prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who sings Home Alone Tonight with the singer of "I Don't Want This Night to End"?

The following are given passages.
Context 1: Passage 1:
Rockin' You Tonight
Rockin' You Tonight is the second studio album by American country music artist Blaine Larsen  Released in 2006 on BNA Records (in association with Giantslayer Records), the album produced two singles for Larsen on the Hot Country Songs charts: "I Don't Know What She Said" and "Spoken Like a Man", which respectively reached number 24 and number 42  Also included is a cover of Mac Davis's "Baby, Don't Get Hooked on Me", as well as "I'm in Love with a Married Woman", which was previously recorded and released as a single by Mark Chesnutt from his 2002 self-titled album  "Let Alone You" was later recorded by Easton Corbin on his eponymous debut album in 2010 

Track listing
Personnel
Eddie Bayers - drums, percussion
Spady Brannan - bass guitar
Perry Coleman - background vocals
Mickey Jack Cones - background vocals
J T  Corenflos - baritone guitar, electric guitar
Stuart Duncan - fiddle, mandolin
Kevin "Swine" Grantt - bass guitar
Tommy Harden - drums, percussion
Blaine Larsen - lead vocals
Chris Leuzinger - baritone guitar, electric guitar
Bill McDermott - electric guitar
Brent Mason - electric guitar
Jimmy Nichols - accordion, Hammond organ, piano, synthesizer horns, Wurlitzer
Danny Parks - electric guitar
Biff Watson - acoustic guitar, nylon string guitar, hi-string guitar
Gretchen Wilson - duet vocals on "Lips of a Bottle"
Lonnie Wilson - drums, percussion
Glenn Worf - bass guitar

Chart performance
Album
Passage 2:
Saturday Night Footy
In Australia, Saturday Night Footy (formerly as Saturday Night Football) is the broadcasting of Australian Football League (AFL) Saturday night matches on television  Saturday Night Footy is generally considered to be one of the biggest stages and generates publicity for the clubs involved  It is for this reason that clubs involved generally want to perform at their best to avoid large-scale criticism from the media  The Seven Network has held the primary broadcast rights for the AFL since the start of the 2012 season 
The commentary team is led by Basil Zempilas, Cameron Ling, Luke Darcy and Matthew Richardson  Samantha Lane provides reports during the match and also features as a reporter during the pre-match segment, which runs for 45 minutes (or one hour for matches played in Adelaide or Perth) before the match is played  Dr  Peter Larkins provides injury updates during and after the feature match  The show begins at 6:30pm every Saturday night, immediately following Seven News in most markets 
The pre-match show, titled The Kick, is anchored by Darcy and runs for one hour in the lead-up to the feature match  This portion of the telecast includes, among others, segments such as: interviews with players and the coaches involved in the feature match, going behind the scenes of a team's training session, and featuring various celebrity guests  Rachael Finch, Lleyton Hewitt and Redfoo, among others, have featured as guests on Saturday Night Footy The post-match show, anchored by Darcy, reviews the match in detail and includes interviews with the players and coaches from both sides  The team also crosses to Sam McClure, at Footy Central, to recap the rest of the day's matches, and also to provide injury and player updates from those matches 
The original Saturday Night Footy telecast may not air into some states, as the current broadcasting contract requires the local teams to be televised into their respective states (for example, Saturday night matches involving the Brisbane Lions must be televised into Queensland)  The pre-match show may also be omitted from the schedule if a local team's match being played in the twilight timeslot (i e  4:35 pm) is televised and overlaps into the 6:30pm timeslot 
During Seven's exclusively live broadcast of the AFL Grand Final as part of the 2012-2016 Broadcast Deal, the Saturday Night Footy team host both the pre-match show and the post-match show 
In 2018, James Brayshaw will join the Saturday Night Footy team 

See also
Friday Night Football (AFL)
Passage 3:
Lopez Tonight
Lopez Tonight is an American late-night television talk show that was hosted by the comedian George Lopez  The hour-long program premiered on November 9, 2009, on cable network TBS   Lopez was the first Mexican-American to host a late-night talk show on an English-language network in the United States  The show featured audience interaction using a high-energy format  The program aired Monday through Thursday at midnight Eastern and Pacific, immediately following Conan  On August 10, 2011, TBS announced that Lopez Tonight would be canceled  The final episode aired the following night 

History
Phillip Kent, the chief executive of TBS, announced in March 2009 that George Lopez had signed a contract to host his own late-night talk show on TBS in November of that year  During interviews, Lopez said that he would bring the change to late-night television and that he wants the show to reach a diverse audience  He also stated that he would become the first Hispanic American to host a late-night talk show  The show debuted on November 9, 2009, with guests Kobe Bryant and Eva Longoria, as well as a special appearance from Ellen DeGeneres and a musical performance from Carlos Santana 

Arrival of Conan O'Brien and cancellation
The 2010 Tonight Show conflict resulted in Conan O'Brien's departure from NBC and The Tonight Show  Jay Leno returned to The Tonight Show, abandoning his prime time experiment, The Jay Leno Show  As a part of his severance deal, O'Brien was given a $32-million payout, a $12-million payout for his show's staff, and the ability to pursue options on other channels after September 1, 2010 
Hours before O'Brien's Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, O'Brien officially announced he had signed with TBS to create his own late-night talk show at 11:00 pm beginning in November 2010, thus pushing Lopez Tonight back to midnight  O'Brien was hesitant at first, saying he didn't want to do that to Lopez after what NBC had done to him, but Lopez himself called him and persuaded him to take the job  On the April 12 edition of Lopez Tonight, George addressed the situation by saying, "I was on Team Coco, now I'm on Team Loco!" 
However, the move caused a steep decline in ratings  On August 10, 2011, TBS canceled Lopez Tonight effective at the end of the week  O'Brien said of the announcement on his show, taping just hours after it was confirmed:

"I want to take one second right now and talk about something serious  Today, not long ago—a couple of hours ago—it was announced that TBS is not renewing George Lopez's show for a third season  I have very strong feelings about this, and I wanted to talk about it  Had it not been for George being so incredibly supportive of me a year and a half ago, I would not have come to TBS and we would not be doing this show right now  I owe that man a lot, and frankly, it makes me very sad that TBS and George could not work this out  I really like being a part of a late-night lineup with George, and I wish that this could've continued  So, tonight, all of our thoughts are with George and his entire staff and crew  We understand, believe me, how hard this is for all of you, and we wish you all the best "

Format
The show followed the established six-piece format established by the likes of Steve Allen and Johnny Carson  The first segment included a monologue by Lopez, sometimes accompanied by several one-liners, or several brief comedy sketches  Most episodes also included a second segment, immediately after the monologue, with a full comedy sketch  An interview with either one or two guests followed, as well as a musical or comedy performance 

Recurring segments
Sketches introduced on the show include Bullet Wound or Not a Bullet Wound, a stereotypical game show similar to Jay Leno's "Jaywalking" where guests must answer seemingly racist questions, Creepy Little White Girl in which a horrific little girl appears on the stage to deliver bad news, The Jersey Shore Presents, a mocking piece where cast members of Jersey Shore star in hit movies, Sweet Tweets where Lopez answers questions submitted from Twitter, WWE Superstars Karoake where many WWE Superstars performed karaoke songs, Justin Bieber's Memories a segment that mocks Justin Bieber and his childhood, and "Eric Estrada" where colored lights flash and various guests, including Benjamin Bratt and Jon Cryer come out of the double doors in a California Highway Patrol motorcycle uniform 

Timeline
November 9, 2009 — Lopez Tonight debuts with guests Eva Longoria and Kobe Bryant as well as a special appearance by Ellen DeGeneres, and a musical performance from Carlos Santana, who performed "Oye Como Va" 
November 12, 2009 — Comedian Larry David appears on the show and takes a DNA test revealing his results to be 63 percent European and 37 percent Native American 
November 25, 2009 — George officially announces that Arsenio Hall would become the permanent guest host of Lopez Tonight 
December 15, 2009 — A special reunion episode, featuring the main cast of George Lopez  Musical guests War performed "Low Rider", the theme song to the former show as well as Lopez Tonight 
January 18, 2010 — Jennifer Lopez performs the opening monologue for Lopez Tonight, addressing the 2010 Tonight Show conflict, beginning with "Welcome to Lopez Tonight, where nobody gets fired"!
April 1, 2010 — As part of an April Fool's Day joke, musician Usher corrected Lopez after incorrectly stating he had two kids, saying that he had three, and went on to say that how upset he was when people didn't get their facts straight, however Usher revealed it to be a joke and that he did indeed have two kids 
April 12, 2010 — George Lopez announces that beginning in November 2010, Conan O'Brien will officially join TBS for his own late-night talk show which will push Lopez Tonight back one hour from 11:00 pm to midnight 
June 24, 2010 – Lopez Tonight celebrates its 100th episode, with guests Kobe Bryant and Louis C K  with special appearances from Arsenio Hall, Clint Eastwood, Tom Cruise, Donald Trump, Russell Brand, and Eddie Van Halen  At the end of the show, George alongside his band performed the Van Halen song "Panama" 
August 18, 2010 – George Lopez bets Bow Wow $25,000 to charity that the Los Angeles Lakers would beat the Miami Heat on Christmas Day 
October 19, 2010 – The cast of Jackass 3D appears on the show 
November 3, 2010 – Conan O'Brien officially appears on the show promoting his new talk show, Conan, which moves Lopez Tonight to midnight 
November 4, 2010 – Lopez Tonight celebrates its last show in the 11:00PM time slot as it prepares to move to 12:00AM in order for the arrival of Conan  Guests on the show were Andy Richter, Bret Michaels, and a musical performance from Good Charlotte 
November 8, 2010 – Lopez Tonight airs its first show in the midnight time slot  The show features many changes including a new opening sequence as well as a new set  Guests on the show included Janet Jackson, Antoine Dodson, and a musical performance from Rooney 
August 10, 2011 – Lopez Tonight is canceled by TBS with the series finale airing August 12, 2011 
August 15, 2011 – Repeats of The Office filled in the former Lopez Tonight timeslot after several weeks of his show repeats 
August 18, 2011 – The official TBS Lopez Tonight website was taken down and currently redirects the site to tbs com 

Production
Studio and set design
The show was taped at Warner Bros  Studios in Burbank, California, near The Ellen DeGeneres Show studio  The stage layout followed a street-party theme  The show differed from many other late-night talk shows, most notably for not featuring a desk or background of the city in which the show is taped 

House band
Lopez Tonight's house band was Michael Bearden and the Ese Vato's, who are famous for performances with Michael Jackson and Shakira  The band consisted of leader and keyboard player Michael Bearden, guitarist Tommy Organ, bass player Alex Al, percussionist Lenny Castro, trumpeter Bill Churchville, drummer Robin DiMaggio, and saxophonist Sean Holt  As in common talk show format, Michael Bearden and the Ese Vato's would perform the show's opening and closing theme, bumpers into and out of commercial breaks  The show's opening theme was "Lowrider" by the band War, which was also the theme song for George Lopez 

Reception
The show has been critically panned  Metacritic scored the show with a 39/100 based on six reviews  
Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe claims "Lopez has a full-throated energy and a weakness for sophomoric guy humor that can be grating, especially since his show will air Monday through Thursday nights " The New York Times says "Mr  Lopez said he was 'bringing change to late-night TV,' but the only significant change was a coarsening of the already crass atmosphere "

See also
List of Lopez Tonight episodes
Passage 4:
I Don't Want This Night to End
"I Don't Want This Night to End" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Luke Bryan  It was released in September 2011 as the second single from his album Tailgates & Tanlines  The song, written by Bryan, Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip, is a "guy meets girl" love story 
The song received positive reviews from critics who praised the simplistic writing and catchy chorus  "I Don't Want This Night to End" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving Bryan his third number-one country music hit in both charts and starting a streak of eighteen consecutive number one hits for him  This streak ended in 2019 when "What Makes You Country" peaked at number 7 on Hot Country Songs, and number 2 on Country Airplay  It also charted at number 22 on the Hot 100 chart, the same position as his previous single "Country Girl (Shake It for Me)"  The song was certified 4× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold 2,730,000 copies in the United States as of August 2015  The song achieved minor chart success in Canada, peaking at number 48 on the Canadian Hot 100 chart  It also garnered a Platinum certification from Music Canada, selling over 80,000 copies in that country 
The accompanying music video was directed by Shaun Silva and features actress Cameron Richardson as Bryan's love interest 

Content
Bryan told The Boot that the song is about "a guy meeting a girl, and it's the first night that they're hanging out  It's a magical night and he doesn't want it to end  It's got a big fun chorus in it " He co-wrote the song with Rhett Akins, Dallas Davidson, and Ben Hayslip, collectively known as The Peach Pickers  After Hayslip provided the title, Bryan began playing a melody on a guitar  Hayslip then said that his publisher, Randy Gaston, recommended that he write "a song that talks about putting your hands up in the chorus" The song is set in the key of A minor and has a moderate tempo of approximately 112 beats per minute  The verses use a chord pattern of Am-G-Fsus2 three times, with a C-G-F pattern twice on the chorus followed by the original pattern of Am-G-Fsus2 twice  It ends on the Fsus2 chord 

Critical reception
Billy Dukes of Taste of Country gave the song four stars out of five, calling the chorus "pretty memorable" and saying that the writers "did a nice job of not over-thinking things " Matt Bjorke of Roughstock gave the song three and a half stars of five, writing that the chorus is "infectious and sing-a-long ready" and the song is "strong, well-written" and "sounds great on the radio, just like it will in concerts "Billboard and American Songwriter ranked "I Don't Want This Night to End" at number four and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Luke Bryan songs 

Music video
The music video was directed by Shaun Silva and premiered on November 8, 2011  Bryan portrays a country music star who falls for a new girl (played by actress Cameron Richardson) while he is home from the road  The video is a prequel to the music video for "Drunk On You" which was later released as a single 

Commercial performance
"I Don't Want This Night to End" debuted at number 44 on the U S  Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of September 17, 2011  It debuted at number 90 on the U S  Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week of October 15, 2011  The song was certified five times platinum by the RIAA on August 3, 2020  As of August 2015, the song has sold 2,730,000 copies in the US It debuted at number 80 on Canadian Hot 100 chart for the week of November 5, 2011 

Charts and certifications
Passage 5:
Home Alone Tonight
"Home Alone Tonight" is a song recorded by American country music artist Luke Bryan as a duet with Karen Fairchild of American country music group Little Big Town for his fifth studio album, Kill the Lights (2015)  Upon the release of the album, the song entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart at number 33 on the strength of digital downloads  It was serviced to American country radio on November 23, 2015 as the album's third official single  The song was written by Jody Stevens, Cole Taylor, Jaida Dreyer and Tommy Cecil 

Live performances
Bryan and Fairchild performed the song live at the 2015 American Music Awards 

Content
The song is a mid-tempo ballad in which a man and woman meet in a bar and plot revenge on their former lovers together 

Critical reception
An uncredited review from Taste of Country was favorable, stating that it "features more progressive production than 'Strip It Down,' but isn’t quite as edgy as 'Kick the Dust Up ' One would hardly call the arrangement organic, but that fits the mood  The two spontaneous lovers promise they won’t regret what’s to come, even though both know it’s not true  It’s an inevitability that many will relate to "

Commercial performance
The song debuted at number 33 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart dated of August 29, 2015, the week the album was released, selling 13,000 copies in its first week  It debuted at number 55 on the Country Airplay chart dated of November 14, 2015 in anticipation of its official release  After Bryan and Fairchild performed the song on the 2015 American Music Awards, it debuted at number 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated of December 12, 2015, selling 16,000 copies  It became Bryan's thirteenth consecutive (and fifteenth overall) number one country music single on the Country Airplay chart dated of February 13, 2016  The song has sold 441,000 copies in the US as of April 2016 

Charts
Certifications
Passage 6:
Eliza Biscaccianti
Eliza Biscaccianti (1824 – July 1896) was an American operatic soprano from Boston, Massachusetts  Born Eliza Ostinelli, she was the daughter of pianist Sophia Hewitt Ostinelli, the only woman to have ever been employed as an organist and accompanist by Boston's Handel and Haydn Society and the second musician ever to perform the work of Beethoven in Boston, and Louis Ostinelli, a native of Italy who became a second violinist with, and later a conductor of, the Handel and Haydn Society  Her uncle was composer John Hill Hewitt and her grandfather was conductor, composer and music publisher James Hewitt She was nicknamed "The American Thrush" 

Musical training, marriage and singing career
From 1842 to 1847 Biscaccianti studied singing in Italy, most notably with Giuditta Pasta  She made her professional opera debut at Teatro Lirico in Milan in May 1847 as Elvira in Ernani  While in Italy she married the Italian cellist Count Alessandro Biscaccianti  They returned to the United States in late 1847 when Biscaccianti was offered a contract at the Astor Opera House in New York City  She made her debut at the Astor opera house as Amina in La sonnambula  She was later heard that season in the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor After the Astor Place Riot in 1849, she returned to her native city of Boston where she was lauded for her opera performances  She then toured to San Francisco in 1852 where she was one of the star performers in the fledgling opera scene in that city during 
Madame Biscaccianti received from a large and highly intelligent audience, on the occasion of her re-appearance, last evening, one of the most flattering welcomes that we have ever seen bestowed upon a public favorite  It was her first concert in several weeks, and she had barely recovered from an illness which still left its enfeebling effects upon her frame; but her voice was strong, pure and exquisitely flexible, and her spirits buoyant and animated  She sang with a degree of fervor and expression that called for the most enthusiastic testimonials, in the forms of plaudits, "bravos" and bouquets, from a delighted auditory  Her execution, too, was brilliant and artistic; and we see no reason to change the opinion we expressed many months since, after one of the fair Signora's 'Benevolent Concerts'; that the strength and purity of her tones and her brilliancy of style and execution continually increase, and her increasing success is manifest at every concert given by Madam B  in this city 
According to Verdi historian, George Martin:
Because she had been born in Boston of a New England mother, Biscaccianti was known popularly as "The American Thrush," but she had studied in Europe and sung in Paris, Milan, St  Petersburg, and London, founding a claim to be the first American to sing opera in Europe  In the ten months that she remained in California she sang at least seventy recitals, thirty-five in San Francisco, thirteen in Sacramento, seven in Stockton, and the balance in smaller towns 
In 1853 Biscaccianti performed in operas in South America, including in Lima, Peru  After retiring from the stage she taught singing in Milan  In her elder years she lived in a home for artists in Paris that was supported by a foundation in memory of Rossini 

Death
By the time of her death in 1896, according to Ammer, Biscaccianti was impoverished  She died, aged 72, at the Rossini Foundation Home for Musicians in Paris 

Notes
Passage 7:
Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight
"Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, from his 1972 album One Man Dog  
The song has been included on three of Taylor's greatest-hits collection albums: Greatest Hits (1976), Classic Songs (1987) and The Best of James Taylor (2003)  Taylor re-recorded the song for the 2001 Michael Brecker album Nearness of You: The Ballad Book; this rendition won Taylor the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 2002 

Personnel
James Taylor – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
Danny Kortchmar – electric guitar
Craig Doerge – piano
Lee Sklar – bass guitar
Russ Kunkel – drums, congas
Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone

Reception
Billboard described "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" as a "ballad beauty " Record World called it a "superb lilting ballad featuring stunning Peter Asher production work and a terrific saxophone finale "  AllMusic reviewer Bill Janovitz wrote that the song is "a stunning example of the Tin Pan Alley-type of jazzy romantic ballad", and that the song's lyrics, about "a betrayed lover who allows his lonely heart to control his head", were unusual in that songs on that theme were usually performed by female artists  Berwyn Life critic Steve Sparacio said that it "is simply one of the most beautiful ballads in existence "

Chart performance
It was released as the lead single from the album, and peaked at No  14 on the U S  Billboard Hot 100, reaching its peak position on January 13, 1973   It also reached No  3 Easy Listening  In Canada, the song reached No  18 on the Pop Singles chart and No  7 AC 

Covers and samples
The song has been recorded by the following artists:

Johnny Mathis, on Me and Mrs  Jones (1973)
Liza Minnelli, on The Singer (1973), her best-selling album
The Isley Brothers, on their platinum-selling album 3 + 3 (1973)  This version was done in 12/8 time, with a rhythm and blues feel 
Nancy Wilson, on Come Get to This (1975)
Isaac Hayes, on For the Sake of Love (1978), in a 7-minute, funk-infused version with a long instrumental introduction  The instrumental portion has been sampled in songs including "You Keep Leading Me On" by Mona Lisa (1996), "Rhyme No More" by Jay-Z (1997), "It's All Mo' Thug" by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (1997) and "Lovin You (On My Mind)" by Slim Thug featuring Z-Ro (2013) 
Mary MacGregor, on    In Your Eyes (1978)
Scottish band Wet Wet Wet on their debut album Popped in Souled Out (1987)
Brazilian jazz-bossa nova singer Kenia recorded and released her own revival in 1987 
Oleta Adams, on Evolution (1992)
Michael Brecker, on Nearness of You: The Ballad Book (2001)
Eric Clapton, on Reptile (2001)
Joe Cocker, on Heart & Soul (2005)
Euge Groove, on Livin’ Large (2004)
David Sanborn featuring Lizz Wright on Closer (2005)
Diane Schuur on Schuur Fire (2005)
Jazz saxophonist Boney James, on Send One Your Love (2009)  Vocals were by Quinn, in a style similar to the Isley Brothers' version  It was released as a single, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Traditional R&B Performance in 2010, losing to Beyoncé's cover of "At Last" 
Garth Brooks, on The Melting Pot album of the compilation box set Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences (2013)
Jazz singer and bassist Kristin Korb on the album What If (2021)

Other cover versions
"Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" has also been performed live by artists including George Benson, Pat Metheny, and Earth, Wind & Fire 
Passage 8:
Silly Love Songs (Glee)
"Silly Love Songs" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American musical television series Glee, and the thirty-fourth overall  The Valentine's Day-themed episode was written by series creator Ryan Murphy, directed by Tate Donovan, and premiered on Fox on February 8, 2011  In this episode, Director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) assigns the McKinley High School glee club to perform love songs in honor of Valentine's Day  Club member Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) sets up a kissing booth for the occasion, to take advantage of his rising popularity and raise money for the club  At the Dalton Academy, Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss) and the Dalton Academy Warblers make plans to perform a musical number outside of the campus, and Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer) confesses his love for Blaine 
"Silly Love Songs" was met with critical acclaim, with much of the praise stemming from the character development and the musical performances  Melissa Maerz of the Los Angeles Times, Emily VanDerWerff of The A V  Club, and Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post all deemed the storyline as entertaining, while Joel Keller of the TV Squad went on to call the episode "the best episode of the season " The episode features cover versions of six songs, including a cover of "P Y T " by Michael Jackson and "My Funny Valentine" from the musical Babes in Arms  Many of the covers and performances were met with positive reception from critics and fans alike, with much of the praise going to the Glee covers of "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen and "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney, respectively  All songs with the exception of "My Funny Valentine" were released as singles and made available for digital download 
Upon its initial airing, the episode was watched by just under 11 58 million American viewers, and it garnered a 4 6/13 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic  Both the total viewership and ratings were significantly down from the previous episode, "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle", which aired immediately after the Super Bowl 

Plot
Glee club director Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) gives New Directions a love song assignment  Having fallen for the group's newest member Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink), Puck (Mark Salling) serenades her with Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls"  Lauren finds his song choice insulting and stands him up on a pre-Valentine's date, but eventually agrees to spend Valentine's Day with him as friends 

Artie Abrams (Kevin McHale) and Mike Chang (Harry Shum Jr ) celebrate their respective relationships by performing Michael Jackson's "P Y T  (Pretty Young Thing)" for their girlfriends, Brittany Pierce (Heather Morris) and Tina Cohen-Chang (Jenna Ushkowitz)  Tina later begins to sing "My Funny Valentine" to Mike, but is too overcome with emotion, and begins to cry while continuing to sing 
Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) sets up a kissing booth, to take advantage of his popularity in the hope of kissing his ex-girlfriend Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron)  He also wants to donate the proceeds to the glee club  Quinn initially refuses to buy a kiss from Finn, but does so at the insistence of her boyfriend Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet), who is suspicious of their relationship  The kiss further re-ignites Finn and Quinn's feelings for one another, and they begin an affair  Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera), angry for having recently had her bad behavior highlighted by the other club members, conspires to give them mono and reveal Quinn's infidelity  Finn's most recent ex-girlfriend Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) is dismayed by his renewed feelings for Quinn, but resolves to concentrate on her career instead of romance, and leads the female New Directions members in a performance of Katy Perry's "Firework" 
At Dalton Academy, a private school attended by former New Directions member Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer), the object of his affection Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss) announces his intention to sing a love song to his crush  Kurt believes that Blaine has feelings for him, so is disappointed when his crush turns out to be Jeremiah (Alexander Nifong), the assistant manager at a local Gap store  The Dalton Academy Warblers accompany Blaine as he serenades Jeremiah with Robin Thicke's "When I Get You Alone"  Jeremiah is subsequently fired and rebuffs Blaine  Kurt confesses his feelings to Blaine, who tells Kurt that he cares for him but is terrible at romance, and does not want to risk damaging their friendship  The episode ends with New Directions assembled at Breadstix, a local restaurant, where the Warblers perform the titular "Silly Love Songs" 

Production
"Silly Love Songs" was first announced by Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy in an interview with a German journalist  The name of the episode and its airdate were announced shortly after the announcement of the show getting a short-term hiatus due to various cast members contracting the flu  Inspiration for the episode may be partially related to a lobbying effort by Paul McCartney to have covers of songs by The Beatles incorporated into Glee  In an interview with various reporters at the 2010 Teen Choice Awards, Murphy revealed that he received a mixtape that was sent from McCartney, who is reportedly a fan of the series  Recurring characters who appear in this episode include glee club members Mike Chang (Harry Shum, Jr ), Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet), and Lauren Zizes (Ashley Fink), football coach Shannon Beiste (Dot-Marie Jones), and Blaine Anderson (Darren Criss) the lead singer of the Dalton Academy Warblers "Silly Love Songs" features cover versions of six songs: Katy Perry's "Firework", Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls", Michael Jackson's "P Y T  (Pretty Young Thing)", "My Funny Valentine" from the musical Babes in Arms, "When I Get You Alone" by Robin Thicke, and "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney and his band Wings  This was the fourth time a song by Katy Perry was used in a Glee episode, with the previous covers being "I Kissed a Girl" in the pilot, "Teenage Dream" on the episode "Never Been Kissed" and "California Gurls" on the previous episode "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle"  All songs with the exception of "My Funny Valentine" were released as singles and made available for digital download  All five singles were included on Glee soundtrack albums: "Firework", "P Y T  (Pretty Young Thing)", and "Fat Bottomed Girls" were featured in the sixth soundtrack album, Glee: The Music, Volume 5, while "Silly Love Songs" and "When I Get You Alone" were featured on the seventh, Glee: The Music Presents the Warblers 

Reception
Ratings
"Silly Love Songs" was originally broadcast in the United States on Fox on February 8, 2011  It received just under 11 58 million American viewers upon its initial airing, despite airing simultaneously with NCIS on CBS, The Biggest Loser on NBC, No Ordinary Family on ABC, and One Tree Hill on The CW  It garnered a 4 6/13 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic, the highest rating of the night  This episode's total viewership and ratings were significantly down from the previous episode, "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle", which was watched by over 26 8 million American viewers and received an 11 1/29 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic In Canada, where it also aired on February 8, 2011, the episode was watched by over 2 08 million viewers  It ranked number ten in the most-watched television programs of the week  The total viewership slightly declined from the previous episode, which attained 2 16 million viewers, as well as being the ninth most-watched television program of the week  In Australia, where the episode aired on February 21, 2011, it was viewed by 921,000 viewers upon its initial airing  It was the eleventh most-watched program on the night  The episode's total viewership declined at a marginal rate from the previous episode, which drew 1 13 million viewers, and was the fourth most-watched program of the night and the most-watched in the 18–49 demographic  It placed tenth in the weekly viewership rankings  In the UK, the episode was watched by 2 629 million viewers (2 233 million on E4, and 396,000 on E4+1), becoming the most-watched show on E4 and E4 +1 for the week, and the most-watched show on cable for the week 

