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Q16962545 |
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Texas State Highway Loop 534
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History
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Loop 534 was designated on May 2, 1977, from FM 689 (signed as SH 173), northward to I-10. On October 23, 1978, Loop 534 extended west over a portion of FM 689 to SH 16. This extension was already signed as SH 173, along with all of FM 689. On August 29, 1990, as a result of the elimination of all cosigned farm to market roads, ranch to market roads, loops, and spurs, with state highways, the section of Loop 534 that was signed as SH 173 was officially designated as SH 173, eliminating that section of Loop 534. | 2069400327725780120 |
Q7799882 |
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Théophile Lemay
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Théophile Lemay (October 12, 1784 – April 17, 1848) was a farmer, notary and political figure in Lower Canada. He represented Rouville in the Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada from 1832 to 1834._NEWLINE_He was born Théophile Lemay, dit Delorme in Varennes, Quebec, the son of Paul Lemay, dit Delorme and Élisabeth Monjon. He was a farmer at Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir until 1820 when he qualified to practice as a notary. Lemay served in the militia during the War of 1812, later reaching the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He was a commissioner for the trial of minor causes and a justice of the peace. He was married twice: to Marie-Esther Letêtu in 1810 and to Julie-Scholastique Talon-Lespérance in 1836. Lemay was first elected to the legislative assembly in an 1832 by-election held after Jean-Baptiste-René Hertel de Rouville retired due to poor health. He voted against the Ninety-Two Resolutions. Lemay was defeated when he ran for reelection in 1834. He was captured by the rebels in 1837 and held until late the following year. Lemay died at Sainte-Marie-de-Monnoir at the age of 63. | 14743581883292620475 |
Q18394318 |
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Thérèse Vanier
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Biography
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Thérèse Vanier was born on 27 February 1923 in Camberley, Surrey to Pauline Vanier (née Archer), an appointed member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Georges Vanier, a decorated soldier and former Governor General of Canada. Her third name, Chérisy, marks the location in France where her father lost a leg in the trenches during World War I. Vanier was the eldest of five children. Her brother Jean Vanier, a trained naval officer and Catholic philosopher founded the first L'Arche community in Trosly-Breuil, France in 1964._NEWLINE_As a young adult Vanier studied at Mayfield in East Sussex. At the age of 19, she signed up with the British Mechanised Transport Corps and sailed in a convey as part of the Battle of the Atlantic. Vanier went on to join the Canadian Women’s Army Corps, eventually rising to the rank of captain._NEWLINE_After World War II Vanier studied medicine at the Sorbonne and Cambridge University. Vanier completed her clinical studies at St Thomas’ Hospital in Central London where she became the first female consultant in haematology. It was during this time that she met lifelong friend Cicely Saunders, a pioneer in hospice care, and the founder of St Christopher's Hospice. _NEWLINE_In 1972 Vanier resigned from her position at St Thomas' Hospital to join Saunders at St Christopher's where she taught and pursued clinical work in the burgeoning field of palliative care._NEWLINE_Vanier opened the first English L'Arche community in January 1974 in Barfrestone near Canterbury in Kent. She went on to personally oversee the opening of four other communities. Today there are ten communities in the UK, including one in Lambeth, south London, where Vanier lived until her death in 2014. Vanier's Catholic Requiem mass took place at the Anglican Canterbury Cathedral on 10 July 2014. Her body was laid to rest at Barfrestone cemetery, around 100 metres from "Little Ewell", the first L'Arche Kent Community house she helped to establish in 1974. | 3687997601529169423 |
Q15846214 |
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Tha Carter V
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Recording and production
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In May 2014, Lil Wayne's longtime record producer, former Cash Money artist Mannie Fresh, announced he would be reuniting with Wayne on Tha Carter V. The collaboration marks the first time in 10 years that Fresh and Wayne worked together, not since 2004, when Wayne released Tha Carter and Fresh subsequently severed ties with the Cash Money Records. Also in May 2014, Atlanta-based rapper and producer Soulja Boy, who previously produced "Wowzerz" from I Am Not a Human Being II (2013) for Lil Wayne, announced he was working with Wayne on the fifth installment of Tha Carter series. In June 2014, Atlanta-based record producer Mike Will Made It, revealed "I got three records with Lil Wayne for Tha Carter V". In July 2014, Lil Wayne's frequent collaborator DVLP confirmed he had produced songs for Tha Carter V. While on the red carpet of the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards in California on August 24, West Coast hip hop producer DJ Mustard confirmed to MTV that Lil Wayne will be rapping over one of his beats on the album. In April 2016, New York-based record producer Myles William, revealed to the Arizona State Press, that he would produce a track for Tha Carter V._NEWLINE_A good number of songs from Tha Carter V were recorded years before the album's release. "Mona Lisa" featuring Kendrick Lamar was recorded in 2014 and was intended to be on the 2014 release of the album. The song was teased after Martin Shkreli was able to acquire the project in 2016 and the song was played on livestream. The song "What About Me" originally featured Drake and was recorded in 2015. Post Malone was originally scheduled to be added to the song in the week before release, but didn't make to the album's initial release, possibly due to the verse not being finished. The song would later be placed in the album's bonus tracks._NEWLINE_Tha Carter V was mastered by Colin Leonard at SING Mastering, and was mixed by Fabian Marasciullo.
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Release and promotion
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In July 2012, Lil Wayne said that the album would be released in 2013. On February 10, 2014, Lil Wayne's Young Money signee, Canadian recording artist Drake, tweeted "CARTER V". On October 18, 2013, Cash Money Records' Vice President of Promotion Mel Smith, tweeted: "Happy Friday!! New YMCMB music coming soon!! Carter 5." On February 15, 2014, during the NBA All-Star Weekend festivities at Sprite's NBA All-Star concert at the House of Blues in New Orleans, Lil Wayne appeared as a special guest during Drake's set and performed various hits. Wayne and Drake then broke the news that Tha Carter V was set to be released on May 5, 2014. On March 27, 2014, Wayne's manager Cortez Bryant announced that the album had been delayed._NEWLINE_On April 28, 2014, Los Angeles Lakers basketball player Kobe Bryant revealed what some speculated would be Tha Carter V album cover, via online photo-sharing and social networking service Instagram. Talking with ESPN, Wayne spoke about using athletes to promote the album, such as Kobe Bryant: "'Carter V Season' was all Kobe," Lil Wayne said when asked about Bryant's contribution. "He came up with it. I saw that and thought, 'That's dope as hell,' so that's what we're calling the [album] campaign. I thanked him. Then we thought about Floyd." In July 2014, in an interview with MTV News, Wayne spoke about when the album would be released, saying: "I'm so not good with that. I think it drops either in September and then we have...ah I can't tell you the sneak thing. Anyway, yeah, I think it drops in September or August."_NEWLINE_From August to September 2014, Lil Wayne embarked on a concert tour alongside Drake, billed Drake vs. Lil Wayne. On August 14, 2014, Lil Wayne appeared on ESPN's First Take, where he unveiled the cover art for Tha Carter V, which features Wayne's mother: "It's perfect," Wayne said. "I always go with a baby picture. I wanted to go with one with my mama this time...To have my mom on there is more than an accomplishment. It's an achievement." During the ESPN interview, Wayne also announced that the album would be released on October 28, 2014. On October 28, 2014, Wayne released a Public Service Announcement (PSA), where he revealed the album had been delayed due to the album's tentative track list having over 31 songs. During the PSA, he stated that he worked too hard and refuses to cheat his fans and himself, therefore he came up with a way to give his fans every song he has recorded for the album, announcing: "the first part of the Carter V album will be dropping December 9. Stay tuned for the next part of the album"._NEWLINE_On December 4, 2014, just five days before the album was due to be released, Wayne issued a statement saying the album would not be released on its expected release date, due to his displeasure with Cash Money Records label-boss Birdman not wanting to release the album although it had been completed. Wayne also expressed his feelings by stating he felt both he and his creativity were being held "prisoner". On January 20, 2015, Wayne self-released Sorry 4 the Wait 2, a mixtape to compensate for the continued delay of Tha Carter V. It is the sequel to 2011's Sorry 4 the Wait, which served the same purpose during the delay of his ninth album, Tha Carter IV (2011). Upon Sorry for the Wait 2's release, it was noted Wayne disses Birdman and Cash Money Records several times throughout the mixtape. Birdman was reported to be upset with this._NEWLINE_Despite his legal battle with Cash Money, Lil Wayne claims to have authority over when and how the album gets released. He spoke in an interview, stating: "Of course you're going to see Tha Carter V. I just don't want to put it out the wrong way. Honestly, I can do what I want at any time. The fans deserve it to be right and that's how it's gonna be. I'ma make sure it's right. I can drop whatever I want to drop. That's why I keep dropping whatever I want to drop. But I'm not gonna give them Carter V the wrong way."_NEWLINE_Wayne appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and played the song "Dedicate"._NEWLINE_On November 10, 2018, Wayne released 3 additional songs, "What About Me (feat. Post Malone)," "Hasta La Vista," and "In This House (featuring Gucci Mane)."_NEWLINE_On November 10, 2018, Lil Wayne performed two songs, "Can't Be Broken" with surprise guest Halsey and "Uproar" with Swizz Beatz, from the album on Saturday Night Live._NEWLINE_On December 13, 2018 Lil Wayne performed Don't Cry on Late Show with Stephen Colbert and paid homage to rapper XXXTentacion.
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Commercial performance
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Tha Carter V debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 480,000 album-equivalent units, including 140,000 pure album sales. It had the second-largest streaming week for an album with 433 million streams. The record is also Lil Wayne's fourth US number-one album. It is his third album to top Canadian Albums Chart, opening at number one there with 24,000 consumption units. As of November 18, 2018, Tha Carter V has sold one million album-equivalent units in the United States._NEWLINE_The album debuted at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart, giving Wayne his highest-charting album in the United Kingdom._NEWLINE_After the album's release on September 28, one of its hit singles, Uproar, had sparked a viral dance challenge shortly after. Notable celebrities and Internet stars had participated in this challenge, such as Diddy, Swizz Beatz, Shiggy, and Lil Wayne's daughter, Reginae Carter. | 5647637008332869770 |
Q7709213 |
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Thaila Zucchi
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Music career
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Zucchi was a member of allSTARS*, a band that started out on the children's television show STARStreet (shown on CITV). She performed in more than twenty arenas around the UK, and on Top Of The Pops, CD:UK, and SMTV numerous times. The band was contracted to Island Records and enjoyed four top 20 hits and released an album, with tracks that were featured in the movies Thunderpants and Scooby Doo. Zucchi remains close friends with the other band members.
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Television career
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Zucchi appeared in Channel 4's Balls of Steel. Her role on the show is known as the Bunny Boiler. She would find a man in a public place with his partner, and outrageously flirt with him to antagonise his partner. Her other television credits include The IT Crowd, Massive Balls of Steel, Popworld, Hyperdrive, non-televised pilots Pear Shaped and New Dogs, and as a presenter for Nickelodeon and The Record of the Year. In 2006 and 2007, she had several roles in the Channel 4 comedy series Star Stories, including Courteney Cox, Sharon Osbourne, and also Geri Halliwell in Simon Cowell - My Honesty, My Genius._NEWLINE_In 2007, Zucchi entered the Big Brother UK house, pretending to be Pauline, a housemate from Australian Big Brother. She was working secretly for Big Brother as a mole, going to and from the house to appear on Big Brother's Little Brother. She presented Big Brother's Big Mouth, another spin-off show from 17–20 July 2007, as part of the lineup replacing ex-'Big Mouth' presenter, Russell Brand. Zucchi also appears in a DOE advertisement about the dangers of drunk driving. She was seen on the Hula Hoops adverts (Captain! The intercom!) and UK adverts for Brunchettas. Zucchi could once be seen with Des Lynam advertising Setanta Sports' coverage of Premier League football. This advertising stopped with Setanta Sports going into administration._NEWLINE_In 2007, Zucchi appeared in an episode of sitcom Not Going Out as lap-dancer Rosie. She appears in season 2 of Strutter on MTV. She has presented a show on Virgin 1 called "Boob Envy" about how women see their breasts, during which she revealed she has 'permanently erect nipples', and is also part of the presenting team of Sky One's Brainiac and the cast of the second series of Touch Me, I'm Karen Taylor for BBC Three. In 2009, she played a small role in one episode of Skins and an episode of Law and Order: UK broadcast on ITV on 23 September 2010. She is also in Richard Hammond's Blast Lab and presents the "How Hard is Your Thing?" segment in Brainiac: Science Abuse._NEWLINE_Zucchi acted in Coming of Age in one episode as a French teacher which was first shown on 26 January 2010, has appeared in the series Frankie Boyle's Tramadol Nights, which started airing on 30 November 2010 and has starred in adverts for Sky Broadband. Most recently, she acted in several sketches in Charlie Brooker's How TV Ruined Your Life. She appears in BBC reality TV series World Series of Dating as fictional host Poppy Weathers, which started airing on 26 March 2012. In January 2013 she played Paquita Manganara in BBC One's comedy series Blandings._NEWLINE_She appeared as Police Sergeant Randall in the Channel 4 show Shameless. | 7474823806839139558 |
Q7711636 |
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TheFind.com
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History
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TheFind Inc, was founded in 2006 as FatLens Inc., initially specializing in event tickets search but later expanding to product search. On October 31, 2006 the site was re-launched as TheFind.com with an emphasis on discovery shopping search for lifestyle products. TheFind.com is a privately held company in Mountain View, California and received initial funding from Redpoint Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Cambrian Ventures. In 2007, they received an additional $15 million in funding led by Bain Capital Ventures._NEWLINE_In March 2015, Facebook Inc. acquired TheFind and shut it down.
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Business model
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TheFind.com positions itself as a discovery shopping search engine, in contrast to a Comparison Shopping Engine model more commonly used for computers and electronics. According to the company's website, the search database includes over 500 Million products from over 500,000 stores and online merchants. Products are added to the search via crawling as well as merchant feeds. The search results are ranked using an algorithm based on relevancy and popularity, rather than a pay-for-placement ranking._NEWLINE_Clicking on a product from a search results page takes the user to the merchant's site where the product can be purchased directly from the merchant._NEWLINE_Since its re-launch, TheFind.com has announced several additional features including color search_NEWLINE_and find similar items
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Partnerships
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TheFind.com has content partnerships with several established web and media properties including PayPal and Glam Publishers Network, as well as several blogs such as Celebrity-Babies.com, Popgadget.net, and ConnectingMoms.com.
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Growth
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On March 28, 2007, TheFind.com announced that it has experienced a 540% increase in unique visits since its launch on October 31, 2006, and a change from 141,625 visits in November 2006 to a run rate of over 900,000 visits in March 2007. They also reported a monthly traffic growth rate of over 35% for Q1 2007. Quantcast.com, the leading media measurement service, shows TheFind.com at 7 million visitors per month as of Nov 2008 (http://www.quantcast.com/thefind.com)_NEWLINE_Comscore Media Metrix shows TheFind to be the 2nd largest shopping search engine with 20+ million visitors per month as of May 2010._NEWLINE_On August 29, 2007 TheFind.com acquired the women's fashion shopping site Glimpse.com. TheFind.com now powers shopping results at Glimpse.com.
