role in Amin's "Keep Uganda Clean" initiative, garnering a negative reputation for his strict enforcement of the urban beautification campaign. He also frequently intervened in national sporting affairs. Following Amin's overthrow he fled to Kenya, but was extradited back to Uganda to face charges relating to the murder of the Mayor of Masaka, Francis Walugembe. He was convicted in 1982 and sentenced to death, though there remains disagreement over who was actually responsible for the murder. He was pardoned in 2001 and retired to Bombo. He died in 2023.
## Early life
Abdallah Nasur was born in 1946 in Nakatonya, Bombo, Uganda to Aljab Manguru and Abdu Abdallah Urada. He attended the Bombo Islamic School, earning "roughly a high school education" according to journalist Andrew Rice. He is a Muslim. Over the course of his life he married three women, though one divorced him and another died. By 2001, he had fathered 36 children.
## Career
Nasur joined the Uganda Army in 1964. After becoming a football coach he was promoted from the rank of private to sergeant.
Colonel Idi Amin took power in Uganda following a coup in January 1971. At the time Nasur was serving as the chief sports officer and sports trainer at Kasijjagirwa Barracks in Masaka. That year he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. After completing a series of short courses, he was attached to the Ministry of Education and given charge of gymnastics training. In 1974 Amin promoted him to the rank of captain and made him the army's top sports officer. Nasur held this position until Amin appointed him Governor of Central Province on 8 January 1975. That year he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Shortly after taking office he replaced the head of the Federation of Uganda Football Associations, despite having no legal authority to do so. He then declared himself disciplinary officer of the Uganda national football team and instituted a team code of conduct. In April he created a committee for sports discipline in Central Province and appointed himself its chairman. Amin also placed Nasur in charge of the Economic Crimes Tribunal, which was tasked with combatting smuggling and economic malpractice. According to Peter F. B. Nayenga, it was also "common knowledge" that Nasur was "personally responsible for many of the deaths" that occurred around Kampala and Entebbe.
As governor, Nasur played a leading role in Amin's "Keep Uganda Clean" initiative, which involved removing trash and beautifying Kampala's streets. He appointed a committee to encourage the public to sanitise the city and oversaw a network of undercover detectives that monitored littering. He regularly toured the city to ensure it was clean, and in May 1975 he had all illegal housing in the Nakawa neighborhood demolished. Nasur also decreed a prohibition on the wearing of slippers, as Kampala residents often wore them to bathe outside or use a toilet, and he associated them with dirt. This adversely impacted the urban poor, who could not afford other types of footwear. This generated allegations that Nasur's subordinates' would force people caught wearing slippers to eat them, or beat and incarcerate them. Nasur later denounced these charges as "baseless". Nevertheless, he garnered a negative reputation for his strict enforcement of the cleanliness campaign and in November Amin criticised him in a military meeting, saying "it is wrong on the part of the governor who was misbehaving to the extent of flattening people's cars and beating women wearing slippers". In January 1976 Amin transferred Nasur, making him Governor of Karamoja Province and replaced him with Samuel Odong.
In August 1976 Odong was moved and Amin reappointed Nasur Governor of Central Province. Shortly after reassuming his office, Nasur organised eight cleanliness zones in Kampala. He then led officials in conducting "spot checks" around the city, evicting residents of unkempt houses, seizing untidy businesses, and closing down disorganised markets. These actions dispossessed numerous citizens of their belongings. Nasur believed that unmarried women increased crime and prostitution and publicly suggested that they should leave urban areas and engage in agricultural production in the countryside. In an attempt to reduce crime, he banned the brewing and consumption of alcohol in certain parts of Kampala. He also closed down several shops and restaurants in Katwe, accusing their owners of overcharging for goods. In 1977 he forced out the chairman of the National Council of Sports and took his place. In this capacity he banned the Express football club after it had defeated an army team in a game, accusing its members of subversion. The following year he ejected Denis Obua from the national football team for drinking before the 1978 African Cup of Nations. He accompanied the team to Ghana where it played in the tournament. He was still governor in April 1979.
## Murder trial and imprisonment
In late 1978 Uganda invaded Tanzania. This started a war between the two countries, and in April 1979 Tanzanian troops and Ugandan rebels overthrew Amin's regime. Nasur fled to Kenya, reportedly taking 75 million Ugandan shillings ($10 million) with him. Local authorities arrested him in Kakamega and on 16 June 1979 he was extradited to Uganda and charged with the murder of the Mayor of Masaka, Francis Walugembe. Walugembe had been killed in Masaka on 21 September 1972.
The murder case was tried in court before Chief Justice of the High Court of Uganda George Masika. Thomas Ntale, Walugembe's son; John Kagimbi, a carpenter; and Betty Najjuma, a local schoolteacher; all testified that they saw Nasur slit Walugembe's throat. Nasur testified in his own defence, arguing that he rarely wore military uniform while at Masaka—contrary to witness testimony which said he killed Walugembe while in uniform. He also said he was out buying food for the garrison at the time of the killing. A defence witness, Cecilia Nakanwagi, said she saw a different "small, red-eyed man" kill the mayor. Defence lawyer Protazio Ayigihugu argued that Ntale was not present at the scene, saying it was highly unlikely he would have gone to where his father was being killed for fear of being targeted himself. Ayigihugu also maintained that there were inconsistencies in where the prosecution witnesses said the murder took place. Masika delivered his judgement on 26 January 1982. In his ruling, he wrote that the prosecution witnesses all placed the scene of the murder at the quarter guard at Kasijjagirwa Barracks. He discounted Nasur's testimony as untrue and concluded, "I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the prosecution has proved their case against the accused and accordingly, I convict him as charged." Nasur was sentenced to death. He appealed his case to the Supreme Court of Uganda, but the appeal was rejected. He was subsequently incarcerated at Luzira Maximum Security Prison.
There remains disagreement over who actually was responsible for Walugembe's murder. In 1991 Ntale admitted he had lied about witnessing his father's death. Following the trial, a series of other witnesses signed affidavits which maintained that a soldier, Ali Nyege, abducted Walugembe and stabbed him at the barracks, and that Nasur drove up shortly thereafter and spoke with Nyege. In a 2002 interview Nasur maintained that he had only happened upon Walugembe's murder scene later in the day of the crime, after the mayor had been killed. Other sources claim that Brigadier Isaac Maliyamungu murdered Walugembe.
## Later life
Nasur was pardoned by President Yoweri Museveni on 10 September 2001 and released the following day. The pardon was received positively by his friends and family, though some Ugandans felt he should have been executed, including members of the Walugembe family. Following his release he retired to his former home in Bombo and became a vocal supporter of Museveni. Reflecting on Amin in 2003, he said, "Everybody makes mistakes. Do not punish Amin. We should leave the judgment to God." He remained a devout Muslim in retirement, praying frequently in the local mosque, and was a respected leader in Bombo's Nubian community. Nasur died on 18 April 2023 at Nakasero Hospital in Kampala, following an affliction with pneumonia and a decline in health related to diabetes and heart trouble. |
# The Neanderthals Rediscovered
The Neanderthals Rediscovered: How Modern Science is Rewriting Their Story is a 2013 non-fiction book by Dimitra Papagianni [Wikidata] and Michael A. Morse, published by Thames & Hudson. The book focuses on the history, culture, and extinction of Neanderthals, the closest known relatives of anatomically modern humans. Neanderthals are widely stereotyped as primitive or unintelligent compared to modern humans, a myth dispelled by research in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Written to summarize substantial advances in Neanderthal research in the previous few decades, The Neanderthals Rediscovered addresses subjects like how Neanderthals used tools, how they hunted, the societies they formed, and potential reasons for their extinction. The book is fully illustrated, including 16 all-illustration pages.
Upon release, The Neanderthals Rediscovered received positive reviews. Critics praised its accessibility, its focus, and the quality of its illustrations. The Neanderthals Rediscovered won the Society for American Archaeology's 2015 Popular Book Award, with the organization describing it as "strik[ing] an excellent balance between broad popular appeal and satisfyingly rich content".
## Context and background
Neanderthals were extinct hominins who lived until about 40,000 years ago. They are the closest known relatives of anatomically modern humans. Neanderthal skeletons were first discovered in the early 19th century; research on Neanderthals in the 19th and early 20th centuries argued for a perspective of them as "primitive" beings socially and cognitively inferior to modern humans. This concept of the "brutish Neanderthal" was revealed to be a misconception in the late twentieth century, as research found Neanderthals had markedly greater cognitive and cultural sophistication than previously thought. Nonetheless, negative stereotypes of Neanderthals remain widespread amongst the general population.
The Neanderthals Rediscovered was co-written by the husband and wife team Dimitra Papagianni and Michael A. Morse. Papagianni is an archaeologist specializing in Paleolithic stone tools, while Morse is a historian of science. Both authors had published books previously. Papagianni was an editor of the 2008 archaeological compilation Time and Change: Archaeological and Anthropological Perspectives on the Long-Term in Hunter-Gatherer Societies. Morse was the author of How the Celts Came to Britain, published in 2005 by Tempus Publishing, which was selected as one of The Times Literary Supplement Books of the Year.
## Synopsis
The Neanderthals Rediscovered covers the scientific understanding of Neanderthals and how it advanced over the years until the book's publication. The period over which the book was written was one of substantial advances in scientific understanding of Neanderthals, their culture, their interactions with anatomically modern humans, and the circumstances under which they went extinct; its preface discusses this, noting that if the book had been finished by its original deadline of 2008, it would have become obsolete before publication. The book is illustrated with a total of 77 images, including 16 all-image pages; image subjects include maps of areas Neanderthals inhabited, reconstructions, and prehistoric tools.
The first chapter chronologies the nineteenth-century discovery of Neanderthal fossils and the varying conceptualizations of them over time, including how it had changed over the authors' careers. Papagianni and Morse, who met as graduate students at the University of Cambridge in the early 1990s, give the example that at the time it was not yet clear if Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans lived in Europe at the same time; later research showed they coexisted for thousands of years. They mark the 1993 publication of In Search of the Neanderthals by Chris Stringer and Clive Gamble as a turning point in Neanderthal research for clarifying that Neanderthals were replaced by Homo sapiens sapiens, rather than the latter having evolved directly from them.
The Neanderthals Rediscovered's coverage of the eponymous people traces topics such as their diet (including theories of cannibalism), their housing, their tool use, the organization of their societies, and their speech and symbolic thought. Owing to Papagianni's background as a researcher of Paleolithic stone tools, the book extensively discusses the complexity of Neanderthal tools and its implications; a subsection of a chapter is dedicated to explaining the use and production of stone tools. Papagianni and Morse argue for the social brain hypothesis, positing that the hunting patterns implied by Neanderthal tool use require both advanced cognition and a complex society. They describe complex Neanderthal hunts, such as large group hunts that ran woolly mammoths off cliffs, and present these as requiring substantial and sophisticated coordination between many individuals.
As the book moves from the period in which Neanderthals inhabited Europe alone to the time they coexisted with H. s. sapiens, it discusses the history of scholarship of that coexistence. In a discussion of Neanderthal burial, Papagianni and Morse focus on the nearby sites of Tabun Cave and Skhul Cave in northern Israel. Skhul was a H. s. sapiens burial site, while Tabun was a Neanderthal one. Early researchers assumed the Neanderthal site was dated earlier based on the knowledge that Neanderthals pre-dated H. s. sapiens within Europe; more advanced techniques found they were both far closer together and far earlier than once thought. The authors draw attention to the fact this early H. s. sapiens attempt to migrate from Africa to Eurasia "ended in failure", with Neanderthals being the primary occupants of Eurasia for tens of thousands of years while anatomically modern humans failed to take root in the area.
The book addresses the question of why and how Neanderthals went extinct. It discusses common hypotheses, such as Neanderthals having a more limited capacity for symbolic and creative thought than H. s. sapiens. The evidence for art or decorative work amongst Neanderthals is limited, while Paleolithic H. s. sapiens is known to have produced extensive creative work, such as cave paintings, figurines, and simple music instruments like flutes. The authors compare the remnants of Neanderthal culture during this period of coexistence to that of anatomically modern humans 100,000 years prior, who, like Neanderthals, buried their dead and used red ochre as a dye, but lacked the complex art of their progeny.
Natural climate change is one of the major factors to which The Neanderthals Rediscovered ascribes the Neanderthals' extinction. The authors note that Neanderthal population decline was contemporaneous with that of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis and the straight-tusked elephant, which they consider to have been some of its major prey. They discuss the hypothesis that expansion of steppe areas benefitted humans from tree-sparse regions, with negative consequences for both Neanderthals and for other cultures of anatomically modern humans.
The Neanderthals Rediscovered ends by discussing the role Neanderthals play in modern culture. The book addresses the prevalence of popular misconceptions about Neanderthals, including the idea they had stooped postures, were unintelligent, or were especially aggressive. It criticises both this practice and its backlash of portraying Neanderthals as noble savages, "a gentle, gifted, morally superior people with extraordinary tracking abilities, all reminiscent of Native Americans in 19th-century literature". The authors end on the statement that by contrasting the known intelligence and complexity of Neanderthals with their simplistic cultural portrayals, "we can start to remember them for what they were and what they accomplished, rather than seeing them only through the lens of our own insecurities".
## Publication
The genesis of The Neanderthals Rediscovered was Papagianni's experience teaching a university course on prehistory from a Neanderthal perspective, which she found was exceptionally popular amongst students. Many of her students queried her for book recommendations on the subject, and she felt there was a lack of recent works on Neanderthals to recommend them. The book was written over a several-year period, during which the couple moved from Oxfordshire to Armonk, New York. Their book proposal was accepted by the publisher in 2007, which they learned on the same day they took their newborn twin sons home from hospital. Papagianni and Morse collaborated on the project through their different writing styles; Papagianni would write early drafts in a "traditional, academic style", after which Morse expanded them in a more literary fashion.
The Neanderthals Rediscovered was published in 2013 by Thames & Hudson, a family-run publisher of illustrated books. It is 208 pages long with 77 illustrations. A second edition was released in 2015, and an expanded third edition in 2022.
## Reception
The Neanderthals Rediscovered received generally positive reviews. Critics praised its accessibility, its focus, and the quality of its illustrations. The work won the Society for American Archaeology's 2015 Popular Book Award, with the organization describing it as "strik[ing] an excellent balance between broad popular appeal and satisfyingly rich content".
Reviewers drew attention to the book's handling of Neanderthal stereotypes. Robert S. Davis, a professor of history at Wallace State Community College, remarked upon its attempt to dispel views of Neanderthals as "crude and stupid" and on how it juxtaposed the history of Neanderthals themselves with the history of scholarship on them. The paleontologist Stephen Donovan, in a review for Geological Journal, drew attention to the final chapter's focus on Neanderthals in popular culture; he remarked that, prior to reading, he had underestimated just how widely portrayed they were. Dan Clendenin, an author and scholar of religious studies, contextualized The Neanderthals Rediscovered within an evolution of opinion on Neanderthals from "cavemen" to complex humans.
The Neanderthals Rediscovered's prose and illustrations were critically acclaimed. Donovan called the book "a pleasure to read, as fascinating as a good novel" and praised its illustrations and design as "of the highest quality in all the important ways". Clendenin stated he "enjoyed" the illustrations, while Davis praised the book's lack of "technical jargon" and how its authors "share their extensive knowledge, raise questions, and debate answers in a most collegial way". David Quammen, reviewing The Neanderthals Rediscovered for Harper's Magazine alongside Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes by Svante Pääbo and Lone Survivors: How We Came to Be the Only Humans on Earth by Chris Stringer, praised its "fresh charm" and described it as less "discursive" than the other works.
Quammen's review presents Papagianni and Morse as coming from the perspective of organismic biology, which understands biology primarily on the level of organisms and populations, as juxtaposed with molecular biology, which studies life from a molecular perspective. He contrasts this position with Pääbo, a molecular biologist. Quammen praised all three works for their in-depth research on Neanderthal history, a subject with exceptionally limited evidence compared to that offered by living species. He drew particular attention to The Neanderthals Rediscovered's presentation of human evolution as "a curious story that leads to the Neanderthals, rather than as a moral tale that rises ever upward and inevitably to us godlike moderns", and deemed its chapters focusing on the period from 250,000 to 60,000 years ago superior to its early chapters that focused on pre-Neanderthal prehistory.
In the years following its release, The Neanderthals Rediscovered has remained a significant popular work on Neanderthals. In 2023, the philosopher Nikhil Krishnan described it in The Guardian as a "fascinating survey of Neanderthal science". The novelist Lee Child praised The Neanderthals Rediscovered in a 2021 interview with The Times. The book has been reprinted twice following its original publication in 2013; reviewing in 2022, Clendenin felt it was slightly dated, but still a high-quality work. He recommended Kindred: Neanderthal Life, Love, Death and Art by Rebecca Wragg Sykes, published in 2020, for a more up-to-date perspective on Neanderthals. |
# Tina Turner
Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the husband-wife duo Ike & Tina Turner before launching a successful career as a solo performer.
Turner began her musical career with her future husband Ike Turner's band, the Kings of Rhythm, in 1956. Under the name Little Ann, she appeared on her first record, "Boxtop", in 1958. In 1960, she debuted as Tina Turner with the hit single "A Fool in Love". The Ike & Tina Turner Revue became "one of the most formidable live acts in history". The duo released hits such as "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", "River Deep – Mountain High", "Proud Mary", and "Nutbush City Limits" before disbanding in 1976.
In the 1980s, Turner launched "one of the greatest comebacks in music history". Her 1984 multi-platinum album Private Dancer contained the hit song "What's Love Got to Do with It", which won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and became her first and only number-one song on the Billboard Hot 100. Her chart success continued with "Better Be Good to Me", "Private Dancer", "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)", "Typical Male", "The Best", "I Don't Wanna Fight", and "GoldenEye". She embarked on the Break Every Rule World Tour (1987–1988), which became the top-grossing female tour of the 1980s and set a Guinness World Record for the then-largest paying audience in a concert (180,000). Turner also acted in the films Tommy (1975) and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985). In 1986, she published her autobiography I, Tina: My Life Story, which was adapted for the 1993 film What's Love Got to Do with It. In 2009, Turner retired after completing her Tina\!: 50th Anniversary Tour. In 2018, she was the subject of Tina, a jukebox musical.
Turner sold more than 100 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. She received 12 Grammy Awards, which include eight competitive awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and three Grammy Hall of Fame inductions. She was the first black artist and first woman to be on the cover of Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone ranked her among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time and the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Turner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice: with Ike Turner in 1991 and as a solo artist in 2021. She was also a 2005 recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and the Women of the Year award.
## Early life
Turner was born Anna Mae Bullock on November 26, 1939, in Brownsville, Tennessee. She was the youngest daughter of Floyd Richard Bullock and his wife Zelma Priscilla (née Currie). The family lived in the rural unincorporated community of Nutbush, Tennessee, where Bullock's father worked as an overseer of the sharecroppers at Poindexter Farm on Highway 180; she later recalled picking cotton with her family at an early age.
Bullock was African American, but she believed she had a significant amount of Native American ancestry until she participated in the PBS series African American Lives 2 with Henry Louis Gates Jr. Gates shared her genealogical DNA test estimates and traced her family timeline.
Bullock had two older sisters, Evelyn Juanita Currie and Ruby Alline Bullock, a songwriter. She was the first cousin once removed of bluesman Eugene Bridges. As young children, the three sisters were separated when their parents relocated to Knoxville, Tennessee, to work at a defense facility during World War II. Bullock went to stay with her strict, religious paternal grandparents, Alex and Roxanna Bullock, who were deacon and deaconess at the Woodlawn Missionary Baptist Church. After the war, the sisters reunited with their parents and moved with them to Knoxville. Two years later, the family returned to Nutbush to live in the Flagg Grove community, where Bullock attended Flagg Grove Elementary School from first through eighth grade.
As a young girl, Bullock sang in the church choir at Nutbush's Spring Hill Baptist Church. In 1950, when she was 11, her mother Zelma left without warning, seeking freedom from her abusive relationship with Floyd by relocating to St. Louis. Two years after her mother left the family, her father married another woman and moved to Detroit. Bullock and her sisters were sent to live with their maternal grandmother, Georgeanna Currie, in Brownsville, Tennessee. She stated in her autobiography I, Tina that she felt her parents did not love her and that she was not wanted. Zelma had planned to leave Floyd but stayed once she became pregnant. Bullock recalled: "She was a very young woman who didn't want another kid."
As a teenager, Bullock worked as a domestic worker for the Henderson family in Ripley, Tennessee. She was at the Henderson house when she was notified that her half-sister Evelyn had died in a car crash alongside her cousins Margaret and Vela Evans, while Vela survived the car crash. A self-professed tomboy, Bullock joined both the cheerleading squad and the female basketball team at Carver High School in Brownsville, and "socialized every chance she got". When Bullock was 16, her grandmother died, so she went to live with her mother in St. Louis. She graduated from Sumner High School in 1958. After high school, Bullock worked as a nurse's aide at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
## Ike and Tina Turner
### Origins: 1956–1960
Bullock and her sister began to perform frequently at nightclubs in St. Louis and East St. Louis. She first saw Ike Turner perform with his band the Kings of Rhythm at the Club Manhattan in East St. Louis. Bullock was impressed by his talent, recalling that she "almost went into a trance" watching him play. She asked Turner to let her sing in his band despite the fact that few women had ever sung with him. Turner said he would call her but never did. One night in 1956, Bullock got hold of the microphone from Kings of Rhythm drummer Eugene Washington during an intermission and she sang the B.B. King blues ballad, "You Know I Love You". Upon hearing Bullock sing, Ike Turner asked her if she knew more songs. She sang the rest of the night and became a featured vocalist with his band. During this period, he taught her the finer points of vocal control and performance. Bullock's first recording was in 1958 under the name Little Ann on the single "Boxtop". She is credited as a vocalist on the record alongside Ike and fellow Kings of Rhythm singer Carlson Oliver.
In 1960, Ike Turner wrote "A Fool in Love" for singer Art Lassiter. Bullock was to sing background with Lassiter's backing vocalists, the Artettes. Lassiter failed to show up for the recording session at Technisonic Studios. Since Turner had already paid for the studio time, Bullock suggested that she sing the lead. He decided to use Bullock to record a demo with the intention of erasing her vocals and adding Lassiter's at a later date. Local St. Louis disc jockey Dave Dixon convinced Turner to send the tape to Juggy Murray, president of R\&B label Sue Records. Upon hearing the song, Murray was impressed with Bullock's vocals, later stating that "Tina sounded like screaming dirt. It was a funky sound". Murray bought the track and paid Turner a $25,000 advance for the recording and publishing rights. Murray also convinced Turner to make Bullock "the star of the show". Turner responded by renaming Bullock "Tina" because it rhymed with Sheena. He was inspired by Sheena, Queen of the Jungle and Nyoka the Jungle Girl to create her stage persona. Turner added his last name and trademarked the name "Tina Turner" as a form of protection; his idea was that if Bullock left him like his previous singers had, he could replace her with another "Tina Turner". However, family and friends still called her Ann.
### Early success: 1960–1965
Bullock was introduced to the public as Tina Turner with the single "A Fool in Love" in July 1960. It reached No. 2 on the Hot R\&B Sides chart and No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100. Journalist Kurt Loder described the track as "the blackest record to ever creep into the white pop charts since Ray Charles's gospel-styled 'What'd I Say' that previous summer". Another single from the duo, "It's Gonna Work Out Fine", reached No. 14 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on the R\&B chart in 1961, earning them a Grammy nomination for Best Rock and Roll Performance. Other singles Ike and Tina Turner released between 1960 and 1962 included the R\&B hits "I Idolize You", "Poor Fool", and "Tra La La La La".
After the release of "A Fool in Love", Ike Turner created the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, which included the Kings of Rhythm and a girl group, the Ikettes, as backing vocalists and dancers. He remained in the background as the bandleader. Ike Turner put the entire revue through a rigorous touring schedule across the United States, performing 90 days straight in venues around the country. During the days of the Chitlin' Circuit, the Ike & Tina Turner Revue built a reputation as "one of the hottest, most durable, and potentially most explosive of all R\&B ensembles", rivaling the James Brown Revue in terms of musical spectacle. Due to their profitable performances, they were able to perform in front of desegregated audiences in Southern clubs and hotels.
Between 1963 and 1965, the band toured constantly and produced moderately successful R\&B singles. Tina Turner's first credited single as a solo artist, "Too Many Ties That Bind"/"We Need an Understanding", was released from Ike Turner's label Sonja Records in 1964. Another single by the duo, "You Can't Miss Nothing That You Never Had", reached No. 29 on the Billboard R\&B chart. After their tenure at Sue Records, the duo signed with more than ten labels during the remainder of the decade, including Kent, Cenco, Tangerine, Pompeii, A\&M, and Minit. In 1964, they signed to Warner Bros. Records and Bob Krasnow became their manager. On the Warner Bros. label, they achieved their first charting album with Live\! The Ike & Tina Turner Show, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot R\&B LP chart in February 1965. Their singles "Tell Her I'm Not Home", released on Loma Records, and "Good Bye, So Long", released on Modern Records, were top 40 R\&B hits in 1965.
Tina Turner's profile was raised after several solo appearances on shows such as American Bandstand and Shindig\! while the entire revue appeared on Hollywood a Go-Go. In 1965, music producer Phil Spector attended an Ike & Tina Turner show at a club on the Sunset Strip, and he invited them to appear in the concert film The Big T.N.T. Show.
### Mainstream success: 1966–1975
Impressed by the duo's performance on The Big T.N.T. Show, Phil Spector was eager to produce Tina Turner. Working out a deal with Ike & Tina Turner's manager Bob Krasnow, who was also head of Loma, Spector offered $20,000 for creative control over the sessions to produce Turner and have Ike & Tina Turner released from their contract with Loma. They signed to Spector's Philles label in April 1966 after Tina Turner had already recorded with him. Their first single on his label, "River Deep – Mountain High", was released in May 1966. Spector considered that record, with Turner's maximum energy over the "Wall of Sound", to be his best work. It was successful overseas, reaching No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 on Los 40 Principales in Spain, but it failed to go any higher than No. 88 on the Billboard Hot 100. The impact of the record gave Ike & Tina Turner an opening spot on the Rolling Stones UK tour in the fall of 1966. In November 1967, Turner became the first female artist and the first black artist to appear on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine.
The duo signed with Blue Thumb Records in 1968, releasing the album Outta Season in 1969. The album produced their charted cover of Otis Redding's "I've Been Loving You Too Long". Later that year they released The Hunter album. The title track, Albert King's "The Hunter", earned Turner a Grammy nomination for Best Female R\&B Vocal Performance. The success of the albums led to the revue headlining in Las Vegas, where their shows were attended by a variety of celebrities including Sly Stone, Janis Joplin, Cher, James Brown, Ray Charles, Elton John, and Elvis Presley. Sammy Davis Jr. was particularly fond of Turner, and after she filmed an episode of The Name of the Game with him in Las Vegas he surprised her with a Jaguar XJ6.
As the decade came to an end, Ike & Tina Turner began performing at music festivals. Tina Turner's fashion evolved from formal dresses to minidresses and revealing outfits. She emerged as a sex symbol and was praised for her sensual performances.
In the fall of 1969, Ike & Tina Turner's profile in their home country was raised after opening for the Rolling Stones on their US tour. They gained more exposure from performances on The Ed Sullivan Show, Playboy After Dark, and The Andy Williams Show. The duo released two albums in 1970, Come Together and Workin' Together. Their cover of "I Want to Take You Higher" peaked at No. 34 on the Hot 100, whereas the original by Sly and the Family Stone had peaked at No. 38. The Come Together and Workin' Together albums marked a turning point in their careers in which they switched from their usual R\&B repertoire to incorporate more rock tunes such as "Come Together", "Honky Tonk Woman", and "Get Back".
In early 1971, their cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" became their biggest hit. The single reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 and sold more than a million copies, winning them a Grammy for Best R\&B Performance by a Duo or Group. In July 1971, their live album, What You Hear Is What You Get, was released. It was recorded at Carnegie Hall and became their first certified Gold album. Later that year they had a top 40 R\&B hit with "Ooh Poo Pah Doo". Their next three singles to chart, "I'm Yours (Use Me Anyway You Wanna)", "Up in Heah", and "Early One Morning" (a Little Richard cover) all peaked at No. 47 on the R\&B chart.
In 1972, the Turners opened Bolic Sound recording studio near their home in Inglewood. After Liberty was absorbed into United Artists Records, they were assigned to that label. Around this time, Tina Turner began writing more songs. She wrote nine out of the ten tracks on their 1972 album Feel Good. In October 1972, Turner and the Ikettes performed at Star-Spangled Women, a political fundraiser for the 1972 presidential campaign of George McGovern, at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
The duo's 1973 hit single "Nutbush City Limits" (No. 22 Pop, No. 11 R\&B), penned by Tina Turner, reached No. 1 in Austria, No. 4 in the UK, and the top 5 in several other countries. It was certified silver by the BPI for selling a quarter of a million in the UK. As a result of their success, they received the Golden European Record Award, the first ever given, for selling more than one million records of "Nutbush City Limits" in Europe. Their follow-up hits included "Sweet Rhode Island Red", and "Sexy Ida" in 1974.
In 1974, the duo released the Grammy-nominated album The Gospel According to Ike & Tina, which was nominated for Best Soul Gospel Performance. Ike also received a solo nomination for his single "Father Alone" from the album. Tina Turner's first solo album, Tina Turns the Country On\!, earned her a nomination for Best R\&B Vocal Performance, Female. That year, Tina Turner filmed the rock opera Tommy in London. She played the Acid Queen, a drug-addicted prostitute; her performance was critically acclaimed. Shortly after filming wrapped, Turner appeared on Ann-Margret's TV special. Following the release of Tommy in 1975, Tina Turner released another solo album: Acid Queen. The album reached No. 39 on the Billboard R\&B chart. It produced the charting singles "Baby, Get It On" and a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love".
### Split: 1976
By the mid-1970s, Ike was heavily addicted to cocaine, which hindered his relationship with Tina. In 1976, they headlined at the Waldorf Astoria New York and signed a television deal with CBS-TV. Ike made plans for them to leave United Artists Records for a five-year deal with Cream Records for $150,000 per year; the deal was to be signed on July 5.
On July 1, the Turners flew from Los Angeles to Dallas, where the revue had a gig at the Statler Hilton in downtown. The couple got into a physical altercation on their way to the hotel. Shortly after arriving, Tina fled from Ike with only 36 cents and a Mobil card to the nearby Ramada Inn across the freeway. She filed for divorce on July 27 and it was finalized on March 29, 1978. After their separation, United Artists released two more albums credited to the duo: Delilah's Power (1977) and Airwaves (1978).
## Solo career
### Early solo career: 1976–1982
In 1976 and 1977, Tina Turner earned income by appearing on TV shows such as The Hollywood Squares, Donny & Marie, The Sonny & Cher Show, and The Brady Bunch Hour. After her separation from Ike, lawsuits were mounting for canceled Ike & Tina Turner gigs. She resumed touring to pay off her debts, with finances given to her by United Artists executive Mike Stewart. In 1977, she re-emerged with new costumes created by Bob Mackie. She headlined a series of cabaret shows at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and took her act to smaller venues in the United States. Later that year, she embarked on her first solo concert tour in Australia.
In 1978, Turner released her third solo album, Rough, on United Artists with distribution in North America and Europe on EMI. That album, along with its 1979 follow-up, Love Explosion, which included a brief diversion to disco music, failed to chart, so United Artists Records and Turner parted ways. Without the premise of a hit record, she continued performing and headlined her second tour.
In 1979, Australian manager Roger Davies agreed to manage Turner after seeing her perform at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. In early 1979, Turner worked in Italy as a regular performer on the Rete 1 TV series Luna Park, hosted by Pippo Baudo and Heather Parisi. Later that year, she embarked on a controversial five-week tour of South Africa during the apartheid regime. She later regretted the decision, stating that she was "naive about the politics in South Africa" at the time.
In October 1981, Rod Stewart attended Turner's show at the Ritz in New York City and invited her to perform "Hot Legs" with him on Saturday Night Live. In November, Turner opened for the Rolling Stones during their 1981 American Tour. Turner performed in March 1982 in the Willem Ruis show (Netherlands), which resulted in the hit "Shame, Shame, Shame" (reaching No. 47 in the Netherlands). In 1982 Turner's recording of the Temptations' "Ball of Confusion" for the UK production team B.E.F. became a hit in European dance clubs. In 1982, Turner also appeared on the album Music of Quality and Distinction Volume 1 by B.E.F., a side project of Heaven 17, singing "Ball of Confusion". She filmed a music video for "Ball of Confusion" that aired on the fledgling music video channel MTV, becoming one of the first black American artists to gain airtime on the channel. Also in 1982, Turner appeared as a special guest on Chuck Berry's television special performed at The Roxy in West Hollywood.
### Career resurgence and superstardom: 1983–2000
Until 1983, Turner was considered a nostalgia act, performing mostly at hotel ballrooms and clubs in the United States. During her second stint at the Ritz, she signed with Capitol Records in 1983. In November 1983, she released her cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together", which was produced by B.E.F. It reached several European charts, including No. 6 in the UK. In the US, the song peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, No. 1 on Hot Dance Club Songs, and No. 3 on Hot Black Singles.
Following the single's surprise success, Capitol Records approved a studio album. Turner had two weeks to record her Private Dancer album, which was released in May 1984. It reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 2 in the United Kingdom. Private Dancer was certified 5× Platinum in the United States, and sold 10 million copies worldwide, becoming her most successful album. Also in May 1984, Capitol issued the album's second single, "What's Love Got to Do with It"; the song had previously been recorded by the pop group Bucks Fizz. Following the album's release, Turner joined Lionel Richie as the opening act on his tour.
On September 1, 1984, Turner achieved her first and only No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with "What's Love Got to Do with It". The follow-up singles "Better Be Good to Me" and "Private Dancer" were both US top 10 hits. The same year, she duetted with David Bowie on a cover of Iggy Pop's "Tonight". Released as a single in November, it peaked at No. 53 in both the UK and the US.
Turner culminated her comeback when she won three Grammys at the 27th Annual Grammy Awards, including the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "What's Love Got to Do with It". In February 1985, she embarked on her second world tour to support the Private Dancer album. Two nights were filmed at Birmingham, England's NEC Arena and later released as a concert on home video. During this time, she also contributed vocals to the USA for Africa benefit song "We Are the World".
Turner's success continued when she traveled to Australia to star opposite Mel Gibson in the 1985 post-apocalyptic film Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. The movie provided her with her first acting role in ten years; she portrayed the glamorous Aunty Entity, the ruler of Bartertown. Upon release, critical response to her performance was generally positive. The film was a global success, grossing more than $36 million in the United States. Turner later received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress for her role in the film. She recorded two songs for the film, "We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)" and "One of the Living"; both became hits, with the latter winning her a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. In July 1985, Turner performed at Live Aid alongside Mick Jagger. Their performance shocked observers when Jagger ripped her skirt off. Turner released a duet, "It's Only Love", with Bryan Adams. It was nominated for a Grammy Award, and the music video won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Stage Performance.
In 1986, Turner released her sixth solo album, Break Every Rule, which reached No. 1 in four countries and sold over five million copies worldwide within its first year of release. The album sold more than a million copies in the United States and Germany alone. The album featured the singles "Typical Male", "Two People", "What You Get Is What You See", and the Grammy-winning "Back Where You Started". Prior to the album's release, Turner published her autobiography I, Tina, which became a bestseller. That year, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her Break Every Rule World Tour, which began in March 1987 in Munich, Germany, was the third highest-grossing tour by a female artist in North America that year. In January 1988, Turner performed in front of approximately 180,000 at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, setting a Guinness World Record at the time for the largest paying concert attendance for a solo artist. In April 1988, Turner released the Tina Live in Europe album, which won a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. After taking time off following the end of the tour, she emerged with the Foreign Affair album in 1989. It reached No. 1 in eight countries, including in the UK (5× Platinum), her first number-one album there. The album sold over six million copies worldwide and included the international hit single "The Best".
In 1990, Turner embarked on her Foreign Affair European Tour, which drew in nearly four million spectators—breaking the record for a European tour that was previously set by the Rolling Stones. In October 1991 Turner released her first greatest hits compilation Simply the Best, which sold seven million copies worldwide. The album is her biggest seller in the UK, where it is certified 8× Platinum with more than two million copies sold.
In 1991, Ike & Tina Turner were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ike Turner was incarcerated at the time and Tina Turner did not attend. Turner stated through her publicist that she was taking a leave of absence following her tour and she felt "emotionally unequipped to return to the U.S. and respond to the night of celebration in the manner she would want". Phil Spector accepted the award on their behalf.
In 1993, the semi-autobiographical film What's Love Got to Do with It was released. The film starred Angela Bassett as Tina Turner and Laurence Fishburne as Ike Turner; they received Best Actress and Best Actor Oscar nominations for their roles. While she was not heavily involved in the film, Turner contributed to the soundtrack for What's Love Got to Do with It, re-recording old songs and several new songs. The single "I Don't Wanna Fight" from the soundtrack was a top 10 hit in the US and UK. In 1993 Turner embarked on her What's Love? Tour, which visited primarily North America with a few shows in Australasia and Europe.
In 1995, Turner returned to the studio, releasing "GoldenEye", which was written by Bono and the Edge of U2 for the James Bond film GoldenEye. In 1996 Turner released the Wildest Dreams album, accompanied by her "Wildest Dreams Tour". In September 1999, before celebrating her 60th birthday, Turner released the dance-infused song "When the Heartache Is Over" as the leading single from her tenth and final solo album, Twenty Four Seven. The success of the single and the following tour helped the album become certified Gold by the RIAA. The Twenty Four Seven Tour was the highest-grossing tour of 2000, grossing over $120 million. Her two concerts at Wembley Stadium were recorded by the director David Mallet and released in the DVD One Last Time Live in Concert. At a July 2000 concert in Zurich, Switzerland, Turner announced that she would retire at the end of the tour.
### Later career: 2001–2021
In November 2004, Turner released All the Best, which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in 2005, her highest charting album in the United States. The album went platinum in the US three months after its release and reached platinum status in seven other countries, including the UK.
In December 2005, Turner was recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and was elected to join an elite group of entertainers.
In February 2006, Turner released "Teach Me Again", a duet single with Italian singer-songwriter Elisa that was recorded for the anthology film All the Invisible Children. The whole revenue from the single's sales was donated to charity projects for children led by the World Food Programme and UNICEF.
Turner made a public comeback in February 2008 at the Grammy Awards, where she performed alongside Beyoncé. In addition, she won a Grammy as a featured artist on River: The Joni Letters. In October 2008, Turner embarked on her first tour in nearly ten years with the Tina\!: 50th Anniversary Tour. In support of the tour, Turner released a greatest hits compilation. The tour was a huge success and became one of the bestselling tours in history. In 2009, Turner officially retired from performing.
In 2009, Turner co-founded a global music foundation, Beyond Foundation, with Swiss Christian musician Regula Curti and Swiss Tibetan Buddhist Dechen Shak-Dagsay. Turner co-released four albums of spiritual or uplifting music released through projects with Beyond: Buddhist and Christian Prayers (2009), Children (2011), Love Within (2014), and Awakening (2017). As of 2023, the Swiss Beyond Foundation remains active and enables the collaboration of musical artists from different parts of the world.
In April 2010, mainly due to an online campaign by fans of Rangers Football Club, Turner's 1989 hit, "The Best", returned to the UK singles chart, peaking at No. 9. This made Turner the first female recording artist in UK chart history to score top 40 hits in six consecutive decades (1960s–2010s). In 2011, Beyond's second album Children – With Children United in Prayer followed and charted again in Switzerland. Turner promoted the album by performing on TV shows in Germany and Switzerland. In April 2013, Turner appeared on the cover of the German issue of Vogue magazine at the age of 73, becoming the oldest person to be featured on the cover of Vogue. In February 2014, Parlophone Records released a new compilation titled Love Songs.
In December 2016 Turner announced that she had been working on Tina, a musical based on her life story, in collaboration with Phyllida Lloyd and Stage Entertainment. The show opened at the Aldwych Theatre in London in April 2018 with Adrienne Warren in the lead role. Warren reprised her role on Broadway in the fall of 2019.
Turner received the 2018 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and her second memoir, My Love Story, was released in October 2018. In 2020, she came out of retirement to collaborate with Norwegian producer Kygo on a remix of "What's Love Got to Do with It". With this release, she became the first artist to have a top 40 hit in seven consecutive decades in the UK.
In 2020, Turner released her third book, Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good. She co-wrote the book with American author Taro Gold and Swiss singer Regula Curti. It was chosen by Amazon's editors as a Best Nonfiction book of 2020. In 2021, Turner appeared in the documentary film Tina directed by Dan Lindsay and T. J. Martin.
In October 2021, Turner sold her music rights to BMG Rights Management for an estimated $50 million, with Warner Music still handling distribution of her music. Later that month, Turner was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist, accepting her award via satellite from her home near Zurich, Switzerland.
## Personal life
### Relationships and marriages
#### Early relationships
While still in Brownsville, Turner fell in love for the first time with Harry Taylor. They met at a high school basketball game. Taylor initially attended a different school, but he relocated to be near her. In 1986, she told Rolling Stone: "Harry was real popular and had tons of girlfriends, but eventually I got him, and we went steady for a year." Their relationship ended after she discovered that Taylor had married another girl who was expecting his child.
After moving to St. Louis, Turner and her sister Alline became acquainted with Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm. Alline was dating the band's drummer Eugene Washington and Bullock began dating the saxophonist Raymond Hill. After Turner became pregnant during her senior year of high school, she moved in with Hill, who lived with Ike Turner. She recalled, "I didn't love him as much as I'd loved Harry. But he was good-looking. I thought, 'My baby's going to be beautiful.'" Their relationship ended after Hill broke his ankle during a wrestling match with Kings of Rhythm singer Carlson Oliver. Hill returned to his hometown of Clarksdale before their son Craig was born in August 1958, leaving Turner to become a single parent.
#### Ike Turner
Turner likened her early relationship with Ike Turner to that of a "brother and sister from another lifetime". They were platonic friends from the time they met in 1956 until 1960. Their affair began while Ike was with his live-in girlfriend Lorraine Taylor. They became intimate when she went to sleep with him after another musician threatened to go into her room.
After recording "A Fool in Love" in 1960, a pregnant Turner told Ike that she did not want to continue their relationship; he responded by striking her in the head with a wooden shoe stretcher. Turner recalled that this incident was the first time he "instilled fear" in her, but she decided to stay with him because she "really did care about him". After the birth of their son Ronnie in October 1960, they moved to Los Angeles in 1962 and married in Tijuana. In 1963, Ike purchased a house in the View Park area. They brought their son Ronnie, Turner's son Craig, and Ike's two sons with Lorraine (Ike Jr. and Michael) from St. Louis to live with them. She later revealed in I, Tina that Ike was abusive and promiscuous throughout their marriage, which led to her suicide attempt in 1968 by overdosing on Valium pills. She said, "It was my relationship with Ike that made me most unhappy. At first, I had really been in love with him. Look what he'd done for me. But he was totally unpredictable." Later on, in his old age, Ike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
By the mid-1970s, Ike was heavily addicted to cocaine, which hindered his relationship with Turner. She abruptly left Ike after they got into a bloody fight on their way to the Dallas Statler Hilton on July 1, 1976. She fled with only 36 cents and a Mobil credit card in her pocket to the nearby Ramada Inn across the freeway. On July 27, Turner filed for divorce on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Her divorce petition asked for $4,000 a month in alimony, $1,000 a month in child support, and custody of her sons Craig and Ronnie. The divorce was finalized on March 29, 1978. In the final divorce decree, Turner took responsibility for missed concert dates as well as an IRS lien. Turner retained songwriter royalties from songs she had written, but Ike got the publishing royalties for his compositions and hers. She also kept her two Jaguars, furs, jewelry, and her stage name. Turner gave Ike her share of their Bolic Sound recording studio, publishing companies, and real estate, and he kept his four cars. Several promoters lost money and sued to recoup their losses. For almost two years, she received food stamps and played small clubs to pay off debts.
Ike Turner stated on several occasions that he was never officially married to Turner because he was legally married to another woman at the time of their ceremony. However, they had a common-law marriage and still had to go through a formal divorce. He also stated that her birth name was Martha Nell Bullock (not Anna Mae Bullock). She signed her legal name as Martha Nell Turner on multiple contracts.
In his autobiography Takin' Back My Name, Ike Turner stated: "Sure, I've slapped Tina. We had fights and there have been times when I punched her to the ground without thinking. But I never beat her." In a 1999 interview on The Roseanne Show, Roseanne Barr urged Ike to publicly apologize to Turner. In 2007, Ike told Jet that he still loved her and he had written a letter apologizing for "putting her and the kids through that kind of stuff", but he never sent it.
After his death on December 12, 2007, Turner issued a brief statement through her spokesperson: "Tina hasn't had any contact with Ike in more than 30 years. No further comment will be made." Turner's sister Alline still considered Ike her brother-in-law and attended his funeral. Phil Spector criticized Tina Turner at the funeral. Turner told The Sunday Times in 2018 that "as an old person, I have forgiven him, but I would not work with him. He asked for one more tour with me, and I said, 'No, absolutely not.' Ike wasn't someone you could forgive and allow him back in."
#### Erwin Bach
In 1986, Turner met German music executive Erwin Bach, who was sent by her European record label (EMI) to greet Turner at Düsseldorf Airport. Bach was over sixteen years her junior. Initially friends, they began dating later that year. In July 2013, after a 27-year romantic relationship, they married in a civil ceremony on the banks of Lake Zurich in Küsnacht, Switzerland.
### Children
Turner had two biological sons: one with Kings of Rhythm saxophonist Raymond Hill, named Raymond Craig, born on August 20, 1958, and the other with Ike Turner, Ronald "Ronnie" Renelle Turner, born on October 27, 1960. She also adopted two of Ike Turner's children, raising them as her own. Turner was 18 years of age when she gave birth to her eldest son. Ike Turner adopted Raymond Craig Hill, and changed his name to Craig Raymond Turner. Craig was found dead in an apparent suicide in July 2018.
Turner's younger son, Ronnie, played bass guitar in a band called Manufactured Funk with songwriter and musician Patrick Moten. Ronnie also played for both of his parents' bands. Through him, Turner had two grandchildren. He was married to French singer Afida Turner. Ronnie died from complications of colon cancer in December 2022.
During Turner's divorce trial, Ike sent their four sons to live with Tina and gave her money for one month's rent. Ike Turner Jr. worked as a sound engineer at Bolic Sound and briefly for Turner after her divorce, later winning a Grammy Award for producing his father's album Risin' with the Blues. He toured with former Ikette Randi Love as Sweet Randi Love and the Love Thang Band. Ike Turner Jr. stated that he and his brothers had a distant relationship with their mother (Tina). Turner wrote in her autobiography I, Tina that after her divorce she became "a little bit estranged" from all her sons except Craig. In 1989, Turner told TV Week that "she's still there for the boys", but there were reports of Turner's estrangement from her sons in the years before her death.
### Religious beliefs
Turner sometimes referred to herself as a "Buddhist–Baptist", alluding to her upbringing in the Baptist church where her father was a deacon and her later conversion to Buddhism as an adult. In a 2016 interview with Lion's Roar magazine, she declared, "I consider myself a Buddhist." The February 15, 1979, issue of Jet magazine featured Turner with her Buddhist altar on the cover. Turner credited the Liturgy of Nichiren Daishonin and Soka Gakkai International for her introduction to spiritual knowledge.
Turner stated in her 1986 autobiography I, Tina that she was introduced to Nichiren Buddhism by one of Ike Turner's mistresses named Valerie Bishop, who taught her the chant nam-myōhō-renge-kyō in 1973. Turner later stated in her 2020 spiritual memoir Happiness Becomes You that her son, Ronnie Turner, first suggested she might benefit from chanting. Turner practiced Buddhism with her neighborhood Soka Gakkai International chanting group. After chanting, Turner noticed positive changes in her life, which she attributed to her newfound spiritual practice. She said: "I realized that I had within me everyone I needed to change my life for the better." During the hardest times of her life, Turner chanted four hours per day, and although in later life she no longer chanted as much, she still maintained a daily practice. Turner likened Buddhist chanting to singing. She told Lion's Roar: "Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is a song. In the Soka Gakkai tradition we are taught how to sing it. It is a sound and a rhythm and it touches a place inside you. That place we try to reach is the subconscious mind. I believe that it is the highest place and, if you communicate with it, that is when you receive information on what to do." Dramatizations of Turner chanting were included both in the 1993 film What's Love Got to Do with It and in the 2021 documentary film Tina.
Turner met with the 14th Dalai Lama, in Einsiedeln, Switzerland, on August 2, 2005. She also met with Swiss-Tibetan Buddhist singer Dechen Shak-Dagsay and in 2009 co-created a spiritual music project with Shak-Dagsay and Swiss singer Regula Curti called Beyond.
### Residences, citizenship, and wealth
Turner began living at Château Algonquin in Küsnacht on the shore of Lake Zurich in 1994. She had previously owned property in Cologne, London, and Los Angeles, and a villa on the French Riviera named Anna Fleur.
In 2013, Turner applied for Swiss citizenship, stating she would renounce her citizenship in the United States. The stated reasons for the relinquishment were that she no longer had any strong connections to the United States and "has no plans to reside" there in the future. In April, she undertook a mandatory citizenship test which included advanced knowledge of German (the official language of the canton of Zurich) and of Swiss history. On April 22, 2013, she became a citizen of Switzerland and was issued a Swiss passport. Turner signed the paperwork to relinquish her American citizenship at the US embassy in Bern on October 24, 2013.
Turner's wealth was estimated at 225 million Swiss francs (about US$250 million) in 2022 by the Swiss business magazine Bilanz.
## Illness and death
Turner revealed in her 2018 memoir My Love Story that she had multiple life-threatening illnesses. She had had high blood pressure since 1978, which remained mostly untreated, and resulted in damage to her kidneys and eventual kidney failure. In 2013, three weeks after her wedding to Erwin Bach, she had a stroke and needed to learn to walk again. In 2016, she was diagnosed with intestinal cancer. She attempted to treat her health problems with homeopathy, which worsened her condition.
Her chances of receiving a kidney transplant were considered low and she was urged to start dialysis. She signed up with an organization that facilitates assisted suicide, a procedure which is legal in Switzerland, becoming a member of Exit International. However, her husband offered to donate a kidney for transplant. She accepted his donation and had kidney transplantation surgery on April 7, 2017. Turner also openly discussed her feeling of shame after discovering that she had dyslexia.