Critical response
"Silly Love Songs" was met with critical acclaim from many television critics upon its initial airing  Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone gave a very positive review of the episode, and wrote, "This was our favorite type of Glee episode  Though we enjoy over-the-top spectacles [   ], the show's real cleverness shines when they take songs from across the board and fit them into a cohesive storyline  Sue Sylvester didn't make an appearance and—dare we say it—we didn't even miss her " Bobby Hankinson of the Houston Chronicle enjoyed the episode, going on to write, "I thought it was a strong showing, if a little disjointed  Well, at least it was honest  If this show is one thing, it's disjointed  It's part of its spazzy appeal " Melissa Maerz of the Los Angeles Times gave the episode a positive review: "On Tuesday night, Glee wasn’t only back at its usual time, it was back to doing what it does best: giving us entertaining [   ] storylines involving characters we care about who sing songs that emerge organically and advance the story  It was like a perfect heart-shaped bubble of an episode reminding the show’s fans about all the things we’ve missed about the show these last couple of months "Robert Canning of IGN also gave the episode a positive review, and opined, "With the dissing of glee club temporarily put on hold, Glee the series was able to have a little fun with Tuesday night's episode  And fun it was, with the gang of New Directions taking on Valentine's Day, with flirting, kissing and, of course, singing  Without the bullying, this was a much lighter episode of Glee, and the results gave way to a lot more laughs and story development " He went on to praise Ashley Fink's performance as Lauren Zizes, and said of Puck's falling in love with Lauren, "I can't decide if I want to root for this couple, but I certainly know I'm going to be rooting for Lauren " Canning ultimately gave the episode an 8 5 out of 10  Wyndham Wyeth of Paste went on to praise the episode for its depiction of relationships in high school, as well as the backing vocals for Salling's performance of "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen  Emily VanDerWerff of The A V  Club gave the episode a positive review and a grade of "A−": "'Silly Love Songs' is a fine example of the show at what's very nearly its absolute best  There's nothing too heady here, but if the show has one tone that it's nailed almost completely consistently, it's the feeling of teenage romance, the sense that the person you're in love with is the only person you will ever be in love with [   ] followed almost immediately by the crippling feeling of heartbreak, of losing that person too soon  Teenage life moves fast and is filled with heightened emotions  And like most musicals, Glee has always been at its best when it embraces those two sides of its characters' lives  As such, 'Silly Love Songs', which is pretty much just an excuse to play around with the show's many romantic pairings among its glee club characters, is a lot of fun without trying all that hard " In conclusion of her review, she wrote, "The best episodes play that elation and devastation off of each other  The worst episodes flounder about for some sort of emotional foothold  But when Glee just tells small, sweet stories about these kids and the ways they're trying to cope with being in high school when they know they're meant for bigger things, it can be terrific  Tonight was one of those episodes, and tonight's episode was terrific  Here's to a good February sweeps "

Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic gave the episode a 4 6 out of 5 stars, and went on to describe the episode as "A funny, touching, entertaining Glee episode that didn't feature a single line from Sue Sylvester? I never thought I'd see the day  But that's exactly what transpired on 'Silly Love Songs', as the show stopped feeling like a Public Service Announcement for a week and actually focused on well-paced, well-written relationship developments among its core characters " Joel Keller of TV Squad gave the episode a positive review, and wrote, "'Silly Love Songs' strikes an interesting contrast to Sunday night's post-Super Bowl episode in that tonight was more about the kids and where they are in their stories than about big production numbers and Sue's cartoon evilness  It was also the funniest episode of the season, in no small part because we got some insight into the lives of two New Directions members we rarely get to hang out with for any length of time: Santana and Lauren " James Poniewozik of Time Magazine praised the storyline and the musical performances of the episode  However, Soraya Roberts of the Daily News gave the episode a negative review: "This show sometimes sounds like it was written by a PIT, prime idiot TV writer  It's almost as bad as Tina breaking down into tears for no reason while singing 'My Funny Valentine' to Mike and Blaine attempting to channel Frank Sinatra while singing Paul McCartney's 'Silly Love Songs' in the middle of Breadsticks " Lisa de Moraes of The Washington Post praised the storyline, calling it cohesive 

Musical performances
The musical covers and performances for the episode were mostly well received by critics and fans alike  Sandra Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly stated that her favorite was "Silly Love Songs" by Paul McCartney, performed by the Warblers  In a review of the performance, she wrote, "This is much more Warbler-esque than 'When I Get You Alone'  I had also been worried we wouldn't get our weekly dose of dorky Warbler dance moves  Plus, major points for the blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment when Blaine sang the love 'won't come at all' line to Santana  It was probably my personal biggest laugh-out-loud moment of the episode " She gave the performance an "A"  She also praised Puck's performance of "Fat Bottomed Girls", and opined, "In general, I'm in love with Mark Salling's voice  He's right up there with Artie [   ] in my book  And this song was smothered in awesome sauce  Bonus points for Puck's sort-of-feminine head bob, Brittany's background groovin', the club's reactions to him singing to Lauren, and Mr  Schu's mild eye-roll " She went on to give the performance an "A−"  Kristin Coachman of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer was a bit more critical of Puck's cover of the song: "This week Mark Salling [   ] is singing Queen's 'Fat Bottomed Girls'  I know this song fits in with Puck's storyline for the episode, but I feel like the song was in the wrong key for him  At times it sounded like he was straining to hit the higher notes  Because of this, I have to wonder if the backing vocals are purposely drowning his voice out  It seems depending on the song selection for him, Salling's vocal performances continue to be very hit or miss this season "Tina's cover of "My Funny Valentine" stirred mixed emotions in Gonzalez  She criticized the ending: "When she started sobbing, it got weird  Then weirder  Then downright uncomfortable " However, she liked the earlier part of the performance, and wrote, "It was übersweet when Tina started getting choked up during her song, because let's face it, it happens  You can love someone so much it hurts  If she would have continued the song with a mild lump in her throat, I think I might have gotten choked up with her "Rachel's cover of "Firework" by Katy Perry was reviewed negatively by Coachman  She wrote, "I'm not loving Michele’s vocals on this track  It was like they wanted to purposely make her sound like Katy Perry  As much as I really like Katy Perry, Michele has more of a tremendous voice  There are parts where I thought she sounded really great, but for the most part this song just wasn't my cup of tea  Michele has such a beautiful voice; I wish she was given songs that would allow her to showcase it to her advantage " Katie Morgan of Billboard gave a positive review of the Warblers' performance of "Silly Love Songs", writing, "Not only do they sound great [   ], but the song brings a sugary sweet end to a super-saccharine episode " The Marquee Blog at CNN gave the music numbers a positive review  A notable segment reads: "I just loved seeing The Warblers get their groove on amidst the jeans and cotton T-shirts  And Kurt was super gracious trying to be supportive of Blaine, in spite of his own feelings  I also totally loved the music [   ] and overall this was one of my favorite episodes this season  Brett Berk of Vanity Fair praised Salling's performance of "Fat Bottomed Girls", as well as the casts' performances of "P Y T " by Michael Jackson and "When I get You Alone" by Robin Thicke  Erica Futterman of Rolling Stone gave Salling's performance a positive review  She wrote, "We were thoroughly entertained by Puck's attempt to win newbie Lauren Zizes over with his tribute to her larger figure  Only in Puck's world would Queen's raucous song qualify as a serenade—and our horror-turned-amusement was mirrored on his fellow New Directions' faces  Puck is no Freddie Mercury, but he handles the melody well and makes up for lack of range with swagger "

Chart history
All five of the cover versions released as singles debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, and appeared on other musical charts  With these new Hot 100 debuts, plus the debut the same week of "She's Not There" from the prior episode "The Sue Sylvester Shuffle", which had aired two days before "Silly Love Songs", the Glee Cast passed Elvis Presley's record of 108 singles on the Hot 100, reaching 113 singles  The cast had nine songs on the Hot 100 that week, a new record for them  The show's rendition of "Firework" debuted at number thirty-four; it was at number thirty-five on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100  The other four songs from this episode on the Hot 100 were "Silly Love Songs" at number forty-five, which also made number fifty-four on the Canadian Hot 100, "When I Get You Alone" at number forty-seven, which also made number sixty-one on the Canadian Hot 100, "Fat Bottomed Girls" at number fifty-six, which also made number fifty on the Canadian Hot 100, and "P Y T  (Pretty Young Thing)" at number fifty-eight, which also made number sixty-nine on the Canadian Hot 100 
Passage 9:
Up All Night (Matt Willis song)
"Up All Night" is the debut solo single by English musician Matt Willis  It was released as a single on 22 May 2006 and appears on his debut album, Don't Let It Go to Waste  The song is about how Willis keeps thinking of a girl, and as a result cannot sleep at night  It debuted at number 52 on the UK Singles Chart on download sales alone  The following week, it peaked at number seven after the physical release  It stayed in the UK chart for a total of four weeks 
The video for "Up All Night" features Willis in a house late at night and flashes back and forth between scenes of Willis having difficulty sleeping and Willis in the midst of a party  Willis's first televised performance of "Up All Night" took place on 7 May 2006 on Top of the Pops  He then performed the song again on the same show on 28 May 2006, three weeks since his TV debut 

Track listings
CD2 contains a free beer mat, with images of a dragon on the front and Willis on the rear 

Charts
Passage 10:
I Don't Want to Go Back Alone
I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (Portuguese: Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho) is a 2010 Brazilian short film directed by Daniel Ribeiro  The short won the 2011 Iris Prize 
It was later expanded into Ribeiro's 2014 feature film The Way He Looks 

Plot
Leonardo "Leo" is a 15-year-old blind high school student with his one friend in class, Giovana, sitting next to him  Seated behind Leonardo is the new student Gabriel  After class Giovana invites Gabriel to walk home with herself and Leonardo; she customarily links arms with him for support even though his house is further from the school than hers  Later Giovana teases Leonardo about never confiding in her about romance and suggests he receive math tutoring from Gabriel 
Over time the three grow closer, walking home and playing games together  Leonardo becomes more self-conscious about appearance, asking questions about what he and Gabriel look like  Gabriel volunteers to take over escorting Leonardo so Giovana doesn't have to backtrack, though she possessively says that's not necessary  However, Leo happily agrees  A school project requires same-sex pairs, leading Leonardo to work with Gabriel instead of Giovana  During a more serious conversation about his blindness, Gabriel points out Giovana's attraction to Leonardo, but Leonardo says he does not reciprocate  After school one day, Leo links arms with Gabriel rather than Giovana, much to Gabriel's surprise and Giovana's chagrin 
When they arrive at his house, Leonardo changes shirts in front of Gabriel, who is stunned before removing his own sweatshirt  Gabriel asks Leonardo where the bathroom is to brush his teeth, but Gabriel is standing in the doorway and sees Leonardo smelling his sweatshirt  However he does not mention this to Leo  The next day in class, Gabriel tells Leonardo he left his sweatshirt at Leonardo's house but must leave school early for a dentist's appointment, and so will collect it the next day  After the other students have left, Leonardo admits to Giovana he is in love with Gabriel 
Doubtful about the homosexual romance - and hurt because she has feelings for Leo as Gabriel suspected - Giovana does not provide a positive response before a sudden phone call summons her to her grandmother's birthday, leaving Leonardo to walk home alone with a white cane  At home, when he hears someone come into his room, he chastises Giovana for leaving him and expresses his doubts about confessing his love for Gabriel  However, the visitor is actually Gabriel himself, who smiles to himself at this unintended confession before silently kissing him on the lips, leaving with his sweatshirt  Later, Giovana arrives while apologizing for taking so long  Leonardo is left confused and, after feeling around his room, discovers the sweatshirt is gone  He smiles at the realization that Gabriel was the one who kissed him 

Cast
Ghilherme Lobo as Leonardo
Fabio Audi as Gabriel
Tess Amorim as Giovana

Awards and accolades
Feature film
In December 2012, the film's official Twitter announced that a feature film based on the short film, titled "Todas as Coisas mais Simples", which translates to "All of the Simplest Things", was in production, after over two years of fundraising and preparation of the script  Filming began and completed in early 2013  The film premiered in 2014 In September 2013, director Daniel Ribeiro, announced the final title would be "Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho", which translates to "Today I Want to Go Back Alone"  Ribeiro reported, "Throughout the development of the movie a new plot element arose: Leonardo's independence  It's a naturally common theme in any teen's life, but specially in Leonardo's as, being blind, he's often overprotected by those around him, and he wants to do some things on his own, without depending on others  Therefore, the original title was no longer valid, after all "going back alone" became one of the main character's objectives "
The official English title of the film is "The Way He Looks" 
Passage 11:
Jim Cornelison
James Cornelison (born June 20, 1964) is an American singer who sings "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "O Canada" at the beginning of home games for the Chicago Blackhawks, accompanied by organist Frank Pellico  Cornelison started singing the anthem for the Blackhawks part-time in 1996; he has been singing the national anthem for the Blackhawks full-time since 2007  Cornelison has sung "Back Home Again in Indiana" at the Indianapolis 500 since 2017  He has also performed the anthem before Chicago Bears home games at Soldier Field during the 2010–11 NFL playoffs, as well as the 2011 season opener against the Atlanta Falcons, which fell on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks  He also sang the National Anthem at the home opener of the 2019 season, the opening game of the 100th anniversary of the NFL 
Cornelison also sang at the 2015 NASCAR myAFibRisk com 400 race at Chicagoland Speedway  He performed the National Anthem at the Bears' 2016 home-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles  
He frequently sang the national anthem at the opening ceremonies for the Arlington International Festival of Racing at Arlington International Racecourse in the northwest suburbs of Chicago 
Cornelison graduated from Seattle Pacific University with degrees in music and psychology  He then went on to earn a master's degree in music from Indiana University in 1992  In 1995, he moved to Chicago and joined the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists 

Awards
Cornelison has won several awards for music, including:

The William Matheus Sullivan Foundation Award
First place in the American Opera Society of Chicago's 1997 Vocal Competition
The George London Foundation Encouragement Grant
Passage 12:
The Fox and the Hound
The Fox and the Hound is a 1981 American animated buddy drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and loosely based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Daniel P  Mannix  The 24th Disney animated feature film, it tells the story of the unlikely friendship between a red fox named Tod and a hound dog named Copper  They struggle to preserve their friendship despite their emerging instincts and the surrounding social pressures demanding them to be adversaries, as they are enemies by nature  After Chief, Copper's mentor and guardian who is owned by the same hunter as him, is hit by a train while chasing Tod and seemingly almost dies, Copper assumes his role as a hunting dog and vows vengeance against Tod  Eventually, they fight each other, but in the end, Copper saves Tod after Tod saves him and his owner from a bear 
The film was directed by Ted Berman, Richard Rich, and Art Stevens, marking the directorial debuts of Berman and Rich  It was produced by Ron Miller, Wolfgang Reitherman, and Art Stevens  The ensemble voice cast consists of Mickey Rooney as Tod and Kurt Russell as Copper, respectively, with Pearl Bailey, Jack Albertson, Sandy Duncan, Jeanette Nolan, Pat Buttram, John Fiedler, John McIntire, Dick Bakalyan, Paul Winchell, Keith Mitchell, and Corey Feldman providing the voices of the other characters of the film  Mitchell and Feldman in particular voiced Young Tod and Young Copper  The instrumental musical score to the film was composed and conducted by Buddy Baker, with Walter Sheets performing the orchestration 
Walt Disney Productions first obtained the film rights to the novel by Daniel P  Mannix in 1967, however, actual development on the film would not occur until spring 1977  It marked the last involvement of the remaining members of Disney's Nine Old Men, which included Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston  Though they had involvement in early development of the film, it was ultimately handed over to a new generation of animators following the retirement of the old animators  As such, it was the first film for future directors including Tim Burton, Brad Bird, and John Lasseter  During production, its release was delayed by over six months following the abrupt departure of Don Bluth and his team of animators  Further concerns were raised over the handling of the scene in which Chief is hit by a train, which was originally planned to result in him dying  After debating the handling of the scene, the filmmakers decided to change the death into a non-fatal injury by which he merely suffers a broken leg 
The film was released to theaters on July 10, 1981, by Buena Vista Distribution  It was a financial success, becoming the 14th highest-grossing film of the year and earning $39 9 million in the United States  However, it received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the animation and voice acting of it, but believed that it was not groundbreaking enough  It was nominated for three awards, of which it won one  At the time of its release, it was the most expensive animated film produced to date, costing $12 million  It was re-released to theaters on March 25, 1988  An intermediate follow-up, The Fox and the Hound 2, was released directly-to-DVD on December 12, 2006 

Plot
After a young red fox is orphaned, Big Mama the owl and her friends, Dinky the finch and Boomer the woodpecker, arrange for him to be adopted by a kindly farmer named Widow Tweed, who names him Tod  Meanwhile, her neighbor, hunter Amos Slade, brings home a young hound puppy named Copper and introduces him to his hunting dog, Chief, who is at first annoyed by him, but then learns to love him  One day, Tod and Copper meet and become best friends, pledging eternal friendship  Amos grows frustrated at Copper for constantly wandering off to play, and places him on a leash  While playing with Copper outside his barrel, Tod accidentally awakens Chief  Amos and Chief chase him until they are stopped by Tweed  After an argument, Amos threatens to kill Tod if he trespasses on his property again  Hunting season comes and Amos takes Chief and Copper into the wilderness for the interim  Meanwhile, Big Mama, Dinky, and Boomer attempt to explain to Tod that Copper will soon become his enemy  However, he naively insists that they will remain friends forever 
The following spring, Tod and Copper reach adulthood  Copper returns as an expert hunting dog, who is expected to track down foxes  Late at night, Tod sneaks over to visit him  Their conversation awakens Chief, who alerts Amos  A chase ensues and Copper catches Tod, but lets him go while diverting Amos  Chief catches Tod as he attempts an escape on a railroad track, but an oncoming train strikes him, resulting in him falling into the river below and breaking his leg  Enraged by this, Copper and Amos blame Tod for the accident and vow vengeance  Realizing Tod is no longer safe with her, Tweed leaves him at a game reserve  After a disastrous night on his own in the woods, Big Mama introduces him to Vixey, a female fox who helps him adapt to life there 
Amos and Copper trespass into the reserve and hunt Tod and Vixey  The chase climaxes when they inadvertently provoke an attack from a giant bear  Amos trips and falls into one of his own traps, dropping his rifle slightly out of reach  Copper violently fights the bear, but is almost killed by it  Tod comes to his rescue and battles it until they both fall down a waterfall  As Copper approaches Tod as he lies wounded in the lake below, Amos appears, ready to shoot him  Copper positions himself in front of him to prevent Amos from doing so, refusing to move away  Amos, understanding Tod had saved their lives, lowers his rifle and leaves with Copper  Tod and Copper reconcile their friendship and share one last smile before parting  At home, Tweed nurses Amos back to health, much to his humiliation  As he lies down to take a nap, Copper smiles as he remembers the day when he first met Tod  At the same moment, Vixey joins Tod on top of a hill as they both look down on Amos' and Tweed's homes 

Voice cast
Mickey Rooney as Tod
Keith Mitchell as Young Tod
Kurt Russell as Copper
Corey Feldman as Young Copper
Pearl Bailey as Big Mama
Jack Albertson as Amos Slade
Sandy Duncan as Vixey
Jeanette Nolan as Widow Tweed
Pat Buttram as Chief
John Fiedler as The Porcupine
John McIntire as The Badger
Dick Bakalyan as Dinky
Paul Winchell as Boomer

Production
Development
In May 1967, shortly before the novel won the Dutton Animal Book Award, it was reported that Walt Disney Productions had obtained the film rights to it  In spring 1977, development began on the project after Wolfgang Reitherman had read the original novel and decided that it would make for a good animated feature as one of his sons had once owned a pet fox years before  The title was initially reported as The Fox and the Hounds, but the filmmakers dropped the plural as the story began to focus more and more on the two leads  Reitherman was the film's original director along with Art Stevens as codirector  A power struggle between the two directors and coproducer Ron Miller broke out over key sections of the film with Miller supporting the younger Stevens  Miller instructed Reitherman to surrender reins over to the junior personnel, but Reitherman resisted due to a lack of trust in the young animators In an earlier version of the film, Chief was slated to die as he did in the novel  However, the scene was modified to have him survive with a broken leg  Animator Ron Clements, who had briefly transitioned into the story department, protested, "Chief has to die  The picture doesn't work if he just breaks his leg  Copper doesn't have motivation to hate the fox " Likewise, younger members of the story team pleaded with Stevens to have him killed  He countered, "Geez, we never killed a main character in a Disney film and we're not starting now!" The younger crew members took the problem to upper management, who would also back Stevens  Ollie Johnston's test animation of Chief stomping around the house with his leg in a cast was eventually kept, and Randy Cartwright reanimated the scene where Copper finds his body and had him animate his eyes opening and closing so the audience knew that he was not dead Another fight erupted when Reitherman, in thinking the film lacked a strong second act, decided to add a musical sequence of two swooping cranes voiced by Phil Harris and Charo  These characters would sing a silly song titled "Scoobie-Doobie Doobie Doo, Let Your Body Turn to Goo" to Tod after he was dropped in the forest  Charo had recorded the song and several voice tracks which were storyboarded, and live-action reference footage was shot of her wearing a sweaty pink leotard  However, the scene was strongly disliked by studio personnel who felt the song was a distraction from the main plot, with Stevens stating, "We can't let that sequence in the movie! It's totally out of place!" He notified studio management and after many story conferences, the scene was removed  Reitherman later walked into his office, slumped in a chair, and said, "I dunno, Art, maybe this is a young man's medium " He later moved on to undeveloped projects such as Catfish Bend 

Animation
By late 1978, Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, and Cliff Nordberg had completed their animation  Thomas had animated scenes of Tod and Copper using dialogue Larry Clemmons had written and recorded with the child actors  The film would mark the last one to have the involvement of Disney's Nine Old Men who had retired early during production, and animation was turned over to the next generation of directors and animators, which included John Lasseter, John Musker, Ron Clements, Glen Keane, Tim Burton, Brad Bird, Henry Selick, Chris Buck, Mike Gabriel, and Mark Dindal, all of whom would finalize the animation and complete the film's production  These animators had moved through the in-house animation training program, and would play an important role in the Disney Renaissance of the 1980s and 1990s However, the transition between the old guard and the new resulted in arguments over how to handle the film  Reitherman had his own ideas on the designs and layouts that should be used, but the newer team backed Stevens  Animator Don Bluth animated several scenes including of Widow Tweed milking her cow, Abigail, while his team worked on the rest of the sequence, and when she fires at Amos' automobile  Nevertheless, Bluth and the new animators felt that Reitherman was too stern and out of touch, and on his 42nd birthday, September 13, 1979, Bluth, along with Gary Goldman and John Pomeroy, entered Ron Miller's office, and they turned in their resignations  Soon after, 13 more animators followed suit in turning in their resignations  Though Bluth and his team had animated substantial scenes, they asked not to receive screen credit With those animators now gone, Miller ordered all of the resigning animators off the studio lot by noon of that same day and would later push the film's release from Christmas 1980 to summer 1981  New animators were hired and promoted to fill the ranks  To compensate for the lack of experience of the new animators, much of the quality control would rely upon a network of veteran assistant animators  Four years after production started, the film was finished with approximately 360,000 drawings, 110,000 painted cels, and 1,100 painted backgrounds making up the finished product  A total of 180 people, including 24 animators, worked on the film 

Casting
Early into production, the principal characters such as Young Tod, Young Copper, Big Mama, and Amos Slade had already been cast  The supporting roles were filled by Disney voice regulars including Pat Buttram as Chief, Paul Winchell as Boomer, and Mickey Rooney, who had just finished filming Pete's Dragon (1977), as Adult Tod  Jeanette Nolan was the second choice for Widow Tweed after Helen Hayes turned down the role  The last role to be cast was Adult Copper  Jackie Cooper had auditioned for the role, but left the project when he demanded more money than the studio was willing to pay  While filming the Elvis (1979) television film, former Disney young actor Kurt Russell was cast following a reading that had impressed the filmmakers, and completed his dialogue in two recording sessions  The growling vocals for the bear were provided by sound effects artist Jimmy MacDonald 

Soundtrack
The soundtrack album for the film was released in 1981 by Disneyland Records  It contains songs written by Stan Fidel, Jim Stafford, and Jeffrey Patch 

Track listing
Release
Box office
In its original release, the film grossed $39 9 million in domestic grosses, the highest for an animated film at the time from its initial release  Its distributor rentals were reported to be $14 2 million while its international rentals totaled $43 million  It was rereleased theatrically on March 25, 1988, where it grossed $23 5 million  It has had a lifetime gross of $63 5 million across its original release and reissue 

Home media
The film was first released on VHS on March 4, 1994, as the last entry in the Walt Disney Classics line  This release was placed into moratorium on April 30, 1995  On May 2, 2000, it was released on Region 1 DVD for the first time as part of the Walt Disney Gold Classic Collection line, along with a simultaneous VHS re-issue as part of the same video line on the same day  This edition went into moratorium in January 2006  Soon after, a 25th anniversary special edition DVD was released on October 10, 2006 The film was released on Blu-ray on August 9, 2011, commemorating its 30th anniversary as part of a 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo pack that was bundled as a 2-movie Collection Edition featuring The Fox and the Hound 2 on the same Blu-ray Disc, as well as separate DVD versions of both films  Featuring a new digital restoration, the Blu-ray transfer presents the film for the first time in 1 66:1 widescreen and also features 5 1 DTS-HD Master Audio  The Fox and the Hound 2 is presented in 1 78:1 widescreen and features the same audio channel as the first film  A DVD-only edition of the 2-movie Collection, again featuring both films on separate discs, was also released on the same day 

Critical reception
Initial reviews
Vincent Canby of The New York Times claimed that the film "breaks no new ground whatsoever", while describing it as "a pretty, relentlessly cheery, old-fashioned sort of Disney cartoon feature, chock-full of bouncy songs of an upbeatness that is stickier than Krazy Glue and played by animals more anthropomorphic than the humans that occasionally appear " He further commented that the film "is rather overstuffed with whimsy and folksy dialogue  It also possesses a climax that could very well scare the daylights out of the smaller tykes in the audience, though all ends well  Parents who don't relish chaperoning their tykes to see the movie, but find they must anyway, can take heart in the knowledge that the running time is 83 minutes  That's about as short as you can get these days " Sheila Benson of the Los Angeles Times praised the animation, but criticized the story for playing it too safe  She acknowledged that the writers were "protecting us from important stuff: from rage, from pain, from loss  By these lies, done for our own good, of course, they also limit the growth that is possible " David Ansen of Newsweek stated, "Adults may wince at some of the sticky-sweet songs, but the movie is not intended for grownups "Richard Corliss of Time magazine praised the film for its intelligent story about prejudice  He argued that it shows that biased attitudes can poison even the deepest relationships, and its bittersweet ending delivers a powerful and important moral message to audiences  Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times also praised it, saying, "For all of its familiar qualities, this movie marks something of a departure for the Disney studio, and its movement is in an interesting direction  The Fox and the Hound is one of those relatively rare Disney animated features that contains a useful lesson for its younger audiences  It's not just cute animals and frightening adventures and a happy ending; it's also a rather thoughtful meditation on how society determines our behavior "

Retrospective reviews
TV Guide gave the film four out of five stars, saying, "The animation here is better than average (veteran Disney animators Wolfgang Reitherman and Art Stevens supervised the talents of a new crop of artists that developed during a 10-year program at the studio), though not quite up to the quality of Disney Studios in its heyday  Still, this film has a lot of 'heart' and is wonderful entertainment for both kids and their parents  Listen for a number of favorites among the voices " Michael Scheinfeld of Common Sense Media gave its quality a rating of 4 out of 5 stars, stating, "It develops into a thoughtful examination of friendship and includes some mature themes, especially loss "In The Animated Movie Guide, Jerry Beck considered the film "average", though he praises the voice work of Pearl Bailey as Big Mama, and the extreme dedication to detail shown by animator Glen Keane in crafting the fight scene between Copper, Tod, and the bear  In his book The Disney Films, Leonard Maltin also notes that that scene received great praise in the animation world  However, he felt the film relied too much on "formula cuteness, formula comedy relief, and even formula characterizations"  Overall, he considered it "charming" stating that it is "warm, and brimming with personable characters" and that it "approaches the old Disney magic at times " Craig Butler from All Movie Guide stated that it was a "warm and amusing, if slightly dull, entry in the Disney animated canon " He also called it "conventional and generally predictable" with problems in pacing  However, he praised its climax and animation, as well as the ending  His final remark is that "Two of the directors, Richard Rich and Ted Berman, would next direct The Black Cauldron, a less successful but more ambitious project "Rob Humanick of Slant Magazine gave the film 31⁄2 out of five stars, noting that it was the transition point between the remaining original animators since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to the new generation, saying that "the results culled the best qualities of both groups " and that "The result is a work of both learned, assured poise and triumphant freshman determination, not far away (in style or quality) from other benchmark-status works, like the aforementioned Snow White or Pixar’s Toy Story " RL Shaffer of IGN wrote a rather mixed review, claiming that it "is just not as impressive as Disney's early work, or their late '80s/early '90s pictures " James Kendrick of Q Network Film Desk stated that it "is not one of the studio's best efforts, but nonetheless it remains a fascinating product of an era of upheaval as well as a meaningful statement about the nature of prejudice " Peter Canavense of Groucho Reviews stated that it "is sweet but a bit dull", nothing that "Overall, the picture is good-hearted and colorful, with an ending that carries a nice touch of ambiguity about the tussle of nature and nurture " John J  Puccio of Movie Metropolis claimed that it "is very sweet and no doubt a delight for children, but I found it quite slow and tedious "The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that the film received a 70% approval rating with an average rating of 6 5/10 based on 27 reviews  The website's consensus states that "The Fox and the Hound is a likeable, charming, unassuming effort that manages to transcend its thin, predictable plot " Metacritic gave it a score of 65 based on 15 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews" 