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Purchase
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On March 13, 2015, Facebook announced that they had purchased TheFind.com for an undisclosed sum. It was also announced that TheFind.com would be shut down immediately and that some of the staff would make the transition to join the Facebook team._NEWLINE_TheFind.com page has been replaced with a placecard informing customers of their move;_NEWLINE_"We are joining Facebook!_NEWLINE_For the last nine years, we've worked hard to bring you a shopping experience that's easy, efficient and fun - searching all the stores on the web to find just the right products you're looking to buy._NEWLINE_We are now starting our next chapter by combining forces with Facebook to do even more for consumers. Facebook's resources and platform give us the opportunity to scale our expertise in product sourcing to the over 1 billion people that use the platform._NEWLINE_Key members of our team are joining the company and will be working hard to integrate our technology to make the ads you see on Facebook every day better and more relevant to you._NEWLINE_Unfortunately, this means we are taking our search engine offline._NEWLINE_Thank you for your loyalty and for making this a fun journey for all of us!_NEWLINE_- TheFind Team"
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Charitable campaigns
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TheFind.com periodically runs "Color for a Cause" campaigns to raise money for charities. During each campaign, TheFind.com donates $1 to the selected charity each time users run a search that contains a designated color. In the first campaign launched on January 2007, TheFind.com donated $1 per user per day for searches that contained the color red, raising a total of $10,000 for the humanitarian aid charity Doctors Without Borders. In the campaign launched in April 2007, searches that contained the color pink netted $1 per user per day for the breast cancer research organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
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Industry recognition and awards
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In January 2007, SEO consultant Charles Knight named TheFind.com to his list of The Top 100 Alternative Search Engines,. To be included on the list, search engines must demonstrate superiority to Google for that site's search specialty. TheFind.com has remained on this list for each monthly update and is the only search engine listed in the Shopping Search category._NEWLINE_In April 2007, Red Herring magazine named TheFind.com as a finalist for the Red Herring 100, a selection of the top private companies based in North America that play a leading role in innovation and technology. TheFind.com was also nominated for a 2007 Webby Award in the Best Retail category._NEWLINE_TheFind has been mentioned on several industry related blogs and social communities, including ComparisonEngines.com and eCommerceOptimization.com. The company announced new features which include their mini-malls, virtual shopping districts and local search capability. Siva Kumar, company CEO, has also conducted interviews with industry professionals. | 16143743007672103125 |
Q1852729 |
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The 51st State
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Plot
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In 1971, a policeman catches Elmo McElroy, a recent college graduate with a degree, smoking marijuana. Due to his arrest and conviction, he is unable to find work as a pharmacologist. In the present day, a drug lord called "the Lizard" calls a meeting of his colleagues, hoping to sell a new substance invented by Elmo. The meeting goes badly when Elmo, in a bid to escape from the Lizard's control, blows up the building, killing everyone but the Lizard. Infuriated, the Lizard contacts Dakota, a contract killer, who previously killed the only witness in a case against the Lizard. Dakota initially refuses the hit, but accepts when the Lizard offers to clear her gambling debts and give her a $250,000 bonus._NEWLINE_Elmo escapes to Liverpool, England, where he meets Felix DeSouza, a local "fixer" who has been sent by Leopold Durant, head of a local criminal organisation, in exchange for two tickets to a sold-out football match. At the meeting, Elmo pitches POS 51, a synthetic drug that can be produced with minimal facilities and is 51 times as potent as other drugs. A second opinion from Pudsey, Durant's chemist, confirms Elmo's claims, and Durant gives him over a million dollars in bonds. Since it is $18 million short of the agreed payment, Elmo begins to leave._NEWLINE_In a room across the street, Dakota is about to take a shot at Elmo's head when the Lizard calls cancelling the hit; not wanting to kill Elmo until he has the formula. Instead of killing Elmo, she is to kill anyone who meets with him. She switches rifles to an automatic weapon and kills everyone but Elmo and Felix, who is shot in the buttocks. As Elmo and Felix leave the hotel, a gang of skinheads who want the drug surround them. Elmo protects them with a golf club. Detective Virgil Kane and his partner Arthur arrive on the scene and give chase. They are soon lured into a game of chicken by Elmo, who escapes. Kane and Arthur return to the crime scene and Kane demands 50% of Durant's deal with McElroy. A miscommunication leads to Durant's death._NEWLINE_Felix contacts a gun dealing club owner and drug distributor named Iki, promising him the formula for £20 million. As Elmo and Felix acquire the ingredients necessary for the drug's manufacture, all of which are over-the-counter products, the now-armed skinheads capture them. Elmo is unfazed, as the skinheads claim they have a lab, though it turns out to be a broken-into animal testing facility. Elmo makes two batches of the drug; one blue and one red. He claims that the red pill is the stronger version, and after he takes one, the skinheads try it. While they are partying, waiting for the effect of the drug, in the next room Elmo spits out his red pill. He tells Felix it is a powerful laxative; Elmo and Felix leave after throwing rolls of toilet paper to the incapacitated skinheads._NEWLINE_At Iki's rave club, Elmo initiates his deal and delivers the drug to the waiting crowd. Kane and the police interrupt the deal and arrest Felix. When Dakota appears, she reveals that her real name is Dawn and that she and Felix were romantically involved. She captures Elmo and leaves with him via the roof. Elmo overpowers her, suspending her over the edge of the roof. Having no choice, she strikes a deal with him and they evade Kane. Meanwhile, Kane blackmails Felix during a police interrogation and forces himself into the deal with Iki, which Felix sets up for him._NEWLINE_Felix also enters a pub full of Manchester United supporters and goads them before letting off a rocket flare inside; the United fans give chase but his friends rescue him in their car._NEWLINE_Felix, Elmo and Dawn meet Iki in a private viewing box at the football match in Anfield. This time, the deal is interrupted by the Lizard, who shoots Iki dead and demands the formula to POS 51. The Lizard celebrates with a drink, as Elmo reveals that the drug is a placebo and POS stands for Power of Suggestion. Kane interrupts them as Elmo's cocktail, an explosive ingested by the Lizard, takes effect, killing the Lizard and showering everyone in blood. Kane is knocked unconscious and arrested by Arthur, while the main three exit unscathed. Dawn and Felix give their relationship another chance, and Elmo purchases a castle once owned by the man who owned his ancestors.
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Casting
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The DVD commentary reveals that the script was originally written with Laurence Fishburne in mind, sometime before Samuel L. Jackson became a star.
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Development
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Screenwriter Stel Pavlou came up with the idea for The 51st State in 1994 while studying at university in Liverpool, loosely basing some of the characters on his friends. Pavlou described the idea of the film being based on Liverpool's history in the slave trade and transferring it to modern day in the form of the drug trade. Pavlou and his business partner Mark Aldridge showcased their idea at the Cannes Film Festival in France which led to film development company Focus Films offering funding for development. Soon the film caught the eye of Samuel L. Jackson, who eventually came on board as both a producer and star of the film._NEWLINE_Originally Pavlou budgeted at around £1 million and intended to direct it himself. Due to difficulty getting funding Pavlou stepped aside and took a co-producer credit while the matter was being resolved. After five years The 51st State was finally budgeted at $28 million, with financing coming from Canada and the UK via Alliance Atlantis and the Film Consortium.
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Pre-production
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Actor and film producer Samuel L. Jackson recommended Hong Kong director Ronny Yu to direct the film with belief that the film's overall style was suited to that of Yu's previous credits, such as his 1998 film Bride of Chucky. With the roles of Elmo McElroy (Samuel L. Jackson) and Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle) both secured, producer Andras Hamori suggested Meat Loaf to play the antagonist. This was approved by director Yu, who called the idea a "truly inspired piece of casting".
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Locations
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Almost all of the film was shot on location in Liverpool apart from the opening scene which was shot in Los Angeles, a driving scene which was filmed outside Liverpool in the city of Manchester, and another scene which was filmed at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire. Major locations used in Liverpool included the River Mersey and docks, Pier Head, the India Building, Water Street as well as Liverpool Football Club's stadium Anfield. Other famous Liverpool landmarks can be seen throughout the film in the background such as St George's Hall and the Liver Building._NEWLINE_Production designer Alan Macdonald used the film's production base in Boundary Street to build various sets for interior scenes, as well as a vast disused warehouse space in Blackstock Street._NEWLINE_They also drive down St Oswald's Street and do a left to go down Prescot road Old Swan. St. Oswalds gardens in the background. _NEWLINE_The pub is The Yew Tree on Yew Tree lane L12. Not Manchester. And believe me it was just like that in the 80/90s.
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Home media
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The film was released on both VHS and DVD. The DVD version was released on 7 October 2002. Special features include an audio commentary, making-of and production featurettes, a photo gallery, trailer, and cast and crew interviews.
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Reception
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For its US release, the film was renamed Formula 51 as the original title was seen as potentially offensive to American audiences. The expression 51st state, in this context, refers to US dominance over Britain.
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Critical reception
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On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 25% based on reviews from 102 critics, with an average rating of 4.3/10, and the consensus reading: "Filled with profanities, Formula 51 is a stylized and incoherent mess that doesn't add up to much." On Metacritic, the film gained a 23 out of 100 based on reviews from 29 critics._NEWLINE_Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper called the film "a farce", giving the film one out of four stars, and particularly negative comments on the film's content and script. _NEWLINE_Generally positive reviews were given by both BBC and Empire reviewers, with Alan Morrison of the latter calling it "full-on fun" and that the film "goes beyond the boundaries" of British films. _NEWLINE_IGN.com also gave the film a generally positive review, concluding that "you get exactly what you pay for" and that the film was overall very "enjoyable".
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Box office
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The film had its world premiere on 7 December 2001, in London's West End Curzon Cinema._NEWLINE_In total, the film earned over $14.4 million at the worldwide box office, $5.2 million of that in the US and $9.2 million elsewhere.
_START_SECTION_
Soundtrack
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The soundtrack was written by Darius Kedros, Caspar Kedros and Barney Quinton under the band name Headrillaz, and also featured artists such as PJ Harvey, Run–D.M.C., Nelly and Stephen Day. | 3407110776060254002 |
Q334360 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Abbey in the Oakwood
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Description
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This large painting is an example of a way Friedrich uses his painting skills to represent human life issues. In the painting, Friedrich painted an old abbey in the center. There are figures entering the abbey with a coffin. The artist is trying to convey a sense of passage of time by painting a human passing away. There's a sense of coldness around the area. The remains of the abbey shows this old broken window with no remaining of glass. What is seen is that nature is forever there, while man's creation is temporary._NEWLINE_A procession of monks, some of whom bear a coffin, head toward the gate of a ruined Gothic church in the center of the painting. Only two candles light their way. A newly dug grave yawns out of the snow in the foreground, near which several crosses can be faintly discerned. This lower third of the picture lies in darkness—only the highest part of the ruins and the tips of the leafless oaks are lit by the setting sun. The waxing crescent moon appears in the sky.
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Development
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The picture appeared at a time when Friedrich had his first public success and critical acknowledgment with the controversial Tetschener Altar. Although Friedrich's paintings are landscapes, he designed and painted them in his studio, using freely drawn plein air sketches, from which he chose the most evocative elements to integrate into an expressive composition. The Abbey in the Oakwood is based upon studies of the ruins of Eldena Abbey, which reappear in several other paintings. The same trees, in slightly altered forms, can also be seen in other works._NEWLINE_Eldena Abbey may well have had personal meaning for Friedrich, as it was destroyed during the Thirty Years War by invading Swedish troops, who later used bricks from the abbey to construct fortifications. In the painting Friedrich draws a parallel between those actions and the use of Greifswald churches as barracks by occupying French soldiers. Thus, the funeral becomes a symbol of "the burial of Germany's hopes for resurrection"._NEWLINE_Friedrich may have begun work on The Abbey in the Oakwood in June 1809 after a stay in Rügen, Neubrandenburg. On 24 September 1810, shortly before the Berlin Academy exhibition, Carl Frederick Frommann described the setting sun and half-moon of the nearly-finished painting. | 7502369481305660311 |
Q7712443 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Adventure of the Abbas Ruby
_START_PARAGRAPH_
"The Adventure of the Abbas Ruby" is a Sherlock Holmes mystery by Adrian Conan Doyle, the youngest son of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the Sherlock Holmes creator. The story was published in the 1954 collection, The Exploits of Sherlock Holmes.
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Holmes is startled by the sudden appearance during a blizzard of Andrew Joliffe, the butler of horticulturalist Sir John Doverton. During a dinner party, the Abbas Ruby disappeared from the Doverton house, as did all the blooms on Sir John's camillia bush. The police arrive at Holmes residence to arrest Joliffe, but not before Joliffe admits that he was the same Joliffe involved in the _NEWLINE_Catterdon Diamond robbery. Before departing with his prisoner, Inspector Gregson of Scotland Yard shows Holmes and Watson the empty jewel case found concealed in Joliffe's room. _NEWLINE_Lady Doverton smiled coldly. "In the meantime, the police will have arrested the thief."_NEWLINE_[Holmes]"I think not."_NEWLINE_"Absurd! The man who fled was a convicted jewel–robber. It is obvious."_NEWLINE_"Perhaps too obvious, madam! Does it not strike you as somewhat singular that an ex–convict, though aware that his record was known already to your brother, should steal a famous stone from his own employer and then conveniently condemn himself by secreting the jewel–box under his mattress, where even Scotland Yard could be relied upon to search?_NEWLINE_Lady Doverton put a hand to her bosom. "I had not considered the matter in that light," she said._NEWLINE_"Naturally...." | 3188248013391473157 |
Q16200273 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Adventures of Tintin: Breaking Free
_START_SECTION_
Plot summary
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The comic opens with Tintin arriving at the Captain's flat in a fictional estate, somewhere in England, Tintin has recently been sacked for losing his temper and punching his boss and expresses frustration about being "pushed around" and "kicked around like a lump of dogshit." The Captain offers to get Tintin a job on a local building site where he works. As the story progresses, Tintin meets the local residents and his workmates and issues faced by the area, such as racism, gentrification and general apathy from local government, are introduced._NEWLINE_The anger felt by the working-class people of this town boils over when a construction worker, Joe Hill (apparently named after the anarcho-syndicalist labour organiser of the same name) falls to his death due to poor safety standards at the local building site. Faced with insensitivity from their manager ("Had he been drinking?"), as well as apathy and condescension from their trade union official, the construction workers stage an unofficial, wildcat strike. The builders demand better safety standards, improved wages, a change of management for the site and a large sum of money for the family of their dead workmate._NEWLINE_The strike escalates, with management refusing to concede any of the demands, doing under the table deals with union officials to bring in strikebreakers. Meanwhile, the strike begins to spread to other local workplaces, becoming a symbol of class struggle, as well as a struggle for better short-term conditions. The workers become increasingly militant, turning to violent tactics and eventually firebombing the original building site. The strike begins to spread to other areas of the country without any official union involvement. Panicked, the UK government deals with strikers with increasing violence and repression, demonstrations turn into riots, and the Captain is arrested on false charges of conspiracy._NEWLINE_As the story closes, there is a demonstration of half a million people in the town in which the events of the book unfold, several people have brought rifles and references are made to "strike committees" taking power in other areas of the country, the army being sent into Liverpool to "restore order," and similar unrest taking place around the world. The last page features the Captain, Tintin and the Captain's Wife Mary in silhouette. Tintin holds an assault rifle above his head, while the others raise their fists. Below is written: "This Is Not The End / Only the beginning…"
_START_SECTION_
Reception
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Its initial release in 1989 caused a furor in the tabloid newspapers in the United Kingdom, who excoriated the comic for characterizing Tintin as a "picket yob". In a 1990 review, The Times called the book "a naive and brutish strip-cartoon book for junior Dave Sparts." In 1994, The Guardian wrote, "The interesting things about it are the way each frame is adapted from Hergé's originals, and the touching belief in the possibility of an upsurge in grassroots socialist radicalism." That same year, Martin Rowson, writing in The Independent, described the work as a "sad little publication" and called the book's approach to copyright "another acute observation in what I take to be a brilliant post-modern parody of a situationist canard produced during a sit-in at Hornsey School of Art circa 1972. I hope." Gabriel Coxhead, writing in The Guardian in 2007, referred to the comic as "entertaining enough, if rather didactic", arguing that the "real interest is the artwork: each figure, every pose, has been assiduously copied from Hergé's own drawings, and recontextualised". | 13869082531879801853 |
Q7712950 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Ajna Offensive
_START_SECTION_
History
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Ajna Offensive label evolved in 1992 out of the "Warloch" label then managed by Davis. Davis and O'Malley first met after Davis sent O'Malley a very excitable letter upon reading the first issue of Descent. Tyler offered all of his energy to Descent, while Stephen offered his energies towards The Ajna Offensive record label. In reviewing metal bands for the magazine, Davis felt that black metal had not yet reached its potential. At one point, he and O'Malley listened to a trunk of about 150 demos, giving some of them positive reviews in Descent. _NEWLINE_The first album released from the label was Plecid._NEWLINE_According to Stylus Magazine, The Ajna Offensive appears to be an aesthetically steered label, from the color and layout of the website to the bands it chooses to distribute and promote._NEWLINE_Estimated annual sales of The Ajna Offensive is 86,000 copies. The label's Standard Industrial Classification code is 7389 and its North American Industry Classification System code is 561990. | 8603206718638131073 |
Q4661034 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Amazing Race Philippines
_START_SECTION_
The Race
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Amazing Race Philippines is a reality television competition between eleven teams of two in a race around the Philippines. The race is divided into a number of legs wherein teams travel and complete various tasks to obtain clues to help them progress to a Pit Stop where they are given a chance to rest and recover before starting the next leg twelve hours later. The first team to arrive at a Pit Stop is often awarded a prize while the last team is normally eliminated from the race (except in non-elimination legs). The final leg of each race is run by the last three remaining teams, and the first to arrive at the final destination wins the ₱2 million cash prize.