On May 24, 2023, Turner died at her home in Küsnacht, Switzerland, aged 83, following years of illness. Turner's body was cremated after a private funeral.
In the aftermath of her death, many fellow artists mourned her loss, including Beyoncé,Dolly Parton, Debbie Harry, Gloria Gaynor, Kerry Katona, Jimmy Barnes, Peter Andre, Lionel Richie, Elton John, Madonna, Rod Stewart, Lizzo, Brittany Howard, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Cher. Fantasia and Patti LaBelle, respectively, paid tribute to Turner with a rendition of "Proud Mary" at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards and a rendition of "The Best" at the 2023 BET Awards.
Turner also received tributes by British model Naomi Campbell, as well as film and television figures such as Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett, Jenifer Lewis, Forest Whitaker, and Bette Midler and theater producer Joop van den Ende. US president Joe Biden, as well as former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and Swiss president Alain Berset also paid tribute to Turner through public statements. King Charles III paid tribute by allowing "The Best" to be performed during the changing of the guard. On May 25, 2023, theatres across the West End of London, dimmed their lights for two minutes to mark Turner's passing.
## Musical legacy and accolades
Often referred to as "The Queen of Rock and Roll", Turner is considered one of the greatest singers of all time. An article in The Guardian in 2018 noted her "swagger, sensuality, gravelly vocals and unstoppable energy", while The New York Times in 1996 noted that she was known for the appearance of her legs. Journalist Kurt Loder asserted that Turner's voice combined "the emotional force of the great blues singers with a sheer, wallpaper-peeling power that seemed made to order for the age of amplification". Daphne A. Brooks, a scholar of African-American studies, wrote for The Guardian:
> Turner merged sound and movement at a critical turning point in rock history, navigating and reflecting back the technological innovations of a new pop-music era in the 60s and 70s. She catapulted herself to the forefront of a musical revolution that had long marginalized and overlooked the pioneering contributions of African American women and then remade herself again at an age when most pop musicians were hitting the oldies circuit. Turner's musical character has always been a charged combination of mystery as well as light, melancholy mixed with a ferocious vitality that often flirted with danger.
### Awards, honors and achievements
Turner previously held a Guinness World Record for the largest paying audience (180,000 in 1988) for a solo performer. In the UK, Turner was the first artist to have a top 40 hit in seven consecutive decades; she has a total of 35 UK top 40 hits. She sold over 100 million records worldwide, including certified RIAA album sales of 10 million. As of May 2023, Turner has reportedly sold around 100 to 150 million records worldwide.
Turner won a total of 12 Grammy Awards. These awards include eight competitive Grammy Awards; she shares the record (with Pat Benatar, and with Sheryl Crow) for most awards (four) given for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Three of her recordings, "River Deep – Mountain High" (1999), "Proud Mary" (2003), and "What's Love Got to Do with It" (2012) are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Turner is the only female artist to have won a Grammy in the pop, rock, and R\&B fields. Turner received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018. Turner also won Grammys as a member of USA for Africa and as a performer at the 1986 Prince's trust concert.
Turner received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986 and a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame in 1991. After her death, her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was covered with flowers from loving fans. Fans around the world paid respect with flowers and candles lit outside her home in Switzerland and outside London's Aldwych Theatre – the home of the musical Tina. Gloria Gaynor said Turner "paved the way for so many women in rock music, black and white". Turner was also praised by Mariah Carey and Oprah Winfrey as a "survivor" who overcame years of domestic abuse. Michelle and Barack Obama praised her for "singing her truth through joy and pain". The charity Women's Aid paid tribute with a quote from one of Turner's songs, saying: "She will always be simply the best."
She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a duo with Ike Turner in 1991. In 2005, Turner received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. President George W. Bush commented on her "natural skill, the energy and sensuality", and referred to her legs as "the most famous in show business". Several artists paid tribute to her that night including Melissa Etheridge (performing "River Deep – Mountain High"), Queen Latifah (performing "What's Love Got to Do with It"), Beyoncé (performing "Proud Mary"), and Al Green (performing "Let's Stay Together"). Oprah Winfrey stated, "We don't need another hero. We need more heroines like you, Tina. You make me proud to spell my name w-o-m-a-n." In 2021, Turner was inducted by Angela Bassett into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. Keith Urban and H.E.R. performed "It's Only Love", Mickey Guyton performed "What's Love Got to Do with It", and Christina Aguilera performed "River Deep – Mountain High".
Turner has also received the following honors:
- 1967: Turner was the first black artist and first female on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine (Issue No. 2).
- 1993: World Music Awards presented Turner with the Legend Award.
- 1993: Essence Awards honored Turner with the Living Legend Award.
- 1996: Turner received the accolade of Légion d'Honneur from the French education minister.
- 1999: Turner ranked No. 2 on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll.
- 2002: Tennessee State Route 19 between Brownsville and Nutbush was named "Tina Turner Highway".
- 2003: Rolling Stone ranked Proud Mary: The Best of Ike & Tina Turner No. 212 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (No. 214 on 2012 revised list).
- 2004: People ranked her 1985 performance of "What's Love Got to Do With It" as one of the top 10 Grammy moments.
- 2008: Rolling Stone ranked Turner No. 17 on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.
- 2009: Time ranked her 1985 performance of "What's Love Got to Do With It" as one of the top 10 Grammy moments.
- 2010: Rolling Stone ranked Turner No. 63 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
- 2013: Turner covered Vogue Germany, becoming the oldest person (aged 73) to cover Vogue magazine, surpassing Meryl Streep (aged 62) who covered American Vogue in 2012.
- 2014: Turner was inducted into the Soul Music Hall of Fame.
- 2015: Rolling Stone ranked Ike & Tina Turner No. 2 on their list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.
- 2015: Ike & Tina Turner were inducted into the St. Louis Classic Rock Hall of Fame.
- 2016: An image of Turner taken by Jack Robinson in 1969 was used as the cover for The Last Shadow Puppets album Everything You've Come to Expect.
- 2019: Turner was inducted into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.
- 2020: Private Dancer was added to the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
- 2021: Turner became a two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.
- 2021: Turner received an honorary doctorate for her "unique musical and artistic life's work" from the Philosophical and Historical Faculty of the University of Bern.
- 2022: Mattel released a Barbie doll in Turner's likeness to commemorate her single "What's Love Got to Do with It".
- 2023: Rolling Stone ranked Turner No. 55 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
## Discography
### Studio albums
- Tina Turns the Country On\! (1974)
- Acid Queen (1975)
- Rough (1978)
- Love Explosion (1979)
- Private Dancer (1984)
- Break Every Rule (1986)
- Foreign Affair (1989)
- Wildest Dreams (1996)
- Twenty Four Seven (1999)
## Tours
- 1977: Australian Tour
- 1978: Tina Turner Revue
- 1979: Tina Turner Show
- 1981–1983: Tina Turner: Live in Concert
- 1984: 1984 World Tour
- 1985: Private Dancer Tour
- 1987–1988: Break Every Rule World Tour
- 1990: Foreign Affair: The Farewell Tour
- 1993: What's Love? Tour
- 1996–1997: Wildest Dreams Tour
- 2000: Twenty Four Seven Tour
- 2008–2009: Tina\!: 50th Anniversary Tour
### As opening act
- 1981: American Tour 1981 (for the Rolling Stones)
- 1981: Worth Leavin' Home For Tour (for Rod Stewart)
- 1984: Can't Slow Down Tour (for Lionel Richie)
## Filmography
## Books
- Tina\! (1985).
- I, Tina: My Life Story (1986)
- My Love Story: A Memoir, Atria Books (2018)
- Happiness Becomes You: A Guide to Changing Your Life for Good, Atria Books (2020)
- Tina Turner: That's My Life (2020) |
# Si Tú Te Vas (Enrique Iglesias song)
"Si Tú Te Vas" (English: "If You Go Away") is a song by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias from his 1995 eponymous debut studio album. The song was co-written by Iglesias when he was 16 and his friend Roberto Morales with Rafael Pérez-Botija handling its production. It was released as the lead single from the album in October 1995. Iglesias recorded a demo of the song which was accepted by Guillermo Santiso, the president of Fonovisa Records, which led to Iglesias signing on with the company. A pop ballad, the song is about a man inspired by love and is afraid of a farewell. A music video for the song was filmed in New York and led to Iglesias being nominated for Best New Artist at the 1996 MTV Latino Awards.
The song received mixed reactions with two music critics giving it a favorable review and was cited as one of Iglesias' 10 best tracks while a reviewer was not impressed by it. "Si Tú Te Vas" won the Lo Nuestro Award for Pop Song of the Year in 1996 as well as the Eres awards for Best Song and Best Video in the same year. The song was a recipient of an American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Latin Award in 1996 and 1997. Commercially, it topped the Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Latin Pop Airplay charts in the United States. The track spent eight weeks at this position on the former chart and ranked number 6 on its year-end chart. It also topped the charts in Mexico, Panama and Puerto Rico; reached the top-ten in Belgium, El Salvador, Bolivia and Peru; and also peaked at number 27 in France.
## Background and composition
Enrique Iglesias, the youngest child of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias, began co-writing songs as a teenager with his friend Roberto Morales and continued to do so while studying at the University of Miami for business administration. One of the songs they wrote together when Iglesias was 16 was "Si Tú Te Vas". In 1994, Iglesias invited his father's publicist, Fernán Martinez, to listen to his music which Martinez enjoyed. When searching for a label to sign on, Iglesias asked Martinez to not his father's surname which led to Martinez auditioning the singer as a Colombian singer named "Enrique Martinez", adopting the publicist's surname. Iglesias borrowed $4,000 ($7,240 in 2021) from his nanny Elvira Olivares to record a demo of "Si Tú Te Vas" without his father's knowledge.
After being turned down by three major Latin music labels, Guillermo Santiso, the president of Fonovisa Records, was impressed with both the demo of the song and the photo of the artist. "The voice was very masculine and different" Santiso recalled and the artist was then signed on to the company. As Iglesias had not informed his parents that he began pursuing a music career, he could not record in either Spain or South America, which led him to doing it in Canada. The eponymous album, which was produced by Spanish musician Rafael Pérez-Botija, was released in late 1995. A pop ballad, "Si Tú Te Vas" speaks of a "sensitive young man, inspired by love and who shouts it (and sings it) to the four winds, and is in love to the core". He confesses that his fears about a farewell could "leave him adrift in his own sea of tears".
## Promotion and reception
"Si Tú Te Vas" was released as the lead single from the album in October 1995. The music video was filmed in New York and premiered on 4 October 1995 as a screen projection on a side wall of the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. It features an overhead light, a microphone, and a woman and several scenes in black and white. Iglesias is wearing trousers and a jacket with the wind blowing his hair at his forehead which Los 40 editor Juan Vicente commented that it "defined him as a Latin balladeer or crooner like his father". At the 1996 MTV Latino Awards, the video led to Iglesias being nominated for "Best New Artist", but lost to "De Repente" by Soraya. Iglesias performed "Si Tú Te Vas" live on Sábado Gigante in 1995, which Billboard contributor Angie Romero listed as one of the show's "10 Best Musical Moments". An Italian- and Portuguese-language version of the track was recorded under their respective titles, "Se Te Ne Vai" and "Se Você Se Vai". The song was later included on Iglesias' compilation albums The Best Hits (1999) and Enrique Iglesias: 95/08 Éxitos (2008). A remix version of the song was included on his album Remixes (1998). It was also featured on the compilation album La Historia de los Exitos (2009) by Fonovisa Records to celebrate the record label's 25th anniversary.
Thessa Mooij of Music & Media called the song a "perfect summertime blues ballad with plenty of drama and arrangements". An editor for El Nuevo Herald noted that it has an "enormous resemblance" to his father. The Democrat and Chronicle critic Manuel Rivera-Ortiz unfavorably considered the song to be "drippy and not as love-inspiring as it hopes to be". Los 40 writer Noemi Fernández listed it as one of Iglesias' ten best songs. At the 8th Annual Lo Nuestro Awards in 1996, it was awarded in the category of Pop Song of the Year. At the Premios Eres in the same year, it won "Best Song" and Best Video". The track was recognized as one of the best-performing songs of the year on the Pop/Ballad field at the 1996 American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) Latin Awards and was awarded in the same category the following year.
In the US, "Si Tú Te Vas" debuted at number 22 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart on the week of 14 October 1995. It reached the top of the chart on the week of 30 December 1995, where it spent a total of eight nonconsecutive weeks at this position. It also topped the Billboard Latin Pop Airplay chart for two weeks. The song also peaked at number three on the Regional Mexican Airplay chart. Fonovisa heavily promoted Iglesias on Regional Mexican radio stations which did not typically play pop music by non Mexican artists. "Si Tú Te Vas" ended 1996 as the sixth best-performing song on the Hot Latin Songs chart. It peaked at number two on the Mexican ballads chart with the top stop being held off by Marta Sánchez's song "Arena y Sol".
In Belgium, it peaked at number six and eight on the Ultratop charts in the Flanders and Wallonia regions, respectively. The song reached number 21 in France, where it received heavy rotations on the French radio networks RTL and NRJ. MCA Director of International Marketing Kate Farmer noted was "quite an unusual response for France" while label manager Sophie Louvet mentioned that the French media are "usually very slow. Sometimes it takes six months to get airplay or a review". The song was covered by Mexican band Paco Barron y sus Norteños Clan on their album Norteños de Pura Sangre (1996) as a Mexican cumbia medley. It was performed as part of a potpourri where the band performs other songs by Iglesias under the title "Potpourri de Quique". The medley peaked at number 10 and 7 on the Hot Latin Songs and Regional Mexican charts, respectively, and led to Iglesias and Morales being awarded an ASCAP Latin Award in 1998 on the Regional Mexican field.
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
### All-time charts
## See also
- Billboard Hot Latin Songs Year-End Chart
- List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1995
- List of number-one Billboard Hot Latin Tracks of 1996
- List of Billboard Latin Pop Airplay number ones of 1996 |
# WDJT-TV
WDJT-TV (channel 58) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Weigel Broadcasting alongside three other stations in southeastern Wisconsin: independent station WMLW-TV (channel 49), MeTV station WBME-CD (channel 41), and Telemundo affiliate WYTU-LD (channel 63). The stations share studios in the Renaissance Center office complex on South 60th Street in West Allis; WDJT-TV's transmitter is located in Milwaukee's Lincoln Park.
Channel 58 went on the air in November 1988 as a lower-tier independent station subsisting on classic reruns and movies, as well as programs not aired by Milwaukee's network affiliates. The construction permit had originally been awarded to a company owned by two minority stockholders, whose initials are preserved in the station's call letters. However, the terminal illness of one of the partners created funding problems only solved when the surviving partner sold controlling interest to Weigel, who eventually became sole owner. WDJT-TV gradually increased its profile in the market over the course of the early 1990s, notably by carrying gavel-to-gavel coverage of the murder trial of Jeffrey Dahmer.
In 1994, Milwaukee's then-CBS affiliate, WITI, announced it would switch to Fox. This decision led to an especially lengthy search by CBS for a new affiliate in Milwaukee. The other Milwaukee independents and WDJT-TV alike initially rebuffed the network's overtures, leaving CBS scrambling for a new affiliate with only weeks before WITI was due to join Fox. Channel 58 finally committed to becoming a CBS affiliate just six days before doing so on December 11, 1994. Over the next two years, WDJT-TV started a local news operation—which has since expanded to provide news programming for two additional Weigel stations in the market and throughout the day—and built a new transmitter tower to provide a full-market signal, which it had previously lacked. The station has since helped Weigel launch new national digital multicast networks.
## History
### Launch and early struggles
In 1983, Harry C. Powell Jr., a Florida man, successfully petitioned the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to add a new allocation for ultra high frequency (UHF) channel 58 in Milwaukee. Powell stated that he intended to apply for a license with the help of a Knoxville, Tennessee, consulting firm if the commission approved. With channel 58 now allocated to Milwaukee, the commission took applications for the station, ending with a 13-party field which included Powell, five applicants residing in Knoxville, and several groups consisting of local investors. One of these groups included then-state senator Gary George. This field thinned quickly to six applicants and then to two in October. In March 1985, the FCC rejected another applicant and issued a decision in favor of TV 58 Limited, a minority-owned firm headed by Debra M. Jackson and Milwaukee media veteran John Torres, who had worked for multiple radio stations and local Spanish-language newspaper La Guardia. Debra Jackson originally suggested naming the station WJMT—Torres's initials—but the designation was not available, thus the selection of WDJT-TV, combining both their initials.
TV 58 Limited faced financial trouble from the start when it agreed to pay out settlements to other applicants, including George, in exchange for them withdrawing their applications. A new burden surfaced when Jackson was diagnosed with a terminal illness—dying in January 1987—and the lenders that had originally committed interim financing backed out of their deals. In February 1986, one of the applicants with which TV 58 Limited had settled forced the company into involuntary bankruptcy. The Carley Capital Group of Madison negotiated to provide funding to keep the business afloat, but it withdrew by early August, and a new company entered the picture: Weigel Broadcasting, the Chicago-based owner of WCIU-TV in that city. Torres agreed to sell controlling interest in the station to Weigel, while the call letters were retained.
Weigel, in association with Torres, spent the next two years trying to put WDJT-TV on the air. Weigel proposed construction of facilities in various suburbs, including Glendale, where it was rebuffed twice in two years, and Germantown, where the village rejected Weigel's plans. Objections to the proposed 1,000-foot (300 m) tower called it unsightly. To get the station on the air, Weigel instead decided to locate at a downtown site with a lengthy history of television in the city: the Marc Plaza Hotel. The antenna on the original mast atop the building—first used as a transmitting site by early UHF station WCAN-TV in 1953 and at the time utilized by low-power outlet W08BY—was replaced in October in preparation for the station's launch.
After a $2.3 million expenditure, WDJT-TV began broadcasting on November 10, 1988. Known as "Classic 58", it presented a mix of older sitcoms and movies with a family orientation, a programming philosophy favored by Torres. The next year, Weigel also launched W46AR, a low-power station carrying Univision, giving it three signals in the area along with a preexisting WCIU translator, W65BT, and WDJT-TV. The station also resurrected The Bowling Game, a bowling program that had previously enjoyed an 11-year run on established Milwaukee independent WVTV (channel 18) and continued on channel 58 until 1993.
At the station's launch, Torres served as the vice president of operations; he later sued Weigel for forcing him out of the company by having him sell to an affiliated company, a case that resulted in an out-of-court settlement. A Delaware court ruled in favor of Torres in a case involving undervaluation of his stock in the partnership in 1993.
The station's programming of syndicated shows and movies was bolstered by a variety of network programs preempted by the networks' Milwaukee affiliates; in late 1990, WDJT-TV was airing America Tonight from CBS, Loving and Match Game from ABC, and four shows from NBC. In 1992, WDJT-TV put itself on the map by teaming up with WITI, then the CBS affiliate in Milwaukee, to air nonstop coverage during the trial of Jeffrey Dahmer, a serial killer from Milwaukee, thus making it available to non-cable homes in the Milwaukee area and allowing WITI to air its normal programming. The trial coverage was credited by station management with making people aware that there was even a station on channel 58 in the first place; at times during the weeks-long trial, 15 to 20 percent of Milwaukee TV homes were tuned to WDJT-TV, and it also was added to at least one cable system as a result at a time when must-carry rules were not in effect. Local programming efforts included the first locally produced children's TV program in Milwaukee in decades: SeaToons with Captain Al Gee, which presented segments between cartoons weekday mornings but lasted only eight weeks.
With its limited presence, WDJT-TV was barely mentioned in the same breath as its more established competitors, independent WVTV and Fox affiliate WCGV-TV (channel 24). For example, a 1992 feature in The Milwaukee Journal on independent television programming in Milwaukee (at the time, WCGV, like other early Fox affiliates, was still considered an independent) consigned channel 58 to one lone mention. Its signal was only a fraction of those of channels 18 and 24; the Marc Plaza transmitter effectively limited channel 58's coverage area to Milwaukee itself and its inner-ring suburbs. On cable systems, it was on high channel positions, including channel 29 in Milwaukee and channel 48 on Warner Cable systems in suburban areas.
### CBS courtship
On May 23, 1994, Fox announced an agreement with New World Communications in which most of New World's stations would become affiliates of that network. Among those due to switch affiliations was Milwaukee's WITI. The deal, which triggered a years-long realignment process in cities nationwide, left CBS needing a new affiliate in the Milwaukee market. It approached NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV and ABC affiliate WISN-TV (which had previously carried CBS from 1961 to 1977), but each renewed their existing contracts. This left three commercial independent or soon-to-be-independent stations operating in Milwaukee as potential CBS affiliates: WVTV, WCGV-TV (about to lose Fox), and WDJT-TV.
The year before, Gaylord Broadcasting, owner of WVTV, had signed a local marketing agreement to allow WCGV-TV, then owned by ABRY Communications, to handle its programming functions. WCGV-TV moved into WVTV's building, from which it had produced a 9 p.m. local newscast until 1993. The week the New World deal was announced, however, Sinclair Broadcast Group of Baltimore closed on its previously agreed purchase of WCGV-TV. Though this would normally have made WCGV-TV a frontrunner to be the CBS affiliate, Sinclair owned no major network affiliates at the time but three Fox affiliates and two independents. CBS had an hourlong conversation with Sinclair representatives in early June, but Sinclair president David D. Smith repeatedly stated his lack of interest in aligning his station with the network; this stance was reaffirmed in early October.
Sinclair's lack of interest in the available CBS affiliation left one other viable partner—WDJT-TV—but CBS first made a longshot attempt to purchase another local station. It offered to buy Christian television station WVCY-TV, owned by Wisconsin Voice of Christian Youth, for $10 million to convert it into its new Milwaukee affiliate. However, VCY turned the offer down. Founder and chairman Vic Eliason said that even without CBS's offer being "unreasonably low", a sale to a mainstream network would have been a hypocritical "act of consummate irresponsibility".
By the end of September, talks with WDJT-TV had also broken down. On September 30, Weigel announced it would no longer pursue a CBS affiliation, saying it could not wait any further to firm up the station's future direction. Weigel president Howard Shapiro noted that the station had already entered into preliminary conversations about picking up Milwaukee Brewers baseball games and planned to implement promotional and program purchasing strategies for its existing independent lineup. It was also starting the process of fixing its comparatively weak transmitting facility by conducting a site search; it had asked to share space on WISN-TV's tower and was rebuffed. However, ownership and management did not completely rule out the possibility of CBS affiliating with WDJT-TV; Shapiro noted that "nothing is irretrievable". Even as the station inquired about affiliating with The WB, general manager Bill Le Monds stated on October 7, "You never turn off anything." The station also stepped in to carry Late Show with David Letterman, which WITI had not aired live since its debut and which WCGV-TV had been airing.
By the start of November, Milwaukee was the only market affected by the New World-Fox deal that had not secured a replacement CBS affiliate. Even though CBS had been forced to buy a second-tier station in Detroit and nearly had to do so in Atlanta to replace a New World-owned station, the network was at least assured of having affiliates in those cities once the outgoing affiliates switched to Fox. Tony Malara, head of affiliate relations for CBS, noted that time was becoming of the essence with WITI due to switch to Fox on December 11. Of Milwaukee, he said, "It certainly isn't a market where we have a plethora of choices. But the fact of the matter is that it's not necessarily the quantity, but who's available to do what and what kind of agreement, what kind of relationship can you establish?" With just two weeks to go before WITI was due to switch to Fox, the possibility increased that there might not be any CBS affiliate at all in Milwaukee. CBS was prepared to have Milwaukee cable systems pipe in nearby CBS-owned stations, WBBM-TV in Chicago and WFRV-TV in Green Bay, as a stopgap.
On November 28, Howard Shapiro met for the first time with Malara in New York City. On December 6, Shapiro and Malara jointly announced that WDJT-TV would join CBS on December 11—five days later. Weigel persuaded CBS to agree to a 10-year affiliation agreement, believing it needed time to build out channel 58 to a level commensurate with a major-network affiliate. The deal came as a relief even at WITI, where officials were waiting for a replacement CBS affiliate to be announced to help guide viewers to relocated programs through both a station helpline and print advertising. The deal also saw more CBS programs being aired in Milwaukee, as WDJT-TV agreed to clear the entire CBS schedule in pattern; for instance, WITI had not aired CBS This Morning for months and preempted Face the Nation. Some 30 percent of the station's syndicated program inventory was displaced by CBS network programming, with some shows moving to W65BT (now WBME-CD channel 41) and others to overnight time slots. As many expected with any move of CBS off VHF in Milwaukee, the network's ratings did fall precipitously. In January 1995, the CBS Evening News drew a 1.4 rating and 3 percent share of the audience, a far cry from the 9.9 rating and 17 share in January 1994 on WITI.
### Rebuilding for the CBS age
While WDJT-TV signed with CBS in time to ensure the continued over-the-air availability of CBS programming in Milwaukee, much work was needed to upgrade the station to a level befitting its new status. Its transmitter was nowhere near adequate enough to reach the entire market, and its studios did not approach the scope of a full-service network affiliate that projected to hire 60 additional people. In late December 1994, the station wrote to Milwaukee County officials suggesting three county parks as locations for a new 1,200-foot (370 m) transmission tower. WISN objected, claiming that the close proximity of WDJT-TV's proposed mast to its own facility would cause engineering and safety issues. A judge issued a preliminary injunction that upheld WISN's arguments, claiming a second tower would violate channel 12's land use agreement with Milwaukee County. Several nearby residents also objected, concerned about environmental impacts to the park. Despite these objections, the FCC dismissed WISN's petition to deny and approved the tower site in May 1996, finding that WISN was unable to prove there would be new interference and that the concerns of neighbors did not justify a denial.
While the station had hoped to begin broadcasting full-length newscasts by the end of 1995, the station was behind on setting up the city's fourth news department because it wanted to confirm a tower site before it selected a location for new studios. While WDJT-TV initially maintained its downtown offices for sales and administrative personnel, local news debuted on March 18, 1996, from facilities in the former Allis-Chalmers complex in West Allis belonging to television production company The Enterprise, Ltd. The total investment in the news operation came to $10 million.
Additionally, the new transmitter facility was activated in November 1996, giving channel 58 a coverage area comparable to the other major Milwaukee stations. The dispute with WISN-TV continued, forcing the station to install a $500,000 steel bridge over nearby Lincoln Creek just to access the tower because WISN-TV would not permit WDJT-TV's engineers to cross its land. A further technical improvement making the station more accessible came in 1998, when most local cable systems moved WDJT from higher positions to the lower channel 5.
Despite improvements in the technical facility, news, syndicated programming, and positioning, WDJT-TV has continued to trail its competitors in local ratings since becoming an affiliate. In 2001, for instance, it struggled to retain viewers for its newscasts after CBS network programs, and its 6 p.m. local newscast finished seventh or even eighth in the market. The station did have success with some new syndicated programs, notably the 2005 acquisition of game shows Jeopardy\! and Wheel of Fortune as a lead-in to prime time programming, which in turn boosted ratings for the CBS prime time lineup.
In July 2010, a flash flooding event caused damage to the Lincoln Park transmitter facility, leaving the station unable to normally broadcast for three days. While local cable systems received a direct feed from the studios and were unaffected, WTMJ-TV broadcast the station as a subchannel, reciprocating after a 2009 lightning strike disabled WTMJ-TV's transmitter and Weigel offered the station the use of a WBME subchannel temporarily.
### Subchannels and multicast experiments
In the late 2000s, Weigel began adding digital subchannels to WDJT-TV, a preview of what would later become one of its most important businesses. Aside from a simulcast of WMLW-CA, then only broadcast in analog, the first unique subchannel offering on that station was MeTV, which debuted in March 2008. Soon after, Weigel purchased WJJA-TV, then a small station primarily airing home shopping programming, and relaunched it as WBME-TV, moving MeTV there. When that transition was completed, the subchannel was freed up, and WDJT-TV was then among the first carriers of This TV, a new diginet launched from the start as a national service by Weigel and MGM on November 1, 2008.
Two subchannel ventures involving WDJT-TV have been local, not national, services. In 2009, Weigel brokered subchannel 58.4 to Shorewest Realtors of Brookfield, Wisconsin, which since 2005 had been producing a local cable channel showing real estate listings. Shorewest TV ceased broadcasting over the air in 2013 as the real estate agency concentrated on its website, including a new streaming channel. The subchannel was then used to launch TouchVision, a loop of news and weather information produced under a separate company led by former radio and Tribune Company executive Lee Abrams. This continued until 2015, when Weigel instead opted to use the subchannel to launch its new national service Decades.
## Programming
### Newscasts
As of August 2023, WDJT-TV currently broadcasts 30 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with five hours each weekday and 2+1⁄2 hours each on Saturdays and Sundays). After offering a five-minute newsbreak at 10 p.m. as a stopgap, WDJT-TV debuted weeknight early and late evening newscasts from its new West Allis facilities on March 18, 1996. The original news team consisted largely of younger on-air personalities, including a reporter on the local entertainment beat, while the total news staff numbered 35. The intention was to match a shift in CBS's network programming at the time toward young audiences. However, when CBS shifted toward older viewers, WDJT-TV found itself needing to retool the news operation; as part of the changes, in 1997, the station also added weekend newscasts. A morning newscast was added in 2001, but the station was still not considered a contender in the Milwaukee market. More recent news expansions include a noon newscast in 2011, an expansion of the morning news to a 4:30 a.m. start in 2013, the introduction of 4 p.m. news in 2015, and additional newscasts on weekend mornings in 2021.
The WDJT newsroom provides news aired on three of Weigel's local stations. In 1997, when W46AR (now WYTU-LD) moved to the new Lincoln Park tower, WDJT began offering Spanish-language local news updates given by a bilingual reporter, Saúl Garza. A regular nightly newscast in Spanish debuted in 2007. Since 2008, the station has produced a 9 p.m. newscast for WMLW, which began as a trial during the 2007 World Series (when Fox affiliate WITI was committed to baseball coverage) and became an hour-long program in 2016. In 2020, a 7 a.m. morning news extension also debuted on WMLW. WDJT-TV also produced the newscast aired by WBND-LD, Weigel's ABC affiliate in South Bend, Indiana, until Weigel established its own newsroom there in April 2011.
In 2007, one of the station's newsgathering vehicles, parked on ice during a story on ice safety at Big Muskego Lake in Muskego, fell through the ice and sank, a loss worth as much as $250,000.
### Sports programming
In 2024, WDJT parent company Weigel Broadcasting announced an agreement to broadcast ten Milwaukee Bucks games during the 2023–24 NBA season; the station already had an agreement to provide news and weather updates for fans in attendance at Fiserv Forum as the team's official weather forecaster. All 10 games will air on sister network WMLW-TV, though the February 23 game will be simulcast on WDJT-TV and the March 4 game will be aired in Spanish by sister network WYTU-LD.
## Notable current on-air staff
- Pavlina Osta - anchor/reporter
## Notable former on-air staff
- Dawn Mitchell – sports anchor/reporter
- Tammie Souza – chief meteorologist
## Technical information
### Subchannels
The station's signal is multiplexed with standard-definition versions of the main feeds of WBME-CD, WMLW-TV, and WYTU-LD, as well as Weigel's Start TV diginet, which are only broadcast at low power on their originating stations.
### Analog-to-digital conversion
WDJT-TV shut down its analog signal on channel 58, at 11:59 p.m. on June 12, 2009, the official date on which full-power television stations in the United States transitioned from analog to digital broadcasts under federal mandate. The station's digital signal continued to broadcasts on its pre-transition channel 46, using virtual channel 58. For the rest of 2009, WYTU-LP served as an analog simulcast of WDJT-TV's main subchannel. |
# The Witness (2016 video game)
The Witness is a 2016 puzzle video game developed and published by Thekla, Inc. Inspired by Myst, the game involves the exploration of an open world island filled with natural and man-made structures. The player progresses by solving puzzles, which are based on interactions with grids presented on panels around the island or paths hidden within the environment. The game provides no direct instructions for how these puzzles are to be solved, requiring the player to identify the meaning of symbols in the puzzles. A central design element to the game was how these puzzles are presented so that the player can achieve a moment of inspiration through trial and error and gain that comprehension themselves.
Announced in 2009, The Witness had a lengthy development period. Jonathan Blow, the game's lead designer, started work on the title in 2008, shortly after releasing Braid. The financial success of Braid allowed him to hire a larger production team without ceding creative control over the final product. To create the game's visual language, the team developed their own game engine and retained artists, architects, and landscape architects to design the structures on the island. This required a protracted development process, and the game's release was delayed from 2013 to 2016. Blow desired to create a game around non-verbal communication, wanting players to learn from observation and to come to epiphanies in finding solutions and leading to a greater sense of involvement and accomplishment with each success. The game includes around 650 puzzles, though the player is not required to solve them all to finish the game.
The Witness was released for Windows and PlayStation 4 in January 2016, with later versions released for the Xbox One, Nvidia Shield, macOS, and iOS. Original plans for release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 were abandoned as the game engine became more demanding, and the team ultimately opted for an initial release on Windows and the PlayStation 4, with support for other platforms following. The Witness received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised the difficult but surmountable puzzles and the game's art and setting. Within a week of release, the game had sold over 100,000 copies, which was about as many copies as Braid had done within a year of its release, nearly recouping all of the development costs for the game.
## Gameplay
The Witness is a first-person puzzle video game. The player, as an unnamed character, emerges from an underground bunker and explores an island with numerous structures and natural formations. The island is roughly divided into eleven regions, arranged around a mountain that represents the ultimate goal for the player. The regions are differentiated from one another by changes in vegetation, and the puzzles within each region are similar to one another (e.g. their solutions may all involve symmetry). Throughout the island are yellow boxes housing turrets. These can be activated once the puzzles within the box's region have been solved. When activated, the turrets emerge to shine a light toward the top of the mountain, indicating that a section of the game is complete. Several such turrets need to be activated to unlock access to the inside of the mountain and ultimately reach the game's final goal. Additional puzzles can be discovered if all eleven turrets are activated. Once the player finishes the ending puzzle, they are carried through the air by a cage and returned to the bunker where the game began.
There are additional optional puzzles scattered around the island. One such set of puzzles, accessible after entering the mountain and colloquially referred to as "The Challenge", is a time-based test to complete about a dozen algorithmically generated puzzles of various types within seven minutes. The sequence is set to music from Edvard Grieg's "Anitra's Dance" and "In the Hall of the Mountain King". The game has more than 650 puzzles, which Jonathan Blow estimates will take the average player about 80 hours to solve. The puzzles include one that Blow believed that less than 1% of the players would be able to solve.
Mechanically, all puzzles in The Witness are solved in the same way: a path is drawn on a grid. For a path to be a solution to a puzzle, it must satisfy a number of rules. The rules are usually simple. For example, in a grid with white and black squares, a path may be required to separate the different kinds of squares, as illustrated to the left. The rules are taught to the player throughout the course of the game by the puzzles themselves, as such, there is no text or dialogue directly explaining a puzzle's rules. While the rules a path must satisfy can differ substantially across the game, at least three rules apply to all puzzles: paths must always begin from a round node, end on a line segment with a rounded end, and avoid self-intersection. As such, many of the game's puzzles can be classified as mazes.
The game has two modes of interaction. The first, a walking mode, allows the player to move around and explore the island. The second, the path-drawing mode, is the one the player uses to attempt to solve puzzles. This mode is distinguished from the former by a white border around the screen. In path-drawing mode, the player's avatar is prevented from moving and instead allows the player to use their controls to trace the path through the puzzle's grid. The mode ends once the player solves the puzzle or cancels the mode. Normally, this mode is activated in front of a panel, moving the player's view directly to the panel to solve it, but it can also be activated at any other time. Nearly all puzzles provide immediate feedback if they have been solved correctly or not through sound effects or visual indication.
Most puzzles are easy to identify, located on recognizable eye-level panels scattered around the island. Sometimes several panels will be clustered together, as is typically done when the game is teaching a rule to the player. Most panels are daisy-chained to one another with power cables; solving one will light-up the cable, and unlock another panel. When this occurs in one of the game's regions, the complexity of the puzzles increases as the player works towards unlocking the region's yellow box (the size of the grids may increase, the region's rules may be refined, or new rules may be created). Though puzzles in a given region usually need to be completed in order, the regions themselves do not. This gives the game an open-world feel and allows players who get stuck in one region to move on to another.
Sometimes the rules of a puzzle depend not on the elements in its grid, but on the environment itself (for example, studying a tree whose branch structure mimics that of a nearby grid). There are also a number of optional environmental puzzles, where a single path is disguised in the environment. As with the game's grid puzzles, these are solved by entering path-drawing mode and tracing out the path. However, the components of such paths are distributed across different parts of the environment and disconnected. Only when a path is viewed from a certain perspective do the components join together to form a continuous path. The player then needs to find the correct viewpoint to complete the puzzle. Completing one such puzzle early in the game leads to an alternate ending, which culminates in a live-action sequence, apparently from the player's point-of-view, as they finish the game and take off their virtual reality (VR) headset, having seemingly been lost in the game for several days. They try to get back to their senses but still look for the game's puzzles in the real-life environment.
Throughout the island are audio recordings that provide insightful quotes for the player, from people such as Buddha, B.F. Skinner, and William Kingdon Clifford. Voice actors for these logs include Ashley Johnson, Phil LaMarr, Matthew Waterson, and Terra Deva. The player can also encounter a theater where short video clips, such as from James Burke's Connections series or the ending of Andrei Tarkovsky's Nostalghia, can be viewed. A number of visual illusions based on depth perception from the player's position can be found in the game's environment, such as two seemingly disparate human figures at different parts of the island that appear to be holding hands when viewed from the right position and angle.
## Development
The Witness was envisioned after Jonathan Blow released Braid. After seeing the title become a success in 2008, Blow took time off from "serious development" to prototype new game concepts, spending a few months on each. The concept that proved to be the basis for The Witness was a prototype that Blow considered to be "very ambitious and challenging". He considered it risky as it would include the development of a 3D gameplay engine, and feared that he would "fall back to square one"—referring to his lifestyle before the success of Braid—should it fail. Despite these challenges, Blow continued to go forward with The Witness as it was also the most compelling prototypes he had crafted. Direct development work on the title began in late 2008.
The game concept itself is based on an earlier title that Blow had envisioned but never completed. According to Blow, in this unfinished title, there was a side gameplay aspect with a "magic moment" that would have made the title exciting. The Witness's gameplay is based on distilling out this "magic moment" and wrapping it within its own game and story. Blow compared this moment to a spoiler for a movie, and thus avoided disclosure of the mechanic or other aspects of the game before release. The maze panel idea came from an earlier idea that Blow had around 2002 for a game involving wizards where the player would cast spells through mouse gestures, a popular element of video games at the time, with the ability to modify the effect of the spells through slight alterations of specific gestures.
One of Blow's goals for The Witness was to explore the types of non-verbal communication that can be achieved through the medium of video games, an exploration he felt to be important to understanding them as an art form. The name The Witness is derived from the core gameplay aspect of making the player attentive to the surroundings to discover meaning and solutions to puzzles without verbal communication, similar to the approach taken by Myst (1993). Blow attributes much of The Witness's design to Myst, citing Myst as a game that inspired him to become a developer. An aspect of Myst that Blow desired to correct was the nature of "pixel hunting" in some of its puzzles; the player would have to click on various parts of the virtual machinery without knowing what the end result was until sometime later in the puzzle. Within The Witness, Blow created the maze panels as a unifying mechanic for all the puzzles to avoid this confusion. While the basic mode of interaction is the same for every maze in the game, the rules for solving each puzzle differ depending on the set of symbols included on each specific maze. The game map was divided into sections so that the information the player needed to understand the puzzles in that section would be segregated to one general location, "[cutting] down a lot of ambiguity that used to exist in adventure games". Puzzles within the game were designed to be unique and meaningful within the context of the rest of the puzzles in the game.
Part of the game's concept is a balance between puzzle-solving and perception, giving the player the freedom to explore The Witness's world and creating a non-linear approach to gameplay. Two of the first puzzles Blow created involved "clues in objects that populate the world", which led him to recognize he needed to create a world to support these puzzles. This would form a dichotomy between exploration and puzzle-solving, which "made a lot of sense" to Blow. Blow felt that a common issue among most adventure games was punishing the player for being stuck, so he created the island as an open world, allowing players to abandon puzzles they were stuck on to explore others. Blow wanted puzzles to be clearly presented in the open and without any red herrings, similar to the approach he had taken with Braid. Exploration is encouraged through the game's narrative, which is told through audio logs the player can find on the unpopulated island; Blow used the audio logs to create a "feeling of loneliness in a beautiful space" for the player. Because these logs can be found in any order, Blow hopes that each player may have a different perception of the narrative depending on how they have approached the game. These audio logs were initially intended to be more story-driven, but Blow opted later to replace these with more obfuscated and obtuse information, similar to the text elements used in Braid, to avoid directly relaying the story to the player and allow them to figure out the narrative for themselves instead. Blow's team designed the narrative so that players will gain a more concrete understanding of the story as they solve more puzzles.
Blow designed the game to allow the player to self-direct and explore and learn about the world through their own curiosity. Blow saw achievements as hollow and false rewards for the player in comparison to puzzle-solving epiphanies and only implemented them because of requirements for certification by the game console platforms. Blow was also concerned about the immersion-breaking pop-up messages that announce achievements, as he considers The Witness a "subtle kind of game" and external cues can be jarring.
For Blow, the ideal player "is inquisitive and likes to be treated as an intelligent person". He was very careful to avoid "over-tutorializing" the game, noting that when a new idea is introduced in a game, the decision to immediately explain it to avoid confusion "kills epiphany and related things like the joy of discovery." He considers The Witness to be "anti-Nintendo", saying that "if you play a Nintendo game, there's a little character telling you every obvious thing over and over again for hours." "This is going the other way. It's more like the original Legend of Zelda, which didn't tell you anything." Blow designed the puzzles to be "as simple as they can be" while still being challenging enough that players would have "miniature epiphanies over and over again." When asked how he felt about the fact that some players may not finish the game due to its difficulty, Blow said he would rather make a game that people who like to be challenged can appreciate than "scale it back so that more people can feel like they got everything."
### Funding and development
The Witness was announced in 2009 following the release of Jonathan Blow's previous game, Braid. At the time, Blow had no firm plans to release or publicize the game, and had allocated a budget of about US$800,000 for the game.
Blow created the Thekla, Inc. team for the development and publication of The Witness. The company's name is taken from a city in Italo Calvino's novel Invisible Cities. Starting in December 2009, Blow worked remotely with a 3D artist and a technical programmer full-time. Blow stated that by 2015 there were about eight full-time members on his team, though there were ten or eleven people involved around 2011 and as many as fifteen at its peak. The Witness incorporates other artists' and programmers' contributions in smaller roles, such as David Hellman, who had previously worked with Blow on Braid's art design and worked on conceptualizing the design of The Witness. Other contributors include Eric Urquhart, who provided 3D concept artwork for the game, and Ignacio Castaño, who developed a rendering system for the game's illumination and visual effects. Blow gives much credit to Orsolya Spanyol, a freshly graduated graphic artist he hired around 2011, for transforming the original sparse imagery of the island to the more vivid scenery that was included in the final game. By diversifying work on the game, Blow was able to focus more of his time on the core game design, allowing his team to implement his vision, in contrast to the development of Braid, where he also had to program much of the game himself.
The Witness took seven years to complete. Blow attributes this long period to the expansion of the game's scope as he and his team continued to work on it. He opted against time- and cost-saving solutions that would have affected his ambition for the game, such as condensing the game's scope or using an off-the-shelf game engine. Instead, he put revenues from sales of Braid, totaling around $4 million as of April 2014, into development costs. Blow had to seek out additional capital in February 2015 after exhausting the Braid revenues, but believed that regardless of the costs of extra development time, the debt would be justified in the long run. Final development costs were estimated at just under $6 million. While Blow considers The Witness to be an indie game due to the lack of funding or support from a major publisher, he also feels that the scope of the project by time and cost is closer to what a AAA studio would produce, and that it represents a new type of game development in the industry.
The Witness uses its own engine developed by Blow and his team, which took a significant portion of the development time. Blow was insistent on using his own game engine instead of an existing solution such as Unity, as he would be able to fully control every element of a game engine that he created himself. As a compact game world compared to open-world games, the whole of the island of The Witness was treated as one zone, simplifying the gameplay and engine development. This presented a secondary challenge to the team, because to concurrently work on the project, they needed to find a means to allow multiple developers to edit areas without resorting to using locking on their version control system, as well as being able to work without being connected to a central server. Blow and his team developed an unconventional means of serializing the game world into text files that would have revision control while at the same time making it easy to find conflicting edits. They also converted the 10,000-some entities in the game world into their own individual files for tracking to further reduce conflict between edits. Other features of this system include using defined control points for terrain elements to automatically recalculate seamless connections between them within the game's rendering engine, and a built-in world editor within the game engine to easily access existing serialized elements and create new ones.
The development team had incorporated support for upcoming VR hardware within The Witness, following a November 2013 meeting between Blow and two Valve developers demonstrating their upcoming SteamVR technology, which Blow found to help enhance the player's ability to explore the island. Though the technical support for VR is present in the released game, The Witness was not designed to take advantage of virtual reality, as many of the puzzles could be "cheated" if the head movement could be separated from the body movement, according to programmer Andrew Smith.
### Design, art, and sound
The design and layout of the island in The Witness has been nearly consistent since the start of the game's development, with the team working on populating the world with specific puzzles, and detailing the landscape and other art assets. Sam Machkovech, a writer for Ars Technica who had played a demo of the game in 2012 and again in 2015, noted that the island had remained familiar between these two sessions. One aspect of the design of the game world is the use of power cables running across the island, connecting puzzle panels to the mechanics they control. Blow found these to help in the initial parts of the game to provide "extreme clarity" of where the player was to go next, but discovered that this also made the game too much of a grind of repeating the same pattern. Over the course of development, the power cable aspects remained, but the designers changed how easy they were to trace across the landscape as a means to guide the player towards potential objectives.
The island has been structured to provide a fair mix of puzzle-solving, exploration, and narrative elements while avoiding a "paradox of choice" by giving the player too much freedom and confusion about where to go next. According to artist Luis Antonio, one of the first things that Blow wanted the player to see was the mountain, to make them aware that this was their ultimate goal. The game initially started the player in an abandoned bunker converted to a living space, but as it was originally arranged, the player would exit the bunker not facing the mountain. Though they attempted to move and rotate the bunker space to meet Blow's goal, it was ultimately scrapped in favor of a simpler space with interior elements that fit with other portions of the game, and which the player would climb out of into the external environment with the mountain in full view. This introductory area was also meant to serve as the game's tutorial, helping players to understand the fundamental mechanics of switching between solving puzzles and exploring the environment to find others, and Thekla spent a great deal of time fine-tuning the details to be clear without verbal explanation. The team's artists worked to support Blow's objective of guiding the player by using contrasts of color and of natural and man-made structures to highlight areas that the player would be drawn towards. Blow wanted the game's art to start off with bright colors and high saturation, to present a type of optimism to the player, while later settings in the game would become less bright. He also wanted to make sure all elements of the game world stood out to avoid visual noise within the game that may have interfered with puzzle solving. To accomplish this, he and his team often had to review the game as if they were new players to it, and identify what elements they were visually drawn to; this would often identify features of the island they had incorporated early on but were no longer appropriate for the final game.
The art style was influenced by a simplification approach, eliminating enough details but keeping overall shapes to make objects clearly recognizable. According to Antonio, they took inspiration for simplification from real-world photography, from artwork, and from the environments of the games Journey, Team Fortress 2, and Mirror's Edge. They still wanted to ensure that a player would be able to recognize an area of the island they were in based on the visual appearance, such as by the types of trees around them, and ensured there was enough distinction while simplifying the assets to make this possible. Blow's team also engaged with Fourm Design Studio, a real-world architecture firm, and Fletcher Studio, a landscape architecture team, to help develop the environments for The Witness. According to Fourm's founder, Deanna Van Buren, they developed the various man-made and cultivated areas based on the concept of three different civilization periods, with later civilizations building on the structures from earlier ones and repurposing these structures as needed. Their studios helped to bring design principles to the main development team, allowing them to then extrapolate their own ideas for the final game. Blow said that the guidance and advice of the architects helped to craft the island in a way that "feels more immersive just because the details are in place, and your brain kind of picks up on it". Blow gives an example of how many of the buildings on the island are in various states of deterioration, but were designed as fully detailed and complete structures and purposely worn down to create the ruined look; the resulting structures retain logically consistent details, such as the remains of wooden support posts for rotted-away stairways in a castle, which aid in immersion for the player.
The final game shipped with very little music, instead relying on the ambient sounds of the environment, which were developed by Wabi Sabi Sound. Blow felt that the addition of music was a "layer of stuff that works against the game". The ambient sound effects were difficult to include, as the game world has no wildlife, making the player aware of how alone they are while on the island. Most of the ambient sounds were recorded by Andrew Lackey of Wabi Sabi Sound, capturing them while walking around Angel Island in the San Francisco Bay. Lackey layered the various sound effects to enable many different variations depending on the player's location on the island while also providing a seamless transition from one environment to the next.
## Marketing and release
The game was quietly revealed to the public by Blow at the 2010 Penny Arcade Expo with the help of independent developers Chris Hecker and Andy Schatz, who were sharing booth space for demonstrations of their own games, SpyParty and Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine; the two provided a table for demonstrating The Witness without any signs or other markings. Blow wanted to keep the demonstration subtle and a surprise and to see players' reactions without the pressure of other players waiting in line to try the game. Blow himself was present at the Expo but kept his distance from the demonstration table. The fact that The Witness was playable at the Expo was only fully revealed after the Expo by both Blow and Stephen Totilo of Kotaku, who saw and played the game but did not mention its presence until later. Players who tried the game at PAX or saw footage of it from the Kotaku article afterward became concerned that The Witness would simply be a series of mazes to solve. Blow reiterated that there was more to the game than mazes, and that he encountered similar problems when trying to promote Braid, since seeing videos of portions of the game does not serve to demonstrate "what happens in the player's mind during the puzzle-solving process".