Accolades
The film was awarded a Golden Screen Award (German: Goldene Leinwand) in 1982  In the same year, it was also nominated for a Young Artist Award and the Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film 

Comic adaptations
As well as adaptations of the film itself, comic strips featuring the characters also appeared in stories unconnected to it  Examples include The Lost Fawn, in which Copper uses his sense of smell to help Tod find a fawn who has gone astray;The Escape in which Tod and Vixey must save the Canada goose from the bobcat;The Chase, in which Copper must safeguard a sleepwalking Chief; and Feathered Friends, in which Dinky and Boomer must go to desperate lengths to save one of Widow Tweed's chickens from a coyote A comic adaptation of the film, drawn by Richard Moore, was published in newspapers as part of Disney's Treasury of Classic Tales  A comic-book titled The Fox and the Hound followed, with new adventures of the characters  From 1981 to 2007, a few Fox and the Hound Disney comics stories were produced in Italy, Netherlands, Brazil, France, and the United States 

Follow-up
An intermediate follow-up, The Fox and the Hound 2, was released directly-to-DVD on December 12, 2006  It takes place during Tod and Copper's youth, before the events of the later half of the first film  The story-line involves Copper being tempted to join a band of singing stray dogs called "The Singin' Strays", thus threatening his friendship with Tod  It was critically panned, with critics calling it a pale imitation of its predecessor 

See also
Foxes in popular culture, films and literature
The Belstone Fox, a 1973 British film with similar themes, based on David Rook's 1970 novel, The Ballad of the Belstone Fox

Notes
Context 2: Passage 1:
Rotterdam Centrum
Rotterdam Centrum (English: Rotterdam Center/ Center of Rotterdam) is a borough of Rotterdam  It was established on March 3, 2010  The center has 33,983 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) Rotterdam Centrum is bounded by the emplacement of the Rotterdam Centraal railway station and the Goudsesingel in the North, the Tunneltraverse of the Henegouwerlaan and 's-Gravendijkwal in the West, the Nieuwe Maas River in the South and the Oostplein in the East 

Landmarks
Some landmarks include:

Market Hall
Euromast
Beurstraverse (Koopgoot), with the Beurs-World Trade Center
Lijnbaan
Coolsingel with the city hall and Hofplein
Erasmusbrug
Willemsbrug
Various stations of the Rotterdam Metro
Grote of Sint-Laurenskerk
Library Rotterdam
Cube houses
The Schielandshuis

Neighborhoods
The division into neighborhoods is as follows:

Oude Westen
Stadsdriehoek
Cool
C S  kwartier
Nieuwe Werk (Scheepvaartkwartier)
Dijkzigt
Passage 2:
Wapizagonke Lake
The Wapizagonke Lake is one of the bodies of water located the sector "Lac-Wapizagonke", in the city of Shawinigan, in the La Mauricie National Park, in the region of Mauricie, in Quebec, in Canada 

Geography
With a length of 9 2 kilometers, the Wapizagonke lake is located near the west boundary of La Mauricie National Park in northern Shawinigan  Surrounded by mountains, this lake is a narrow shape and length is in the north-south axis  It drains through its southern end into the Shawinigan River, which flows eastward and then south to empty into the Saint-Maurice River 
Major lakes feeding the Wapizagonke Lake watershed are: Reid, Houle, Jodon, Anticagamac and Avalon 

Toponymy
The lake appears on the cards in 1852 under the name "Lake Pisagunk"  Forestry workers identified him rather as the "lake Mistagance"  Wapizagonke appear on the map in 1925 and is a variation of Ouapitagone in Montagnais, which meant according to Father Joseph-Étienne Guinard (1864-1965): "kind of very rare duck species"  In Abenaki, the lake is named Wawibizagak and means "surrounded by the bush"  Certain visitors named the lake under two names: "Island Lake" and "Lake Croche" 

See also
Shawinigan River
Shawinigan
Passage 3:
Bardwell Creek
Bardwell Creek, an urban watercourse of the Cooks River catchment, is located in the southern suburbs of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia 

Course and features
Bardwell Creek rises in Georges River local government area, near Hurstville and flows in a north-easterly direction through the suburbs of Bexley, Bexley North, Bardwell Park, and Turrella in the Bayside local government area, where it makes its confluence with Wolli Creek, where it forms the border between the suburbs of Bardwell Park and Turrella  The upper reaches of the Creek are a piped drainage system, which becomes an open concrete channel at Croydon Road in the Bexley Golf Course  The total catchment area of Bardwell Creek is 6 36 square kilometres (2 46 sq mi) 

See also
Bardwell Valley, New South Wales
Wolli Creek Regional Park
Passage 4:
Potamogeton amplifolius
Potamogeton amplifolius, commonly known as largeleaf pondweed or broad-leaved pondweed, is an aquatic plant of North America  It grows in water bodies such as lakes, ponds, and rivers, often in deep water 
This perennial plant grows from rhizomes and produces a very slender, cylindrical, sometimes spotted stem up to a meter or so long  The leaves take two forms  Submersed leaves are up to 20 centimeters long by 7 wide and may be folded along their midribs  The submersed leaves have more veins than do those of other pondweed species, up to 49  Floating leaves are up to 10 centimeters long by 5 wide, leathery in texture, and borne on long petioles  The inflorescence is a spike of many flowers rising above the water surface on a thick peduncle 
Passage 5:
Animal
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia  With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development  As of 2022, 2 16 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1 05 million are insects, over 85,000 are molluscs, and around 65,000 are vertebrates—but it has been estimated there are around 7 77 million animal species in total  Animals range in length from 8 5 micrometres (0 00033 in) to 33 6 metres (110 ft)  They have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs  The scientific study of animals is known as zoology 
Most living animal species are in Bilateria, a clade whose members have a bilaterally symmetric body plan  The Bilateria include the protostomes, containing animals such as nematodes, arthropods, flatworms, annelids and molluscs, and the deuterostomes, containing the echinoderms and the chordates, the latter including the vertebrates  Life forms interpreted as early animals were present in the Ediacaran biota of the late Precambrian  Many modern animal phyla became clearly established in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, which began around 539 million years ago  6,331 groups of genes common to all living animals have been identified; these may have arisen from a single common ancestor that lived 650 million years ago 
Historically, Aristotle divided animals into those with blood and those without  Carl Linnaeus created the first hierarchical biological classification for animals in 1758 with his Systema Naturae, which Jean-Baptiste Lamarck expanded into 14 phyla by 1809  In 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into the multicellular Metazoa (now synonymous with Animalia) and the Protozoa, single-celled organisms no longer considered animals  In modern times, the biological classification of animals relies on advanced techniques, such as molecular phylogenetics, which are effective at demonstrating the evolutionary relationships between taxa 
Humans make use of many animal species, such as for food (including meat, milk, and eggs), for materials (such as leather and wool), as pets, and as working animals including for transport  Dogs have been used in hunting, as have birds of prey, while many terrestrial and aquatic animals were hunted for sports  Nonhuman animals have appeared in art from the earliest times and are featured in mythology and religion 

Etymology
The word "animal" comes from the Latin animalis, meaning 'having breath', 'having soul' or 'living being'  The biological definition includes all members of the kingdom Animalia  In colloquial usage, the term animal is often used to refer only to nonhuman animals  The term "metazoa" is derived from the Ancient Greek μετα (meta, meaning "later") and ζῷᾰ (zōia, plural of ζῷον zōion, meaning animal) 

Characteristics
Animals have several characteristics that set them apart from other living things  Animals are eukaryotic and multicellular  Unlike plants and algae, which produce their own nutrients, animals are heterotrophic, feeding on organic material and digesting it internally  With very few exceptions, animals respire aerobically  All animals are motile (able to spontaneously move their bodies) during at least part of their life cycle, but some animals, such as sponges, corals, mussels, and barnacles, later become sessile  The blastula is a stage in embryonic development that is unique to animals, allowing cells to be differentiated into specialised tissues and organs 

Structure
All animals are composed of cells, surrounded by a characteristic extracellular matrix composed of collagen and elastic glycoproteins  During development, the animal extracellular matrix forms a relatively flexible framework upon which cells can move about and be reorganised, making the formation of complex structures possible  This may be calcified, forming structures such as shells, bones, and spicules  In contrast, the cells of other multicellular organisms (primarily algae, plants, and fungi) are held in place by cell walls, and so develop by progressive growth  Animal cells uniquely possess the cell junctions called tight junctions, gap junctions, and desmosomes With few exceptions—in particular, the sponges and placozoans—animal bodies are differentiated into tissues  These include muscles, which enable locomotion, and nerve tissues, which transmit signals and coordinate the body  Typically, there is also an internal digestive chamber with either one opening (in Ctenophora, Cnidaria, and flatworms) or two openings (in most bilaterians) 

Reproduction and development
Nearly all animals make use of some form of sexual reproduction  They produce haploid gametes by meiosis; the smaller, motile gametes are spermatozoa and the larger, non-motile gametes are ova  These fuse to form zygotes, which develop via mitosis into a hollow sphere, called a blastula  In sponges, blastula larvae swim to a new location, attach to the seabed, and develop into a new sponge  In most other groups, the blastula undergoes more complicated rearrangement  It first invaginates to form a gastrula with a digestive chamber and two separate germ layers, an external ectoderm and an internal endoderm  In most cases, a third germ layer, the mesoderm, also develops between them  These germ layers then differentiate to form tissues and organs Repeated instances of mating with a close relative during sexual reproduction generally leads to inbreeding depression within a population due to the increased prevalence of harmful recessive traits  Animals have evolved numerous mechanisms for avoiding close inbreeding Some animals are capable of asexual reproduction, which often results in a genetic clone of the parent  This may take place through fragmentation; budding, such as in Hydra and other cnidarians; or parthenogenesis, where fertile eggs are produced without mating, such as in aphids 

Ecology
Animals are categorised into ecological groups depending on how they obtain or consume organic material, including carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, detritivores, and parasites  Interactions between animals form complex food webs  In carnivorous or omnivorous species, predation is a consumer–resource interaction where a predator feeds on another organism (called its prey)  Selective pressures imposed on one another lead to an evolutionary arms race between predator and prey, resulting in various anti-predator adaptations  Almost all multicellular predators are animals  Some consumers use multiple methods; for example, in parasitoid wasps, the larvae feed on the hosts' living tissues, killing them in the process, but the adults primarily consume nectar from flowers  Other animals may have very specific feeding behaviours, such as hawksbill sea turtles primarily eating sponges 

Most animals rely on the biomass and energy produced by plants through photosynthesis  Herbivores eat plant material directly, while carnivores, and other animals on higher trophic levels typically acquire it indirectly by eating other animals  Animals oxidize carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and other biomolecules, which allows the animal to grow and to sustain biological processes such as locomotion  Animals living close to hydrothermal vents and cold seeps on the dark sea floor consume organic matter of archaea and bacteria produced in these locations through chemosynthesis (by oxidizing inorganic compounds, such as hydrogen sulfide) Animals originally evolved in the sea  Lineages of arthropods colonised land around the same time as land plants, probably between 510 and 471 million years ago during the Late Cambrian or Early Ordovician  Vertebrates such as the lobe-finned fish Tiktaalik started to move on to land in the late Devonian, about 375 million years ago  Animals occupy virtually all of earth's habitats and microhabitats, including salt water, hydrothermal vents, fresh water, hot springs, swamps, forests, pastures, deserts, air, and the interiors of other animals, plants, fungi, and rocks  Animals are however not particularly heat tolerant; very few of them can survive at constant temperatures above 50 °C (122 °F)  Only very few species of animals (mostly nematodes) inhabit the most extreme cold deserts of continental Antarctica 

Diversity
Size
The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) is the largest animal that has ever lived, weighing up to 190 tonnes and measuring up to 33 6 metres (110 ft) long  The largest extant terrestrial animal is the African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), weighing up to 12 25 tonnes and measuring up to 10 67 metres (35 0 ft) long  The largest terrestrial animals that ever lived were titanosaur sauropod dinosaurs such as Argentinosaurus, which may have weighed as much as 73 tonnes, and Supersaurus which may have reached 39 meters  Several animals are microscopic; some Myxozoa (obligate parasites within the Cnidaria) never grow larger than 20 µm, and one of the smallest species (Myxobolus shekel) is no more than 8 5 µm when fully grown 

Numbers and habitats of major phyla
The following table lists estimated numbers of described extant species for the major animal phyla, along with their principal habitats (terrestrial, fresh water, and marine), and free-living or parasitic ways of life  Species estimates shown here are based on numbers described scientifically; much larger estimates have been calculated based on various means of prediction, and these can vary wildly  For instance, around 25,000–27,000 species of nematodes have been described, while published estimates of the total number of nematode species include 10,000–20,000; 500,000; 10 million; and 100 million  Using patterns within the taxonomic hierarchy, the total number of animal species—including those not yet described—was calculated to be about 7 77 million in 2011 

Evolutionary origin
Animals are found as long ago as the Ediacaran biota, towards the end of the Precambrian, and possibly somewhat earlier  It had long been doubted whether these life-forms included animals, but the discovery of the animal lipid cholesterol in fossils of Dickinsonia establishes their nature  Animals are thought to have originated under low-oxygen conditions, suggesting that they were capable of living entirely by anaerobic respiration, but as they became specialized for aerobic metabolism they became fully dependent on oxygen in their environments Many animal phyla first appear in the fossil record during the Cambrian explosion, starting about 539 million years ago, in beds such as the Burgess shale  Extant phyla in these rocks include molluscs, brachiopods, onychophorans, tardigrades, arthropods, echinoderms and hemichordates, along with numerous now-extinct forms such as the predatory Anomalocaris  The apparent suddenness of the event may however be an artefact of the fossil record, rather than showing that all these animals appeared simultaneously  
That view is supported by the discovery of Auroralumina attenboroughii, the earliest known Ediacaran crown-group cnidarian (557–562 mya, some 20 million years before the Cambrian explosion) from Charnwood Forest, England  It is thought to be one of the earliest predators, catching small prey with its nematocysts as modern cnidarians do Some palaeontologists have suggested that animals appeared much earlier than the Cambrian explosion, possibly as early as 1 billion years ago  Early fossils that might represent animals appear for example in the 665-million-year-old rocks of the Trezona Formation of South Australia  These fossils are interpreted as most probably being early sponges Trace fossils such as tracks and burrows found in the Tonian period (from 1 gya) may indicate the presence of triploblastic worm-like animals, roughly as large (about 5 mm wide) and complex as earthworms  However, similar tracks are produced today by the giant single-celled protist Gromia sphaerica, so the Tonian trace fossils may not indicate early animal evolution  Around the same time, the layered mats of microorganisms called stromatolites decreased in diversity, perhaps due to grazing by newly evolved animals  Objects such as sediment-filled tubes that resemble trace fossils of the burrows of wormlike animals have been found in 1 2 gya rocks in North America, in 1 5 gya rocks in Australia and North America, and in 1 7 gya rocks in Australia  Their interpretation as having an animal origin is disputed, as they might be water-escape or other structures 

Phylogeny
External phylogeny
Animals are monophyletic, meaning they are derived from a common ancestor  Animals are sister to the Choanoflagellata, with which they form the Choanozoa   
The dates on the phylogenetic tree indicate approximately how many millions of years ago (mya) the lineages split Ros-Rocher and colleagues (2021) trace the origins of animals to unicellular ancestors, providing the external phylogeny shown in the cladogram  Uncertainty of relationships is indicated with dashed lines 

Internal phylogeny
The most basal animals, the Porifera, Ctenophora, Cnidaria, and Placozoa, have body plans that lack bilateral symmetry  Their relationships are still disputed; the sister group to all other animals could be the Porifera or the Ctenophora, both of which lack hox genes, important in body plan development These genes are found in the Placozoa and the higher animals, the Bilateria  6,331 groups of genes common to all living animals have been identified; these may have arisen from a single common ancestor that lived 650 million years ago in the Precambrian  25 of these are novel core gene groups, found only in animals; of those, 8 are for essential components of the Wnt and TGF-beta signalling pathways which may have enabled animals to become multicellular by providing a pattern for the body's system of axes (in three dimensions), and another 7 are for transcription factors including homeodomain proteins involved in the control of development Giribet and Edgecombe (2020) provide what they consider to be a consensus internal phylogeny of the animals, embodying uncertainty about the structure at the base of the tree (dashed lines) 
An alternative phylogeny, from Kapli and colleagues (2021), proposes a clade Xenambulacraria for the Xenacoelamorpha + Ambulacraria; this is either within Deuterostomia, as sister to Chordata, or the Deuterostomia are recovered as paraphyletic, and Xenambulacraria is sister to the proposed clade Centroneuralia, consisting of Chordata + Protostomia 

Non-bilateria
Several animal phyla lack bilateral symmetry  These are the Porifera (sea sponges), Placozoa, Cnidaria (which includes jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals), and Ctenophora (comb jellies) 
Sponges are physically very distinct from other animals, and were long thought to have diverged first, representing the oldest animal phylum and forming a sister clade to all other animals  Despite their morphological dissimilarity with all other animals, genetic evidence suggests sponges may be more closely related to other animals than the comb jellies are  Sponges lack the complex organization found in most other animal phyla; their cells are differentiated, but in most cases not organised into distinct tissues, unlike all other animals  They typically feed by drawing in water through pores, filtering out food and nutrients The comb jellies and Cnidaria are radially symmetric and have digestive chambers with a single opening, which serves as both mouth and anus  Animals in both phyla have distinct tissues, but these are not organised into discrete organs  They are diploblastic, having only two main germ layers, ectoderm and endoderm The tiny placozoans have no permanent digestive chamber and no symmetry; they superficially resemble amoebae  Their phylogeny is poorly defined, and under active research 

Bilateria
The remaining animals, the great majority—comprising some 29 phyla and over a million species—form a clade, the Bilateria, which have a bilaterally symmetric body plan  The Bilateria are triploblastic, with three well-developed germ layers, and their tissues form distinct organs  The digestive chamber has two openings, a mouth and an anus, and there is an internal body cavity, a coelom or pseudocoelom  These animals have a head end (anterior) and a tail end (posterior), a back (dorsal) surface and a belly (ventral) surface, and a left and a right side Having a front end means that this part of the body encounters stimuli, such as food, favouring cephalisation, the development of a head with sense organs and a mouth  Many bilaterians have a combination of circular muscles that constrict the body, making it longer, and an opposing set of longitudinal muscles, that shorten the body; these enable soft-bodied animals with a hydrostatic skeleton to move by peristalsis  They also have a gut that extends through the basically cylindrical body from mouth to anus  Many bilaterian phyla have primary larvae which swim with cilia and have an apical organ containing sensory cells  However, over evolutionary time, descendant spaces have evolved which have lost one or more of each of these characteristics  For example, adult echinoderms are radially symmetric (unlike their larvae), while some parasitic worms have extremely simplified body structures Genetic studies have considerably changed zoologists' understanding of the relationships within the Bilateria  Most appear to belong to two major lineages, the protostomes and the deuterostomes  It is often suggested that the basalmost bilaterians are the Xenacoelomorpha, with all other bilaterians belonging to the subclade Nephrozoa However, this suggestion has been contested, with other studies finding that xenacoelomorphs are more closely related to Ambulacraria than to other bilaterians 

Protostomes and deuterostomes
Protostomes and deuterostomes differ in several ways  Early in development, deuterostome embryos undergo radial cleavage during cell division, while many protostomes (the Spiralia) undergo spiral cleavage 
Animals from both groups possess a complete digestive tract, but in protostomes the first opening of the embryonic gut develops into the mouth, and the anus forms secondarily  In deuterostomes, the anus forms first while the mouth develops secondarily  Most protostomes have schizocoelous development, where cells simply fill in the interior of the gastrula to form the mesoderm  In deuterostomes, the mesoderm forms by enterocoelic pouching, through invagination of the endoderm The main deuterostome phyla are the Echinodermata and the Chordata  Echinoderms are exclusively marine and include starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers  The chordates are dominated by the vertebrates (animals with backbones), which consist of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals  The deuterostomes also include the Hemichordata (acorn worms) 

Ecdysozoa
The Ecdysozoa are protostomes, named after their shared trait of ecdysis, growth by moulting  They include the largest animal phylum, the Arthropoda, which contains insects, spiders, crabs, and their kin  All of these have a body divided into repeating segments, typically with paired appendages  Two smaller phyla, the Onychophora and Tardigrada, are close relatives of the arthropods and share these traits  The ecdysozoans also include the Nematoda or roundworms, perhaps the second largest animal phylum  Roundworms are typically microscopic, and occur in nearly every environment where there is water; some are important parasites  Smaller phyla related to them are the Nematomorpha or horsehair worms, and the Kinorhyncha, Priapulida, and Loricifera  These groups have a reduced coelom, called a pseudocoelom 

Spiralia
The Spiralia are a large group of protostomes that develop by spiral cleavage in the early embryo  The Spiralia's phylogeny has been disputed, but it contains a large clade, the superphylum Lophotrochozoa, and smaller groups of phyla such as the Rouphozoa which includes the gastrotrichs and the flatworms  All of these are grouped as the Platytrochozoa, which has a sister group, the Gnathifera, which includes the rotifers The Lophotrochozoa includes the molluscs, annelids, brachiopods, nemerteans, bryozoa and entoprocts  The molluscs, the second-largest animal phylum by number of described species, includes snails, clams, and squids, while the annelids are the segmented worms, such as earthworms, lugworms, and leeches  These two groups have long been considered close relatives because they share trochophore larvae 

History of classification
In the classical era, Aristotle divided animals, based on his own observations, into those with blood (roughly, the vertebrates) and those without  The animals were then arranged on a scale from man (with blood, 2 legs, rational soul) down through the live-bearing tetrapods (with blood, 4 legs, sensitive soul) and other groups such as crustaceans (no blood, many legs, sensitive soul) down to spontaneously generating creatures like sponges (no blood, no legs, vegetable soul)  Aristotle was uncertain whether sponges were animals, which in his system ought to have sensation, appetite, and locomotion, or plants, which did not: he knew that sponges could sense touch, and would contract if about to be pulled off their rocks, but that they were rooted like plants and never moved about In 1758, Carl Linnaeus created the first hierarchical classification in his Systema Naturae  In his original scheme, the animals were one of three kingdoms, divided into the classes of Vermes, Insecta, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves, and Mammalia  Since then the last four have all been subsumed into a single phylum, the Chordata, while his Insecta (which included the crustaceans and arachnids) and Vermes have been renamed or broken up  The process was begun in 1793 by Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck, who called the Vermes une espèce de chaos (a chaotic mess) and split the group into three new phyla: worms, echinoderms, and polyps (which contained corals and jellyfish)  By 1809, in his Philosophie Zoologique, Lamarck had created 9 phyla apart from vertebrates (where he still had 4 phyla: mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish) and molluscs, namely cirripedes, annelids, crustaceans, arachnids, insects, worms, radiates, polyps, and infusorians In his 1817 Le Règne Animal, Georges Cuvier used comparative anatomy to group the animals into four embranchements ("branches" with different body plans, roughly corresponding to phyla), namely vertebrates, molluscs, articulated animals (arthropods and annelids), and zoophytes (radiata) (echinoderms, cnidaria and other forms)  This division into four was followed by the embryologist Karl Ernst von Baer in 1828, the zoologist Louis Agassiz in 1857, and the comparative anatomist Richard Owen in 1860 In 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into two subkingdoms: Metazoa (multicellular animals, with five phyla: coelenterates, echinoderms, articulates, molluscs, and vertebrates) and Protozoa (single-celled animals), including a sixth animal phylum, sponges  The protozoa were later moved to the former kingdom Protista, leaving only the Metazoa as a synonym of Animalia 

In human culture
Practical uses
The human population exploits a large number of other animal species for food, both of domesticated livestock species in animal husbandry and, mainly at sea, by hunting wild species  Marine fish of many species are caught commercially for food  A smaller number of species are farmed commercially  Humans and their livestock make up more than 90% of the biomass of all terrestrial vertebrates, and almost as much as all insects combined Invertebrates including cephalopods, crustaceans, and bivalve or gastropod molluscs are hunted or farmed for food  Chickens, cattle, sheep, pigs, and other animals are raised as livestock for meat across the world  Animal fibres such as wool are used to make textiles, while animal sinews have been used as lashings and bindings, and leather is widely used to make shoes and other items  Animals have been hunted and farmed for their fur to make items such as coats and hats  Dyestuffs including carmine (cochineal), shellac, and kermes have been made from the bodies of insects  Working animals including cattle and horses have been used for work and transport from the first days of agriculture Animals such as the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster serve a major role in science as experimental models  Animals have been used to create vaccines since their discovery in the 18th century  Some medicines such as the cancer drug trabectedin are based on toxins or other molecules of animal origin 

People have used hunting dogs to help chase down and retrieve animals, and birds of prey to catch birds and mammals, while tethered cormorants have been used to catch fish  Poison dart frogs have been used to poison the tips of blowpipe darts 
A wide variety of animals are kept as pets, from invertebrates such as tarantulas and octopuses, insects including praying mantises, reptiles such as snakes and chameleons, and birds including canaries, parakeets, and parrots all finding a place  However, the most kept pet species are mammals, namely dogs, cats, and rabbits  There is a tension between the role of animals as companions to humans, and their existence as individuals with rights of their own 
A wide variety of terrestrial and aquatic animals are hunted for sport 

Symbolic uses
Animals have been the subjects of art from the earliest times, both historical, as in Ancient Egypt, and prehistoric, as in the cave paintings at Lascaux  Major animal paintings include Albrecht Dürer's 1515 The Rhinoceros, and George Stubbs's c  1762 horse portrait Whistlejacket  Insects, birds and mammals play roles in literature and film, such as in giant bug movies Animals including insects and mammals feature in mythology and religion  In both Japan and Europe, a butterfly was seen as the personification of a person's soul, while the scarab beetle was sacred in ancient Egypt  Among the mammals, cattle, deer, horses, lions, bats, bears, and wolves are the subjects of myths and worship  The signs of the Western and Chinese zodiacs are based on animals 

See also
Animal coloration
Ethology
Fauna
List of animal names
Lists of organisms by population

Notes
Passage 6:
Het Scheur
The Scheur (Dutch pronunciation: [ət ˈsxøːr]; Dutch for "The Rip") is a branch of the Rhine-Meuse delta in South Holland, Netherlands, that flows west from the confluence of the Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas branches past the towns of Rozenburg and Maassluis  It continues as the Nieuwe Waterweg (New Waterway) to the North Sea 
Originally, the Scheur was the northern branch of the river around Rozenburg island and curved south a few kilometres past Maassluis to join the Nieuwe Maas again in the Maasmond ("Mouth of Meuse") estuary near Den Briel  When the Nieuwe Waterweg was completed in 1872, the Scheur was dammed off and connected to the east end of the Nieuwe Waterweg to form the new channelized main mouth of the Rhine-Meuse delta 
Passage 7:
Ekulu River
The River Ekulu is a 25-kilometre (16 mi) long river and the largest body of water in the city of Enugu in Enugu State, southeastern Nigeria, and it originates in the same city as well 
Passage 8:
Little River (Wingecarribee)
The Little River, a watercourse that is part of the Hawkesbury-Nepean catchment, is located in the Southern Highlands region of New South Wales, Australia 

Course and features
The Little River rises south southeast of the locality of Wills Hill, near Robertson, and flows generally north before reaching its confluence with the Dudewaugh Creek, a tributary of the Burke River within the Upper Nepean River catchment  The course of the river is approximately 8 kilometres (5 0 mi) 

See also
List of rivers of New South Wales (L–Z)
List of rivers of Australia
Rivers of New South Wales
Passage 9:
Secchi disk
The Secchi disk (or Secchi disc), as created in 1865 by Angelo Secchi, is a plain white, circular disk 30 cm (12 in) in diameter used to measure water transparency or turbidity in bodies of water  The disc is mounted on a pole or line and lowered slowly down in the water  The depth at which the disk is no longer visible is taken as a measure of the transparency of the water  This measure is known as the Secchi depth and is related to water turbidity  Since its invention, the disk has also been used in a modified, smaller 20 cm (8 in) diameter, black-and-white design to measure freshwater transparency 
Similar disks, with a black-and-yellow pattern, are used as fiducial markers on vehicles in crash tests, crash-test dummies, and other kinetic experiments 

History
The original Secchi disk was a plain white disk and was used in the Mediterranean Sea  Today, a plain white, 30 cm (12 in) diameter Secchi disk remains the standard design used in marine studies  In 1899 George C  Whipple modified the original all-white Secchi disk to "   a disc about 8 inches in diameter, divided into quadrants painted alternately black and white like the target of a level-rod   "  This modified black-and-white Secchi disk is the standard disk now used in limnology (freshwater) investigations 

Secchi depth
The Secchi depth is reached when the reflectance equals the intensity of light backscattered from the water  1 7 divided into this depth in metres yields an  attenuation coefficient (also called an extinction coefficient), for the available light averaged over the Secchi disk depth  While used as a variable, the extinction coefficient is also used as a variable for turbidity  The light attenuation coefficient, k, can then be used in a form of the Beer–Lambert law,