_START_SECTION_
Teams
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Each team is composed of two individuals who have some type of relationship to each other. A total of 22 participants have joined The Amazing Race Philippines, some of which have been local celebrities._NEWLINE_Casts must be at least 21 years old, and must be a Filipino citizen or a permanent resident of the Philippines for at least two years._NEWLINE_Among the cast of the first season are Danielle Castaño, who represented the Philippines in the Miss World 2008 pageant; Raymund Vergara, a Mister Philippines 2003 World contestant; LJ Moreno, a former Pinoy Fear Factor contestant; Jervi Li and Saida Diola, former part of a Philippines noontime show Eat Bulaga;, football players Armand and Anton del Rosario, and ABS-CBN reporter Angel Movido.
_START_SECTION_
Route Markers
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Route Markers are yellow and red flags that mark the places where teams must go. Most Route Markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes, but some may mark the place where the teams must go in order to complete tasks, or may be used to line a course that the teams must follow.
_START_SECTION_
Non-elimination Legs
_START_PARAGRAPH_
A non-elimination leg is when the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop is not eliminated and is allowed to continue on the race. The Amazing Race Philippines, along with the French version, were the first versions of the race that did not penalize the last team to arrive in a non-elimination leg since the incorporation of the non-elimination penalties in season 5 of the American Version. This occurred in the third leg of the first season. However, in the seventh and eleventh legs, the "Marked for Elimination" penalty was applied to the last team arriving on a non-elimination leg. Meaning, teams had to arrive first at the next leg or receive a 30-minute time penalty.
_START_SECTION_
Rules and penalties
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Most of the rules and penalties are adopted from the American edition._NEWLINE_One of the most notable penalties was the penalty received by Anton & Armand in the second leg of the first season. Anton & Armand initially arrived 4th at the second Pit Stop of the race, but were issued a 24-hour time penalty for contacting someone outside the race. They dropped to 10th place and were eliminated.
_START_SECTION_
Number of times visited
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The following are the number of times the provinces are visited by The Amazing Race Philippines. Note that Metro Manila is not a province but a cluster of cities, though it will be classified under it. Independent cities will also be classified under their associated provinces, although they are not officially part of that province. | 10795170577550188084 |
Q7713647 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Anatomy Lesson (Roth novel)
_START_SECTION_
Summary
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Having buried his father in the previous novel Zuckerman Unbound, Zuckerman finds himself facing middle age and an undiagnosable pain. The mysterious ailment has him laid up and keeps him from his regime of writing. Barred by pain from writing and bored by inactivity, Zuckerman's mind is free to wander anxiously over the memories of his failed marriages and relationships with family members. In a desperate burst of nostalgia and ambition, Zuckerman resolves to return to the University of Chicago, his alma mater, in order to pursue medical school.
_START_SECTION_
Critical reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Anatomy Lesson is the least well-received of the Zuckerman trilogy Zuckerman Bound, though the book was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Book Award. In The Observer in 1984, Martin Amis wrote, "'The Anatomy Lesson' may be the third and final installment of the Zuckerman trilogy, but it is also Roth's second consecutive novel about what success is like. Such fixity!... He has now written two autobiographical novels about the consequences of writing autobiographical novels," adding, "no modern writer, perhaps no writer, has taken self-examination so far and so literally." In The New Yorker, John Updike was more complimentary finding, "The postmodernist writer's bind is expressed in flat authoritative accents reminiscent of Hemingway...Throughout, a beautiful passion to be honest propels the grinding, whining paragraphs. Yet, though lavish with laughs and flamboyant invention, The Anatomy Lesson seemed to this Roth fan the least successful of the Zuckerman trio, the least objectified and coherent."
_START_SECTION_
Zuckerman Bound
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The first and second books in the Zuckerman trilogy are 1979's The Ghost Writer and 1981's Zuckerman Unbound. The three were collected and republished in 1985 as Zuckerman Bound. Republication moved some critics to reassess this third entry; again in The New Yorker, John Updike wrote, "In toto, Zuckerman Bound shows the author's always ebullient invention and artful prose at their most polished and concentrated, the topic of authorship clearly being, to this author, a noble one." In The New York Times Book Review, critic Harold Bloom said of the three collected Zuckerman novels, "Zuckerman Bound merits something reasonably close to the highest level of esthetic praise for tragicomedy." | 14639673179688867869 |
Q7714406 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Art Lesson
_START_SECTION_
Synopsis
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Art Lesson is semi-autobiographical, following the character of Tommy, an enthusiastic painter and drawer. He makes pictures for his relatives and draws on the sidewalk, on bedsheets, and even on walls. For his birthday he gets a box of 64 crayons. But his new first-grade teacher rejects them, and makes him draw the same thing as everybody else in his class, with a few school crayons and on a single sheet of paper. He makes a bargain with the school Art Teacher: one page for the drawing that the rest of his class is making, with school crayons, and the second for his own crayons and his own art. | 3097039503737331773 |
Q16242612 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Art of Drowning (album)
_START_SECTION_
Release and reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
In an AllMusic review, MacKenzie Wilson says "Punk rawkers AFI exude another powerful disposition on their fifth album, The Art of Drowning. Issued on Dexter Holland's Nitro Records, AFI's quick and haughty, spiraling guitar riffs and crashing percussion make for another mishmash for single-fisted anthems for punk revivalists and enigmatic pop kids raging against the machine. Nothing short of Pennywise, D Generation, and Powerman 5000, AFI is rowdy with their old-school-inspired rants like "Ever and a Day" and "Of Greetings and Goodbyes." Frontman Davey Havok casts a rough demeanor, but certainly not anything intimidating because punk rock became friendly after the war of early-'90s grunge. The snarl and sweat are not as fashionable as it once was, but the attitude remains the same.". | 6805097008919580203 |
Q7714748 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party
_START_SECTION_
Summary
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The greater part of the story is told by a boy named Octavian, who grew up with his mother Cassiopeia, an African princess, in a house full of philosophers and scientists in colonial Boston. Under the watchful eyes of Mr. Gitney, also known as 03-01, Octavian has received a classical education as well as a musical education which has made him into an extremely skilled violinist. Octavian eventually comes to understand the price of his powdered wigs and education: he is not only the "property" of Mr. Gitney, but he is also being used as an experiment to test whether the African race is inferior to the European race._NEWLINE_In time, Cassiopeia angers the scientists' benefactor and the Society loses its monetary support. The two are forced to go under the new watchful eye of Richard Sharpe, who cuts Octavian off from his books. It is later revealed that Richard Sharpe works for a group of colonial businessmen, who now fund the house where Octavian is held. These businessmen own slaves, and it is strongly implied that Sharpe is attempting to bias the experiment with Octavian in order to prove that Africans are inferior. He does this by stopping most of Octavian's education and making him work in the house._NEWLINE_When the political unrest that would later spur the American Revolution begins to seep into the Gitney household, Gitney decides to move into the countryside outside of Boston, and then hold a Pox Party. Each attendee is infected with the pox, with the hope that under this controlled circumstance they will have only benign cases. Gitney also wants to both weaken and quarantine his slaves when he begins to hear talk of a slave revolt. Cassiopeia, however, is killed by the pox, and after her death is dissected by the scientists in the house. Octavian discovers what the scientists are doing and in his anger flees the house, and ends up in the Colonial Army._NEWLINE_Octavian's military adventures are narrated mostly in epistolary form by Private Evidence Goring in letters to his sister Fruition. Octavian is eventually recaptured, and back at the Gitney house he is kept chained and completely alone. When Sharpe and Gitney, as well as his former classics teacher Dr. Trefusis, eventually decide to speak with him, Octavian is furious to discover that, with many of their funds coming from plantation owners in Virginia, they are counting on Octavian to fail, and to prove the "inferiority" of the African race. | 6777281038560157787 |
Q20087501 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Attributes of Civilian and Military Music
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Attributes of Civilian Music and The Attributes of Military Music are a pair of paintings by Jean Siméon Chardin, commissioned in 1766 by Charles-Nicolas Cochin for the pediments above the doors to the music room in his Château de Bellevue at Meudon (Hauts-de-Seine). They were exhibited at the Salon in 1767 and installed in the Château the following year. The Château's goods were later confiscated by the state and the paintings were sold at auction. They were acquired by the portrait painter Jean-Sébastien Rouillard, then by François Marcille and his son Eudoxe. Via a gift from Eudoxe's descendants and from the Société des amis du Louvre, the Louvre Museum was able to purchase them in 2010. | 58070808447418982 |
Q7715234 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Bachelorette (season 7)
_START_SECTION_
The Bachelor
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Ben Flajnik was chosen as the bachelor for the sixteenth season of The Bachelor.
_START_SECTION_
Bachelor Pad
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Ames Brown, Blake Julian, and William Holman, returned for the second season of Bachelor Pad. Brown quit during week 2. Holman was eliminated during week 4. Julian and his partner, Erica Rose, were eliminated during week 5, finishing in 5th place. Nick Peterson returned for the third season of Bachelor Pad. He finished as the sole winner for that season.
_START_SECTION_
Bachelor in Paradise
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Peterson returned for the second season of Bachelor in Paradise. He left Paradise in a relationship with his partner, Samantha Steffen.
_START_SECTION_
After filming
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Blake Julian, who finished 7th/8th for this season and is currently married to The Bachelor 12 contestant Holly Durst, whom he met on Bachelor Pad.
_START_SECTION_
Wedding
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Hebert and Rosenbaum were married on December 1, 2012, with their wedding airing on ABC on December 16, 2012. They had a garden wedding in Pasadena, California. Their guests from the Bachelor franchise included former Bachelorettes Trista Sutter, with husband Ryan Sutter; Jillian Harris; Emily Maynard; Sean Lowe; and Jason and Molly Mesnick.
_START_SECTION_
Children
_START_PARAGRAPH_
On September 30, 2014, the couple welcomed their first child, son Fordham Rhys Rosenbaum; new father J.P. tweeted the happy news that same day. On November 5, 2016 they welcomed their first daughter, Essex Reese Rosenbaum. | 7617642611715030151 |
Q4546718 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Bee (radio station)
_START_SECTION_
History
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Bee initially broadcast to the Blackburn, Darwen and Accrington areas under RSL licences in 2001 and 2002, before winning a permanent licence in December 2004. The station, founded by Roy Martin, launched full-time on 1 October 2005. Its investors included neighbouring station 2BR, The Radio Business and local shareholders. Initially based at Dalton Court in Darwen, the station moved to Petre Court in Clayton-le-Moors in August 2010, co-locating with 2BR._NEWLINE_At 7pm on 17 June 2011, the station began broadcasting to the Preston, Leyland and Chorley areas on 106.5 FM, following the sale and subsequent closure of 106.5 Central Radio. A further relay (96.3FM) for the Chorley area went on air in 2012._NEWLINE_On 4 April 2016, UKRD announced The Bee would be closed and merged with its sister East Lancashire station 2BR as part of an expansion onto DAB. The merged station carries the same 2BR programming and identity with opt-outs for local news, traffic and advertising in the Burnley, Blackburn and Preston & Chorley areas._NEWLINE_In July 2018, the expanded 2BR was brought by Global. | 16521758846887863784 |
Q7717671 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Big Hunt
_START_SECTION_
Synopsis
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Professor Summerfield is trying to enjoy a vacation from work, the Braxiatel Collection and even from her friends, Jason, Adrian and Peter. To her exasperation, she is sent on yet another mission. This task goes badly when she crash-lands on a planet full of hostile robotic animals, big game hunters and amoral businessmen._NEWLINE_Bernice soon realizes her only hope for survival is join in on the planet's 'game'.
_START_SECTION_
Chronological Placement
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The events in this novel take place after the audio drama and prior to the short story anthology. | 11333358922155056133 |
Q1171033 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Burning Bed
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
On March 9, 1977, Francine Hughes, following thirteen years of physical domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, James Berlin "Mickey" Hughes, tells their children to put their coats on and wait for her in their car. She then pours gasoline around the bed in which Mickey is sleeping in their home in Dansville, Michigan, and sets the bed afire. After the house catches fire, Hughes drives with her children to the local police station in order to confess to the act. Hughes is tried for first degree murder, and is found by a jury of her peers to be not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. It is widely believed that the judge and the jury largely sympathized with Francine's plight and felt that Mickey's murder was a justifiable action.
_START_SECTION_
Film adaptation
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Having adapted the book into a made-for-television movie, Goldemberg's screenplay, The Burning Bed, premiered on NBC on October 8, 1984. Directed by Robert Greenwald, the film starred Farrah Fawcett as Francine Hughes and Paul Le Mat as Mickey Hughes._NEWLINE_The movie was filmed in Rosharon, Texas. The house that served as the Hughes' home is no longer there._NEWLINE_The movie was also filmed in El Monte, California.
_START_SECTION_
Ratings
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The movie premiered with a household share of 36.2 ranking it the 17th highest rated movie to air on network television and NBC's highest rated television movie.
_START_SECTION_
Critical response
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Television critic Matt Zoller Seitz in his 2016 book co-written with Alan Sepinwall titled TV (The Book) named The Burning Bed as the 7th greatest American TV-movie of all time, writing that "The film was a landmark in terms of content, depicting domestic violence as an unambiguous horror and a human rights violation". Seitz also praised the performance of Fawcett as "one of the finest in the history of TV-movies". | 7225668649689014556 |
Q3824329 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Burning Shore
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
In 1917 during World War One, South African fighter pilot Michael Courtney falls in love with Centaine, a French woman. On their wedding day – prior to their wedding – Courtney is killed in action, and, following the destruction of her home by a German bombardment, the pregnant Centaine enrols as a nurse and embarks on a hospital ship for South Africa. The ship is torpedoed by a German U-Boat and Centaine lands on the Skeleton Coast. She attempts to make her way south to South Africa but is adopted by two San who teach her how to survive in the desert.
_START_SECTION_
Background
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Smith later recalled "The women in some of my books are more powerful than the male characters, and that one was the breakthrough novel, because the female lead kicked the arse of all the males in the book... I was involved at the time with a very kick-arse woman [second wife Danielle Thomas] and she was fascinating, and I adapted her into the story.”
_START_SECTION_
1991 Film Adaptation
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The book was adapted into a film in 1991 called Mountain of Diamonds or The Burning Shore. It was directed by Jeannot Szwarc. | 12743517044864502017 |
Q46993335 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Cambridge Companion to Freud
_START_SECTION_
Summary
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Cambridge Companion to Freud includes an introduction by Jerome Neu, and essays on various topics related to Freud. These discussions include those by the cultural historian Carl Emil Schorske on Freud's views on "the implications of individual psychodynamics for civilization as a whole", the intellectual historian Gerald N. Izenburg on Freud's seduction theory, the philosopher Clark Glymour on Freud's views in relation to cognitive psychology, the philosopher James Hopkins on Freud's theory of dreams, the philosopher Sebastian Gardner on the unconscious, the psychoanalyst Bennett Simon and the psychologist Rachel B. Blass on Oedipus complex, Neu on Freud's views on sexual perversion and sexuality in general, the philosopher Jennifer Church on morality and the superego, the psychoanalyst Nancy Chodorow on Freud's views on women, the philosopher Richard Wollheim on the relevance of Freud's views to art, the anthropologist Robert A. Paul on Freud's "cultural books" Totem and Taboo (1913), Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1921), Civilization and Its Discontents (1929), and Moses and Monotheism (1939), and the philosopher John Deigh on The Future of an Illusion (1927) and Civilization and Its Discontents. The book also reprints a review of the philosopher Adolf Grünbaum's The Foundations of Psychoanalysis (1984) by the philosopher David Sachs.
_START_SECTION_
Publication history
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Cambridge Companion to Freud was published by Cambridge University Press in 1991.