At the time of the 2010 reveal, Blow had anticipated releasing The Witness on Windows and iOS devices, and on an unspecified set of consoles, including possibly the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Later that year, Blow restated his stance, and felt that there would be no console release on initial release, considering the amount of additional programming time and limitations of the console platforms. In November 2011, Blow was able to hire two more programmers, and had rethought the release for consoles; while he could not commit to a console release initially, the additional labor would help make it possible to have one console version ready at the time of the game's launch, with the version for other consoles to be made available at a later time. As the game's development progressed and its engine become more complex, Blow opted to forgo the development of seventh-generation console versions, citing their "relatively low system specs".
Around 2012, development of The Witness for the next generation of consoles with improved hardware capabilities became a possibility, and Blow and his team started looking at this opportunity. They had discounted the Wii U, again citing low specs, and decided to choose between the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One platforms. At the time of this decision, Sony was able to provide hardware information and development kits. Sony also sought out independent developers like Blow to learn about the upcoming PlayStation 4 in preparation for its launch, while Microsoft had not yet released firm specifications for their console. Blow opted to go with the PlayStation platform; this decision was also aided by representatives from Sony who were interested in bringing the game to their system, and Sony's larger trend of bringing more downloadable and independently developed games to their next console, in contrast to Microsoft's tighter controls. Blow affirmed that there was no monetary deal involved with this decision. He also later acknowledged that he had had difficulties working with Microsoft in the past, and had previously explained several of the issues he had to go through with Microsoft to release his earlier game Braid. The Witness had been planned as a launch-window title for the PlayStation 4 in 2013, a limited-time console exclusive. The Windows and iOS versions, at that point, were planned to be released alongside the PlayStation 4 version, barring any development delays that Blow and his team encountered. Other console versions would come later if they opted to develop for them.
The Witness remained in development, missing the planned 2013 release while Blow and his team continued to improve and fine-tune the game. In September 2015, Blow announced that the game's release was set for January 26, 2016, simultaneously for PlayStation 4 and Windows, with the iOS version to follow shortly thereafter. Though the ESRB rated the title for the Xbox One just prior to the game's release, Blow clarified that they had no plans for release on that platform at the time and were only acquiring the ESRB rating for that console platform at the same time as the other confirmed versions to avoid having to redo that step prior to release in the future. About a week before its release, Blow announced that the game would be priced at $39.99, an amount he said was "fairly reflective of what the game is". The cost was met with some criticism that it was a high price for an indie game. Game journalists believed the price was justified given the estimated 100-hour playtime Blow had stated, and also compared it to a similar puzzle game, The Talos Principle (2014), which was released for the same price. To help promote the game, the development team created three "long screenshot" videos, inspired by the experimental film Koyaanisqatsi, that slowly panned across the island and its features without additional commentary.
Blow stated that they had been in discussions with publishers for a physical release of the game, but opted to not do that step initially, citing the additional time that would have been needed for the manufacturing and distribution processes. However, with the game completed and released digitally, they are looking to potential retail versions.
Following release, some players reported getting motion sickness due to a combination of the narrow field of view used by the game and the bobbing of the player's viewpoint simulating walking motions. Blow stated that they were working on a patch to allow players to adjust their field of view, disable the head bobbing, and enable faster movement options. In August 2016, the Windows version was updated to provide support for Nvidia's Ansel extension, which allows players to compose shots to be rendered in ultra-high resolutions or for 3D and virtual reality devices. Following Sony's announcement of the PlayStation 4 Pro, Blow said they would patch the game for that console to support 4k resolution without sacrificing framerate. Blow is also working to support devices with high dynamic range (HDR) for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro.
The Xbox One version of the game was released on September 13, 2016. Blow said in August 2016 that they were looking into porting the game to mobile devices, but it would require them to reduce the quality of the graphics and investigate an alternate control scheme that would work on touch screens. An Android version for the Nvidia Shield was released on January 16, 2017. The iOS version was released on September 20, 2017.
## Reception
The Witness received "generally favorable reviews" on all platforms, according to the review aggregator website Metacritic.
Chloi Rad of IGN awarded the game a perfect score of 10/10, calling it a masterpiece and stating that it was "[a] beautiful, powerful, and cleverly designed puzzle game with a wealth of mysteries to unravel." Brenna Hillier from VG247 praised the game's use of a first-person perspective to present what otherwise could have been a simple series of puzzle boards, and was impressed by the steep learning curve that the puzzles presented, "impossible, incomprehensible puzzles melt into simple exercises after you've visited nearby locations". Aaron Riccio of Slant Magazine found that there was a "jarring shift" once the player reached the puzzles inside the mountain, with puzzles that relied more on obfuscation in a more clinical environment, contrasting with the rest of the island.
Julie Muncy of Wired, though impressed with the game, noted that the lack of any narrative or gameplay guidance could cause "players to bounce off [the game] entirely". Muncy noted that Blow wanted to make games for people who read Gravity's Rainbow, but whereas the novel was difficult yet "enamored with the world and the people in it", the game felt lifeless, concluding "It's hard, but empty. That's not the same thing." Cian Maher of Rock Paper Shotgun disagreed, describing the game as "hardcore postmodern", and concluding that Blow "actually did make a game for people who like to read Gravity's Rainbow." Oli Welsh of Eurogamer praised the game's puzzles for providing numerous "eureka" moments to the player and considered the title as the video game analog of the Goldberg Variations, but felt that the narrative atop the puzzles was "self-involved and wilfully obscure" and believed that it could have been omitted, as Blow and his team "needn't have tried to make a puzzle out of art when he had already, so beautifully and so successfully, made art out of puzzles". Justin McElroy of Polygon gave the game an 8/10 rating, describing it as "uplifting but frustrating"; he criticized the length of time involved in solving certain puzzles while expressing concern that less-patient players would take shortcuts. "That will naturally lead to more cheating. It will snowball." Bob Mackey of USgamer was more critical of the game, giving it 2 of 5 stars. Though he praised its visuals and setting, Mackey found the puzzles to be very difficult, saying that "there's simply too much going on to give me the proper feedback about what I'm getting wrong" and suggesting that "Blow was maybe a little too close to his work".
Several theories have been proposed as to the meaning of the story in The Witness. In attempting to analyze the meaning of the game, David Roberts of GamesRadar+ said he felt that The Witness was about the nature of epiphanies within the scope of epistemology, the theory of knowledge. Roberts stated that as one proceeds through the puzzles in the game, the player begins to recognize other elements of the island setting as puzzles, and to obtain the game's credit sequence (the "true ending" as described by Roberts), the player solves such an environmental puzzle built into one of the first puzzles they would encounter on the island: "the end of your journey becomes the beginning, and the beginning leads to the end – the very cycle of epiphany".
Within a week of release, Blow stated that sales of The Witness had nearly outpaced what Braid had done during its first year of release. He later specified that first-week sales were over 100,000 copies, with gross revenues over $5 million, on track to break even with development costs, with which Thekla would start considering porting the game to other platforms, potentially including iOS, Android, OS X, and Xbox One. During this time, Blow observed that the Windows version of The Witness was one of the top downloads through illegal BitTorrent sites, comparable to what he had seen for Braid. He had opted to forgo strong digital rights management for the title, as he believes "people should have the freedom to own things", but has said he may change his mind and software piracy controls "might happen on the next game".
### Accolades
## Legacy
The Witness is widely regarded as one of the best games of the 2010s. The game appeared on 'Best of the decade' features from IGN, Polygon, NME, CNET, and National Post. Edge considered the game the 22nd-best game of all time in 2017, and IGN ranked it the 59th-best in 2022. The game has inspired the parody The Looker by Subcreation Studio, which was released in 2022. |
# Jurassic Coast
The Jurassic Coast (also Dorset and East Devon Coast) is a World Heritage Site on the English Channel coast of southern England. It stretches from Exmouth in East Devon to Studland Bay in Dorset, a distance of about 96 miles (154 km), and was inscribed on the World Heritage List in mid-December 2001.
The site spans 185 million years of geological history, coastal erosion having exposed an almost continuous sequence of rock formation covering the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. At different times, this area has been desert, shallow tropical sea and marsh, and the fossilised remains of the various creatures that lived there have been preserved in the rocks.
Natural features seen on this stretch of coast include arches, pinnacles and stack rocks. In some places the sea has broken through resistant rocks to produce coves with restricted entrances and, in one place, the Isle of Portland is connected to the land by a barrier beach. In some parts of the coast, landslides are common. These have exposed a wide range of fossils, the different rock types each having its own typical fauna and flora, thus providing evidence of how animals and plants evolved in this region.
The area around Lulworth Cove contains a fossil forest, and 71 different rock strata have been identified at Lyme Regis, each with its own species of ammonite. The fossil collector Mary Anning lived here and her major discoveries of marine reptiles and other fossils were made at a time when the study of palaeontology was just starting to develop. The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre provides information on the heritage coast, and the whole length of the site can be visited via the South West Coast Path.
## World Heritage Site
The Jurassic Coast stretches from Orcombe Point near Exmouth in East Devon to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage in East Dorset, a distance of 96 miles (154 km). Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001, the Jurassic Coast was the first wholly natural World Heritage Site to be designated in the United Kingdom. At Orcombe Point, the "Geoneedle" (2002), an acute pyramidal sculpture, marks the western end of the heritage site; this is built out of fragments of the different types of rocks to be seen along the coast.
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee nomination document lists eight segments of coast included in the site. The segments are:
- from Orcombe Rocks to Chit Rocks, Sidmouth
- from River Sid, Sidmouth to Seaton Hole
- the Axmouth to Lyme Regis Undercliff, from the mouth of the River Axe to The Cobb in Lyme Regis
- from Lyme Regis to West Bay
- Chesil Beach, the Fleet Lagoon and the Isle of Portland Coast
- Portland Harbour Shore
- from Bowleaze Cove to Peveril Point
- from New Swanage to Studland Bay
The cliffs on this part of the coast are being eroded as sections crumble away and landslides occur. These processes reveal successive layers of sedimentary rock, uncovering the geological history at the modern coastline over a period of 185 million years, and disclosing an almost continuous sequence of rock formations covering the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. The fossils found in the area and the coastal geomorphologic features of this dynamic coast, have advanced the study of earth sciences for more than two hundred years. The area covered by the designation comprises the land between the mean low water mark and the top of the cliffs or the back of the beach.
The fossils found in abundance along this coastline provide evidence of how animals and plants evolved in this region. During the Triassic this area was a desert, while in the Jurassic it was part of a tropical sea, and in the Cretaceous it was covered by swamps. The fossilised remains of the animals and plants that lived in those periods are very well preserved, providing a wealth of information on their body shapes, the way they died and even the fossilised remains of their last meals. Fossil groups found here include crustaceans, insects, molluscs, echinoderms, fish, amphibians, reptiles and a few mammals. At Lulworth Cove there is a fossil forest of conifers, tree-ferns and cycads.
## Geography
The Jurassic Coast consists of Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous cliffs, spanning the Mesozoic, documenting 185 million years of geological history. The site can be best viewed from the sea, when the dipping nature of the rock strata becomes apparent.
In East Devon, the coastal cliffs consist of steep cliffs of red sandstone from the Triassic, and at Budleigh Salterton, the gravel cliffs contain red quartzite pebbles which accumulate on the beach below as Budleigh pebbles, locally protected. Further east at Ladram Bay, more sandstone cliffs give rise to spectacular red sandstone stacks.
Around Lyme Regis and Charmouth the cliffs are of Jurassic clays and shale, and landslips are common. Chesil Beach is a good example of a barrier beach and stretches for 18 miles (29 km) from Burton Bradstock to the Isle of Portland. The beach encloses an intertidal lagoon which is an internationally important Ramsar Convention site known for its biodiversity.
At Lulworth Cove, the waves have cut their way through the resistant Portland stone and created a horseshoe-shaped cove by eroding the softer sands and clays behind. Another feature of this part of the coast is Durdle Door, a natural arch. Sea stacks and pinnacles, such as Old Harry Rocks at Handfast Point, have been formed by erosion of the chalk cliffs.
The highest point on the Jurassic Coast, and on the entire south coast of Britain, is Golden Cap at 627 ft (191 m) between Bridport and Charmouth.
This coast shows excellent examples of landforms, including the natural arch at Durdle Door, the cove and limestone folding at Lulworth Cove and a tied island, the Isle of Portland. Chesil Beach is a fine example of both a tombolo (a deposition landform in which an island is attached to the mainland by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar) and a storm beach (a beach affected by particularly fierce waves). The site has stretches of both concordant and discordant coastlines. Due to the quality of the varied geology, the site is the subject of international field studies.
The many sedimentary layers on this coastline are rich with fossils, the remains of the animals and plants present in the area whose tissues became immersed in deposits of mud which later hardened into rock. At Lyme Regis, for example, geologists have identified 71 layers of rock, each one containing fossils of a different species of ammonite.
## History
At the end of the 18th century Georges Cuvier showed that some fossil animals resembled no living ones, thus demonstrating that animals could become extinct; this led to the emergence of palaeontology, the study of fossils. The coasts of eastern Devon and western Dorset were rich in fossil beds, but before this time the fossils had merely been gathered as a pastime or collected by local residents and sold to visitors as curios.
Mary Anning (1799–1847) lived in Lyme Regis and followed in her father's footsteps as a collector. She became an expert on the fossils to be found in the Blue Lias around the town and discovered the first complete Ichthyosaur skeleton at The Spittles. Other important discoveries of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs and a pterosaur followed, as well as invertebrates such as cephalopods and their ink sacs.
During World War II several sections of the Jurassic Coast became the property of the Ministry of War. One of the Royal Navy's largest bases was at Portland Harbour, though it has since closed. A major army base at Bovington remains in use today. Large areas of land, including the coast between Lulworth Cove and Kimmeridge, are still only partially accessible; this includes the ghost village of Tyneham which was evacuated after being requisitioned by the army in 1943.
Areas of the coast near Exmouth, The Fleet Lagoon at Weymouth and the beaches at Studland have also been used for military training but have since been returned to civilian use.
Parts of the coast, especially around Portland, can be dangerous, and shipwrecks have been a feature of the coast. In January 2007 the coast experienced its most environmentally damaging wreck when the MSC Napoli, a 2,400 capacity container ship, was beached at Branscombe near Sidmouth, losing oil and cargo.
## Management and access
The Jurassic Coast is subject to severe weather conditions at times. Violent storms occurred in 1824 and 1974, and these and various lesser storms have battered the cliffs and caused flooding and structural damage in coastal towns. The coast is largely an eroding landscape and management of the site aims to allow the natural processes of erosion to continue while protecting people and property. Coastal defences have been put in place in Charmouth and Weymouth, where houses are at risk, but in other places, where the coastline remains in a natural state, the management policy is to take no action and allow erosion to take its course.
The Charmouth Heritage Coast Centre is an independent educational charity situated near the beach in Charmouth; it provides information and displays on the geology of the area and the wildlife, including a large collection of fossils and a rockpool aquarium. Family fossil-hunting trips are organised from here as well as other events and activities related to the geology and natural history of the area.
The entire length of the coast can be walked on the South West Coast Path. Landslips and rockfalls are a continuing feature of the evolution of this coast. On 6 May 2008, a 1,300 ft (400 m) section of the coast was dramatically re-shaped after a landslip that was described as the worst in 100 years. There was a fatality in 2012 when 400 tonnes (390 long tons) of rock fell onto the beach at Burton Bradstock and another cliff fall took place in 2016 at West Bay, near Bridport. There was a further cliff collapse at Hive Beach near the village of Burton Bradstock shortly before dawn on 29 August 2020 after prolonged rain fall. The public were warned to stay clear of the unstable rocks. On 15 April 2021, a further collapse occurred. The collapse was described as being the biggest UK rockfall in 60 years.
## See also
- Full list of places on the Jurassic Coast |
# But Daddy I Love Him
"But Daddy I Love Him" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024). Swift and Aaron Dessner wrote the track, and they produced it with Jack Antonoff. "But Daddy I Love Him" has a balladic production consisting of fingerpicked guitars, live drums, and dynamic shifts in the refrain. Critics categorize its genre as country, country pop, electronica, and folk rock. In its lyrics, the narrator affirms her love for a seemingly troublesome romantic interest and condemns the detractors of her love life, telling them she is its only authority and calling out their self-righteousness.
Lyrical interpretations of "But Daddy I Love Him" related the song to the context of Swift's celebrity, fame, and personal life. Critics generally praised the songwriting as intense yet humorous and the production as catchy; some reviews picked the track as an album highlight. "But Daddy I Love Him" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Global 200 and peaked within the top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States. Swift included the song in the revamped set list for the 2024 shows of her sixth concert tour, the Eras Tour.
## Background and release
Swift developed her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, "for about two years" after finishing her previous album Midnights (2022). She reflected on The Tortured Poets Department as a "lifeline" for her, and its conception took place amidst intense media reports on Swift's personal life, including a breakup after a long-term relationship with Joe Alwyn and a brief romantic linking with Matty Healy. The Tortured Poets Department was released on April 19, 2024, via Republic Records. "But Daddy I Love Him" is track six on the album's standard edition. An acoustic version of the song is included on the track list of the physical edition of The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.
Swift included "But Daddy I Love Him" in the revamped set list of her sixth headlining concert tour, the Eras Tour, beginning in May 2024 at the Paris shows. It is the first track during the Tortured Poets Department segment of the concerts. Swift performed the song dressed in a white corset dress adorned with cursive writings and a Vivienne Westwood choker necklace.
## Production and music
Swift wrote "But Daddy I Love Him" with Aaron Dessner, and the two produced the track with Jack Antonoff. On the track, Dessner played acoustic guitar, and Antonoff programmed it, provided background vocals, and played various instruments: cello, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, the Juno, and the Mellotron. Sean Hutchinson played drums; Bobby Hawk played strings; and Zem Audu, Mikey Freedom Hart, and Evan Smith played synthesizers. "But Daddy I Love Him" was recorded by Laura Sisk and Oli Jacobs at Conway Recording Studios, Los Angeles, and Electric Lady Studios, New York. The track was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios, Virginia Beach.
"But Daddy I Love Him" is a ballad that lasts for 5 minutes and 40 seconds. Its verses are instrumented by a string arrangement composed of fingerpicked guitars and subtle accents of fiddles, displaying elements of country and rock. The refrain is dynamic, described by Billboard"'s Jason Lipshutz as "large, open-hearted" that evoked Swift's early country pop songs. Several critics opined that the song's production aligned with the musical styles Swift's past albums Fearless (2008) and Speak Now (2010). The genre was described by critics as country, electronica, country pop, and folk rock.
## Lyrics and interpretations
Employing a country songwriting style, the lyrics of "But Daddy I Love Him" see Swift's narrator confronting critics of her love life. The title is a quote from the 1989 Disney animated film The Little Mermaid; the protagonist Ariel says the line in response to her merman father's disapproval of her human love interest, Prince Eric. The overall narrative revolves around a romantic affair that became a widely debated topic among residents of a religious small town. In the opening verse, Swift's narrator establishes her tension with her critics ("I just learned these people only raise you just to cage you") and her resentment against them: the "Sarahs and Hannahs in their Sunday best" who disapprove of her romantic life ("Clutching their pearls, sighing, 'What a mess).
Throughout the track, Swift's narrator affirms that her love is real and that her lover is "the one I want" despite his seemingly troublesome qualities, but they were also part of the reasons she is attracted to him ("He was chaos, he was revelry" / "Me and my wild boy, and all this wild joy"). In the bridge, she directly confronts her critics—the "Sarahs and Hannahs", the "wine moms", and "the elders"—that only she has the authority to "disgrace" her good-girl reputation ("I'd rather burn my whole life down/ Than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning"). She continues by affirming to them that their judgement would not dissuade her from pursuing this romance ("God save the most judgmental creeps/ Who say they want what's best for me/ Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see"). Towards the track's conclusion, this romance receives approval from the father of Swift's narrator ("Now I'm dancing in my dress in the sun, and even my daddy just loves him"), and she tells her critics that they are not welcomed at her wedding.
Several journalists interpreted "But Daddy I Love Him" as an autobiographical song about the scrutiny Swift received for her dating history, specifically the short-lived linking with Healy. According to Kitty Empire of The Observer, despite its autobiographical elements, the narrative is more akin to an allegorical short story with a Bruce Springsteen–styled "mini-epic" story line. Some critics drew parallels between "But Daddy I Love Him" and Swift's 2008 single "Love Story", a track about a teenage romance suffering from parental disapproval; both songs end with the romance receiving approval from the father of the female protagonist. For Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone, whereas "Love Story" is based on the Shakespearean story Romeo and Juliet, "But Daddy I Love Him" contains references to Hamlet. Bryan West from The Tennessean thought that the romantic freedom and defiant attitude of "But Daddy I Love Him" were reminiscent of the sentiments in Swift's 2017 track "Don't Blame Me".
The lyric, "I'm having his baby/ No I'm not, but you should see your face", was singled out in reviews as a humorous part where Swift breaks the fourth wall to directly communicate with the song's listeners and her fans; several speculated that it expressed her anger at fans due to their public outcry against her and Healy's linking. Some critics, like Vulture"'s Craig Jenkins and Billboard Philippines' Gabriel Saulog, saw "But Daddy I Love Him" as a Swift's message of asserting her authority over her personal life, despite the intense attention she received from her fans and the press. In The Guardian, Laura Snapes identified potential references to how Swift's management and family also disapproved of her romantic choices ("Soon enough the elders had convened down at the city hall") and upheld that the track's crux was "the sentiment about who gets to decide what's right for [Swift]". For Jenkins, the song sees Swift wrestling with her own image as a "dutiful daughter" of Americana, serving as "an examination of faith-based striations within white society".
## Critical reception
A multitude of critics picked "But Daddy I Love Him" as a standout from The Tortured Poets Department, with some deeming it the album's best. Many reviews focused on its lyricism; they found it fascinating that Swift expressed her anger towards the press, the public, and even her fans to defend her personal life choices. Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times considered the track "unexpectedly venomous", and Ann Powers of NPR wrote that the unhinged behaviors depicted in the track showed that not even Swift's fans were "spared in her dissection of just who's made her miserable over the past few years". Ranking the track the second-best on the album (behind "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived"), Jason Lipshutz of Billboard regarded it as the album's centerpiece. The Guardian's Alexis Petridis thought that Swift "pulls it off" with the risk of offending her fan base in the song, finding her expression of "fatigued exasperation" both believable and affecting.
Several reviewers were impressed with the dramatic lyricism and pointed out the country songwriting roots in Swift's artistry. Business Insider's Callie Ahlgrim applauded the Shakespearean influences that elevated the emotional sentiments, and Exclaim\!'s Alex Hudson found it uplifting that the track did not rely on "self-seriousness" and dared to be ridiculous and humorous. Mikael Wood from the Los Angeles Times highlighted the melodramatic tendencies that made the track thrilling to listen to. In a review for Pitchfork, Olivia Horn wrote that "But Daddy I Love Him" was one of the album tracks that contained an "unruliness" with lengthy narrative details. Contrary to the tracks that strayed into verbosity, "But Daddy I Love Him" succeeded thanks to Swift's "nimble" and "heel-turning" details that stacked up towards "flights of fantasy unlike anything else on this album".
Other reviews also praised the production. The Guardian's Laura Snapes believed the song deserved to be sung along to in stadiums. The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber highlighted the country and rock influences, the live-sounding drums, and Swift's "keening" voice, finding the musical combination "perfect". Will Hodgkinson from The Times dubbed it an "upbeat pop banger" that evoked Swift's earlier hits like "Blank Space" (2014) or "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (2012). Paste lauded the country inflictions and the "awe-striking, stand-still melodies". Varietys Chris Willman described it as a surprisingly "organic"-sounding song produced by Antonoff and Dessner for Swift; he placed it 17th in his list of the 75 best songs by Swift, saying that while it sonically built on her past eras, it also showcased a bold aspect of her to assert her authority over her personal life.
## Commercial performance
Following the album's release, its tracks occupied the top nine of the Billboard Global 200; "But Daddy I Love Him" debuted at its peak of number seven on the chart, where it extended Swift's top-10 entries to 33. In the United States, the song opened and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. It along with 13 tracks from the album made Swift the first artist to monopolize the top 14 of the Hot 100. In Australia, "But Daddy I Love Him" reached number seven on the ARIA Singles Chart and made her the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29.
Elsewhere, "But Daddy I Love Him" reached the top 10 in Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore, with peaks of number seven, eight, and number nine, respectively. The song also charted within the top 25 in the Philippines (11), Malaysia (18), Portugal (20), Denmark (23), and Billboard's Hits of the World charts for Ireland (12), Luxembourg (19), South Africa (23), and Belgium (24).
## Personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Tortured Poets Department.
- Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter, producer
- Jack Antonoff – producer, programming, cello, Juno, bass, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals, Mellotron
- Aaron Dessner – producer, songwriter, acoustic guitar
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- Bryce Bordone – mix engineer
- Laura Sisk – recording engineer
- Oli Jacobs – recording engineer
- Jon Sher – assistant recording engineer
- Jack Manning – assistant recording engineer
- Sean Hutchinson – drums
- Michael Riddleberger – recording engineer
- Mikey Freedom Hart – synthesizer
- David Hart – recording engineer
- Evan Smith – synthesizer
- Zem Audu – synthesizer
- Jonathan Low – recording engineer
- Bella Blasko – recording engineer
- Bobby Hawk – strings
- Randy Merrill – mastering
## Charts
## Certifications |
# Jessica Dubroff
Jessica Whitney Dubroff (May 5, 1988 – April 11, 1996) was a seven-year-old American trainee pilot who died while attempting to become the youngest person to fly a light aircraft across the United States. On day two of her quest, the Cessna 177B Cardinal single-engine aircraft, piloted by her flight instructor, Joe Reid, crashed during a rainstorm immediately after takeoff from Cheyenne Regional Airport in Cheyenne, Wyoming, killing Dubroff, her 57-year-old father Lloyd Dubroff, and Reid.
Although billed by the media as a pilot, Dubroff was not legally able to be a pilot because of her age. She did not possess a medical certificate or a student pilot certificate, since a medical certificate requires a minimum age of 16 and a pilot certificate requires a minimum age of 17, according to U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations. At the time of her trip, there was no record-keeping body that recognized any feats by underage pilots. Nevertheless, local, national, and international news media picked up and publicized Dubroff's story, and closely followed her attempt until its tragic ending.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the crash and concluded that the fatality was caused by Reid's improper decision to take off in poor weather conditions, his overloading the aircraft, and his failure to maintain airspeed. The three factors resulted in a stall and subsequent fatal crash in a residential neighborhood. The NTSB also determined that "contributing to the [instructor's] decision to take off was a desire to adhere to an overly ambitious itinerary, in part, because of media commitments."
## Early life
Jessica Whitney Dubroff was born on May 5, 1988, to Lloyd Dubroff and Lisa Blair Hathaway, in Falmouth, Massachusetts, and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area when she was four. She was of Ukrainian and Polish descent on her paternal side, with the Dubroff surname being an anglicization of Dubrovsky that was adopted when her paternal ancestors came to the United States. Dubroff grew up in an unconventional lifestyle, with her not owning toys, being allowed TV, or enrolling in school.
## "Sea to Shining Sea" flight
Jessica Dubroff began taking flight lessons from flight instructor Joe Reid on her sixth birthday and became enthusiastic about flying. Lloyd Dubroff suggested the idea of a coast-to-coast flight, which his daughter readily accepted, and Reid agreed to provide flight instruction and his aircraft for the endeavor. They decided to name their flight "Sea to Shining Sea"; Lloyd ordered custom-made caps and T-shirts with that logo to distribute as souvenirs during their stops.
Although she had received over 33 hours of flight training, seven-year-old Dubroff did not hold a medical certificate from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), nor any pilot or student certificate. In the U.S., a person must be at least 16 years of age to be eligible for a student pilot certificate, and 17 for a pilot certificate. Since Dubroff was not certified to fly the plane, a rated pilot (normally her flight instructor Reid) had to be at the controls during all flight operations. While the coast-to-coast flight was promoted as a "record" attempt because of Dubroff's young age, there was no known body recognizing record flights by underage "pilots" at the time of her flight (The Guinness Book of Records had officially discontinued its "youngest pilot" categories seven years earlier, because of the risk of accidents).
The flight would be made in Reid's Cessna 177B Cardinal, a four-seat single-engine propeller aircraft manufactured in 1975, registered N35207, which like most aircraft had dual flight controls in the front. Dubroff would sit in the front left seat, Reid in the front right, and Lloyd in the back. It was agreed that Reid would be paid for his services at normal flight instruction rates, plus compensation for the layover time. Reid reportedly told his wife that he considered the flight a "non-event for aviation", simply "flying cross country with a 7-year-old sitting next to you and the parents paying for it."
Nevertheless, Dubroff became an instant media celebrity. ABC News gave Lloyd a video camera and blank cassettes to tape the flight; once the journey began, it was vigorously followed by supporters, media outlets, and others who monitored its progress, reporting each time Dubroff landed or took off. Dubroff slept during one of the flight segments en route to Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was assisted by Reid in one of the landings due to high winds.
## Final flight segment
After a long day of flying from their Half Moon Bay, California departure point, Dubroff, Lloyd, and Reid arrived in Cheyenne the evening before their ill-fated flight. They were welcomed in Wyoming's capital city by Mayor Leo Pando. After some media interviews, they were driven to their hotel in the car of a local radio station program director, who recalled them discussing the forecast weather conditions for the next day.
As forecast, the weather on the morning of the scheduled flight consisted of an area of heavy precipitation over and to the north and west of Cheyenne, with better conditions to the east, where the flight was headed. As the group was about to board their aircraft, the program director who had taken them to their hotel the previous evening interviewed Dubroff by telephone. When rain began to fall at Cheyenne Regional Airport and the weather seemed to be deteriorating, the director invited her to stay in Cheyenne, but Dubroff's father declined, explaining that they wanted to "beat the storm" that was approaching.
After a telephone discussion with a Casper weather briefer, Reid decided to take off despite the worsening conditions at the airport, and to try to escape the poor weather by turning immediately eastward. He decided to file a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan, and depart under VFR, to be better able to cope with the heavy weather in his immediate takeoff path and the vicinity of the airport.
As the aircraft began taxiing to the departure runway, the rain intensified and visibility at the airport fell below the three mile minimum required for VFR flight. Cheyenne's control tower advised the Cessna about the reduced visibility and that the "field is IFR". In general, when an airport is officially IFR (normally because of reduced visibility or low cloud ceiling), only IFR or Special VFR operations are allowed. Reid then requested and received from the control tower a Special VFR clearance to allow him to exit the airport's control zone visually, despite the reduced visibility.
## Crash
At 8:24 a.m. MDT, Reid's aircraft began its takeoff from Runway 30 to the northwest, in rain, strong gusty crosswinds and turbulence. According to witnesses, the plane lifted off and climbed slowly, with its nose high and its wings wobbling. It began a gradual right turn, and after reaching an altitude of a few hundred feet, the plane rolled out of its turn, then descended rapidly, crashing at a near-vertical angle into Kornegay Court, a street in a residential neighborhood. Dubroff, her father, and Reid were killed instantly by blunt force trauma sustained from impact forces. Reid was allegedly manipulating the controls during this particular flight segment.
## Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigated the accident and published a detailed final report eleven months later on March 11, 1997. From the official point of view, the pilot in command was flight instructor Reid, who was the only one on board rated to fly the aircraft. The investigation focused on his decision-making prior to takeoff and his actions once airborne.
Several experienced pilots who were at Cheyenne Regional Airport at the time of the accident testified that they considered the weather at that time unsuitable for flight, as a thunderstorm seemed to be forming or moving over the airfield. In addition, investigators determined that the weight of the aircraft during its takeoff roll exceeded its maximum allowable takeoff weight (MTOW) by 96 lbs, which would have increased the stall speed by about two percent. Since the aircraft was flying in moderate to heavy rain, the NTSB calculated that the water flowing on the wings would have further increased the stall speed by about 1.5%. A higher stall speed reduces the margin of safety at slower airspeeds, such as during a climb.
Like most flight instructors giving dual instruction, Reid was seated on the right side, while the aircraft's primary flight instruments were mounted on the left, in front of Dubroff in this case. Investigators speculated that because of the heavy rain in his immediate climb path, Reid's forward visibility became greatly restricted. To maintain control through the climbing right turn, he would have had to turn his head to the left to see the flight instruments (most critically the attitude and airspeed indicators) and to the right to see the ground through the side window. Such side-to-side head motion, combined with the worsening flight visibility during the climb and the reduced stall margin, could have led to spatial disorientation and loss of control.
### Probable cause
The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the accident was Reid's "improper decision to take off into deteriorating weather conditions (including turbulence, gusty winds, and an advancing thunderstorm and associated precipitation) when the airplane was overweight and when the density altitude was higher than he was accustomed to, resulting in a stall caused by failure to maintain airspeed." The NTSB further determined that "contributing to the pilot in command's decision to take off was a desire to adhere to an overly ambitious itinerary, in part, because of media commitments."
## Aftermath
### Child Pilot Safety Act
The accident and its associated publicity led to federal legislation to prevent similar "record" attempts by underage pilots from taking place in the future. The legislation passed the House of Representatives on September 11, 1996, and the Senate on September 18. On September 27, differences between the House and Senate versions of the bill were resolved. On October 9, President Bill Clinton signed the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, including the Child Pilot Safety Act, into law. The statute prohibits anyone who does not hold at least a private pilot certificate and a current medical certificate from manipulating the controls of an aircraft, if that individual "is attempting to set a record or engage in an aeronautical competition or aeronautical feat."
Since a medical certificate and a private pilot's license have a minimum age requirement of 16 and 17 respectively, the new rule prohibits "child pilots" such as Dubroff and Vicki Van Meter from manipulating the flight controls if they are pursuing a record, and the pilot in command's pilot certificate may be revoked for allowing such activity.
### Media responsibility
After the crash, there were claims that the media frenzy around the "bogus" record attempt contributed to the accident by helping promote the flight and pressuring its schedule. This was supported by the NTSB, which determined that the pressure induced by the intense media attention was a "contributing factor" in the accident. ABC's Ted Koppel reflected on the media's role in the tragedy on Nightline: "We need to begin by acknowledging our own contribution...We feed one another: those of you looking for publicity and those of us looking for stories." Koppel ended by asking "whether we in the media...by our ravenous attention contribute to this phenomenon", and answered: "We did."
Time magazine featured Dubroff's portrait on its front cover, in which she is seen wearing a gray cap with the inscription, "Women Fly". Dubroff was also featured on the cover of People.
### Civil litigation
Lloyd Dubroff was Lisa Blair Hathaway's common-law husband when Jessica and her brother were born. In 1990, Lloyd Dubroff and Hathaway were separated; in 1991, Dubroff, aged 52, married 19-year-old Melinda Anne Hurst, with whom he had a child the following year. In December 1992, Hathaway gave birth to Dubroff's full sister, Jasmine, who was conceived while she lived for a time with Lloyd and Hurst in California.
Before his death in the crash, Lloyd bought four separate life insurance policies, each for $750,000. Two of the policies named Hathaway as beneficiary and two named Hurst, so that each was to receive $1.5 million in the event of his death, ensuring adequate child support for his underage children living with the two women. Lloyd's grown son and daughter (both in their 30s) from a previous marriage were not addressed by these policies.
After the crash, Hurst sued Hathaway for Hathaway's $1.5 million: Hurst's attorney Roy Litherland said in a San Mateo County court that the $1.5 million Hathaway was designated was "in excess of any reasonable level of child support." In December 1996, Hathaway filed a counter-suit against Hurst and Lloyd's estate for $1.5 million, the exact amount of money Lloyd intended, saying Lloyd "gave his word he would care for and support [her] for the rest and remainder of her natural life."
On December 18, 1997, San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Judith Kozloski ruled that the $3 million insurance benefits should be equally split between the two women; all other claims were dismissed.
### Burial
Dubroff was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Pescadero, California.
## Dramatization
Jessica Dubroff's crash is featured in season 2, episode 4, of the television show Why Planes Crash, in an episode called "Small Planes, Big Problem". |
# Letterpress (video game)
Letterpress is a 2012 turn-based word game developed by Loren Brichter and published by Atebits. In the game, two players take turns creating words with letter tiles and aim to cover the most territory. A tile can be locked by claiming those surrounding it, and the game concludes when all 25 tiles are claimed. The game's development started in November 2011 after Brichter left Twitter, Inc. Focused on combining words with color, he based the game design on Boggle, color wars, and SpellTower. The gameplay gradually evolved during beta testing; in the prototype, players avoided using unclaimed tiles, leading to excessively long games. To remedy this, Brichter made surrounded tiles unclaimable.
Letterpress was released in October 2012 for iOS. Under Solebon LLC, the game was released in July 2016 on the Mac App Store and in August 2017 on Google Play. While it was praised for its minimalist design and strategic gameplay, it was criticized for its usage of Game Center. Letterpress was ranked second in the App Store's Best of 2012 list and won the 2013 Apple Design Awards. Apple designer Jony Ive took inspiration from minimalist iOS apps, including Letterpress, to produce the graphics of iOS 7.
## Gameplay
In Letterpress, two players compete to claim the most tiles on a grid of 25 random letters. Players must assemble a valid word; they cannot reuse words, use words not listed in the game's dictionary, or use words from the same word family. When a player finishes their turn, their selected letters change to their color. If a player's tiles surround a letter they have claimed, the opponent cannot claim it, though it can still be used to create words. To indicate this, the surrounded tile becomes a different shade. A locked tile loses its status if an opponent claims tiles in proximity. Players may choose to pass a turn. Once every square is colored, or if both players pass their turns in the same round, the player who owns the most tiles wins. In single-player mode, the second player is replaced by a bot.
## Development and release
After leaving Twitter, Inc. in November 2011, Loren Brichter, the founder of Atebits 2.0, began finishing side projects he had previously had little time to work on. Along with his experience as a graphics engineer for the original iPhone, he had previously created Tweetie and the pull-to-refresh function. Brichter saw Letterpress as a way to experiment with new Apple software. After playing Zach Gage's single-player iOS game SpellTower next to his wife, Jean Whitehead, he was inspired to develop a multiplayer word game they could play together. Focused on combining color and words, Brichter cited Boggle and color wars as influences for the gameplay.
Whitehead was the first beta tester and helped refine the game's rules. In the first version of Letterpress, players could freely create long words, as tiles would only be colored instead of locked. He incorporated a feature that gave players bonus points for claiming tiles that have been surrounded. However, Brichter realized that games would be endless due to players avoiding the remaining tiles; to fix this, he made surrounded tiles unclaimable. For graphics and the user interface, he took inspiration from the Windows Phone. The game was written in OpenGL, and Game Center, Apple's multiplayer networking service, handled multiplayer matchmaking. Brichter created most of the sound effects himself by spitting and making other noises with his mouth into a microphone. He determined the game's name based on what the player did: pressing letters, which Brichter felt it alluded to letterpress printing.
The game was released for iOS on October 24, 2012, and on that day, it was downloaded over 60,000 times. By November 2012, the game had garnered one million downloads. In December 2012, Letterpress was updated with a replay feature that shows each individual turn in a game. After Solebon LLC acquired Atebits 2.0, the game was released on the Mac App Store on July 20, 2016, and on Google Play on August 25, 2017.
Brichter marketed Letterpress as freemium. In the free version, players could only compete in two games at once, while the premium version allowed unlimited games, the ability to see previously played words, and more themes.
## Reception
Letterpress has a "generally favorable" Metacritic rating based on eight critics. It was featured in the App Store's Best of 2012 list, ranking second place as the game of the year for iPhone. It was nominated at the Worldwide Developers Conference and won the 2013 Apple Design Awards.
Reviewers found the strategic elements of Letterpress engaging, comparing it to Scrabble, Reversi, Connect Four, Go, SpellTower, Words With Friends, and chess. Despite Jared Nelson from TouchArcade finding the gameplay challenging to articulate, he noted its addictive nature once players understood the rules. Lex Friedman from Macworld described it as "addictive", while AJ Dellinger of Gamezebo believed it would appeal to "word nerds and strategy-oriented thinkers". Pocket Gamer's Harry Slater commended the suspense inherent in waiting for an opponent's move, labeling Letterpress as "asynchronous gaming at its finest". Matthew Panzarino of The Next Web and Federico Viticci of MacStories both viewed the game as a worthwhile way to pass the time. However, some criticized its lack of a single-player mode.
Certain critics expressed concerns regarding the game's reliance on Game Center. Luke Larsen of Paste magazine lauded Letterpress as an "incredible achievement", but criticized its dependency on Game Center, which he felt impacted statistics tracking and matchmaking management. Dave Wiskus of iMore attributed Letterpress's absence of in-game chat and a rematch button to Game Center integration. Despite Wiskus noticing the lack of user interaction, he mitigated it with iMessage. He also highlighted problems while starting rematches, stating that simultaneous matches between players would be created. Viticci felt Game Center efficiently handled matchmaking in Letterpress.
Critics unanimously praised Letterpress's design. Ellis Hamburger of The Verge, noting the game's 6,346 lines of code, described the interface as "barren" with "natural-feeling animations". Nelson called the graphics "aesthetically pleasing", while Dellinger and Shane Richmond of The Daily Telegraph appreciated its clutter-free design. Nelson enjoyed the game's minimalist style and "smooth animations", drawing parallels to the productivity app Clear. Viticci noted similarities between Letterpress's visuals and Microsoft's Metro design language. Larsen complimented Brichter for the game's visually appealing menus and "smart aesthetic choices", echoing Wiskus's sentiment that Brichter "put a lot of love and care" into Letterpress. Friedman and Panzarino praised Letterpress's attention to detail, including its sound effects and user interface. Panzarino further praised the polished graphics and "reactive" animations. Ranking the game as a "must have", Chris Reed of Slide to Play deemed Letterpress a "gorgeous example of minimalist design". Brandon Sheffield of Game Developer used the game as a case study for design, noting its details, interactivity, and simplicity. Letterpress was among a list of minimalist apps provided to inspire Jony Ive, the lead designer for Apple's iOS 7. |
# 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) is a polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin (sometimes shortened, though inaccurately, to simply 'dioxin') with the chemical formula C<sub>12</sub>H<sub>4</sub>Cl<sub>4</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. Pure TCDD is a colorless solid with no distinguishable odor at room temperature. It is usually formed as an unwanted product in burning processes of organic materials or as a side product in organic synthesis.
TCDD is the most potent compound (congener) of its series (polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, known as PCDDs or simply dioxins) and became known as a contaminant in Agent Orange, an herbicide used in the Vietnam War. TCDD was released into the environment in the Seveso disaster. It is a persistent organic pollutant.
## Biological activity in humans and animals
TCDD and dioxin-like compounds act via a specific receptor present in all cells: the aryl hydrocarbon (AH) receptor. This receptor is a transcription factor which is involved in the expression of genes; it has been shown that high doses of TCDD either increase or decrease the expression of several hundred genes in rats. Genes of enzymes activating the breakdown of foreign and often toxic compounds are classic examples of such genes (enzyme induction). TCDD increases the enzymes breaking down, e.g., carcinogenic polycyclic hydrocarbons such as benzo(a)pyrene.
These polycyclic hydrocarbons also activate the AH receptor, but less than TCDD and only temporarily. Even many natural compounds present in vegetables cause some activation of the AH receptor. This phenomenon can be viewed as adaptive and beneficial, because it protects the organism from toxic and carcinogenic substances. Excessive and persistent stimulation of AH receptor, however, leads to a multitude of adverse effects.
The physiological function of the AH receptor has been the subject of continuous research. One obvious function is to increase the activity of enzymes breaking down foreign chemicals or normal chemicals of the body as needed. There seem to be many other functions, however, related to the development of various organs and the immune systems or other regulatory functions. The AH receptor is phylogenetically highly conserved, with a history of at least 600 million years, and is found in all vertebrates. Its ancient analogs are important regulatory proteins even in more primitive species. In fact, knock-out animals with no AH receptor are prone to illness and developmental problems. Taken together, this implies the necessity of a basal degree of AH receptor activation to achieve normal physiological function.
## Toxicity in humans
In 2000, the Expert Group of the World Health Organization considered developmental toxicity as the most pertinent risk of dioxins to human beings. Because people are usually exposed simultaneously to several dioxin-like chemicals, a more detailed account is given at dioxins and dioxin-like compounds.
### Developmental effects
In Vietnam and the United States, teratogenic or birth defects were observed in children of people who were exposed to Agent Orange or 2,4,5-T that contained TCDD as an impurity out of the production process. However, there has been some uncertainty on the causal link between Agent Orange/dioxin exposure. In 2006, a meta-analysis indicated large amount of heterogeneity between studies and emphasized a lack of consensus on the issue. Stillbirths, cleft palate, and neural tube defects, with spina bifida were the most statistically significant defects. Later some tooth defects and borderline neurodevelopmental effects have been reported. After the Seveso accident, tooth development defects, changed sex ratio and decreased sperm quality have been noted. Various developmental effects have been clearly shown after high mixed exposures to dioxins and dioxin-like compounds, the most dramatic in Yusho and Yu-chen catastrophes, in Japan and Taiwan, respectively.
### Cancer
It is largely agreed that TCDD is not directly mutagenic or genotoxic. Its main action is cancer promotion; it promotes the carcinogenicity initiated by other compounds. Very high doses may, in addition, cause cancer indirectly; one of the proposed mechanisms is oxidative stress and the subsequent oxygen damage to DNA. There are other explanations such as endocrine disruption or altered signal transduction. The endocrine disrupting activities seem to be dependent on life stage, being anti-estrogenic when estrogen is present (or in high concentration) in the body, and estrogenic in the absence of estrogen.
TCDD was classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a carcinogen for humans (group 1). In the occupational cohort studies available for the classification, the risk was weak and borderline detectable, even at very high exposures. Therefore, the classification was, in essence, based on animal experiments and mechanistic considerations. This was criticized as a deviation from IARC's 1997 classification rules. The main problem with IARC classification is that it only assesses qualitative hazard, i.e. carcinogenicity at any dose, and not the quantitative risk at different doses. According to a 2006 Molecular Nutrition & Food Research article, there were debates on whether TCDD was carcinogenic only at high doses which also cause toxic damage of tissues. A 2011 review concluded that, after 1997, further studies did not support an association between TCDD exposure and cancer risk. One of the problems is that in all occupational studies the subjects have been exposed to a large number of chemicals, not only TCDD. By 2011, it was reported that studies that include the update of Vietnam veteran studies from Operation Ranch Hand, had concluded that after 30 years the results did not provide evidence of disease. On the other hand, the latest studies on Seveso population support TCDD carcinogenicity at high doses.
In 2004, an article in the International Journal of Cancer provided some direct epidemiological evidence that TCDD or other dioxins are not causing soft-tissue sarcoma at low doses, although this cancer has been considered typical for dioxins. There was in fact a trend of cancer to decrease. This is called a J-shape dose-response, low doses decrease the risk, and only higher doses increase the risk, according to a 2005 article in the journal Dose-Response.
### Safety recommendations
The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) derived in 2001 a provisional tolerable monthly intake (PTMI) of 70 pg TEQ/kg body weight. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established an oral reference dose (RfD) of 0.7 pg/kg b.w. per day for TCDD (see discussion on the differences in). According to the Aspen Institute, in 2011:
> The general environmental limit in most countries is 1,000 ppt TEq in soils and 100 ppt in sediment. Most industrialized countries have dioxin concentrations in soils of less than 12 ppt. The U.S. Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry has determined that levels higher than 1,000 ppt TEq in soil require intervention, including research, surveillance, health studies, community and physician education, and exposure investigation. The EPA is considering reducing these limits to 72 ppt TEq. This change would significantly increase the potential volume of contaminated soil requiring treatment.
## Animal toxicology
By far most information on toxicity of dioxin-like chemicals is based on animal studies utilizing TCDD. Almost all organs are affected by high doses of TCDD. In short-term toxicity studies in animals, the typical effects are anorexia and wasting, and even after a huge dose animals die only 1 to 6 weeks after the TCDD administration. Seemingly similar species have varying sensitivities to acute effects: lethal dose for a guinea pig is about 1 μg/kg, but to a hamster it is more than 1,000 μg/kg. A similar difference can be seen even between two different rat strains. Various hyperplastic (overgrowth) or atrophic (wasting away) responses are seen in different organs, thymus atrophy is very typical in several animal species. TCDD also affects the balance of several hormones. In some species, but not in all, severe liver toxicity is seen. Taking into account the low doses of dioxins in the present human population, only two types of toxic effects have been considered to cause a relevant risk to humans: developmental effects and cancer.
### Developmental effects
Developmental effects occur at very low doses in animals. They include frank teratogenicity such as cleft palate and hydronephrosis. Development of some organs may be even more sensitive: very low doses perturb the development of sexual organs in rodents, and the development of teeth in rats. The latter is important in that tooth deformities were also seen after the Seveso accident and possibly after a long breast-feeding of babies in the 1970s and 1980s when the dioxin concentrations in Europe were about ten times higher than at present.
### Cancer
Cancers can be induced in animals at many sites. At sufficiently high doses, TCDD has caused cancer in all animals tested. The most sensitive is liver cancer in female rats, and this has long been a basis for risk assessment. Dose-response of TCDD in causing cancer does not seem to be linear, and there is a threshold below which it seems to cause no cancer. TCDD is not mutagenic or genotoxic, in other words, it is not able to initiate cancer, and the cancer risk is based on promotion of cancer initiated by other compounds or on indirect effects such as disturbing defense mechanisms of the body e.g. by preventing apoptosis or programmed death of altered cells. Carcinogenicity is associated with tissue damage, and it is often viewed now as secondary to tissue damage.
TCDD may in some conditions potentiate the carcinogenic effects of other compounds. An example is benzo(a)pyrene that is metabolized in two steps, oxidation and conjugation. Oxidation produces epoxide carcinogens that are rapidly detoxified by conjugation, but some molecules may escape to the nucleus of the cell and bind to DNA causing a mutation, resulting in cancer initiation. When TCDD increases the activity of oxidative enzymes more than conjugation enzymes, the epoxide intermediates may increase, increasing the possibility of cancer initiation. Thus, a beneficial activation of detoxifying enzymes may lead to deleterious side effects.
## History
TCDD was first synthesized in the laboratory in 1957 by Wilhelm Sandermann, and he also discovered the effects of the compound.
### Cases of exposure
There have been numerous incidents where people have been exposed to high doses of TCDD.
- In 1953, an accident occurred at BASF during the chlorination of diphenyl oxides, as a result of which several workers developed severe chloracne. Similar cases had occurred 6 years earlier in the USA and in 1952, 1954 and 1956 at the Boehringer Ingelheim company.