  
    
      
        
          
            
              I
              
                z
              
            
            
              I
              
                0
              
            
          
        
        =
        
          e
          
            −
            k
            z
          
        
      
    
    {\displaystyle {I_{z} \over I_{0}}=e^{-kz}}
  to estimate Iz, the intensity of light at depth z from I0, the intensity of light at the ocean surface The Secchi disk readings do not provide an exact measure of transparency, as there can be errors because of the sun's glare on the water, or one person may see the disk at one depth, but another person with better eyesight may see it at a greater depth  However, it is an inexpensive and straightforward method of measuring water clarity  Because of the potential for variation between users, methods should be standardized as much as possible 
A Secchi disk measurement should always be taken off the shady side of a boat or dock between 9:00 and 15:00  The period for best results is between 10:00 and 14:00  The same observer should take Secchi depth measurements, in the same manner, every time  One can approach the measurement by lowering the disk beyond a point of disappearance, then raising it and lowering it slightly to set the Secchi depth  Another method is to record the depth at which the disk disappears, lower it another few feet, then record the depth at which the disk reappears as it is slowly brought up  The Secchi depth is taken as the average of the two values Secchi disk measurements do not indicate how attenuation changes with depth or particular wavelengths of light  Submarine photometers can operate at depths of 150 m (492 ft) and can record visible, ultraviolet, and infrared parts of the spectrum  Turbidimeters and Transmissometers have their own light sources and can measure transparency with scientific accuracy 

Applications
Secchi disk measurements have been an integral component of Minnesota's and Wisconsin's lake water quality assessment programs for some time; lake residents make periodic measurements and submit their readings to state and local agencies  The aggregated longitudinal data are used to reveal general trends in water quality  Similarly, the Indiana Clean Lakes Program trains and relies on volunteers to monitor turbidity in over 80 Indiana lakes using Secchi disks, and uses data submitted by volunteers to monitor lake quality in the state In 2013, a team of marine scientists established the global citizen science Secchi Disk program for seafarers to study marine phytoplankton  This ongoing citizen science Secchi Disk study combines the traditional plain white, 30  cm diameter marine Secchi Disk with mobile technology to upload Secchi depth data collected from the sea to a central database  The study's first scientific results were published in 2017  The Secchi Disk study was begun in response to a controversial scientific report that suggested the phytoplankton that influences water transparency had declined by 40% in the oceans between the years 1950 and 2008 

See also
Forel-Ule scale
Siemens star
Trophic state index
Water quality
Passage 10:
Plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in water (or air) that are unable to propel themselves against a current (or wind)  The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters  In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish, and baleen whales 
Marine plankton include bacteria, archaea, algae, protozoa and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries  Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found in lakes and rivers  Mostly plankton just drift where currents take them, though some, like jellyfish, swim slowly but not fast enough to generally gain control from the influence of currents 
Although plankton are usually thought of as inhabiting water, there are also airborne versions that live part of their lives drifting in the atmosphere  These aeroplankton include plant spores, pollen and wind-scattered seeds  They may also include microorganisms swept into the air from terrestrial dust storms and oceanic plankton swept into the air by sea spray 
Though many planktonic species are microscopic in size, plankton includes organisms over a wide range of sizes, including large organisms such as jellyfish  This is because plankton are defined by their ecological niche and level of motility rather than by any phylogenetic or taxonomic classification  The "plankton" category differentiates these organisms from those that float on the water's surface, called neuston, those that can swim against a current, called nekton, and those that live on the deep sea floor, called benthos 

Terminology
The name plankton was coined by German marine biologist Victor Hensen in 1887 from shortening the word halyplankton from Greek ᾰ̔́λς háls "sea" and πλανάω planáō to  "drift" or "wander" : 1  While some forms are capable of independent movement and can swim hundreds of meters vertically in a single day (a behavior called diel vertical migration), their horizontal position is primarily determined by the surrounding water movement, and plankton typically flow with ocean currents  This is in contrast to nekton organisms, such as fish, squid and marine mammals, which can swim against the ambient flow and control their position in the environment 
Within the plankton, holoplankton spend their entire life cycle as plankton (e g  most algae, copepods, salps, and some jellyfish)  By contrast, meroplankton are only planktic for part of their lives (usually the larval stage), and then graduate to either a nektic (swimming) or benthic (sea floor) existence  Examples of meroplankton include the larvae of sea urchins, starfish, crustaceans, marine worms, and most fish The amount and distribution of plankton depends on available nutrients, the state of water and a large amount of other plankton The study of plankton is termed planktology and a planktonic individual is referred to as a plankter  The adjective planktonic is widely used in both the scientific and popular literature, and is a generally accepted term  However, from the standpoint of prescriptive grammar, the less-commonly used planktic is more strictly the correct adjective  When deriving English words from their Greek or Latin roots, the gender-specific ending (in this case, "-on" which indicates the word is neuter) is normally dropped, using only the root of the word in the derivation 

Trophic groups
Plankton are primarily divided into broad functional (or trophic level) groups:   

Phytoplankton (from Greek phyton, or plant), are autotrophic prokaryotic or eukaryotic algae that live near the water surface where there is sufficient light to support photosynthesis  Among the more important groups are the diatoms, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates and coccolithophores 
Zooplankton (from Greek zoon, or animal), are small protozoans or metazoans (e g  crustaceans and other animals) that feed on other plankton  Some of the eggs and larvae of larger nektonic animals, such as fish, crustaceans, and annelids, are included here 
Mycoplankton include fungi and fungus-like organisms, which, like bacterioplankton, are also significant in remineralisation and nutrient cycling 
Bacterioplankton include bacteria and archaea, which play an important role in remineralising organic material down the water column (note that prokaryotic phytoplankton are also bacterioplankton) 
Virioplankton are viruses  Viruses are more abundant in the plankton than bacteria and archaea, though much smaller 

Mixoplankton
Mixotrophs  Plankton have traditionally been categorized as producer, consumer and recycler groups, but some plankton are able to benefit from more than just one trophic level  In this mixed trophic strategy—known as mixotrophy—organisms act as both producers and consumers, either at the same time or switching between modes of nutrition in response to ambient conditions  This makes it possible to use photosynthesis for growth when nutrients and light are abundant, but switching to eat phytoplankton, zooplankton or each other when growing conditions are poor  Mixotrophs are divided into two groups; constitutive mixotrophs, CMs, which are able to perform photosynthesis on their own, and non-constitutive mixotrophs, NCMs, which use phagocytosis to engulf phototrophic prey that are either kept alive inside the host cell which benefit from its photosynthesis, or they digest their prey except for the plastids which continues to perform photosynthesis (kleptoplasty) Recognition of the importance of mixotrophy as an ecological strategy is increasing, as well as the wider role this may play in marine biogeochemistry  Studies have shown that mixotrophs are much more important for the marine ecology than previously assumed, and comprise more than half of all microscopic plankton  Their presence act as a buffer that prevents the collapse of ecosystems during times with little to no light 

Size groups
Plankton are also often described in terms of size  Usually the following divisions are used: 
However, some of these terms may be used with very different boundaries, especially on the larger end  The existence and importance of nano- and even smaller plankton was only discovered during the 1980s, but they are thought to make up the largest proportion of all plankton in number and diversity 
The microplankton and smaller groups are microorganisms and operate at low Reynolds numbers, where the viscosity of water is more important than its mass or inertia 

Habitat groups
Marine plankton
Marine plankton includes marine bacteria and archaea, algae, protozoa and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries 

Freshwater plankton
Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found inland in the freshwaters of lakes and rivers 

Aeroplankton
Aeroplankton are tiny lifeforms that float and drift in the air, carried by the current of the wind; they are the atmospheric analogue to oceanic plankton  Most of the living things that make up aeroplankton are very small to microscopic in size, and many can be difficult to identify because of their tiny size  Scientists can collect them for study in traps and sweep nets from aircraft, kites or balloons  Aeroplankton is made up of numerous microbes, including viruses, about 1000 different species of bacteria, around 40,000 varieties of fungi, and hundreds of species of protists, algae, mosses and liverworts that live some part of their life cycle as aeroplankton, often as spores, pollen, and wind-scattered seeds  Additionally, peripatetic microorganisms are swept into the air from terrestrial dust storms, and an even larger amount of airborne marine microorganisms are propelled high into the atmosphere in sea spray  Aeroplankton deposits hundreds of millions of airborne viruses and tens of millions of bacteria every day on every square meter around the planet 
The sea surface microlayer, compared to the sub-surface waters, contains elevated concentration of bacteria and viruses  These materials can be transferred from the sea-surface to the atmosphere in the form of wind-generated aqueous aerosols due to their high vapour tension and a process known as volatilisation  When airborne, these microbes can be transported long distances to coastal regions  If they hit land they can have an effect on animal, vegetation and human health  Marine aerosols that contain viruses can travel hundreds of kilometers from their source and remain in liquid form as long as the humidity is high enough (over 70%)  These aerosols are able to remain suspended in the atmosphere for about 31 days  Evidence suggests that bacteria can remain viable after being transported inland through aerosols  Some reached as far as 200 meters at 30 meters above sea level  The process which transfers this material to the atmosphere causes further enrichment in both bacteria and viruses in comparison to either the SML or sub-surface waters (up to three orders of magnitude in some locations) 

Geoplankton
Many animals live in terrestrial environments by thriving in transient often microscopic bodies of water and moisture, these include rotifers and gastrotrichs which lay resilient eggs capable of surviving years in dry environments, and some of which can go dormant themselves  Nematodes are usually microscopic with this lifestyle  Water bears, despite only having lifespans of a few months, famously can enter suspended animation during dry or hostile conditions and survive for decades  This allows them to be ubiquitous in terrestrial environments despite needing water to grow and reproduce  Many microscopic crustacean groups like copepods and amphipods (of which sandhoppers are members) and seed shrimp are known to go dormant when dry and live in transient bodies of water too

Other groups
Gelatinous zooplankton
Gelatinous zooplankton are fragile animals that live in the water column in the ocean  Their delicate bodies have no hard parts and are easily damaged or destroyed  Gelatinous zooplankton are often transparent  All jellyfish are gelatinous zooplankton, but not all gelatinous zooplankton are jellyfish  The most commonly encountered organisms include ctenophores, medusae, salps, and Chaetognatha in coastal waters  However, almost all marine phyla, including Annelida, Mollusca and Arthropoda, contain gelatinous species, but many of those odd species live in the open ocean and the deep sea and are less available to the casual ocean observer 

Ichthyoplankton
Ichthyoplankton are the eggs and larvae of fish  They are mostly found in the sunlit zone of the water column, less than 200 metres deep, which is sometimes called the epipelagic or photic zone  Ichthyoplankton are planktonic, meaning they cannot swim effectively under their own power, but must drift with the ocean currents  Fish eggs cannot swim at all, and are unambiguously planktonic  Early stage larvae swim poorly, but later stage larvae swim better and cease to be planktonic as they grow into juveniles  Fish larvae are part of the zooplankton that eat smaller plankton, while fish eggs carry their own food supply  Both eggs and larvae are themselves eaten by larger animals  Fish can produce high numbers of eggs which are often released into the open water column  Fish eggs typically have a diameter of about 1 millimetre (0 039 in)  The newly hatched young of oviparous fish are called larvae  They are usually poorly formed, carry a large yolk sac (for nourishment) and are very different in appearance from juvenile and adult specimens  The larval period in oviparous fish is relatively short (usually only several weeks), and larvae rapidly grow and change appearance and structure (a process termed metamorphosis) to become juveniles  During this transition larvae must switch from their yolk sac to feeding on zooplankton prey, a process which depends on typically inadequate zooplankton density, starving many larvae  In time fish larvae become able to swim against currents, at which point they cease to be plankton and become juvenile fish 

Holoplankton
Holoplankton are organisms that are planktic for their entire life cycle  Holoplankton can be contrasted with meroplankton, which are planktic organisms that spend part of their life cycle in the benthic zone  Examples of holoplankton include some diatoms, radiolarians, some dinoflagellates, foraminifera, amphipods, krill, copepods, and salps, as well as some gastropod mollusk species  Holoplankton dwell in the pelagic zone as opposed to the benthic zone  Holoplankton include both phytoplankton and zooplankton and vary in size  The most common plankton are protists 

Meroplankton
Meroplankton are a wide variety of aquatic organisms which have both planktonic and benthic stages in their life cycles  Much of the meroplankton consists of larval stages of larger organism  Meroplankton can be contrasted with holoplankton, which are planktonic organisms that stay in the pelagic zone as plankton throughout their entire life cycle  After a period of time in the plankton, many meroplankton graduate to the nekton or adopt a benthic (often sessile) lifestyle on the seafloor  The larval stages of benthic invertebrates make up a significant proportion of planktonic communities  The planktonic larval stage is particularly crucial to many benthic invertebrate in order to disperse their young  Depending on the particular species and the environmental conditions, larval or juvenile-stage meroplankton may remain in the pelagic zone for durations ranging from hour to months 

Pseudoplankton
Pseudoplankton are organisms that attach themselves to planktonic organisms or other floating objects, such as drifting wood, buoyant shells of organisms such as Spirula, or man-made flotsam  Examples include goose barnacles and the bryozoan Jellyella  By themselves these animals cannot float, which contrasts them with true planktonic organisms, such as Velella and the Portuguese Man o' War, which are buoyant  Pseudoplankton are often found in the guts of filtering zooplankters 

Tychoplankton
Tychoplankton are organisms, such as free-living or attached benthic organisms and other non-planktonic organisms, that are carried into the plankton through a disturbance of their benthic habitat, or by winds and currents  This can occur by direct turbulence or by disruption of the substrate and subsequent entrainment in the water column  Tychoplankton are, therefore, a primary subdivision for sorting planktonic organisms by duration of lifecycle spent in the plankton, as neither their entire lives nor particular reproductive portions are confined to planktonic existence  Tychoplankton are sometimes called accidental plankton 

Mineralized plankton
Some planktons are protected with mineralized shells or tests 

Distribution
Apart from aeroplankton, plankton inhabits oceans, seas, lakes and ponds  Local abundance varies horizontally, vertically and seasonally  The primary cause of this variability is the availability of light  All plankton ecosystems are driven by the input of solar energy (but see chemosynthesis), confining primary production to surface waters, and to geographical regions and seasons having abundant light 
A secondary variable is nutrient availability  Although large areas of the tropical and sub-tropical oceans have abundant light, they experience relatively low primary production because they offer limited nutrients such as nitrate, phosphate and silicate  This results from large-scale ocean circulation and water column stratification  In such regions, primary production usually occurs at greater depth, although at a reduced level (because of reduced light) 
Despite significant macronutrient concentrations, some ocean regions are unproductive (so-called HNLC regions)  The micronutrient iron is deficient in these regions, and adding it can lead to the formation of phytoplankton algal blooms  Iron primarily reaches the ocean through the deposition of dust on the sea surface  Paradoxically, oceanic areas adjacent to unproductive, arid land thus typically have abundant phytoplankton (e g , the eastern Atlantic Ocean, where trade winds bring dust from the Sahara Desert in north Africa) 
While plankton are most abundant in surface waters, they live throughout the water column  At depths where no primary production occurs, zooplankton and bacterioplankton instead consume organic material sinking from more productive surface waters above  This flux of sinking material, so-called marine snow, can be especially high following the termination of spring blooms 
The local distribution of plankton can be affected by wind-driven Langmuir circulation and the biological effects of this physical process 

Ecological significance
Food chain
Aside from representing the bottom few levels of a food chain that supports commercially important fisheries, plankton ecosystems play a role in the biogeochemical cycles of many important chemical elements, including the ocean's carbon cycle  Fish larvae mainly eat zooplankton, which in turn eat phytoplankton

Carbon cycle
Primarily by grazing on phytoplankton, zooplankton provide carbon to the planktic foodweb, either respiring it to provide metabolic energy, or upon death as biomass or detritus  Organic material tends to be denser than seawater, so it sinks into open ocean ecosystems away from the coastlines, transporting carbon along with it  This process, called the biological pump, is one reason that oceans constitute the largest carbon sink on Earth  However, it has been shown to be influenced by increments of temperature  In 2019, a study indicated that at ongoing rates of seawater acidification, Antarctic phytoplanktons could become smaller and less effective at storing carbon before the end of the century It might be possible to increase the ocean's uptake of carbon dioxide (CO2) generated through human activities by increasing plankton production through iron fertilization – introducing amounts of iron into the ocean  However, this technique may not be practical at a large scale  Ocean oxygen depletion and resultant methane production (caused by the excess production remineralising at depth) is one potential drawback 

Oxygen production
Phytoplankton absorb energy from the Sun and nutrients from the water to produce their own nourishment or energy  In the process of photosynthesis, phytoplankton release molecular oxygen (O2) into the water as a waste byproduct  It is estimated that about 50% of the world's oxygen is produced via phytoplankton photosynthesis  The rest is produced via photosynthesis on land by plants  Furthermore, phytoplankton photosynthesis has controlled the atmospheric CO2/O2 balance since the early Precambrian Eon 

Absorption efficiency
The absorption efficiency (AE) of plankton is the proportion of food absorbed by the plankton that determines how available the consumed organic materials are in meeting the required physiological demands  Depending on the feeding rate and prey composition, variations in absorption efficiency may lead to variations in fecal pellet production, and thus regulates how much organic material is recycled back to the marine environment  Low feeding rates typically lead to high absorption efficiency and small, dense pellets, while high feeding rates typically lead to low absorption efficiency and larger pellets with more organic content  Another contributing factor to dissolved organic matter (DOM) release is respiration rate  Physical factors such as oxygen availability, pH, and light conditions may affect overall oxygen consumption and how much carbon is loss from zooplankton in the form of respired CO2  The relative sizes of zooplankton and prey also mediate how much carbon is released via sloppy feeding  Smaller prey are ingested whole, whereas larger prey may be fed on more “sloppily”, that is more biomatter is released through inefficient consumption  There is also evidence that diet composition can impact nutrient release, with carnivorous diets releasing more dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and ammonium than omnivorous diets 

Biomass variability
The growth of phytoplankton populations is dependent on light levels and nutrient availability  The chief factor limiting growth varies from region to region in the world's oceans  On a broad scale, growth of phytoplankton in the oligotrophic tropical and subtropical gyres is generally limited by nutrient supply, while light often limits phytoplankton growth in subarctic gyres  Environmental variability at multiple scales influences the nutrient and light available for phytoplankton, and as these organisms form the base of the marine food web, this variability in phytoplankton growth influences higher trophic levels  For example, at interannual scales phytoplankton levels temporarily plummet during El Niño periods, influencing populations of zooplankton, fishes, sea birds, and marine mammals 
The effects of anthropogenic warming on the global population of phytoplankton is an area of active research  Changes in the vertical stratification of the water column, the rate of temperature-dependent biological reactions, and the atmospheric supply of nutrients are expected to have important impacts on future phytoplankton productivity  Additionally, changes in the mortality of phytoplankton due to rates of zooplankton grazing may be significant 

Plankton diversity
Some of the diversity found in plankton

Planktonic Relationships
Fish & plankton
Zooplankton are the initial prey item for almost all fish larvae as they switch from their yolk sacs to external feeding  Fish rely on the density and distribution of zooplankton to match that of new larvae, which can otherwise starve  Natural factors (e g , current variations, temperature changes) and man-made factors (e g  river dams, ocean acidification, rising temperatures) can strongly affect zooplankton, which can in turn strongly affect larval survival, and therefore breeding success 
It's been shown that plankton can be patchy in marine environments where there aren't significant fish populations and additionally, where fish are abundant, zooplankton dynamics are influenced by the fish predation rate in their environment  Depending on the predation rate, they could express regular or chaotic behavior A negative effect that fish larvae can have on planktonic algal blooms is that the larvae will prolong the blooming event by diminishing available zooplankton numbers; this in turn permits excessive phytoplankton growth allowing the bloom to flourish  The importance of both phytoplankton and zooplankton is also well-recognized in extensive and semi-intensive pond fish farming  Plankton population-based pond management strategies for fish rearing have been practiced by traditional fish farmers for decades, illustrating the importance of plankton even in man-made environments 
Whales & plankton
Of all animal fecal matter, it is whale feces that is the 'trophy' in terms of increasing nutrient availability  Phytoplankton are the powerhouse of open ocean primary production and they can acquire many nutrients from whale feces  In the marine food web, phytoplankton are at the base of the food web and are consumed by zooplankton & krill, which are preyed upon by larger and larger marine organisms, including whales, so it can be said that whale poop fuels the entire food web 

Humans & plankton
Plankton have many direct and indirect effects on humans 
Around 70% of the oxygen in the atmosphere is produced in the oceans from phytoplankton performing photosynthesis, meaning that the majority of the oxygen available for us and other organisms that respire aerobically is produced by plankton Plankton also make up the base of the marine food web, providing food for all the trophic levels above  Recent studies have analyzed the marine food web to see if the system runs on a top-down or bottom-up approach  Essentially, this research is focused on understanding whether changes in the food web are driven by nutrients at the bottom of the food web or predators at the top  The general conclusion is that the bottom-up approach seemed to be more predictive of food web behavior  This indicates that plankton have more sway in determining the success of the primary consumer species that prey on them than do the secondary consumers that prey on the primary consumers 
In some cases, plankton act as an intermediate host for deadly parasites in humans  One such case is that of cholera, an infection caused by several strains of Vibrio cholerae  These species have been shown to have a symbiotic relationship with chitinous zooplankton species like copepods  These bacteria benefit not only from the food provided by the chiton from the zooplankton, but also from the protection from acidic environments  Once the copepods have been ingested by a human host, the chitinous exterior protects the bacteria from the stomach acids in the stomach and proceed to the intestines  Once there, the bacteria bind with the surface of the small intestine and the host will start developing symptoms, including extreme diarrhea, within five days 

See also
Aeroplankton
Gelatinous zooplankton
Ichthyoplankton
Nekton
Paradox of the plankton
Seston
Veliger
Passage 11:
Coxs Creek (Belfield, New South Wales)
Coxs Creek, a watercourse of the Cooks River catchment, is located in the Inner West of Sydney, in New South Wales, Australia 

Course and features
Coxs Creek rises northeast of Punchbowl railway station and flows generally north northeast, before reaching its confluence with the Cooks River, at Strathfield South  Over time the creek has been extensively modified and is now largely a storm drain that flows about 3 kilometres (1 9 mi)  Prior to development of the area the creek drained paperbark swamps that were formerly near the junction of Roberts Road and Juno Parade  Over time the creek has been extensively modified and rerouted  As with most drainage channels in the area it has been lined along much of its length  Coxs Creek drains a total catchment of 8 8 square kilometres (3 4 sq mi) The creek begins as a stormwater drain, then runs in the open through the Coxs Creek Wetland, a 1 84 hectares (4 5 acres) reserve containing significant remnant bushland including some Cooks River Castlereagh Ironbark Forest habitat  Including tree specimens of mugga ironbark (Eucalyptus sideroxylon), narrow-leaved ironbark (E  crebra), broad-leaved ironbark (E  fibrosa), and tallowwood (E  microcorys)  The forest habitat is noted as an endangered ecological community  Acacia pubescens (Downy Wattle) is a vulnerable flora species present as is the locally endangered Tadgell's Bluebell (Wahlenbergia multicaulis)  The endangered Green and Golden Bell Frog (Litoria aurea) has been recorded and frog ponds constructed as part of the creek  The frog has not been seen in the creek since 1995, though they are still present in the nearby constructed wetlands at the Juno Parade Brick Pit 
In 2005 Sydney Ports Corporation proposed works including fauna corridors and "frog ramps" to encourage their return  Along much of its length the creek is a combination of covered channel and an uncovered concrete lined trench  As the creek passes through the reserve it is open and the 2010 management plan calls for restoration of this part of the creek and the adjacent riparian zone 
Passage 12:
Dead Horse Bay
Dead Horse Bay is a small body of water off Barren Island, between the Gerritsen Inlet and Rockaway Inlet in the New York City borough of Brooklyn 

History
From the nineteenth century to the twentieth century, the area has been used in a variety of ways, including manufacturing fertilizer from the remains of dead animals, producing fish oil from the menhaden caught in the bay, and more recently a landfill for the disposal of New York City’s garbage  Periodic clogging by carcasses from the adjacent glue factory with 200 foot chimney gave the bay its name  A millstone used to grind horse bones can still be found along the Millstone trail In 1926, much of the salt marsh surrounding Dead Horse Bay and the rest of Barren Island were pumped with sand from Jamaica Bay  This raised the land to 16 feet above the high tide mark and connected the islands to each other, and the mainland of Brooklyn, in order to create Floyd Bennett Field as New York City's first municipal airport  The entire area, including the historic airfield, is now managed by the National Park Service as part of the Jamaica Bay Unit of the Gateway National Recreation Area 

In the 1950s, urban planner Robert Moses attempted to expand the now-peninsula to the west using garbage covered by topsoil, but the layer of soil eroded, and garbage can be seen on the coast during low tide  This coast contains many exposed broken glass bottles and other non-biodegradable material In August 2020, the National Park Service announced that Dead Horse Bay would be closed indefinitely because of the presence of radiological contamination  The NPS said at the time that the cleanup could last several years  The contamination was identified as having come from two deck markers, a type of Radium-226 or Strontium-90 based radioluminescent device used by the US military, though the risk of radiological exposure was considered low 

Current use
School groups are taken to Dead Horse Bay on a regular basis to walk the Millstone trail, seine for a variety of fishes, and learn about the natural and cultural history of the area  Its shores are also a popular sport fishing spot, and home to a marina operating in Deep Creek as a National Park Service concession  Today one can find a large array of glass bottles and pieces of broken glass on the beach, along with old shoes and construction materials, many from the landfill which is now leaking  It is a popular place for artists and crafters to collect strange decorative materials 
Passage 13:
Lake Kyyjärvi
Lake Kyyjärvi is a medium-sized lake in Kyyjärvi municipality, Finland  It is a starting point of the Saarijärvi Whitewater Route, a continuous watercourse in Central Finland 

See also
List of lakes in Finland
Passage 14:
August Willem van Voorden
August Willem van Voorden (25 November 1881, Rotterdam - 2 October 1921, Rotterdam) was a Dutch painter, best known for scenes of urban life in his hometown 

Biography
His father was a decorative house painter and gave him his first lessons  His first formal studies were at the Academy of Visual Arts  Later, he took lessons from Alexander van Maasdijk and Jan de Jong  He spent most of his life in Rotterdam, where he had a studio on the grounds of the Woudestein Estate (now part of Erasmus University)  In 1908, he lived briefly in Kortenhoef, where he met his wife,  and from 1912 to 1913 he was in  Nieuw-Loosdrecht He initially worked as a decorative painter, like his father, but after 1903 began doing regular oils and watercolors depicting street scenes, filled with the daily activities of ordinary people  He was heavily influenced by the works of George Hendrik Breitner and was often referred to as the "Breitner of Rotterdam" He worked during a period of rapid growth and was able to document the process, choosing bright, impressionistic colors as a counterweight to the gray hues normally associated with Dutch cityscapes  He also painted landscapes near Kortenhoef and Laren, where he worked with artists of the Hague School, as well as some portraits and still-lifes  For many years, he was a member of Arti et Amicitiae and the Haagse Kunstkring  He died of undisclosed causes just short of his fortieth birthday 

Selected paintings
Passage 15:
Lansdowne River
Lansdowne River, a watercourse of the Manning River catchment, is located in the Mid North Coast district of New South Wales, Australia 

Course and features
Lansdowne River rises below Mount Gibraltar in the Gibraltar Range, north northwest of Upper Lansdowne, and flows generally southeast before reaching its confluence with the Northern Arm of the Manning River, near Coopernook  The river descends 740 metres (2,430 ft) over its 51 kilometres (32 mi) course The Pacific Highway crosses the Lansdowne River south-east of Coopernook 

See also
Rivers of New South Wales
List of rivers of New South Wales (L–Z)
List of rivers of Australia
Passage 16:
Halmyris
Halmyris (Ancient Greek: Ἁλμυρίς)  was a Roman and Byzantine fort, settlement and naval port, located 2 5 kilometers west of the village of Murighiol at the mouth of the Danube Delta in Romania  It is locally known as the site where the bodies of two Christian saints, Epictet and Astion, were uncovered between 2001 and 2004 