_START_SECTION_
Scientific and academic journals
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Cambridge Companion to Freud received negative reviews from the sociologist Christopher Badcock in the British Journal of Sociology and Brayton Polka in History of European Ideas, and positive reviews from the historian Sander Gilman in Medical History and the philosopher Marcia Cavell in Ethics. It also received reviews from Badcock in Sociology, the philosopher Andrew Brook in Philosophy in Review, and Leonard Groopman in the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, and a notice in Isis. _NEWLINE_Badcock, in his review of the book in the British Journal of Sociology, wrote that it, "perpetuates many errors and misunderstandings of Freud's work", for example by confusing the psychoanalytic concept of repression with Marxist views and offering a one-sided view of Freud as a "liberator of sexuality". He criticized Paul's discussion of Totem and Taboo, writing that Paul, motivated by the wish to correct Freud's Lamarckism, "read more recent ideas on cultural and genetic evolution into Freud's texts". He found Deigh's essay on Freud's later theory of civilization rewarding, but wrote that it was the only contribution he would be "adding to his reading lists". Polka found the book disappointing, writing that it "lacks a comprehensive conception or vision uniting the disparate essays as a whole" and failed to make clear why Freud was important and what could be learned from him._NEWLINE_Gilman considered the book useful and well-written, and praised several contributions, including Neu's chapter on sexual perversion, Schorske's discussion of the psychodyanmics of civilization, and Wollheim's discussion of aesthetics. He called Izenberg's discussion of the seduction theory "balanced and readable", and believed it benefited from the most recent discussions of the topic, and also complimented Hopkins's discussion of The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), Chodorow's discussion of Freud's understanding of women, and the contributions by Paul and Deigh. However, he felt that Gardner's discussion of the unconscious would have benefited from "attention to the older discussion of the pre-history of the unconscious", and that the book as a whole would have been improved by the inclusion of a discussion of the young Freud and his interests._NEWLINE_Cavell described the book as "very useful". Though she noted that some important topics were omitted, she added that "most of the salient ones are here and thoughtfully treated." She considered it appropriate that all the authors represented in the book "write from a position somewhere within the Freudian camp", though she noted that some would regard it as a weakness. She wrote that several essays contained valuable overviews of changes in Freud's views on particular topics, giving as examples Paul and Deigh's discussions of instinct theory, Izenburg's discussion of the seduction theory, Simon and Blass's discussion of the Oedipus complex, Neu's discussion of sexuality, and Chodorow's discussion of female psychology. She credited Hopkins with providing the most lucid explanation of "ordinary explanations of actions in terms of motives or beliefs and desires" that she had ever seen. She found Paul's discussion of Freud's "myth of the primal horde" interesting, but criticized him for "leaving in place ... Freud's arguably grandiose view of the oedipal complex as an inscription in the very brain of the human infant" and for failing to "question such Freudian assumptions as that explaining intrapsychic conflict requires two basic instincts." She criticized Deigh and Church for failing to "question Freud's narrow view of self-interest" and his "assumption that only self-interest can ground love for the other."
_START_SECTION_
Evaluations in books
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Robert Wilcocks criticized The Cambridge Companion to Freud for including no contributions by the philosopher Frank Cioffi and the critic Frederick Crews in Mousetraps and the Moon (2000). Though noting that the anthology showed the ongoing interest in psychoanalysis, he accused many of its contributors of "willful blindness". | 15662370362042799943 |
Q7721632 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Cat Heads
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Cat Heads were an indie rock band from San Francisco. The band formed in 1985 with a later line-up recording as The (ex) Cat Heads.
_START_SECTION_
History
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The original line-up of the band was former Love Circus and Leaches singer Mark Zanandrea (vocals, guitar), former Ophelias guitarist Sam Babbitt, former X-tal bassist Alan Korn, and Donner Party drummer Melanie Clarin. They signed to Enigma/Restless, and released their debut album, Hubba (produced by Matt Piucci of Rain Parade), in 1987, described as a mix of "punk, post-punk, folk-rock, and country". They followed this in 1988 with Submarine, this time with David Lowery producing. Zanandrea and Clarin then left, to be replaced by Barry Hall and John Stewart, continuing as The (ex) Cat Heads, although Clarin returned to guest (on "Anti-song") on their 1989 album Our Frisco. Clarin and Zanandrea, meanwhile had joined It Thing. Zanandrea and Babbitt later worked together in The Androgynauts. Babbitt and Korn re-emerged in The Mudsills._NEWLINE_The band have reunited a few times since, including opening for Camper Van Beethoven at the latter's 25th anniversary reunion gig at The Fillmore in 2008. | 4665355108931247161 |
Q7722015 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Challenge (Yes Minister)
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Jim Hacker is on the radio, being interviewed by Ludovic Kennedy. His department, the Department for Administrative Affairs, is about to enjoy an expanded remit, with local government bureaucracy being added to its responsibilities. Kennedy puts it to Hacker that his department is more interested in increasing red tape than reducing it. The Minister responds that they have had to "take on more staff in order to reduce staff". He says that he is looking forward to the challenge, but is unable to give any detailed proposals._NEWLINE_The next day, Sir Humphrey Appleby is at lunch with the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Arnold Robinson. The latter remarks on Hacker's recent interview, in particular the fact that he regarded his new duties as a "challenge". Sir Arnold makes it clear to Sir Humphrey that he would have never given this task to the DAA if he thought the Minister was actually going to do anything about it, and would prefer it if the status quo is maintained. The reason is that efficiencies that are successfully enacted in local government usually rebound on Whitehall departments, which are then also forced to implement them. Sir Humphrey is fully seized of Sir Arnold's aims, but is advised—if things get tricky—to draw the Minister's attention to civil defence: the one area in which national government has little interest._NEWLINE_Hacker concludes a meeting in his office, and is approached by one of the participants, Dr. Cartwright, an Under-Secretary who has become an expert in local government (and therefore shall rise no higher in the civil service). He proposes to the Minister that any future local authority projects must list their criteria for failure before they are given the go-ahead. Hacker is immediately interested and instructs Bernard, his Principal Private Secretary, to make this paper his top priority reading for the weekend. They are joined by Sir Humphrey, who is apprised of Hacker's new plan and is completely startled, labelling it "dangerous nonsense". Hacker impresses upon his Permanent Secretary the urgent need to bring forward proposals. Sir Humphrey falls back on Sir Arnold's advice and tells his minister that civil defence is the one area of local government which would be a "vote winner". These words have the desired effect and Hacker is curious. Sir Humphrey convinces him that there is a real public interest and mentions in passing that Ludovic Kennedy is in the process of preparing a documentary on the subject. In the meantime, the London borough of Thames Marsh spends less on civil defence than any other authority: he suggests a ministerial visit. Bernard points out that the particular borough is run by Ben Stanley—a firebrand who is subject to frequent censure by the press. Hacker asks Bernard to ensure that there be plenty of journalists in attendance for his trip._NEWLINE_Hacker meets with Ben Stanley and is accompanied by Dr. Cartwright. The Minister tells Stanley about his authority's poor commitment to civil defence, but the councillor responds that to increase expenditure in that area, other necessities would have to be forfeited. However, Dr. Cartwright reads Stanley a list of items (including a fact-finding mission to Jamaica and a gay bereavement centre) that could be safely removed from the authority's current budget. Stanley is unimpressed, and states that even if they could afford it, his borough is unilateralist and will not invest in nuclear fallout shelters—despite it being government policy. However, Bernard draws the Minister's attention to the fact that there is indeed a fallout shelter under the town hall, exclusively for the use of Stanley and his colleagues. The councillor insists that he was persuaded that his preservation was a necessity to local ratepayers._NEWLINE_Sir Humphrey once again meets with Sir Arnold and discusses Hacker's visit, which seems to have been a publicity triumph. However, Dr. Cartwright's initiative still looks likely to be implemented—and Sir Arnold is horrified. He remarks that if it goes ahead, Whitehall would enter the "squalid world of professional management." He states that Hacker must be stopped, and, after Sir Humphrey tells him of the next Ludovic Kennedy interview, proposes that the Minister be provided with a dossier on local civil defence expenditure._NEWLINE_During the interview recording, Hacker tells Kennedy of Stanley's reserved place in the Thames Marsh fallout shelter and his refusal to build them for others. He believes that such places should be for essential citizens, such as doctors, nurses and ambulance drivers, rather than "mere politicians". However, Kennedy asks Hacker if he has approached the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary on the subject, since they are both able to avail themselves of the government shelter in Whitehall. Hacker manages to deflect the question, but not entirely successfully. He then tells of a trip by one authority to California to examine fallout shelters, which itself ended up costing the borough's entire civil defence budget for three years._NEWLINE_Later, the Minister is back in his office. He is unsure that things are going smoothly, and tells Sir Humphrey of the recording. It then transpires that the California visit was undertaken by a council that is in the PM's own constituency. The Minister is alarmed and instructs Sir Humphrey to stop the broadcast. Alas, all his time is being taken up with implementing the failure standards scheme, but if that wasn't so urgent, he may be able to help. As it happens, Sir Humphrey is lunching with the BBC's Director of Policy: he invites Hacker along._NEWLINE_During the lunch, the BBC's man states that there is no question of the Corporation giving in to government pressure. However, Sir Humphrey provides a raft of evidence for so-called anti-government bias within the BBC's output, along with a number of photographs of senior BBC executives enjoying certain hospitality. The pair also convinces the Director of Policy that Kennedy's interview contains some "factual errors" and security issues._NEWLINE_Back in Hacker's office, Sir Humphrey informs the Minister of the BBC's decision not to proceed with the transmission. In turn, Hacker now decides to leave local government as it is, due to the above incident having made him acutely aware of the fine line that must be negotiated in dealing with local government by Whitehall, much to Sir Humphrey's relief.
_START_SECTION_
Reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Armando Iannucci wrote in the Daily Telegraph that "it was in an episode from Series 3 called The Challenge that we saw how the Government succeeds in exerting pressure on the BBC by applying the best twisted logic the executive machine can deliver... If all that seems depressingly relevant, it's easy to forget how revolutionary the programme was when it first went out." | 14624219330999379757 |
Q7722031 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Chamber Wind Music of Jack Cooper
_START_SECTION_
Background
_START_PARAGRAPH_
In 2006 it was decided a CD would be produced as a collaboration between Centaur Records and resources housed at the University of Memphis. Centaur Records agreed to have a CD completed for their label of either chamber wind works or chamber string/piano works; not a mix or both so to avoid a conflict in programming and marketing. Artists were selected based on virtuoso musicianship and familiarity with the composer's work; being able to play both written and improvised passages at a high musical level.
_START_SECTION_
Promotion and works from the compact disc
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Interviews were done in 2010 for WKNO-FM NPR Radio and WUMR Radio about the recording. The works from the CD have been played and featured at numerous concert venues in North and South American (U.S.A., Canada, Brazil), primarily by the artists who commissioned each work. The euphonium work One of the Missing was commissioned by John Mueller and is strong protest piece that both Cooper and Mueller felt very compelled to present in opposition to the Iraq War. The recording of the Trombone Sonata (and manuscript) is one of the main subjects in a dissertation written in 2011 by Dr. Anthony Williams (music professor, University of Northern Iowa) on style and approach to four prominent 20th/21st Century solo trombone works: Alec Wilder - Sonata for Trombone and Piano, Richard Peaslee - Arrows of Time, William Goldstein - Colloquy for solo trombone, Jack Cooper - Sonata For Trombone. The Trombone Sonata has also had a second prominent recording by trombone artist Mark Hetzler on his 2015 CD recording Blues, Ballads and Beyond with Summit Records. All brass works (trombone, brass quintet, euphonium) from the recording are currently published with Brassworks 4 Publishing. All three of the sonatas and the brass quintet from the recording have received reviews in international journals as prominent literature for saxophone, clarinet, trombone and brass ensemble. | 15716089083278061237 |
Q2551767 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Chess Player
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Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
In 1776, a young Polish patriot, Boleslas Vorowski, is wounded in an abortive uprising against the Russian forces in Vilnius. A reward for his capture is offered but he is sheltered by Baron von Kempelen, an inventor of lifelike automata, who plans to smuggle Vorowski, a skilful chess-player, to Germany concealed inside a chess-playing automaton called The Turk. Major Nicolaïeff, a Russian rival of Vorowski, challenges The Turk to a game and is defeated, but he realises that the machine is being secretly operated by Vorowski. He arranges for The Turk to be sent to Moscow to entertain the Empress Catherine II. When The Turk refuses to allow Catherine to cheat, the Empress orders that the automaton is to be executed by firing squad at dawn. During a masked ball, von Kempelen replaces Vorowski inside The Turk, to enable him to escape with his lover Sophie. Nicolaïeff, who has been sent to search von Kempelen's house, is slain by the inventor's sabre-wielding automata.