- In 1976, thousands of inhabitants of Seveso, Italy were exposed to TCDD after an accidental release of several kilograms of TCDD from a pressure tank. Many animals died, and high concentrations of TCDD, up to 56,000 pg/g of fat, were noted especially in children playing outside and eating local food. The acute effects were limited to about 200 cases of chloracne. Long-term effects seem to include a slight excess of multiple myeloma and myeloid leukaemia, as well as some developmental effects such as disturbed development of teeth and excess of girls born to fathers who were exposed as children. Several other long-term effects have been suspected, but the evidence is not very strong.
- In Times Beach, Missouri, several hundred people were poisoned by extremely high concentrations of TCDD by Russell Martin Bliss, who sprayed TCDD-contaminated waste oil on dusty roads to avoid large dust clouds. Bliss himself obtained the waste oil from NEPACCO, a company that produced Agent Orange. No one was ever charged in relation to the incident, and the city of Times Beach was abandoned and disincorporated following an investigation by the CDC and EPA. This is marked as the single largest contamination of a civilian area by TCDD in United States history.
- In Vienna, two women were poisoned at their workplace in 1997, and the measured concentrations in one of them were the highest ever measured in a human being, 144,000 pg/g of fat. This is about 100,000 times the concentrations in most people today and about 10,000 times the sum of all dioxin-like compounds in young people today. They survived but suffered from difficult chloracne for several years. The poisoning likely happened in October 1997 but was not discovered until April 1998. At the institute where the women worked as secretaries, high concentrations of TCDD were found in one of the labs, suggesting that the compound had been produced there. The police investigation failed to find clear evidence of crime, and no one was ever prosecuted. Aside from malaise and amenorrhea there were few other symptoms or abnormal laboratory findings.
- In 2004, presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine was poisoned with a large dose of TCDD. His blood TCDD concentration was measured 108,000 pg/g of fat, which is the second highest ever measured. This concentration implies a dose exceeding 2 mg, or 25 μg/kg of body weight. He suffered from chloracne for many years, but after initial malaise, other symptoms or abnormal laboratory findings were few.
- An area of polluted land in Italy, known as the Triangle of Death, is contaminated with TCDD from years of illegal waste disposal by organized crime.
## See also
- Dioxins and dioxin-like compounds
- Toxic Equivalency |
# On Patrol: Live
On Patrol: Live is an American reality television and docuseries that airs on the cable and satellite television network Reelz. It follows camera crews going on ride-alongs with law enforcement agencies in the United States. The series is produced by Half Moon Pictures, a subsidiary of the same company that produced Live PD for A\&E.
It premiered on July 22, 2022. On Patrol: Live is hosted by Dan Abrams and retired Tulsa Police Department Sergeant Sean "Sticks" Larkin, who both returned from Live PD, along with newcomer Curtis Wilson, a deputy with the Richland County Sheriff's Department. Captain Tom Rizzo from the Howell Township Police Department replaced Larkin following his departure.
A\&E later filed a lawsuit against the series, network, and production companies claiming copyright infringement. A\&E Television Networks LLC v. Big Fish Entertainment LLC was eventually settled out of court. The series performed strongly in viewing numbers and frequently won its targeted age demographic. The Albuquerque Journal's editorial board was critical of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office for partnering with the show.
A companion series containing a preview of each night's show, called On Patrol: First Shift, airs an hour before On Patrol: Live; it premiered on August 12, 2022. An additional 90 episodes of On Patrol: Live were ordered, which will keep the show on the air until January 2025.
## Overview
On Patrol: Live rides along with various law enforcement agencies across the United States and broadcasts their interactions. The live broadcasts are supplemented by additional footage recorded by camera crews throughout the preceding week. Commentary is provided by host Dan Abrams alongside analysts Sean "Sticks" Larkin and Curtis Wilson. Additional segments in each episode include "Missing", for which the series partners with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Black and Missing Foundation, "Crime of the Night" (originally titled "Crime of the Week"), and "Wanted". In the second season the latter two segments were replaced by "Triple Play" and "BOLO". Ashleigh Banfield and Matt Iseman periodically serve as fill-in hosts for Abrams'. Other law enforcement officials have stood in for Larkin and Wilson. Following Larkin's regular departure, a series of guest analysts appeared before the role was permanently filled by Tom Rizzo. Despite this, Larkin has still periodically appeared, in the absence of Abrams, Wilson, or Rizzo.
## Episodes
## Production
### Background
A\&E television network pulled four original episodes of Live PD from the schedule that were set to air the weekend of May 29–30, and June 5–6, 2020. At the time, A\&E cited the May 25 murder of George Floyd and subsequent protests as the primary reason stating it was "out of respect for the families of George Floyd and others who have lost their lives". On June 9, host Dan Abrams stated in a tweet "all of us associated with the show are as committed to it as ever" and was confident the series would return to air. A day later on June 10, it was reported that the network had destroyed footage of police action in the killing of Javier Ambler.
The series had routinely been filming additional footage outside of its live broadcast for later use, and was riding-along with the Williamson County Sheriff's Department on the day of the killing. After the initial investigation had concluded producers followed policy and destroyed the footage on the orders of Sheriff Robert Chody, an action for which he was later charged. As a response to the two incidents, and Paramount Network's cancelling of Cops, A\&E and production company Big Fish Entertainment jointly decided to cancel the series and its associated programs with the possibility to reboot it in the future.
### Development
A month before its cancellation, Live PD had been renewed for an additional 160 episodes. Its timeslot was later filled by spin-off series Live Rescue. In August 2020, Abrams reported that he was actively advocating for the series to return. Abrams also said that "active discussions" to bring Live PD back were occurring and its return would have protocol changes. These reports by Abrams continued into 2021 when he said it would return that year. This statement was partially retracted in December, when Abrams said other networks had expressed interest in the series, but that he still hoped to see a future return. In the year following the cancellation, A\&E's viewership dropped 49% becoming the 20th ranked ad-supported cable channel by total viewers, compared to its previous rank of 8th. Abrams confirmed once more in March 2022 that these conversations were still ongoing and that it would be unlikely to air on his Law\&Crime television network due to budget constraints.
In June 2022, the series was revived under the title On Patrol: Live, airing on Reelz. Reelz signed a multi-year commitment for the series containing a "significant episode guarantee", with a network executive mentioning it was "the biggest commitment we've ever made". Similar to Live PD, the series follows police officers on patrol and broadcasts their encounters live. A new aspect of On Patrol: Live includes local citizens also riding-along with the law enforcement officers and media crews. The series airs on a time delay for "safety and security purposes"; the delay is elastic and can be as little as a "few minutes" but possibly up to 30 minutes. Any footage obtained earlier than 30 minutes is acknowledged on air. Dan Abrams and retired Tulsa Police Department Sergeant Sean "Sticks" Larkin returned to host. Tom Morris Jr. was unable to return due to scheduling and was replaced by Curtis Wilson. Wilson is a sheriff's deputy with the Richland County Sheriff's Department and was suggested for the role by Morris; Wilson had previously been involved with Live PD's "Wanted" segments. Abrams, who also retained his role as executive producer on the series, said "more exceptions" would be made in deciding which footage to retain past the 30-day policy, believing that the previous rules were too strict. Abrams also stated that the series would be more focused on transparency than Live PD was. John Zito, also returning from Live PD, alongside Paul Gordon and Joe Venafro are additional executive producers. MGM Television's Big Fish Entertainment returned as a production company under its new subsidiary, Half Moon Pictures, which "is focused on crime and investigative content".
On Patrol: Live was renewed for an additional 90-episodes on February 14, 2023, which kept the series on the air through January 2024. The initial 60-episode order would have expired with the February 25, 2023, episode of the series. Larkin reported in July 2023 that he would scaling back his time on the series to "enjoy time with family, friends and other adventures". During this time a series of guest hosts appeared on the series while Larkin began hosting a new series on Fox Nation titled Crime Cam 24/7. He had previously hosted PD Cam, a similar series and spinoff of Live PD between 2018 and 2020. Executive producer Dan Cesareo departed MGM Alternative in July 2023 after the end of five-year deal signed in 2018 resulting in the sale of Big Fish Entertainment to MGM, but will continue to oversee On Patrol: Live alongside his successor Lucilla D'Agostino, who is also an executive producer on the series. Another set of 90-episodes was ordered on January 12, 2024, which will comprise the series third season and run through January 2025.
### A\&E Networks lawsuit
A\&E Networks, the parent company of the A\&E network, filed a lawsuit in August 2022, against Reelz, Big Fish Entertainment, and Half Moon Pictures, alleging that it was a "blatant rip-off" of Live PD, infringed on their intellectual property, and calling for the series to stop production. According to the court filing, A\&E retained all rights to commission new episodes of the series and had not authorized Reelz or Big Fish Entertainment to continue production. Prior to its airing A\&E sent Reelz cease-and-desist letters which they say were ignored, with the exception of a name change from its working title of PD Live, a reverse of Live PD.
The lawsuit further says that On Patrol: Live features many of the same segments as Live PD; as well as similar graphics, captions, and credits. It also mentions that the series airs in the same timeslot, tarnishes A\&E's reputation as a result of technical difficulties, and confuses viewers due to news articles describing it as an official revival. Reelz responded to a request for comment stating that "ReelzChannel, LLC, has not been served with nor had an opportunity to review the Complaint in detail, and thus has no comment at this time beyond denying liability and expressing its ongoing commitment to On Patrol: Live."
Big Fish Entertainment disputed A\&E's allegations of copyright violations, calling the lawsuit "meritless" in a December 2022 court filing and stating "A\&E is free to air another live police show. A\&E also is free to air reruns of old Live PD episodes. A\&E is not free, however, to use the copyright and trademark laws to stop Live PD's creators from taking their talents elsewhere, after A\&E turned its back on them, merely because it came to regret that choice. A\&E's lawsuit should be dismissed in full, with prejudice."
Despite the lawsuit, A\&E and Big Fish continue to cooperate on production of Court Night Live, a court show which has served as a de facto "spiritual successor" replacement of Live PD. In 2023 a motion was filed by Big Fish Entertainment to dismiss the case which was denied by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in June. Failla stated that while the individual elements of both series do not meet the requirements for copyright protection, the mix of elements as a whole are. This allowed A\&E to begin discovery of evidence; required the defendants to reply by July 7, and instructed "all parties to file a joint status letter" by July 21, 2023.
The case was settled out of court in November 2024. In the settlement, A\&E signed a non-exclusive agreement with Amazon (MGM Television's parent company) to add expanded A\&E content on Amazon's Prime Video in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, which includes new FAST channels, new title availability, and an add-on subscription. A\&E, Big Fish Entertainment, and Reelz jointly stated, "A+E Networks and Amazon have agreed to significantly expand their commercial relationship in a multi-year agreement that will amplify the reach of A+E Networks' brands and content on Amazon's Prime Video service. In connection with that agreement, the legal dispute between A+E and Big Fish Entertainment and Reelz concerning Live PD has been resolved."
## Release and reception
### Broadcast
The series airs on Reelz and premiered on July 22, 2022. It airs weekly on Fridays and Saturdays and is broadcast live for three hours from 9:00 p.m.–12:00 a.m. Eastern Time (ET). The premiere episode began broadcasting 70-minutes after its scheduled start time due to technical difficulties. After initially showing dead air, repeated commercials were shown for a documentary about the band Kiss set to air the following Sunday, and ending in two rerun episodes of Jail: Las Vegas. This episode ultimately began airing at 10:15 p.m. and was broadcast in its entirety without television advertisements. The following episode also briefly began with dead air, but the issue was fixed quickly. Reelz signed an agreement with the streaming provider Peacock to carry the channels linear feed live beginning in March 2023. The deal also allows the series as well as First Shift to be streamed on-demand the day after its live broadcast. An additional fourth hour of the programme was broadcast following the normal episode June 29, 2024, airing through 1:00 a.m. ET on June 30.
### Critical response
Prior to the series airing, Adrian Horton, writing for The Guardian, opined that the revival was a "backslide" in policing reform and criticized the lack of need for subjects to sign consent forms due to its categorization as a news organization. Horton also said that despite Abrams declaration of further transparency in the series, no change would be enough to satisfy its flaws.
Writing in the Albuquerque Journal, the paper's editorial board took issue with a segment in which a Bernalillo County deputy, accompanied by one of the show's camera crews, responded to a traffic accident. The board opined that the show is "spotlight[ing] crime and victimiz[ing] victims" and that taxpayers risk getting "humiliated on TV and subsequently mocked on social media in the name of entertainment". The editorial board encouraged the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office Advisory and Review Board to recommend the department's cooperation with On Patrol: Live be ended. On January 5, 2023, the Sheriff's Office announced they would be "taking a break" from the show; the county has not been featured on the show since.
Following the premiere weekend, Brittany Frederick from Comic Book Resources wrote that despite being similar to its predecessor, On Patrol: Live failed to capture the same "frantic energy". She specifically mentioned that Wilson didn't measure up to the former dynamic held between Abrams, Larkin, and Morris. Frederick later explained that she believed the series needed unique elements rather than attempting to be an exact copy of Live PD.
### Viewing figures
The series premiered to strong ratings, winning the 25–54 year-old demographic during its first two episodes with 397,000 and 403,000 viewers, respectively. Reelz also reported that it had 121 million impressions across social media platforms and trended on Twitter. Throughout the seven telecasts broadcast in its opening weekend, the series achieved a total of 3.5 million viewers. In its second week, the series surpassed viewership of competing Shark Week programming on Discovery Channel and once again won the 25–54 demographic. By August 10, 2022, the series totaled 6.8 million viewers and 1.8 billion minutes throughout its twenty-seven telecasts. At the time of the series first renewal in February 2023, it was averaging over 800,000 same-day viewers an episode. Viewership on Reelz increased 270% in 2022, and 34% in 2023, as a result of On Patrol: Live.
## On Patrol: First Shift
On Patrol: First Shift is a companion series that serves as a lead-in to each new airing of On Patrol: Live. The series is co-hosted by Abrams, Larkin, and Wilson; the three preview new episodes of the parent series, provide additional analysis on previous episodes, and answer viewer questions.
### Episodes |
# Peter Vincenti
Peter Ian Vincenti (born 7 July 1986) is a Jèrriais professional footballer who plays for Jersey Football Combination club St. Peter. He primarily plays as a winger, although he has also been deployed in attacking midfield, and as a forward. Vincenti is the vice-chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA).
Vincenti began his career as a youth player for First Tower United, where he played for one year, before moving to his hometown club St. Peter. He spent two years with St. Peter. Vincenti joined Millwall on a short-term contract following a successful trial period. However, he did not to break into the first-team and left the club when his contract expired in January 2008. He subsequently signed for Stevenage Borough the same month, and was part of the side that won the FA Trophy at Wembley Stadium during the 2008–09 season. The following season, he helped the club earn promotion to the Football League by winning the Conference Premier. In October 2010, Vincenti joined Conference Premier club Mansfield Town on an initial three-month loan.
Shortly after returning to his parent club, he signed for Aldershot Town, spending two-and-a-half years with the club and making over 100 appearances. In May 2013, Vincenti signed for League Two club Rochdale, and helped the club achieve promotion to League One in his first season. After four seasons at Rochdale, Vincenti joined League Two club Coventry City in July 2017, where he won promotion to League One via the play-offs during his one season there. In August 2018, Vincenti was released from his contract at Coventry and joined newly promoted League Two club Macclesfield Town. Vincenti was loaned to National League North club Hereford in September 2019 for three months. He left Macclesfield when his contract expired and rejoined his first club, St. Peter, in September 2020. Vincenti has also represented the Jersey national team, and played for his country at the Island Games in 2007.
In 2023 Vincenti made his debut for the WGCS in a much hyped grudge match against Le Judge in the scorching heat at the Royal Jersey. Battling through injury and adversity, Vincenti single handedly won the first 5 holes in his match play and the lead proved unassailable as his twosome finished with a 5&4 victory as WGCS embarrassed Le Judge with a 210-161 comprehensive victory.
## Early life
Vincenti was born in Saint Peter, Jersey. His father, also called Peter Vincenti, played as a midfielder and later managed the Jersey national football team. Despite his father being involved in football, Vincenti stated his parents were "never obsessive" of him playing and that they placed more focus on the importance of education. Vincenti studied Business Studies at Liverpool Hope University prior to playing football professionally. He later earned his master's degree in Business Administration at the Open University.
## Club career
### Early career
Vincenti was a product of the Jersey Football Association's centre of excellence, and started his football career as a youth player at First Tower United juniors before moving to his local team St. Peter. He progressed into the first-team at St. Peter and played on a part-time basis. He was top goalscorer for Jersey in the Island Games, held in Rhodes in June 2007. Vincenti subsequently won Jersey Footballer of the Year in 2007. After graduating from Liverpool Hope University, during which he only played football socially for the University's second team, Vincenti had planned to move to Dublin to begin a career in finance. The academy director at St. Peter, Brian Foulser, had contacts at English club Millwall and organised a trial for Vincenti in July 2007. He played in three pre-season friendlies for the club against Tooting & Mitcham United, Kingstonian, and Sutton United respectively, and earned a four-month contract that ran until December 2007. Vincenti did not make a first-team appearance for Millwall during his time at the club, making the substitutes' bench once in a League One match against Swindon Town.
### Stevenage
When his contract at Millwall expired, Vincenti joined Stevenage Borough on a free transfer on 4 January 2008. He made his debut for the club in a 5–0 victory against Droylsden on 19 January 2008. Five days after his debut, on 24 January 2008, Vincenti signed a contract extension until 2010 having impressed manager Peter Taylor. He played 12 times for Stevenage towards the latter stages of the club's 2007–08 season, scoring his first goal for the club in a 3–1 win over Crawley Town on 1 March 2008. Vincenti was transfer-listed following Graham Westley's reappointment as manager in May 2008.
After Stevenage started the 2008–09 season by losing three out of the first four opening games, conceding 13 goals in the process, Vincenti made his first appearance of the season in the club's fifth game, a 1–1 draw with Crawley Town. Vincenti's return to the first-team coincided with an upturn in form for the Hertfordshire club, and he was removed from the transfer-list by Westley in September 2008. He scored against Stevenage's local rivals Woking in a 1–0 victory on 1 November 2008, scoring from 25-yards. Vincenti scored the only goal of the game with the last-kick of the match in the second leg of the FA Trophy semi-final against Ebbsfleet United on 21 March 2009. The win meant that Stevenage had earned a place in the final at Wembley Stadium, which he subsequently started as Stevenage beat York City 2–0. In doing so, he became the first player from the Channel Islands to play in a competitive match at the new Wembley Stadium. Vincenti played 31 times during his first full season with the club, scoring four goals.
Before the start of the 2009–10 season, Vincenti was loaned to Conference South club Woking on a three-month deal after playing in a trial match for the club. The following day, Stevenage played out a 0–0 draw with Woking in their final pre-season fixture, and despite joining the latter on loan, Vincenti played for his parent club. Shortly after the match, Westley decided he could not afford to release Vincenti and the loan agreement with Woking was cancelled. Vincenti played in five of the first six games of the season, all of which as a substitute, and started the following game against Histon on 31 August 2009, during which he was sent-off in the sixth-minute for violent conduct. In October 2009, he came on as a substitute to score a 94th-minute winner in the FA Cup against Chelmsford City. He played 26 times in all competitions that season, as Stevenage earned promotion to the Football League for the first time in the club's history.
He started in the club's first Football League match against Macclesfield Town on 7 August 2010, scoring Stevenage's first goal in the Football League in the sixth-minute of the match; heading in Charlie Griffin's cross from close-range in a match that ended 2–2. Vincenti's goal was also the first goal of the 2010–11 League Two season. During his three years at Stevenage, Vincenti scored seven times in 77 appearances. In October 2010, Vincenti joined Conference Premier club Mansfield Town on an initial three-month loan deal, with a view to the agreement being made permanent in January 2011. He made his Mansfield debut in the club's 4–1 home defeat to Crawley Town, playing 75 minutes of the match before being substituted. Vincenti made four appearances during the loan spell.
### Aldershot Town
Vincenti signed for Aldershot Town on a free transfer on 14 January 2011, joining the League Two club on an 18-month contract. He was Dean Holdsworth's first signing for Aldershot, with Vincenti having previously played under Dean's brother, David, at Mansfield Town. He made his debut for Aldershot on 15 January 2011, playing 78 minutes in the club's 1–1 away draw at Bury. Vincenti scored his first goal for Aldershot a week later in a 3–2 home victory against Crewe Alexandra. He scored two goals within the space of a week in February 2011, scoring a late equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Northampton Town, followed by a consolation strike in a 2–1 home loss to Port Vale. He scored further goals against Cheltenham Town, Bradford City, and Rotherham United respectively, taking his goal tally to six. Vincenti made 22 appearances for Aldershot during the season, with the club finishing in 14th place in League Two.
He remained at Aldershot for the 2011–12 season, and scored his first goal of the campaign on 13 September 2011, heading in Alex Rodman's cross to double Aldershot's advantage in a 2–0 away win at Hereford United. A month later, Vincenti scored in a 5–2 win against Dagenham & Redbridge on 22 October 2011. It was to be Vincenti's last goal for almost five months, ending his 21-game goal drought when he scored from just inside the area in a 2–2 draw with Crawley Town on 13 March 2012. Vincenti signed a one-year contract extension with Aldershot on 30 March 2012, keeping him contracted to the club until June 2013. Vincenti made 49 appearances during the campaign, scoring six times.
His third season at Aldershot began with a 7–6 penalty shootout defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux in the League Cup on 11 August 2012, with Vincenti playing the first 90 minutes of the match. It took Vincenti 20 matches to score his first goal of the season, scoring with a 30-yard shot just before half-time in Aldershot's 3–2 FA Cup victory away at Fleetwood Town on 1 December 2012. He continued to play regularly during the second half of the campaign, and scored one further goal that season, from close-range in a 2–1 home defeat to Plymouth Argyle on 9 February 2013. Vincenti made 46 appearances in his final season with the club, as Aldershot were ultimately relegated back to the Conference Premier after finishing in last place in League Two. During his two-and-a-half year stay with the Hampshire club, he scored 15 times in 117 appearances in all competitions.
### Rochdale
Shortly after the end of the 2012–13 season, on 10 May 2013, Vincenti agreed to sign for League Two club Rochdale on a two-year deal following the expiration of his contract at Aldershot on 1 July 2013. Vincenti made his Rochdale debut in the club's first game of the 2013–14 season, playing the whole match in a 3–0 win over Hartlepool United at Spotland on 3 August 2013. He scored his first goal for the club in a 3–0 win against Newport County on 12 October 2013, courtesy of "a stunning 30-yard strike" to give Rochdale an early lead in the match. Vincenti scored the opening goal of the game in a 2–0 victory against Cheltenham Town on 26 April 2014, a win that ultimately secured the club's promotion into League One after Rochdale finished in second place in League Two. Vincenti was a regular starter throughout the season, making 49 appearances and scoring seven goals during his first season with the club. Following the conclusion of the season, on 30 June 2014, Vincenti signed a contract extension until 2016.
He played in Rochdale's first game back in League One during the 2014–15 season, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute in the club's 1–0 home loss to Peterborough United. He started the season by scoring four times in the opening month, which included two goals in a 4–0 away victory at Crawley Town on 6 September 2014. Vincenti's first-half goal in a 1–1 draw with Gillingham on 18 October 2014 would serve as the catalyst for one of the player's most prolific goalscoring runs of his career. He went on to score seven times in the club's next nine matches. Included in this run was a penalty in Rochdale's 1–0 FA Cup victory against Championship opposition in the form of Nottingham Forest on 3 January 2015. Vincenti scored 16 times in 44 appearances during the season, finishing as the club's second highest goalscorer for the campaign, as Rochdale consolidated their place back in League One after finishing in eighth position.
Ahead of the 2015–16 season, on 15 July 2015, Vincenti agreed a two-year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2018. Similarly to the previous season, Vincenti went on a run of scoring seven times within the space of nine matches. This spanned from August to October 2015. This resulted in him being named the EFL League One Player of the Month for October 2015. After the run of goals early in the season, Vincenti did not score again for four months. This ended when he came on as a second-half substitute and opened the scoring in an eventual 2–0 victory over Sheffield United on 27 February 2016. He played 43 times during the season, scoring eight goals, as Rochdale once again finished outside of the play-off positions in tenth place.
A reoccurring ankle problem resulted in Vincenti playing just four times in the opening half of the 2016–17 season. He underwent ankle surgery in October 2016, with the club estimating the injury would keep Vincenti out for up to four months. Vincenti returned to the first-team on 21 January 2017, appearing as a half-time substitute in Rochdale's 4–0 home defeat to Oxford United. He scored his only goal of the season in the club's 4–1 win over Gillingham on 18 March 2017. Vincenti made 16 appearances during the injury-disrupted season. During his four years at Rochdale, Vincenti scored 32 times in 152 games, with the club gaining promotion and establishing themselves as a League One team during his time there.
### Coventry City
Despite having a year left on his contract, Vincenti left Rochdale by mutual consent and signed a two-year contract with recently-relegated League Two club Coventry City on 21 June 2017. Coventry manager Mark Robins highlighted Vincenti's versatility and experience as two of the main reasons behind signing the player. He made his debut in the club's opening game of the 2017–18 season, playing the whole match as Coventry secured a 3–0 win against Notts County at the Ricoh Arena. Vincenti scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 home win against Carlisle United on 12 September 2017. He played for most of the season with an ankle injury, which Robins stated Vincenti would have surgery on in the summer. Vincenti made 29 appearances during his only season with the club, scoring three times, as Coventry won promotion back to League One via the play-offs.
### Macclesfield Town
Vincenti was released from his contract at Coventry ahead of the 2018–19 season in order to join newly promoted League Two club Macclesfield Town on a two-year deal on 9 August 2018. He made his debut for Macclesfield on 1 September 2018, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute in a 3–0 away loss to Crewe Alexandra. Vincenti scored his first goal for Macclesfield in the club's 4–1 away loss to Accrington Stanley in the EFL Trophy on 9 October 2018. He scored in a 2–1 victory over Carlisle United on 20 October 2018. Vincenti's 83rd-minute winning goal in the game ended Macclesfield's run of 36 consecutive Football League matches without a win, which stretched back to their last spell in League Two in 2012, and stopped the club breaking the previous record for most Football League matches without a win. The goal turned out to be Vincenti's last goal of the season, and he did not appear for Macclesfield during the second half of the campaign. Vincenti made 19 appearances during the season, scoring twice.
Having not played first-team football for eight months, Vincenti joined National League North club Hereford on a loan deal until January on 20 September 2019. A day later, he scored on his debut in a 5–2 home victory over Truro City in the FA Cup. He scored five times in 15 appearances during the loan agreement. Vincenti left Macclesfield when his contract expired in June 2020.
### Return to Jersey
Without a club at the start of the 2020–21 season, Vincenti returned to his hometown and began to train with St. Peter, the club he first represented at senior level, in September 2020. He signed a contract to play for the club for the "next couple of weeks" whilst he looked for employment on the island. He made his second debut in St. Peter's 2–2 draw with St. Brelade's in the Wheway Memorial Trophy on 30 September 2020, which St. Peter ultimately won 8–7 in a penalty shootout.
## International career
Vincenti is of Scottish descent.
In March 2004, Vincenti represented Jersey's under-18 side in their first international in a draw against Northern Ireland U18.
Vincenti represented Jersey at the 2007 Island Games.
## Style of play
Vincenti has described himself as a "utility player" and considers his versatility as an asset. After signing Vincenti for Coventry, manager Mark Robins highlighted Vincenti's versatility as a reason behind signing the player. Vincenti says that his favourite position is as an attacking midfielder, where he "can make late runs into the box and hope to get on the end of any crosses".
He also says he is comfortable playing in central midfield and as a forward, but would ultimately "play anywhere the manager tells him to". He considers his height to be an "attacking threat", which is one of the reasons he likes to arrive late into the box. Mansfield Town manager David Holdsworth said that Vincenti's height "means he is very much a threat from set pieces".
## Coaching career
A UEFA B Licence coach, Vincenti was appointed as the academy director at St. Peter on 24 January 2021.
## Personal life
Following his move back to Jersey at the end of his professional playing career, Vincenti started a new career in the finance industry, working with the Sanne Group, moving to JTC Group in 2023. He is also a qualified referee.
## Career statistics
## Honours
Stevenage Borough
- Conference Premier: 2009–10
- FA Trophy: 2008–09; runner-up: 2009–10
Rochdale
- Football League Two second-place promotion: 2013–14
Coventry City
- EFL League Two play-offs: 2018
Individual
- Football League One Player of the Month: October 2015 |
# Characteres generum plantarum
Characteres generum plantarum (complete title Characteres generum plantarum, quas in Itinere ad Insulas Maris Australis, Collegerunt, Descripserunt, Delinearunt, annis MDCCLXXII-MDCCLXXV Joannes Reinoldus Forster et Georgius Forster, "Characteristics of the types of plants collected, described, and delineated during a voyage to islands of the South Seas, in the years 1772–1775 by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster") is a 1775/1776 book by Johann Reinhold Forster and Georg Forster about the botanical discoveries they made during the second voyage of James Cook.
The book contains 78 plates, the majority of which depict dissections of flowers at natural size. The book introduced 94 binomial names from 75 genera, of which 43 are still the accepted names today. Many plant genera were named after friends or patrons of the Forsters. The book was published in a folio and a quarto edition and translated into German in 1779. It is an important book as the earliest publication of names and descriptions of the native species of New Zealand.
## Background
Johann Reinhold Forster was the main scientific companion travelling with James Cook on his 1772–1775 second voyage. His son Georg Forster accompanied him as draughtsman and assistant. Botanical specimens were collected by Georg and Anders Sparrman, a student of Carl Linnaeus who had been hired as an assistant by Reinhold Forster. After the return to England, Characteres generum plantarum was the first scientific publication to come out of the voyage. Reinhold Forster tried to use it to enhance his own reputation as a scientist and to compete with the first voyage's botanist, Joseph Banks. He was uneasy that Banks might already have described and published most of the species names and wanted to be able to claim the discovery of the species he found as his own achievement.
Characteres was prepared during the voyage, written quickly and contained numerous errors. Reinhold Forster later regretted its rushed publication and not having consulted Banks for his opinions and access to his collections. Cook unsuccessfully attempted to halt the book's publication in the autumn of 1775, possibly in order to prevent any preemption of his own narrative, but Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, gave his permission for the book to be published at Forster's own expense. The first folio edition was presented to King George III in November 1775, probably on 17 November; this also effectively made it impossible for Sandwich to withdraw the permission for publication.
## Content
The book starts with an introduction that dedicates it to King George III, explains the context of the journey and describes the methods used and the contributions by Reinhold and Georg Forster as well as Sparrman. It also contains an apology for containing only 75 genera. While the two Forsters are listed as authors, Georg Forster later stated that the descriptions were all by him and Sparrman, as his father was more concerned with zoology. The book contains 78 plates depicting the plants. These are described by Dan Nicolson as "almost all of floral dissections at natural size, hence unappealing".
The plants were named according to the Linnaean model. For some of them, local names or usage influenced the choice of names. For example, Diospyros including Diospyros major were called Maba by the Forsters, referring to their Tongan name. Xylosma were named Myroxylon ("myrrh tree"), referring to the inhabitants' use of it to scent coconut-based hair oil. Many genera were named after friends or potential patrons, including Barringtonia, honouring Daines Barrington, and Pennantia, named after Thomas Pennant.
## Editions, formats and owners
The book was printed in both folio and quarto formats, with the folios intended as presents for friends, supporters and potential patrons of the Forsters. The majority is dated 1776, with one quarto and two folios from 1775 known. It is likely that both folio and quarto editions were printed in November 1775. The two 1775 folios are the one presented to George III and another one sent by Reinhold Forster to Linnaeus in November 1775. According to a letter from Reinhold Forster, 25 folio copies were made, of which at least 16 folios have been traced, including the copies of Joseph Banks, Thomas Pennant, and Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin. The copy dedicated to Charles III of Spain is now in the library of the University of California, Los Angeles, while the current whereabouts of the one originally belonging to Anna Blackburne (which was offered for sale in 1944) are unknown. Of the quarto edition, at least 200, probably several hundred copies were printed, and it was published and widely available in January or February 1776, selling for £1 7s.
The book was translated into German by Johann Simon von Kerner, head of the Botanical Gardens of Stuttgart, appearing in 1779. The original Latin was reprinted in Volume 6 of Georg Forster's complete works [de], which were published by the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin and continued by the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities.
## Importance and controversy
The book is an important contribution to the botany of New Zealand, as the first publication containing names and descriptions of its native species. The earlier observations by Banks and Solander from the first voyage of James Cook were only published much later. Of the 94 binomials from 75 genera in the book, 43 are the accepted names even today, and for seven others, the generic name is still used while the binomials are no longer the accepted names.
William Wales, the astronomer on the voyage with Cook, stated he had "not been able to extract any information what[so]ever, except that they found, in the whole 75 New Plants, but whether those are all, or any of them, different from such as had been discovered by Mr Banks, he cannot learn." Later, Elmer Drew Merrill accused the Forsters both of pirating Solander's work in Characteres and of not using Solander's names; however, there is no evidence that they had access to Solander's or Banks's manuscripts after the voyage. The botanists Dan Henry Nicolson and Francis Raymond Fosberg, who studied the botanical contributions of the Forsters to Cook's second voyage, note that the work was not plagiarised from Solander, but done during the expedition, as evidenced by Forster manuscripts from the voyage that Merrill was not aware of. |
# The Boat Race 2005
The 151st Boat Race took place on 27 March 2005. Oxford won the race by two lengths in a time of 16 minutes 41 seconds. The race, umpired by the six-time Boat Race winner Boris Rankov, featured seven Olympic rowers. It was the first time the event was broadcast in the United Kingdom on ITV.
In the reserve race Goldie beat Isis and Cambridge won the Women's race.
## Background
The Boat Race is an annual rowing eight competition between the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge. First held in 1829, the competition is a 4.2-mile (6.8 km) race along The Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and worldwide. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 2004 race by six lengths, and led overall with 78 victories to Oxford's 71 (excluding the "dead heat" of 1877). The race was sponsored by Xchanging for the first time, and it was the first year the event was televised in the United Kingdom by ITV, following a £1.75 million pound five-year deal, therefore ending the 50-year relationship the event had with the BBC.
The first Women's Boat Race took place in 1927, but did not become an annual fixture until the 1960s. Up until 2014, the contest was conducted as part of the Henley Boat Races, but as of the 2015 race, it is held on the River Thames, on the same day as the men's main and reserve races. The reserve race, contested between Oxford's Isis boat and Cambridge's Goldie boat has been held since 1965. It usually takes place on the Tideway, prior to the main Boat Race.
## Crews
The Oxford crew (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") was the heaviest in Boat Race history, with over a 21 pounds (9.5 kg) per crew member over the Cambridge crew (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). Both crews had an average age of 25. The Oxford crew featured five Britons, three Americans and a Canadian while the Cambridge crew consisted of four Germans, three Britons, an American and an Australian. Seven of the rowers had represented their countries at the Olympic Games. In the Cambridge crew, Heidicker rowed for Germany at both the Sydney and Athens games, Briton Tom James, German Sebastian Schulte and American Luke Walton also rowed in Athens. Oxford's Olympians included Britons Andy Triggs Hodge and Robin Bourne-Taylor, and Canadian Barney Williams, all of whom competed in Athens. According to the BBC, the former Oxford coach Dan Topolski rated both crews as good enough to make an Olympic final.
## Race description
Cambridge won the coin toss and elected to start from the northern bank (the "Middlesex side") of the Thames. At race time, conditions were cloudy and cool, with rain falling midway through. The race umpire was Boris Rankov, a six-time successful Oxford Blue.
Cambridge made a poor start allowing Oxford to take the early lead, but warnings from umpire Rankov forced the Oxford cox Acer Nethercott to steer out of the racing line and relinquish the advantage. As they approached Hammersmith Bridge, Oxford out-rated Cambridge and held a half-a-length lead. Taking a clear-water advantage before reaching Barnes Bridge, Oxford passed the finishing post two lengths ahead, with a time of 16 minutes, 41 seconds. It was their third victory in the previous four years and brought the overall result to 78–72 in Cambridge's favour. At the finish, following tradition, the Oxford crew threw their cox, Nethercott, into the water in celebration.
In the reserve race, Cambridge's Goldie beat Oxford's Isis. Earlier, Cambridge won the 60th Women's Boat Race by 2+1⁄3 lengths.
## Reaction
Oxford's number two, Williams, had lost out on gold in the Athens Olympics by two inches, he said "I knew how much it was going to hurt to lose so half of me is just so glad we didn't lose". The departing Cambridge coach Robin Williams said of his crew "They fought like tigers and should be proud of themselves". Cambridge's stroke Heidicker admitted "It was a bad start ... we never really established our own rhythm. Maybe we weren't cool enough in that situation." |
# Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2014 Winter Paralympics
Bosnia and Herzegovina sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia from 7–16 March 2014. This was the second time the country had participated in a Winter Paralympic Games. The delegation consisted of two alpine skiers, Senad Turkovic and Ilma Kazazic. Neither of the two finished any of their events.
## Background
Bosnia and Herzegovina first participated in Paralympic competition at the 1996 Summer Paralympics, and their first Winter Paralympics appearance was fourteen years later, at the 2010 Winter Paralympics. They have participated in every Summer and Winter Paralympics since their respective debuts, making these 2014 Paralympics their second Winter Paralympic appearance. The 2014 Winter Paralympics were held from 7–16 March 2014, in Sochi, Russia; 45 countries and 547 athletes took part in the multi-sport event. The delegation Bosnia and Herzegovina sent to Sochi consisted of two alpine skiers, Ilma Kazazic and Senad Turkovic. Kazazic was chosen as the flag-bearer for the parade of nations during the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony.
## Disability classification
Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories: amputation, which may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, though there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; and Les autres, which is any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, like dwarfism or multiple sclerosis. Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Events with "B" in the code are for athletes with visual impairment, codes LW1 to LW9 are for athletes who stand to compete and LW10 to LW12 are for athletes who compete sitting down. Alpine skiing events grouped athletes into separate competitions for sitting, standing and visually impaired athletes.
## Alpine skiing
Both competitors said their preparations were hampered by a lack of snow in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Senad Turkovic was 45 years old at the time of the Sochi Paralympics. He has a limb defficency suffered as a result of war, and is classified as LW4, meaning he competes in a standing position. On 13 March, he failed to finish the first run of the Men's standing slalom, falling within the first ten seconds of his race. Two days later, in the Men's standing giant slalom, he finished the first run in a time of 1 minute and 58.16 seconds, which put him in 35th place. However, in the second run, he missed a gate, and was officially recorded as a "Did Not Finish" (DNF).
Ilma Kazazic was 15 years old at the time of these Paralympics. She was born with cerebral palsy, and is classified as an LW3, meaning she competes in a standing position. For the Sochi Paralympics, she was being coached by her teammate Turkovic. On 12 March, she failed to start the women's standing slalom for unspecified reasons. Four days later, in the women's standing giant slalom, she finished her first leg in a time of 2 minutes and 32.64 seconds, putting her in 19th place. In her second run, she fell twice, and missed a gate, causing her to be recorded as a DNF. She represented Bosnia and Herzegovina again at the 2018 Winter Paralympics.
## See also
- Bosnia and Herzegovina at the Paralympics
- Bosnia and Herzegovina at the 2014 Winter Olympics |
# Global Force Wrestling
Global Force Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2014 by Jeff Jarrett, the co-founder and former President of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and his wife Karen Jarrett. It was owned and operated via its parent company Global Force Entertainment, LLC.
The promotion ran several live events and tapings for a potential television show. Jeff Jarrett returned to Impact Wrestling in an executive role in January 2017 and Karen Jarrett announced that GFW had "merged" with Impact on April 20, 2017. Impact Wrestling assumed the GFW name the following month, but it was dropped when Jeff Jarrett departed the company four months later. Jarrett resumed promoting events under the name in December 2017, but has not run any events since October 2018.
## History
### Formation and live events
With Jeff Jarrett out as minority investor of TNA Wrestling, he debuted the branding of Global Force Wrestling (business name Global Force Entertainment, LLC) in April 2014 and began promoting the brand and establishing international partnerships with wrestling promotions across the world. The organization had a strategic partnership with 25/7 Productions and David Broome (creator of NBC's The Biggest Loser). Broome stated that the organization planned to create new on-air content 52 weeks per year.
By August 2014, GFW announced working agreements with Mexican promotion Lucha Libre AAA World Wide (AAA), Japan's New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, multiple European promotions, South African promotion World Wrestling Professionals (WWP), and promotions from Australia and New Zealand. As part of GFW's relationship with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, it presented NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 9 at the Tokyo Dome on the American pay-per-view market on January 4, 2015. The pay-per-view featured English language commentary from Jim Ross and Matt Striker. Wrestle Kingdom 9 reportedly drew 12,000 to 15,000 buys in North America.
Throughout May 2015, Jarrett announced talent for their roster, which included Bullet Club members Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows, the Killer Elite Squad, and Chael Sonnen as an expert analyst. Jarrett also announced that four champions (Global, NEX\*GEN, Tag Team and Women's Champion) would be crowned at the July 24 tapings.
The first Global Force Wrestling house show took place on June 12, 2015, at The Ballpark at Jackson in Jackson, Tennessee, as part of GFW's "Grand Slam Tour", which entailed holding events at minor league baseball stadiums. In that show's main event, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows defeated the New Heavenly Bodies.
On July 9, 2015, Jeff Jarrett announced that the name of GFW's television program was "Amped". Tapings for Amped took place at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on July 24, August 21, and October 23, 2015. In a December 2015 interview, Jeff Jarrett said that they had sixteen one-hour shows filmed at the Las Vegas tapings and hoped to have the programs air globally on television in the future.
GFW announced that they had signed an international TV distribution deal with Boulder Creek TV in the UK on September 14, 2015, and with New Zealand's TVNZ Duke on February 18, 2016. Despite this, no tapings of Amped ever aired until 2017, when footage from them was aired as Impact One Night Only pay-per-view specials. Overall, the promotion held 36 live events.
### Association with Impact Wrestling and lawsuits
After returning to TNA in early 2017 as the promotion's chief creative officer, Jarrett stated that GFW and the newly renamed Impact Wrestling were "becoming one day-by-day". On the April 20 episode of Impact Wrestling, Karen Jarrett announced that GFW and Impact Wrestling had officially merged. In a press release issued on June 28, Impact Wrestling announced that their parent company, Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., had entered into an agreement to acquire the rights to GFW. After the announcement, Impact Wrestling rebranded and took on the Global Force Wrestling name. Jeff Jarrett took an indefinite leave of absence from the company in September and Anthem slowly reverted to using the Impact Wrestling name. Impact Wrestling's rebranding was officially over on October 23, when Impact announced that its business partnership with Jeff Jarrett and GFW was terminated. The deal for Anthem to acquire GFW was never completed and Jeff Jarrett continues to own the rights to GFW.
On August 14, 2018, Jeff Jarrett and Global Force Entertainment announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Anthem Sports & Entertainment in the District Court of Tennessee for copyright infringement over the GFW rights, as Jarrett owned all GFW properties since its creation in 2014. It was revealed on February 19, 2019, that Jarrett filed another lawsuit claiming that Impact Wrestling had deleted the master copies of all 16 hours of GFW Amped. Jarrett also sued in attempt to get the trademarks of his name and likeness from Anthem. Anthem counter-sued in July 2019, arguing that they were the rightful owners of the "Jeff Jarrett" copyright, that Jarrett knew the master tapes had been deleted, that they made no money off of GFW's content and that the looks and trademarks of GFW and their former Global Wrestling Network app are not similar.
A mistrial was declared on July 30, 2020. The jury had come to a verdict but this was voided by a judge after a motion by Anthem stated that comments made by Jarrett's attorney had prejudiced them. In October, Jarrett's request for a new trial was denied without prejudice, meaning that he could have requested a new trial at a later date. However, Jarrett and Anthem reached a settlement in January 2021.
### Promotional return
Global Force Wrestling returned with a private show held for the Kentucky Wildcats and Northwestern Wildcats on December 27, 2017.
In May 2018, FITE TV announced that they had reached a deal with Global Force Entertainment to produce content for the streaming network. The first event GFW produced for FITE TV was Starrcast, which was held during the week of All In from August 28 to September 2, 2018. On October 21, 2018, GFW co-produced the NWA 70th Anniversary Show with the National Wrestling Alliance in Nashville, Tennessee. Global Force Wrestling would become dormant in the following year, as Jarrett was hired by WWE as a backstage producer and member of their creative team, a job which would last through to January 2021 as he left in order to pursue new projects potentially related to GFW. He would ultimately return to WWE for a stint as Senior Vice President of Live Events from May to August of the following year. That November, Jarrett would join All Elite Wrestling. This has precluded any more involvement with Global Force Wrestling.
## Championships
### GFW Global Championship
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### GFW NEX\*GEN Championship
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### GFW Women's Championship
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### GFW Tag Team Championship
|}
### Other championships used by GFW
## See also
- List of Global Force Wrestling events and specials
- List of former Global Force Wrestling personnel
- List of Global Force Wrestling tournaments |
# Wannabe
"Wannabe" is the debut single by the British girl group the Spice Girls, released on 26 June 1996. It was written by the Spice Girls, Matt Rowe and Richard "Biff" Stannard and produced by Rowe and Stannard for the group's debut album, Spice, released in November 1996. The song was originally mixed by Dave Way, however the Spice Girls were not pleased with the result, and the recording was instead mixed by Mark "Spike" Stent. A dance-pop song, its lyrics address the value of female friendship over heterosexual relationships. It has since became a symbol of female empowerment and the most emblematic song of the group's girl power philosophy.
"Wannabe" was heavily promoted. Its music video, directed by Johan Camitz, became a success on the British cable network the Box, which sparked press interest in the group. Subsequently, the song had intensive radio airplay across England, while the Spice Girls performed it on television and began doing interviews and photo shoots for teen magazines. Responding to the wave of interest, Virgin released the song as the Spice Girls' debut single in Japan in June 1996 and in the UK the following month, well ahead of the planned release of the Spice album. It was released in the United States in January 1997.
"Wannabe" earned mixed reviews from critics, but won for Best British-Written Single at the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards and for British Single of the Year at the 1997 Brit Awards. It topped the UK Singles Chart for seven weeks and received a quadruple platinum certification by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). By the end of 1996, "Wannabe" had topped the charts in 22 nations—including the Billboard Hot 100—and by the end of 1997, it topped the charts in 37. It became the best-selling single by a girl group, and, in a 2014 study, was found to be the most recognisable pop song of the last 60 years. An EP, Wannabe 25, was released in 2021 for the single's 25th anniversary.
## Background
In March 1994, father-and-son team Bob and Chris Herbert, together with financer Chic Murphy, working under the business name of Heart Management, placed an advertisement in The Stage, which asked the question: "Are you street smart, extrovert, ambitious, and able to sing and dance?" After receiving hundreds of replies, the management had narrowed their search to a group of five girls: Victoria Adams, Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Geri Halliwell, and Michelle Stephenson. The group moved to a house in Maidenhead and received the name "Touch". Stephenson was eventually fired because she lacked the drive of the other group members. She was replaced by Emma Bunton. In November, the group—now named "Spice"—persuaded their managers to set up a showcase in front of industry writers, producers, and A\&R men at the Nomis Studios in Shepherd's Bush, London. Producer Richard Stannard, at the studio for a meeting with pop star Jason Donovan, attended the showcase after hearing Brown, as she went charging across the corridor. Stannard recalled:
> More than anything, they just made me laugh. I couldn't believe I'd walked into this situation. You didn't care if they were in time with the dance steps or whether one was overweight or one wasn't as good as the others. It was something more. It just made you feel happy. Like great pop records.
Stannard stayed behind after the showcase to talk to the group. He then reported to his songwriter partner, Matt Rowe, that he had found "the pop group of their dreams". Chris Herbert booked the group's first professional songwriting session with the producers at the Strongroom in Curtain Road, East London, in January 1995. Rowe recalls feelings similar to Stannard's: "I love them. Immediately. ... They were like no one I'd met before, really." The session was productive; Stannard and Rowe discussed the songwriting process with the group and talked about what the group wanted to do on the record. In her autobiography, Brown recalls that the duo instinctively understood their point of view and knew how to incorporate "the spirit of five loud girls into great pop music".
## Writing
The first song the Spice Girls wrote with Stannard and Rowe was called "Feed Your Love", a slow and soulful song that was recorded and mastered for the group's debut album; the song was not used because it was considered too sexually explicit for the target audience. The group next proposed to write a track with an uptempo dance-pop rhythm. Rowe set up a drum loop on his MPC3000 drum machine. Its fast rhythm reminded Stannard of the scene in Grease. Stannard commented that the only pre-planned concept for the song was that it should represent the essence of what they were. The group then added their own contributions to the song, Rowe recalls:
> They made all these different bits up, not thinking in terms of verse, chorus, bridge or what was going to go where, just coming up with all these sections of chanting, rapping and singing, which we recorded all higgledy-piggledy. And then we just sewed it together. It was rather like the way we'd been working on the dance remixes we'd been doing before. Kind of a cut-and-paste method.
"Wannabe" was completed in 30 minutes—mainly because the group had written and composed parts of the song beforehand—in what Brown describes as a "sudden creative frenzy". During the session, Brown and Bunton came up with the idea of including a rap near the end of the song. At this point the group became highly motivated, and incorporated the word "zigazig-ah" into the lyrics. Chisholm told Billboard: "You know when you're in a gang and you're having a laugh and you make up silly words? Well we were having a giggle and we made up this silly word, zigazig-ah. We were in the studio and it all came together in this song."
## Recording and production
While most of the other songs on the Spice album required two or three days of studio time, "Wannabe" was recorded in less than an hour. The solo parts were divided between Brown, Bunton, Chisholm, and Halliwell. Adams missed most of the writing session and communicated with the rest of the group on a mobile phone. In her autobiography, she wrote: "I just couldn't bear not being there. Because whatever they said about how it didn't matter, it did matter. Saying 'Yes, I like that' or 'Not sure about that' down the phone is not the same." She contributed backing vocals and sings during the chorus. Rowe stayed up all night working on the song, and it was finished by morning, the only later addition was the sound of Brown's footsteps as she ran to the microphone.