History of the Site
Despite the creation of several Greek colonies along the Romanian Black Sea coast during the 7th century BC, no corresponding Greek structural remains have been found nearby Halmyris  The region was inhabited during the Second Iron Age by the Getae or Dacians as is evident by the discovery of several cremation burials within a possible necropolis that dates to the 4th-2nd centuries BC  
While the first Roman occupation of the site seems to have been in the form of a turf-and-timber fort constructed during the Flavian period, the first stone castrum at Halmyris was built during the reign of the emperor Trajan   Although the original layout of the Trajanic fort is largely covered by later reconstructive phases, the plan seems to have been indicative of the 'typical' 2nd century layout of a Roman fort, composed of a rectangular defensive wall, rectangular towers and a gate in the middle of each of the walls   The placement of the fort was strategically deliberate as it lay not only along the course of the Danube River but also at the very mouth of the Black Sea   Early connections to the Roman fleet and its maritime activities at Halmyris are confirmed from epigraphic evidence mentioning the existence of a 'mariner's village' or vicus classicorum 
However, a significant alteration of the defenses took place during the Tetrarchy period   The new layout of the fort walls consisted of an irregular polygon bolstered by 15 towers and at least two well-defended gateways in the north and the west  Structures found within the fort include numerous barracks, a private thermae or bathhouse and  a basilica   However, in the winter of 384/5, the Danube froze, allowing the foreign tribes to the north to cross and sack Halmyris   A series of earthquakes in the 4th century and later that altered the course of the Danube led to the silting up of Halmyris' harbor and decreased its economic and strategic importance   The final period of occupation seems to correspond with the reconstruction of the fort by the emperor Justinian   Additionally, Halmyris became the site of one of the major bishoprics in the province as well as being named as one of the fifteen most important towns in the province of Scythia 
Halmyris was the most easterly point of the Danubian border in Roman times and probably served as a supply centre for the fleet; early Roman inscriptions inform us of the existence of a "mariner's village"—vicus classicorum  During the late Roman period two units of the military fleet—Classis in Plateypegiis and Musculi Schytici (which had little ships, suited for the Danube Delta) may have been hosted by this city 
As for religious life, we know that in 290 AD, during the persecutions ordered by Diocletian, Saint Epictetus and Astion suffered martyrdom at Halmyris 

Halmyris served as a depot for supplies, colonization and cultural exchange in the region for 1,100 years  It was occupied from the Iron Age to the Byzantine period 
The original fort was made of timber and turf, but as the fort gained importance and a regular garrison was established along the Danube, the fort was rebuilt in stone 
Early in the fort's history, the Goths and Huns from the North crossed the Danube and conquered the fort  It was later re-captured by the Romans 
In the early 4th century, the Emperor Constantine added a basilica 
A series of earthquakes altered the course of the Danube and the fort became more removed from the river  Halmyris gradually lost its importance and was abandoned 

Current activities
The fort was excavated by the late Prof  Mihail Zahariade and Dr  John Karavas, with the Archaeology at Halmyris international volunteer program from 2010-2019 

See also
Histria
List of ancient towns in Scythia Minor
List of castra
Peuce Island
Context 3: Passage 1:
Batman: Gotham County Line
Batman: Gotham County Line is a three-issue American comic book limited series written by Steve Niles, known for his series 30 Days of Night, and illustrated by Scott Hampton  It follows Batman as a series of ritual murders outside Gotham City leads him into a macabre supernatural realm 

Plot
During a fight with Batman, the Joker raises the issue of the existence of an afterlife, which Batman puts down, along with his nemesis  Jim Gordon summons Batman with a case in the suburbs of Gotham County, where entire families have been killed in the same grisly and ritualistic way, shortly after being robbed by a junkie   Batman investigates one of the crime scenes before being called to another murder in progress where he pursues the killer but is ambushed and knocked out  He is rescued by detectives Keith and Radmuller of the Gotham County Sheriff's Department and questions the junkie thief at his residence   Before the thief can give any information, he is shot by the killer who eludes Batman again, but not before Batman procures a Sheriff's badge from his person, that of Detective Radmuller  Batman arrives at Radmuller's apartment to apprehend him, but Radmuller has set a trap causing Batman to inadvertently hang him by opening the door  The case is solved and Batman returns to Gotham, but Radmuller springs to life in the back of the ambulance transporting his corpse, killing those inside and leading their reanimated corpses back into town 
Bruce is haunted by dreams and visions of reanimated corpses and his parents blaming him for their deaths  He suspects Radmuller of poisoning him with something, though his tests for such come back negative  Detective Keith contacts him to inform him that Radmuller's body is missing, along with those of the most recently murdered family  At the crime scene, Batman and Keith are accosted by the corpse of the murdered father, who shoots Keith with her own gun and flees  Deadman emerges from Keith's body and informs Batman that he is trapped in a world between that of the living and the dead, having been cursed by Radmuller before his death   Deadman tells Batman that he must open his mind if he is to escape the realm and lets slip that he is aware of Batman's secret identity, before they are accosted by a horde of zombies led by Radmuller and Deadman disappears 
Batman attempts to fight the zombies off, but they are immune to his struggles   Radmuller explains that they are the victims of crimes that Batman failed to stop  Batman flees and is saved by the zombie of Jason Todd, who thanks Batman for thinking of him  Batman takes shelter in a decrepit house, where he sees the corpses of Radmuller's parents, who tell how their son killed them just to watch them die  Deadman reappears with the Phantom Stranger, who destroys the attacking zombies  Batman goes to confront Radmuller, on the way meeting his parents, who ask him to believe in something beyond their violent deaths and inspiring Batman to confront Radmuller with his own dead parents  Radmuller's power over the realm dissipates and Batman returns to the moment before the curse was enacted, stopping Radmuller's hanging death and turning him over to the GCSD 

Collected editions
The limited series has been collected in a trade paperback:

Batman: Gotham County Line (180 pages, October 2006, ISBN 140120905X)

Reception
The List called the comic "interesting but not essential" 

Notes
Passage 2:
On Broadway (film)
On Broadway is an independent film, shot in Boston in May 2006, starring Joey McIntyre, Jill Flint, Eliza Dushku, Mike O'Malley, Robert Wahlberg, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett 

Plot
Emotionally devastated by the death of his uncle, Boston carpenter Jack O'Toole (McIntyre) writes a play inspired by the man's wake  When nobody will produce the play, Jack quits his job to produce it himself, imagining that this play will give a new start to the strained relationship Jack has with his father  But the only stage Jack can afford is in the back room of a neighborhood pub  In this humble environment, Jack pulls together a theater company of sorts and brings his story to the stage, and in the process he brings together his family and friends and helps them move beyond their loss 

Cast
Joey McIntyre as Jack O'Toole, a carpenter turned playwright
Eliza Dushku as Lena Wilson, the lead actress in Jack's play
Mike O'Malley as Father Rolie O'Toole, Jack's priest brother
Sean Lawlor as Martin O'Toole, Jack's estranged father
Will Arnett as Tom, the actor and Jack's friend
Amy Poehler as Farrah, Tom's wife
Lance Greene as Billy O'Toole, Pete's son and Jack's cousin
Robert Wahlberg as Kevin Sheehan, Jack's cousin
Vincent Dowling as Augie Burke, a friend of the O'Tooles
Lucas Caleb Rooney as Neil Quinn, Jack's friend
Jill Flint as Kate O'Toole, Jack's wife
Andrew Connolly as Pete O'Toole, Jack's late uncle

Credits
The film was written and directed by playwright/screenwriter Dave McLaughlin and shot by cinematographer Terrence Fitzgerald Hayes  The film was produced by Charlie Harrington 
Additional cast members included Vincent Dowling, Sean Lawlor, Lucas Caleb Rooney, Lance Greene, Andrew Connolly, Peter Giles, Dossy Peabody, Will Harris and Nancy E  Carroll 

Release
On Broadway had its festival release at a sold-out premiere at the Independent Film Festival of Boston on April 27, 2007  It received good reviews  The film went on to screen at the film festivals of Woods Hole, Galway, New Hampshire, Hoboken, New Jersey, Waterfront, Napa and Northampton  It won an award for Best Feature in the Galway Film Fleadh, another for Audience Best Feature in the Woods Hole Film Festival, the Grand Jury Prize for Best Film in the New Hampshire Film Festival and had six nominations in the Hoboken Film Festival   At the 2007 Phoenix Film Festival On Broadway won the Sundance Channel Audience Award for Best Film, and Joey McIntyre won the Best Breakthrough Performance Award at the same festival 
On Broadway had a theatrical release on March 14, 2008 in Boston at the Somerville Theater, West Newton Cinema, Sharon Cinemas 8 and Dedham Community Theater 
Passage 3:
Batman: Under the Red Hood
Batman: Under the Red Hood is a 2010 American animated superhero action thriller direct-to-video film produced by Warner Bros  Animation and released by Warner Home Video  It is the eighth film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies  The writer, Judd Winick, also wrote the "Under the Hood" run in the monthly Batman comic the film is based on  The film was released on July 27, 2010, and received highly positive reviews from critics, who praised its plot, animation, and focus on storytelling  It is generally considered to be one of the best in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line  The film was also a commercial success, grossing over $12 million in home video sales 
The two-disc special edition and Blu-ray also includes an animated short featuring Jonah Hex  An interactive short spiritual sequel/film adaptation, Batman: Death in the Family, was released on October 13, 2020,  ten years after Red Hood 

Plot
Ra's al Ghul realizes his mistake in hiring the Joker to use him as a distraction while he destroyed Europe's financial districts after learning that he has captured Jason Todd, the second Robin, Batman's partner  In Sarajevo, Bosnia, Joker brutally assaults Jason, in an abandoned warehouse with a crowbar  Jason is locked in the warehouse with a bomb, which explodes and kills him before Batman arrives 
Five years later in Gotham City, a mysterious vigilante called Red Hood assembles a meeting of the city's most prominent drug dealers  He announces a takeover of their drug trade, taking only 40% of the profit while offering them protection from both Black Mask and Batman - under punishment of death to anyone caught dealing drugs to children 
Batman stops an attempted theft of a shipment belonging to Black Mask, which is the advanced android Amazo  Batman destroys Amazo with the help of Jason's predecessor Dick Grayson a k a  Nightwing and discovers the thieves are working for Red Hood who then kills them  He chases Red Hood to Ace Chemicals, where an explosion destroys the facility  Batman and Nightwing interrogate Joker at Arkham Asylum about Red Hood, but he denies involvement 

Black Mask puts a hit on Red Hood for Amazo's destruction  Batman and Nightwing prevent Red Hood from hijacking Black Mask's next weapon shipment  They chase Red Hood to a train station, where he escapes after detonating a bomb, which injures Nightwing  Batman and Nightwing realize Red Hood is trained and has knowledge of Batman's tactics and gear  A review of audio footage of the chase reveals Red Hood knows Batman's secret identity 
Batman recalls Jason performing the same maneuvers as Robin and that Jason grew more violent and bloodthirsty as he aged, with Batman having to stop him many times from nearly killing criminals  The Fearsome Hand of 4 lure out Red Hood and nearly overpower him until Batman helps incapacitate three of them and Red Hood kills the fourth, horrifying Batman  Red Hood explains he is doing what Batman will not: killing criminals who are not afraid 
Batman analyzes a blood sample of Red Hood drawn from the battle and it matches Jason's  After discovering Jason's corpse is fake, Batman confronts Ra's al Ghul and demands to know the truth  Ra's explains that he felt responsible for Jason's death and, as a peace offering, he swapped Jason's body for a fake and revived him in the Lazarus Pit  Following his resurrection, Jason was driven insane and escaped 
After surviving an assassination attempt by Red Hood, Black Mask sets Joker free, tasking him with killing Red Hood  However, Joker instead abducts Black Mask and the drug dealers and plans to set them on fire; Red Hood appears and reveals his real target all along has been the Joker  Batman saves the hostages and Red Hood takes Joker  Red Hood brutally beats Joker in revenge for his own murder and confronts Batman 
During the fight, Red Hood removes his helmet, confirming he is Jason  Their fight makes its way to the dilapidated building where Jason is keeping the Joker and ends with Jason holding Batman at gunpoint  Though he has forgiven Batman for not saving him, Jason is upset and angry that Joker is still alive after killing him  Batman admits he has thought constantly about torturing and killing the Joker but will not, fearing he will not stop if he kills even once 
Jason tosses Batman a gun and gives him an ultimatum – he will execute the Joker unless Batman shoots him  Batman refuses and drops the gun, causing Jason to shoot at him  Batman throws a batarang, which jams Jason's pistol  When Jason pulls the trigger again, the gun is destroyed and his right hand gets mangled  Defeated, Jason sets off a time bomb and Batman subdues Joker before attempting to save Jason 
The bomb explodes; Batman and Joker survive but Jason is gone  Joker is returned to Arkham and Black Mask is arrested for his involvement in the Joker's escape  At the Batcave, Alfred offers to remove the glass case display of Jason's Robin costume after everything that has happened, but Bruce refuses, claiming it doesn't change anything 
A final flashback shows Jason's first day as Robin, which he cheerfully declares is the best day of his life 

Cast
Crew
Andrea Romano – Voice Director

Music
The score for Batman: Under the Red Hood was composed by Christopher Drake, who had previously scored several animated films set in the DC Universe  It was inspired by the soundtracks of Batman: Mask of the Phantasm which features a traditional orchestral score and The Dark Knight which features a computer generated, electronic score  Drake said that since Under the Red Hood has a darker tone than previous DC Universe animated films, he chose not to use the music as epic and melodramatic instead opting for a more intimate, minimal and restrained tone  He added that this is the first DC film he has scored that didn't rely on using a large choir to make the fight scenes sound bigger  Drake scored the film as a reference to modern minimalist electronic scores because the film's director Brandon Vietti felt that Under the Red Hood needed to go in a different, more modern direction to separate it from previous DC animation scores  At that point, Drake introduced more electronic and ambient elements, like synthesized and processed electronic guitar, while retaining orchestral elements Batman: Under The Red Hood – Soundtrack to The Animated Original Movie was released by WaterTower Music on July 27, 2010 and features 18 tracks composed for the film 

Commercial performance
The film grossed over $12 million in domestic home video sales, making it one of the highest grossing DC animated films 

Critical reception
Batman: Under the Red Hood received positive reviews from critics who praised the film's direction, animation, emotional weight of the story, and voice acting particularly for Jensen Ackles  On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on reviews from seven critics, with an average rating of a 7 3/10  
Demeter's review for The World's Finest stated: "I have to say this really was a damn good film"  James Harvey's review on the same website was even more positive, calling it "a mature and faithful take on the Batman lore"  IGN gave the movie an 8 out of 10, calling it "An interesting peek inside the psyche of Batman and the fine line between good and evil"  It was the highest rated direct-to-video Batman film until the release of The Dark Knight Returns 

Continuation
A follow-up film titled Batman: Death in the Family was released on October 13, 2020, a decade after Under the Red Hood with Greenwood, Martella, and DiMaggio reprising their roles  Zehra Fazal plays Talia al Ghul and Gary Cole plays both Two-Face and Commissioner Gordon  It is an interactive narrative where the viewer chooses what happens in the story 
Passage 4:
Batman Bridge
The Batman Bridge is a modern road bridge that carries the Batman Highway across the Tamar River, between Whirlpool Reach, Hillwood at its eastern end and Sidmouth / Deviot midpoint at its western end, in north Tasmania, Australia  The bridge connects the Batman Highway with the West Tamar Highway (state route A7) and the East Tamar Highway (state route A8)  The bridge overlooks the Deviot Sailing Club and is named in honour of John Batman, a Launceston businessman and co-founder of Melbourne 

Design features
Built between 1966 and 1968, it was the first cable-stayed bridge in Australia and among the first such bridges in the world  The main span is 206 metres (676 ft) long, suspended from a 91-metre-high (299 ft) steel A-frame tower  The deck is 10 3 metres (34 ft) wide  The tower is on the west bank of the Tamar river, on a solid dolerite rock base which carries 78% of the weight of the main span  The length of the bridge is 432 metres (1,417 ft) between abutments  The east bank is soft clay not capable of supporting a bridge  A causeway carries the highway across this softer base, supported by four piers built on piles driven up to 18 metres (59 ft) into the clay  The bridge deck is constructed of steel 

Gallery
Passage 5:
The Lego Batman Movie
The Lego Batman Movie (stylized as The LEGO Batman Movie) is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Lin Pictures, Lord Miller Productions, and Vertigo Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros  Pictures  It was directed by Chris McKay (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, and John Whittington  Based on the characters from the DC Universe created by DC Comics and the Lego DC Super Heroes' Batman toy line, the film is a collaboration between production houses from the United States, Australia, and Denmark, the first spin-off in The Lego Movie franchise and the second installment overall  The film features Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman from The Lego Movie alongside Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, and Ralph Fiennes  The story follows the title character (Arnett) as he attempts to overcome his greatest fear to stop the Joker's (Galifianakis) latest plan 
Development of The Lego Batman Movie started in October 2014, after Warner Bros  announced several Lego films, following the critical and commercial success of The Lego Movie, while Chris McKay was hired to direct the film after being replaced by Rob Schrab to direct the sequel to The Lego Movie  He cited both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series as his main inspirations  Casting call began in July to November 2015  The film pays homage to previous Batman films, cartoons, and comics  The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them  Like The Lego Movie, the animation was provided by Animal Logic  Lorne Balfe composed the film's musical score 
The Lego Batman Movie had its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, and was released in the United States on February 10, 2017 in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, IMAX 3D and 4DX formats  The film received generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice acting, score, visual style, and humor, and was also commercially successful, having grossed $312 million worldwide against a budget of around $80 million  A sequel, Lego Superfriends, was announced in 2018, but was cancelled after Universal Pictures acquired the Lego franchise rights, with Zach's casting being the main criminal of the film 

Plot
Within the DC superhero dimension of the Lego multiverse, Batman protects Gotham City and fights crime  During his latest mission to stop the Joker, Kite Man, Crazy Quilt, the Penguin, the Riddler, the Kabuki Twins, Calculator, Captain Boomerang, Man-Bat, Red Hood and more villains from destroying the city, Batman succeeds, but also hurts the Joker's feelings by telling him he is not as important in his life as he thinks he is, leading the Joker to seek the ultimate revenge on him 
The following day, Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne attends the city's winter gala, which is celebrating both the retirement of Police Commissioner Gordon and the ascension of his daughter Barbara to replace him  Wayne is smitten by Barbara, and this distraction results in him unwittingly agreeing to adopt the enthusiastic orphan Dick Grayson  Wayne is then infuriated by Barbara's plans to restructure the police to function without the need of Batman  The Joker crashes the party with his villain team  The Joker surrenders himself to police, while capturing almost all the villains for the police, except Harley Quinn  With so many villains incarcerated, Batman becomes desolate as Gotham no longer requires his crime-fighting skills 
Suspecting that the Joker is up to no good, Batman plans to steal Superman's Phantom Zone projector, a device that can banish anyone to the Phantom Zone, which houses some of the most dangerous criminals in the Lego multiverse, only for Alfred to intervene and advise him to take care of Dick  Batman initially refuses, so Alfred allows Dick to enter the Batcave  Appearing as Batman before Dick, Batman states that he is also adopting Dick, and fosters Dick as Robin to help in his scheme  Batman and Robin recover the projector from the Fortress of Solitude, break into Arkham Asylum and successfully send the Joker to the Phantom Zone  Suspecting that the Joker wanted to be sent there, Barbara locks up Batman and Robin 
While the projector is being seized as evidence, Harley steals it back as part of the Joker's plan, and frees him, allowing him to return to Gotham with all the multiverse's villains he had recruited in the Phantom Zone, including Sauron, who informs the Joker that Batman is Bruce Wayne  The criminals attack Gotham and take over Wayne Island  Realizing that Gotham does need Batman after all, Barbara releases Batman and Robin and teams up with them and Alfred to stop the new threat  Although his teammates achieve some success in fighting the multiverse's villains, Batman forcibly sends them away and confronts the Joker alone, fearing that he might lose them just like his parents 
Believing that Batman is incapable of changing his ways, the Joker sends him to the Phantom Zone before stealing the Batcave's stash of confiscated bombs to destroy Gotham  Meanwhile, Phyllis, the Phantom Zone's gatekeeper, shows Batman how he has mistreated Dick, Alfred, Barbara and the Joker  Batman accepts his greatest fear, being part of a family, and decides to change  Batman's teammates return to the fight to help him, but are endangered themselves  Batman makes a deal with Phyllis to temporarily return to Gotham to retrieve the Zone's escaped prisoners, and arrives in time to save his teammates, apologizing to them for leaving them and requesting their help to stop the Joker  They agree, with Barbara taking on the Batgirl costume 
With help from Bane, Orca and Egghead, who felt neglected by the Joker when he refused to break them out of Arkham, Batman and his team defeat the escaped multiverse's villains and send them back to the Phantom Zone  However, the Joker's bombs explode, tearing Gotham apart at the plates below the city  Batman convinces Joker to help him by telling him he gives him purpose to be the hero he is, and with the help of every civilian and villain, they manage to save Gotham, chain-linking themselves together to reassemble the plates 
In the aftermath, Batman reveals to Dick that he is Wayne in disguise, then goes to return to the Phantom Zone to face the consequences of his earlier behavior  Phyllis prevents Batman from entering the Phantom Zone, after realizing he is a hero and seeing how he changed to save everyone  Afterward, Batman gives the Joker, the Penguin, Bane, Mr  Freeze, Clayface, the Riddler, Harley, the Kabuki Twins and the rest of the villains a headstart, knowing they will be no match for the Bat-family 

Voice cast
Will Arnett as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire by day and superhero by night, who defends Gotham City from crime  Arnett also voiced the character in The Lego Movie and later reprised his role in its sequel 
Zach Galifianakis as Joker: A clown-themed villain in Gotham City and Batman's archenemy, who defines himself by his conflict with him 
Michael Cera as Dick Grayson / Robin: An orphan who is adopted by Bruce Wayne, and becomes a sidekick to Batman 
Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl: The newly elected police commissioner of Gotham, who hopes to restructure the Gotham City Police Department so that the city could defend itself without Batman  She eventually comes to trust Batman and becomes Batgirl 
Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne family's butler, and Bruce's father figure and only confidant  Fiennes later reprised his role in The Lego Movie 2 
Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn, The Joker's girlfriend and accomplice 
Héctor Elizondo as James Gordon, the retired police commissioner of Gotham and Barbara's father 
Ellie Kemper as Phyllis, a brick who is the gatekeeper of the Phantom Zone 
Mariah Carey as Mayor McCaskill, the mayor of Gotham 
Lauren White as Chief O'Hara, the police chief of Gotham 
Todd Hansen and Chris McKay respectively as Captain Dale and Pilot Bill, the two pilots of the airplane hijacked by the Joker at the beginning of the film 
Brent Musburger, Ralph Garman, and Chris Hardwick make cameo appearances as three unnamed reporters 
Mark Jonathan Davis as a fictionalized version of himself (his character Richard Cheese also appears through the use of archival recordings) 
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as Superman and Green Lantern, both reprising their respective roles from The Lego Movie 
Adam DeVine as The Flash Several actors voice the various villains from Batman's rogues gallery, including Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face (as a nod to his role as Harvey Dent, Two-Face's former identity, in the 1989 Batman film), Riki Lindhome as Poison Ivy, Conan O'Brien as Riddler, Jason Mantzoukas as the Scarecrow, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman (she would later portray Catwoman in The Batman), Matt Villa as Killer Croc, Kate Micucci as Clayface, Doug Benson as Bane (the character's appearance and Benson's performance are meant to satirize Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises), John Venzon as Penguin, (the character's appearance is a nod to Danny DeVito‘s portrayal of Penguin in Batman Returns), David Burrows as Mr  Freeze (Burrows also voices an anchorman), and Laura Kightlinger as Orca (Kightlinger also voices a reporter)  The film also features villains from other franchises, including Sauron's Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (voiced by Jemaine Clement), the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (also voiced by Riki Lindhome), Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter (voiced by Eddie Izzard), King Kong from King Kong, the Swamp Creature from various monster films (both voiced by Seth Green), Medusa from Greek mythology (also voiced by Lauren White), and the Daleks from Doctor Who (voiced by Nicholas Briggs, reprising his role from the television series) 
The voice of the Batcomputer (credited as 'Puter), depicted here as an artificial intelligence controlling all of Batman's gadgets and vehicles, is done by Siri Archive footage of Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger from Jerry Maguire is used 

Production
Development
In October 2014, following the success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros  greenlit multiple Lego films, including The Lego Batman Movie, a spin-off starring Batman  Warner Bros  scheduled the release of The Lego Batman Movie for May 26, 2017, moving the release date for The Lego Movie 2 (later titled as The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) to May 25, 2018  Chris McKay, who co-directed The Lego Movie, was brought on board to direct the film, making it his solo directorial debut  Will Arnett returned to voice Batman, with the story written by Seth Grahame-Smith, and the film produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller  On April 20, 2015, Warner Bros  moved up The Lego Batman Movie to a February 10, 2017 release  The film itself also serves as the first theatrically released animated feature to be based on a licensed property, which explains the lack of yellow Lego figures, despite Emmet Brickowski, the main character of the Lego Movie, making a small cameo 
In an interview about his work on the film, McKay stated that working on the film was "a very mixed blessing" owing partly to the film's hectic time schedule for its production, remarking that the two-and-a-half years allocated to the film made it difficult to fit in everything that he wanted for the movie, considering his earlier work on The Lego Movie  His work on The Lego Batman Movie was influenced by the comedy portrayed in both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series, with his pitch for the film to the studios being described as like "Jerry Maguire as directed by Michael Mann"  His proposal to combine all the Batman eras featured in the comic book series and various media formats, including movies and comic series, despite a couple of issues—the total inconsistency inherent to such a task, and Lego rejecting some of the characters he proposed to include in the film—was based on his desire of how to portray Robin within the film's setting  In an interview regarding his version of the superhero duo, McKay stated:
"I was thinking that we were basically taking the Burt Ward Robin and sticking him in the Batmobile with the Zack Snyder/Ben Affleck Batman, or the Frank Miller Batman  And putting these two different energies together  Somebody who’s like the grumpiest, dark grittiest, broodiest Batman with the most positive, indefatigable kid "
In 2019, prior to the release of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Chris Miller stated that all of the Lego movies are based on the imagination of a child character, with The Lego Movie events happening in young Finn's mind  Miller affirmed that The Lego Batman Movie was also from the imagination of Finn and Bianca, though the characters did not appear within the film, although Bianca was alluded to as Phyllis' boss 

Casting
In July 2015, Arnett's Arrested Development co-star Michael Cera was cast to voice Robin  In August 2015, Zach Galifianakis entered final negotiations to voice the Joker  In October 2015, Rosario Dawson was cast to voice Barbara Gordon, the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon who later becomes the crime-fighting heroine Batgirl  The following month, Ralph Fiennes was cast as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler  Initial reports indicated that Mariah Carey was playing Commissioner Gordon  However, she was actually cast as Mayor McCaskill 

Batman and pop culture references
As part of its production, the film was designed to make numerous references to previous Batman films, cartoons and comics  In two distinct scenes where Barbara Gordon depicts Batman's long history of services for the police and Alfred quotes Batman's previous films (as previous moments of emotional crisis), they mention: the 1940s Batman serials (erroneously placed earlier than his comic books appearances); the films Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016); the television shows Batman (1960s), Batman: The Animated Series (1990s), Batman Beyond (2000s) and The Batman (2000s); and the comics Detective Comics #27 (Batman's introductory story), The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989)  Other references include previous costumes worn by Batman and Robin and the various Batmobiles used  In most cases, their appearances in the film are done in a Lego style, with the exception being footage from a live-action shot of Adam West's depiction of Batman in the 1960s Batman series and a picture of Batman's suit from Batman and Robin  Climactic events from past Batman films involving the Joker have been mentioned, including "that time with the parade and the Prince music" (1989's Batman) and "the two boats" (The Dark Knight) Alongside Joker, the main antagonist of the film's story, and Superman, who features heavily and has notable links to the Christopher Reeve films Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), many other DC characters, both villains associated with Batman and other DC superheroes, feature in the film  The film's villains who have been featured in Batman comics, films and cartoons include: Man-Bat; Captain Boomerang; Egghead; Crazy Quilt; Eraser; Polka-Dot Man; Mime; Tarantula; King Tut from the 1960s series; Killer Moth; March Harriet; Zodiac Master; the Mutant Leader from The Dark Knight Returns; Doctor Phosphorus; Magpie; Calculator; Hugo Strange; an unidentified version of Red Hood; the Kabuki Twins from The Batman; Orca; Gentleman Ghost; Clock King; Calendar Man; Kite Man; Catman; Zebra-Man; and a variation of Condiment King from Batman: The Animated Series  The other DC heroes who feature, both from the Justice League and Super Friends, include: Wonder Woman; Aquaman; The Flash; Cyborg; Green Arrow; Black Canary; Hawkman; Hawkgirl; Martian Manhunter; Apache Chief; Black Vulcan; El Dorado; Samurai; Wonder Dog; the Wonder Twins and Gleek  Although not part of the DC franchise, Iron Man from Marvel Comics is referenced in the film as part of a small joke about Batman's password for entering the Batcave, referencing the famous rivalry between DC and Marvel The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them following the same narrative of The Lego Movie in that they came from worlds that co-exist alongside others of the Lego Universe, which are made up of Lego playsets of the various media franchises  These additional characters include: Medusa from Lego Minifigures; the Swamp Creature, Evil Mummy, and Lord Vampyre from Lego Monster Fighters; King Kong; the Daleks from Doctor Who; the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz; the Kraken from Clash of the Titans; Agent Smith and his clones from The Matrix; the great white shark from Jaws; Voldemort from Harry Potter; Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; the Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptors from Jurassic Park; The Skeleton Warriors from Jason and the Argonauts and the Gremlins  The way in which the Gremlins attack a plane references The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" The film also includes Batman watching the scene from Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise says "You complete me" (which makes Batman laugh out loud); this line had previously been quoted by The Joker in The Dark Knight  In the scene where Batman discusses possible team names he mentions Fox Force Five, which is the name of Mia Wallace's failed television pilot mentioned in Pulp Fiction  The film's use of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a nod to the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed  The film's other references include Gleaming the Cube and Gymkata The casting of Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face references the 1989 Batman film, in which Williams played District Attorney Harvey Dent, before his transition to Two-Face  Director Chris McKay said the film's depiction of Gotham City was inspired by Chicago partly due to  Christopher Nolan having filmed The Dark Knight Trilogy in Chicago A scene from The Lego Movie is reused in the film, depicting Emmet falling down from Lord Business's tower into the real world, as television journalists explain what would happen if Joker detonates his bomb 