_START_SECTION_
Production
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The Chess Player was the second film which Raymond Bernard made for the Société des Films Historiques, although on this occasion its subject matter of the Polish struggle for independence from Russia did not correspond with the company's avowed devotion to French history. Some scenes were filmed on location in Poland with the assistance of the Polish army (notably the Vilno insurrection and the large-scale cavalry charge). For many of the other spectacular locations, 35 sets were created at the studios in Joinville by Robert Mallet-Stevens and Jean Perrier; the most spectacular was the facade and courtyard of the Winter Palace, which covered some 5000 square metres of land beside the studio. Additional special effects were provided by the British film designer W. Percy Day. Filming began on 15 March 1926 and was completed on 31 October, leaving Bernard only two months for its post-production before the premiere in January 1927. An orchestral score was written for the film by Henri Rabaud._NEWLINE_The gala premiere at the Marivaux cinema in Paris was a huge success and the film went on to have a first run of three months at that cinema before its general release in the summer of 1927. Audiences were particularly impressed by the spectacular cavalry charge imagined by Sophie as she sings the Polish hymn of independence. The press reception in France was generally enthusiastic . The film was released in the UK in early 1928, and in the USA in 1930 (where however the reviewer for The New York Times was unimpressed)._NEWLINE_A restoration of the film was undertaken in the 1980s, led by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill. In the absence of any definitive negative or print, it required the collaboration of several European film archives from which material in several variant copies was collated; sources in an East German archive and the Cinémathèque Municipale in Luxembourg provided the most complete material. The finished tinted print received its first screenings in London in December 1990, with Henri Rabaud's original score conducted by Carl Davis. | 4151354645822839164 |
Q7722775 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Christmas Village in Philadelphia
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About
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Christmas Village in Philadelphia is modeled on the style of traditional German Christmas Markets. Christmas Market events such as the famous Christkindlesmarkt in Nuremberg, which dates back to the 16th century, are part of a long tradition of farmers' markets in Germany's inner cities._NEWLINE_Several wooden booths and tents sell food specialties such as German bratwursts with sauerkraut, schnitzel, Berlin doner kebab, goulash and Bavarian pretzels. A wide assortment of traditional sweet Christmas-food items like lebkuchen (gingerbread cookies), stollen, spekulatius, roasted nuts, cotton candy, chocolate covered fruits, waffles and crepes are offered. In addition to hot drinks such as hot chocolate, coffee and tea, Christmas Village offers Gluhwine (mulled wine)._NEWLINE_ _NEWLINE_Besides local vendors and artists there are German vendors selling genuine Christmas decorations, pewter ornaments, candles, nativity sets, glass ornaments, toys, woollens, wooden ornaments, lace, spices and jewelry._NEWLINE_ _NEWLINE_ The booths' assortment is related to the winter season and the upcoming holidays._NEWLINE_Highlights of the event include live demonstrations of glass blowing, glass ornaments painting and wood carving, a Christmas tree vendor, and arts and crafts products. For children there is a Santa's house and more special themed events; for adults there are daily live performances from local artists such as string and brass bands, soloists and school choirs at a central stage, and an opening ceremony with the original Christkind from Christkindlesmarkt Nuremberg, the City of Philadelphia's Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and a German American weekend. | 14198062754880650982 |
Q16385341 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Convenient Marriage
_START_SECTION_
Plot summary
_START_PARAGRAPH_
When the wealthy and eligible Earl of Rule, 35 years old, proposes marriage to Elizabeth Winwood, she resigns herself to marrying against her will to rescue the fortunes of her impoverished family. Her youngest sister Horatia, a 17 year old young woman with a stammer, decides to take matters into her own hands, meeting with the Earl and persuading him to marry her instead of Elizabeth, thus leaving Elizabeth free to marry her true (but far less eligible) love. Part of the deal she proposes to Rule is that she will not interfere with his activities after their marriage. The wedding takes place and, as tacitly agreed upon, the Earl continues his association with his mistress, Lady Caroline Massey._NEWLINE_Horatia quickly becomes a popular and fashionable society wife, spending vast amounts of money on sensational outfits and at gambling on cards. The Earl is also obliged to make regular financial donations to support Horatia's likeable but debt-ridden brother, Pelham._NEWLINE_Meanwhile, Horatia meets and befriends Lord Lethbridge, who seeks revenge on the Earl for his role in thwarting Lethbridge's attempts to elope with Lady Louisa (Rule's sister) several years earlier. Lethbridge gains Horatia's favour by staging a hold-up of Horatia's carriage, where he heroically rides up to save her from the highwaymen. The Earl warns Horatia against continuing her friendship with Lethbridge; but when he declines to explain why, Horatia disregards his warning. Horatia, who wants to teach her husband a lesson, goes to a masked ball that the Earl had forbidden her from attending, with Lord Lethbridge as her escort. Having heard that Lethbridge is an excellent card player, she attempts to coerce Lethbridge into playing with her and he eventually relents, proposing that they play for a lock of her hair. Before the game can start, Lord Rule (who has followed Horatia disguised in a domino and mask) steps on Horatia's gown, ripping it. While she is away fixing her dress, he incapacitates Lethbridge and dresses himself in Lethbridge's mask and domino. When Horatia returns she doesn't realise her husband has taken Lethbridge's place and they begin to play cards. Horatia is badly beaten and during the game begins to realise the inappropriateness of her actions. When she gives up the lock of her hair, Rule (masquerading as Lethbridge) steals a kiss. Horatia, furious and indignant, rushes out and bumps into Lady Massey, who happens to be at the same ball. The next day Horatia confesses what happened to Rule because she can't bear for him to hear it from Lady Massey. The Earl explains his ruse and Horatia decides to end her friendship with Lethbridge._NEWLINE_Rule, discovering that he has fallen for his own wife, sets out to court her. However, not knowing that the Earl has broken off his relationship with Lady Massey, Horatia is polite but distant. When the Earl leaves town to see to business on his country estate he is disappointed by Horatia's decision to remain in London. Horatia fills her days with entertainments to drown out her feelings of loneliness with her husband away in the country. She attends a ball and upon getting in her carriage to go home, is kidnapped and taken to Lord Lethbridge's house where he intends to ruin her to gain his revenge on Rule. Horatia manages to knock him out and escape but in the process loses a very distinctive brooch from the Earl's heirloom set of jewels._NEWLINE_Horatia calls upon her brother Pelham and his friend, Mr Pommeroy, to restore the brooch to her before Rule returns from his estate. They are unsuccessful because Rule's jealous cousin, Mr Drelincourt, has found the brooch at Lethbridge's house and has immediately set forth for Rule's country estate to share this news. Lethbridge overtakes Drelincourt on the road and wrests the brooch from him. Drelincourt continues on his journey anyway and Rule is furious at his cousin's insinuation that Horatia and Lethbridge are having an affair. Rule sets off back to London, meets Lethbridge on the way and the two men have a swordfight, which Rule wins. Meanwhile, Pelham and his posse plan to hold up Lethbridge's carriage and steal back the brooch. However, they get the carriages confused and accidentally hold up Rule's carriage instead (Lethbridge still being in the country, recovering from his wounds)._NEWLINE_Horatia, learning that Pelham has not recovered her brooch is miserable and anxious because she wants to act on her feelings for her husband, but can't while she still believes Lethbridge has the brooch in his possession. She receives an anonymous note saying that her brooch will be restored to her if she attends Vauxhall pavilion at midnight. Horatia, thinking Lethbridge sent the note, makes the meeting with Pelham and Mr Pommeroy hidden nearby in the bushes. She is surprised when the Earl arrives and returns her brooch to her. He confesses his feelings for her and she affirms that they are reciprocated.
_START_SECTION_
Characters
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Lord Marcus Drelincourt, Earl of Rule - 35, a rake, lives in Grosvenor Square, country estate is Meering_NEWLINE_Miss Elizabeth Winwood - the eldest Winwood sister, 20_NEWLINE_Miss Charlotte Winwood - the middle Winwood sister_NEWLINE_Miss Horatia Winwood - the youngest Winwood sister, 17_NEWLINE_Mr Arnold Gisborne - Lord Rule's secretary_NEWLINE_Mrs Theresa Maulfrey - a cousin of the Winwoods_NEWLINE_Dowager Lady Winwood - mother of the Winwood sisters and Pelham_NEWLINE_Miss Lane - the Winwood's governess_NEWLINE_Lady Caroline Massey - Lord Rule's mistress, widow of Sir Thomas Massey, a wealthy tradesman_NEWLINE_Lieutenant Edward Heron - love of the eldest Winwood sister, of the 10th foot, 22_NEWLINE_Lord Pelham Winwood, Viscount_NEWLINE_Lord Robert Lethbridge - a rake, another lover of Lady Caroline Massey_NEWLINE_Sir Roland Pommeroy - a friend of Pelham_NEWLINE_Mr Drelincourt - cousin and current heir to the Earl of Rule_NEWLINE_Captain Ford - Mr Drelincourt's second_NEWLINE_Mr Francis Puckleton - Mr Drelincourt's second_NEWLINE_Lord Cheston - Lord Winwood's second_NEWLINE_Dr Parvey - surgeon who attends the duel_NEWLINE_Lady Louisa Quain - sister of the Earl of Rule_NEWLINE_Mr Cattermole - landlord of the Sun, at Maidenhead_NEWLINE_Edward 'Ned' Hawkins - a highwayman | 7479728715035240967 |
Q28458144 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Criminal (novel)
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Everyone in Kenton Hills knows that short-tempered, tongue-tied Bob Talbert wasn't the one responsible for the brutal crime that ended Josie Eddleman's life. Nevermind that he was the last one to see her alive. _NEWLINE_But in a town filled with the likes of an amoral tabloid reporter known only as The Captain, a district attorney who'll do anything for a confession, and Bob's parents, who care as little for Bob as they do for each other, guilt and innocence are little more than a matter of perspective. | 1818579539069321608 |
Q183239 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (film)
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
In August 2005, elderly Daisy Fuller is on her deathbed in a New Orleans hospital as Hurricane Katrina approaches. She tells her daughter, Caroline, about a train station built in 1918 and the blind clockmaker, Mr. Gateau, who was hired to make a clock for it. When it was unveiled at the station, the public was surprised to see the clock running backwards. Mr. Gateau says he made it that way as a memorial, so that the boys they lost in the war, including his own son, could come home again and live full lives. Mr. Gateau was never seen again. Daisy then asks Caroline to read aloud from the diary of Benjamin Button._NEWLINE_On the evening of November 11, 1918, a boy is born with the appearance and maladies of an elderly man. After the baby's mother, Caroline, dies during childbirth, the father, Thomas Button, abandons the infant on the porch of a nursing home. Queenie and Mr. "Tizzy" Weathers find the baby, and Queenie decides to raise him as her own, naming him Benjamin._NEWLINE_Benjamin learns to walk in 1925, after which he uses crutches in place of a wheelchair. On Thanksgiving 1930, Benjamin meets seven-year-old Daisy, whose grandmother lives in the nursing home. He and Daisy become good friends. Later, he accepts work on a tugboat captained by Mike Clark. Benjamin also meets Thomas who does not reveal that he is Benjamin's father. In Autumn 1936, Benjamin leaves New Orleans for a long-term work engagement with the tugboat crew; Daisy later is accepted into a dance company in New York City under choreographer George Balanchine._NEWLINE_In 1941, Benjamin is in Murmansk, where he begins an affair with Elizabeth Abbott, wife of the British Trade Minister. That December, Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II. Mike volunteers the boat for the U.S. Navy; the crew is assigned to salvage duties. During a patrol, the tugboat finds a sunken U.S. transport and the bodies of many American troops. A German U-boat surfaces; Mike steers the tugboat full speed towards it while a German gunner fires on the tugboat, killing most of the crew, including Mike. The tugboat rams the submarine, causing it to explode, sinking both vessels. Benjamin and another crewman are rescued by U.S. Navy ships the next day._NEWLINE_In May 1945, Benjamin returns to New Orleans and reunites with Queenie & learns that "Tizzy" died a while back. A few weeks later, he reunites with Daisy; they go out for dinner. Upon failing to seduce him afterwards, she departs. Benjamin later reunites with the terminally-ill Thomas who reveals he is Benjamin's father and leaves Benjamin his button company and his estate._NEWLINE_In 1947, Benjamin visits Daisy in New York unannounced, but departs upon seeing that she has fallen in love with someone else. _NEWLINE_In 1954, Daisy's dancing career ends when her leg is crushed in an automobile accident in Paris. When Benjamin visits her, Daisy is amazed by his youthful appearance, but, frustrated by her injuries, she tells him to stay out of her life._NEWLINE_In 1962, Daisy returns to New Orleans and reunites with Benjamin. Now of comparable physical age, they fall in love and go sailing together. They return to learn that Queenie has died, then move in together. In 1967, Daisy, who has opened a ballet studio, tells Benjamin that she is pregnant; she gives birth to a girl, Caroline, in the spring of 1968. Believing he cannot be a proper father to his daughter due to his reverse aging, Benjamin sells his assets, leaves the proceeds behind for Daisy and Caroline, and leaves the next spring; he travels alone during the 1970s._NEWLINE_Benjamin returns to Daisy in 1980. Now married, Daisy introduces him, as a family friend, to her husband and daughter. Daisy admits that he was right to leave; she could not have coped otherwise. She later visits Benjamin at his hotel, where they again share their passion for each other, then part once more._NEWLINE_In 1990, widowed Daisy is contacted by social workers who have found Benjamin — now physically a pre-teen. When she arrives, they explain that he was living in a condemned building and was taken to the hospital in poor physical condition, and that they found her name in his diary. The social workers say he is displaying early signs of dementia. _NEWLINE_Daisy moves into the nursing home in 1997 and cares for Benjamin for the rest of his life. _NEWLINE_Daisy says that in 2002, Mr. Gateau's clock was replaced with a digital clock that ran forward. _NEWLINE_In the Spring of 2003, Benjamin dies in Daisy's arms, physically an infant but chronologically 84 years of age. Having finally revealed the story of Caroline's father to her, Daisy dies as Hurricane Katrina approaches._NEWLINE_Benjamin narrates about what people were brought into this world for, as a montage recaps the most significant people throughout his life. The film ends with alarms wailing as Katrina floods a storage room that holds Mr. Gateau's clock, which continues to tick backwards.
_START_SECTION_
Development
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Producer Ray Stark bought the film rights to do The Curious Case of Benjamin Button in the mid-1980s, and it was optioned by Universal Pictures. The first choice to direct it was Frank Oz, with Martin Short attached for the title role, but Oz could not work out how to make the story work. The film was optioned in 1991 by Steven Spielberg, with Tom Cruise attached for the lead role, but Spielberg left the project to direct Jurassic Park and Schindler's List. Other directors attached were Patrick Read Johnson and Agnieszka Holland. Stark eventually sold the rights to producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, who took the film to Paramount Pictures, with Universal still on as a co-production partner. By summer 1994, Maryland Film Office chief Jack Gerbes was approached with the possibility of making the film in Baltimore. In October 1998, screenwriter Robin Swicord wrote for director Ron Howard an adapted screenplay of the short story, a project which would potentially star actor John Travolta. In May 2000, Paramount hired screenwriter Jim Taylor to adapt a screenplay from the short story. The studio also attached director Spike Jonze to helm the project. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman had also written a draft of the adapted screenplay at one point. In June 2003, director Gary Ross entered final negotiations to helm the project based on a new draft penned by screenwriter Eric Roth. In May 2004, director David Fincher entered negotiations to replace Ross in directing the film.
_START_SECTION_
Casting
_START_PARAGRAPH_
In May 2005, actors Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett entered negotiations to star in the film. In September 2006, actors Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng and Taraji P. Henson entered negotiations to be cast into the film. The following October, with production yet to begin, actress Julia Ormond was cast as Daisy's daughter, to whom Blanchett's character tells the story of her love for Benjamin Button. Brad Pitt had collaborated with many of his co-stars in previous films. He co-starred with Ormond in Legends of the Fall, with Flemyng in Snatch, with Jared Harris in Ocean's Twelve, with Blanchett in Babel and with Swinton in Burn After Reading.
_START_SECTION_
Filming
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For Benjamin Button, New Orleans, Louisiana and the surrounding area was chosen as the filming location for the story to take advantage of the state's production incentives, and shooting was slated to begin in October 2006. By filming in Louisiana and taking advantage of the state's film incentive, the production received $27 million, which was used to finance a significant portion of the film's $167 million budget. Filming of Benjamin Button began on November 6, 2006 in New Orleans. In January 2007, Blanchett joined the shoot. Fincher praised the ease of accessibility to rural and urban sets in New Orleans and said that the recovery from Hurricane Katrina did not serve as an atypical hindrance to production._NEWLINE_In March 2007, production moved to Los Angeles for two more months of filming. Principal photography was targeted to last a total of 150 days. Additional time was needed at visual effects house Digital Domain to make the visual effects for the metamorphosis of Brad Pitt's character to the infant stage. The director used a camera system called Contour, developed by Steve Perlman, to capture facial deformation data from live-action performances._NEWLINE_Several digital environments for the film were created by Matte World Digital, including multiple shots of the interior of the New Orleans train station, to show architectural alterations and deterioration throughout different eras. The train station was built as a 3D model and lighting and aging effects were added, using Next Limit's Maxwell rendering software—an architectural visualization tool. Overall production was finished in September 2007.
_START_SECTION_
Music
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The score to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was written by French composer Alexandre Desplat, who recorded his score with an 87-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage.
_START_SECTION_
Release
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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was originally slated for theatrical release in May 2008, but it was pushed back to November 26, 2008. The release date was moved again to December 25 in the United States, January 16, 2009 in Mexico, February 6 in the United Kingdom, February 13 in Italy and February 27 in South Africa.
_START_SECTION_
Box office performance
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On its opening day, the film opened in the number two position behind Marley & Me, in North America with $11,871,831 in 2,988 theaters with a $3,973 average. However, during its opening weekend, the film dropped to the third position behind Marley & Me and Bedtime Stories with $26,853,816 in 2,988 theaters with an $8,987 average. The film has come to gross $127.5 million domestically and $206.4 million in foreign markets, with a total gross of $333.9 million.
_START_SECTION_
Home media
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The film was released on DVD on May 5, 2009 by Paramount, and on Blu-ray and 2-Disc DVD by The Criterion Collection. The Criterion release includes over three hours of special features, and a documentary about the making of the film._NEWLINE_As of November 1, 2009 the DVD has sold 2,515,722 DVD copies and has generated $41,196,515 in sales revenue.