The group parted with Heart Management in March 1995 because of their frustration with the management company's unwillingness to listen to their visions and ideas. The girls met with artist manager Simon Fuller, who signed them with 19 Entertainment. The group considered a variety of record labels, and signed a deal with Virgin Records in July. The original mix of "Wannabe" was considered lacklustre by Virgin executives. Ashley Newton, who was in charge of A\&R, sent the song to American producer Dave Way for remixing; the result was not what the group had hoped to achieve. As Halliwell later described it, "the result was bloody awful". She elaborated in her second autobiography, Just for the Record: "Right at the beginning of the Spice Girls, ... Ashley Newton had tried to turn us into an R\&B group ... He brought us jungle versions and hip-hop mixes and I hated them all. Although Mel B was a big fan of R\&B, she agreed with me that these versions just didn't work so we exercised our Spice veto\!" Fuller gave the song to audio engineer Mark "Spike" Stent, who thought that it was a "weird pop record". Stent remixed it in six hours, in what he described as "tightening it up" and "getting the vocals sounding really good."
## Composition
"Wannabe" is a dance-pop song with influences of hip hop and rap. Written in the key of B major, it is set in the time signature of common time and moves at a moderate tempo of 110 beats per minute. It uses the sequence B–D–E–A–A♯ as a bass line during the refrain, the chorus, and the bridge, and uses a chord progression of F♯–G♯m–E–B for the verses. The song is constructed in a verse-pre-chorus-chorus form, with a rapped bridge before the third and final chorus. Musically, it is "energised" by a highly syncopated synthesised riff, and by the way the repetitive lyrics and rhythm are highlighted during the bridge. "Wannabe" presents a different version of the traditional pop love song performed by females; its energetic, self-assertive style expresses a confident independence that is not reliant on the male figure for its continuance.
The song opens with Halliwell's laugh, followed by "undislodgeable piano notes" inspired by the Grease "Summer Nights" bassline. The first lines of the refrain are rapped in a call and response interaction between Brown and Halliwell. The words "tell", "really" and "I wanna" are repeated, so that the vocal tone and lyrics build up an image of female self-assertion. The refrain ends with the word "zigazig-ah", which musicologist Sheila Whiteley compared to the neologisms created by Lewis Carroll; other writers have considered it a euphemism for female sexual desire, which is ambiguously sexualised or broadly economic. The first verse follows; Chisholm, Bunton, Brown, and Halliwell sing one line individually, in that order. In this part, the lyrics have a pragmatic sense of control of the situation; they begin, "If you want my future, forget my past." This, according to Whiteley, taps directly into the emotions of the young teenage audience.
During the chorus, the lyrics—"If you wanna be my lover/You gotta get with my friends"—address the value of female friendship over romantic relationships, while the ascending group of chords and the number of voices creates a sense of power that adds to the song's level of excitement. The same pattern occurs, leading to the second chorus. Towards the end, Brown and Halliwell rap the bridge, which serves as a presentation to each of the girls' personalities. The group repeats the chorus for the last time, ending the song with energetic refrains— "Slam your body down and wind it all around"—and the word "zigazig-ah".
## Release and promotion
After signing the group, Virgin Records launched a major campaign for their debut song to promote them as the new high-profile act. There was a period of indecision about what song would be released as the first single; the label wanted to get everything right for the campaign, because the all-girl group format was untested. The group, led by Brown and Halliwell, was adamant that the debut song should be "Wannabe", they felt it served as an introduction to their personalities and the Girl Power statement. Virgin's executives believed that the first single should either be "Say You'll Be There", which they considered a much "cooler" track, or "Love Thing". At the beginning of 1996 the impasse between the group and their record label about the release of the single was temporarily solved. In March, Fuller announced that he agreed with Virgin in that "Wannabe" should not be the first single. The label wanted a song that appealed to the mainstream market, and nothing considered too radical. Halliwell was shocked and furious; she told Fuller, "It's not negotiable as far as we're concerned. 'Wannabe' is our first single." Fuller and the executives at Virgin relented, and the song was chosen as their first single.
The trigger for the Spice Girls' launch was the release of the "Wannabe" music video in May 1996. Its quick success on the British cable network The Box sparked press interest, despite initial resistance to the all-girl group idea. The same month, their first music press interviews appeared in Music Week, Top of the Pops, and Smash Hits, and their first live TV slot was broadcast on LWT's Surprise Surprise. A month after the video's release, the song was receiving intensive airplay on the main radio stations across the UK, while the group started to appear on television—mainly on kid's programmes such as Live & Kicking—and doing interviews and photo shoots for teen magazines. A full-page advertisement appeared in the July issue of Smash Hits, saying: "Wanted: Anyone with a sense of fun, freedom and adventure. Hold tight, get ready\! Girl Power is comin' at you". The group appeared on the television programme This Morning with Richard and Judy, and performed at their first Radio One road show in Birmingham.
"Wannabe" was first released in Japan on 26 June 1996 as a maxi CD. In the United Kingdom, the song was issued on 8 July 1996 in two single versions. The first one, released in two formats—a standard CD single and a cassette single—include the radio edit of the track, the Motiv 8 vocal slam remix, and the B-side, "Bumper to Bumper". The group wrote "Bumper to Bumper" with Paul Wilson and Andy Watkins—the songwriter-production duo known as Absolute—and British singer-songwriter Cathy Dennis. The second version, released on maxi single format on 15 July, feature the radio edit, an instrumental version, the Motiv 8 dub slam remix, and the Dave Way alternative mix. This version came with a fold-out postcard inlay and a stickered case.
During the weeks following the UK release, the group began promotional visits abroad. They did three trips to Japan and brief visits to Germany and the Netherlands. On a trip to the Far East, they visited Hong Kong, Thailand, and South Korea. In January 1997 they travelled to North America to do a promotional campaign that Phil Quartararo, president of Virgin Records America, described as "absolutely massive". In Canada, the group did interviews for newspapers and radio stations, appeared in television programmes such as Hit List, and MusiquePlus, and attended an autograph signing at Montreal's HMV Megastore. During their visit to the US, the group met with influential radio programmers, TV networks, and magazines. In addition, the music video was placed into heavy rotation by MTV.
## Critical reception
### UK reviews
"Wannabe" received mixed reviews from UK music critics. Paul Gorman of Music Week called the group "smart, witty, abrasive and downright fun". He described the song as a "R\&B-lite debut single", and noted influences from Neneh Cherry in it. In a review conducted by the British pop band Deuce for Smash Hits magazine, the group described "Wannabe" as "limp", "awful", and "not strong enough for a debut single." Kate Thornton, editor of Top of the Pops magazine, commented that the all-girl group idea was "not going to happen;" she considered it too threatening. In her review for The Guardian, Caroline Sullivan called it a combination of "cute hip pop and a vaguely feminist lyric", she was also surprised that "considering the slightness of 'Wannabe,'" the group had an overwhelming amount of offers from record companies.
NME characterised the song as "a combined force of Bananarama, Betty Boo and Shampoo rolled into one." Dele Fadele of the same magazine called the rap during the song's bridge "annoying", and added, writing of the group's music: "It's not good. It's not clever. But it's fun." The magazine named "Wannabe" the worst single of the year at the 1997 NME Awards. Conversely, it won for Best Single at the 1997 BRIT Awards, and for International Hit of the Year and Best British-Written Single at the 1997 Ivor Novello Awards presented by the British Academy of Composers and Songwriters. The song was ranked number five by Melody Maker in their list of "Singles of the Year" in December 1996. VH1 ranked it number 33 in their "100 Greatest Songs of the 90s", while NME ranked it number 111 on their 2011 list of "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years".
### US reviews
In the United States, reaction to the song was also mixed. In a review of the group's debut album, Edna Gundersen of USA Today said that "Wannabe" is "a melodious but disposable tune that typifies this debut's tart bubblegum and packaged sexiness." Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune called it "insidiously snappy, ... [that] is shaping up as this year's 'Macarena.'" Karla Peterson of The San Diego Union-Tribune said that "'Wannabe' has UGH written all over it," adding that it was "relentlessly catchy and horrifyingly hummable". The Buffalo News's Anthony Violanti called it "irresistible". Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe described it as a "maniacally zippy single", and Stephanie Zacharek of Salon referred to it as an "unapologetically sassy dance hit". Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch commented that "based on their efficacious American debut single, ... the Spice Girls might be expected to deliver more of that zingy pop on their debut album," but she felt that "aside from 'Wannabe,' the album's dance tracks are color-by-numbers bland." Larry Flick of Billboard magazine said that "fans of the more edgy girl-group ... may find this single too fluffy" but added that "everyone else with a love of tasty pop hooks, lyrical positivity, and jaunty rhythms is going to be humming this single for months to come."
Some reviewers noticed the combination of musical genres. Christina Kelly from Rolling Stone magazine criticised the group's image, and added that their songs, including "Wannabe", were "a watered-down mix of hip-hop and cheesy pop balladry, brought together by a manager with a marketing concept." Matt Diehl of Entertainment Weekly said that it was "more a compendium of music styles (from ABBA-style choruses to unconvincing hip hop) than an actual song," and Sara Scribner of the Los Angeles Times described it as "a bubblegum hip-hop confection of rapping lifted off Neneh Cherry and Monie Love albums." Charles Aaron of Spin magazine called it "a quickie, mid-'80s teen paperback come to life ... so gooey it melts in your hands, not in your mouth" (an apparent reference to the M\&M's slogan "melts in your mouth, not in your hands"). The song ranked at fifteenth in the American Pazz & Jop, a nationwide critics poll published by The Village Voice and conducted by its music editor Robert Christgau, who called it "a classic".
### Contemporary reviews
Present-day reviews from critics, however, are mostly positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said that "none of the girls have great voices, but they do exude personality and charisma, which is what drives bouncy dance-pop like 'Wannabe,' with its ridiculous 'zig-a-zig-ahhh' hook, into pure pop guilty pleasure." Dan Cairns of The Sunday Times said that the song "leaves a bad taste in the mouth: [because] the true legacy of Girl Power is, arguably, a preteen clothing industry selling crop tops and other minimal garments to young girls," but added that it "remains the same two minutes and 53 seconds of pop perfection that it ever was." In a review of their Greatest Hits album, IGN said that after ten years it "still sound reasonably fresh", while Digital Spy's Nick Levine said that "Wannabe" still remained an "exuberant calling card". Billboard named the song \#5 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time and the Best Pop Song of 1997.
## Chart performance
As part of Virgin's strategy to make the group an international act, "Wannabe" was released in Japan and Southeast Asia two weeks before its British release. After the song was placed into heavy rotation on FM stations in Japan, the Spice Girls made promotional tours in May, July, and September 1996. The group received major press and TV exposure, appearing in programmes such as Space Shower. The single was released by Toshiba EMI on 26 June 1996, and sold 100,000 copies by October 1996.
"Wannabe" debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number three, six days after its physical release, with sales of 73,000 copies. It climbed to number one the next week, and spent seven weeks at the top, the second-longest stay by an all-female group, only behind Shakespears Sister's "Stay". With eighteen weeks in the top forty and twenty-six weeks in the top seventy-five, it became the second-biggest selling single of the year, and as of November 2012 has sold over 1.38 million copies, the biggest-selling single by a female group in the UK.
"Wannabe" was commercially successful in the rest of Europe. On 4 September 1996 the song reached the top of the Eurochart Hot 100, where it stayed for nine consecutive weeks, when it was replaced by the group's second single, "Say You'll Be There". "Wannabe" topped the singles charts in Belgium (both the Flemish and French charts), Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, and peaked inside the top five in Austria, the Czech Republic, and Italy. The song was a success in Oceania. In Australia, it debuted at number sixty-four, reached the top of the ARIA Charts for eleven weeks, and ended at number five on the 1996 year-end chart. In New Zealand, it debuted on 1 September 1996 at number thirty-eight, reaching the top position ten weeks later. It spent one week at the top and seventeen consecutive weeks inside the top ten. "Wannabe" also topped the singles charts in Hong Kong and Israel.
In Canada, it debuted at the eighty-ninth position of the RPM singles chart on the week beginning 16 December 1996, a full month before it hit the US charts. It peaked at nine in its eighth week, and ended at number sixty-eight on the year-end chart. The song performed better on the dance chart, where it reached the top for three weeks, and ended at the top of the year-end chart. In the US, the song debuted on 25 January 1997 at number eleven. At the time, this was the highest-ever debut by a British act, beating the record previously held by the Beatles for "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at number twelve. It reached the top of the chart in its fifth week, and stayed there for four consecutive weeks simultaneously with the group's fourth single ("Mama"/"Who Do You Think You Are") being at number one in the UK. "Wannabe" reached the sixth position of the Hot 100 Airplay chart, and topped the Hot 100 Singles Sales chart for four consecutive weeks, selling over 1.8 million copies as of January 1998. It peaked at four on the Mainstream Top 40, and was a crossover success, topping the Rhythmic Top 40, peaking at twenty on the Hot Dance Club Play and at nine on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart. New remixes of the song were produced in 2007 in conjunction with the release of their Greatest Hits CD and these rose to number 15 on the Billboard Dance Charts. "Wannabe" also remains the best selling song by a female group in the United States with 2,910,000 physical singles and downloads combined, according to Nielsen SoundScan in 2014.
## Music video
### Background
The music video for "Wannabe" was the first for Swedish director Johan Camitz. Camitz was hired on Fuller's recommendation because of his commercials for Volkswagen, Diesel, and Nike. His original concept for the video was a one-take shoot of the group arriving at an exotic building in Barcelona, taking over the place, and running riot—the same way they did when they were looking for a manager and a record company. A few days before the shoot on 19 April 1996, Camitz was unable to get permission to use the building, and the shoot was relocated to the Midland Grand Hotel in St Pancras, London.
The video features the Spice Girls running, singing, dancing, and creating mischief at an eccentric bohemian party. Because the video was intended to be filmed in one shot, the group rehearsed the routine several times through the night, while a Steadicam operator followed them. The final video was cut together from two takes. Halliwell wrote: "The video I remember as being very chaotic and cold. It wasn't very controlled—we didn't want it to be. We wanted the camera to capture the madness of the Spice Girls." Virgin's executives were horrified; Newtown recalled that "the girls were freezing cold, which showed itself in various different ways". The video was banned in some parts of Asia because of Brown's erect nipples. The lighting was considered too dark; the best takes showed the girls bumping with the furniture and looking behind them. Virgin was concerned that old people appeared in the video, and worried that the scenes of the Spice Girls jumping on a table and Halliwell's showgirl outfit might be considered threatening by music channels. Virgin began discussions about a re-shoot or creating an alternate one for the US, but the Spice Girls refused. The video was sent for trial airing in its original form in January 1997.
### Reception
When the music video first appeared on the British cable network the Box, it was selected so frequently that it reached the top of the viewers' chart within two hours. It stayed at number one for thirteen weeks until it was replaced by the Spice Girls' next music video, for "Say You'll Be There". At its peak, up to fifteen per cent of the 250,000 weekly telephone requests to the Box were for "Wannabe", and it was aired up to seventy times a week, becoming the most requested track in the channel's history. "Wannabe" won Best Dance Video at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, and Best Video at the 1997 Comet Media Awards. It was also nominated for Best British Video at the 1997 BRIT Awards and was ranked at number forty-one in the 100 Greatest Pop Videos of all time by Channel 4.
In 2015, Billboard included the video for "Wannabe" in their list of the Top Ten Most Iconic Girl Group Music Videos of All Time, noting: "They were basically unknown to U.S. audiences when the video for debut single 'Wannabe' -- a riotous, one-shot stroll through the Girls gleefully messing up some posh U.K. soiree -- premiered, but by the end of the four-minute clip, we knew absolutely everything we needed to know about the Spice Girls. You get the individual personalities of all five members, the infectious togetherness of the group at large, and most importantly, the sense that they were coming to absolutely blast through American pop music and mess up everything we previously thought we knew."
To coincide with the Spice25 release on 29 October 2021, the Spice Girls released a lyric video for "Wannabe", set inside the Midland Grand Hotel.
## Live performances
The Spice Girls were in Japan when "Wannabe" went to number one in the UK. The group made their first appearance on Top of the Pops by satellite link from Tokyo, where they used a local temple as a backdrop for their mimed performance. They performed the song several more times on the show, including the programme's 1996 Christmas special. It was performed many times on television, in both Europe and the US, including An Audience with..., the Bravo Supershow, Sorpresa¡ Sorpresa\!, Fully Booked, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Saturday Night Live. The performance at Saturday Night Live on 12 April 1997 was featured in the 5-part TV musical special "SNL: 25 Years of Music", and was the first time the group ever performed "Wannabe" with a live band—their previous performances had all been either lip-synched or sung to a recorded backing track.
The group performed it at awards ceremonies such as the 1996 Smash Hits\! Awards, the 1996 Irish Music Awards, the 1997 BRIT Awards, and the 1997 Channel V Music Awards held in New Delhi, where they wore Indian costumes and entered the stage in auto rickshaws. In October 1997 the group performed "Wannabe" as the last song of their first live concert at the Abdi İpekçi Arena in Istanbul, Turkey. The performance was broadcast on Showtime in a pay-per-view event titled Spice Girls in Concert Wild\!, and was later included in the VHS and DVD release Girl Power\! Live in Istanbul.
The Spice Girls have performed the song on their four tours, the Spiceworld Tour, the Christmas in Spiceworld Tour, the Return of the Spice Girls Tour and the Spice World - 2019 Tour. After a breast-cancer scare led Geri Halliwell to leave the team at the end of the European leg of the Spiceworld Tour, her parts were replaced by Melanie Chisholm (refrain), Victoria Adams (verses), and Bunton (bridge). The performance at the tour's final concert can be found on the video Spice Girls Live at Wembley Stadium, filmed in London, on 20 September 1998. The group performed the song on 12 August 2012 at the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in London as part of a medley with the song "Spice Up Your Life". It was also performed as the closing song on the Spice World - 2019 Tour.
## Legacy
As the Spice Girls' debut single, "Wannabe" has been credited for catapulting the band to global stardom and ushering in "Spicemania" in the late 1990s. Commentators have noted that the song and its accompanying video, both now considered modern pop classics, served as a wonderful introduction to the band. The Metro's Jon O'Brien concluded that: "From its lyrical themes of female solidarity to its insanely catchy pop hooks and mischief-making promo, the worldwide chart-topper encapsulated everything that made the group so spellbinding in the space of just two minutes and 52 seconds." Digital Spy's Lewis Corner agreed, adding: "It's hard to imagine any other pop act managing to make this much of an impact so quickly and effortlessly ever again."
"Wannabe" has also been credited with changing the mid-1990s pop music landscape, pioneering the teen pop boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Robert Copsey, editor at the UK's Official Charts Company explained: "There was nothing else quite like Wannabe on the radio back in summer 1996. Rock and dance music had been dominating the airwaves and charts for quite some time by that point. The Spice Girls struck at just the right moment with Wannabe; a gutsy, enthusiastic and unashamed pop song we'd all been craving without even realising it."
"Wannabe" has been hailed as an "iconic girl power anthem". In 2016, the United Nations' Global Goals "\#WhatIReallyReallyWant" campaign filmed a global remake of the original music video to highlight gender inequality issues faced by women across the world. The video, which was launched on YouTube and ran in movie theatres internationally, featured British girl group M.O, Canadian "viral sensation" Taylor Hatala, Nigerian-British singer Seyi Shay and Bollywood actress Jacqueline Fernandez lip-syncing to the song in various locations around the world, including a set of stairs reminiscent of the Midland Grand Hotel steps from the original music video. The campaign also encouraged people from all over the world to use the hashtag "\#WhatIReallyReallyWant", taken from the song's lyrics, to share what they wanted for girls and women by 2030. In response to the campaign, Beckham said, "How fabulous is it that after 20 years the legacy of the Spice Girls' girl power is being used to encourage and empower a whole new generation?"
In 2014, a study at the University of Amsterdam with the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, found that "Wannabe" is the most recognisable and catchy pop song of the last 60 years. The study found that "Wannabe"'s simple and relentless melody was the key to its success, with lead musicologist Dr John Ashley Burgoyne concluding, "I would describe the song as truly relentlessly catchy. It's not that it has this one hook per se. It's quite ingeniously composed." On Spotify, "Wannabe" was the most streamed 1990s song by a female group or artist in 2020.
An EP, Wannabe 25, was released on 9 July 2021 to mark the 25th anniversary of "Wannabe". The EP included the previously unreleased demos of "Wannabe" and "Feed Your Love".
On 31 December 2023, "Wannabe" reached 1 billion streams on Spotify. Spice Girls became the first British girl group to reach the milestone and the second girl group overall, along with Fifth Harmony's "Work from Home".
## Cover versions
Cover versions of "Wannabe" have been included in the albums of various musical artists. In 1998 American retro-satirist duo the Lounge-O-Leers did a kitschy, lounge-inspired rendition of "Wannabe" for their debut album, Experiment in Terror. British intelligent dance music producer μ-Ziq recorded a cover for his fourth album, Lunatic Harness. The London Double Bass Sound recorded an instrumental version in 1999, a dance remix was recorded by Jan Stevens, Denise Nejame, and Sybersound for the 1997 album Sybersound Dance Mixes, Vol. 2, while an electronic version was recorded by the Street Girls for the 2005 album The World of Hits of the 80's. In 1999 the song was used in "Weird Al" Yankovic's polka medley, "Polka Power\!", for his tenth album, Running with Scissors. Covers of the song in a punk style include a thrash parody version by British punk rock band Snuff for their 1998 EP, Schminkie Minkie Pinkie, a punk rock version by Dutch band Heideroosjes for their 1999 album, Schizo, and a pop punk cover by Zebrahead for their 2004 EP, Waste of MFZB. In 2013, Brazilian funk carioca singers MC Mayara<sup> [pt]</sup>, MC Mercenária, MC Baby Liss and DZ MC released a version of the song, called "Mereço Muito Mais" (en: "I Deserve More"), and a music video inspired by the original. The 2019 single "Spicy", by Diplo, Herve Pagez and Charli XCX, is a reworking of "Wannabe".
"Wannabe" has also been covered in live concert sets by numerous musical artists, including Australian duo the Veronicas, American rock band the Foo Fighters, Filipina superstar Regine Velasquez and American pop rock band DNCE. K-pop girl group Girls' Generation covered the song on the popular South Korean radio program Super Junior Kiss the Radio in 2009 and did a live performance of the song on the South Korean television music program Kim Jung-eun's Chocolate in 2010. In 2013, American girl group Fifth Harmony dressed up as the Spice Girls for Halloween and performed "Wannabe" at their New York show. The performance was also uploaded on their official YouTube channel. In April 2017, indie punk band the Tuts recorded and filmed a music video for their cover of "Wannabe".
"Wannabe" has also been performed by the characters of various films. The cover versions of the song were included in the official soundtracks of Disney's 2005 animated film Chicken Little, DreamWorks Animation's 2012 animated film Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and the 2004 American teen film Sleepover.
"Wannabe" has also been covered in numerous TV shows. The characters Brittany (Heather Morris), Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz), Marley (Melissa Benoist), Kitty (Becca Tobin) and Unique (Alex Newell) dressed up as the Spice Girls and performed the song on the 17th episode of the fourth season of Glee. In 2015, the song was sung by Ed Helms and the Muppets in the fourth episode of the first season of The Muppets TV series. The song was also performed by Peter Griffin in the Family Guy episode "The New Adventures of Old Tom", and used in the ITV2 TV adverts for the programme's 14th season. The cast of Netflix's Fuller House also performed the song in the season one finale "Love Is in the Air". "Wannabe" was performed, along with another Spice Girls song, "Say You'll Be There", with revised lyrics, in the second episode of the 41st season of Saturday Night Live by host Amy Schumer and cast members Cecily Strong and Taran Killam. "Wannabe" has also been used in three episodes of Fox animated series The Simpsons; the song was sung by Homer Simpson in the episodes "Maximum Homerdrive" and "Fraudcast News", and sung by Ralph Wiggum in the episode "How the Test Was Won". The 2007 season four finale of One Tree Hill featured the female characters dancing as a group to the song. It was also used in the trailer for the film Excess Baggage (1997). On 3 October 2012, Geri Halliwell performed the song as a solo during a breast-cancer care show. (She had resigned from Spice Girls as a result of a breast-cancer scare, as noted above.) Her solo version was an acoustic ballad with several lyrics changed, such as "you've gotta get with my friends" being changed to "you've gotta be my best friend".
In 2016, American actress Eva Longoria performed a comedic dramatic reading of "Wannabe" in honour of the 20th anniversary of the album Spice. For the 21st anniversary of the song in July 2017, W magazine had various celebrities perform "Wannabe", including Nicole Kidman, James Franco, Riz Ahmed, Milo Ventimiglia, Millie Bobby Brown and Keri Russell.
## Formats and track listings
- UK CD1; Australian CD; Brazilian CD; European CD; Japanese CD
1. "Wannabe" (Single Edit) – 2:52
2. "Bumper to Bumper" – 3:43
3. "Wannabe" (Vocal Slam) – 6:20
- UK CD2
1. "Wannabe" (Single Edit) – 2:52
2. "Wannabe" (Dave Way Alternative Mix) – 3:27
3. "Wannabe" (Dub Slam) – 6:25
4. "Wannabe" (Instrumental) – 2:52
- European 2-track CD; US CD
1. "Wannabe" (Single Edit) – 2:52
2. "Bumper to Bumper" – 3:43
- UK and Australian cassette
1. "Wannabe" (Single Edit) – 2:52
2. "Bumper to Bumper" – 3:43
3. "Wannabe" (Vocal Slam) – 6:20
- European 12-inch vinyl single
1. A1 "Wannabe" (Vocal Slam) – 6:20
2. B1 "Wannabe" (Dub Slam) – 6:25
3. B2 "Wannabe" (Instrumental Slam) – 6:20
- US 12-inch vinyl single
1. A1: "Wannabe" (Junior Vasquez 12-inch Club Mix) – 9:20
2. A2: "Wannabe" (Vocal Slam) – 6:20
3. B1: "Wannabe" (Junior Vasquez Club Dub) – 9:20
4. B2: "Wannabe" (Dub Slam) – 6:25
5. B3: "Wannabe" (Single Edit) – 2:52
- Digital EP
1. "Wannabe" (Single Edit) – 2:54
2. "Bumper to Bumper" – 3:42
3. "Wannabe" (Motiv 8 Dubslam Mix) – 6:25
4. "Wannabe" (Motiv 8 Vocal Slam Mix) – 6:21
5. "Wannabe" (Dave Way Alternative Mix) – 3:25
6. "Wannabe" (Instrumental) – 2:52
- Wannabe 25 EP
1. "Wannabe" – 2:56
2. "Wannabe" (Junior Vasquez Remix Edit) – 5:57
3. "Wannabe" (Demo) – 2:58
4. "Feed Your Love" – 5:13
## Credits and personnel
- Spice Girls – lyrics, vocals
- Matt Rowe – lyrics, producer, keyboards and programming
- Richard Stannard – lyrics, producer, keyboards and programming
- Mark "Spike" Stent – audio mixing
- Adrian Bushby – recording engineer
- Patrick McGovern – assistant
Published by Windswept Pacific Music Ltd/PolyGram Music Publishing Ltd.
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
### Decade-end charts
### All-time charts
## Certifications
## Release history |
# Pareh
Pareh (Sundanese for "rice"), released internationally as Pareh, Song of the Rice, is a 1936 film from the Dutch East Indies (modern day Indonesia). Directed by the Dutchmen Albert Balink and Mannus Franken, it featured an amateur native cast and starred Raden Mochtar and Soekarsih. The story follows the forbidden love between a fisherman and a farmer's daughter.
Balink began work on the film in 1934, working with the Wong brothers, who served as cinematographers. They gathered a budget of 75,000 gulden – several times the budget of other local productions – and brought Franken from the Netherlands to assist in production. The film was edited in the Netherlands after being shot in the Indies. The film was a commercial and critical success with European audiences, but disliked by native ones; despite this success, Pareh bankrupted its producers.
Pareh resulted in a change in the cinema of Dutch East Indies, which had been Chinese-oriented for several years; films began to make more effort at targeting local audiences. Balink later found commercial success with Terang Boelan (1937). The American visual anthropologist Karl G. Heider considers Pareh and Terang Boelan the two most important cinematic works from the Dutch East Indies during the 1930s.
## Premise
Mahmud (Rd. Mochtar), a fisherman, is in love with Wagini (Soekarsih), a farmer's daughter. However, local superstition dictates that their relationship will bring disaster. This seems to prove true after the village leader's keris is stolen, but eventually Mahmud and Wagini are able to unite with the help of his fellow villagers.
## Production
During 1934 and early 1935, all feature films released in the Dutch East Indies had been produced by The Teng Chun, based on Chinese mythology or martial arts, and targeted at low-class audiences, generally ethnic Chinese. This situation was created by the Great Depression, which had led to the Dutch East Indies government collecting higher taxes, advertisers asking for more money, and cinemas selling tickets at lower prices; this ensured that there was a very low profit margin for local films. During this period cinemas in the country mainly showed Hollywood productions.
Albert Balink, a Dutch journalist, began work on what was to become Pareh in 1934. Unlike The Teng Chun, the inexperienced Balink chose to target his film at Dutch audiences. He brought in two of the Wong brothers, Chinese filmmakers who had been inactive since making Zuster Theresia (Sister Theresa) in 1932. The Wongs donated their studio – an old tapioca flour factory – as well as filmmaking equipment. Meanwhile, much of the funding came from other backers. According to the Indonesian film historian Misbach Yusa Biran, the money came from the cinema mogul Buse, while EYE Film Institute records indicate that the film was backed by the Centrale Commissie voor Emigratie en Kolonisatie van Inheemschen and meant to promote migration from Java to Sumatra.
Balink and the Wongs spent most of two years compiling the necessary funds, with Balink in charge of general operations as the head of Java Pacific Film, a joint operation. Balink insisted on perfection and had a clear idea what kind of actor he wanted in the film. Unlike earlier filmmakers in the country, Balink invested time and money in searching for the best locations and actors possible, without considering whether a person was already a celebrity. Ultimately, most of those cast for Pareh had not acted before, including stars Mochtar and Soekarsih.
The role of Mahmud was filled when Balink was out with coffee with Joshua and Othniel Wong and saw a young man, tall, strong, and handsome – as he expected for the role – driving by. Balink called the Wongs and they got into their car, then chased and caught the young man. The man, Mochtar, a Javanese of noble descent, was told to use the title Raden for the film, which he and his family had already abandoned. According to the Indonesian anthropologist Albertus Budi Susanto, the emphasis on Mochtar's title was meant as a way to draw a higher-class audience.
Artistic direction and some of the screenwriting was handled by Mannus Franken, an avant-garde documentary filmmaker from the Netherlands, whom Balink had brought to the Indies. Franken insisted on including ethnographic shots to better present the local culture to international audiences. Franken took an interest in the documentary and ethnographic aspects of the film, directing the shots for these portions, while the Wongs handled the general shots. According to Biran, this was reflected in the camera angles used.
Pareh, which had been recorded on 35 mm film using single-system devices, was brought to the Netherlands for editing. There the original voices of the cast were dubbed by actors in the Netherlands, resulting in stilted language use and heavy Dutch accents. Though initially the filmmakers had planned on using gamelan music, the poor quality of the recording equipment in the Indies led to the soundtrack being redone, using European-style music, in the Netherlands.
From start to finish the production of Pareh cost 75,000 gulden (approximately US$ 51,000), 20 times as much as a regular local production. After editing there were 2,061 metres of film, equivalent to 92 minutes of runtime.
## Release and reception
Pareh was screened in the Netherlands as Pareh, een Rijstlied van Java (also noted as Het Lied van de Rijst) beginning on 20 November 1936. The film was also shown in the Indies. It was unable to recoup its costs and bankrupted the producers. The film was critically acclaimed in the Netherlands, partially owing to the emphasis of Franken's involvement. Although it was a commercial success amongst the intelligentsia in the Indies, Pareh was a failure with lower-class native audiences. Mochtar never viewed the film in full.
Historical reception of Pareh has generally been positive. Writing in 1955, the Indonesian author and cultural critic Armijn Pane opined that Pareh was technically unparalleled in contemporary Indies cinema, with careful continuity and dynamic cuts. He was critical, however, of the film's tendency to see the Indies' native population through European eyes and depict them as "primitive". The American film historian John Lent, writing in 1990, described Pareh as a "meticulously detailed and costly" film which attempted to not only earn money, but show the local culture. The American visual anthropologist Karl G. Heider considers Pareh one of the two most important cinematic works from the Dutch East Indies during the 1930s; Balink's later work Terang Boelan (Full Moon; 1937) was the other. Heider, John H. McGlynn, and Salim Said note that the film was of acceptable technical quality but is best remembered for changing the path of cinematic developments in the country.
## Legacy
The release of Pareh was followed by a shift in genres popularised by the local cinema. The Teng Chun, who – together with Balink – continued to be the only active filmmaker in the country until 1937, began focusing on more modern stories and those which would be popular with native audiences. Biran suggests that this was influenced by Pareh. Other filmmakers in the late 1930s, partially inspired by Pareh, began to improve the quality of the audio in their films. Pane notes that, following Pareh, films produced domestically no longer centred around ethnic European casts.
Mochtar and Soekarsih, who first met on the set of Pareh, married after appearing together in Terang Boelan. This later production included much of the same cast and was highly successful, leading to a renewed interest in filmmaking in the Indies. Terang Boelan proved to be the most successful local production until 1953's Krisis (Crisis), released after Indonesia had become independent.
## See also
- List of films of the Dutch East Indies |
# Sagtikos State Parkway
The Sagtikos State Parkway (known colloquially as "the Sag") is a 5.14-mile (8.27 km) controlled-access parkway in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, in the United States. It begins at an interchange with the Southern State and Heckscher Parkways in the hamlet of West Islip and goes north to a large cloverleaf interchange with the Northern State Parkway in the Town of Smithtown, where the Sagtikos ends and the road becomes the Sunken Meadow State Parkway. The parkway comprises the southern half of New York State Route 908K (NY 908K), an unsigned reference route, with the Sunken Meadow State Parkway forming the northern portion.
The Sagtikos Parkway was proposed by the Long Island State Park Commission to help bridge a gap in the eastern part of the Long Island Parkway system. Construction began in 1949 with the opening of an interchange between Bay Shore Road and the Southern State Parkway. Work on the parkway itself began the following year, with plans calling for connections to three spurs: the Captree State Parkway (now Robert Moses Causeway), the Sunken Meadow Spur (Sunken Meadow State Parkway), and the Heckscher Spur (Heckscher State Parkway). The parkway was completed in 1952, closing the highway loop on Long Island.
Commercial vehicles are prohibited from using the Sagtikos – a restriction that applies to most parkways in New York.
## Route description
The Sagtikos State Parkway begins at an interchange with the Southern and Heckscher state parkways in the hamlet of West Islip, just north of the Robert Moses Causeway's junction with the Southern State Parkway. Heading southbound, this junction is signed as exit S4. The parkway proceeds northward through the Town of Islip as a four-lane divided highway, passing through residential parts of the adjacent hamlet of Brentwood to reach exit S3, a partial cloverleaf interchange with Pine Aire Drive. Just north of the junction, the highway passes over the Main Line of the Long Island Rail Road. Continuing northward through Islip, the Sagtikos Parkway leaves Brentwood ahead of exit S2, a connection to County Route 13 (CR 13, named Crooked Hill Road). The southbound exit serves CR 13 by way of access roads through the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center while the northbound direction uses part of G Road to reach CR 13 and Suffolk County Community College's Grant Campus.
Past the exit, the Sagtikos State Parkway crosses under CR 13 and immediately reaches the Sagtikos Interchange at exit S1 – a large, modified cloverleaf interchange with the Long Island Expressway (Interstate 495). The junction brings the parkway into the Town of Smithtown, where it bends northwestward and parallels CR 67 (Vanderbilt Motor Parkway) for a half-mile (0.8 km) through the town's Commack section. CR 67 eventually turns westward to pass over the Sagtikos Parkway, at which point the parkway curves back to the north and enters exit SM1E, a cloverleaf interchange serving as the Northern State Parkway's exit 44. The Sagtikos State Parkway name ends here while the highway continues northward toward Long Island's North Shore as the Sunken Meadow State Parkway.
According to annual average daily traffic counts compiled in 2011 by NYSDOT, the most-traveled stretch of the Sagtikos State Parkway was the portion between the Southern State Parkway and the Long Island Expressway. The part between the Southern State and Pine Aire Drive handled an average of 87,250 vehicles per day; slightly lower numbers were recorded along the segment between Pine Aire Drive and the Long Island Expressway, with roughly 85,300 vehicles using the section on a daily basis. The portion between the Long Island Expressway and the Northern State Parkway carries an average of 67,600 vehicles per day. All three segments saw a rise in traffic over the course of the previous decade, with the Pine Aire Drive–Long Island Expressway segment gaining 14,000 vehicles per day during that time.
## History
### Construction and opening
The Sagtikos State Parkway was first proposed in the 1920s as a connector between the Northern and Southern state parkways. In order to construct the freeway, the heirs of the late David Gardiner, who owned the historic Sagtikos Manor in West Bay Shore, donated 197 acres (80 ha) of land to the Long Island State Park Commission (LISPC). This donation was considered unusual by the commission as it would break up the family's estate, which had been constructed in 1692 and served George Washington in 1780. In addition to this donation, James Fisher, a nearby resident, gave the commission 23.5 acres (9.5 ha) of land north of the Gardiner property and another 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) north of the Fisher property to ensure that LISPC had the necessary right-of-way for the new parkway.
The right-of-way on which the parkway was built had originally been part of a private road leading to Sagtikos Manor. The parkway was designed to have connections with the Sunken Meadow Spur (the future Sunken Meadow State Parkway) and the Captree State Parkway (now known as the Robert Moses Causeway) proposed by New York City urban planner Robert Moses. On November 13, 1949, a new interchange between the Southern State Parkway and Bay Shore Road was opened to traffic. This interchange would eventually serve as the Southern State Parkway's junction with the Sagtikos, Heckscher and Captree state parkways. Proposals conceived at this time called for grading on the new Sagtikos State Parkway to begin in early 1950.
In March 1950, $3 million (1950 USD) was earmarked out of a $104.5 million budget for the start of construction on the parkway. The contract for paving 4.76 miles (7.66 km) of the Sagtikos Parkway was awarded by the New York State Department of Public Works on June 7, 1951, to Hudson Contracting Corporation of Kew Gardens, who entered a bid of $1,407,037 (1951 USD) for the project. The remainder of the parkway was paved as part of a contract valued around $418,000 (1951 USD) and let by the state on July 11. A 3-mile (4.8 km) stretch of the Northern State Parkway was also built as part of the project. On September 29, 1952, an extension of the Northern State Parkway, Southern State Parkway, and the entire length of the Sagtikos State Parkway were opened without celebration. Robert Moses commented that the completed parkway reflected LISPC's objective to construct well-designed recreational facilities.
### Roadway improvements
From 1997–2001, engineers from NYSDOT worked on a $6.5 million (2001 USD) study aimed to improve Long Island's transportation system by 2020. The resulting plan included proposals to widen 130 miles (210 km) of roads, including the entirety of the Sagtikos State Parkway – from the Southern State Parkway to the Northern State Parkway. These proposals would give the Sagtikos a restricted-access lane for buses and carpooling drivers, which would be part of a 60-mile (97 km) system of similar lanes across Long Island.
In 2002, the Wolkoffs, a family of real estate developers, bought land used by the Pilgrim Psychiatric Center for $20 million (2002 USD) with the intent of redeveloping the property as a new smart growth community named Heartland Town Square. The community, situated near the interchange between the Sagtikos Parkway and the Long Island Expressway (I-495), would have 9,000 housing units and various commercial & recreational buildings. As part of the redevelopment of the property, a study was done on the existing facilities and the surrounding area, which noted several deficiencies in the area's transportation system – including several related to the Sagtikos. The study determined that the deficiencies would be "exacerbated" if no changes were made.
In response, the study suggested that a third lane be constructed along the Sagtikos from the Southern State Parkway to the Long Island Expressway. The bridges over the Sagtikos at Campus Road and Crooked Hill Road (CR 13) would have to be reconstructed to make room for the added lane, and the interchange with Pine Aire Drive (exit S3) would be completely rebuilt. A new interchange would also be constructed on the parkway between Pine Aire Drive and Campus Road, creating a junction with CR 100. The project would cost $4 billion (2011 USD) and be built in phases for 15–20 years.
As of 2012, progress on the project has been stalled by disagreements between the Wolkoffs and the Town of Islip, over the amount the Wolkoffs would spend for the transportation piece of the project, and between the family and labor unions over wages and health care. The town of Islip has stated that the Wolkoffs agreed to spend $75 million (2011 USD) for the infrastructure improvements; however, the family stated in a September 2011 letter that they would only commit to $27 million (2011 USD) and that they never agreed to the original figure. Gerald Wolkoff thought that the discrepancy stemmed from his belief that transportation should be funded by the government, not from private sources, as his project would generate tax revenue for the government. Despite the issues surrounding the project, the Heartland project received $2.5 million from the State of New York for roadway improvements in December 2011. The funding was part of a $101 million (2011 USD) package given to Long Island for various economic improvements.
## Exit list
|} |
# Breaking Bad (Better Call Saul)
"Breaking Bad" is the eleventh episode of the sixth season of Better Call Saul, the spin-off television series of Breaking Bad. It was written and directed by Thomas Schnauz. The episode aired on AMC and AMC+ on August 1, 2022, before debuting online in certain territories on Netflix the following day. "Breaking Bad" depicts the life of Jimmy McGill, both during his time as lawyer "Saul Goodman" in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and after changing his identity to Gene Takavic and relocating to Omaha, Nebraska.
The episode was met with positive reviews, with particular focus on the appearances of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, performances (especially those of Cranston, Paul, and Odenkirk), connections to Breaking Bad, and the regression of Jimmy McGill's character into a more ruthless version of Saul Goodman. An estimated 1.34 million viewers saw the episode during its first broadcast on AMC.
## Plot
In flashbacks to Albuquerque in 2008, Jimmy McGill, going by the name Saul Goodman, has been kidnapped by Walter White and Jesse Pinkman and is being transported in the back of their RV. After Saul recognizes their real motive, he returns to the RV and sees their methamphetamine lab. He correctly identifies Walter as "Heisenberg", who is known for producing high-quality blue meth. He agrees to take Walter and Jesse on as clients. Mike Ehrmantraut visits Saul and provides him with information about Walter, including the fact that he has cancer. Mike advises Saul against working with Walter, calling him an amateur, but Saul is impressed by the quality of his meth. Saul arrives at the school where Walter works to convince him to let Saul be his full-time counsel.
On November 12, 2010, Francesca Liddy drives to a pay phone in a remote location and awaits a call from Jimmy, now living as Gene Takavic in Omaha. Francesca answers and updates Gene on events that have happened since he left Albuquerque. She tells Gene that the police seized all his assets and that she received a call from his ex-wife Kim Wexler, who asked about his safety. Gene is taken aback and later calls Kim's workplace in Florida. However, the conversation turns argumentative, and an enraged Gene hangs up.
Gene convinces Jeff and Buddy to help him with another scam in which Gene targets rich single men at bars and buys them drinks. Jeff then picks them up in his taxi and offers them bottles of water laced with barbiturates. Once the target is home and unconscious, Buddy enters and photographs his personal and financial information, including credit cards, driver's licenses, and tax documents, which the group sells for use in identity theft schemes. One night, Gene targets Mr. Lingk, a man who has cancer. Despite feeling guilty, Gene continues with the usual plan. Buddy expresses misgivings; unknown to the group, Marion witnesses Gene angrily escorting Buddy into her garage as he unsuccessfully tries to persuade Buddy to do his part. Gene fires Buddy, enlists a reluctant Jeff to help him finish stealing Lingk's information, and breaks into Lingk's house himself.
## Production
The episode shares its title with Breaking Bad, the show that precedes Better Call Saul – mirroring the Breaking Bad episode which introduced Saul being named "Better Call Saul". "Breaking Bad" was written and directed by Thomas Schnauz, who worked with the writing staff since the third season of Breaking Bad. Schnauz wanted to extend the phone call scene with Jimmy and Francesca and chose to include Jimmy contacting Kim. However, he did not want to reveal the dialogue of Jimmy's call with Kim until later, as he felt that it was "better to get right to the emotion of what happened during that phone call and how that emotion spiraled" into subsequent events, due to the length of the scene. The dialogue was deliberately suppressed by noise coming from traffic. He further described Gene as a "whole other creature entirely", being neither Saul nor Jimmy; Saul did not process his trauma in a healthy manner and instead kept ignoring his trauma, with Schnauz saying "the more he pushes it down, the more it wants to rise up like a volcano, and he needs to do even worse stuff". He also noted the parallel between Saul accepting Walter and Jesse as clients and Gene performing scams with Jeff and Buddy, as he is dealing with Wexler's separation. He included Mike Nesmith's original demo for The Monkees song "Tapioca Tundra" (1968), as he felt a lyric from that song symbolized McGill's identity crisis. The phone call catalyzed Jimmy McGill to regress into his Saul Goodman persona and subsequently plan his illicit scams in Omaha, with Schnauz describing the action as Jimmy's "drug of choice to numb that pain". During one of his scams, Jimmy makes the decision to perform identity theft on Mr. Lingk, a cancer patient. Schnauz said that due to this action, redemption for Jimmy would be difficult, as it was an escalation from his previous actions. D. W. Griffith's film Intolerance (1916) inspired how the different timelines were depicted and intercut.
Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks, who play Jimmy McGill and Mike Ehrmantraut, are the only cast members listed in the starring credits. The audio team reused an audio snippet from the original Breaking Bad "Better Call Saul" episode where Goodman was gagged and altered it to convey it from his point of view. Cinematographer Marshall Adams sought to replicate Michael Slovis's work on Breaking Bad, particularly through emulating Slovis's lighting and coloring techniques. He decided to include Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in the episode as he felt "[it came down to] highlighting the emotions", and compared Saul "needing to up his game" to Walter's behavior. While intersecting the storylines of Breaking Bad into Better Call Saul, the showrunners coined the phrase "dancing through the raindrops", which described the mix of Jimmy's present world with his future as Saul Goodman. Schnauz wanted to continue "dancing through the raindrops" as the series progressed further and felt that it culminated in the episode, while also affirming that the episode began the "morph into a nebulous third thing that goes beyond both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul". He always intended to connect the two series together but did not find the right opportunity to do so until he decided to connect it to its mirror scene in the Breaking Bad episode "Better Call Saul" and having Saul reference Nacho Varga when he shouts "It wasn't me, it was Ignacio".
"Breaking Bad" features the return of Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, the main characters of Breaking Bad. Discussions for the characters' inclusion occurred since the first season. Their scene in "Breaking Bad" was the first of three scenes that they shot for Better Call Saul. Showrunner Peter Gould was satisfied with the timing of their inclusion and said that it helped subvert fan expectations, desiring to contextualize their appearance through the show's existing story which focused on Jimmy, Kim, and Mike. Gilligan reiterated similar claims, while also adding that the writers wanted to include the characters in the story in an organic manner rather than as fan service. It was filmed in April 2021, during the production of "Carrot and Stick", to accommodate their schedules, which was seven months prior to when Schnauz would actually direct the episode. Schnauz felt that both Cranston and Paul reprised their roles well and said he had to remind Cranston that his performance should align with Walt's character in the second season of Breaking Bad rather than the fifth. Despite the fact that Better Call Saul didn't employ de-aging technology for most flashback scenes, Schnauz opted to apply moderate de-aging on Cranston's and Paul's faces to erase some lines. Filming of the scene was difficult due to the actors' complicated schedules and Paul's facial hair for an upcoming project. As such, Schnauz wrote the scene towards the beginning of the writing for the sixth season. It occurred prior to Odenkirk's heart attack on the production of "Carrot and Stick". Though both RV vehicles used during filming of Breaking Bad were still available, the one normally used for interior shots was gutted, so the interior of the RV was recreated on a set. Set designer Ashley Marsh and her team worked from photos and stills from Breaking Bad to reacquire most of the equipment shown in the RV to detail and even worked with the operator of an Albuquerque Breaking Bad tour to provide some of the RV curtains and fabrics. Schnauz wrote their scene before finishing the rest of the episode's script. Filming for the scene took a day and a half. Cranston and Paul's appearances were treated with high secrecy, with both actors kept out of sight while in Albuquerque, similar to Cranston's cameo in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019). They stayed in Albuquerque for four days at an Airbnb, with all wardrobe and makeup done in the home and only leaving to be taken on site to shoot. The scenes set in Omaha are entirely in black and white. Sound mixing for "Breaking Bad" was completed by that July.
## Reception
### Critical response
"Breaking Bad" received praise from critics. It received 4 out of 5 stars from both Vulture's Scott Tobias and Den of Geek's Nick Harley. Additionally, Kimberly Potts from The A.V. Club gave the episode an "A" grade, while Steve Greene of IndieWire graded it "A–". On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of nine reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.4/10.
The payphone call that takes place between Gene and Kim interested many critics, who speculated on what could have occurred and the implications it would have for the show's narrative. Tobias compared the scene to that of Travis Bickle's final call to Cybill Shepherd in Taxi Driver (1976). Mike Hogan, writing for Vanity Fair, speculated that either Kim was not available during the time or that she rejected Gene's attempts for reconciliation. David Segal of The New York Times interpreted the scene as being indicative that the Gene-Kim relationship would be the show's primary focus and was skeptical of a potential reunion as Gene was engaging in more illicit and immoral activities. Alan Sepinwall at Rolling Stone additionally asserted that Gene saw this as a potential opportunity to reach out to Kim, while she primarily saw it as an opportunity for closure.
Continuing his review, Sepinwall primarily focused on its connections to Breaking Bad, feeling satisfied with the interactions between Walter White, Jesse Pinkman, and Gene. He especially praised Cranston and Paul's chemistry. Despite its overt connections and references to Breaking Bad, Sepinwall opined that "it's much less interested in presenting an alternate history of the Heisenberg era than in drawing parallels between the man Jimmy McGill had become by that point in his life and the man that Gene Takovic [sic] is rapidly slipping back into being [Saul Goodman]". He felt the episode effectively transitioned between its current storyline and the Breaking Bad-era, highlighting the transition during the scene in which the grave that Walt and Jesse dug to intimidate Saul is shown then segues into Gene lying on the bed. Most critics enjoyed the presence of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, with Greene in particular lauding Schnauz's writing and how the scenes provided additional context making "the two series to be fully symbiotic, like a TV transcontinental railroad working from both coasts and meeting in the middle".