Music
The Lego Batman Movie is the first in the franchise not to be composed by Mark Mothersbaugh; the film score is composed by Lorne Balfe  The soundtrack album was released by WaterTower Music on February 3, 2017, through two-disc CD and for digital download, while the vinyl version was released on May 19, 2017 

Marketing
The first teaser trailer for The Lego Batman Movie was released on March 24, 2016, and features the song "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa  It was attached to showings of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in theatres  A second teaser trailer was released on March 28, 2016, and features references to all live-action iterations of Batman, from the 1960s Batman TV series to Batman v Superman  A third trailer was released on July 23, 2016  A fourth trailer was released on November 4, 2016  Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including two sets of Collectible Minifigures  A Story Pack for the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions based on The Lego Batman Movie was released on February 10, 2017, alongside the film  The pack adds a six-level story campaign adapting the events of the film, and includes playable figures of Robin and Batgirl, a driveable Batwing, and a constructible gateway model based on the Batcomputer  A Fun Pack including Excalibur Batman and his Bionic Steed was also released the same day On January 14, 2017, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chevrolet unveiled a life-sized Lego Batmobile inspired by the design featured in the film, constructed from around 350,000 Lego pieces  As a related promotion, a Bat-Signal (alternating between Batman's emblem and the Chevrolet logo) was projected on the Renaissance Center over the weekend, and Chevrolet released a new television commercial tying into the film, featuring the Batmobile as a crossover with its ongoing "Real People, Not Actors" campaign Warner Bros  released several promotional tie-ins on the week of the movie's release  LEGO billboard versions of several TV shows were shown outside of the studio lot, that took 300 hours to make out of 10,000 bricks  The Big Bang Theory included a LEGO version of the opening sequence in the episode "The Locomotion Reverberation" that first aired on CBS  In addition, the network aired two LEGO commercials featuring Batman and the cast The CW featured LEGO end cards for Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow, respectively, on the week of the movie's release  All four DC shows also include a special variant of the Berlanti Productions logo that featured Batman's cameo and a new recording from Greg Berlanti's real-life father who says "Batman, move your head " instead of the usual "Greg, move your head " In addition, the network aired two commercials where Batman interacts with the characters from each show 

Release
Theatrical
The film's world premiere was conducted in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, where upon it went into general release from February 8; it was released in Denmark on February 9, and in the United States and the United Kingdom on February 10  Its overall release saw movie theatres displaying the film in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX 3D and 4DX  though the latter format was restricted to 3D for North America, while international countries were able to view it in IMAX The Lego Batman Movie is notably the first animated movie based on Batman to receive a full theatrical release since Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) 

Home media
The LEGO Batman Movie was released on Digital HD on May 19, 2017  The release included the theatrical short film The Master: A LEGO Ninjago Short, as well as four new short films: Dark Hoser, Batman is Just Not That Into You, Cooking with Alfred and Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That?  The LEGO Batman Movie was released on DVD, Blu-ray (2D and 3D), and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Warner Bros  Home Entertainment on June 13, 2017  The film debuted at No  3 on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart 

Reception
Box office
The Lego Batman Movie grossed $175 8 million in the United States and Canada and $136 2 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $312 million, against a production budget of $80 million In the United States and Canada, The Lego Batman Movie opened alongside two other sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter 2, and was projected to gross around $60 million from 4,088 theaters in its opening weekend  It earned $2 2 million from Thursday-night previews and $14 5 million on Friday  It went on to open with $53 million, finishing first at the box office  In its second weekend, the film grossed $32 7 million (a small drop of 38 4%), again topping the box office; with the additional President's Day holiday on Monday, it made a total of $42 7 million for the weekend  In its third weekend of release, the film dropped to second at the box office, behind newcomer Get Out, grossing $19 2 million (a drop of 41 2%) Outside North America the film was simultaneously released in 61 countries, and was expected to gross around $40 million over its first three days  It ended up grossing $37 million in its opening weekend, including $9 3 million in the United Kingdom, $2 6 million in Mexico, $2 3 million in Germany and $2 2 million in Russia 

Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 315 reviews, with an average rating of 7 5/10  The website's critical consensus reads, "The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise's winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny—and beautifully animated—family-friendly mayhem " It was ranked the 23rd best superhero movie of all time on the site  On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews"  Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, praising its comedy, and saying: "The LEGO Batman Movie isn't the same experience as watching The LEGO Movie, but I also don't think it's trying to be  It's trying to be a fun superhero movie with clever callbacks to previous Batman films (every single Batman movie all the way back to the 1940s serials are referenced) that can, at least, provide DC superhero fans with a taste of fun amidst all the doom and gloom  (That can either be a reference to 'the real world' or the current DC Cinematic Universe films, you can choose either one you want or both ) And at that, The LEGO Batman Movie succeeds " Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" and wrote, "LEGO Batman revs so fast and moves so frenetically that it becomes a little exhausting by the end  It flirts with being too much of a good thing  But rarely has corporate brainwashing been so much fun and gone down with such a delightful aftertaste " Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times was positive in his review, saying, "In its best moments, this gag-a-minute Bat-roast serves as a reminder that, in the right hands, a sharp comic scalpel can be an instrument of revelation as well as ridicule " Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post praised the film for its heart, humor, and action which "snap together, with a satisfying click "

Accolades
Other media
Sets
Video games
Lego Dimensions includes characters from various franchises, including The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie  The game's Starter Pack includes Wyldstyle, while Emmet, Benny, Bad Cop, and Unikitty are included in Fun Packs  From The Lego Batman Movie, Robin and Batgirl are included in a Story Pack while Excalibur Batman is included in a Fun Pack  However, Robin gets his voice actor changed in the game to Robbie Daymond and can also use his appearance from Teen Titans Go! if he is used in the Teen Titans Go! World 
Based on The Lego Batman Movie, Warner Bros  Interactive Entertainment released the endless-runner game coinciding with the release of the film  It was released for Android and iOS 

Cancelled sequel
On December 5, 2018, McKay announced a sequel to the film was in the works, with him returning to direct  The film was set for release in 2022  However, following the box office underperformance of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019, Universal Pictures acquired the film rights to The Lego Movie franchise in 2020, effectively cancelling the sequel due to the rights of DC Comics being owned by Warner Bros In June 2021, McKay revealed that the script was being written by Michael Waldron and Dan Harmon  It would have focused on Batman's relationship with the Justice League, particularly Superman, and the main villains would have been Lex Luthor and OMAC  Waldron revealed that the film was tentatively titled Lego Superfriends 
Passage 6:
The Lego Batman Movie
The Lego Batman Movie (stylized as The LEGO Batman Movie) is a 2017 computer-animated superhero comedy film produced by Warner Animation Group, DC Entertainment, RatPac Entertainment, Lego System A/S, Lin Pictures, Lord Miller Productions, and Vertigo Entertainment, and distributed by Warner Bros  Pictures  It was directed by Chris McKay (in his feature directorial debut) from a screenplay by Seth Grahame-Smith, Chris McKenna, Erik Sommers, Jared Stern, and John Whittington  Based on the characters from the DC Universe created by DC Comics and the Lego DC Super Heroes' Batman toy line, the film is a collaboration between production houses from the United States, Australia, and Denmark, the first spin-off in The Lego Movie franchise and the second installment overall  The film features Will Arnett reprising his role as Batman from The Lego Movie alongside Zach Galifianakis, Michael Cera, Rosario Dawson, and Ralph Fiennes  The story follows the title character (Arnett) as he attempts to overcome his greatest fear to stop the Joker's (Galifianakis) latest plan 
Development of The Lego Batman Movie started in October 2014, after Warner Bros  announced several Lego films, following the critical and commercial success of The Lego Movie, while Chris McKay was hired to direct the film after being replaced by Rob Schrab to direct the sequel to The Lego Movie  He cited both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series as his main inspirations  Casting call began in July to November 2015  The film pays homage to previous Batman films, cartoons, and comics  The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them  Like The Lego Movie, the animation was provided by Animal Logic  Lorne Balfe composed the film's musical score 
The Lego Batman Movie had its world premiere in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, and was released in the United States on February 10, 2017 in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX, IMAX 3D and 4DX formats  The film received generally positive reviews from critics for its animation, voice acting, score, visual style, and humor, and was also commercially successful, having grossed $312 million worldwide against a budget of around $80 million  A sequel, Lego Superfriends, was announced in 2018, but was cancelled after Universal Pictures acquired the Lego franchise rights, with Zach's casting being the main criminal of the film 

Plot
Within the DC superhero dimension of the Lego multiverse, Batman protects Gotham City and fights crime  During his latest mission to stop the Joker, Kite Man, Crazy Quilt, the Penguin, the Riddler, the Kabuki Twins, Calculator, Captain Boomerang, Man-Bat, Red Hood and more villains from destroying the city, Batman succeeds, but also hurts the Joker's feelings by telling him he is not as important in his life as he thinks he is, leading the Joker to seek the ultimate revenge on him 
The following day, Batman's alter ego Bruce Wayne attends the city's winter gala, which is celebrating both the retirement of Police Commissioner Gordon and the ascension of his daughter Barbara to replace him  Wayne is smitten by Barbara, and this distraction results in him unwittingly agreeing to adopt the enthusiastic orphan Dick Grayson  Wayne is then infuriated by Barbara's plans to restructure the police to function without the need of Batman  The Joker crashes the party with his villain team  The Joker surrenders himself to police, while capturing almost all the villains for the police, except Harley Quinn  With so many villains incarcerated, Batman becomes desolate as Gotham no longer requires his crime-fighting skills 
Suspecting that the Joker is up to no good, Batman plans to steal Superman's Phantom Zone projector, a device that can banish anyone to the Phantom Zone, which houses some of the most dangerous criminals in the Lego multiverse, only for Alfred to intervene and advise him to take care of Dick  Batman initially refuses, so Alfred allows Dick to enter the Batcave  Appearing as Batman before Dick, Batman states that he is also adopting Dick, and fosters Dick as Robin to help in his scheme  Batman and Robin recover the projector from the Fortress of Solitude, break into Arkham Asylum and successfully send the Joker to the Phantom Zone  Suspecting that the Joker wanted to be sent there, Barbara locks up Batman and Robin 
While the projector is being seized as evidence, Harley steals it back as part of the Joker's plan, and frees him, allowing him to return to Gotham with all the multiverse's villains he had recruited in the Phantom Zone, including Sauron, who informs the Joker that Batman is Bruce Wayne  The criminals attack Gotham and take over Wayne Island  Realizing that Gotham does need Batman after all, Barbara releases Batman and Robin and teams up with them and Alfred to stop the new threat  Although his teammates achieve some success in fighting the multiverse's villains, Batman forcibly sends them away and confronts the Joker alone, fearing that he might lose them just like his parents 
Believing that Batman is incapable of changing his ways, the Joker sends him to the Phantom Zone before stealing the Batcave's stash of confiscated bombs to destroy Gotham  Meanwhile, Phyllis, the Phantom Zone's gatekeeper, shows Batman how he has mistreated Dick, Alfred, Barbara and the Joker  Batman accepts his greatest fear, being part of a family, and decides to change  Batman's teammates return to the fight to help him, but are endangered themselves  Batman makes a deal with Phyllis to temporarily return to Gotham to retrieve the Zone's escaped prisoners, and arrives in time to save his teammates, apologizing to them for leaving them and requesting their help to stop the Joker  They agree, with Barbara taking on the Batgirl costume 
With help from Bane, Orca and Egghead, who felt neglected by the Joker when he refused to break them out of Arkham, Batman and his team defeat the escaped multiverse's villains and send them back to the Phantom Zone  However, the Joker's bombs explode, tearing Gotham apart at the plates below the city  Batman convinces Joker to help him by telling him he gives him purpose to be the hero he is, and with the help of every civilian and villain, they manage to save Gotham, chain-linking themselves together to reassemble the plates 
In the aftermath, Batman reveals to Dick that he is Wayne in disguise, then goes to return to the Phantom Zone to face the consequences of his earlier behavior  Phyllis prevents Batman from entering the Phantom Zone, after realizing he is a hero and seeing how he changed to save everyone  Afterward, Batman gives the Joker, the Penguin, Bane, Mr  Freeze, Clayface, the Riddler, Harley, the Kabuki Twins and the rest of the villains a headstart, knowing they will be no match for the Bat-family 

Voice cast
Will Arnett as Bruce Wayne / Batman: A billionaire by day and superhero by night, who defends Gotham City from crime  Arnett also voiced the character in The Lego Movie and later reprised his role in its sequel 
Zach Galifianakis as Joker: A clown-themed villain in Gotham City and Batman's archenemy, who defines himself by his conflict with him 
Michael Cera as Dick Grayson / Robin: An orphan who is adopted by Bruce Wayne, and becomes a sidekick to Batman 
Rosario Dawson as Barbara Gordon / Batgirl: The newly elected police commissioner of Gotham, who hopes to restructure the Gotham City Police Department so that the city could defend itself without Batman  She eventually comes to trust Batman and becomes Batgirl 
Ralph Fiennes as Alfred Pennyworth: The Wayne family's butler, and Bruce's father figure and only confidant  Fiennes later reprised his role in The Lego Movie 2 
Jenny Slate as Harley Quinn, The Joker's girlfriend and accomplice 
Héctor Elizondo as James Gordon, the retired police commissioner of Gotham and Barbara's father 
Ellie Kemper as Phyllis, a brick who is the gatekeeper of the Phantom Zone 
Mariah Carey as Mayor McCaskill, the mayor of Gotham 
Lauren White as Chief O'Hara, the police chief of Gotham 
Todd Hansen and Chris McKay respectively as Captain Dale and Pilot Bill, the two pilots of the airplane hijacked by the Joker at the beginning of the film 
Brent Musburger, Ralph Garman, and Chris Hardwick make cameo appearances as three unnamed reporters 
Mark Jonathan Davis as a fictionalized version of himself (his character Richard Cheese also appears through the use of archival recordings) 
Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as Superman and Green Lantern, both reprising their respective roles from The Lego Movie 
Adam DeVine as The Flash Several actors voice the various villains from Batman's rogues gallery, including Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face (as a nod to his role as Harvey Dent, Two-Face's former identity, in the 1989 Batman film), Riki Lindhome as Poison Ivy, Conan O'Brien as Riddler, Jason Mantzoukas as the Scarecrow, Zoë Kravitz as Catwoman (she would later portray Catwoman in The Batman), Matt Villa as Killer Croc, Kate Micucci as Clayface, Doug Benson as Bane (the character's appearance and Benson's performance are meant to satirize Tom Hardy's portrayal of Bane in The Dark Knight Rises), John Venzon as Penguin, (the character's appearance is a nod to Danny DeVito‘s portrayal of Penguin in Batman Returns), David Burrows as Mr  Freeze (Burrows also voices an anchorman), and Laura Kightlinger as Orca (Kightlinger also voices a reporter)  The film also features villains from other franchises, including Sauron's Eye of Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (voiced by Jemaine Clement), the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz (also voiced by Riki Lindhome), Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter (voiced by Eddie Izzard), King Kong from King Kong, the Swamp Creature from various monster films (both voiced by Seth Green), Medusa from Greek mythology (also voiced by Lauren White), and the Daleks from Doctor Who (voiced by Nicholas Briggs, reprising his role from the television series) 
The voice of the Batcomputer (credited as 'Puter), depicted here as an artificial intelligence controlling all of Batman's gadgets and vehicles, is done by Siri Archive footage of Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger from Jerry Maguire is used 

Production
Development
In October 2014, following the success of The Lego Movie, Warner Bros  greenlit multiple Lego films, including The Lego Batman Movie, a spin-off starring Batman  Warner Bros  scheduled the release of The Lego Batman Movie for May 26, 2017, moving the release date for The Lego Movie 2 (later titled as The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) to May 25, 2018  Chris McKay, who co-directed The Lego Movie, was brought on board to direct the film, making it his solo directorial debut  Will Arnett returned to voice Batman, with the story written by Seth Grahame-Smith, and the film produced by Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller  On April 20, 2015, Warner Bros  moved up The Lego Batman Movie to a February 10, 2017 release  The film itself also serves as the first theatrically released animated feature to be based on a licensed property, which explains the lack of yellow Lego figures, despite Emmet Brickowski, the main character of the Lego Movie, making a small cameo 
In an interview about his work on the film, McKay stated that working on the film was "a very mixed blessing" owing partly to the film's hectic time schedule for its production, remarking that the two-and-a-half years allocated to the film made it difficult to fit in everything that he wanted for the movie, considering his earlier work on The Lego Movie  His work on The Lego Batman Movie was influenced by the comedy portrayed in both The Naked Gun and Airplane! film series, with his pitch for the film to the studios being described as like "Jerry Maguire as directed by Michael Mann"  His proposal to combine all the Batman eras featured in the comic book series and various media formats, including movies and comic series, despite a couple of issues—the total inconsistency inherent to such a task, and Lego rejecting some of the characters he proposed to include in the film—was based on his desire of how to portray Robin within the film's setting  In an interview regarding his version of the superhero duo, McKay stated:
"I was thinking that we were basically taking the Burt Ward Robin and sticking him in the Batmobile with the Zack Snyder/Ben Affleck Batman, or the Frank Miller Batman  And putting these two different energies together  Somebody who’s like the grumpiest, dark grittiest, broodiest Batman with the most positive, indefatigable kid "
In 2019, prior to the release of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Chris Miller stated that all of the Lego movies are based on the imagination of a child character, with The Lego Movie events happening in young Finn's mind  Miller affirmed that The Lego Batman Movie was also from the imagination of Finn and Bianca, though the characters did not appear within the film, although Bianca was alluded to as Phyllis' boss 

Casting
In July 2015, Arnett's Arrested Development co-star Michael Cera was cast to voice Robin  In August 2015, Zach Galifianakis entered final negotiations to voice the Joker  In October 2015, Rosario Dawson was cast to voice Barbara Gordon, the daughter of police commissioner James Gordon who later becomes the crime-fighting heroine Batgirl  The following month, Ralph Fiennes was cast as Alfred Pennyworth, Bruce Wayne's butler  Initial reports indicated that Mariah Carey was playing Commissioner Gordon  However, she was actually cast as Mayor McCaskill 

Batman and pop culture references
As part of its production, the film was designed to make numerous references to previous Batman films, cartoons and comics  In two distinct scenes where Barbara Gordon depicts Batman's long history of services for the police and Alfred quotes Batman's previous films (as previous moments of emotional crisis), they mention: the 1940s Batman serials (erroneously placed earlier than his comic books appearances); the films Batman (1966), Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Suicide Squad (2016); the television shows Batman (1960s), Batman: The Animated Series (1990s), Batman Beyond (2000s) and The Batman (2000s); and the comics Detective Comics #27 (Batman's introductory story), The Dark Knight Returns (1986) and Gotham by Gaslight (1989)  Other references include previous costumes worn by Batman and Robin and the various Batmobiles used  In most cases, their appearances in the film are done in a Lego style, with the exception being footage from a live-action shot of Adam West's depiction of Batman in the 1960s Batman series and a picture of Batman's suit from Batman and Robin  Climactic events from past Batman films involving the Joker have been mentioned, including "that time with the parade and the Prince music" (1989's Batman) and "the two boats" (The Dark Knight) Alongside Joker, the main antagonist of the film's story, and Superman, who features heavily and has notable links to the Christopher Reeve films Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980), many other DC characters, both villains associated with Batman and other DC superheroes, feature in the film  The film's villains who have been featured in Batman comics, films and cartoons include: Man-Bat; Captain Boomerang; Egghead; Crazy Quilt; Eraser; Polka-Dot Man; Mime; Tarantula; King Tut from the 1960s series; Killer Moth; March Harriet; Zodiac Master; the Mutant Leader from The Dark Knight Returns; Doctor Phosphorus; Magpie; Calculator; Hugo Strange; an unidentified version of Red Hood; the Kabuki Twins from The Batman; Orca; Gentleman Ghost; Clock King; Calendar Man; Kite Man; Catman; Zebra-Man; and a variation of Condiment King from Batman: The Animated Series  The other DC heroes who feature, both from the Justice League and Super Friends, include: Wonder Woman; Aquaman; The Flash; Cyborg; Green Arrow; Black Canary; Hawkman; Hawkgirl; Martian Manhunter; Apache Chief; Black Vulcan; El Dorado; Samurai; Wonder Dog; the Wonder Twins and Gleek  Although not part of the DC franchise, Iron Man from Marvel Comics is referenced in the film as part of a small joke about Batman's password for entering the Batcave, referencing the famous rivalry between DC and Marvel The film also features characters from other notable franchises and film series with them following the same narrative of The Lego Movie in that they came from worlds that co-exist alongside others of the Lego Universe, which are made up of Lego playsets of the various media franchises  These additional characters include: Medusa from Lego Minifigures; the Swamp Creature, Evil Mummy, and Lord Vampyre from Lego Monster Fighters; King Kong; the Daleks from Doctor Who; the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz; the Kraken from Clash of the Titans; Agent Smith and his clones from The Matrix; the great white shark from Jaws; Voldemort from Harry Potter; Sauron from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit; the Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptors from Jurassic Park; The Skeleton Warriors from Jason and the Argonauts and the Gremlins  The way in which the Gremlins attack a plane references The Twilight Zone episode "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" The film also includes Batman watching the scene from Jerry Maguire where Tom Cruise says "You complete me" (which makes Batman laugh out loud); this line had previously been quoted by The Joker in The Dark Knight  In the scene where Batman discusses possible team names he mentions Fox Force Five, which is the name of Mia Wallace's failed television pilot mentioned in Pulp Fiction  The film's use of Cutting Crew's "(I Just) Died in Your Arms" is a nod to the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed  The film's other references include Gleaming the Cube and Gymkata The casting of Billy Dee Williams as Two-Face references the 1989 Batman film, in which Williams played District Attorney Harvey Dent, before his transition to Two-Face  Director Chris McKay said the film's depiction of Gotham City was inspired by Chicago partly due to  Christopher Nolan having filmed The Dark Knight Trilogy in Chicago A scene from The Lego Movie is reused in the film, depicting Emmet falling down from Lord Business's tower into the real world, as television journalists explain what would happen if Joker detonates his bomb 

Music
The Lego Batman Movie is the first in the franchise not to be composed by Mark Mothersbaugh; the film score is composed by Lorne Balfe  The soundtrack album was released by WaterTower Music on February 3, 2017, through two-disc CD and for digital download, while the vinyl version was released on May 19, 2017 

Marketing
The first teaser trailer for The Lego Batman Movie was released on March 24, 2016, and features the song "Black and Yellow" by Wiz Khalifa  It was attached to showings of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in theatres  A second teaser trailer was released on March 28, 2016, and features references to all live-action iterations of Batman, from the 1960s Batman TV series to Batman v Superman  A third trailer was released on July 23, 2016  A fourth trailer was released on November 4, 2016  Over twenty Lego sets inspired by scenes from the film were released for the film including two sets of Collectible Minifigures  A Story Pack for the toys-to-life video game Lego Dimensions based on The Lego Batman Movie was released on February 10, 2017, alongside the film  The pack adds a six-level story campaign adapting the events of the film, and includes playable figures of Robin and Batgirl, a driveable Batwing, and a constructible gateway model based on the Batcomputer  A Fun Pack including Excalibur Batman and his Bionic Steed was also released the same day On January 14, 2017, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chevrolet unveiled a life-sized Lego Batmobile inspired by the design featured in the film, constructed from around 350,000 Lego pieces  As a related promotion, a Bat-Signal (alternating between Batman's emblem and the Chevrolet logo) was projected on the Renaissance Center over the weekend, and Chevrolet released a new television commercial tying into the film, featuring the Batmobile as a crossover with its ongoing "Real People, Not Actors" campaign Warner Bros  released several promotional tie-ins on the week of the movie's release  LEGO billboard versions of several TV shows were shown outside of the studio lot, that took 300 hours to make out of 10,000 bricks  The Big Bang Theory included a LEGO version of the opening sequence in the episode "The Locomotion Reverberation" that first aired on CBS  In addition, the network aired two LEGO commercials featuring Batman and the cast The CW featured LEGO end cards for Supergirl, The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, and Arrow, respectively, on the week of the movie's release  All four DC shows also include a special variant of the Berlanti Productions logo that featured Batman's cameo and a new recording from Greg Berlanti's real-life father who says "Batman, move your head " instead of the usual "Greg, move your head " In addition, the network aired two commercials where Batman interacts with the characters from each show 

Release
Theatrical
The film's world premiere was conducted in Dublin, Ireland on January 29, 2017, where upon it went into general release from February 8; it was released in Denmark on February 9, and in the United States and the United Kingdom on February 10  Its overall release saw movie theatres displaying the film in 3D, RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, IMAX 3D and 4DX  though the latter format was restricted to 3D for North America, while international countries were able to view it in IMAX The Lego Batman Movie is notably the first animated movie based on Batman to receive a full theatrical release since Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993) 

Home media
The LEGO Batman Movie was released on Digital HD on May 19, 2017  The release included the theatrical short film The Master: A LEGO Ninjago Short, as well as four new short films: Dark Hoser, Batman is Just Not That Into You, Cooking with Alfred and Movie Sound Effects: How Do They Do That?  The LEGO Batman Movie was released on DVD, Blu-ray (2D and 3D), and Ultra HD Blu-ray by Warner Bros  Home Entertainment on June 13, 2017  The film debuted at No  3 on the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart 

Reception
Box office
The Lego Batman Movie grossed $175 8 million in the United States and Canada and $136 2 million in other territories for a worldwide gross of $312 million, against a production budget of $80 million In the United States and Canada, The Lego Batman Movie opened alongside two other sequels, Fifty Shades Darker and John Wick: Chapter 2, and was projected to gross around $60 million from 4,088 theaters in its opening weekend  It earned $2 2 million from Thursday-night previews and $14 5 million on Friday  It went on to open with $53 million, finishing first at the box office  In its second weekend, the film grossed $32 7 million (a small drop of 38 4%), again topping the box office; with the additional President's Day holiday on Monday, it made a total of $42 7 million for the weekend  In its third weekend of release, the film dropped to second at the box office, behind newcomer Get Out, grossing $19 2 million (a drop of 41 2%) Outside North America the film was simultaneously released in 61 countries, and was expected to gross around $40 million over its first three days  It ended up grossing $37 million in its opening weekend, including $9 3 million in the United Kingdom, $2 6 million in Mexico, $2 3 million in Germany and $2 2 million in Russia 

Critical response
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 315 reviews, with an average rating of 7 5/10  The website's critical consensus reads, "The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise's winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny—and beautifully animated—family-friendly mayhem " It was ranked the 23rd best superhero movie of all time on the site  On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 48 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews"  Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, praising its comedy, and saying: "The LEGO Batman Movie isn't the same experience as watching The LEGO Movie, but I also don't think it's trying to be  It's trying to be a fun superhero movie with clever callbacks to previous Batman films (every single Batman movie all the way back to the 1940s serials are referenced) that can, at least, provide DC superhero fans with a taste of fun amidst all the doom and gloom  (That can either be a reference to 'the real world' or the current DC Cinematic Universe films, you can choose either one you want or both ) And at that, The LEGO Batman Movie succeeds " Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "B+" and wrote, "LEGO Batman revs so fast and moves so frenetically that it becomes a little exhausting by the end  It flirts with being too much of a good thing  But rarely has corporate brainwashing been so much fun and gone down with such a delightful aftertaste " Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times was positive in his review, saying, "In its best moments, this gag-a-minute Bat-roast serves as a reminder that, in the right hands, a sharp comic scalpel can be an instrument of revelation as well as ridicule " Michael O'Sullivan of The Washington Post praised the film for its heart, humor, and action which "snap together, with a satisfying click "

Accolades
Other media
Sets
Video games
Lego Dimensions includes characters from various franchises, including The Lego Movie and The Lego Batman Movie  The game's Starter Pack includes Wyldstyle, while Emmet, Benny, Bad Cop, and Unikitty are included in Fun Packs  From The Lego Batman Movie, Robin and Batgirl are included in a Story Pack while Excalibur Batman is included in a Fun Pack  However, Robin gets his voice actor changed in the game to Robbie Daymond and can also use his appearance from Teen Titans Go! if he is used in the Teen Titans Go! World 
Based on The Lego Batman Movie, Warner Bros  Interactive Entertainment released the endless-runner game coinciding with the release of the film  It was released for Android and iOS 

Cancelled sequel
On December 5, 2018, McKay announced a sequel to the film was in the works, with him returning to direct  The film was set for release in 2022  However, following the box office underperformance of The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part in 2019, Universal Pictures acquired the film rights to The Lego Movie franchise in 2020, effectively cancelling the sequel due to the rights of DC Comics being owned by Warner Bros In June 2021, McKay revealed that the script was being written by Michael Waldron and Dan Harmon  It would have focused on Batman's relationship with the Justice League, particularly Superman, and the main villains would have been Lex Luthor and OMAC  Waldron revealed that the film was tentatively titled Lego Superfriends 



ground_truth: Karen Fairchild

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: What is the name for the mouth of the watercourse of the body of water by Rotterdam Centrum?