_START_SECTION_
Critical response
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 71% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 246 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The consensus reads: "Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an epic fantasy tale with rich storytelling backed by fantastic performances." According to Metacritic, the film received an average score of 70 out of 100, based on 37 reviews. Yahoo! Movies reported the film received a B+ average score from critical consensus, based on 12 reviews._NEWLINE_Todd McCarthy of Variety magazine gave the film a positive review, calling it a "richly satisfying serving of deep-dish Hollywood storytelling." Peter Howell of The Toronto Star says: "It's been said that the unexamined life is not worth living. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button suggests an addendum: a life lived backwards can be far more enriching" and describes the film as "a magical and moving account of a man living his life resoundingly in reverse" and "moviemaking at its best." Rod Yates of Empire awarded it five out of a possible five stars. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter felt the film was "superbly made and winningly acted by Brad Pitt in his most impressive outing to date." Honeycutt praised Fincher's directing of the film and noted that the "cinematography wonderfully marries a palette of subdued earthen colors with the necessary CGI and other visual effects that place one in a magical past." Honeycutt states the bottom line about Benjamin Button is that it is "an intimate epic about love and loss that is pure cinema."_NEWLINE_A. O. Scott of The New York Times states: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, more than two and a half hours long, sighs with longing and simmers with intrigue while investigating the philosophical conundrums and emotional paradoxes of its protagonist’s condition in a spirit that owes more to Jorge Luis Borges than to Fitzgerald." Scott praised Fincher and writes "Building on the advances of pioneers like Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson and Robert Zemeckis, Mr. Fincher has added a dimension of delicacy and grace to digital filmmaking" and further states: "While it stands on the shoulders of breakthroughs like Minority Report, The Lord of the Rings and Forrest Gump, Benjamin Button may be the most dazzling such hybrid yet, precisely because it is the subtlest." He also stated: "At the same time, like any other love—like any movie—it is shadowed by disappointment and fated to end." _NEWLINE_On the other hand, Anne Hornaday of The Washington Post states: "There's no denying the sheer ambition and technical prowess of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. What's less clear is whether it entirely earns its own inflated sense of self-importance" and further says, "It plays too safe when it should be letting its freak flag fly." Kimberley Jones of the Austin Chronicle panned the film and stated, "Fincher's selling us cheekboned movie stars frolicking in bedsheets and calling it a great love. I didn't buy it for a second." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film two and a half stars out of four, saying that it is "a splendidly made film based on a profoundly mistaken premise. ... the movie's premise devalues any relationship, makes futile any friendship or romance, and spits, not into the face of destiny, but backward into the maw of time." _NEWLINE_Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian called it "166 minutes of twee tedium", giving it one star out of five. Cosmo Landesman of the Sunday Times gave the film two out of five stars, writing: "The film's premise serves no purpose. It's a gimmick that goes on for nearly three hours ... The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is an anodyne Hollywood film that offers a safe and sanitised view of life and death." James Christopher in The Times called it "a tedious marathon of smoke and mirrors. In terms of the basic requirements of three-reel drama the film lacks substance, credibility, a decent script and characters you might actually care for." Derek Malcolm of London's Evening Standard felt that "never at any point do you feel that there's anything more to it than a very strange story traversed by a film-maker who knows what he is doing but not always why he is doing it."
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Awards
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Taraji P. Henson won Best Actress at the BET Awards for her role in the film combined with two other performances in Not Easily Broken, and The Family That Preys._NEWLINE_The film won all four awards it was nominated for at the 7th Visual Effects Society Awards, the categories of "Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature Motion Picture," "Best Single Visual Effect of the Year," "Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Feature Motion Picture," and "Outstanding Compositing in a Feature Motion Picture." | 4460364453276532080 |
Q7728439 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Curly Shuffle
_START_SECTION_
Jump N' the Saddle version
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The song had the band's lead vocalist Peter Quinn mimicking many of Curly Howard's catch phrases. Issued independently in mid-1983, "The Curly Shuffle" was picked up by Atlantic Records in November, and was distinctive enough to climb to number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1984. The group never managed to produce another hit, issuing only one further single ("It Should've Been Me") before splitting up.
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Music video
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A promotional video was made using clips from various Three Stooges short films. The video was regularly shown on the Diamond Vision screen of the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in the mid-1980s, and became part of the fan experience. Additionally, it was included as a bonus feature on one of the 1984 Stooges compilation videos released by RCA Columbia Pictures Home Video._NEWLINE_Clips from the following Stooges shorts were used:_NEWLINE_An Ache in Every Stake, A Bird in the Head, Calling All Curs, Cash and Carry, Disorder in the Court, Dizzy Detectives, Dizzy Pilots, Dopey Dicks, Dutiful But Dumb, The Ghost Talks, Healthy, Wealthy, and Dumb, Micro-Phonies, No Census, No Feeling, Pardon My Scotch, A Plumbing We Will Go, Pop Goes the Easel, Punch Drunks, Some More of Samoa, Studio Stoops, Tassels in the Air, Three Little Beers, Three Missing Links, Three Sappy People, Uncivil Warriors, Violent is the Word for Curly, and Woman Haters. Instead of showing clips with Joe Besser, brief glimpses of Curly Joe DeRita and Shemp Howard were used. | 2720042606281292589 |
Q2518002 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Da Vinci Code (soundtrack)
_START_SECTION_
Style
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For a soundscape that was religious to the core, Zimmer used a massive orchestra and chorus to create a dramatic 'stained glass cathedral' feeling. While the score has more in common with Zimmer's previous work for Hannibal, there is also a solid mixture of the motifs used for The Thin Red Line and Batman Begins. The thirteenth cue, "Chevaliers de Sangreal", is the most bombastic; powerfully underscoring the 'discovery' scene in the film._NEWLINE_Like Media Ventures protégé Harry Gregson-Williams, who composed the soundtrack for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Zimmer used Abbey Road Studios to help create his music for The Da Vinci Code. Additional sections were recorded at London's AIR Studios, atop Rosslyn Hill._NEWLINE_Director Ron Howard commented that "Like every other facet of this movie, the score for The Da Vinci Code demanded a range of textures that recognized and reinforced the layers of ideas and emotion, which unfold as the basic story does." Claiming that Zimmer was "inspired", Howard added that "Hans Zimmer has given us extraordinarily memorable music to appreciate within the framework of a film or completely on its own, where you can let the sounds carry you on your own private journey."_NEWLINE_It was rumored that the A-ha song Celice would be in the soundtrack to the film so that song is a double entendre for the torture device, the cilice, and the name of a woman named Celice whose presence seems to torture the men, but this did not occur.
_START_SECTION_
Critical response
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Da Vinci Code's director, Ron Howard, said that the soundtrack was "powerful, fresh and wonderfully effective" and most film music reviewers agreed with him. Soundtrack.Net and Scorereviews rated the score highly. The music was nominated for a 2007 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score but lost to Alexandre Desplat's work for The Painted Veil. | 11650530098971543338 |
Q1637738 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Dark Tower VI: Song of Susannah
_START_SECTION_
Plot summary
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Taking place mainly in our world (New York City and East Stoneham, Maine), this book picks up where Wolves of the Calla left off, with the ka-tet employing the help of the Manni to open the magic door inside Doorway Cave. The ka-tet are split up by the magic door, or perhaps ka, and sent to different 'wheres' and 'whens' in order to accomplish several essential goals pertaining to their quest towards the mysterious Dark Tower._NEWLINE_Susannah Dean is partially trapped in her own mind by Mia, the former demon and now heavily pregnant mortal woman who had taken control of her body shortly after the final battle in Wolves of the Calla. Susannah-Mia, with their shared body mostly under the control of Mia, escapes to New York of 1999 via the magic door in Doorway Cave with the help of Black Thirteen. Mia tells Susannah she has made a Faustian deal with Richard Sayre to surrender her demonic immortality in exchange for being able to produce a child. Technically speaking, however, this child is the biological descendant of Susannah Dean and the gunslinger, Roland. The Gunslinger's seed was passed to Susannah through an 'elemental', in this case an incubus/succubus, who had sex with both. The technical parentage of her child matters little to Mia, though, because The Crimson King has further promised her that she will have sole charge of raising the child, Mordred, for the first part of his life - the time before the critical destiny the Crimson King foresees for the child comes to pass. All Mia must do now is to bring Susannah to the Dixie Pig restaurant to give birth to the child under the care of the Crimson King's men._NEWLINE_Jake, Oy, and Father Callahan follow Susannah-Mia to the New York City of 1999 in order to save Susannah from the danger Mia has put her in by delivering her into the custody of the Crimson King's henchmen. In addition, the ka-tet fear the danger posed to Susannah by the child itself; still unaware of the biological origins of this child, the ka-tet believe that it may be demonic in some way and may have the ability to turn on and harm its mother or mothers. While in New York, Jake and Callahan also hide Black Thirteen in a locker in the World Trade Center. It is implied in the text that Black Thirteen will be destroyed or forever buried when the towers fall in the September 11, 2001 attacks._NEWLINE_While Susannah-Mia, Jake, and Callahan are in New York, Roland and Eddie Dean are sent by the magic doorway to Maine in 1977, with the goal of securing the ownership of a vacant lot in New York from its current owner, a man named Calvin Tower (who first appears in The Waste Lands as the proprietor of The Manhattan Restaurant of the Mind, where he sells Jake a copy of Charlie the Choo-Choo, a book that has turned out to be important to the ka-tet's quest). The gunslingers have seen and felt the power of a rose that is located in the vacant lot and suspect it to be some sort of secondary hub to the universe, or possibly even a representation of the Dark Tower itself. The ka-tet believe that the Tower itself is linked to the rose and will be harmed (or fall) if the rose is harmed, the reason for this being the Dark Tower and the Rose are somehow connected, the two images very similar in the series. Calvin Tower is in hiding in Maine from Enrico Balazar's men (see The Drawing of the Three), who have almost succeeded in strong-arming him into selling them the lot. Tower has so far resisted, with the help of Eddie Dean (see Wolves of the Calla). Upon their arrival in Maine, the gunslingers find themselves thrown into an ambush by these same men, headed by Jack Andolini. Balazar's men were tipped off on Roland and Eddie's potential whereabouts by Mia, who hoped that they would dispose of the people she perceived as threats to her child. Roland and Eddie escape this onslaught with the help of a crafty local man, John Cullum, who they deem to be a savior put in their path through the machinations of ka._NEWLINE_After accomplishing their primary goal, the deeding of the vacant lot to the Tet Corporation, Roland and Eddie learn of the nearby location of Stephen King's home. They are familiar with the author's name after coming into possession of a copy of his novel 'Salem's Lot in the Calla, and they decide to pay him a visit. King's presence, and his relationship to the Dark Tower, cause the very reality surrounding his Maine town to become "thin." Strange creatures called "walk-ins" begin emerging and plaguing the community. The author is unaware of this and has never seen one, though most of the walk-ins have been appearing on his own street. During their visit to him, the Gunslinger hypnotizes King and finds out that King is not a god, but rather a medium for the story of the Dark Tower to transmit itself through. Roland also implants in King the suggestion to restart his efforts in writing the Dark Tower series, which he has abandoned of late, claiming that there are major forces involved that are trying to prevent him from finishing it. The ka-tet are convinced that the success of their quest itself depends somehow on King's writing about it through the story._NEWLINE_Meanwhile, in New York, Jake and Father Callahan prepare to launch an assault on the Dixie Pig, where Susannah-Mia is being held by the soldiers of The Crimson King. Their discovery of the scrimshaw turtle that Susannah has left behind for them gives them a faint hope that they might succeed, though Jake is filled with a strong sense of dread and neither Jake nor Callahan particularly expects to leave the place alive. The book ends with Jake and Callahan entering with weapons raised and Susannah-Mia about to give birth in Fedic, a town in Thunderclap. As a postscriptum, the reader becomes familiar with the diary of Stephen King the character which encompasses the period from 1977 to 1999. The diary details King's writing of the first four books of the Dark Tower story. It is said that the character, Stephen King, dies on June 19, 1999.
_START_SECTION_
Reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The novel was nominated for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2005. | 12554612111390150955 |
Q3425727 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Devil's Chair
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The film begins with Nick West lighting a cigarette in the dark and introducing himself to some unknown audience. He proceeds to recount the events he allegedly witnessed, claiming to be a "victim". It is implied that the whole story is told exclusively through his point of view._NEWLINE_Nick brings Sammy to the abandoned Blackwater Asylum to use acid and have sex. They find a weird chair and Nick proposes using it during sex; however the device traps and kills Sammy. Nick is arrested and considered insane, being sentenced to the Hildon Mental Institute in spite of claiming that supernatural forces killed Sammy. Four years later, Cambridge professor Dr. Willard proposes Nick's psychiatrist, Dr. Clairebourne (Nadja Brand), release him under his custody for an experimental treatment: exposing the truth to Nick by bringing him back to the crime scene. Clairebourne opposes, explaining that Nick still has severe delusions, but in the end she accepts. Nick is introduced to Willard, who expresses his desire to write a book about West and his experiences. Willard assumes full responsibility for Nick and alongside his assistant Melissa, and the students Rachel Fowles and Brett Wilson, they return with Nick to the Blackwater Asylum._NEWLINE_West begins to feel uneasy when the group enter the asylum, but a sympathetic Rachel tells him that he can leave tomorrow morning if he wants to, promising she won't tell the doctor. The group find the infamous chair. Willard reveals that the asylum warden was known to practice highly controversial methods of treatment. The night nears and Willard tells everyone to go to sleep to have a fresh start tomorrow. In private, he confesses to Nick that the book he wants to write isn't actually about Nick, but about the chair. He admits to believing that Nick's "hallucinations" were actually real events. Willard shows him the warden's journal, from which he learned about the chair: it was used to test the warden's theory about the existence of the human soul. Nick becomes seemingly disturbed, as he says he actually came to believe he killed Sammy, but now isn't sure anymore._NEWLINE_As Nick is trying to sleep, he is approached by Rachel, who wants to prove to him that there is nothing supernatural about the chair. As she sits on it, she accidentally triggers the chair's controls and disappears. She is shown to have been transported into a dark building, where she is hunted by a demonic creature. Melissa persuades a skeptical Brett to sit in the chair, after which she triggers it, sending Brett into the same place as Rachel. Nick then willingly uses the chair to transport himself, believing he can save Rachel. The doctor and Melissa are shown to have plotted this all along. The events unfold quickly as Willard betrays Melissa, forcing her into the chair. He then transports himself. The group reunites as Rachel struggles against the creature. With the rest of the group incapacitated, the doctor subdues Nick and chants incantations, hoping to turn the beast to his side; however, Nick fights him off and, smiling, says that it is he who controls the Demon. It is revealed that the chair itself and the demonic forces were just a product of Nick's imagination. It becomes evident that Nick assaulted the students and the doctor in the asylum, killing Brett. He then proceeds to rape Rachel and kill the doctor and Melissa. Lastly, he kills Rachel as she tries to escape._NEWLINE_After the massacre, a bloodied Nick gets into the car and chats with a woman who looks like Rachel sitting inside, asking her if she minds driving off with a "crazy person". She smiles and kisses him. However, the scene is then revealed to be another of Nick's hallucinations and he is then seen driving away from the asylum alone.
_START_SECTION_
Score
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Original music composed by Zoë Keating and Mortiis.
_START_SECTION_
Location
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Filming took place at RAF Upwood, a derelict airbase near Ramsey in Cambridgeshire. | 14397970723309216649 |
Q1376388 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Drawn Together Movie: The Movie!
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Foxxy Love discovers that she can swear without being censored, and realizes that the TV show Drawn Together has been cancelled in favor of "The Suck My Taint Show". Foxxy calls the network to find out why they were cancelled. The Network Head, upon hearing from Foxxy, learns that the housemates are still alive and summons I.S.R.A.E.L. (Intelligent Smart Robot Animation Eraser Lady), a robot designed specifically to erase cartoon characters._NEWLINE_Once they escape from I.S.R.A.E.L., Foxxy insists that the way for them to survive is to get their TV show back on the air. Clara, refusing to believe that she is not a real princess, claims that her father can protect them. Captain Hero, Xandir and Ling-Ling decide to go with Clara, while Spanky and Wooldoor decide to go with Foxxy to try to get their show back on the air. While the others are arguing, Toot steals a van and drives off alone._NEWLINE_Clara, Hero, Molly (a corpse Hero believes to be his girlfriend), Xandir and Ling-Ling arrive at Clara's kingdom, expecting to find refuge. Clara encounters the king of the land, who is not her father. The guards end up dismembering and eventually killing Clara, but the other three manage to escape._NEWLINE_Meanwhile, Foxxy, Spanky and Wooldoor visit the Suck My Taint Girl, who reveals herself to be a fan of the housemates' show. She tells the group that they were cancelled because vulgar and offensive content is only acceptable when your show "makes a point", and that if they want to get Drawn Together back on the air, they will need to get a point, which they can do by making a visit to Make-A-Point Land._NEWLINE_The wizard of Make-A-Point Land agrees to give the group a point, and presents them with a box containing the previously mentioned point. Wooldoor opens the box to find out it contains an eraser bomb which erases him from existence. It is then that the Network Head, the Jew Producer and I.S.R.A.E.L. show up to erase the remaining cast. The Suck My Taint Girl reveals that she is the Network Head's wife._NEWLINE_The Jew Producer manages to convince I.S.R.A.E.L. to spare the housemates, and she then impales the Network Head on a spike. The Network Head opens his coat to reveal that he had enough explosive erasers strapped to his waist to destroy all of Make-A-Point Land. The Jew Producer and the Suck My Taint Girl struggle for possession of the detonator, in the process dropping it, erasing all of Make-A-Point Land. The housemates make it out just in time with the help of The Giant Who Shits Into His Own Mouth._NEWLINE_The housemates visit the remains of the erased Drawn Together house. The Jew Producer's son shows up to inform them that he might be able to help them by giving them a direct-to-DVD movie. I.S.R.A.E.L. arrives at the scene and she and the giant become smitten with each other. Everyone laughs happily until Spanky accidentally steps on an eraser bomb caught in the ground, which erases them all from existence, never to be seen again.