Critics have also extensively noted the unhinged and unsympathetic characterization of Gene Takavic, with Tobias writing that he was "freed from the moral and ethical baggage of being a McGill" and resembled what Chuck McGill previously referred to him as a "chimp with a machine gun". Continuing with his commentary, he opened that the FBI's confiscation of his spare cash spurred him to commit crimes similar to how Walt's cancer diagnosis inspired him to become a criminal. He noted that while Jimmy acted outside of the justice system for people who were wronged, it would eventually corrupt him in the long-term and cause him to "break [bad] all the way". Harley was more interested in Jimmy's character arc rather than the cameos of Walt and Jesse, which did not satisfy him, and enjoyed how the episode explored the themes of addiction, citing Jimmy's addiction to conducting illicit activities for money. Noting the parallel between the two timelines, he also observed that people warned Jimmy to use his judgement and rectify his mistakes and paralleled his predicament to that of Icarus. Potts also observed his lack of empathy when targetting Mr. Lingk during his identity theft scams and highlighted Tina Parker's performance alongside Francesca's role in the episode.
### Ratings
An estimated 1.34 million viewers watched "Breaking Bad" during its first broadcast on AMC on August 1, 2022. |
# Cécile Fatiman
Cécile Fatiman () was a Haitian Vodou priestess and revolutionary. Born to an enslaved African woman and a Corsican prince, she lived her early life in slavery, before being drawn to Enlightenment ideals of "liberté, égalité, fraternité" and Haitian Vodou, which shaped her desire to end the institution of slavery in Haiti. Together with Dutty Boukman, she led a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman and incited enslaved people to rise up against slavery, in an event that marked the beginning of the Haitian Revolution. She later married fellow revolutionary leader Jean-Louis Pierrot, with whom she had a daughter. She was reported to have lived a long life, dying at the age of 112.
## Biography
### Early life and family
Cécile Fatiman was the daughter of an enslaved African woman and a Corsican prince; Haitian historian Rodney Salnave believed her father to have been a son of King Theodore of Corsica and that Fatiman's birth name was Cécil Attiman. Other hypotheses on her origins have been provided by various historians: Aisha Khan believed her to have been a Muslim and that her surname "Fatiman" was cognate with the given name Fatima; and Aimé Césaire believed her to be Kongolese, although David Patrick Geggus questions how in this version she would have had the name "Fatiman". She is also believed to have been related to Marie-Louise Coidavid, the future Queen of Haiti.
Described as a Mulatto with green eyes, from childhood, Fatiman and her mother were bought and sold as slaves. Her two brothers disappeared after they were separated from them and sold. Fatiman eventually obtained her freedom, either before or during the 1791 slave rebellion.
### Revolution
According to Aisha K. Finch, Fatiman refashioned the Enlightenment ideals of "liberté, égalité, fraternité" for the Haitian context, upholding black women's bodily integrity and property rights. She also embraced Haitian Vodou, with its invocation of the Marassa Jumeaux, which caused fear among French colonists such as Médéric Louis Élie Moreau de Saint-Méry. She saw the body itself as a form of praxis, through which knowledge could be interpreted by entering an altered state of consciousness. To Fatiman, spirit possession was a marked contrast with slavery, as it allowed those who experienced it to, for a moment, become gods.
On the night of 21–22 August 1791, Fatiman presided over a ceremony at the Bois Caïman () in the role of manbo, together with Dutty Boukman as oungan. Within the dense forests of Northern Haiti and in the middle of a thunderstorm, they brought together 200 enslaved people from a number of nearby plantations and called on them to revolt against slavery. That night, Fatiman was said to have been possessed by one of the Èzili, believed to have been Dantò.
Fatiman then sacrificed a black pig, in an invocation of the lwa. Garvey F. Lundy understood this to be a Petwo rite of Vodou, which was later used by Haitians that resisted the United States occupation and the Duvalier dynasty. The attendees then drank the pig's blood and swore an oath: they would band together and kill the white slavers.
Fatiman proclaimed Boukman to be the commander-in-chief of this slave rebellion, and at her direction, the attendees dropped to their knees and swore to obey his orders. Aimé Césaire's version also has her leading the chant of "eh eh bomba". This ceremony ignited the Haitian Revolution, which culminated with the establishment of the independent State of Haiti. During the revolution, Fatiman and other manbos were credited with having provided "superhuman courage" to the revolutionaries.
### Later life
Following the establishment of the Kingdom of Haiti by Henri Christophe, Fatiman married Jean-Louis Pierrot, a general in the Armed Forces of Haiti, and a prince under Christophe's monarchical regime. They had a child together, Marie Louise Amélia Célestine. After the couple divorced, Pierrot married Louisa Geneviève Coidavid, the sister of Queen Marie-Louise Coidavid. In 1845, Pierrot became President of the restored Republic of Haiti, with Coidavid as his first lady. His regime lasted for only 10 months.
Fatiman lived in Le Cap for the rest of her life, through which she kept in good health; she reportedly died at the age of 112.
## Legacy
### Historiography
Although Fatiman entered the historical record through the reports of Antoine Dalmas, a plantation doctor who observed the ceremony she performed at Bois Caïman, little archival evidence exists of Fatiman's life, which has left significant gaps in her biography. Unconventional historical methodologies have therefore been used in order to assemble her personal story. Using a dialectical method, gaps in the archival record have been filled with diaspora literacy. For example, Étienne Charlier confirmed her presence in oral history of the revolution through interviews with descendants of the revolutionaries. Her participation in the Bois Caïman ceremony was confirmed in 19th century family records, provided by her grandson Pierre Benoit Rameau, a general who led Haitian resistance to the United States occupation of Haiti.
Despite her central role in the incitement of the Haitian Revolution, Fatiman is often missing from historical narratives of the period. In celebrations of male figures such as Boukman, Henri Christophe, Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Toussaint L'Ouverture, many women in the Haitian Revolution, including Fatiman herself, are often ignored entirely. Fatiman's own role in the revolution has been excluded from accounts by some historians, such as Jean Fouchard, who relied largely on colonial documents and tended to omit women from the historical record. Seeking to downplay the role of Vodou in the revolution, Léon-François Hoffman and Franck Sylvain even contested the existence of the Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman. But historian Carolyn Fick was able to say with certainty that the Bois Caïman meeting was historically factual and confirmed that it had a Vodou character.
### Popular culture
In C. L. R. James' 1934 play Toussaint Louverture: The Story of the Only Successful Slave Revolt in History, Fatiman was rewritten as the character Celestine, a vodou priestess that presided over the Bois Caïman ceremony. She also inspired the character Tante Rose, in Isabel Allende's 2009 novel Island Beneath the Sea. |
# Michael Robinson (RAF officer)
Michael Lister Robinson (8 May 1917 – 10 April 1942) was a British flying ace of the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. He is credited with shooting down at least sixteen aircraft.
Born in Chelsea, London, Robinson joined the RAF in 1935. Once his training was completed, he was posted to No. 111 Squadron but by the time of the outbreak of the Second World War, he was serving as an instructor. In March 1940, he was sent to France where he flew with No. 87 Squadron until he was injured in an aircraft accident and repatriated to the United Kingdom for hospital treatment. Once he recovered from his injuries he was posted to No. 601 Squadron and flew extensively in the later stages of the Battle of Britain, during which he shot down several aircraft. Awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his successes, the following year he was appointed commander of No. 609 Squadron. He destroyed more German aircraft during his period in command, for which he received the Distinguished Service Order. By August 1941, he was a wing commander and leader of the Biggin Hill fighter wing. He spent the final months of the year on staff duties but returned to operational flying with an appointment as leader of the Tangmere fighter wing in January 1942. He was killed in action three months later.
## Early life
Michael Lister Robinson was born on 8 May 1917 in the United Kingdom, in the London suburb of Chelsea. His father was Australian-born Roy Robinson, the future Lord Robinson. He went to school in Bath, at Downside School. One of his fellow students at Downside was future flying ace Paul Richey, who would also become his brother-in-law. Once Robinson's schooling was completed, he joined the Royal Air Force on a short service commission in September 1935.
In August 1936, having completed his pilot training at No. 3 Flying Training School, Robinson was posted to No. 111 Squadron. His new unit was stationed at Northolt and equipped with the Gloster Gauntlet biplane aircraft but soon was to be the first RAF squadron to receive the Hawker Hurricane fighter. He remained with this unit until late January 1939 at which time he was transferred to No. 11 Group Pool, a pilot depot, at St Athan as an instructor. Later in the year he was promoted to acting flight lieutenant.
## Second World War
In March 1940, with the Second World War underway, Robinson was sent to France to join No. 85 Squadron but his posting was changed while he was in transit. He instead went to No. 87 Squadron, also in France but based at Lille and equipped with Hurricanes. His rank of flight lieutenant was made substantive on 16 April. The squadron saw little action during the Phoney War and he was involved in an aircraft accident on 6 May and his injuries to his hand warranted repatriation to the United Kingdom where he was hospitalised. By August, he had recovered and was posted to No. 601 Squadron.
### Battle of Britain
At the time of Robinson's arrival at the squadron, it operated Hurricanes from Debden as part of No. 12 Group and was seeing an increase in Luftwaffe activity in the area. On 31 August, Robinson claimed his first aerial victories, destroying a Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter to the south of Maidstone. The same day, over the Thames Estuary, he engaged and probably destroyed a Bf 109 and damaged a second. He shared in the probable destruction of a Messerschmitt Bf 110 heavy fighter south of Worthing on 4 September, and two days later destroyed a Bf 109, this time north of Mayfield. He probably shot down a Bf 110 on 25 September, the last aerial victory he achieved while flying with No. 601 Squadron. Shortly afterwards he was transferred to No. 238 Squadron, and on 30 September, intercepting a Luftwaffe raid to the south of Portland, he shot down two Bf 110s and probably destroyed a Bf 109.
In early October Robinson was appointed commander of No. 609 Squadron. His new unit was equipped with Supermarine Spitfire fighters and based at Middle Wallop. On 7 October he destroyed two Bf 110s but towards the end of the month, the Luftwaffe's offensive against England began to slow down. For his successes in the preceding weeks, Robinson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the official announcement was made in The London Gazette on 26 November. The published citation read:
> Squadron Leader Robinson has shown conspicuous gallantry and leadership in his attacks against the enemy. On two days, in combat with large enemy forces, he destroyed two of their aircraft on each occasion, bringing his total victories to at least six.
### Circus offensive
No. 609 Squadron spent the winter of 1940–41 at Warmwell but in February 1941, it relocated to Biggin Hill and began to be involved in Fighter Command's circus offensive, regularly flying sweeps to France to draw out Luftwaffe fighters and to escort bombers. On 7 May, Robinson damaged a Bf 109 over the Strait of Dover. The following day he destroyed two Bf 109s several kilometres south of Dungeness. He was promoted to temporary squadron leader on 1 June. Three days later, with another pilot, he damaged a Bf 109 south of Dover. He damaged another Bf 109 at the end of the month, while on a sortie inland of Dunkirk.
On 3 July, the RAF mounted a bombing raid on railway facilities at Hazebrouck and while No. 609 Squadron provided cover for the attacking British bombers, Robinson shot down a Bf 109. Flying another sortie the same day, also to Hazebrouck, Robinson shot down a second Bf 109 and damaged a third. Flying another sortie the next day, he damaged a Bf 109. He damaged another Bf 109 on 8 July, this time to the south of Gravelines. He destroyed a Bf 109 on 10 July, while flying over Hardelot, and then shot down another of the same type the next day near Saint-Omer. Yet another Bf 109 was shot down by Robinson on 12 July, this time south of Cap Gris-Nez. He destroyed a further Bf 109 two days later near Le Touquet.
Robinson damaged a Bf 109 near Saint-Omer on 19 July and then repeated the feat on 24 July in the same area, while also destroying another Bf 109. At the end of the month, he was promoted to wing commander and given command of the fighter wing at Biggin Hill, succeeding the South African flying ace Adolph Malan. At the time of Robinson's appointment, he was one of the youngest wing leaders in the RAF. Within a few days, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) in recognition of his leadership of No. 609 Squadron. The published citation for Robinson's DSO read:
> This officer has commanded the squadron since October, 1940. He has acted as leader in recent offensive operations over occupied territory and, on numerous occasions, has led his wing with determination, skill and courage. The successes obtained reflect the greatest credit on the leadership and devotion to duty of this officer. He has destroyed at least fourteen enemy aircraft and damaged others.
His first victory as leader of the Biggin Hill wing was achieved on 7 August, when he claimed a Bf 109 as probably destroyed in the area between Mardyck and Gravelines. While engaged in a search and rescue mission for a pilot downed in the English Channel on 19 August, he ran out of fuel and had to crash-land at Manston airfield. Soon afterwards, he was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre by the Belgian government in exile "in recognition 'of valuable services rendered in connection with the War". He shot down a Bf 109 near Gravelines on 27 August, his final aerial victory as he was rested from operation and sent on leave early the following month.
Robinson was appointed the station commander at Manston once his leave was completed but this was only for a short period of time as in October he was appointed to the staff of the Inspector General of the RAF. He was mentioned in despatches in the 1942 New Year Honours, and on the day this was announced, 1 January 1942, was appointed commander of the fighter wing at Tangmere. Making a cross-channel sweep to occupied France on 10 April 1942, he was engaged by Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters of Jagdgeschwader 26. Both he and his wingman were shot down off the French coast and killed.
Having no known grave, Robinson is commemorated on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Air Forces Memorial near Egham in Surrey, England. At the time of his presumed death, he was credited with having shot down sixteen German aircraft, and four more probably destroyed, plus a fifth shared with another pilot. He is also credited with damaging eight aircraft. His medals are held in the collection of the Imperial War Museum. |
# Typhoon Soudelor (2003)
Typhoon Soudelor, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Egay, was a powerful typhoon that underwent rapid deepening east of Taiwan in the 2003 Pacific typhoon season. It was the sixth named storm by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) of the season, as well as the third typhoon. It formed on June 12 from a disturbance in the monsoon trough, located east of the Philippines. The system moved generally to the northwest after its genesis, gradually intensifying into a tropical storm. While offshore the Philippines, Soudelor dropped heavy rainfall that caused flooding and left thousands homeless. The storm caused $2.46 million in damage, and 12 deaths.
After affecting the Philippines, Soudelor moved into an area of low wind shear and with favorable outflow. It became a typhoon on June 17, and quickly developed an eye while rapidly intensifying. The storm struck the Japanese island of Iriomote-jima, where wind gusts reached 204 km/h (127 mph). It also affected Taiwan, where floods covered highways and caused mudslides. Early on June 18, Soudelor reached peak 10-minute sustained winds of 150 km/h (90 mph). Subsequently, an increase in shear and the passage of a trough weakened the typhoon and caused it to turn to the northeast. Soudelor weakened to a tropical storm on June 19, and subsequently it passed between Japan and South Korea. It became an extratropical cyclone that day, dissipating on June 24. In Japan, the storm caused widespread power outages, although damage was minimal, and there were 21 injuries. In South Korea, there was $12.1 million in damage and two deaths.
## Meteorological history
The origins of Soudelor were from a tropical disturbance that persisted a short distance northwest of Pohnpei on June 7. By two days later, it had a large area of convection, and it moved generally westward. Late on June 9, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) issued a tropical cyclone formation alert (TCFA), although the system initially failed to develop due to wind shear in the region. The thunderstorms decreased over the increasingly exposed circulation. On June 11, the shear decreased, and convection became better organized. The JTWC initiated warnings on Tropical Depression 07W late that day, and at 0000 UTC on June 12, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) also remarked that a tropical depression had formed to the northeast of Palau.
After forming, the depression tracked generally westward due to a subtropical ridge to the north. Around that time, it was still located within the monsoon trough, and it interacted with another circulation to its east-southeast, causing a motion to the west-northwest. As it moved away from the other circulation, the depression was able to intensify, and the wind shear decreased. On June 13 the JMA upgraded the depression to Tropical Storm Soudelor to the east of Samar Island in the Philippines. That day, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration PAGASA initiated advisories and gave it the local name "Egay". Upon becoming a tropical storm, Soudelor developed rainbands to the north and south, although it could not intensify significantly due to a tropical upper tropospheric trough to the east. A mid-latitude trough to the north weakened the ridge, which allowed Soudelor to turn more to the northwest off the northeast coast of the Philippines. The circulation became exposed from the deepest convection, and around that time the storm was located about 160 km (100 mi) east of Samar Island. Thunderstorms gradually increased, and the outflow improved. Late on June 16, the JTWC upgraded Soudelor to a typhoon, and the next day the JMA followed suit when the storm was located southeast of Taiwan.
Around the time that Soudelor became a typhoon, it began moving toward the north, influenced by an approaching trough, and it passed about 95 km (60 mi) northeast of Luzon. A ragged eye developed early on June 17, which quickly became better organized. With its outflow enhanced by the approaching trough, Soudelor rapidly intensified to the east of Taiwan. The typhoon struck the Japanese island of Iriomote-jima at around 2030 UTC on June 17. At 0600 UTC on June 18, the JTWC estimated peak 1‐minute winds of 215 km/h (135 mph). At the same time, JMA estimated peak 10‐minute winds of 150 km/h (90 mph) when it was located west of Okinawa. While at its maximum strength, Soudelor had a circular eye 33 km (21 mi) in diameter. It turned to the north-northeast, maintaining its peak winds for about 12 hours before increased shear from the westerlies caused weakening. The eye quickly dissipated, and the system began transitioning into an extratropical cyclone. Early on June 19, the JMA downgraded Soudelor below typhoon status, and the storm later crossed Tsushima Island into the Sea of Japan. At 1500 UTC that day, the JMA declared the storm as extratropical while it was near the Oki Islands; the JTWC followed suit three hours later. The extratropical remnants of Soudelor continued to the northeast, crossing northern Japan on June 20. The storm slowed and turned to the east, dissipating on June 24.
## Preparations
By June 16, PAGASA raised storm signal number 3 for Batanes and the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela; storm signal number 2 for all or portions of nine provinces and for Polillo Island; and storm signal number 1 was raised for portions of four provinces. The signals refer to the potential for winds, from lowest to highest representing weakest to strongest winds; number 3 refers to the potential for winds of 100 to 185 km/h (62 to 115 mph) within 18 hours.
On June 16, the Central Weather Bureau issued sea and land warnings in Taiwan as Soudelor was anticipated to produce torrential rains, gale-force winds, and rough seas. All fishermen in the area were urged to return to port before the onset of the typhoon. As the typhoon tracked near Taiwan, the Japan Meteorological Agency began advising residents in Okinawa to closely monitor the storm. One of the major airlines in Japan, All Nippon Airways, cancelled 66 domestic flights the same day, stranding an estimated 6,000 people. During the storm, 257 domestic flights were canceled, and train and ferry service was canceled. In Nagasaki Prefecture, 732 schools were closed during the storm. Hundreds of people voluntarily evacuated in Japan.
On June 17, the Korean Meteorological Agency issued rain warnings for Jeju Island and coastal areas of South Korea. They also urged residents to take all precautions for the storm. The Korea Airports Corporation reported that 111 flights to southern areas of the country were cancelled due to the typhoon.
## Impact and aftermath
While Soudelor was moving to the northwest off the east coast of the Philippines, it dropped heavy rainfall, including 300 mm (12 in) in 24 hours in Catarman, Northern Samar. Rainfall in six hours reached 118 mm (4.6 in) at Virac Airport. The rains caused flooding throughout the Philippines, which left thousands of people homeless. Throughout the country, the storm damaged 157 houses and destroyed 94. Soudelor also left crop damage. An estimated 45,400 people were affected by Soudelor. Overall damage was estimated at ₱131 million (2003 Philippine pesos, $2.46 million 2003 USD). There were 12 deaths, with two missing, as well as two people injured.
In Taiwan, Soudelor dropped heavy rainfall that resulted in flooding and landslides. One of the mudslides covered a 10 km (6.2 mi) section of the Yenhsi Highway between Hsitou and Luku. Road crews were quickly dispatched to the area but had to suspend cleanup efforts due to continuing impacts from Soudelor. Dozens of tour buses carrying tourists who were being evacuated from the mountains were blocked several times by mudslides covering roads. The Sungshan Airport in Taipei was shut down during the morning of June 19 due to unsettled weather produced by the typhoon. The Feitsui Dam increased by 2.5 m (8.2 ft) due to the storm's rainfall, raising it to near peak capacity.
For eight hours, the Japanese island of Iriomote-jima reported gale-force winds, except for during the eye passage of Soudelor. The island reported sustained winds of 108 km/h (67 mph), with gusts to 204 km/h (127 mph). On Ishigaki Island, the storm caused ¥77.9 million (2003 JPY, $655,000 2003 USD) in agriculture damage, mostly from high waves. Soudelor dropped heavy rainfall throughout Japan, peaking at 497 mm (19.6 in) in Kagoshima Prefecture; most of the precipitation fell in about 24 hours. A North Korean cargo ship was stranded off the northwest coast of Japan after being refused entry into the Japanese port of Toyama. During the storm, about 10,000 houses lost power, including 3,400 houses in Okinawa Prefecture. Damage was minor, with only 26 damaged houses, varying from blown off roof tiles to shattered windows. Soudelor injured 21 people in the country, mostly due to falling objects. There were at least 22 landslides nationwide. Four bridges along the Yoshino River were flooded during the storm.
In South Korea, Soudelor dropped about 500 mm (20 in) of rainfall at Hallasan in Jeju Province in South Korea. The storm also caused 4 m (13 ft) seas. Typhoon Soudelor killed two people in South Korea and caused $12.1 million in damages.
## See also
- Other tropical cyclones named Soudelor
- Other tropical cyclones named Egay |
# FN 5.7×28mm
The FN 5.7×28mm (designated as the 5.7×28 by the C.I.P. and FN 5.7×28mm NATO) is a small-caliber, high-velocity, smokeless-powder, rebated, non-tapered, bottleneck, centerfire cartridge designed for pistols and personal defense weapons (PDW) uses, manufactured by FN Herstal. It is similar in length to the .22 WMR and .22 Hornet. Unlike many new cartridges, it has no parent case; the complete package was developed from scratch by FN.
The 5.7×28mm was developed in conjunction with the FN P90 PDW and later the FN Five-seven pistol in response to NATO requests as a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. In 2002 and 2003, NATO conducted a series of tests with the intention of standardizing a PDW cartridge as a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. The tests compared the relative merits of the 5.7×28mm cartridge and the 4.6×30mm cartridge, which was created by Heckler & Koch as a competitor to the 5.7×28mm. The NATO group subsequently recommended the 5.7×28mm cartridge, citing superior performance in testing, but the German delegation objected and the standardization process was halted until 2021 when it was officially adopted as a NATO standard Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4509.
By 2006, FN's 5.7×28mm firearms—the P90 PDW and Five-seven pistol—were in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations throughout the world. In the United States, 5.7×28mm firearms are currently used by numerous law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Secret Service.
In addition to being used in the FN P90 and FN Five-seven firearms, the 5.7×28mm cartridge has subsequently been used in a number of other weapons, such as the AR-57 and FN PS90 carbines. Excel Arms has developed four firearms chambered in 5.7×28mm, MasterPiece Arms offers three different firearms in 5.7×28mm., and CMMG offers several of its AR-Style Banshee firearms in 5.7x28. As of December, 2019, Ruger offers its Ruger-57 semi-automatic pistol chambered in this cartridge. January 2021 saw the announcement by Kel-Tec of the P50 handgun, which uses 50 round P90 magazines. Palmetto State Armory introduced its Rock 5.7 pistol in January 2022; it became available for purchase in May 2022. In January 2023, Smith & Wesson introduced the M\&P 5.7 gas assisted pistol. In January 2024, TİSAŞ introduced the PX-5.7, the first Turkish-made 5.7x28 pistol made.
The 5.7×28mm cartridge itself is produced in a number of varieties, two of which—the SS195LF and SS197SR—are currently offered by FN to civilian shooters.
## History
### Development
The 5.7×28mm cartridge was designed in response to NATO requests for a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. According to the NATO requirement, the new cartridge was to have greater range, accuracy, and terminal performance than the 9×19mm cartridge. Additionally, it was to be capable of penetrating body armor. FN Herstal responded to the NATO requirement by developing the 5.7×28mm cartridge and two associated weapons: the FN P90 personal defense weapon (PDW) and FN Five-seven pistol.
The original 5.7×28mm cartridge, called the SS90, was introduced in 1990. It used a 1.5 g (23 gr) plastic-core projectile, which was propelled at a muzzle velocity of roughly 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s; Mach 2.5) when fired from the P90. A United States patent application for the projectile design used in the SS90 was filed by FN's Jean-Paul Denis and Marc Neuforge in 1989. U.S. Patent 5,012,743 ("High-Performance Projectile") was received in 1991.
When fired from the FN P90, the 5.7×28mm SS190 can penetrate the NATO CRISAT vest or a Level IIIA Kevlar vest at a range of 200 m (219 yd).
The 5.7×28mm SS90 cartridge was discontinued, and replaced, in 1993, with the 5.7×28mm SS190. The SS190 uses a 2.7 mm (0.11 in) shorter projectile with a mass of 2.0 g (31 gr), which has, when fired from the P90, a muzzle velocity of roughly 716 m/s (2,350 ft/s; Mach 2.1). The shorter length of the SS190 projectile allows it to be more conveniently used in the 5.7×28mm FN Five-seven pistol, which was also being developed at that time.
In 1993, FN introduced a modified version of the P90 with a magazine adapted to use the SS190 cartridge. Several specialized 5.7×28mm varieties were also developed alongside the SS190, such as the L191 tracer round and the subsonic SB193 bullet for sound-suppressed use. The 5.7×28mm chambered FN Five-seven pistol then went into production in 1998.
### NATO evaluation
In 2002 and 2003, NATO conducted a series of tests with the intention of standardizing a PDW cartridge as a replacement for the 9×19mm Parabellum. The tests compared the relative merits of the 5.7×28mm cartridge and the HK 4.6×30mm cartridge, which was created by German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a competitor to the 5.7×28mm. The results of the NATO tests were analyzed by a group formed of experts from Canada, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the group's conclusion was that the 5.7×28mm was "undoubtedly" the more efficient cartridge.
Among other points, the NATO group cited superior effectiveness (27 percent greater) for the 5.7×28mm against unprotected targets and equal effectiveness against protected targets. It also cited less sensitivity to extreme temperatures for the 5.7×28mm, and cited a greater potential risk of barrel erosion with the 4.6×30mm. In addition, the group pointed out that 5.7×28mm is close to the 5.56×45mm NATO by its design and manufacture process, allowing it to be manufactured on existing production lines. The group also noted that 5.7×28mm firearms had existed for a longer period of time than 4.6×30mm firearms, and that the 5.7×28mm FN Five-seven pistol was already in production at that time, while the 4.6×30mm Heckler & Koch UCP pistol was a new concept.
However, the German delegation and others rejected the NATO recommendation that 5.7×28mm be standardized, halting the standardization process indefinitely. As a result, both the 4.6×30mm and 5.7×28mm cartridges (and the associated weapons) have been independently adopted by various NATO countries, according to preference; both the P90 and Five-seven are currently in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations throughout the world.
### Present
In 2004, the SS192 hollow-point cartridge was introduced to civilian shooters alongside the new IOM variant of the Five-seven pistol. After being met with controversy regarding its alleged armour-piercing abilities, the SS192 variety was discontinued in the same year, and in 2005 the SS196SR variety was introduced using a 2.6 g (40 grain) Hornady V-Max projectile. The SS196 was also quickly discontinued in favor of the newer SS195LF and SS197SR varieties, which are currently offered to civilian shooters for use in 5.7×28mm firearms, followed by the SS198LF variety, which is currently produced but is restricted by FN to military and law enforcement customers.
FN's 5.7×28mm ammunition types were briefly manufactured by Olin-Winchester, but today they are made by FN Herstal in Belgium and (since 2006) Fiocchi in the United States. In 2009, the National Rifle Association of America added 5.7×28mm firearms to its NRA Tactical Police Competition standards, allowing law enforcement agencies to compete in this event using 5.7×28mm firearms. Starting in 2012, Federal began producing a new 5.7×28mm round for civilian shooters, designated the AE5728A.
On February 25, 2021, FN Herstal announced that 5.7×28mm caliber was recently recognized as a NATO caliber with the NATO STANAG 4509.
## Design details
The 5.7×28mm cartridge was designed by FN Herstal specifically for use in the FN P90 personal defense weapon and FN Five-seven pistol. Subsequently, it has been used in a number of other weapons, such as the FN PS90 carbine and the AR-57, an upper receiver for M16 and AR-15 rifles. The ST Kinetics CPW can be configured for the 5.7×28mm cartridge by changing the barrel and magazine groups. Excel Arms has developed four firearms chambered in 5.7×28mm, and MasterPiece Arms offers three different 5.7×28mm firearms.
The 5.7×28mm cartridge weighs 6.0 grams (93 grains)—roughly two-thirds as much as a typical 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge—making extra ammunition less burdensome, or allowing more ammunition to be carried for the same weight. Since the 5.7×28mm cartridge also has a relatively small diameter, a relatively high number of cartridges can be contained in a magazine. The cartridge has a loud report and produces considerable muzzle flash (when fired from a pistol), but it has roughly 30 percent less recoil than the 9×19mm cartridge, improving controllability. Due to its high velocity, the 5.7×28mm also exhibits an exceptionally flat trajectory.
One of the design intents of the SS190 variety of this cartridge was that it have the ability to penetrate Kevlar protective vests—such as the NATO CRISAT vest—that will stop conventional pistol bullets. Fired from the P90, the SS190 is capable of penetrating the CRISAT vest at a range of 200 m (219 yd), or a Level IIIA Kevlar vest at the same range. However, sporting variants of the 5.7×28mm are classified by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) as not armor-piercing.
According to FN, the 5.7×28mm cartridge has an effective range of 200 m (220 yd) and a maximum range of 1,800 m (2,000 yd) when fired from the P90, and an effective range of 50 m (55 yd) and a maximum range of 1,510 m (1,650 yd) when fired from the Five-seven. In testing, the SS190 and similar 5.7×28mm projectiles consistently turn base over point ("tumble") as they pass through ballistic gelatin and other media, using the 21.6 mm (0.85 in) projectile length to create a larger wound cavity. However, some are skeptical of the bullet's terminal performance, and it is a subject of debate among civilian shooters in the United States.
The 5.7×28mm projectile potentially poses less risk of collateral damage than conventional pistol bullets, because the projectile design limits overpenetration, as well as risk of ricochet. The lightweight projectile also poses less risk of collateral damage in the event of a miss, because it loses much of its kinetic energy after traveling only 400 m (440 yd), whereas a conventional pistol bullet such as the 9×19mm retains significant energy beyond 800 m (870 yd). This range exceeds the engagement distances expected for the 5.7×28mm cartridge's intended applications, so the cartridge's limited energy at long range is not conversely considered to be disadvantageous.
Since the 5.7×28mm SS190 projectile does not rely on fragmentation or the expansion of a hollow-point bullet, the cartridge (and 5.7×28mm firearms) are considered suitable for military use under the Hague Convention of 1899, which prohibits the use of expanding bullets in warfare.
FN's 5.7×28mm cartridge cases are covered with a special polymer coating for easier extraction with the PS90 carbine due to the high chamber pressures and lack of case tapering. In addition, this coating ensures proper feeding and function in the magazines.
## Cartridge dimensions
The 5.7×28mm has a cartridge case capacity of 0.90 ml (13.85 grains H<sub>2</sub>O).
Americans define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 35 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 1:228.6 mm (1:9 in), 8 grooves, Ø lands = 5.53 mm, Ø grooves = 5.62 mm, land width = 1.63 mm and the recommended primer type is small rifle.
According to the official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings, the 5.7×28mm can handle up to 3,450 bar (345 MPa; 50,038 psi) Pmax (the nominal maximum) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries, every rifle cartridge combination has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to be certified for sale to consumers, referred to as "PE". This means that 5.7×28mm chambered arms in C.I.P. regulated countries are currently (2018) proof tested at 4,313 bar (431 MPa; 62,555 psi) PE piezo pressure. Despite the relatively high Pmax the bolt thrust of the 5.7×28mm is on a similar level when compared with traditional service sidearm cartridges.
## Specifications
Fired from the longer 40.74 cm (16.04 in) barrel of the PS90, the muzzle velocity of SS195LF is roughly 60 m/s (200 ft/s) faster, and the muzzle velocity of SS197SR is roughly 45 m/s (150 ft/s) faster. Fired from the shorter 12.2 cm (4.8 in) barrel of the Five-seven pistol, the muzzle velocity of SS195LF is roughly 90 m/s (300 ft/s) slower, and the muzzle velocity of SS197SR is roughly 60 m/s (200 ft/s) slower.
## Cartridge types
- SS90 prototype
The SS90 was an early prototype round used only in the earliest examples of the P90. It used a lightweight 1.5-g (23 grain) full metal jacket bullet with a polymer core, which it propelled at a muzzle velocity of roughly 850 m/s (2,800 ft/s). The SS90 was abandoned in 1994 in favor of the heavier and shorter 2.7 mm (0.11 in) SS190 projectile.
- SS190 duty
The SS190 FMJ, a refinement of the SS90, was introduced in 1993. It offered superior performance over the prototype projectile as well as slightly reduced length. The latter change allowed it to be used more conveniently in the Five-seven pistol, also being developed at that time. Fired from the P90, the SS190 propels a 2.0-g (31 grain) bullet at a muzzle velocity of roughly 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s). It has a steel penetrator and an aluminum core. The SS190 has been manufactured with a plain, black, and a black-on-white tip color. It is classified by the ATF as armor-piercing (AP) handgun ammunition, and its sale is currently restricted by FN to military and law enforcement customers.
In testing done by Houston Police Department SWAT, the SS190 fired from the P90 into bare ballistic gelatin exhibited penetration depths ranging from 28 to 34 cm (11 to 13.5 in). In testing in 1999 by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the SS190 fired from the P90 at a distance of 25 m (27 yd) exhibited an average penetration depth of 25 cm (9.8 in) in ballistic gelatin after passing through a Level II Kevlar vest.
- L191 tracer
The L191 (also formerly called the SS191) is a tracer cartridge designed for easier bullet spotting in dim light. Combustible chemicals packed in the rear of the L191 projectile create a light trail visible up to 200 m (220 yd). The L191 has been manufactured with red and red-on-black tips. The performance and trajectory of the L191 is identical to the SS190. For this reason, it is also classified by the ATF as armor-piercing handgun ammunition, and its sale is currently restricted by FN to military and law enforcement customers.
- SS192 hollow-point
The SS192 was discontinued in late 2004. It used a 1.8 g (28 grain) hollow point bullet with a copper jacket and an aluminum core. The projectile had a length of 21.6 mm (0.85 in). It had an unmarked hollow nose with a depth of 7.6 mm (0.30 in) and a 0.8 mm (0.031 in) opening. The SS192 was classified by the ATF as not armor-piercing, and in testing by FNH USA it did not penetrate a Level IIIA vest when fired from the Five-seven.
- SB193 subsonic
The SB193 (also formerly called the SS193) is a subsonic cartridge featuring a 3.6-g (55 grain) Sierra Game King FMJBT (FMJ boat tail) projectile. The SB193's sub-sonic speed eliminates the distinctive "crack" created by supersonic rounds. The muzzle report is also reduced when using the sub-sonic ammunition together with a suppressor. Due to the greatly decreased muzzle velocity, the SB193 benefits from a slightly reduced recoil force of 1.3 kgm/s. The SB193 can be identified by its white tip color. Its sale is currently restricted by FN to military and law enforcement customers.
- T194 training
The T194 training round was discontinued in 2002. It could be considered an early version of the SS192 or SS195. It used the same 1.8-g (28 grain) copper-jacketed aluminum core bullet, propelled at the same muzzle velocity. It had a green tip.
- SS195LF (lead free)
The SS195LF is a commercially available cartridge that features a lead-free primer and produces ballistics similar to the SS192 round, which it replaced in late 2004. It uses the same 1.8-g (28 grain) copper-jacketed aluminum core bullet as the SS192, and it can be identified by the unmarked, hollow void at the tip and the silver-colored primer. The SS195 is classified by the ATF as not armor-piercing, and it is currently manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium.
- SS196SR (sporting round)
The SS196SR was introduced in 2005 and it is now discontinued in favor of the SS197SR cartridge. It featured a lead core 2.6-g (40 grain) Hornady V-Max bullet which it propelled at a muzzle velocity of roughly 500 m/s (1,600 ft/s) when fired from the Five-seven. The polycarbonate tip used in the V-Max bullet acted as a wedge, enhancing expansion of the bullet. The SS196 was classified by the ATF as not armor-piercing, and in testing by FNH USA it did not penetrate a Level II vest when fired from the Five-seven. The SS196 could be identified by its red polymer tip.
- SS197SR (sporting round)
-
The SS197SR is currently offered to civilian shooters in addition to the SS195LF. It uses the same lead core 2.6-g (40 grain) Hornady V-Max projectile as the SS196SR, but it is loaded for a muzzle velocity roughly 30 m/s (98 ft/s) higher. The projectile has a blue-colored polymer tip instead of the red color used in the SS196 projectile tip. The SS197 has been manufactured by Fiocchi, under contract for FN Herstal, since 2006 and it is distributed in the United States by Federal Cartridge Company.
- SS198LF (lead free)
The SS198LF uses the same lead-free projectile and primer as the SS195LF, but propels it at roughly a 30 m/s (98 ft/s) higher muzzle velocity. It's manufactured in Belgium. It has a green painted tip, and its sale is currently restricted by FN to military and law enforcement customers, but is widely available through retailers to civilian customers.
- American Eagle (AE5728A) TMJ
Since 2012, Federal Cartridge Company markets a loading produced by Fiocchi using a 5.7×28mm round under their American Eagle brand. Designated the AE5728A, this cartridge uses a 40-grain total metal jacket (TMJ) projectile, that is atypical in that it does not use a copper-plated bullet; sectioned pictures show a very thick full copper jacket. The AE5728A casings are of FN manufacture, and the muzzle velocity is slightly lower than that of the SS197SR.
- Non-FN ammunition
Elite Ammunition manufactures a wide variety of loaded 5.7×28mm ammunition offerings, including the "T6B" and "S4M" cartridges. Belgian ammunition manufacturer VBR-Belgium has also developed specialized 5.7×28mm projectiles designed for armor penetration and controlled fragmentation.
- Handloading
Handloading is possible with 5.7×28mm ammunition, and 5.7 mm (0.22 in) bullets are widely available due to use in .223 Remington and 5.56×45mm NATO cartridges. Handloaders have noted that the 5.7×28mm cartridge is very sensitive to small changes in powder charge or overall length (OAL) with a bullet inserted. Bullets weighing 2.6 g (40 grains) or less are recommended for optimal use in 5.7×28mm applications, but the 228.6 mm (1:9 in) rifling twist rate (distance the bullet must travel to complete one full revolution) used in the firearms' barrels will stabilize bullets weighing up to 4.5 g (70 grains).
## Platforms
|Keltech Firearms |sub2000(5.7x28) |United States |Rifle | |- |
# Hostilian
Hostilian (; died 251) was briefly Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born to Decius and Herennia Etruscilla at an unknown date and elevated to caesar in 250 by Decius. After Decius and Herennius Etruscus, Hostilian's brother, were killed at the Battle of Abritus, an ambush by the Goths, Trebonianus Gallus was proclaimed emperor by the legions. Almost immediately, he elevated Hostilian to co-emperor and his own son, Volusianus, to caesar. Hostilian died soon after, either due to plague or being murdered by Trebonianus Gallus.
## History
Hostilian was born at an unknown date, to Decius, a Roman general who later became Emperor, and his wife Herennia Etruscilla. He had a brother, Herennius Etruscus, and one sister. His full name based on coinage and inscriptions was Gaius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus, but to this the historian Aurelius Victor adds Perpenna or Perperna, a name of Etruscan origin.
In September 249 the army of Decius declared him emperor, in opposition to Philip the Arab. He defeated and killed Philip in a battle near Verona, after which the Roman Senate confirmed Decius's appointment and honoured him with the name Traianus, a reference to Emperor Trajan.
In or around September 250, Decius appointed both his sons caesars and in May 251 Herennius Etruscus was elevated to the rank of augustus, which made Decius and Etruscus co-emperors, with Hostilian as the heir of either or both of them. In June 251, Decius and Herennius Etruscus were killed by the Goths at the Battle of Abritus, and Trebonianus Gallus was declared emperor. To placate the public after this abrupt change of rulers, Gallus elevated Hostilian to augustus. After a short period as co-emperor, Hostilian died in circumstances which are still disputed. His death is sometimes dated to November, but contemporary sources indicate that he died in or before August, probably in July. Aurelius Victor and the author of the Epitome de Caesaribus say that Hostilian died of a plague. Zosimus claims that he was killed by Trebonianus Gallus. Gallus's son Volusianus became the new co-emperor.
Some historians identify Hostilian as the Roman general depicted in the Ludovisi Battle sarcophagus, but this is unlikely given that all of his coins depict him as a beardless young boy. It's possible that both Hostilian and Herennius Etruscus were still children or teenagers at the time of their death.
## Numismatics
The aurei of Hostilian fall into four types bearing the bust of Hostilian on the obverse, with the reverse showing: Mars walking to the right; priestly implements; Mercury standing; and Roma seated, holding Victoria. |
# Matt Leto
Matt Leto, known by the gamer tag Zyos, is an American former professional player of the first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Zyos spent a year in his late teens accumulating video game records, and for a while was the holder of the most records. After dropping out of DigiPen Institute of Technology, Leto pursued a career in professional gaming.
Leto won the 2003 and 2004 World Cyber Games, and was signed to become a professional game player that same year. He remained champion until he was defeated in 2005, and was known for his quiet, patient style of play, and his skill in one-on-one matches. In 2006 he retired from professional gaming. He is currently working as a real estate agent in Texas.
## Early life and career
Leto played his first video game at the age of five, playing Super Mario Bros. In his early teens he played and won local video game competitions. At the age of 17, he broke the world record for points scored in the video game Crazy Taxi, and when Twin Galaxies, which records video game records, wanted more proof, he recorded a video of beating his own record. He then spent the next year focused on breaking video game records and eventually broke 742 of them. He had the highest number of records ever achieved until Tom Duncan surpassed him. Originally Zyos was interested in going to DigiPen Institute of Technology to learn how to create video games, but found it intense and that it was not his passion. Having dropped out of college, he later left his job at an ice cream shop at age 19 and began pursuing a career in professional gaming. In late 2002 Leto competed at AGP1, his first video game tournament, and though his team placed fifth, he ranked second individually out of three hundred players.
## Professional career
### 2003
In the fall of 2003, Leto was recruited to play professionally for Major League Gaming (MLG) at the age of 19. That year, he was part of the four-man team "Dream Team". He won the top prize at the World Cyber Games 2003 held in Seoul, South Korea, winning $20,000. It was at that point that Zyos decided he could play video games as his career. That year, Zyos earned $30,000 from professional gaming. He also signed an endorsement deal with ActiVision that placed an endorsing quote on an Xbox shooter game titled Greg Hasting's Tournament Paintball.
### 2004
In 2004, GameSpot described Leto as the "number one Halo player in the United States". Leto came in second at the 2004 Dallas Midwestern Regional Tournament in the "Halo Free For All" category, and first in the N-Gage Competition playing Tony Hawk. As part of Team FFA competing in Major League Gaming tournaments, he helped defeat Shoot to Kill in an upset victory in Chicago, and then also Atlanta. Later in the MLG tournament series he was part of the Florida Jackalopes and were defeated in New York by Team Domination. At the MLG San Francisco tournament, Zyos agreed to split the prize money with his final competitor "Mighty" before the final game, and claimed to do so in order to make his opponent less hungry for victory.
Leto participated in the World Cyber Games 2004 in San Francisco. In preparation for the World Cyber Games, Zyos traveled for the two weeks prior to practice playing against his competitors. At the opening ceremony of the games, Leto was player representative, having been the previous year's champion, and called on players to have good sportsmanship. In the final game, Leto led early 13–5, but his opponent rallied to 13–10 before Zyos was able to also rally and defeat him.
`Zyos thus won the gold medal for the second year in a row, defeating Canadian Nelson Triana 2–0 in the "best out of three" format. He said that his second victory was more important than his first since he is now the third person to win two years in a row.`
### 2005
At the Game Riot Conference in 2005, amateur players had a chance to play against Zyos to win prizes; Leto viewed the touring gaming exposition as a chance to build his reputation. In 2005, Zyos was paid for endorsements and had a managing team. He also came in third at the Major League Games Competition as part of the team Str8 Rippin. That team went on to defeat rivals "Team3D" in Philadelphia. Later that summer, he joined Team "Trademark Gamers", and later the "IGS Monglers". On September 13, 2005, Zyos was defeated by the Ogre twins in the third game of the World Cyber Games' United States Finals. Leto attributed his loss to his weakness in two-on-two play and stated his desire to continue playing one on one. In October 2005, Zyos competed and won the DigitalLife Tournament Series Halo 2 tournament, defeating "PdgfProxa" in the final match.
### 2006
Leto competed professionally in Halo 2 and Project Gotham Racing 3 at the World Series of Video Games in July 2006 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center. He was also invited to attend the Championship Gaming Series that year. Following his defeat, he considered playing another first-person shooter or a future Halo game. In September of that year he visited the Cyber World Games and attendees had the opportunity to be taught how to play Halo 2. He was a part of team XiT Woundz, thought to be one of the top four Major League Gaming teams in 2006. The team was defeated by teams "eX" and MoBDeep, and ultimately placed seventh. Following the defeats, Zyos exited his hotel where he was staying for the tournament and has not returned to professional gaming. His retirement was called the ninth most important event in professional gaming that year by Major League Gaming.
## Technique
Zyos studied his opponent's style of play in order to find weaknesses. He also practiced four to five hours to day, and the week before a tournament for ten. He stated that most of the stress of competing is mental, though physical fitness helps in tournaments that can last 16 hours per day. Talents he has suggested players need include quick reflexes, concentration, and the ability to play under pressure. The transition from Halo to Halo 2 was a mixed bag for Zyos, since he called it an "easier game", but tournaments started being more focused on two-on-two. Once Halo 2 was released, Leto began to focus almost exclusively on it and did not play the original at all.
While on Team Str8 Rippin in 2005, Leto stated that their style was unique, since any team member might take on any role in their attack formation. They were also patient, content to wait for their enemies out and force the opposing team to attack when Str8 Rippin is ahead. Zyos insisted upon his teammates being silent and not trash-talking during matches in order to maintain focus.
## Tournament results
- 1st - 2003 World Cyber Games
- 1st - 2004 World Cyber Games |
# Yvon Cormier
Yvon Cormier (November 3, 1938 – March 4, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler. Competing primarily under the ring name The Beast, he and his three wrestling brothers made up the Cormier wrestling family. He wrestled in many countries but regularly returned to Canada, where he competed for the Eastern Sports Association (ESA) and the ESA-promoted International Wrestling (IW). He also competed in the Calgary, Alberta-based Stampede Wrestling for many years.
## Early life
Cormier was born into a family of thirteen children, of which four of the brothers became professional wrestlers, and another became a referee. His wrestling brothers were Leo Burke (Leonce Cormier), Bobby Kay (Romeo Cormier) and Rudy Kay (Jean-Louis Cormier). The oldest brother, Malcolm, worked as a referee under the name Mel Turnbow. As a teenager, he worked in the woods, shoed horses, and drove heavy equipment.
## Professional wrestling career
Cormier met Emile Dupré in 1957, who told him to consider a career in professional wrestling. Cormier began training, and later moved to Indianapolis, Indiana, to continue his preparation under trainer Les Ruffen, and made his debut in 1963. At first, he used the ring name Pierre Lebelle before switching to Ivan the Lumberjack. In Texas, he was known as Joe Gump. When he later ventured to the Mid-Atlantic territory, Jim Crockett, Sr. named him The Beast. At that time, he had thick, untamed hair and a large, curly beard.
The Beast spent part of his early career competing for Stampede Wrestling, where he faced such wrestlers as Stu Hart. He won his first championship there in 1966. He defeated Stampede veteran Dave Ruhl to win the Calgary version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship. Later that year, he dropped the title to Ruhl. He gained a different title the following year, however, when he teamed with Bob Sweetan to defeat the Christy Brothers (Bobby and Jerry) for the Calgary version of the NWA International Tag Team Championship on July 12, 1967.
In 1969, The Beast became the first holder of the IW North American Heavyweight Championship. On August 5, he gained a second title when he teamed with his brother Rudy Kay to defeat The Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Don Kent) to win the ESA International Tag Team Championship. Three weeks later, he dropped the North American title to The Stomper (Archie Gouldie), who became his longtime rival. He then began competing for the Amarillo, Texas-based territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He won the NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship and held it for several months before losing it in a match against Ricky Romero on February 2, 1970.
Two months later, on April 4, The Beast teamed with Bull Ramos to win the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship by defeating Terry Funk and Romero. They continued to face Funk and Romero and dropped the title to them later that year. On July 27, The Beast regained the IW North American Heavyweight Championship from The Stomper and held it for over two months. He lost the championship to Eric Pomeroy that October. While competing in the ESA, The Beast also had another reign as International Tag Team Champion, this time while teaming with his brother Leo Burke. They held the title until dropping it on August 3, 1971, to The Beast's former partner Freddie Sweetan and former rival Eric Pomeroy. The Beast had two more reigns with the ESA International Tag Team Championship that year, however. Four weeks after dropping it to Sweetan and Pomeroy, he regained the title from them with the help of his new partner Archie Gouldie, with whom The Beast had once feuded over the North American Heavyweight Championship. The title reign lasted for a little over a month before Pomeroy and Sweetan regained the championship trophy. Pomeroy and Sweetan held the title for only one week, however, as The Beast recruited his brother Rudy Kay to help him win the championship back on October 12. This time, the brothers' reign lasted for just over seven months. Sweetan eventually regained the title while teaming with Mike Dubois on May 16 the following year.
Over a year passed before The Beast won another championship. In the summer of 1973, Sweetan was holding the ESA Tag Team Championship with Kurt von Steiger when The Beast teamed with Bobby Kay, the only one of his brothers with whom he had not held a tag team championship, and regained the trophy. Once again, however, Sweetan won the title back on July 31 along with partner Mr. X. During the ESA off-season, The Beast returned to Texas and reformed his tag team partnership with brother Leo Burke. In January 1974, the brothers defeated Don Fargo and Hank James to win the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship. Within two months, however, they lost the title to long-time rival Romero and his partner Dory Funk, Jr. Returning to the ESA, The Beast and Bobby Kay defeated Sweetan and Dubois to win the vacant Tag Team Championship. The reign lasted for less than one week before Sweetan and Dubois won the trophy in a rematch. The following month, The Beast had another short reign with the IWA North American Heavyweight Championship, winning the title and losing it back to Great Kuma in less than two weeks. He followed this with a victory for the Tag Team Championship with Burke on July 13, once again winning the title from Sweetan and Dubois. By early August, the brothers had dropped the title to Kuma and Geto Mongol.