The following are given passages.
Context 4: Passage 1:
Serres Province
Serres Province was one of the four provinces of Serres Prefecture of Greece  Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipalities Emmanouel Pappas and Serres, and part of the municipality Irakleia  It was abolished in 2006 
Passage 2:
Kavangoland
Kavangoland was a bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Kavango people  After the legal framework was established in 1968 as the Development of Self-Government for Native Nations in South-West Africa Act, 1968 (Act No  54 of 1968), Kavangoland was set up in 1970 and self-government was granted in 1973  The Kavango Legislative Council had its administrative headquarters in Rundu; its first session opened in October 1970 in the presence of the South African Minister for Bantu Administration and Development 
Kavangoland, like other homelands in South West Africa, was abolished in May 1989 at the start of the transition to independence 
Sebastian Kamwanga, Hompa (king) of the Gciriku and member of the Democratic Turnhalle Alliance (DTA) was the political representative of Kavangoland from 1981 to 1989 
Passage 3:
Smolensk Governorate
Smolensk Governorate (Russian: Смоленская губерния, romanized: Smolenskaja gubernija), or the Government of Smolensk, was an administrative division (a guberniya) of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR  It existed, with interruptions, between 1708 and 1929 
Smolensk Governorate, together with seven other governorates, was established on December 29 [O S  December 18], 1708, by an edict from Tsar Peter the Great  As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Smolensk Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities, and section of lands adjacent to those cities 

History
On July 28 [O S  July 17], 1713, Smolensk Governorate was abolished and its territory was divided between Moscow and Riga Governorates  Smolensk Province was created as a result  The governorate was re-established in 1726, and Smolensk Province was re-incorporated into the Governorate  In 1775, it was included, along with parts of Moscow and Belgorod Governorates, into Smolensk Viceroyalty  The governorate was again restored in 1796 
After the October Revolution, Smolensk Governorate was base of independent Western Oblast/Western Commune, Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus, Lithuanian–Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (Litbel), and finally incorporated into the Russian SFSR 
Eventually, on January 14, 1929, Smolensk Governorate was abolished and its territory was incorporated into Western Oblast 

Subdivisions
Smolensk Governorate, together with seven other governorates, was established on December 29 [O S  December 18], 1708, by Tsar Peter the Great's edict  As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Smolensk Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities At the time of establishment, the following thirty cities were included into Smolensk Governorate,
In 1713, when Smolensk Governorate was abolished and merged into Riga Governorate, the following five uyezds were established in the area formally occupied by the governorate (the administrative centers are given in parentheses),
Belsky Uyezd (Bely);
Dorogobuzhsky Uyezd (Dorogobuzh);
Roslavlsky Uyezd (Roslavl);
Smolensky Uyezd (Smolensk);
Vyazemsky Uyezd (Vyazma) After Smolensk Governorate was re-established in 1726, it was subdivided into these five uyezds 
In 1775, Smolensk Viceroyalty was subdivided into 12 uyezds, which remained when it was transformed back to a governorate in 1802
(the administrative centers, which all had the town status, are in parentheses),
Belsky Uyezd (Bely);
Dorogobuzhsky Uyezd (Dorogobuzh);
Dukhovshchinsky Uyezd (Dukhovshchina);
Gzhatsky Uyezd (Gzhatsk);
Krasninsky Uyezd (Krasny);
Porechsky Uyezd (Porechye);
Roslavlsky Uyezd (Roslavl);
Smolensky Uyezd (Smolensk);
Sychyovsky Uyezd (Sychyovka);
Vyazemsky Uyezd (Vyazma);
Yelninsky Uyezd (Yelnya);
Yukhnovsky Uyezd (Yukhnov) 

Demography
Language
Population by mother tongue according to the Imperial census of 1897 

Religion
According to the Imperial census of 1897 
Passage 4:
Damaraland
Damaraland was a name given to the north-central part of what later became Namibia, inhabited by the Damaras  It was bounded roughly by Ovamboland in the north, the Namib Desert in the west, the Kalahari Desert in the east, and Windhoek in the south 
In the 1970s the name Damaraland was revived for a bantustan in South West Africa (present-day Namibia), intended by the apartheid government to be a self-governing homeland for the Damara people  A centrally administered local government was created in 1980  The bantustan Damaraland was situated on the western edge of the territory that had been known as Damaraland in the 19th century 
Damaraland, like other homelands in South West Africa, was abolished in May 1989 at the start of the transition to independence 
The name Damaraland predates South African control of Namibia, and was described as "the central portion of German South West Africa" in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition 

See also
Apartheid
Bantustans in South West Africa
Leaders of Damaraland
Diocese of Namibia (formerly Diocese of Damaraland)
Passage 5:
Pyrgiotissa
Pyrgiotissa was a province of Heraklion Prefecture, Crete, Greece  Its territory corresponded with that of the current municipal unit Tympaki  It was abolished in 2006 
Passage 6:
Mercian Supremacy
The Mercian Supremacy was the period of Anglo-Saxon history between c  716 and c  825, when the kingdom of Mercia dominated the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy in England  Sir Frank Stenton apparently coined the phrase, arguing that Offa of Mercia, who ruled 757–796, effectively achieved the unification of England south of the Humber estuary  Scholastic opinion on the relationship between the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia at this time remains divided 
While the precise period during which the Mercian Supremacy existed remains uncertain – depending upon whether one includes the reigns of Penda (c  626–655) and Wulfhere (658–675) – the end of the era is generally agreed to be around 825, following the defeat of King Beornwulf at the Battle of Ellandun (near present-day Swindon) 
Nicholas Brooks noted that "the Mercians stand out as by far the most successful of the various early Anglo-Saxon peoples until the later ninth century" and with the exception of three years under Northumbrian domination, this is true between the years 633 and 825 Recorded by Bede as the nemesis of early Anglo-Saxon Northumbria, Penda of Mercia achieved an early expansion of his kingdom's territory, but his reign ended with his death in battle, which was followed by a brief three-year period when Northumbria ruled over the Mercians  The rebellion against Northumbria by Penda's son Wulfhere in 658 immediately preceded the restoration of Penda's kingdom and a period of expansion in which Mercia's influence reached as far south as the Isle of Wight  During this period of expansion, Mercia lost its province of the Kingdom of Lindsey to Northumbria in 661, but its recapture by Æthelred of Mercia following the Battle of the Trent in 679 secured Mercia's position as the dominant Anglo-Saxon power for over a century 
Mercia's hold over the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of Essex, Sussex and Kent seems to have been tenuous until 716, when Æthelbald of Mercia restored Mercia's hegemony for over forty years  Offa's accession in 757 heralded the beginning of a golden age for Mercia  Some historians have suggested that Offa's defeat of the Welsh and the West Saxons of Wessex established the Mercian Supremacy, which remained unchallenged until 825 when Egbert of Wessex supported an East Anglian rebellion against Beornwulf of Mercia, whose defeat at Ellendun effectively brought the Supremacy to an end 
Passage 7:
Capital punishment in New Zealand
Capital punishment in New Zealand – the process of sentencing convicted offenders to death for the most serious crimes (capital crimes) and carrying out that sentence, as ordered by a legal system – first appeared in a codified form when New Zealand became a British colony in 1840  It was first carried out with a public hanging in Victoria Street, Auckland in 1842, while the last execution occurred in 1957 at Mount Eden Prison, also in Auckland   In total, 85 people have been executed in New Zealand Capital punishment was first abolished for murder in 1941 by the First Labour Government, with all death sentences commuted to life imprisonment  However, the succeeding First National Government reinstated it in 1949, following which eight more executions took place in the period up to 1957  Subsequently, public opinion turned against the use of capital punishment, and it was once again abolished for murder in 1961, and abolished for all crimes, including treason, in 1989 

Method
The method of execution was always by hanging  At first, there were many possible execution sites all around the country, but later, the only two cities where hangings were carried out were Wellington (the capital) and Auckland (now the largest city) 
Initially, there was no professional hangman employed—the executioner was simply chosen from among any who were deemed qualified  On occasion, convicted criminals were employed as hangmen, often in exchange for reduced sentences or monetary reward  In 1877, the sheriff of Blenheim recommended that a professional executioner be hired  Tom Long, an Irishman who claimed to have been an executioner in Australia, was hired as the official hangman  He was the only official hangman to be publicly known; others remained anonymous 

History
At the time of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 when New Zealand became a British colony, the most current legislation governing capital punishment in England, and henceforth New Zealand, was the Punishment of Offences Act (1837), which had abolished the death penalty for a number of statutory offences, including cattle stealing, and replaced it with penal transportation for life  However, some capital crimes remained on the British law books, including murder, treason, espionage, arson in the royal dockyards, and piracy with violence All those executed were convicted of murder, with the exception of Hamiora Pere, who was convicted of treason in 1869  All bar one were men; the exception being Minnie Dean, who was found guilty of infanticide in 1895  However, before Dean's trial, imprisonment and execution, several other women had been found guilty of Infanticide in nineteenth-century New Zealand, but had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment  These were Caroline Whitting (1872), Phoebe Veitch (1883) and Sarah-Jane and Anna Flannagan (1891) 

Public executions
The first eight executions were carried out in public, from 1842 to 1858; five outside the gate of the Auckland Gaol on the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street West in central Auckland; one on King Edward Parade on the waterfront at Devonport; and two outside Mount Cook Gaol in Wellington, which is today the site of the Dominion Museum building and National War Memorial on Puke Ahu At the first execution, on 7 March 1842, approximately a thousand people gathered at the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street West, now the centre of the Auckland CBD, to witness the hanging of Wiremu Kīngi Maketū  He had been found guilty of murdering five people on Motuarohia Island, in the Bay of Islands  The people killed were Thomas Bull, employed by Elisabeth Roberton, who was also murdered along with her son aged eight, her daughter of two, and a girl of nearly three named Isabella Brind, the natural daughter of one Captain Brind by a Māori woman, the daughter of Rewa, chief of Ngapuhi in that area  Mrs Roberton's husband, Captain John Roberton, had drowned prior in Paroa Bay, just opposite the island  Thomas Bull had a reputation for strength and brutality  He seemed at all times to have made a set at Maketū and had on several occasions struck, thrown, or otherwise maltreated him  Maketū was unable to defend himself against such an opponent; nor indeed did it conform with his notions of dignity to do so, he being (by virtue of his chiefly rank) above combat with one who was a servant and whom he therefore regarded on the same plane as a slave  Maketū, therefore, bided his time for revenge  Maketū then killed Thomas Bull in the night with an axe; he then brutally murdered Mrs Roberton, who was shouting abuse at him and then went to murder the two girls (ransacking the house and then burning Mrs Roberton and the two children within it)  The boy ran up Pa Hill, where Maketū chased him and threw him off the 200-foot (60 m) cliff  He was sentenced to death by an all-white jury (his defence had wanted a half-white, half-Māori jury) in an Auckland court, and executed on 7 March 1842 

The second execution in New Zealand was the public hanging of Joseph Burns on 17 June 1848  On the day of his execution, he was paraded down Auckland's Queen St, seated in a coffin, and taken by boat across the Waitemata Harbour to the Devonport waterfront, where he was hanged on King Edward Parade, not far from the scene of his crimes  Burns was the first European settler to be executed in New Zealand The third execution in New Zealand, and first in Wellington, occurred on 19 April 1849  Maroro of Ngāti Kahungunu descent was hanged outside Mount Cook Gaol in front of approximately 500 people, following his conviction of the murder of John Branks and his three children The fourth execution occurred in the same location in Wellington on 17 June 1850, in front of a similar sized crowd, when William Good was hanged for the murder of John Ellis  The scaffold was "erected on Cook's Mount, immediately in front of the brick wall of the gaol "The fifth execution was that of escaped Australian convict, William Bowden, on 27 April 1852  He was hanged on the scaffold erected outside the entrance gate of the Auckland Gaol, on the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street West, in front of approximately 300 people The sixth execution in New Zealand, and the third public hanging to take place outside the Auckland Gaol on the corner of Queen and Victoria Streets was that of Charles Marsden on 12 February 1856  It took approximately 14 minutes for Marsden to die, with accusations that his execution was "clumsily performed" The seventh execution took place in Auckland at sunrise on 11 July 1856 with the public hanging of John White  In a sign of changing attitudes to the spectacle of public executions, the Superintendent had ordered that the scaffold be erected after dark the previous evening, and the front of the scaffold, under the drop, be partially boarded up  Due to the early hour of the execution, no more than twenty to thirty people witnessed the event on the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street West The last public execution was that of John Killey, who had been found guilty of murdering John Butler in Whangarei on 17 December 1857  At his later sentencing in Auckland, the judge, Sir George Alfred Arney, was "said to have been moved to tears" in passing sentence, while Killey "fell down in the dock in a fainting fit"  He was hanged on 18 March 1858, also outside the gate of the Auckland Gaol 

Move to abolish public executions in the British colonies of Australasia
Throughout the British colonies of Australasia public hangings came to be seen as "barbarous spectacles"  The last public hanging in Sydney took place outside Darlinghurst Gaol on 21 September 1852, in which local press noted disapprovingly the "extraordinary attendance of children, upon whose tender minds the shocking spectacle of a fellow creature dangling at the end of a rope, had no other more serious effect than that of eliciting from them three cheers for the hangman"  New South Wales, where public executions were also "associated with the hated convict era", became the first of the British colonies in Australia to abolish public executions, when the Act to Regulate the Execution of Criminals 1855 (NSW) came into force on 10 January 1855 Victoria and Tasmania followed shortly after with the Private Execution Act 1855 (Vic) and the Criminals’ Execution Act 1855 (Tas) respectively  When the Moreton Bay settlement separated from NSW to become the self-governing colony of Queensland in 1859, the New South Wales legislation automatically applied While South Australia and Western Australia abolished public executions in 1858 and 1870 respectively, both colonies subsequently passed amendments which allowed for the hanging of capitally convicted Aboriginal Australians at the scene of their alleged crimes: the Act to Amend an Act to Regulate the Execution of Criminals 1861 (SA) and the Capital Punishment Amendment Act 1871 Amendment Act 1875 (WA) In New Zealand, public executions were abolished under Section 1 of the Executions of Criminals Act 1858, which specified that executions had to be carried out "within the walls or the enclosed yard of some gaol, or within some other enclosed space"  The Act came into force on 3 June 1858, three months after the country's last public hanging in central Auckland By way of comparison with other English-speaking countries which share an historical legacy of English common law, the last public execution in the United Kingdom was the hanging of Michael Barrett outside Newgate Prison in London on 26 May 1868, in front of a crowd of approximately 2000 people  Canada's last public execution occurred on 7 December 1869 when Nicholas Melady was hanged in front of "a few hundred spectators", outside the Huron County Gaol, now called the Huron Historic Gaol, in Goderich, Ontario  The last judicial execution carried out in public in the United States was the hanging of Rainey Bethea in a parking lot in Owensboro, Kentucky on 14 August 1936, in front of an estimated crowd of 20,000 

Executed out of public view
In 1862, in Wellington, James Collins became the first person in New Zealand to be executed out of public view In 1866, the site of the old Auckland Gaol was made ready for a temporary market  The Sheriff approved the removal of the graves of the five executed criminals, to respect "public decency"  The bodies were reinterred in "a remote and unused spot" of the Symonds St Cemetery The last person to be executed was Walter James Bolton, for poisoning his wife, on 18 February 1957 

Abolition: 1949–1961
When the Labour Party formed its first government following the 1935 general election, it commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment  The Crimes Amendment Act 1941  changed the penalty for murder from death to life imprisonment with hard labour  The only crimes for which the death penalty still applied were treason and piracy 
The Labour Party lost power to the more conservative National Party, which had pledged to reintroduce capital punishment, in 1949  During that earlier period, support and opposition for capital punishment were clearly delineated on partisan grounds  The National Party supported the restoration and maintenance of the death penalty, while the Labour Party opposed it  During debate over the Capital Punishment Act 1950 (which exempted expectant mothers and young persons under the age of 18 years), Labour expressed concern about the constitutional implications of the concentration of executive power in this context (although Labour had used this power from 1935 to 1941), while National Party Attorney-General Clifton Webb referred to the alleged "deterrent" value of the death penalty as potential threat and punitive severity  However, Webb was relatively sparing in his use of the death penalty, while his successor, Attorney-General Jack Marshall (1955–1957), was a hardliner on that issue and the number and pace of executions accelerated, arousing debate 
During the time that the National Party was in office (1949–1957), 36 people were convicted of murder, and 22 of those were sentenced to death (George Horry was convicted of murder in 1951 but not hanged because the death penalty was not in force in 1942)  The final decision on executions rested with Cabinet, and only eight of the condemned were executed  The rest were commuted to life imprisonment  Even then, professional opinion was divided  Film censor Gordon Mirams did not regard spectacles of hanging as appropriate content within crime dramas and western films and excised such content and dialogue on the basis of family propriety According to Department of Justice historian Pauline Engel, the British Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (1953) may have heavily influenced the rise of abolitionism, as did the controversies that surrounded the executions of Harry Whiteland and Edward Te Whiu, which raised questions about post-war trauma, intellectual and developmental disability as factors for leniency 
Social historian Redmer Yska has argued that such concern arose much earlier  When the National Party restored capital punishment in 1950, it became an administrative ordeal for civil servants involved, particularly those within correctional facilities like Mount Eden Prison in Auckland, law enforcement and the judiciary  Corrections staff needed to maintain suicide watch for the convicted felon, conduct regular health checks and provide pastoral care for the condemned individual's relatives, as well as insure prison security during executions Official requirements mandated the presence of a magistrate, doctor and sheriffs  During the late fifties, Attorney-General Jack Marshall accelerated the pace of executions and post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism and duodenal haemorrhaging developed amongst two of the three staff obliged to participate during execution procedures  In cases of political import, prudent reprieves and commuted penalties did occur, as happened when three Niue Islanders were sentenced to death after killing a manifestly brutal and oppressive Resident Commissioner (and were reprieved only after New Zealand prison officials had reached Niue to carry out the hangings)  On that occasion, the Public Questions Committee of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand became involved in strenuously lobbying against the verdict Class differences were also seen to affect the verdict  Dr  Senga Wintringham was convicted of manslaughter, rather than murder, in February 1955, after shooting and killing Dr Bill Saunders  Wintringham claimed that she had only meant to intimidate him, rather than kill him  The Peoples Voice, newspaper of the Communist Party of New Zealand, criticised the perceived "double standard" in this context, as the courts had just convicted and sentenced 26-year-old British migrant and itinerant labourer Frederick Foster to death, despite questions about mental illness and intellectual impairment in his context, as well as appeals from his mother  Foster had shot and killed Sharon Skeffington, his former girlfriend  Although Foster was sentenced to death and executed, defence counsel Dr Martyn Finlay succeeded in raising questions about the limited intellectual capabilities and mental health of the condemned person in this context  Similar questions would arise in the trial, conviction and execution of Albert Webb  The New Zealand Listener editorialised against the death penalty in July 1955, and received supportive feedback from its letters page correspondents Eddie Te Whiu was hanged in August 1955, after he had killed an elderly widow in Ngararatunua, near Kamo, when an attempted burglary went wrong  Abolitionist sentiment grew again, as, with the Foster and Black cases, there was perceptible anxiety about the failure of "deterrence" value in the context of violent homicides, and whether Te Whiu should have been convicted of manslaughter instead, due to his dysfunctional family origins and limited intellectual capabilities  As a result, a National Committee for Abolition of the Death Penalty was formed in November 1956, with branches in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin 
Engel and Maureen Garing have drawn attention to the involvement of Protestant Christian opposition to capital punishment  In 1941 and 1951, the Christian Social Justice League, Christchurch Anglican Diocesan Synod and Methodist Public Questions Committee supported abolition, as did individual Catholics, although their hierarchy remained neutral in this debate  The New Zealand Theosophical Society also opposed capital punishment, and the Churches of Christ and Baptist Union declared its opposition in the late fifties  As religious opposition grew, it provided opponents of capital punishment with an organisational base that was used to good effect  Redmer Yska notes that clergy often refused to participate in legitimising executions through their presence, of whatever denomination As a consequence of controversy over the perceived escalation in use of capital punishment, abolitionist petitions started to circulate as well  In 1956, a proposal for a referendum on capital punishment was put forward by the Minister of Justice, Jack Marshall  This referendum was to be voted on during the 1957 general election, but the proposal was defeated Meanwhile, Walter James Bolton (1888–1957) was executed at Mount Eden Prison in Auckland in February 1957, after he had allegedly poisoned his wife with arsenic  Given that the National Party lost that election, there were to be no further executions within New Zealand  However, while the election saw a short-lived Labour government elected, capital punishment was not debated in Parliament again before the National party regained power after the 1960 election 
In 1961, the National Party reaffirmed its support for the death penalty, although restricted its use to premeditated murders, and those committed during another crime or during an escape from custody  The issue of capital punishment generated intensive debate within the National Party—the Minister of Justice in the Second National Government, who was responsible for introducing the Crimes Bill 1961, Ralph Hanan, strongly opposed the death penalty, while Jack Marshall, the Deputy Prime Minister, had supported its use while serving as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, as noted above 

Abolition and its aftermath: 1961 onwards
Aware of growing public opposition to capital punishment, the National Party allowed its MPs to exercise a conscience vote in Parliament, and ten National MPs subsequently voted in favour of abolition  The result was a majority of 11 against capital punishment, 41–30  The ten National MPs were Ernest Aderman, Gordon Grieve, Ralph Hanan, Duncan MacIntyre, Robert Muldoon, Lorrie Pickering, Logan Sloane, Brian Talboys, Esme Tombleson and Bert Walker  The death penalty was therefore abolished for murder, being retained only for treason and other similar acts in theory  In principle, this meant that de facto abolition had occurred from that point onward These last theoretical vestiges of capital punishment were abolished under the Palmer Labour cabinet in November 1989 with the passage of the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act 1989, and there were no further executions during the interim period  Passage of the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act ended all capital punishment in New Zealand  The Cook Islands, which based its statutes on New Zealand law, formally retained the death penalty for treason until it was abolished in 2007  The death penalty was never used in the Cook Islands Occasional calls to reinstate capital punishment still occur, but no major political party has made capital punishment an element of any of their election manifestos since the 1989 Abolition act  As for minor political parties, the solitary exception was the fundamentalist Christian Heritage New Zealand, which has been defunct since 2005 
A 2004 1 News Colmar Brunton  poll found 28% were in favour of bringing back the death penalty, 67% did not want to bring the death penalty back, and 5% were undecided  In a 2013 Curia poll for TV3's The Nation, 38% of New Zealanders were in favour of the death penalty—a nominal increase from the 28% in 2004—while 55% were opposed it, and 7% were undecided  Also in the poll, 35% of Labour voters favoured the death penalty and National voters' support polled at 44%  Least likely to be in favour were Green Party voters at 19%, but the strongest support came from New Zealand First voters at 84% 

See also
Capital punishment in the Cook Islands
List of people executed in New Zealand
Passage 8:
Lakes, Cumbria
Lakes is a civil parish in Westmorland and Furness, England  In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 5,127, decreasing at the 2011 census to 4,420  It covers the town of Ambleside, and the villages and hamlets of Clappersgate, Rydal, Grasmere, Troutbeck, Chapel Stile, Elterwater, Little Langdale and Waterhead 
Lakes CP incorporates within its boundaries the wards of Ambleside, the Langdales, Rydal & Loughrigg, Grasmere and Troutbeck The parish was formed in 1934 as an urban district, despite being largely rural, under a County Review Order, by a merger of Ambleside and Grasmere urban districts and parts of Windermere Urban District, South Westmorland Rural District and West Ward Rural District The A591 road, a primary route, passes through the centre of the CP, it enters the parish from the South at the point where it crosses Trout Beck at Troutbeck Bridge village  After covering 16 km (10 mi) in road distance,(13 4 km (8 5 mi) as the crow flies) it leaves the parish at Dunmail Raise  The A592 road passes through the eastern area of the parish  The col of the Kirkstone Pass, at a point approximately 200 m north of the Kirkstone Inn, marks the northern boundary of Lakes CP It is the area covered by the Kelsick Foundation, an organisation that helps locals with the costs of extra-curricular activities for children 
The urban district had an area of 49,917 acres (202 01 km2)  or 202 km² 
The urban district was abolished in 1974, with the Patterdale ward becoming a civil parish in the Eden district, and the rest becoming a civil parish in South Lakeland 

See also
Listed buildings in Lakes, Cumbria
Passage 9:
Mountain (electoral district)
Mountain is a former provincial electoral division in Manitoba, Canada   It was created for the 1879 provincial election, and was abolished shortly before the 1958 election 
Mountain was located in southwestern Manitoba, near Portage la Prairie   The constituency was mostly rural, and included communities such as Baldur and Argyles   Premier Dufferin Roblin once referred to the division's name as "curious", given that it marked by "the gentle landscape of the Pembina escarpment" Several prominent Manitoba politicians represented Mountain, including Charles Cannon, Ivan Schultz and Premier Thomas Greenway   The constituency was shaped like an "L" in the nineteenth century, and was sometimes called "Greenway's armchair"   For most of its history, Mountain was considered safe for the Manitoba Liberal Party and its successor, the Liberal-Progressive Party  But an effort was made to put forward an Independent third-party candidate in 1914 In 1955, Mountain's population was estimated to be about 50% Anglo-Saxon, 33% French Canadian, and 16 5% Flemish 

Provincial representatives
Passage 10:
Franklin District
Franklin District was a New Zealand territorial authority that lay between the Auckland metropolitan area and the Waikato Plains  As a formal territory, it was abolished on 31 October 2010 and divided between Auckland Council in the Auckland Region (39 82 percent by land area) to the north and Waikato and Hauraki districts in the Waikato region (60 18 percent) to the south and east  The Auckland portion is now part of the Franklin ward, which also includes rural parts of the former Manukau City 
Before its abolition, it was administered from the town of Pukekohe  Out-going Franklin District Mayor Mark Ball had proposed that Franklin district become an independent unitary authority, fulfilling both the functions of a local and regional council  However, this was rejected by Minister Rodney Hide 

Location and extent
The district was bounded in the north by the start of the Auckland metropolitan area and the waters of the Manukau Harbour  Awhitu Peninsula stretches up the Tasman coast to the mouth of this harbour  Here are located several holiday spots, such as Karioitahi Beach and Matakawau 
To the south, Franklin was bounded by the fertile lowlands of the Waikato Plains  In the east, the land rises to the Hunua Ranges, then falls to the coast of the Firth of Thames  In the west is the Tasman Sea   The Waikato River mouth is at Port Waikato in the south of the region  This is renowned as a good place for surfcasting 
The area is mainly rural, with local settlements such as Waiuku and Tuakau supporting the farming industry  One industry of note is the New Zealand Steel steel mill at Glenbrook, north of Waiuku 

Mayors
Six people served as mayor of Franklin District during its 21-year existence:

Nomenclature
The name of "Franklin" probably derives from Lady Jane Franklin, an early British traveller and the wife of Captain Sir John Franklin,
who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Van Diemen's Land (1837–1843)  Lady Franklin visited the Waikato Heads in 1841 

Media
Franklin County News, a twice-weekly newspaper based in Pukekohe, serves the former Franklin district  The Post Newspaper distributes 26,000 printed copies weekly on a Tuesday, covering Franklin and North Waikato  The Post Newspaper has an office in both Pukekohe and Waiuku  In 2015, the online events calendar and photo news Franklin Life NZ was launched 

Populated centres
Here are some of the following suburbs, towns, villages and other settlements within the former Franklin District's territorial area borders, grouped into their present-day adjacent areas:
Northern Franklin (now part of Auckland Super-City)

Wattle Bay, Orua Bay, Big Bay, Grahams Beach, Awhitu, Kauritutahi, Matakawau, Matakawau Point, Clarks Beach, Pollok, Te Toro, Glenbrook Beach, Waiau Beach, Mission Bush, Karioitahi, Waiuku, Kingseat, Waiau Pa, Patumahoe, Te Hihi, Karaka, Roseneath Road, Paerata, Pukekohe, Bombay, Ararimu, Hunua,Southern Franklin (now part of Waikato District)

Otaua, Aka Aka, Tuakau, Buckland, Paparimu, Pōkeno, Port Waikato, Mercer, Mangatāwhiri, Onewhero, Pukekawa, Glen Murray, Naike, Mangatangi, Limestone DownsNorth Eastern Franklin (now part of Hauraki District)

Waharau, Whakatīwai, Kaiaua, Miranda
Passage 11:
Mercia
Mercia (, Old English: Miercna rīċe; Latin: Merciorum regnum) was one of the three notable Anglic kingdoms founded after Sub-Roman Britain was settled by Anglo-Saxons in an era called the Heptarchy  It was centred on the River Trent and its tributaries, in a region now known as the Midlands of England 
A Latinisation of an Old English word derived from the Mercian Old English, Merce, meaning "borderland" (whence the Modern English words mark and march), the kingdom was rendered as Mierce or Myrce in the West Saxon dialect  The name is still used as a geographic designation by a wide range of organisations: military units, public, commercial and voluntary bodies The royal court moved around the kingdom without a fixed capital city  Early in its existence Repton seems to have been the location of an important royal estate  According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, it was from Repton in 873–874 that the Great Heathen Army deposed the King of Mercia  Slightly earlier, King Offa seems to have favoured Tamworth  It was there where he was crowned and spent many a Christmas 
For 300 years (between 600 and 900), known as Mercian Supremacy or the "Golden Age of Mercia", having annexed or gained submissions from five of the other six kingdoms of the Heptarchy (East Anglia, Essex, Kent, Sussex and Wessex), Mercia dominated England south of the Humber estuary  During King Offa's reign, a dyke was created as the boundary between Mercia and the Welsh kingdoms  Nicholas Brooks noted that "the Mercians stand out as by far the most successful of the various early Anglo-Saxon peoples until the later ninth century", and some historians, such as Sir Frank Stenton, believe the unification of England south of the Humber estuary was achieved during Offa's reign King Peada converted to Christianity around 656, the Diocese of Mercia was founded in this year, with the first bishop (Diuma) based at Repton  The religion firmly established in the kingdom by the late 7th century  After 13 years at Repton, 669 AD, Saint Chad (the fifth bishop) moved the bishopric to Lichfield and, in 691 AD, the Diocese of Mercia became the Diocese of Lichfield  There has been a diocese based in the city ever since  For a brief period between 787 and 799 or 803 the diocese was an archbishopric



ground_truth: Het Scheur

prompt_front: Answer the question based on the given passages. Only give me the answer and do not output any other words.