_START_SECTION_
Animation
_START_PARAGRAPH_
While the series was animated by Rough Draft Studios in South Korea and Glendale, California using digital ink and paint, the movie was animated by 6 Point Harness in Los Angeles, CA using Flash animation and Toon Boom. This was because the movie had to be done under half the cost of the series. While the movie had a new crew of animators and artist, the director of the film, Greg Franklin, had actually worked on the original pilot for Drawn Together, which was originally done in flash._NEWLINE_When the series was animated by Rough Draft, the creators, Dave Jeser & Matt Silverstein, weren't that much involved with the animation process. In the movie however, the creators were more involved, even as far as to tweak-out jokes. The animation in the film also proved to be quicker than the show.
_START_SECTION_
Release and critical reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Though originally announced for a November 2009 release, the film's release date was pushed to March 23, 2010, then released on April 20, 2010. The film premiered at the 2010 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, on March 18, 2010._NEWLINE_The film was released April 20, 2010 on DVD, and on Blu-ray exclusively at Best Buy. The film was released on DVD in Australia later that year on October 6, 2010._NEWLINE_Common Sense Media, a site that reviews the content of movies for parents, panned the movie and gave it one star, criticizing its vulgarity, stating that the film is "filled to the brim with lewd sexual acts, language, and violence. The cartoon parody is meant to push the boundaries of taste, but amidst violence against women, the violation of corpses, kids asking to be sexually abused, heads blown off at close range, the drinking of baby blood ... who -- and especially what child -- is going to be thinking of this as a parody?"_NEWLINE_IGN also gave the movie a critical review, writing that a "great comedic opportunity was wasted on cheap one-dimensional gags and boring sex jokes."_NEWLINE_In contrast DVD Verdict was more favorable, commenting that the movie was "first and foremost a goodbye gift to fans of the series and they should have no problem enjoying the myriad references and in-jokes scattered about, as well as all of the crude humor."
_START_SECTION_
Controversy
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The film was criticised for its antisemitism, even though the producers said that "it was supposed to make fun of bigotry". | 13402890886208224951 |
Q25217348 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Dryad (Sibelius)
_START_SECTION_
Structure
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets (in B♭), 2 Bass clarinets (in B♭), 2 bassoons, 4 horns (in F), 3 trumpets (in B♭), 3 trombones, tuba, tambourine, castanets, snare drum、bass drum and strings. | 12002688045670070681 |
Q30049976 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Egg Collector
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Late one night in a bookstore, Sniffles the mouse is reading the book Egg Collecting For Amateurs. According to the book, a good specimen for beginners is the egg of a great barn owl. Sniffles' friend, a bookworm, takes him to the top of an old church tower where they find an owl egg. Sniffles snatches the egg from its cradle, but the father owl stops them before they can escape. Sniffles learns from the owl that he is a rodent and that owls eat rodents. And worms. The bookworm faints and Sniffles flees madly, taking the worm with him._NEWLINE__NEWLINE_VHS: Bugs Bunny and Friends 1989 (1995 Turner Dubbed Version) _NEWLINE__NEWLINE_The NTSC Dubbed Version replaces original music 1938-1941 ending music theme. With 1941-1955 and In turn the European 1995; Dubbed Version keeps 1938-1941 ending music theme. | 10950642254834875467 |
Q1140270 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Ellen Show
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
After her internet company Homelearn.com goes bankrupt, Ellen Richmond decides to move back to her hometown to live with her eccentric mother, Dot, and scatter-brained sister, Catherine. At home, Ellen becomes reacquainted with her senior prom date, Rusty, who thinks they can pick up where they left off (which, since she is a lesbian, seems unlikely), and her befuddled high school teacher, Mr. Munn. Though worlds apart from the people who love her, Ellen begins to adjust to a very different way of life and takes a job as a guidance counselor at her former high school.
_START_SECTION_
Production
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The show was created by Carol Leifer and Mitchell Hurwitz, who co-wrote the pilot episode. The original title was Ellen Again.
_START_SECTION_
Home media
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 in a 2-disc box set on July 11, 2006. _NEWLINE_In 2014, Mill Creek Entertainment acquired the rights to the series and subsequently re-released the complete series on February 4, 2014._NEWLINE_Paramount Pictures Home Entertainment, in partnership with CBS Home Entertainment, owns the international rights. The complete series was released in Region 4 (Australia) as a 2 DVD set on February 1, 2017 by Umbrella Entertainment. | 3880014595797209981 |
Q7732574 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Eternal Kansas City
_START_SECTION_
Dr John on the song
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Dr John, arranger and musician on A Period of Transition, describes the song as being:_NEWLINE_The song that Van got the whole album hooked up around. It was a real deep thing for him to focus on. It goes from a real ethereal voice sound to a jazz introduction and then into a kind of chunky R&B. | 16971494786581287022 |
Q1171104 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Fable of the Bees
_START_SECTION_
Prosaic expansions
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The poem attracted little attention. The 1714 work, however, quickly achieved notoriety, being understood as an attack on Christian virtues. What it actually means remains controversial down to the present day. Mandeville did say:_NEWLINE_What Country soever in the Universe is to be understood by the Bee-Hive represented here, it is evident from what is said of the Laws and Constitution of it, the Glory, Wealth, Power and Industry of its Inhabitants, that it must be a large, rich and warlike Nation, that is happily govern'd by a limited Monarchy. The Satyr therefore to be met with in the following Lines upon the several Professions and Callings, and almost every Degree and Station of People, was not made to injure and point to a particular Persons, but only to shew the Vileness of the Ingredients that all together compose the wholesome Mixture of a well-order'd Society; in order to extol the wonderful Power of Political Wisdom, by the help of which so beautiful a Machine is rais'd from the most contemptible Branches. For the main Design of the Fable, (as it is briefly explain'd in the Moral) is to shew the Impossibility of enjoying all the most elegant Comforts of Life that are to be met with in an industrious, wealthy and powerful Nation, and at the same time be bless'd with all the Virtue and Innocence that can be wish'd for in a Golden Age; from thence to expose the Unreasonableness and Folly of those, that desirous of being an opulent and flourishing People, and wonderfully greedy after all the Benefits they can receive as such, are yet always murmuring at and exclaiming against those Vices and Inconveniences, that from the Beginning of the World to this present Day, have been inseparable from all Kingdoms and States that ever were fam'd for Strength, Riches, and Politeness, at the same time._NEWLINE_Jean-Jacques Rousseau commented on The Fable of the Bees in part one of his Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men (1754):_NEWLINE_Mandeville sensed very well that even with all their morality men would never have been anything but monsters if nature had not given them pity in support of reason; but he did not see that from this quality alone flow all the social virtues he wants to question in men. In fact, what are generosity, clemency, humanity, if not pity applied to the weak, to the guilty, to the human species in general?
_START_SECTION_
Economic views
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Mandeville is today generally regarded as a serious economist and philosopher. He produced a second volume of The Fable of the Bees in 1729, with an extensive set of dialogues that set out his economic views. His ideas about the division of labor draw on those of William Petty, and are similar to those of Adam Smith. Mandeville says:_NEWLINE_When once Men come to be govern’d by written Laws, all the rest comes on a-pace. Now Property, and Safety of Life and Limb, may be secured: This naturally will forward the Love of Peace, and make it spread. No number of Men, when once they enjoy Quiet, and no Man needs to fear his Neighbour, will be long without learning to divide and subdivide their Labour..._NEWLINE_Man, as I have hinted before, naturally loves to imitate what he sees others do, which is the reason that savage People all do the same thing: This hinders them from meliorating their Condition, though they are always wishing for it: But if one will wholly apply himself to the making of Bows and Arrows, whilst another provides Food, a third builds Huts, a fourth makes Garments, and a fifth Utensils, they not only become useful to one another, but the Callings and Employments themselves will in the same Number of Years receive much greater Improvements, than if all had been promiscuously follow’d by every one of the Five..._NEWLINE__NEWLINE_The truth of what you say is in nothing so conspicuous, as it is in Watch-making, which is come to a higher degree of Perfection, than it would have been arrived at yet, if the whole had always remain'd the Employment of one Person; and I am persuaded, that even the Plenty we have of Clocks and Watches, as well as the Exactness and Beauty they may be made of, are chiefly owing to the Division that has been made of that Art into many Branches. (The Fable of the Bees, Volume two). | 3325259349000329595 |
Q6624663 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Fairy Caravan
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The story follows the adventures of Tuppenny, a young guinea pig who runs away from home to join a travelling circus.
_START_SECTION_
Background
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The woods and estate surrounding Graythwaite Hall in the Lake District, Cumbria, are the backdrop for Potter's story. They were a favourite walking spot for Wordsworth.
_START_SECTION_
Reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The book is described by Margaret Drabble as: '...those later written ... for the US....' ; and also: '...of little interest' . | 18340275821131753095 |
Q17053184 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo
_START_SECTION_
DVD release
_START_PARAGRAPH_
On November 8, 2011, Shout! Factory released Mr. Magoo: The Television Collection 1960-1977 on DVD in Region 1. This 11-disc collection contains all episodes from all 3 Mr. Magoo television series including all 26 episodes of The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo. | 16407467824509343193 |
Q1134354 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Famous Five (novel series)
_START_SECTION_
Floating timeline
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The seemingly perpetual youth of the Famous Five, who experience a world of apparently endless holidays while not ageing significantly, is known as a floating timeline. Floating timelines allow for an episodic series with no defined end-point, but at the expense of losing a sense of the characters growing up. J. K. Rowling commented of her Harry Potter series that she deliberately intended to avoid this in her writing: "in book four the hormones are going to kick in – I don't want him stuck in a state of permanent pre-pubescence like poor Julian in the Famous Five!"
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Films
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There exist two Children's Film Foundation films of the Famous Five books: Five on a Treasure Island, made in 1957, and Five Have a Mystery to Solve, produced in 1964._NEWLINE_Two of the Famous Five stories by Enid Blyton have been filmed by Danish director Katrine Hedman. The cast consisted of Danish actors and were originally released in Danish. Ove Sprogøe stars as Uncle Quentin. The movies are: De fem og spionerne (Five and the Spies) (1969) and De 5 i fedtefadet (Famous Five Get in Trouble) (1970)._NEWLINE_All four of the films have been released on DVD in their respective countries._NEWLINE_In 2012 the movie Fünf Freunde was released in Germany, with Marcus Harris in a small role. Now also Fünf Freunde 2, 3 and 4.
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1978–79 series
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The Famous Five television series was produced by Southern Television and Portman Productions for ITV in the UK, in 26 episodes of thirty minutes (including time for advertisements). It starred Michele Gallagher as Georgina, Marcus Harris as Julian, Jennifer Thanisch as Anne, Gary Russell as Dick, Toddy Woodgate as Timmy, Michael Hinz as Uncle Quentin and Sue Best as Aunt Fanny. It also starred Ronald Fraser, John Carson, Patrick Troughton, James Villiers, Cyril Luckham and Brian Glover. The screenplays were written by Gloria Tors, Gail Renard, Richard Carpenter and Richard Sparks. The episodes were directed by Peter Duffell, Don Leaver, James Gatward and Mike Connor. The series was produced by Don Leaver and James Gatward. Most of the outdoor filming was done in the New Forest and parts of Dorset and Devon.The series was set in the present day, fifteen years after Blyton's last novel in the series._NEWLINE_Of the original 21 novels, three were not adapted for this series; Five on a Treasure Island and Five Have a Mystery to Solve because the Children's Film Foundation still own the film and TV rights to the books, while Five Have Plenty of Fun did not fit in the production schedule. Due to the success of the series, Southern Television were keen to make another season of episodes, but the Enid Blyton estate forbade them to create original stories._NEWLINE_The 1978 series was originally released on video by Portman Productions with reasonable regularity between 1983 and 1999, many of which are still easy to find second-hand, although the sound and picture quality is not always what it could be. A four-disc DVD collection, containing 23 of the 26 episodes produced for the 1978 series (and two episodes from the 1996 series) was released in region 4 (Australia and New Zealand) in 2005. The box and disc art identify it as a release of the 1996 series. (The distributor had licensed the 1996 series, but due to an administrative glitch was supplied with master tapes and artwork for the 1978 series.) The error was corrected in a later release._NEWLINE_A seven-DVD set containing the entire series and extensive bonus material was released in October 2010 in Germany by Koch Media; although there was an option to choose either the original English or German dubbed versions, the English version had non-removable German subtitles across the bottom of the screen on every episode. The same company released the DVD set in the UK (without the non-removable subtitles) on 25 June 2012._NEWLINE_A four DVD set containing all 26 episodes, without additional content, was released for region 4 (Australia and New Zealand) in late 2011, as Enid Blyton's The Famous Five: The Complete Collection._NEWLINE_(The Finnish punk band Widows (of Helsinki) made three different cover versions of the theme song, the first in early 1979, as did the Irish indie outfit Fleur, in 1996.)
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1995 series
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A later series, The Famous Five, initiated by Victor Glynn of Portman Zenith was aired first in 1995, a co-production between a number of companies including Tyne Tees Television, HTV, Zenith North and the German channel ZDF. Unlike the previous TV series, this set the stories in the 1950s, around when they were written. It dramatised all the original books. Of the juvenile actors the best known is probably Jemima Rooper, who played George. Julian was portrayed by Marco Williamson, Dick by Paul Child, and Anne by Laura Petela. In this series, because of the slang meaning of the word fanny, Aunt Fanny, played by Mary Waterhouse, was known as Aunt Frances. (In some but not all recent reprints of the book, the character has been re-christened Aunt Franny.)_NEWLINE_The 1995 series was released in its entirety on VHS video. A three-disc DVD collection, containing 13 of the 26 episodes of the 1995 series, was released in Australia and New Zealand in 2005, and is marked "Revised Edition" to avoid confusion with the previous release of the 1979 series with 1995 artwork. Other episodes have reportedly been released on DVD in Europe, but only the adaptation of Five on a Treasure Island was released on DVD in the UK.
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Famous 5: On the Case
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A new Famous Five animated TV series began airing in 2008. Famous 5: On the Case is set in modern times and features the children of the original Famous Five: Max (the son of Julian and Brandine), Dylan (son of Dick and Michelle), Jo (daughter of George and Ravi – a tomboy who, like her mother, prefers a shorter name to her given name Jyoti) and Allie (daughter of Anne and John). It has not been stated whether their dog is a descendant of Timmy. The new series was first announced in 2005, and is a co-production of Chorion (which currently owns all Famous Five rights) and Marathon, in association with France 3 and The Disney Channel. Disney confirmed their involvement in December 2006. Stories were developed by Douglas Tuber and Tim Maile, who have previously written for Lizzie McGuire. Chorion claims on its website that "these new programmes will remain faithful to the themes of mystery and adventure central to Enid Blyton's classic series of books." Blyton's biographer Barbara Stoney, however, claims it is nothing like the original stories. In total, there will be 130 episodes, each 22 minutes long.
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Audio dramas
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Hodder Headline produced in the late 1990s audio dramas in English, which were published on audio cassette and CD. All 21 episodes of the original books were dramatised._NEWLINE_The 21 original stories by Enid Blyton have been released in the 70s as Fünf Freunde audio dramas in Germany as well. The speakers were the German dubbing artists for Gallagher, Thanisch, Russell and Harris, the leads of the first television series._NEWLINE_For the sequels (not written by Blyton and decidedly more "modern" action-oriented stories) the speakers were replaced by younger ones, because it was felt that they sounded too mature. In addition to the original Blyton books, another 80+ stories have subsequently been released and published as radio plays and books in Germany. They are based on the original characters, but written by various German writers.