The Beast and Rudy Kay had one last reign as ESA International Tag Team Champions together. They defeated Bob Brown and The Patriot during the autumn of 1975 to win the trophy. They held the title until the end of the ESA's 1975 season. The Beast's final title reign began in Texas on February 20, 1976. He and Leo Burke won a tournament for the vacant NWA Western States Tag Team Championship, defeating Romero and his son Silver Streak to win the title. They held it for one week before dropping it to Romero and Silver Streak on February 27.
During his career he wrestled seven different world champions, including six time limit draws. At one point, he wrestled Giant Baba in Japan in front of a crowd of 45,000 people. He also participated in numerous chain matches, in which he and an opponent were joined together by a steel chain attached to their wrists.
## Personal life
Cormier was known for his physical strength and intense exercise regimen. He was known to bench press 450 pounds with ease, and he was once recorded as bench pressing 527 pounds. During one photo session, Cormier lifted a telephone pole from the ground and carried it around while posing for pictures. According to one story, he once got upset with a horse that refused to cooperate and knocked it down with one punch.
Like his brothers, Cormier was a lifelong ice hockey fan. He also trained horses for harness racing and had six of his own Percheron horses. He had four sons, all of whom are being trained to wrestle, as well as one daughter. He was married to his wife, Doris, for 44 years until his death.
In May 2008, Cormier was diagnosed with lymphoma. He underwent treatment but suffered a heart attack soon after beginning. Doctors later determined that the cancer had moved into his bone marrow. He died on March 4, 2009, at a hospital in Moncton, New Brunswick.
## Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Men's Wrestling Award (2009) as part of The Cormier Family
- Eastern Sports Association
- ESA International Tag Team Championship (8 times) - with Rudy Kay (3), Leo Burke (1), Archie Gouldie (1), and Bobby Kay (3)
- IW North American Heavyweight Championship (4 times)
- Stampede Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version) (1 time)
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (1 time) - with Bob Sweetan
- Western States Sports
- NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA Western States Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Leo Burke (2) and Bull Ramos (1) |
# Norma Paulus
Norma Jean Paulus (née Petersen; March 13, 1933 – February 28, 2019) was an American lawyer and politician in the state of Oregon. A native of Nebraska, she was raised in Eastern Oregon before becoming a lawyer. A Republican, she first held political office as a representative in the Oregon House of Representatives, and then became the first woman elected to statewide public office in Oregon when she became Oregon Secretary of State in 1977. Paulus later served as Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction for nine years. She made unsuccessful bids to become Governor of Oregon and United States Senator. Prior to her death on February 28, 2019, Paulus lived in Portland, where she was involved with several non-profit groups and sponsored a ballot measure to create open primaries in Oregon's statewide elections.
## Early life
Norma Jean Petersen was born in Belgrade, Nebraska, on March 13, 1933. She was raised as one of seven children in Eastern Oregon, where she graduated from Burns Union High School in Burns, in 1950. Paulus started her career as the secretary for the district attorney for Harney County in Burns, Oregon.
After recovering from poliomyelitis, she moved to Salem, Oregon (the state's capital), and worked as a legal secretary, including working for Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justices Earl C. Latourette and William M. McAllister. Latourette recommended Paulus to attend law school, which she did at Willamette University without a college degree, enrolling in 1956. While in law school, she met her future husband William G. Paulus. Norma Paulus graduated with honors from Willamette University College of Law in Salem with a LL.B. in 1962. Following law school Paulus worked in private practice until entering politics.
## Political career
Paulus began her political career by winning election to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1970. Elected as a Republican, she represented Salem and Marion County in District 11. She won re-election in 1972 and 1974 to additional two-year terms in the House with her district changing to District 31, serving through the 1975 special legislative session. Paulus was then elected as Oregon's first female Secretary of State in 1976, the first time a woman won election to a statewide office in Oregon.
She took office on January 3, 1977, and served through January 7, 1985, after winning re-election to a second four-year term in 1980. Paulus kept a small statue of a lion on a desk in her downtown Portland home that was given to her in October 1981 by the northeast Portland Lions Club when she was inducted as the group's first female member. The next day, Paulus was visited in her office at the Oregon Capitol by the president of the statewide Oregon Lions Club. He had come to ask Paulus to return the Portland club's gift. He did not think the statue – or membership into the club – should have been given to a woman.
Paulus was a founding member of the Oregon Women's Political Caucus, a bipartisan group of Oregon legislators in 1972. She was instrumental in efforts to pass an Equal Rights Amendment in Oregon in 1973 and 1977. Also, in 1972, she was invited to be part of the Eagleton Institute of Politics' first conference on women in politics. A decade later, while serving as Secretary of State, she was a principal speaker at the Institute's 1982 conference. Paulus remarked in her speech that "We have come a long way" referring to women in politics. In 1984, followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh bused homeless people to Wasco County in an attempt to sway local elections. As Secretary of State, Paulus recommended the county institute emergency procedures to restrict these transients from registering to vote, which the Rajneeshees challenged in federal court. At that time Oregon allowed citizens to register to vote on the same day as an election. Then federal district judge Edward Leavy ruled against the Rajneeshees, determining the emergency procedures were proper. The religious sect later faced government investigations over immigration fraud, a related failed murder plot, and the first bioterrorist attack in the United States.
Following her two terms as the Secretary of State, Paulus ran for governor in 1986. She won the Republican primary in May, but lost to Democrat Neil Goldschmidt in the November election. While campaigning for the office she had been a critic of the new MAX Light Rail that opened that year. During this period, Paulus was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to help oversee the 1986 Philippine presidential elections.
In 1987, she was appointed as one of two Oregon members of the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. While on the council, she was a supporter of regional fish habitat protection. She resigned her position on the Council in late 1989 to run for Oregon Superintendent of Public Instruction after the retirement of Verne Duncan.
Goldschmidt later appointed her as the Superintendent of Public Instruction on October 1, 1990. Paulus won election to a full four-year term in that office later in the year, and was re-elected in 1994. Paulus then ran for the United States Senate in the December 5, 1995, special primary election. The election was for the nominations to replace Bob Packwood who resigned. Paulus lost to Gordon H. Smith in the Republican primary. Smith then lost to Ron Wyden in the general election before he was elected later in 1996 to fill the vacancy left when Mark Hatfield retired.
As state superintendent, Paulus helped introduce statewide assessment testing for grades 3, 5, 8, and 11 in 1991. Other education reforms introduced that year were the Certificate of Initial Mastery (CIM) and Certificate of Advanced Mastery (CAM) that were designed to replace the high school diploma in Oregon. These were optional programs which were part of a broader program that included issuing a report card outlining the progress as a state, as required by a law the state legislature passed in 1991. Paulus also supported school-to-work initiatives for reforming public education while in office, which were part of the 1991 reforms. At the time Paulus was one of only ten women in the nation to hold the top education position in their state. She left the office on January 4, 1999, after two terms. In 2007, the Oregon Legislature eliminated the optional certificates from schools in the state.
## Later life and family
Norma and her husband William had two children, Elizabeth and Fritz. In 1996, she was named to the National Assessment Governing Board by United States Secretary of Education Richard Riley. She was conferred with honorary degrees by Willamette University in 1999, Whitman College, Lewis & Clark College, and Linfield College. In December 2000, she was appointed as the executive director of the Oregon Historical Society and served in that position until 2003. From 2000 until 2013, Paulus was a member of the Oregon State Capitol Foundation Board. She was an original member of the organization and served as chair of the group. She served on the boards of the High Desert Museum in Bend, the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, and the City Club of Portland. In 2004, she received the University of Oregon's Distinguished Service Award.
She worked to raise funds for a statue honoring former governor and longtime friend Tom McCall, with the statue completed and installed in Salem along the Willamette River in 2008. In 2008, Paulus and co-petitioner Phil Keisling, also a former Oregon Secretary of State, brought Ballot Measure 65 to the November ballot, in an effort to reform the state's primary election system for partisan races.
In 2015, then-Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown dedicated the 2015–2016 edition of the Oregon Blue Book to Paulus, in honor of her lifelong service to the state, including her role as the first woman elected to that office, and statewide, in Oregon history.
In May 2017, Oregon State University Press published "The Only Woman In the Room": the Norma Paulus story, which is based on oral histories and archives held at Oregon Historical Society Research Library, Willamette University Archives, and the Oregon State Archives.
Norma Paulus died in a Portland nursing home on February 28, 2019, from complications of vascular dementia, at the age of 85.
## See also
- List of female secretaries of state in the United States |
# Ring the Alarm
"Ring the Alarm" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé for her second studio album, B'Day (2006). It was written by Knowles, Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, and Sean Garrett. Columbia Records released "Ring the Alarm" as the second single from B'Day in the United States on October 17, 2006, while "Irreplaceable" (2006) was serviced as the album's second international and third US single. The song's development was motivated by Knowles' role in the Broadway musical adaptation Dreamgirls (2006). The cover art of "Ring the Alarm" proved controversial because Knowles used alligators during the photography session. PETA declared that Knowles' posing with a baby alligator was arguably abusive to an animal.
"Ring the Alarm" is an R\&B song. Its introduction features a blaring siren, which sets an aggressive tone. The song's lyrics involve a woman who feels threatened, and is unwilling to allow another woman to profit from the protagonist's efforts to improve her lover's life. While some commended her willingness to take risks, others were polarized about her aggressive vocals. "Ring the Alarm" was nominated for Best Female R\&B Vocal Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
The single debuted at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming Knowles' highest US debut at the time. It reached number 11 on the chart, becoming her first solo single to peak below the top 10. Its accompanying music video was inspired by the 1992 film Basic Instinct and was directed by Sophie Muller. It was filmed inside a cavernous hangar on the Brooklyn waterfront in New York City. The video garnered generally mixed reviews by critics, who universally thought that it was eccentric. Knowles promoted "Ring the Alarm" through various live performances on televised shows and awards ceremonies, including the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was included on her set list on the Beyoncé Experience (2007) in Los Angeles, her world tour I Am... World Tour. (2009–10), her On the Run Tour (2014) with Jay-Z, the Formation World Tour (2016), and her OTR II (2018) with Jay-Z again.
## Background and development
After six months of filming for the Broadway musical adaptation of Dreamgirls, Knowles was on vacation. Inspired by her role in the film, she said: "[When filming ended,] I had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas". After contacting American songwriters and record producers Sean Garrett along with Rodney Jerkins, Rich Harrison, and Kasseem "Swizz Beatz" Dean, Knowles rented Sony Music Studios to begin working on her second solo album B'Day. Garret said: "I came to the studio and saw the zone...everybody in here is banging out. Rodney Jerkins had his session, Rich Harrison had his session going on...I started banging out some shit." "Ring the Alarm" was produced by Knowles, Garrett and Swizz Beatz; its lyrics were being written at the same time by the trio. Swizz Beatz stated: "['Ring the Alarm' is] just one of the many presents I gave [Knowles] for her B'Day. I have the most tracks on her album as a single producer". "Ring the Alarm" was co-arranged by Knowles and recorded in the same studio. She said about her collaboration with Swizz Beatz, "I love working with Swizz. He's challenging. His beats are so complex it's hard to find a melody. But ['Ring the Alarm'] just clicked".
## Composition
According to the sheet music published by EMI Music Publishing, it is composed in the key of A minor but changes to E major in the bridge and changes to A minor, and set in common time at a moderately slow tempo of 85 beats per minute. The instrumentation of "Ring the Alarm" includes drums, clattering percussion instrument, treble synthesizers, and bass instrument. It also makes use of a slapping backbeat, an air horn, titanic handclaps, plonks, and breathing noises. A blaring siren is used as the song's introductory sound, setting an aggressive tone, which is augmented by Knowles' throaty mezzo-soprano growl. Tim Finney of Pitchfork described her vocals as "thrillingly sharp with anxiety and paranoia", and Tom Breihan of The Village Voice commented that she sings with "a frantic intensity". Knowles' vocals range from the note of A<sub>3</sub> to F<sub>5</sub>. Her strong shout vocal styling is meshed with the grooves, and enhanced with echo and shimmer, which overlap with one another, creating a neo-warm vibe.
Knowles commented on the song, "It's energetic, aggressive and filled with hard beats". She explained that the album was completed in three weeks, which is the reason most of the record, including "Ring the Alarm" sounds aggressive. She further clarified that she did not intend to write an angry song, "Swizz's ['Ring the Alarm'] had that tough vibe, like the guy had cheated, and I wanted to write something honest. If you're in a relationship, even if the man's cheating and you end up not wanting him, the thought of another woman benefiting from the lessons you taught him." "Ring the Alarm" features Knowles as the female protagonist impersonating a threatened woman involved in a love triangle. She is unwilling to allow another woman to profit from all the efforts she put on to make her lover a better man. Frances Romero of Time magazine noted that Knowles' anger is due to her man's wandering eye, her desire to leave, and the thought of having to give him up to some unworthy woman.
Tamara Coniff of Billboard magazine noted that the verses of "Ring the Alarm" resemble those of Aretha Franklin's songs. Tom Breihan commented that Knowles "[wails] with force and purpose on the verses". As the song opens, she tells her lover, "I can't let you go", and that she will not allow another woman to take everything she owns, including the chinchilla coats and the house on the coast. Knowles screams the refrain—"Ring the alarm, I've been doin[g] this too long / But I'll be damned if I see another chick on your arm"—"through a thick fog of distortion", as noted by Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly. Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe added that she chants the lines with grit and urgency, while Breihan wrote that she sings them "with a frantic intensity". Knowles later declares that her relationship is "not the picture perfect movie everyone would assume".
## Release
In June 2006, Knowles invited Tamara Coniff of Billboard to a New York recording studio where she played "Ring the Alarm" and "Freakum Dress" (2006) for the prospect of the next US single, and she also had plans for "Green Light" (2007) and "Get Me Bodied" (2007) to hit international markets. However, she ultimately opted for "Ring the Alarm" to be released as the second single of the album in the United States, following "Déjà Vu" (2006). On September 10, 2006, it was added to US urban contemporary radio playlists. A two-track CD single was released on October 3, 2006, and a five-track remix CD was later made available on October 17, 2006. Knowles approached English production team Freemasons to remix "Ring the Alarm". A club-oriented remix was produced and included on the band's debut studio album Shakedown (2007).
## Controversies
The lyrics of "Ring the Alarm" were rumored to be about singer Rihanna's relationship with rapper Jay-Z. According to media speculation, Knowles, Rihanna and Jay-Z were part of a love triangle in 2006. It was rumored that Jay-Z had always been faithful to Knowles until he met Rihanna, whose popularity grew considerably during that year. She tempted Jay-Z to live a romantic relationship with her while he was still with Knowles. As commented by Tom Breihan of The Village Voice, Knowles took advantage of "[people's] sympathy and unleash[ed] a burst of public rage in the form of ['Ring the Alarm']". In an interview for Seventeen magazine, she however clarified that the lyrics had no connection with Rihanna, before adding that she was unaware of the rumors that had been circulating. Concerned that someone was trying to sabotage Knowles' second studio album, Knowles' father and manager, Mathew Knowles, released an official statement:
> It is apparent that there is a consistent plan by some to create chaos around Beyoncé's B'Day album release on September 4 in the US. First, it was a petition against the single, 'Déjà Vu', then a rumor regarding conflict between Beyoncé and Rihanna, seizures caused by the 'Ring the Alarm' video, putting out a single to compete with LeToya's album and now to add to all the ridiculous rumors, is my plan to postpone the release of her 'B'Day' album. What will be next? Beyoncé's cut off all her hair? Dyed it green? Maybe she's singing the songs in reverse with some hidden subliminal message\!
The cover art of "Ring the Alarm", caused controversy because alligators were used during the photography session. Knowles affirmed that using the animal, and taping their mouths shut, was her idea. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which had previously confronted her after she used furs for her fashion line's clothing design, contacted a biologist who wrote a letter to Knowles, "As a specialist in reptile biology and welfare, I'm concerned about your posing with a terrified baby alligator for your new album cover. Humans and alligators are not natural bedfellows, and the two should not mix at events such as photo shoots. In my view, doing so is arguably abusive to an animal."
## Critical reception
"Ring the Alarm" received polarized responses from contemporary music critics, who noted that it was a marked departure from Knowles' previous material. Eb Haynes of AllHipHop wrote that the song is "emotionally high-powered. The Boston Globe's Sarah Rodman noted that it finds Knowles in "full hell-hath-no-fury mode", singing with grit and urgency that feel genuine. A critic of Billboard magazine viewed "Ring the Alarm" as a memorable release even though he wrote that it is not as good as Knowles' 2003 single "Crazy in Love". He praised her distorted vocals and the "ranting assault of a lyric", which she uses to convince her love interest. Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly called "Ring the Alarm" torrid, and wrote that Knowles "sounds positively horrified by the prospect of relinquishing the luxury goodies her boyfriend has bought her". Brian Hiatt of Rolling Stone stated that she sings with "enough frantic, quavering intensity to make you believe she really is crazy in love". Marcos Chin of Vibe magazine described "Ring the Alarm" as "both a sexual invitation and a threat". Darryl Sterdan of Jam\! described "Ring the Alarm" as a "shrill tantrum of green-eyed monsterdom", and Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times described it as a "canny display of emotional vulnerability". Tom Breihan of The Village Voice commented that "Ring the Alarm" may become Knowles' "You Oughta Know".
Spence D. of IGN Music commented that the best examples of Knowles vocal stylings come on "Ring The Alarm", adding that it is one of the few tracks on the album where she goes for a throaty growl. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine wrote that it was a bold choice for a single Dave de Sylvi of Sputnikmusic noted that "Ring the Alarm" was a brave choice for a single, called it "angry and lyrically incendiary", and noted that Swizz Beatz's beats are "unusually intricate". Norman Meyers of Prefix Magazine noted that the song is evidence of Knowles' willingness to take chances. Calling "Ring the Alarm" a "bunny-boiling bonanza" and a "killer club track", Rach Read of TeenToday wrote that it is a definite highlight and that "it's great to see an artist at the top of her game prepared to take risks with a track as unhinged as this." Chris Richards of The Washington Post defined Knowles' character in the song as a "jealousy-crazed ex", and expressed his disappointment that it could not manage a "more convincing refrain". Andy Kellman of Allmusic called it "an angered, atonal, and out-of-character song". Tim Finney of Pitchfork Media wrote, "the siren-assisted caterwaul of second single 'Ring the Alarm' sounds genuinely (and marvelously) incoherent." Bernard Zuel of The Sydney Morning Herald described "Ring the Alarm" as a "posturing and eventually annoying" track.
## Accolades
Vibe ranked "Ring the Alarm" at number forty-eight on its list of the Top 60 Songs of 2006, complimenting the vocal distortion and the way Knowles shouts on the chorus and the hook. Frances Romero of Time listed "Ring the Alarm" at number nine on her list of the Top 10 Angry Breakup Songs of the 2000s decade, writing: "Critics had mixed feelings about the song ... In the end, what it does show is that Beyoncé will have her way." Staff members of Pitchfork ranked the song on their list of The Top 100 Tracks of 2006 at number eighty-five. The song was nominated for Best Female R\&B Vocal Performance at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards (2007) but lost to Mary J. Blige's song "Be Without You" (2005). Jody Rosen from The New Yorker credited the jarring timbral and tonal variations on the song for giving a new musical sound that didn't exist in the world before Knowles. He further wrote, "If they sound 'normal' now, it's because Beyoncé, and her many followers, have retrained our ears." On their ranking of the best singles of aughts, Slant Magazine included "Ring the Alarm" at number two-hundred-and-twenty-six.
## Commercial performance
For the week ending September 23, 2006, "Ring the Alarm" debuted at number twelve on the US Billboard Hot 100, following its entry at number seven on the US Hot Digital Songs, selling around 56,000 digital downloads. It was the highest debut that week in the United States, and was the highest debuting song of Knowles' career until "Formation" and "Sorry" debuted at numbers ten and eleven in May 2016, and eventually bested when "Texas Hold 'Em" debuted at number two in February 2024. The song peaked at number eleven on the Hot 100 chart issue dated September 30, 2006, and was Knowles' lowest peaking single until "Get Me Bodied", which peaked at number sixty-eight. Several weeks after leaving the Hot 100 chart, "Ring the Alarm" re-entered it for the week ending January 13, 2007, at number eighty-one; it remained on the chart for fourteen non-consecutive weeks.
"Ring the Alarm" was more successful on the US Billboard component charts. It topped the Dance Club Songs, Hot R\&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales and Hot 100 Singles Sales chart, and reached number three on the Hot R\&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The song additionally charted at number twenty-one on the US Rhythmic and at number nineteen on the US Pop 100. Though not released outside the United States, "Ring the Alarm" charted at number fifty-six on January 15, 2007, in Sweden.
## Music video
The music video for "Ring the Alarm" was the second video of Knowles' to be directed by Sophie Muller, who worked on "Déjà Vu". The video was filmed inside a cavernous hangar located on the waterfront in Brooklyn, New York City. It remakes a scene from the film Basic Instinct (1992), referred to by Natalie More of In These Times as an infamous scene. Knowles wears a white skirt and turtleneck to emulate Sharon Stone. She told Elysa Gardner of USA Today that she considered the video to be a movie scene; "I put six months aside, worked with a coach for two months. And that carried through to my music. I treated the video for 'Ring the Alarm' like a movie scene. I was thinking, 'I've got to make my acting coach proud." The video premiered at Yahoo\! Music on August 16, 2006 and was released to US iTunes Store on November 21, 2006. It debuted on MTV's Total Request Live at number ten on August 22, 2006, reached number one, and remained on the show for 35 days until it was replaced by the music video for "Irreplaceable" (2006). The video credited then-16-year-old dancer Teyana Taylor as the choreographer.
The video starts with Knowles laying on a table, lit with a flashing bright red light. While a siren is blaring, she half-stands and sings while dancing on the table. She proceeds to an interrogation room similar to the one in the film Basic Instinct. Knowles sings the first verse in a house with a seashore backdrop. She wants to escape, and struggles with masked and uniformed guards in a hallway. She is then returned to the interrogation room. In between cuts, she sings in a corner of a room, is seen reflected in a mirror while screaming, and among a group of reporters. As the song closes, Knowles is shown crying. The video ends with a close-up view of Knowles putting on red lipstick. The scene shows only her lips.
The music video gained mostly mixed reviews from critics. Andy Kellman of AllMusic wrote that it "invited all kinds of perplexed analysis". Jose Antonio Vargas of The Washington Post described Knowles' persona as a "ranting, angry woman". Elizabeth Goodman of Rolling Stone speculated that the use of guards in riot gear is a reference to Alias. Tom Breihan of The Village Voice described the clip as a "quick-and-dirty" video and a "fast montage of disconnected and disconnecting images". Blogger Roger Friedman of Fox News called it a "bizarre video depicting a wildly angry and unappealing Beyoncé telling off someone (maybe Jay-Z?) for cheating as if she were an enraged guest on Maury Povich." The staff members of Pitchfork Media included the music video at number twenty-one on the list of Top 25 Music Videos of 2006. Ryan Dombal further wrote that it was "Almost as good as Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction". In 2013, John Boone and Jennifer Cady of E\! Online placed the video at number six on their list of Knowles' ten best music videos.
## Live performances
Knowles performed "Ring the Alarm" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards on August 31, 2006, wearing a flowing trench coat, a corset and hotpants. The performance referenced Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" routine. James Montgomery of MTV News commented that as Knowles sang, she "...stripped and stalked." Jocelyn Vena of the same publication, wrote that she had a "frantic performance" of the song along with a "fiercely choreographed breakdown" at the end. Erika Ramirez of Billboard magazine put the performance at number five on her list of "Beyonce's 5 Biggest TV Performances" saying that Knowles "kill[ed]" the live performance. She later performed the song on the American morning news and talk show, Good Morning America. "Ring the Alarm" was included on Knowles' set list for her The Beyoncé Experience concert in Los Angeles, and I Am... World Tour venues.
During a performance of "Ring the Alarm" in Orlando, Florida on July 26, 2007, Knowles fell down a flight of stairs on stage and was videoed by several fans. She told her audience that it "hurt so bad" and requested, "Don't put [the footage] on YouTube." However, the next morning, several clips of Knowles' fall were available on YouTube, and reported in the media. The videos were quickly removed from YouTube because users had transgressed the website's terms of use." A representative from YouTube said that users posting their footage of the incident were guilty of infringement because "even if [they] took the video [themselves], the performer controls the right to use his/her image in a video, the songwriter owns the rights to the song being performed and sometimes the venue prohibits filming without permission." After being removed, clips of Knowles' fall were later reposted on YouTube and other video-sharing sites like eBaum's World and Dailymotion. Jay-Z later stated on radio that even though Knowles is "...a great performer who's on point 99 percent of the time, she's still human."
Knowles performed "Ring the Alarm" on August 5, 2007, at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, wearing a long red overcoat. Jon Pareles of The New York Times praised her performance, stating: "Beyoncé needs no distractions from her singing, which can be airy or brassy, tearful or vicious, rapid-fire with staccato syllables or sustained in curlicued melismas. But she was in constant motion, strutting in costumes." In Los Angeles, Knowles performed song, dressed in a long red overcoat. She was accompanied by several backup dancers and live instrumentation. When she sang "Ring the Alarm" in Sunrise, Florida on June 29, 2009, Knowles was wearing a glittery gold leotard. Animated graphics of turntables, faders and other club equipment were projected behind her, the dancers and the musicians. Knowles was accompanied by two drummers, two keyboardists, a percussionist, a horn section, three backup vocalists and a lead guitarist. "Ring the Alarm" was included on her 2007 live album The Beyoncé Experience Live.
## Formats and track listings
- US CD single and 12-inch vinyl
1. "Ring the Alarm" – 3:26
2. "Ring the Alarm" (instrumental) – 3:25
- US remix CD single
1. "Ring the Alarm" (Karmatronic Remix) – 3:21
2. "Ring the Alarm" (Migtight Remix) – 3:21
3. "Ring the Alarm" (Tranzformas Remix) – 4:14
4. "Ring the Alarm" (Jazze Pha Remix) – 3:48
5. "Ring the Alarm" (Grizz Remix) – 3:32
- US Dance Mixes EP
1. "Ring the Alarm" (Freemasons Club Mix) – 8:33
2. "Ring the Alarm" (Karmatronic Remix) – 3:19
3. "Ring the Alarm" (Migtight Remix) – 3:19
- US Urban Mixes EP
1. "Ring the Alarm" (Tranzformas Remix) (feat. Collie Buddz) – 4:12
2. "Ring the Alarm" (Jazze Pha Remix) – 3:47
3. "Ring the Alarm" (Grizz Remix) – 3:32
- Spanglish Mix
1. "Ring the Alarm" (Spanglish Mix) - 3:24
## Credits and personnel
- Beyoncé Knowles – vocals, production, writing, executive production
- Mathew Knowles – executive production, management, A\&R
- Jim Caruana – recording
- Rob Kinelski – recording assistance
- Jason Goldstein – mixing
- Swizz Beatz – mixing, production, writing
- Sean Garrett – production, writing
- Steve Tolle – mixing assistance
- Brian Gardner – mastering
- Max Gousse – A\&R
## Charts
### Weekly charts
### Year-end charts
### Decade-end charts
## Certifications
## Release history
## See also
- List of number-one dance singles of 2006 (U.S.)
## In popular culture
- "Ring the Alarm" has featured in the third series premiere of popular UK teen drama Skins.
- Haven Holidays had sampled the main instrumental part of the Freemason's Club Mix of "Ring the Alarm" for their Funstars Go\! Live background music whenever the Funstars play silly or funny games within a time limit. |
# Kent vs Lancashire at Canterbury
Kent vs Lancashire at Canterbury is an oil on canvas painting by Albert Chevallier Tayler completed in 1907. It was commissioned by the Kent County Cricket Club at the suggestion of chairman Lord Harris to celebrate their first County Championship title win. Tayler painted the picture after taking individual sittings with each of the Kent players. With the exception of short-term loans, the painting remained at the St Lawrence Ground until 1999, at which time it was moved to the Lord's Pavilion as Kent could no longer afford the insurance. In 2006, Kent sold the painting to a charity foundation at an auction. The piece is currently on display at Lord's Cricket Ground in London.
## Commissioning
Kent County Cricket Club won the 1906 County Championship, gaining 78% of the points available in their completed matches, above the 70% achieved by second-place Yorkshire County Cricket Club. This was Kent's first victory since the County Championship had been instituted in 1890. At a celebratory dinner in London, the Kent chairman, George Harris, 4th Baron Harris, suggested that the club commission a painting to celebrate the championship victory.
Kent selected Albert Chevallier Tayler as the artist; he had earlier painted Lord Harris batting for Kent in 1905. Tayler was paid 200 guineas by Kent for the painting, with an additional royalty for reproductions that could bring the total as high as 350 guineas.
## Composition
Lord Harris expressed his view that the painting should show an action shot of a match at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, and suggested that the bowler in the painting should be Kent's Colin Blythe. Kent had only played three matches at Canterbury during the 1906 season; of those it was decided that the subject of the painting would be Kent's match against Lancashire County Cricket Club. That match was part of the Canterbury Cricket Week, and Blythe had taken eight wickets, making it the most appropriate of the three fixtures to depict. Tayler decided that he would show the second day of the match, at an hour prior to lunchtime.
The painting shows the view from the boundary of the Nackington Road end of the St. Lawrence Ground with Canterbury Cathedral visible in the background. The painting has Blythe in the action of bowling from the Pavilion End to Johnny Tyldesley. Tayler compressed the view of the playing area so that he could feature all of Kent's eleven players while keeping them recognisable and reasonably sized.
To ensure accuracy, Tayler arranged sittings with each member of the Kent team and made an effort to paint each one true to life. He initially planned to include non-striking Lancashire batsman Harry Makepeace, but when Makepeace was unable to attend a sitting, Tayler used another Lancashire player, William Findlay, as the batsman. Findlay had not actually played in that particular match, but he was available to visit Tayler's London studio as he had been newly appointed secretary of the Surrey County Cricket Club after his retirement from active cricket competition at the end of 1906.
## Reception and display history
Tayler completed the painting in 1907. By this time, 192 advance engravings of the painting had been ordered, ensuring that Tayler would be well compensated for the work. When the painting was unveiled, it was praised for its accuracy, use of lighting, and shade. In 1908, a limited print signed by Tayler and Lord Harris was created; further prints were made by Kent in 1990 and 2000, and each was signed by current players of their respective times, including Colin Cowdrey, E.W. Swanton, Les Ames and Matthew Fleming. As a result of its popularity, the painting was lent out for display at Rectory Field, Blackheath and Lord's Cricket Ground. The painting is viewed by cricket fans and historians as a notable illustration of the Golden Age of cricket in the Victorian and Edwardian periods before the First World War. Cricket historian E. W. Swanton praised the painting, singling it out as "one of the finest ever portrayals of distinguished identifiable cricketers in action".
The painting was predominantly displayed in the pavilion of the St. Lawrence Ground. However, in 1999 it was lent to Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) after Kent were unable to continue to afford its insurance. The MCC hung the painting in the Lord's Pavilion while Kent retained one of the prints for display in the St. Lawrence Ground pavilion in place of the original. In 2005, with Kent finding itself in debt, the club announced their intention to sell the painting. When questioned by Kent members about the proposed sale, Kent chairman Carl Openshaw said that it was being done because he felt the painting no longer particularly benefited the cricket club as many of Kent's members already owned reproductions of the painting. Openshaw also stated that the painting would not be sold if it did not achieve an "appropriate sum".
The painting was auctioned at Sotheby's in 2006. With a guide price of £300,000 to £500,000, the painting was sold for £680,000. This was a record price for a cricket painting. It was bought by the Andrew Brownsword Art Foundation run by Bath Rugby chairman Andrew Brownsword; the foundation is known for keeping "important British paintings in the public eye in Britain". The painting's new owner lent it to the MCC so it could be kept on display at Lord's in keeping with Openshaw's preference that the painting remain at Lord's. The sale of the painting contributed to a £293,000 profit for Kent in their 2006 financial year. On display in the Long Room in the Lord's Pavilion, the painting has been used as the background for a number of publicity photographs for the England cricket team, including the unveiling of new England captains. |
# Jocko Thompson
John Samuel "Jocko" Thompson (January 17, 1917 – February 3, 1988) was a professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of four seasons for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball from 1948 to 1951. He also served in the Army of the United States as a first lieutenant in the European theater during World War II. Thompson played in Major League Baseball during the Whiz Kids era during a career which spanned 12 seasons (1940–1941, 1946–1955). After attending Northeastern University, Thompson appeared as a situational pitcher and spot starter during the 1948, 1949, and 1950 seasons with the Phillies, and went 4–8 in his only season as a regular member of the team's starting rotation. After demotion to the minors in 1952, Thompson retired from baseball after the 1955 season.
Before his major league career, Thompson entered the military and participated in Operation Market Garden, where he led a platoon to secure a bridge over the Maas River. He served in the Army from 1941 to 1945. In 2004, the bridge that his platoon captured was renamed in his honor.
## Early career
Described as a "fast ball specialist", Thompson played three seasons for the baseball team at Northeastern University, one of six Major League Baseball players to attend the school. During his tenure (1938–1940), the Huskies won 31 games and lost 14, accumulating a .689 winning percentage. After the 1940 college season, Thompson was signed by Major League Baseball's Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent. The Red Sox assigned Thompson to their D-level affiliate, the Centreville Red Sox, where he posted an 18–5 record and a 1.56 earned run average (ERA) in 27 games. He also played in seven games for the Canton Terriers, winning one and losing one and compiling a 3.41 ERA. Under manager Heinie Manush, Thompson played for the Greensboro Red Sox in the Piedmont League during the 1941 season; he amassed an 8–13 record and a 3.56 ERA in 162 innings pitched.
## Military service
Thompson entered the Army of the United States in 1941 and was assigned to the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, a part of the 82nd Airborne Division. In 1944, as a first lieutenant, Thompson led his men during an air raid as part of Operation Market Garden in the German-occupied Netherlands. The light in the jump bay of the platoon's C-47 Skytrain was later than expected, moving their landing zone from its intended location near Grave, Netherlands; the plane was passing over buildings when the paratroopers were signalled to leave the aircraft, and Thompson decided to wait until reaching several approaching fields.
Thompson led his platoon in an attack against the nearby bridge spanning the Maas River, which was defended by German forces supplemented by two 20 mm flak guns, one on the close side of the bridge and one across the river. The platoon opened fire on the German forces, killing four. Two trucks of German soldiers arrived on the scene, but they "showed no desire to fight ... [and] ran away". Thompson's platoon destroyed "electrical equipment and cables that they expected were hooked up to demolitions", and their bazooka operator destroyed the nearer flak gun, permitting the establishment of a roadblock on the bridge while waiting for the remainder of the 82nd Airborne. After the battle at the Maas bridge, Thompson also participated in the Battle of the Bulge, where he was given a field commission, and during the Allied occupation of Berlin, where he served as an aide to General James M. Gavin.
Thompson was wounded twice during the war, for which he received two Purple Hearts; fellow pitcher Robin Roberts later wrote that his Phillies teammates "understood that Jocko still carried around a considerable amount of shrapnel in his body". Other decorations included the Bronze Star with cluster, the Silver Star, and various awards from the Belgian, French, and Dutch governments.
## Return to baseball
Thompson returned to baseball with the Scranton Red Sox of the Eastern League for the 1946 season. He was second on the team in innings pitched (180) and finished with a 13–7 record in 26 games (20 starts). For the season, Thompson allowed 164 hits—the most on the team—and 97 walks. The following year, he was promoted to the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of Boston's two Triple-A-level affiliates. After he posted a 6–12 record—the team's worst mark among starters with 30 or more appearances—the Red Sox did not retain Thompson's rights when their working agreement with the Maple Leafs ended. He remained with Toronto and his rights became the property of the Philadelphia Phillies when those two teams established a new agreement.
In 1948, Thompson went 12–8 for the Maple Leafs, the second-best win–loss record among the team's regular starting pitchers (20 or more starts). He was third on the team with 161 innings pitched, allowed the most earned runs (91), and posted a 5.09 ERA. At the end of the season, manager Eddie Sawyer called Thompson and Jim Konstanty up to the major league level. As per the working agreement between the teams, the major league club paid Toronto for the rights to each Maple Leafs player it called up: $25,000 ($ in current terms) for the first player, and $5,000 ($ currently) for each player thereafter. Sawyer recalled that Pete Campbell, Toronto's owner, and Konstanty "didn't get along... [because] they were both the same". Although Campbell was "glad to get rid of Konstanty", he told Sawyer to take Thompson as the $25,000 player because he did not want Konstanty to think he was worth the larger fee.
## Major league career
### 1948–1949
Thompson made his major league debut in the second game of a doubleheader on September 21, 1948. He pitched a complete game against the Cincinnati Reds, allowing one run on five hits, striking out five, and walking five batters to collect the first win of his major league career. He appeared in one other game during the 1948 season, pitching four innings in the second game of a doubleheader against the New York Giants on September 28, allowing three runs in a 6–3 Philadelphia victory. Thompson wore the uniform number 9 during his brief call-up.
Thompson began the 1949 season in the Phillies' starting rotation with Roberts, Ken Heintzelman, Russ Meyer, and Curt Simmons, and the Phillies "hoped for contributions" from him and some of his teammates, like Schoolboy Rowe and Blix Donnelly. However, Thompson lost his first two starts, both against the Boston Braves. He was sent down to Toronto, amassing a 14–5 record there for the 1949 season, and was later described as the team's "top pitcher" for that year. His 2.73 ERA was second on the team to right-handed starter Bubba Church; Thompson allowed 44 earned runs in 145 innings. He made a spot start in midseason for the Phillies against the Brooklyn Dodgers, but the Phillies lost 8–4. Thompson did not get his first win in the majors that year until September 19, when he defeated the St. Louis Cardinals behind Howie Pollet, 4–3. He made his final start of the season for the Phillies on September 24, against Don Newcombe and the Dodgers; the Phillies lost, 8–1. Thompson finished 1949 with a 1–3 record at the major league level, with a career-high ERA of 6.89, 12 strikeouts and 11 walks in 31+1⁄3 innings. For his 1949 appearance, Thompson's uniform number was 37.
### 1950–1951
Although Thompson was expected to contribute during the 1950 Phillies season and the Whiz Kids' "improbable" run to the pennant, he spent most of the season with Toronto. On June 8, he defeated the Jersey City Giants, 5–3, turning in a four-hit performance and striking out 11 batters. He also took a late-game loss in a doubleheader against the Baltimore Orioles, as they staged a five-run rally in the ninth inning to defeat Toronto. Again described as the team's top pitcher, he amassed 10 wins and 14 losses, a 4.57 ERA, and led the team with 201 innings pitched. As a batter, Thompson hit two doubles, two triples, and batted in nine runs. He was called up late in the season to reinforce a team that Roberts described as "depleted"; within one week's time, the Phillies had lost Church to injury, Simmons to military service, and Bob Miller to a recurring back injury. Thompson appeared in relief of Church after his return on September 15, but the Phillies lost, 5–0, due in part to a Bobby Thomson inside-the-park grand slam. In his 1950 major league appearances, he played in two games, pitching four innings and allowing one run. Although Thompson was on the playoff roster, he made no postseason appearances with the team. His uniform number for the rest of his Phillies career was 33.
1951 was Thompson's only full season as a regular in the major leagues, when he beat out Leo Cristante in spring training to make the team. During the preseason, he and Ken Johnson combined for a 1–0 shutout of the Cardinals. In the regular season, Thompson amassed a 4–8 record in 14 starts. He made a total of 29 appearances on the season, notching a 3.85 ERA. He won his first game of the year against the New York Giants, 8–4, on April 23; it was the Giants' fifth straight loss. His first loss of the season came in April in the first game of a doubleheader against the Braves, losing 1–0 though he held the Braves to two hits. At the plate, Thompson batted .103 with one double and one triple, the latter of which came on June 2 in a 7–3 defeat of St. Louis. The Phillies and the Reds split a doubleheader in July, with Thompson earning the victory in the nightcap; the Phillies won, 10–0. In August, Thompson entered in relief in the first inning of a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates after Russ Meyer was knocked out of the contest, staging a "respectable duel" with Mel Queen to the eighth inning in a 12–7 Phillies victory; later in the month, he shut out the Reds on three hits to complete a series sweep by the Phillies. Thompson also defeated St. Louis late in the pennant race when the Cardinals were battling the Dodgers for the top position in the league.
## After the majors
### Minor leagues
Thompson returned to the minor leagues for the 1952 season, playing for the Baltimore Orioles, now affiliated with Philadelphia. He led the Orioles in innings pitched (231) and strikeouts (119) as he compiled a 13–14 record and a 2.49 ERA, third-best on the team. After the season, he played winter baseball in Havana, Cuba, pitching 14+1⁄3 innings in 5 games. Thompson's .714 winning percentage (ten wins and four losses) was best on the 1953 Orioles among pitchers who made 20 or more starts, and he pitched seven complete games. His 1953 ERA was 3.80, and he allowed 16 home runs in 154 innings. When the minor league Orioles moved to Richmond, Virginia, to make room for the transplanted St. Louis Browns of the American League, Thompson left the Phillies' system and remained with the old franchise, the unaffiliated Richmond Virginians, who began play in the 1954 season.
Thompson posted an 8–14 record for the Virginians in 1954; his ERA totaled 5.00 in 29 starts and he placed third on the team in innings pitched (198). His 112 strikeouts led Richmond, as did his 232 hits allowed. After a 6–16 season and a 5.17 ERA in 1955, Thompson retired from baseball.
### Post-baseball
After his playing days ended, Thompson worked as a sales manager in Maryland. He died at age 71 on February 3, 1988, and was interred at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland. In 2004, the bridge over the Maas River which Thompson's platoon secured 60 years earlier was renamed the John S. Thompsonbrug ("John S. Thompson Bridge"). Many veterans of World War II, as well as Thompson's wife, attended the ceremony. |
# Canidae
Canidae (/ˈkænɪdiː/; from Latin, canis, "dog") is a biological family of dog-like carnivorans, colloquially referred to as dogs, and constitutes a clade. A member of this family is also called a canid (/ˈkeɪnɪd/). The family includes three subfamilies: the Caninae, and the extinct Borophaginae and Hesperocyoninae. The Caninae are known as canines, and include domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, foxes, jackals and other species.
Canids are found on all continents except Antarctica, having arrived independently or accompanied by human beings over extended periods of time. Canids vary in size from the 2-metre-long (6.6 ft) gray wolf to the 24-centimetre-long (9.4 in) fennec fox. The body forms of canids are similar, typically having long muzzles, upright ears, teeth adapted for cracking bones and slicing flesh, long legs, and bushy tails. They are mostly social animals, living together in family units or small groups and behaving co-operatively. Typically, only the dominant pair in a group breeds and a litter of young are reared annually in an underground den. Canids communicate by scent signals and vocalizations. One canid, the domestic dog, originated from a symbiotic relationship with Upper Paleolithic humans and is one of the most widely kept domestic animals.
## Taxonomy
In the history of the carnivores, the family Canidae is represented by the two extinct subfamilies designated as Hesperocyoninae and Borophaginae, and the extant subfamily Caninae. This subfamily includes all living canids and their most recent fossil relatives. All living canids as a group form a dental monophyletic relationship with the extinct borophagines, with both groups having a bicuspid (two points) on the lower carnassial talonid, which gives this tooth an additional ability in mastication. This, together with the development of a distinct entoconid cusp and the broadening of the talonid of the first lower molar, and the corresponding enlargement of the talon of the upper first molar and reduction of its parastyle distinguish these late Cenozoic canids and are the essential differences that identify their clade.
The cat-like Feliformia and dog-like Caniformia emerged within the Carnivoramorpha around 45–42 Mya (million years ago). The Canidae first appeared in North America during the Late Eocene (37.8-33.9 Mya). They did not reach Eurasia until the Late Miocene or to South America until the Late Pliocene.
### Phylogenetic relationships
This cladogram shows the phylogenetic position of canids within Caniformia, based on fossil finds:
## Evolution
The Canidae are a diverse group of some 37 species ranging in size from the maned wolf with its long limbs to the short-legged bush dog. Modern canids inhabit forests, tundra, savannas, and deserts throughout tropical and temperate parts of the world. The evolutionary relationships between the species have been studied in the past using morphological approaches, but more recently, molecular studies have enabled the investigation of phylogenetics relationships. In some species, genetic divergence has been suppressed by the high level of gene flow between different populations and where the species have hybridized, large hybrid zones exist.
### Eocene epoch
Carnivorans evolved after the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago. Around 50 million years ago, or earlier, in the Paleocene, the Carnivora split into two main divisions: caniform (dog-like) and feliform (cat-like). By 40 Mya, the first identifiable member of the dog family had arisen. Named Prohesperocyon wilsoni, its fossils have been found in southwest Texas. The chief features which identify it as a canid include the loss of the upper third molar (part of a trend toward a more shearing bite), and the structure of the middle ear which has an enlarged bulla (the hollow bony structure protecting the delicate parts of the ear). Prohesperocyon probably had slightly longer limbs than its predecessors, and also had parallel and closely touching toes which differ markedly from the splayed arrangements of the digits in bears.
Canidae soon divided into three subfamilies, each of which diverged during the Eocene: Hesperocyoninae (about 39.74–15 Mya), Borophaginae (about 34–32 Mya), and Caninae (about 34–30 Mya; the only surviving subfamily). Members of each subfamily showed an increase in body mass with time and some exhibited specialized hypercarnivorous diets that made them prone to extinction.
### Oligocene epoch
By the Oligocene, all three subfamilies (Hesperocyoninae, Borophaginae, and Caninae) had appeared in the fossil record of North America. The earliest and most primitive branch of the Canidae was Hesperocyoninae, which included the coyote-sized Mesocyon of the Oligocene (38–24 Mya). These early canids probably evolved for the fast pursuit of prey in a grassland habitat; they resembled modern viverrids in appearance. Hesperocyonines eventually became extinct in the middle Miocene. One of the early Hesperocyonines, the genus Hesperocyon, gave rise to Archaeocyon and Leptocyon. These branches led to the borophagine and canine radiations.
### Miocene epoch
Around 8 Mya, the Beringian land bridge allowed members of the genus Eucyon a means to enter Asia from North America and they continued on to colonize Europe.
### Pliocene epoch
The Canis, Urocyon, and Vulpes genera developed from canids from North America, where the canine radiation began. The success of these canids was related to the development of lower carnassials that were capable of both mastication and shearing. Around 5 million years ago, some of the Old World Eucyon evolved into the first members of Canis, In the Pliocene, around 4–5 Mya, Canis lepophagus appeared in North America. This was small and sometimes coyote-like. Others were wolf-like. C. latrans (the coyote) is theorized to descend from C. lepophagus.
The formation of the Isthmus of Panama, about 3 Mya, joined South America to North America, allowing canids to invade South America, where they diversified. However, the last common ancestor of the South American canids lived in North America some 4 Mya and more than one incursion across the new land bridge is likely given the fact that more than one lineage is present in South America. Two North American lineages found in South America are the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargentus) and the now-extinct dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus). Besides these, there are species endemic to South America: the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), the short-eared dog (Atelocynus microtis), the bush dog (Speothos venaticus), the crab-eating fox (Cerdocyon thous), and the South American foxes (Lycalopex spp.). The monophyly of this group has been established by molecular means.
### Pleistocene epoch
During the Pleistocene, the North American wolf line appeared, with Canis edwardii, clearly identifiable as a wolf, and Canis rufus appeared, possibly a direct descendant of C. edwardii. Around 0.8 Mya, Canis ambrusteri emerged in North America. A large wolf, it was found all over North and Central America and was eventually supplanted by the dire wolf, which then spread into South America during the Late Pleistocene.
By 0.3 Mya, a number of subspecies of the gray wolf (C. lupus) had developed and had spread throughout Europe and northern Asia. The gray wolf colonized North America during the late Rancholabrean era across the Bering land bridge, with at least three separate invasions, with each one consisting of one or more different Eurasian gray wolf clades. MtDNA studies have shown that there are at least four extant C. lupus lineages. The dire wolf shared its habitat with the gray wolf, but became extinct in a large-scale extinction event that occurred around 11,500 years ago. It may have been more of a scavenger than a hunter; its molars appear to be adapted for crushing bones and it may have gone extinct as a result of the extinction of the large herbivorous animals on whose carcasses it relied.
In 2015, a study of mitochondrial genome sequences and whole-genome nuclear sequences of African and Eurasian canids indicated that extant wolf-like canids have colonized Africa from Eurasia at least five times throughout the Pliocene and Pleistocene, which is consistent with fossil evidence suggesting that much of African canid fauna diversity resulted from the immigration of Eurasian ancestors, likely coincident with Plio-Pleistocene climatic oscillations between arid and humid conditions. When comparing the African and Eurasian golden jackals, the study concluded that the African specimens represented a distinct monophyletic lineage that should be recognized as a separate species, Canis anthus (African golden wolf). According to a phylogeny derived from nuclear sequences, the Eurasian golden jackal (Canis aureus) diverged from the wolf/coyote lineage 1.9 Mya, but the African golden wolf separated 1.3 Mya. Mitochondrial genome sequences indicated the Ethiopian wolf diverged from the wolf/coyote lineage slightly prior to that.
\====
Wild canids are found on every continent except Antarctica, and inhabit a wide range of different habitats, including deserts, mountains, forests, and grasslands. They vary in size from the fennec fox, which may be as little as 24 cm (9.4 in) in length and weigh 0.6 kg (1.3 lb), to the gray wolf, which may be up to 160 cm (5.2 ft) long, and can weigh up to 79 kg (174 lb). Only a few species are arboreal—the gray fox, the closely related island fox and the raccoon dog habitually climb trees.