Question: Who is the spouse of the person who plays Batman in the Lego Batman Movie?

The following are given passages.
Context 4:  The current bishop, Michael Ipgrave, is the 99th since the diocese was established 
At the end of the 9th century, following the invasions of the Vikings and their Great Heathen Army, Danelaw absorbed much of the former Mercian territory  Danelaw at its height included London, all of East Anglia and most of the North of England 
The final Mercian king, Ceolwulf II, died in 879 with the kingdom appearing to have lost its political independence  Initially, it was ruled by a lord or ealdorman under the overlordship of Alfred the Great, who styled himself "King of the Anglo-Saxons"  The kingdom had a brief period of independence in the mid-10th century and in 1016, by which time it was viewed as a province with temporary independence  Wessex conquered and united all the kingdoms into the Kingdom of England  The kingdom became an earldom until 1071 

History
Early history
Mercia's exact evolution at the start of the Anglo-Saxon era remains more obscure than that of Northumbria, Kent, or even Wessex  Mercia developed an effective political structure and was Christianised later than the other kingdoms  Archaeological surveys show that Angles settled the lands north of the River Thames by the 6th century  The name "Mercia" is Mercian Old English for "boundary folk" (see Welsh Marches), and the traditional interpretation is that the kingdom originated along the frontier between the native Welsh and the Anglo-Saxon invaders  However, Peter Hunter Blair argued an alternative interpretation: that they emerged along the frontier between Northumbria and the inhabitants of the Trent river valley Although its earliest boundaries remain obscure, a general agreement persists that the territory that was called "the first of the Mercians" in the Tribal Hidage covered much of south Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Staffordshire and northern Warwickshire The earliest person named in any records as a king of Mercia is Creoda, said to have been the great-grandson of Icel  Coming to power around 584, he built a fortress at Tamworth which became the seat of Mercia's kings  His son Pybba succeeded him in 593  Cearl, a kinsman of Creoda, followed Pybba in 606; in 615, Cearl gave his daughter Cwenburga in marriage to Edwin, king of Deira, whom he had sheltered while he was an exiled prince The Mercian kings were the only Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy ruling house known to claim a direct family link with a pre-migration Continental Germanic monarchy 

Penda and the Mercian Supremacy
The next Mercian king, Penda, ruled from about 626 or 633 until 655  Some of what is known about Penda comes from the hostile account of Bede, who disliked him – both as an enemy to Bede's own Northumbria and as a pagan  However, Bede admits that Penda freely allowed Christian missionaries from Lindisfarne into Mercia and did not restrain them from preaching  In 633 Penda and his ally Cadwallon of Gwynedd defeated and killed Edwin, who had become not only ruler of the newly unified Northumbria, but bretwalda, or high king, over the southern kingdoms  When another Northumbrian king, Oswald, arose and again claimed overlordship of the south, he also suffered defeat and death at the hands of Penda and his allies – in 642 at the Battle of Maserfield  In 655, after a period of confusion in Northumbria, Penda brought 30 sub-kings to fight the new Northumbrian king Oswiu at the Battle of Winwaed, in which Penda in turn lost the battle and his life The battle led to a temporary collapse of Mercian power  Penda's son Peada, who had converted to Christianity at Repton in 653, succeeded his father as king of Mercia; Oswiu set up Peada as an under-king; but in the spring of 656 he was murdered and Oswiu assumed direct control of the whole of Mercia  A Mercian revolt in 658 threw off Northumbrian domination and resulted in the appearance of another son of Penda, Wulfhere, who ruled Mercia as an independent kingdom (though he apparently continued to render tribute to Northumbria for a while) until his death in 675  Wulfhere initially succeeded in restoring the power of Mercia, but the end of his reign saw a serious defeat by Northumbria  The next king, Æthelred, defeated Northumbria in the Battle of the Trent in 679, settling once and for all the long-disputed control of the former kingdom of Lindsey  Æthelred was succeeded by Cœnred, son of Wulfhere; both these kings became better known for their religious activities than anything else, but the king who succeeded them in 709, Ceolred, is said in a letter of Saint Boniface to have been a dissolute youth who died insane  So ended the rule of the direct descendants of Penda At some point before the accession of Æthelbald in 716 the Mercians conquered the region around Wroxeter, known to the Welsh as Pengwern or as "The Paradise of Powys"  Elegies written in the persona of its dispossessed rulers record the sorrow at this loss 
The next important king of Mercia, Æthelbald, reigned from 716 to 757  For the first few years of his reign he had to face two strong rival kings, Wihtred of Kent and Ine of Wessex  But when Wihtred died in 725, and Ine abdicated in 726 to become a monk in Rome, Æthelbald was free to establish Mercia's hegemony over the rest of the Anglo-Saxons south of the Humber  Æthelbald suffered a setback in 752, when the West Saxons under Cuthred defeated him, but he seems to have restored his supremacy over Wessex by 757 In July 2009, the Staffordshire Hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold was discovered by Terry Herbert in a field at Hammerwich, near Brownhills and close to  Lichfield in Staffordshire  Lichfield functioned as the religious centre of Mercia  The artefacts have tentatively been dated by Svante Fischer and Jean Soulat to around AD 600–800  Whether the hoard was deposited by Anglo-Saxon pagans or Christians remains unclear, as does the purpose of the deposit 

Reign of Offa and rise of Wessex
After the murder of Æthelbald by one of his bodyguards in 757, a civil war broke out which concluded with the victory of Offa, a descendant of Pybba  Offa (reigned 757 to 796) had to build anew the hegemony which his predecessor had exercised over the southern English, and he did this so successfully that he became the greatest king Mercia had ever known  Not only did he win battles and dominate Southern England, but also he took an active hand in administering the affairs of his kingdom, founding market towns and overseeing the first major issues of gold coins in Britain; he assumed a role in the administration of the Catholic Church in England (sponsoring the short-lived archbishopric of Lichfield, 787 to 799), and even negotiated with Charlemagne as an equal  Offa is credited with the construction of Offa's Dyke, which marked the border between Wales and Mercia Offa exerted himself to ensure that his son Ecgfrith of Mercia would succeed him, but after Offa's death in July 796 Ecgfrith survived for only five months, and the kingdom passed to a distant relative named Coenwulf in December 796  In 821 Coenwulf's brother Ceolwulf succeeded to the Mercian kingship; he demonstrated his military prowess by his attack on and destruction of the fortress of Deganwy in Gwynedd  The power of the West Saxons under Egbert (King of Wessex from 802 to 839) grew during this period, however, and in 825 Egbert defeated the Mercian king Beornwulf (who had overthrown Ceolwulf in 823) at Ellendun The Battle of Ellendun proved decisive  At this point, Mercia lost control of Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and possibly also Essex  Beornwulf was slain while suppressing a revolt amongst the East Angles, and his successor, a former ealdorman named Ludeca (reigned 826–827), met the same fate  Another ealdorman, Wiglaf, subsequently ruled for less than two years before Egbert of Wessex drove him out of Mercia  In 830 Wiglaf regained independence for Mercia, but by this time Wessex had clearly become the dominant power in England  Circa 840 Beorhtwulf succeeded Wiglaf 

Arrival of the Danes
In 852, Burgred came to the throne, and with Ethelwulf of Wessex subjugated North Wales  In 868 Danish invaders occupied Nottingham  The Danes drove Burgred from his kingdom in 874 and Ceolwulf II took his place  In 877 the Danes seized the eastern part of Mercia, which became part of the Danelaw  Ceolwulf, the last king of Mercia, left with the western half, reigned until 879  From about 883 until his death in 911 Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, ruled Mercia under the overlordship of Wessex  Alfred changed his title from 'king of the West Saxons' to 'king of the Anglo-Saxons' to reflect the acceptance of his overlordship of all southern England not under Danish rule  All coins struck in Mercia after the disappearance of Ceolwulf in c  879 were in the name of the West Saxon king  Æthelred had married Æthelflæd (c  870 – 12 June 918), daughter of Alfred the Great of Wessex (r  871–899), and she assumed power when her husband became ill at some time in the last ten years of his life After Æthelred's death in 911 Æthelflæd ruled as "Lady of the Mercians", but Alfred's successor as King of the Anglo-Saxons, Edward the Elder (r  899–924), took control of London and Oxford, which Alfred had placed under Æthelred's control  Æthelflæd and her brother continued Alfred's policy of building fortified burhs, and by 918 they had conquered the southern Danelaw in East Anglia and Danish Mercia 

Loss of independence
When Æthelflæd died in 918, Ælfwynn, her daughter by Æthelred, succeeded as "Second Lady of the Mercians", but within six months Edward had deprived her of all authority in Mercia and taken her to Wessex  Edward was succeeded as king of the Anglo-Saxons by his eldest son Æthelstan (r  924–939), who had been brought up in Mercia, and he was immediately accepted as king, but not in Wessex until the following year  In 927 he conquered Northumbria and thus became the first king of all England  Mercia briefly regained a political existence separate from Wessex in 955–959, when Edgar became king of Mercia, and again in 1016, when Cnut and Edmund Ironside divided the English kingdom between themselves, with Cnut taking Mercia  Mercia maintained its separate identity as an earldom until the Norman Conquest in 1066 

Mercian Old English
The dialect thrived between the 8th and 13th centuries and was referred to by John Trevisa, writing in 1387:
For men of the est with men of the west, as it were undir the same partie of hevene, acordeth more in sownynge of speche than men of the north with men of the south, therfore it is that Mercii, that beeth men of myddel Engelond, as it were parteners of the endes, understondeth better the side langages, northerne and southerne, than northerne and southerne understondeth either other   
J  R  R  Tolkien is one of many scholars who have studied and promoted the Mercian dialect of Old English, and introduced various Mercian terms into his legendarium – especially in relation to the Kingdom of Rohan, otherwise known as the Mark (a name cognate with Mercia)    The Mercian dialect is the basis of Tolkien's language of Rohan, and a number of its kings are given the same names as monarchs who appear in the Mercian royal genealogy, e g  Fréawine, Fréaláf and Éomer (see List of kings of the Angles) 

Mercian religion
The first kings of Mercia were pagans, and they resisted the encroachment of Christianity longer than other kingdoms in the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy Mercian rulers remained resolutely pagan until the reign of Peada in 656, although this did not prevent them joining coalitions with Christian Welsh rulers to resist Northumbria  The first appearance of Christianity in Mercia, however, had come at least thirty years earlier, following the Battle of Cirencester of 628, when Penda incorporated the formerly West Saxon territories of Hwicce into his kingdom The conversion of Mercia to Christianity occurred in the latter part of the 7th century, and by the time of Penda's defeat and death, Mercia was largely surrounded by Christian states  Diuma, an Irish monk and one of Oswiu's missionaries, was subsequently ordained a bishop – the first to operate in Mercia  Christianity finally gained a foothold in Mercia when Oswiu supported Peada as sub-king of the Middle Angles, requiring him to marry Oswiu's daughter, Alchflaed, and to accept her religion Decisive steps to Christianise Mercia were taken by Chad (Latinised by Bede as Ceadda), the fifth bishop to operate in Mercia  This controversial figure was given land by King Wulfhere to build a monastery at Lichfield  Evidence suggests that the Lichfield Gospels were made in Lichfield around 730  As in other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, the many small monasteries established by the Mercian kings allowed the political/military and ecclesiastical leadership to consolidate their unity through bonds of kinship 

Subdivisions of Mercia
For knowledge of the internal composition of the Kingdom of Mercia, we must rely on a document of uncertain age (possibly late 7th century), known as the Tribal Hidage – an assessment of the extent (but not the location) of land owned (reckoned in hides), and therefore the military obligations and perhaps taxes due, by each of the Mercian tribes and subject kingdoms by name  This hidage exists in several manuscript versions, some as late as the 14th century  It lists a number of peoples, such as the Hwicce, who have now vanished, except for reminders in various placenames  The major subdivisions of Mercia were as follows:
South MerciansThe Mercians dwelling south of the River Trent  Folk groups within included the Tomsæte around Tamworth and the Pencersæte around Penkridge (roughly corresponding to southern Staffordshire and northern Warwickshire) North MerciansThe Mercians dwelling north of the River Trent (roughly corresponding to eastern Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire) Outer MerciaAn early phase of Mercian expansion, possibly 6th century (roughly corresponding to southern Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire) LindseyOnce a kingdom in its own right, disputed with Northumbria in the 7th century before finally coming under Mercian control (roughly corresponding to the historic riding of Lindsey in Lincolnshire) Middle AnglesA collection of many smaller folk groups under Mercian control from the 7th century, including the Spaldingas around Spalding, the Bilmingas and Wideringas near Stamford, the North Gyrwe and South Gyrwe near Peterborough, the West Wixna, East Wixna, West Wille and East Wille near Ely, the Sweordora, Hurstingas and Gifle near Bedford, the Hicce around Hitchin, the Cilternsæte in the Chilterns and the Feppingas near Thame (roughly corresponding to Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and southern Oxfordshire) HwicceOnce a kingdom in its own right, disputed with Wessex in the 7th century before finally coming under Mercian control  Smaller folk groups within included the Stoppingas around Warwick and the Arosæte near Droitwich (roughly corresponding to Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and southern Warwickshire) MagonsæteA people of the Welsh border, also known as the Westerna, under Mercian control from the 7th century  Smaller folk groups within included the Temersæte near Hereford and the Hahlsæte near Ludlow (roughly corresponding to Herefordshire and southern Shropshire) WreocansæteA people of the Welsh border under Mercian control from the 7th century  Smaller folk groups within included the Rhiwsæte near Wroxeter and the Meresæte near Chester (roughly corresponding to northern Shropshire, Flintshire and Cheshire) PecsæteAn isolated folk group of the Peak District, under Mercian control from the 7th century (roughly corresponding to northern Derbyshire) Land Between Ribble & MerseyA disorganised region under Mercian control from the 7th century (roughly corresponding to Merseyside, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire south of the River Ribble)  It was the most northern extent of the kingdom, and at certain times was claimed by Northumbria and Danelaw Middle SaxonsTaken over from Essex in the 8th century, including London (roughly corresponding to Greater London, Hertfordshire, and Surrey) After Mercia was annexed by Wessex in the early 10th century, the West Saxon rulers divided it into shires modelled after their own system, cutting across traditional Mercian divisions  These shires survived mostly intact until 1974, and even today still largely follow their original boundaries 

Legacy
Modern uses of the name Mercia
The term "midlands" is first recorded (as mydlonde-shiris) in 1475  John Bateman, writing in 1876 or 1883, referred to contemporary Cheshire and Staffordshire landholdings as being in Mercia  The most credible source for the idea of a contemporary Mercia is Thomas Hardy's Wessex novels  The first of these appeared in 1874 and Hardy himself considered it the origin of the conceit of a contemporary Wessex  Bram Stoker set his 1911 novel The Lair of the White Worm in a contemporary Mercia that may have been influenced by Hardy, whose secretary was a friend of Stoker's brother  Although 'Edwardian Mercia' never had the success of 'Victorian Wessex', it was an idea that appealed to the higher echelons of society  In 1908 Sir Oliver Lodge, Principal of Birmingham University, wrote to his counterpart at Bristol, welcoming a new university worthy of "   the great Province of Wessex whose higher educational needs it will supply  It will be no rival, but colleague and co-worker with this university, whose province is Mercia   " The British Army has made use of several regional identities in naming larger, amalgamated formations  After the Second World War, the infantry regiments of Cheshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire were organised in the Mercian Brigade (1948–1968)  Today, "Mercia" appears in the titles of two regiments, the Mercian Regiment, founded in 2007, which recruits in Cheshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Worcestershire, and parts of Greater Manchester and the West Midlands, and the Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry, founded in 1992 as part of the Territorial Army  In 1967, the police forces of Herefordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire were combined into the West Mercia Constabulary, which changed its name to West Mercia Police in 2009 Telephone directories across the Midlands include a large number of commercial and voluntary organisations using "Mercia" in their names, and in 2012 a new football league was formed called the Mercian Regional Football League Free Radio Coventry & Warwickshire, a commercial radio station, was originally launched in 1980 as Mercia Sound, later becoming Mercia FM 

Symbolism and attributed heraldry
There is no authentic indigenous Mercian heraldic device, as heraldry did not develop in any recognizable form until the High Middle Ages The saltire as a symbol of Mercia may have been in use since the time of King Offa  By the 13th century, the saltire had become the attributed arms of the Kingdom of Mercia  The arms are blazoned Azure, a saltire Or, meaning a gold (or yellow) saltire on a blue field  The arms were subsequently used by the Abbey of St Albans, founded by King Offa of Mercia  With the dissolution of the Abbey and the incorporation of the borough of St Albans the device was used on the town's corporate seal and was officially recorded as the arms of the town at an heraldic visitation in 1634 The saltire is used as both a flag and a coat of arms  As a flag, it is flown from Tamworth Castle, the ancient seat of the Mercian Kings, to this day  The flag also appears on street signs welcoming people to Tamworth, the "ancient capital of Mercia"  It was also flown outside Birmingham Council House during 2009 while the Staffordshire Hoard was on display in the city before being taken to the British Museum in London  The cross has been incorporated into a number of coats of arms of Mercian towns, including Tamworth, Leek and Blaby  It was recognised as the Mercian flag by the Flag Institute in 2014 The silver double-headed eagle surmounted by a golden three-pronged Saxon crown has been used by several units of the British Army as a heraldic device for Mercia since 1958, including the Mercian Regiment  It is derived from the attributed arms of Leofric, Earl of Mercia in the 11th century  It is worth noting, however, that Leofric is sometimes attributed a black, single-headed eagle instead The wyvern, a type of dragon, came to have a strong association with Mercia in the 19th century  The Midland Railway, which used a white (silver) wyvern sans legs (legless) as its crest, having inherited it from the Leicester and Swannington Railway, asserted that the "wyvern was the standard of the Kingdom of Mercia", and that it was "a quartering in the town arms of Leicester"  The symbol appeared on numerous stations and other company buildings in the region, and was worn as a silver badge by all uniformed employees  However, in 1897 the Railway Magazine noted that there appeared "to be no foundation that the wyvern was associated with the Kingdom of Mercia"  It has been associated with Leicester since the time of Thomas, 2nd Earl of Lancaster and Leicester (c  1278–1322), the most powerful lord in the Midlands, who used it as his personal crest, and was recorded in a heraldic visitation of the town in 1619 In Bram Stoker's 1911 novel The Lair of the White Worm, explicitly set in Mercia (see above), the Mercian white wyvern sans legs of the Midland Railway was transformed into a monstrous beast, the eponymous worm of the title  The word "worm" is derived from Old English wyrm and originally referred to a dragon or serpent  "Wyvern" derives from Old Saxon wivere, also meaning serpent, and is etymologically related to viper The ultimate source for the symbolism of white dragons in England would appear to be Geoffrey of Monmouth's fictional work,  The History of the Kings of Britain (c  1136), which recounts an incident in the life of Merlin where a red dragon is seen fighting a white dragon and prevailing  The red dragon was taken to represent the Welsh and their eventual victory over the Anglo-Saxon invaders, symbolised by the white dragon The philologist and Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey has suggested that the Middle Kingdom in J  R  R  Tolkien's Farmer Giles of Ham, a story dominated by a dragon, is based on Mercia, the part of England where Tolkien grew up  This dragon, Chrysophylax, though mostly hostile, eventually helps Giles found a realm of his own, the Little Kingdom  Shippey states further that "the Mark", the land of the Riders of Rohan – all of whom have names in the Mercian dialect of Old English – was once the usual term for central England, and it would have been pronounced and written "marc" rather than the West Saxon "mearc" or the Latinized "Mercia" 

See also
Lichfield
List of monarchs of Mercia
List of Anglo-Saxon Mercians
Mercian Old English
Mercian Trail
Old English
Repton Abbey
Staffordshire Hoard
Tamworth, Staffordshire
Wessex
Passage 12:
Brimpton
Brimpton is a mostly rural village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England  Brimpton is centred 4 5 miles (7 2 km) ESE of the town of Newbury 

Toponymy
One suggested origin of the name of Brimpton comes from "Brynni's Town"; Brynni was an Anglo-Saxon owner of the land  A more likely explanation is that Brimpton stands on a hill, and the name comes from a Saxo-Celtic version of "Hill Town"; the Celtic word for hill being "bryn"  This name was probably coined in reference to the Iron Age settlement Brimpton has also been recorded as Brinniggetun and Bryningtune (in the 10th century) and Brintone (in the 11th century)  More recent alternative names include Brinton, Brimton, Brumton and Brumpton 

Geography
The village occupies a few square miles of land south of the Kennet and Avon Canal and the A4 road, and north of the Enborne which forms the southern then the eastern boundary between slopes of an escarpment where the two parts of the village are concentrated: the nucleus of the village and Brimpton Common   On a lower slope 0 5 miles (0 80 km) south is Hyde End which has fewer than 12 farmhouses and Victorian cottages  Other villages nearby include Aldermaston and Woolhampton  A newer settlement in the parish, Brimpton Common is on the elevated south bank of the Enborne next to Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire  
The east of the village is part of the Wasing Manor Estate in Wasing and the village has a few outlying farms with a large minority of its land made up of the sloped woods including Inwood Copse, Chaplain's Wood and Hyde End Wood  Two  woods south of the village are managed for timber: Bannister's Wood and Arundell's Copse, the first of these is at the edge of the flood plain of the Enborne Brimpton Pit is a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) 

History
Evidence of Bronze Age inhabitation of Brimpton is in the five round barrows and two bell barrows in the area leading up to the border with Baughurst to the south  Known as "Borson Barrows", the tumuli were referred to in an Anglo-Saxon charter in AD 944  There have also been Iron Age and Roman settlements identified within the parish  The hypocaust of a villa was uncovered in the village, though records of its exact location no longer exist  One possible location is opposite Brimpton House near the parish church  A mediaeval bronze steelyard weight was found in the garden of the old moated house at Brimpton Manor In the 10th century, 10 hides of land in Brimpton were given to Ordulf (or Ordwulf), a thegn of Edmund I  The Domesday Book of 1086 lists the village as "Brintone", and identifies Robert FitzGerald and Ralph de Mortimer as the lords of the manors of Shalford and Brimpton respectively  It also mentions two churches, three mills, and a dairy Brimpton was visited by William Cobbett on 30 October 1822 on his way to London; he noted its name as "Brimton", but did not write further about the village  John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870–1872) described Brimpton as "a parish in Newbury district, Berks; on the rivers Emborne and Kennet"  Wilson noted that the area of the village measured 1,692 acres (685 ha) and had property to the value of £3,720 (equivalent to £378,674 in 2021)  The population was 452, divided amongst 101 homes  He described the position of vicar including vicarage, at that time under the patronage of Rev  G B Caffin, as worth £351  He wrote that the church was "good", with charities of £84  Of its history Wilson noted that a preceptory of the Knights Templar (Shalford Preceptory) was established in Brimpton in the 13th century   A medieval roll has reference to the Hospitallers as holding land here in 1251 and again in 1275–6, when they are described as of Shalford  In 1302 the king appears to have been the guest of the Knights at Brimpton — his Letters Patent were dated from Shalford manor here 29 November, and the Hospitallers continued to hold this manor till their dissolution in 1540, when it was under the Dissolution of the Monasteries seized and redistributed by Henry VIII At the centre of the village is the war memorial commemorating the twenty two former residents who died in World War I and two who died in World War II 

Social history
The village relied heavily on agriculture which covers most of the district and employed more than half of the working population in the 19th century   St  Peter's almshouses for aged married couples and aged widows were erected by Anne Bankes, then Countess of Falmouth, who by her will left £3,000 for their repair, maintenance and inmates' support   She left almost £667 in the church's trust for the school mistress' salary (combined these are equivalent to £383,584 in 2021)  The trust fund, with accumulations, was for many years the most significant in the village and produced an income of almost £80 a year in 1924, when each inmate received a small pension of a fifth of a pound a week, with an extra payment at Christmas and Easter 

Lords of the Manor
Brimpton Manor
At the time of Edward the Confessor, Brimpton Manor was owned by Godwin, Earl of Wessex (Edward's father-in-law)  It was later owned by Ralph de Mortimer (at the time of the Domesday Survey) and, subsequently, his son Hugh  Hugh's son, Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, succeeded him as lord of the manor, and the ownership passed through the Mortimer of Wigmore family  The manor passed through marriage to the Earldom of March  Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March died childless in the 1420s and the manor was inherited by Richard, Duke of York  After his death in 1460, the manor was owned by his wife Cecily Neville, until its ownership was reverted to the crown on her death 

Shalford Manor
In the Domesday Survey, Shalford Manor was owned by Robert FitzGerald  It had previously been under the ownership of Brictric, a Saxon freeman and thegn to Edward the Confessor  After FitzGerald's death, his estates passed to his brother Gerald, and subsequently to Gerald's son, Roger  On Roger's death, his son – William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln – inherited the manor  William's son predeceased him, so the manor passed to his grandson – also named William  During this ownership, Simon de Ovile – a tenant of William – granted use of the 3 5 hide estate to the Knights Hospitaller  Letters Patent dated 29 November 1302 show that the Knights hosted Edward I at Shalford The Knights held the manor until their dissolution in 1540  After this, ownership passed to the crown In 1544, Henry VIII exchanged the manor with William Wollascott for the manor of Dalehall in Lawford, Essex  Wollascott's son, also named William, purchased the manor of Brimpton in 1595  When he became lord of the manor upon his father's death in 1618, he became owner of both manors 

Demography
The mean age of residents was in 2001: 38 74, and the median was 40 

Religion
There have been at least three churches in Brimpton, two of which are still in use  The main Anglican church is dedicated to St Peter, and is a Grade II listed building  It was built in 1869 in designed in the 14th-century style  The flint building has a tower (with an octagonal shingled spire) and a wooden porch  The roof is tiled  The interior has a chancel, organ chamber, vestry, a nave with three bays and two aisles, and is faced with ashlar  The structural columns are granite  The belfry holds four bells, dating from 1624 to 1842  The oldest bell, the fourth, was recast by Mears and Stainbank in 1876 

The other operational church is Brimpton Baptist Church, which was established in 1843 The chapel of St Leonard, a 14th-century stone building, is located on Manor Farm  It was used as the place of worship of the Shalford Preceptory, a group of Knights Templar (and later Knights Hospitaller) who had formed in the 13th century  By 1614, the chapel had been converted into a barn at Brimpton Court 

Amenities
The village has a charity shop, a pub, The Three Horseshoes, and the village church  There is also a Church of England primary school  Brimpton Airfield, a mile east of the village, has a 620 metres (2,030 ft) grass runway for light aircraft 

Demography



ground_truth: Amy Poehler