All canids have a similar basic form, as exemplified by the gray wolf, although the relative length of muzzle, limbs, ears, and tail vary considerably between species. With the exceptions of the bush dog, the raccoon dog and some domestic dog breeds, canids have relatively long legs and lithe bodies, adapted for chasing prey. The tails are bushy and the length and quality of the pelage vary with the season. The muzzle portion of the skull is much more elongated than that of the cat family. The zygomatic arches are wide, there is a transverse lambdoidal ridge at the rear of the cranium and in some species, a sagittal crest running from front to back. The bony orbits around the eye never form a complete ring and the auditory bullae are smooth and rounded. Females have three to seven pairs of mammae.
All canids are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes. The tip of the nose is always naked, as are the cushioned pads on the soles of the feet. These latter consist of a single pad behind the tip of each toe and a more-or-less three-lobed central pad under the roots of the digits. Hairs grow between the pads and in the Arctic fox the sole of the foot is densely covered with hair at some times of the year. With the exception of the four-toed African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), five toes are on the forefeet, but the pollex (thumb) is reduced and does not reach the ground. On the hind feet are four toes, but in some domestic dogs, a fifth vestigial toe, known as a dewclaw, is sometimes present, but has no anatomical connection to the rest of the foot. In some species, slightly curved nails are non-retractile and more-or-less blunt while other species have sharper, partially-retractile claws.
The canine penis contains a baculum and a structure called the bulbus glandis that expands during copulation, forming a copulatory tie that lasts for up to an hour. Young canids are born blind, with their eyes opening a few weeks after birth. All living canids (Caninae) have a ligament analogous to the nuchal ligament of ungulates used to maintain the posture of the head and neck with little active muscle exertion; this ligament allows them to conserve energy while running long distances following scent trails with their nose to the ground. However, based on skeletal details of the neck, at least some of the Borophaginae (such as Aelurodon) are believed to have lacked this ligament.
### Dentition
Dentition relates to the arrangement of teeth in the mouth, with the dental notation for the upper-jaw teeth using the upper-case letters I to denote incisors, C for canines, P for premolars, and M for molars, and the lower-case letters i, c, p and m to denote the mandible teeth. Teeth are numbered using one side of the mouth and from the front of the mouth to the back. In carnivores, the upper premolar P4 and the lower molar m1 form the carnassials that are used together in a scissor-like action to shear the muscle and tendon of prey.
Canids use their premolars for cutting and crushing except for the upper fourth premolar P4 (the upper carnassial) that is only used for cutting. They use their molars for grinding except for the lower first molar m1 (the lower carnassial) that has evolved for both cutting and grinding depending on the canid's dietary adaptation. On the lower carnassial, the trigonid is used for slicing and the talonid is used for grinding. The ratio between the trigonid and the talonid indicates a carnivore's dietary habits, with a larger trigonid indicating a hypercarnivore and a larger talonid indicating a more omnivorous diet. Because of its low variability, the length of the lower carnassial is used to provide an estimate of a carnivore's body size.
A study of the estimated bite force at the canine teeth of a large sample of living and fossil mammalian predators, when adjusted for their body mass, found that for placental mammals the bite force at the canines was greatest in the extinct dire wolf (163), followed among the modern canids by the four hypercarnivores that often prey on animals larger than themselves: the African wild dog (142), the gray wolf (136), the dhole (112), and the dingo (108). The bite force at the carnassials showed a similar trend to the canines. A predator's largest prey size is strongly influenced by its biomechanical limits.
Most canids have 42 teeth, with a dental formula of: . The bush dog has only one upper molar with two below, the dhole has two above and two below. and the bat-eared fox has three or four upper molars and four lower ones. The molar teeth are strong in most species, allowing the animals to crack open bone to reach the marrow. The deciduous, or baby teeth, formula in canids is , molars being completely absent.
## Life history
### Social behavior
Almost all canids are social animals and live together in groups. In general, they are territorial or have a home range and sleep in the open, using their dens only for breeding and sometimes in bad weather. In most foxes, and in many of the true dogs, a male and female pair work together to hunt and to raise their young. Gray wolves and some of the other larger canids live in larger groups called packs. African wild dogs have packs which may consist of 20 to 40 animals and packs of fewer than about seven individuals may be incapable of successful reproduction. Hunting in packs has the advantage that larger prey items can be tackled. Some species form packs or live in small family groups depending on the circumstances, including the type of available food. In most species, some individuals live on their own. Within a canid pack, there is a system of dominance so that the strongest, most experienced animals lead the pack. In most cases, the dominant male and female are the only pack members to breed.
### Communication
Canids communicate with each other by scent signals, by visual clues and gestures, and by vocalizations such as growls, barks, and howls. In most cases, groups have a home territory from which they drive out other conspecifics. Canids use urine scent marks to mark their food caches or warn trespassing individuals. Social behavior is also mediated by secretions from glands on the upper surface of the tail near its root and from the anal glands, preputial glands, and supracaudal glands.
### Reproduction
Canids as a group exhibit several reproductive traits that are uncommon among mammals as a whole. They are typically monogamous, provide paternal care to their offspring, have reproductive cycles with lengthy proestral and dioestral phases and have a copulatory tie during mating. They also retain adult offspring in the social group, suppressing the ability of these to breed while making use of the alloparental care they can provide to help raise the next generation. Most canid species are spontaneous ovulators, though maned wolves are induced ovulators.
During the proestral period, increased levels of estradiol make the female attractive to the male. There is a rise in progesterone during the estral phase when female is receptive. Following this, the level of estradiol fluctuates and there is a lengthy dioestrous phase during which the female is pregnant. Pseudo-pregnancy often occurs in canids that have ovulated but failed to conceive. A period of anestrus follows pregnancy or pseudo-pregnancy, there being only one oestral period during each breeding season. Small and medium-sized canids mostly have a gestation of 50 to 60 days, while larger species average 60 to 65 days. The time of year in which the breeding season occurs is related to the length of day, as has been shown for several species that have been moved across the equator and experiences a six-month shift of phase. Domestic dogs and certain small canids in captivity may come into oestrus more often, perhaps because the photoperiod stimulus breaks down under conditions of artificial lighting. Canids have an oestrus period of 1 to 20 days, lasting one week in most species.
The size of a litter varies, with from one to 16 or more pups being born. The young are born small, blind and helpless and require a long period of parental care. They are kept in a den, most often dug into the ground, for warmth and protection. When the young begin eating solid food, both parents, and often other pack members, bring food back for them from the hunt. This is most often vomited up from the adult's stomach. Where such pack involvement in the feeding of the litter occurs, the breeding success rate is higher than is the case where females split from the group and rear their pups in isolation. Young canids may take a year to mature and learn the skills they need to survive. In some species, such as the African wild dog, male offspring usually remain in the natal pack, while females disperse as a group and join another small group of the opposite sex to form a new pack.
## Canids and humans
One canid, the domestic dog, entered into a partnership with humans a long time ago. The dog was the first domesticated species. The archaeological record shows the first undisputed dog remains buried beside humans 14,700 years ago, with disputed remains occurring 36,000 years ago. These dates imply that the earliest dogs arose in the time of human hunter-gatherers and not agriculturists.
The fact that wolves are pack animals with cooperative social structures may have been the reason that the relationship developed. Humans benefited from the canid's loyalty, cooperation, teamwork, alertness and tracking abilities, while the wolf may have benefited from the use of weapons to tackle larger prey and the sharing of food. Humans and dogs may have evolved together.
Among canids, only the gray wolf has widely been known to prey on humans. Nonetheless, at least two records of coyotes killing humans have been published, and at least two other reports of golden jackals killing children. Human beings have trapped and hunted some canid species for their fur and some, especially the gray wolf, the coyote and the red fox, for sport. Canids such as the dhole are now endangered in the wild because of persecution, habitat loss, a depletion of ungulate prey species and transmission of diseases from domestic dogs.
## See also
- List of canids
- Largest wild canids
- Canid hybrid
- Free-ranging dog |
# Glad (duke)
Glad (, , , ) was the ruler of Banat (in present-day Romania and Serbia) at the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 900 AD, according to the Gesta Hungarorum. The Gesta, which was written by an author known in modern scholarship as Anonymus in the second half of the 12th century or in the early 13th century, is the earliest extant Hungarian chronicle. The Gesta did not refer to the enemies of the conquering Hungarians (or Magyars), who had been mentioned in earlier annals and chronicles, but wrote of a dozen persons, including Glad, who are unknown from other primary sources of the Hungarian Conquest. Therefore, modern historians debate whether Glad was an actual enemy of the conquerors or only a "fictitious person" made up by Anonymus. In Romanian historiography, based on the mention by Anonymus some 300 years later, Glad is described as one of the three Romanian dukes who ruled a historical region of present-day Romania in the early 10th century.
According to the Gesta, Glad came from Vidin in Bulgaria. He occupied Banat with the assistance of "Cumans" before the arrival of the Magyars. Anonymus wrote that Cumans, Bulgarians, and Vlachs (or Romanians), supported Glad against the invading Magyars, but the latter annihilated their united army in a battle near the Timiș River. The Gesta presents Ahtum, who ruled Banat in the early 11th century, according to the longer version of the Life of St Gerard, as Glad's descendant.
## Background
The earliest record of the Magyars (or Hungarians) is connected to their alliance with the Bulgars against a group of Byzantine prisoners who were planning to cross the Lower Danube in an attempt to return to their homeland around 837 AD. They dwelled in the steppes north and northwest of the Black Sea. A group of rebellious subjects of the Khazar Khaganate, known as Kabars, joined them, according to the Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. The Annals of St. Bertin states that the Magyars launched their first military expedition against the Carolingian Empire in 861.
The Magyars invaded Bulgaria in alliance with the Byzantine Empire in 894. In retaliation, the Bulgars entered into an alliance with the Pechenegs. They jointly invaded the Magyars' lands, forcing them to leave the Pontic steppes and cross the Carpathian Mountains in search of a new homeland. In the Carpathian Basin, the Magyars "roamed in the wildernesses of the Pannonians and Avars" before attacking "the lands of the Carinthians, Moravians and Bulgars", according to the contemporaneous Regino of Prüm.
The Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin is the principal subject of the Gesta Hungarorum, which is the earliest extant Hungarian chronicle. Most scholars agree that a notary of Béla III of Hungary, who ruled between 1173 and 1196, wrote the Gesta after the king's death. According to an alternative theory, the author of the Gesta, who is now known as Anonymus, had served Béla II of Hungary before starting to complete his work around 1150. Anonymus did not write of Svatopluk I of Moravia, Braslav, Duke of Lower Pannonia and the invading Magyars' other opponents who had been mentioned in works written in earlier centuries. Neither did he refer to the Magyars' fights with the Moravians, Franks and Bavarians which had been described in earlier annals and chronicles. On the other hand, Anonymus wrote of local polities and rulers—including Gelou, the Vlach duke of Transylvania, Menumorut, the lord of the regions between the rivers Mureș, Someș and Tisza, and Salanus, the Bulgar ruler of the lands between the Danube and the Tisza—unknown from other primary sources.
## Banat on the eve of the Hungarian Conquest
Stirrups, horse bits and spear points from inhumation graves unearthed at Sânpetru German suggest that the Avars settled along the Mureș River in Banat soon after their conquest of the Carpathian Basin in the late 560s. However, most archaeological finds in the lands south of the Mureș that had been attributed to the Avars are dated to the "Late Avar" period. Written sources show the survival of Gepids under Avar rule in the wider region of the Timiș River. For instance, the Byzantine historian Theophylact Simocatta wrote of "three Gepid settlements" which were destroyed by an invading Byzantine army in 599 or 600. A rich burial yielding weapons unearthed at Pančevo and the Treasure of Sânnicolau Mare show that an important center of power existed in Banat in the "Late Avar" period, according to archaeologist Florin Curta. However, "Late Avar" cemeteries did not survive the 8th century.
The Franks launched a series of expeditions against the Avar Khaganate in 790s, causing its disintegration. Krum of Bulgaria, who reigned between around 802 and 814, soon tried to take advantage of the fall of the Avars and invaded former Avar territories, but no contemporaneous report mentioned his conquest in the Carpathian Basin. The Abodrites who lived in "Dacia on the Danube as neighbors of the Bulgars" sent envoys to Emperor Louis the Pious in 824, complaining "about vicious aggression by the Bulgars" and seeking the emperor's assistance against them, according to the Royal Frankish Annals. The Abodrites inhabited the lands along either the Timiș or the Tisza. According to a memorial inscription from Provadia, a Bulgar military commander, Onegavonais, drowned in the Tisza, implying Omurtag of Bulgaria's attempts to expand his rule in the region in the 820s. The Bulgars invaded Moravia in 863 and 883, suggesting that they controlled at least the crossing-points across the rivers Mureș and Tisza, according to the historian István Bóna.
Bóna writes that the Bavarian Geographer is the last source which contains contemporaneous information of the eastern regions of the Carpathian Basin in the 9th century. According to this source, which is actually a list of the tribes inhabiting the lands east of the Carolingian Empire around 840, the Merehani, who had 30 civitates, or fortified centers, lived along the southernmost parts of the empire's eastern frontiers. Their land also bordered on Bulgaria. According to an alternative theory of the location of Moravia, which is primarily based on the Bavarian Geographer and Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus's report of "great Moravia, the unbaptized", Banat was the center of this early medieval polity, which was annihilated by the conquering Magyars. Archaeologist Silviu Oța identifies the Merehani with the Abodrites, adding that they were obviously a Slavic tribe. The name of the Karaš and other rivers implies that a population speaking a Turkic language—Avar, Bulgar, or Pecheneg—also inhabited the Banat in the Early Middle Ages, but those rivers may have received their names only in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Historian Vlad Georgescu writes that archaeological research has proven the existence of about 60 settlements in Glad's duchy. Other historians, including Sălăgean and Pop, say that the earth-and-wooden or stone fortresses unearthed at Bulci, Cenad, Ilidia, Orșova, Pescari, and Vladimirescu were Glad's forts. Florin Curta says that the dating of these sites is uncertain.
## Anonymus's narration
### Glad and his duchy
According to the Gesta Hungarorum, Rus' princes gave a short description of the Carpathian Basin to the Magyar commanders before they decided to invade the territory. The princes told them that "Slavs, Bulgarians, Vlachs, and the shepherds of the Romans" inhabited the territory. In short, Anonymus continued, one of the princes, the Prince of Halych, also informed the Magyar leaders of the polities among which the territory was divided and their rulers. Among these local rulers, the Rus' prince listed Glad who had "taken possession of the land from the river Mureș up to the castle" of Ursua (Orşova or Vršac) with the help of the Cumans. In another chapter of the Gesta, Anonymus wrote that Glad "held power from the Mureș River to the castle of Palanka", showing that he identified Glad's duchy with the territory that is now known as Banat. Anonymus explicitly referred to Glad as "the prince of that country" in the same chapter.
The Gesta did not write of the peoples inhabiting Glad's duchy. On the other hand, it stated that Glad commanded "a great army of horsemen and foot soldiers" and his army was "supported by Cumans, Bulgarians and Vlachs". According to Tudor Sălăgean and other Romanian historians, the list of the peoples reflects the one-time ethnic composition of the Banat, showing that a Turkic people (Pechenegs, Avars or Kabars), Bulgarians and Vlachs, or Romanians, inhabited the region in the late 9th century. Historian Victor Spinei writes that Anonymus's reference to the "Cumans" supporting Glad's army shows that Glad sought the Pechenegs' assistance against the invading Magyars.
Anonymus wrote that Glad had come "from the castle of Vidin" and occupied his duchy "with the help of the Cumans". This report, together with Anonymus's reference to the Bulgarians' assistance against the Magyars, suggests that Glad was subjected to Simeon I of Bulgaria, according to Sălăgean. This theory is not accepted by historian Ioan-Aurel Pop, who writes that it is only an "attractive" scholarly hypothesis which has not been proven. Madgearu says that the Banat, which had been an integral part of Bulgaria since the late 820s, became an independent state under Glad's rule after the death of Simeon I in 927. Pop also says Anonymus's reference to Glad's arrival from Vidin suggest that Glad was either Bulgarian or Romanian, because the region of that town was densely populated by Romanians. The name of Glad is most probably of South Slavic origin, according to Pop and Neagu Djuvara. In connection with Glad, Anonymus also emphasized that "from his line was born" a chieftain, named Ahtum, whom Stephen I of Hungary defeated in the first half of the 11th century, according to the Long Life of Saint Gerard.
### The conquest of Banat
According to the Gesta Hungarorum, the Magyars conquered the lands between the Danube and the Tisza, Transylvania, the western regions of present-day Slovakia and Transdanubia before their supreme head, Árpád, and his chieftains decided to send an army to invade Glad's duchy. They dispatched three commanders—named "Zovárd, Kadocsa, and Vajta"—with the task. The three commanders crossed the Tisza at Kanjiža and halted at the Csesztreg River before advancing as far as the Bega River. In the next two weeks, they forced the inhabitants of the region between the Mureș and Someș to yield and to give their sons as hostages. Thereafter, Anonymus continued, the Magyar army marched towards the Timiș and "encamped beside the ford of Foeni" where they wanted to cross the river. However, Glad and his large army awaited them on the other bank. A day later, Zovárd "enjoined his brother, Kadocsa, to go lower down with half his army and try to cross in any way in order to attack the enemy", and Kadocsa obeyed this command. Both divisions crossed the river and stormed the enemy camp. In the battle, "two dukes of the Cumans and three kneses of the Bulgarians were slain" before Glad decided to retreat, but his army was annihilated.
Anonymus writes that Glad took shelter in "the castle of Kovin", while the Magyars marched to "the borders of the Bulgarians" and encamped at the Ponjavica River. Zovárd, Kadocsa and Vajta laid siege to Kovin, forcing Glad to surrender it three days later. In short, they also seized Orșova where they lived "for a whole month", according to the Gesta. Vajta returned to Árpád, taking with him the hostages and the booty, while Zovárd and Kadocsa sent an envoy to Árpád to ask permission to invade the Byzantine Empire. Ioan-Aurel Pop writes that Glad must have survived his defeat and recovered at least parts of his duchy in exchange for paying a tribute to the Magyars, because his descendant, Ahtum, ruled the territory some decades later, according to Anonymus. In the words of László Gulyás, "after Glad submitted to them, he was left as their vassal in his territory".
## Glad in modern historiography
Glad is one of the local rulers who are mentioned only in the Gesta Hungarorum. Historians have continuously debated the reliability of Anonymus's work which was first published in 1746. Anonymus's reference to the Cumans, Bulgarians and Vlachs supporting Glad is one of the key points in the scholarly debate, because the Cumans did not arrive in Europe before the 1050s. Vlad Georgescu, Victor Spinei, Ioan-Aurel Pop and many other Romanian historians identify the "Cumans", or Cumani, as Pechenegs, Avars or Kabars, saying that the Hungarian word that Anonymus translated as "Cuman" (kun) originally dubbed any Turkic tribe. According to other historians, including Dennis Deletant, György Györffy and Carlile Aylmer Macartney, Anonymus's reference to the three peoples is an anachronism, which reflects the ethnic composition of the late 13th-century Bulgaria.
In Romanian historiography, Glad is presented as one of the three local "voivodes" who ruled territories inhabited by Romanians at the time of the Hungarian Conquest. Madgearu and Pop list almost a dozen place-names from the Banat and its wider region which suggest that settlements were named after Glad. For instance, a village named Cladova (formerly Galadua) and a monastery named Galad were first mentioned in 1308 and 1333, respectively, and an Ottoman document from 1579 referred to two villages named Gladeš and a settlement named Kladova. Silviu Oța writes that the theory of a connection between Glad and the name of those settlements is "considerably weak", because neither the origins nor the chronology of those place names have so far been thoroughly studied. Oţa also says, "the historical geography of the Banat is reflected quite accurately in the chronicle", which suggests that Anonymus knew the geographical features of the region, but does not prove that Glad was a real person. According to Györffy and Kordé, Anonymus who invented all local rulers in the Gesta named Glad after the village where the monastery was built. Gyula Kristó states that the name was created by the chronicler from the toponym Ghilad. Deletant, Macartney and other scholars also say that Anonymus seems to have borrowed many episodes of his narrative of Glad (including his connection with Vidin) from the story of his alleged descendant, Ahtum, in the Long Life of Saint Gerard.
## See also
- Bulgarian–Hungarian Wars
- Laborec (ruler)
- Rulers of Vojvodina
- Ghilad |
# I'm Going to Tell You a Secret
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret is a 2005 American documentary film that follows singer Madonna on her 2004 Re-Invention World Tour. Directed by Jonas Åkerlund, the film premiered on MTV on October 21, 2005, and was released on DVD on June 20, 2006, by Warner Bros. Records. The documentary was originally called The Re-Invented Process, referencing the tour and the Steven Klein exhibition titled X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS. It starts with imagery from the exhibition and Madonna auditioning dancers for the tour, continues with her entourage travelling through different cities and performing, the singer's introspection on her life, her marriage, her religion, and her children, and ends with Madonna's visit to Israel in the midst of protests.
The documentary was inspired by Madonna's need to show her artistic side on the tour and her devotion towards the Jewish mysticism Kabbalah. Unlike her 1991 documentary Truth or Dare, which portrayed Hollywood glamour, I'm Going to Tell You a Secret clarified from its beginning that it was about the singer's personal views on life and spirituality. Like Truth or Dare, the performance scenes were shot in color, while the rest of the film was in black-and-white. Besides Madonna, her dancers and her tour entourage, Åkerlund also shot her family, her working process and her day-to-day life. Madonna and her then-husband Guy Ritchie's local pub in Mayfair, London was used for some sequences. The film features appearances from Madonna's father, stepmother and filmmaker Michael Moore.
Before releasing the documentary, Madonna invited a select group of friends and co-workers to watch a rough three-hour cut of the film at a local theater in Notting Hill. The film was trimmed after negative feedback regarding excessive details about Kabbalah. For the promotion and premiere of the film, Madonna appeared at Q\&A sessions with the press and also gave a speech to film students at New York's Hunter College. Critical response to I'm Going to Tell You a Secret was mixed, with reviewers complimenting the live performances and the scenes involving her children and family, but criticizing the self-indulgent and perceived pretentious nature. I'm Going to Tell You a Secret was released in a two-disc format, a CD with 14 songs from the show and a DVD with the documentary film. It received a positive response from critics but was a moderate success commercially.
## Synopsis
The documentary begins with scenes from the X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS, with Madonna featured as a queen sitting beside a coyote. The intro is followed by the singer recording vocals with music director Stuart Price and auditioning dancers for the Re-Invention World Tour.
After the first show of the tour at The Forum in Inglewood, California, Madonna attends a party with her dancers celebrating the success of the opening night. The tour moves to New York City with more rehearsal footage and Madonna asking her dancers to register for voting in the upcoming elections. Guy Ritchie jokes around with Madonna as she gets ready for the performance at Madison Square Garden, while Michael Moore appears in an interview segment, recalling how Madonna thanked him during the concert for his documentary.
In Chicago, Madonna's father Tony Ciccone is interviewed in his vineyard; he recalls Madonna's childhood. Ciccone and his wife Joan come to visit the singer at her concert in United Center. The entourage moves to Miami where Ritchie is shown angling with their son Rocco, plays with her daughter Lourdes, and Madonna reflects on relationships and her husband. By the time the tour reaches London, Madonna gets irritated with the journeys. Kabbalah comes into the picture with explanations of the mystical practice from Madonna and her teacher Eitan. At Slane Castle, Dublin, Madonna and her dancers were in danger of being electrocuted due to constant rain, but she nevertheless continued the performances.
In Paris, Madonna takes her dancers for a classical piano recital by Katia and Marielle Labèque. After the performance at Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy, the tour reaches its final stop at Lisbon. The dancers are shown enjoying the beach and talking about their future plans. With a final performance of "Holiday", the Re-Invention World Tour ends. At an after party, Madonna recites a poem for her assistant Angie.
The final segment of the documentary shows Madonna arriving at Tel Aviv, Israel, amidst protests of her visit. She gives a speech at a benefit for her charity foundation, Spirituality For Kids. She speaks of compassion, peace and giving children all the benefits that they deserve. Then Madonna visits Rachel's Tomb on the outskirts of Bethlehem and offers her prayers. The documentary ends then, with a parting shot of an Israeli child and a Palestinian child walking down a road together as Madonna's voice over tells that the audience has learnt her "secret".
## Tour background
The Re-Invention World Tour was the sixth concert tour by Madonna. It supported her ninth studio album American Life, and visited North America and Europe. Madonna was inspired to create the tour after taking part in an art installation called X-STaTIC PRo=CeSS, directed by photographer Steven Klein. A number of songs were rehearsed for the tour, with twenty-four of them making the final setlist. The tour was divided into five segments: French Baroque-Marie Antionette Revival, Military-Army, Circus-Cabaret, Acoustic and Scottish-Tribal. The costumes were developed by designer Arianne Phillips based on the concept of re-invention. The opening segment displayed performances with dance in general. Military segment displayed performances with the theme of warfare. Circus displayed light-hearted performances while the Acoustic segment performances were melancholy. The final Scottish segment had Madonna and her performers display energetic dance routines.
The tour garnered positive reception from contemporary critics. However, fellow singer Elton John accused Madonna of lip-synching on the tour. Madonna's representatives denied the allegations and John later apologized. The Re-Invention World Tour was a commercial success. Tickets were completely sold as soon as dates and venues for the tour were announced, prompting the organizers to add more dates. After conclusion, it was named the highest-grossing concert tour of 2004, earning $125 million ($ million in dollars) from 56 shows with an audience 900,000. It won the honor of Top Tour at the 2004 Billboard Touring Awards.
## Conception and development
The tour was chronicled in the documentary titled I'm Going to Tell You a Secret. Originally called The Re-Invented Process in reference to the tour and the exhibition X-STaTIC Pro=CeSS, the documentary was filmed during Madonna's visit to North America and Europe from May 24 to September 14, 2004. It was directed by Jonas Åkerlund, whose previous endeavors included music videos, commercials and the cult film, Spun (2003). The documentary emerged from Madonna's urge to show her artistic side on the tour and her devotion towards the Jewish mysticism Kabbalah. Unlike her 1991 documentary, Truth or Dare, which portrayed Hollywood glamour, I'm Going to Tell You a Secret clarified from its beginning that it was about the singer's views on life and spirituality. "It's a different me, I have a husband, I have a family, my whole life has changed. It would be pretty strange if I was behaving the same way I did 12 years ago — that would be a little freaky. No more Evian bottles\!", Madonna told MTV, with the last bit referring to a scene of her performing fellatio on an Evian bottle in Truth or Dare.
While the majority of the documentary was shot in black and white, the performance scenes were colored, similar to Truth or Dare. Along with Madonna, her dancers, and her tour group, Kerlund also captured shots of her family, her routine at work, and her daily life. Locations shot included Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie's local pub in Mayfair, London. There was also an appearance from filmmaker Michael Moore, her father Tony Ciccone and stepmother Joan Ciccone. In some scenes, Ritchie was shown missing some of Madonna's concerts and going out for drinks, which drove the singer to tears. In December 2005, Madonna told Rolling Stone:
> [My relationship with Guy] came off as peculiar [in the documentary]. Not a typical relationship. A lot of macho men see the movie and like Guy's character, because he doesn't give me any special treatment. I think we come off as a couple that has that has a genuine and deep connection. He is always there for me, but he's not impressed. I feel like we are sort of The Honeymooners, only I'm the Jackie Gleason character. Obviously, he irritates me on a significant basis, as everyone's significant other does.
Referring to the incidents in the pub, Madonna explained her view on relationships where a man has to travel with his wife, while giving an example of her friend, actress Gwyneth Paltrow. She said that it was easier for Paltrow to tour with her then-husband, Chris Martin, who is the lead singer of the alternative rock band, Coldplay. Madonna also recalled her troubled relationship with her father and how he had e-mailed the singer with his approval, after watching the documentary. Kabbalah featured prominently towards the end and the singer wanted to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage to Israel. However, ultra-orthodox Jews protested her trip, saying that Madonna disgraced Judaism with her portrayal of wearing phylacteries over her arm—a Jewish custom usually reserved for men—in the music video of her 2002 single "Die Another Day", before escaping from an electric chair on which Hebrew letters spell out one of the 72 sacred names of God. Although Israeli securities had advised the singer against the trip, she nevertheless visited graves of Jewish sages in northern Israel as well as shrines such as Rachel's Tomb on the edge of Bethlehem, traditional burial place of the biblical matriarch Rachel.
## Production and release
Moore had initially offered to direct the documentary, though Madonna enlisted Åkerlund as director since Moore was busy with his own project, Fahrenheit 9/11. Moore later said that he could help around with the editing and advised Madonna to shoot "as much content as possible". I'm Going to Tell You a Secret was an important film for Madonna, who was determined to show her matured persona through the documentary. She had a meagre budget of one million ($ million in dollars) for production. The singer had to spend time in the editing room with Åkerlund, analyzing all the shots and creating the final version. Side-by-side Madonna had also started working on her tenth studio album, Confessions on a Dance Floor, juggling time between editing the film and recording. Madonna had to fly to Stockholm for the editing and described pruning the 350-hour footage into a two-hour documentary as "exhaustive". She recalled her thoughts during that time:
> I was sitting there in the theater at the back, showing it to people for the first time. I mean, it was like a puddle of sweat around my feet. It was like, 'Oh my God, oh my God, I hope I did the right thing. Oh, that scene is too long. Oh, that's too short. Are they going to get this part? Are they going to like this? Oh, they're going to think it's boring\!' Just worrying the whole way, biting my fingernails off.
Before releasing the film, Madonna invited a group of friends and co-workers to watch a rough three-hour cut of the film at a local theater in Notting Hill, and noted their feedback. General consensus was that there was too much of Kabbalah in the film, hence she decided to prune those segments considerably. The documentary premiered on MTV in the United States, on October 21, 2005, at 10:00 PM. She also showed it to the film students at New York's Hunter College and appeared for a Q\&A session. This promotion was a part of mtvU's Stand In series, in which celebrities filled in for college professors.
In the United Kingdom, the documentary premiered on Channel 4 on December 14, 2005. I'm Going to Tell You a Secret was not released commercially and was only viewed on MTV and Channel 4. Åkerlund told BlackBook that he wished more people had the chance to see the documentary because according to him, it is "a really strong piece of art, if you ask me. ... . it had a lot of my blood, sweat and tears in it."
## Critical response
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret received mixed reviews from critics. O'Brien noted how the film revealed a "strange isolation at the cost of stardom" from Madonna. She complimented the scenes featuring her father, and the scenes where Madonna was not self-conscious, like when she interacts with her children, talks about her "fat Italian thighs" and also the performance in rain at Dublin. O'Brien criticized other portions of the film, which she said was "affected" by conscious behavior in front of the camera, like backstage parties, poem and piano recitals. Author J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote in his book Madonna: An Intimate Biography that the film allowed a much closer look at the singer's family. He was particularly impressed by the scenes featuring Lourdes, believing that she "revealed herself to be sophisticated beyond her years". Kathryn Flett from The Observer newspaper described it as "Fascinating, [it has] tiny flashes of insight into her relationship with [Ritchie], which occasionally involve her being just as girlie and ever so slightly insecure as the rest of us." Rupert Smith from The Guardian reported that the director "squeezed every last drop of spectacle from a highly stage-managed performance", but commented that "she gave away far more in 1991's In Bed with Madonna; this time she gave only the illusion of candour". However, he complimented saying "Even the easy-to-mock pre-show prayers brought a tear to the eye. We don't need to be told that 'there's more to life than fame and fortune – something deeper, more profound', or that 'the material world' is a bad thing. But it's good to see an entertainer who, 20 years into her career, is still trying to change the world".
Barry Walters from Rolling Stone mentioned that I'm Going to Tell You a Secret "lacks the dishy delights of the diva's 1991 Truth or Dare doc. Instead, a more worldly Madge struggles to become a less sound-bite-reliant, more sincere person." Darryl Sterdan from Jam\! gave it three out of five stars, saying that "it still sucks to sit through all that video and see almost as much of her limo as her show ... For a start, how about giving us a [movie] that isn't derivative and self-indulgent?" Colin Jacobson from the DVD Movie Guide website opined that I'm Going to Tell You a Secret would find a divided audience and how one reacted to the documentary was a reflection of how one viewed Madonna. "Fans like me will be able to essentially ignore the self-serving moments and enjoy the tour elements. We'll also like the glimpse behind the curtain at Madonna on the road," he added. This view was shared by a reviewer from Lexington Herald-Leader who confessed that he did not enjoy the documentary except the live performances, since he saw Madonna only as an "entertainer" and not as a "preacher".
While reviewing Madonna: The Confessions Tour Live TV debut in 2007, Ginia Bellafante from The New York Times recalled the scenes of Madonna hugging her assistants and dancers and her wishing to be nicer to people she had met. She said that probably Madonna knew that many in her audience missed the "Madonna of so many Madonnas ago, the one who refused refinement and probably thought Oxford was just an insurance company." Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic believed that the documentary served its purpose well. "It will convince anybody who is on the fence about going out to see the 2006 tour to go ahead and buy those expensive tickets already," he added.
Stephen M. Deusner from Pitchfork panned the release, saying that "[Madonna's] life as portrayed in this documentary is cloistered and withdrawn, marked by hours of quiet Kabbalah study but very little self-reflection. Whether intentionally or not, Åkerlund reveals Madonna's supreme lack of self-awareness, from her embarrassing attempts at poetry to the condescending tone she takes with her dancers to her incredibly irresponsible visit to Rachel's Tomb despite the warnings of her host country and her security team." He ended the review noting that Madonna did not need to prove anything further, since her songs "have become a shared language among people who have very little common ground. Her music has been changing the world for more than two decades now, but sadly she seems unaware of this, her one true 'secret' to pop cultural unity."
## Home media and album
I'm Going to Tell You a Secret was released in a two-disc format, a CD with 14 songs from the show and a DVD with the documentary film. The documentary and the album were also released as digital download to the iTunes Store. The live CD consisted of two pre-recorded tracks, "The Beast Within" and "Hollywood" while extras on the DVD included 12 deleted scenes from the documentary. The release received positive response from critics and was nominated for a Grammy Award at the 2007 show in the category of Best Long Form Music Video, but ended up losing the award to Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. It was a moderate success commercially, reaching the top-ten of the music charts in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland, while the DVD topped the video charts in Australia, Spain and the United States. |
# U.S. Route 1/9 Truck
U.S. Route 1/9 Truck (US 1/9 Truck) is a United States Numbered Highway in the northern part of New Jersey that stretches 4.11 miles (6.61 km) from the eastern edge of Newark to the Tonnele Circle in Jersey City. It is the alternate route for US 1/9 that trucks must use because they are prohibited from using the Pulaski Skyway, which carries the main routes of US 1/9. It also serves traffic accessing the New Jersey Turnpike, Route 440, and Route 7. The route is a four- to six-lane road its entire length, with portions of it being a divided highway that runs through urban areas. From its south end to about halfway through Kearny, US 1/9 Truck is a freeway, with access to other roads controlled by interchanges.
While the US 1/9 Truck designation was first used in 1953, the roadway comprising the route was originally designated as an extension of Route 1 in 1922, a route that in its full length stretched from Trenton to Jersey City. US 1/9 was designated along the road in 1926, and, one year later, in 1927, this portion of Route 1 was replaced with Route 25 as well as with a portion of Route 1 north of the Communipaw Avenue intersection. Following the opening of the Pulaski Skyway in 1932, US 1/9 and Route 25 were realigned to the new skyway. After trucks were banned from the skyway in 1934, the portion of Route 25 between Newark and Route 1 was designated as Route 25T. In 1953, US 1/9 Truck was designated in favor of Route 25T and Route 1 along this segment of road. The portion of the truck route north of Route 7 was rebuilt as part of a $271.9-million (equivalent to $ in ) project to construct new approach roads to connect US 1/9 Truck, Route 7, the Pulaski Skyway, Route 139, and US 1/9 north of the Tonnele Circle and local streets in Jersey City. Construction, which started in late 2008, was completed in late 2012.
The highway is posted on reassurance shields as a north–south route. The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Straight Line Diagram, however, lists it as an east–west route and recently updated mileposts depict this alignment, with west direction signed for southbound traffic and east for northbound traffic.
## Route description
US 1/9 Truck begins at an interchange with access to and from the southbound direction US 1/9, the Pulaski Skyway, in the Ironbound section of the city of Newark in Essex County. The truck route is meant to bypass the portion of US 1/9 along the Pulaski Skyway, which trucks are restricted from. It merges onto Raymond Boulevard, which continues west from the US 1/9 and US 1/9 Truck interchange into Downtown Newark. The truck restriction on US 1/9 is for the "safety and welfare of the public" according to NJDOT, not a specific bridge defect. At this point, the truck route becomes a four-lane freeway, heading to the east. A short distance later, the road comes to an interchange with the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95, or I-95) and Doremus Avenue before crossing over the Passaic River on a vertical lift bridge. Here, the route enters Kearny in Hudson County and continues east into industrial areas as the Lincoln Highway. The road has a right-in/right-out in both directions that provides access to Jacobus Avenue before it comes to an interchange with County Route 659 (CR 659). From here, US 1/9 Truck passes under a Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) railroad line and becomes a six-lane expressway, coming to an at-grade intersection with Hackensack Avenue. Past this intersection, the road crosses the Hackensack River on a vertical lift bridge and enters Jersey City. Upon entering Jersey City, the road becomes Communipaw Avenue and intersects the northern terminus of Route 440 near the Hudson Mall.
At this intersection, Communipaw Avenue continues to the east toward Communipaw and US 1/9 Truck turns to the north, becoming an unnamed four-lane undivided road and bisecting Lincoln Park before coming to an intersection with CR 605. Here, the road becomes a four-lane divided highway again, passing some urban business areas before running between wetlands to the west and Holy Name Cemetery to the east. The route heads into more commercial areas again before passing urban residences, coming to an intersection that provides access to the Pulaski Skyway. Here, US 1/9 Truck turns east on Broadway, running through a business district. A short distance later, it turns north onto an unnamed road with CR 642 continuing east on Broadway. The route passes under PATH's Newark–World Trade Center line and CSAO's Northern Branch line before crossing under the Pulaski Skyway. Immediately after, US 1/9 Truck intersects the eastern terminus of Route 7 and turns to the east, with CR 645 continuing north at this intersection. The truck route becomes a four-lane divided highway called the St. Paul's Viaduct that runs to the north of the Pulaski Skyway and passes through industrial sectors, crossing over the Northern Branch line and CR 646. A short distance later, US 1/9 Truck comes to the Tonnele Circle with US 1/9 and Route 139, where it ends.
The East Coast Greenway runs along the north side of the highway.
## History
What is now US 1/9 Truck between Newark and Jersey City was originally chartered as part of Ferry Road by the New Jersey Colonial legislature in 1765. The road stretched from Newark to Jersey City along Ferry Street, US 1/9 Truck, Communipaw Avenue, and Grand Street. The Passaic and Hackensack Ferry and Road Company took over maintenance in 1828, followed by the Newark Plank Road and Ferry in 1849 (not to be confused with the similarly named Newark Plank Road). Though the company's contract was to be extended for 50 years in 1900, this was overturned by the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
In 1913, the road west of Lincoln Park became the first segment of the Lincoln Highway. The current route of US 1/9 Truck was designated to be an extension of Route 1 in 1922, a route that was to run from Trenton to Jersey City.
When the U.S. Numbered Highway System was established in 1926, the current truck route became a part of the US 1/9 concurrency. A year later, in the 1927 New Jersey state highway renumbering, Route 25 was designated to run along the entire length of the route along with US 1/9 as part of its journey from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge in Camden to the Holland Tunnel in Jersey City, while Route 1 was also designated along the portion north of Communipaw Avenue in Jersey City as a part of its routing from Bayonne to Rockleigh.
Following the opening of the Pulaski Skyway in 1932, US 1/9 and Route 25 were moved to the new bridge. After trucks were banned from the Pulaski Skyway in 1934, the portion of Route 25 between Newark and Route 1 was designated as Route 25T. In the 1953 New Jersey state highway renumbering, US 1/9 Truck was designated to replace all of Route 25T as well as the portion of Route 1 between Route 25T and the Tonnele Circle.
Beginning in 2009, NJDOT replaced the viaduct that carries the route over St. Paul's Avenue and a CSAO line. The St. Paul's Viaduct was built in 1928 and determined structurally deficient. The $271.9-million (equivalent to $ in ) replacement was completed in September 2011. In addition to replacing the St. Paul's Avenue viaduct, the approaches to US 1/9 Truck between Route 7 and the Tonnele Circle were improved in preparation for the construction of the Replacement Wittpen bridge.
In 2021, with the opening of the new Wittpenn Bridge, the former intersection with Route 7 and US 1/9 was demolished, and the former overpass that originally bypassed the intersection was rerouted to the bridge instead. A replacement ramp to reallow traffic onto Newark Avenue after the ability to do so was removed at the intersection was opened on April 21, 2023, at 9:00 pm.
Studies are being conducted to make the intersection with Route 440 a multilevel traffic circle and to make the northern and southern (Route 440) approaches into a multi-use urban boulevard that includes grade separations and additional medians. The studies are in anticipation of a general increase of activity in Port of New York and New Jersey, as well as new development in West Side, Jersey City, and Hackensack River Greenway.
## Major intersections
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## See also
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# Eurovision Song Contest 1959
The Eurovision Song Contest 1959 was the fourth edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on Wednesday 11 March 1959 at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France, and hosted by French television presenter Jacqueline Joubert. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF), the contest, originally known as the Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne 1959 (), was held in France following the country's victory at the with the song "Dors, mon amour", performed by André Claveau.
In total eleven countries participated in the contest, with making its first appearance and the returning after their absence the previous year. , however, decided not to participate after competing in all former editions.
The winner was the with the song "Een beetje", performed by Teddy Scholten, composed by Dick Schallies and written by Willy van Hemert. This was the Netherlands' second victory in the contest, having also won in , and also marked the first time a country had won the contest more than once. Van Hemert also became the first individual to win twice, having also written the first Dutch winning song from 1957, "Net als toen". The United Kingdom placed second, marking the first of a record sixteen times that the country would go on to finish as contest runners-up, while placed third.
## Location
The event took place in Cannes, France, following the nation's victory at the in Hilversum, Netherlands, with the song "Dors, mon amour", performed by André Claveau. The selected venue was the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, built in 1949 to host the Cannes Film Festival and located on the Promenade de la Croisette along the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the growth in the film festival a new building bearing the same name was opened in 1982, with the original building renamed as the Palais Croisette.
A garden space with plants from Southern France was installed in front of the building for the contest, and the flags of the participating nations were raised on the roof. The audience comprised 1500 invited guests.
This marked the second occasion in which the previous year's winning country organised the event, and the first time in which the winning country was given first choice at hosting the following year's event, as the rights to host the 1958 contest were only awarded to the Netherlands after all other countries declined.
## Participating countries
A total of eleven countries competed in the contest, with making its first appearance and the returning after a one year absence. The United Kingdom's absence from the 1958 contest is generally reported to have been due to the country's poor result in , but their return coincided with the international success of "Nel blu, dipinto di blu", the Italian entry from the previous year's contest, and the appointment of Eric Maschwitz as Head of Light Entertainment at the BBC. Beginning with this event the United Kingdom holds the record for the longest string of consecutive appearances in the Eurovision Song Contest, appearing in every subsequent contest final as of 2024. was absent from the event, having participated in all previous contests, and appears to have decided against participating late in the preparations for the contest as the country was listed among the participants in several radio and television listings.
Among this year's participants, two artists had previously competed in the contest. Birthe Wilke had placed third for in the , performing "Skibet skal sejle i nat" alongside Gustav Winckler, and Domenico Modugno had placed third for in the with "Nel blu, dipinto di blu".
## Production and format
The contest was organised and broadcast by the French public broadcaster Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (RTF), with Marcel Cravenne [fr] serving as director and Franck Pourcel serving as musical director. Each country was allowed to nominate their own musical director to lead the orchestra during the performance of their country's entry, with the host musical director also conducting for those countries which did not nominate their own conductor.
As in the 1957 and 1958 contests, each country, participating through a single EBU member broadcaster, was represented by one song performed by up to two people on stage. The results of the event were determined through jury voting, with each country's jury containing ten individuals who each gave one vote to their favourite song, with no abstentions allowed and with jurors unable to vote for their own country. One rule change implemented for this contest specified that individuals employed in the music industry were no longer allowed to be included among the national juries.
The draw to determine the running order took place on 9 March 1959.
The stage constructed for the event was designed by Gérard Dubois, and was inspired by the era of Louis XIV. The stage featured three revolving platforms, each of which was segmented into four, similar to a revolving door, to include various backdrops. These backdrops were specific to each of the participating countries and featured scenery or objects associated with that country.
A few days prior to the contest, hotel and shop owners in Cannes complained that the contest was covered and advertised too sparsely by RTF and subsequently feared that too few tourists would come to Cannes. In contrast, the Cannes Comité des Fêtes, which was involved in the organisation of the contest, believed that the broadcast of images from Cannes to many European households would have a significant impact on tourism in the weeks to follow.
## Contest overview
The contest was held on 11 March 1959 at 21:00 (CET) and lasted 1 hour and 12 minutes. The event was hosted by French television presenter Jacqueline Joubert.
The prelude of Charpentier's "Te Deum", the theme music of Eurovision broadcasts, was played as opening act by the orchestra under the direction of Franck Pourcel.
The winner was the represented by the song "Een beetje", composed by Dick Schallies [nl], written by Willy van Hemert and performed by Teddy Scholten. The Netherlands became the first country to achieve two victories in the event, and Van Hemert became the first individual to win the contest twice, after previously providing lyrics for the Netherlands' winner in 1957, "Net als toen". The United Kingdom's result was the first of sixteen British entries to finish in second place, a contest record as of 2023.
Alongside the traditional reprise performance of the winning song, the second- and third-placed songs were also performed again, for the first and only time at the contest.
After the show, a supper for the participating delegations was held on behalf of the city of Cannes at the Salon des Ambassadeurs of the Casino municipal [fr]. Initially, the prize of the contest taking the form of an engraved medallion was to be handed over solemnly during that supper but instead was presented by RTF's director of programming Jean d'Arcy [fr] to Teddy Scholten at the end of the show.
### Spokespersons
Each country nominated a spokesperson who was responsible for announcing the votes for their respective country via telephone. Known spokespersons at the 1959 contest are listed below.
- Netherlands – Siebe van der Zee [nl]
- Sweden – Roland Eiworth [sv]
## Detailed voting results
The announcement of the results from each country was conducted in reverse order to that which each country performed.
## Broadcasts
Each participating broadcaster was required to relay the contest via its television network. No official accounts of the viewing figures are known to exist. An estimate given in the press was at least 20 million viewers.
Broadcasters were able to send commentators to provide coverage of the contest in their own native language and to relay information about the artists and songs to their television viewers. Twelve commentator boxes were installed on the balconies of the auditorium. Known details on the broadcasts in each country, including the specific broadcasting stations and commentators are shown in the table below. |
# Type 1945 destroyer
The Type 1945 destroyers were a planned class of destroyers, for the Kriegsmarine, whose design was based upon that of the Type 1936D and E destroyers. Their plan involved a return to steam boilers, which had been replaced by diesel engines in all ships designs after the Type 1942 destroyers. No ships were ever built, as the end of the war was rapidly approaching.
## Development
The Type 1945 destroyer was designed in 1945, based upon the design of the Type 1936D and E destroyers, the plans for which were later accidentally destroyed by fire. They were designed during a time when Germany was prioritizing construction of submarines, with little to no effort going into her surface fleet, making the odds of the Type 1945 destroyers, or any other type of ship which was designed after 1942, being constructed, near zero. However, the Konstruktionsamt (Construction Department) continued to create designs for surface ships until the end of the war.
Before the design was even created, Germany was restricting the use of her surface fleet; after the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck on 27 May 1941, heavy restrictions were placed upon surface ship commanders' tactical freedom. Around the time the design was created, after the sinking of the German battleship Tirpitz on 12 November 1944, most of Germany's surface ships were being pulled back entirely, to serve only in the Baltic Sea. From the spring of 1945 to near the end of the war, the Kriegsmarine was almost entirely focused upon resupplying and supporting garrisons along the Baltic Coast. Later on, in May, the Kriegsmarine embarked upon the task of evacuating hundreds of thousands of civilians and soldiers from the east, ahead of the Soviet forces which were rapidly pushing westward.
The Type 1945 destroyers were designed to be able to defend against submarines, light naval forces, and aircraft, particularly torpedo bombers. Their design differed greatly from previous ones in that it utilized steam turbines, rather than diesel engines. Overall, their design gave them 12% higher engine performance despite having lighter machinery, and a more powerful main armament with a shorter hull. The project never made it past the drawing board, and no ship of the class was ever ordered or laid down.
## Characteristics
The ships of the Type 1945 destroyer class were to be 120 metres (390 ft) long at the waterline and 125.5 metres (412 ft) long o/a, have a beam of 12 metres (39 ft), a draught of 3.88 metres (12.7 ft), and displace 2,700 tonnes (2,700 long tons; 3,000 short tons) at standard load, 3,100 tonnes (3,100 long tons; 3,400 short tons) at full load, and 3,700 tonnes (3,600 long tons; 4,100 short tons) at deep load. They were to have a complement of 350, and carry two motor pinnaces, one torpedo cutter and a motor dinghy.
They were to be armed with eight 12.7 cm (5.0 in) SK C/41 guns, placed in four twin turrets, with 1,440 rounds of ammunition, four 5.5 cm (2.2 in) L/76.5 guns, with 5,000 rounds of ammunition, twelve 3 cm (1.2 in) L/66.6 M-44 guns, with 24,000 rounds of ammunition, eight total 53.3 cm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes, placed in quadruple tubes on her deck, with 16 torpedoes, and 100 mines. They were to have high-angle (anti-aircraft) director ship gun fire-control systems, placed on their fore and aft, which were to be fitted with radio direction finders.
They were to be propelled by two three-bladed propellers, two sets of Wagner turbines, four Wagner-Deschimag boilers feeding high-pressure superheated steam (at 70 atm (1,029 psi; 7,093 kPa) and 400 °C (752 °F)), intended to give her 80,000 shaft horsepower (60,000 kW), and a speed of 42.5 knots (78.7 km/h; 48.9 mph), 39.5 knots (73.2 km/h; 45.5 mph), or 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph), depending on if they were at standard load, full load, or deep load, respectively. They were to carry 800 tonnes (790 long tons; 880 short tons) of oil, to give her a range of 3,600 nautical miles (6,700 km; 4,100 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph). The machinery was calculated to have a weight-power ratio of 12 kg/shp (35 lb/kW). |