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Theatre
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A 1997 musical was made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Enid Blyton's birth with the title The Famous Five and later released on DVD as The Famous Five – Smuggler's Gold – The Musical._NEWLINE_Principal actors: Elizabeth Marsland, Lyndon Ogbourne, Matthew Johnson, Vicky Taylor, Jon Lee, Director: Roz Storey_NEWLINE_and also in the five_NEWLINE_A brand new musical adaptation was premièred at the Tabard Theatre on 8 December 2009 and played until 10 January 2010.
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Video games
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In 1990 an interactive fiction computer game based on the first of the books, Five on a Treasure Island, was released. It was programmed by Colin Jordan and first released for the SAM Coupé by Enigma Variations._NEWLINE_He originally started coding the game on the ZX Spectrum using his own "worldscape" technique. When the SAM Coupé was launched, he switched to it as the target platform while still hosting the code on the ZX Spectrum. He later ported it to the Amstrad CPC and completed the ZX Spectrum version. The game was also ported to the Commodore 64, Amiga and Atari ST by others._NEWLINE_In the late 90's, German game publisher Ravensburger Interactive released 5 adventure games based on the franchise, titled Famous Five The Silver Tower, Famous Five Treasure Island, Famous Five – Kidnapped, Famous Five – Dangerous Discovery and Five on a Secret Mission for the PC or Mac.
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Comics
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Six comic albums drawn by Bernard Dufossé and scripted by Serge Rosenzweig and Rafael Carlo Marcello were released in France between 1982 and 1986, under the title Le Club des Cinq. Most of comic books in the series are based on Famous Five books created by Claude Voilier. Books were released by Hachette Livre. The first three of these volumes have also been released in English, under the name Famous Five. The titles included "Famous Five and the Golden Galleon" (which featured a sunken ship that was laden with gold with the Five fending off villains seeking to make off with the gold, "Famous Five and the Treasure of the Templars", where it transpires that Kirrin Castle is actually a Templar Castle that houses their hidden treasure which the Five ultimately secure with the help of members of the order, and "Famous Five and the Inca God" which was set in an antiquities museum and dealt with the theft of an Incan fetish._NEWLINE_Beginning in September 1985 a series of monthly Comic Magazine titles Enid Blyton's Adventure Magazine were published. Each issue published a full length illustrative comic book story adapted from Famous 5 Novels. The series came to end in the 1990s.
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Parodies
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The Five inspired the Comic Strip parody Five Go Mad in Dorset and its sequel Five Go Mad on Mescalin, in which the characters express sympathies with Nazi Germany and opposition to the Welfare State, homosexuals, immigrants and Jews, in an extremely broad parody not so much of Blyton but of wider perceived 1950s prejudices. The parodies were deliberately set towards the end of the original Famous Five "era" (1942–63) so as to make the point that the books were already becoming outmoded while they were still being written. Both parodies made use of Famous Five set pieces, such as the surrender of the criminals at the end when Julian states "We're the Famous Five!", the arrival of the police just in the nick of time, and the appeal for "some of your home-made ices" at a village shop. Unlike the books, the four children in the Comic Strip parody are all siblings, and none is the child of Aunt Fanny and Uncle Quentin._NEWLINE_The series was revived in 2012 with Five Go to Rehab, with the original cast reprising their roles, now well into middle-age. Reuniting for Dick's birthday after decades apart, the four and Toby lament how their lives took unexpected paths while Dick drags them on another bicycle adventure, which he had meticulously planned for fourteen years. In a reversal, George had married a series of wealthy men whom she cuckolded with, among others, one of her stepsons (her continuing penchant for bestiality with the latest Timmy is also implied); whereas Anne has become a strongly opinionated vegan spinster and is suspected by Dick of being a "dyke" – an accusation made against George by Toby in the original Five Go Mad in Dorset. George and Julian have been committed to an alcoholics' sanatorium, the latter owes a large debt to African gangsters, and Anne recently served a prison sentence for setting her nanny aflame. Robbie Coltrane reprised both of his roles. Five Go to Rehab utilises a form of a floating timeline; although the original films' events are said to have taken place thirty years in the past and "five years after the war", the reunion film appears to be set approximately contemporaneous to its filming._NEWLINE_Parodies began early: in 1964, only the year after the last book was published, John Lennon in his work In His Own Write had the short story The Famous Five through Woenow Abbey. Amidst a plethora of deliberate misspellings, he lists no fewer than ten members of the Five, not counting a dog named Cragesmure. A man warns them off Woenow Abbey and they subdue and question him. The story, like many other stories in this nonsense volume, stops there._NEWLINE_Viz comic has parodied the series' style of writing and type of stories on a number of occasions, most notably in its Jack Black strip. In one such strip, Jack Black actually murders a group of young detectives clearly based on The Famous Five so they won't compete with him for a reward._NEWLINE_In the late eighties, Australian comedy team The D-Generation parodied The Famous Five on their breakfast radio show as a five-part serial entitled The Famous Five Get Their Teeth Kicked In. The parody was based on the first book Five on a Treasure Island._NEWLINE_A 2000 episode of ITV'S Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids, 'The Chipper Chums go Scrumping', featured a parody of the Five in a cautionary tale about five friends who are caught cider scrumping and turned into cider._NEWLINE_A 2005 story in The Guardian also parodies the Famous Five. It argues that Anne, Dick, George and Julian are caricatures rather than characters, portraying Anne as having no life outside of domestic labour. It highlights what the writer, Lucy Mangan, considers to be the power struggle between Dick, George and Julian while Anne is sidelined._NEWLINE_On 31 October 2009, the BBC programme The Impressions Show featured a sketch in which Ross Kemp meets The Famous Five. It was a parody of his hugely successful Sky One show, Ross Kemp on Gangs._NEWLINE_British comedian John Finnemore did a radio sketch in which Julian and George run into each other as adults and reminisce. It is revealed that Julian has gone on to a career as a smuggler and regularly has to deal with copycat groups of children trying to thwart his plans. George is a happily married mother, Dick has gone to live in a commune in America, and Anne has just been released from prison having murdered a man with a ginger beer bottle._NEWLINE_Bert Fegg's Nasty Book for Boys and Girls features "The Famous Five Go Pillaging", – a short story which parodies the writing style of Enid Blyton; five children witness the collapse of Roman imperialism and their friends and family are slaughtered by 9000 invading Vikings._NEWLINE_Website The Daily Mash reported a lost Blyton manuscript titled "Five Go Deporting Gypsies"._NEWLINE_A spoof series of five books written by Bruno Vincent was published in November 2016. The books are titled Five Give Up the Booze, Five Go Gluten Free, Five Go On A Strategy Away Day, Five Go Parenting and Five on Brexit Island. Vincent went on to write several more titles in the series: Five at the Office Christmas Party, Five Get Gran Online, Five Get On the Property Ladder, Five Go Bump in the Night, Five Escape Brexit Island, Five Get Beach Body Ready, Five Lose Dad in the Garden Centre, and Five Forget Mother's Day._NEWLINE_In Nov 2017, Return to Kirrin was released, written by Neil and Suzy Howlett. Set in 1979, it involves the Five (now middle-aged) reuniting on Kirrin Island, to discuss Julian's plans to develop Kirrin into a theme resort. Julian has become a successful stockbroker, Dick is a well-meaning but inept and overweight policeman, Anne is a worrisome housewife, and George is a feminist community worker (with her flatulent bulldog Gary in tow). Adventures then ensue, involving a host of other original characters. | 4498212616563755741 |
Q18708948 |
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The Fighting Dervishes of the Desert
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Production notes
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The film was shot in Luxor, Egypt. | 7858567567883753830 |
Q25351775 |
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The Final 1 (season 2)
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Show changes
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On 30 June 2015, it was announced via a promotional video of the show that returning judges Taufik Batisah and Ken Lim would be serving on the judging panel for the second season. Season one judge Kit Chan did not appear in the video, and therefore was ruled out of returning to the show. It was not announced whether the show would bring in a third judge to replace Chan, though the season began with only Batisah and Lim as the judges for the first two episodes. On the third episode, it was announced by Lim that the show would be bringing in a third and final judge for the season, and revealed to be Jaclyn Victor._NEWLINE_Vanessa Vanderstraaten and Mike Kasem did not return to host the second season. They were replaced by Shaun Jansen, who was only officially introduced by Lim and made his first appearance in the seventh episode._NEWLINE_In this season, a few major changes to the format of the show was made. Contrary to the previous season, the public would not be allowed to vote for their favourites and play a part in deciding the contestants to advance in the competition. The judges would instead be the ones making the decision to eliminate contestants from the competition to ensure those "getting through to the next round will be only purely on [their] vocals and talent". The public would only be allowed to cast their votes when the competition is left with the final two contestants to decide on the winner._NEWLINE_Unlike the previous season where the show was mainly taped at the MediaCorp TV Theatre, most of the competition rounds would be recorded at The Ground Theatre at *SCAPE this season. In addition, apart from the final three episodes which would be shown live, all episodes would be pre-recorded and the results shows were discontinued. Results from the previous week would only be revealed during the following week's show._NEWLINE_The upper age limit for the contestants is reduced to 26 in this season (down from 32 the last season), which brings the eligible age-range to 16 to 26 years old.
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Top 16 rounds
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The top 16 finalists were once again divided into two gender-separated groups, with the male group airing on 19 July 2015 and the female group airing on 26 July 2015. The top four males and top four females, along with the two wild card choices by the judges, advanced to the finals as the final 10._NEWLINE_Besides their performance, the top 16 contestants were also evaluated on their relatability to the audience. After the first six contestants of each gender group has performed, the two contestants with the highest score from the judges were sent straight through to the final 10. The competition then continued with last two contestants performing their songs, and the judges advanced two more contestants with the highest score to the finals._NEWLINE_Midway through the episode on 19 July 2015, Ken Lim introduced Malaysian singer and Malaysian Idol winner Jaclyn Victor as the third judge of the season.
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Finals
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The finals began its airing on 9 August. In this season, there are eight weeks of the finals (the top 10 and top 9 weeks were shown together in a single episode) and 10 finalists, with one finalist eliminated per week based on the judges' scores (with the exception of the top 8 week, where the judges eliminated two contestants). The results shows were discontinued, and results from the previous week would only be revealed during the following week's show. Therefore, all the contestants from the previous week would turn up for the performance show on the following week, but only the ones that are safe from elimination would get to perform._NEWLINE_Each of the episodes would come with a theme, which are all in relation to the contestants' development as an artiste. Hence, apart from their usual performances, the contestants were also assessed on the exercises that they were tasked to complete each week, all based on the respective weekly themes._NEWLINE_Shaun Jansen was officially introduced as the host of the season at the start of the top 8 performance show. | 4493032455827105936 |
Q7734144 |
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The First Kangaroos
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Reception
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Karen Hardy, reviewing the film in 2013 said, "Sure, it wasn't the finest sports movie ever made but there was humour - intentional or not, I wasn't quite sure - and conflict and pathos. And its story, which it admitted in the opening credits was sort of based on true events, was an interesting one." | 14324907993026097241 |
Q1167731 |
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The Flying Deuces
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Plot
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While the boys are working in the fish market in Paris, Ollie falls in love with Georgette (Jean Parker), the beautiful daughter of an innkeeper. She turns down his marriage proposal because she is married to a Foreign Legion officer named Francois (Reginald Gardiner). Heartbroken, Ollie contemplates suicide. He is joined by his friend Stan in sinking himself into a river. (In some versions this proceeding is complicated by the presence of an "escaped shark".) Stan repeatedly interrupts Ollie as he is about to throw the weight in, and asks him to consider the possibility of reincarnation. Ollie decides his preference is to be reincarnated as a horse. Francois catches sight of them and convinces them to enlist in the Foreign Legion in order to forget Ollie's failed romance. When Stan asks how long it will take Ollie to forget, Francois says it will only take a matter of a few days._NEWLINE_The commandant (Charles B. Middleton) introduces Ollie and Stan to their daily legionnaire duties, for which their daily wage is 100 centimes, which, translated into American currency amounts to only three cents. Ollie and Stan attempt to negotiate for a higher wage. For this uppity attitude they are sentenced to menial labor, washing and ironing a mountain of laundry, with legion officers constantly on their backs. Finally and 'miraculously', Ollie forgets his broken romance completely. His and Stan's purpose in joining the Foreign Legion fulfilled, they abandon their task, discarding the still hot iron, which unintentionally sets the laundry pile aflame. Angered by the hard work and low pay of the Foreign Legion, Ollie writes the commander an insulting farewell letter and signs it._NEWLINE_They meet Georgette again. Ollie, delighted that she has seemingly changed her mind and come back to him, proceeds to embrace and kiss her. Francois arrives, informs him that Georgette is his wife and warns him to stay away from her. After Francois leaves, the commandant appears and, having discovered their farewell note and the mountain of burning laundry, pronounces them under arrest for desertion. They are taken to the prison, locked up and sentenced to be shot at dawn. Stan amazes Ollie by playing "The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise" on the bedsprings. As he is about to play another piece, the jailor yells at them to be quiet. Later in the evening, someone throws a note that says they can escape by means of a tunnel leading from their cell to the outside wall. Stan brings on an accidental cave-in which causes the underground path to lead to Francois and Georgette's dwelling. The whole legion engages in hot pursuit of the boys, who flee to a nearby hangar and hide out in an airplane, which Stan accidentally starts up. The boys fly it until it crashes. Stan emerges unharmed from the crash, but Ollie has died, seen ascending into Heaven. However, Stan later bumps into Ollie, reincarnated as a horse in accordance with the wish he expressed during his aborted suicide attempt. Stan is elated to find his friend alive, but Ollie grumpily remarks, "Well, here`s another nice mess you`ve gotten me into."
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Production
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As Laurel and Hardy did not have an exclusive contract with Hal Roach, they were able to appear in films for studios other than his as they pleased. A remake of Beau Hunks, The Flying Deuces was released by RKO Radio Pictures and was made by independent producer Boris Morros. Director A. Edward Sutherland and Stan Laurel did not get along during filming, with Sutherland having reportedly commented that he "would rather eat a tarantula than work with Laurel again"._NEWLINE_At the beginning of the film, the innkeeper's daughter is seen looking at a framed photograph of Ollie. The same photograph can also be seen in the short film Our Wife (1931), where sight of it prompts the father of Ollie's fiancé to forbid the wedding._NEWLINE_The "laundry scene" in The Flying Deuces was filmed on the Iverson Movie Ranch in the Chatsworth section of Los Angeles, California, considered to be the most often used outdoor shooting location for films and television shows. In the scene, the characters played by Laurel and Hardy, having disrupted training camp soon after joining the Foreign Legion, are forced to do a massive amount of laundry—seemingly the laundry for the entire Foreign Legion. For the shoot, a facsimile of a huge pile of laundry was built on top of one of the giant sandstone boulders of Iverson's Garden of the Gods, which is now a park. Aerial footage of the scene, including a large spread consisting of laundry hanging on lines, was shot for the movie but was not used in it, and later turned up in a number of other productions, including the Republic serials Manhunt of Mystery Island (1945) and Radar Patrol vs. Spy King (1949), along with the Allied Artists movie The Cyclops (1957).
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Critical reception
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On Rotten Tomatoes, The Flying Deuces has a score of 83% based on six critic reviews, with an average rating of 6/10.
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Public domain
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The Flying Deuces is one of two Laurel and Hardy features in the public domain, the other being Atoll K. As such, it regularly appears on inexpensive DVD or video compilations. Turner/Warner Bros currently possess the original negative, but have not released the film._NEWLINE_When the film was originally released, it contained a scene featuring an escaped shark (a strange-looking model fin being pulled back and forth) in the river Stan and Ollie are planning to jump into. This was edited out of some releases of the film._NEWLINE_An uncut version, transferred from a nitrate 35mm negative discovered in France, was restored by Lobster Films and released by Kino Video in 2004. The Legend Films edition contains the edited version of the film._NEWLINE_In the United Kingdom, Network Distributing released the film on DVD and Blu-ray in 2015. This is the uncut version, as are the 2015 DVD-R and Blu-ray releases by VCI Entertainment in America. Unlike previous home video versions that have generally used a snatch of the opening music during the end titles, these releases include the correct closing music. There is also a German-issued Blu-ray (With the German title ‘Dick & Doof - In der Fremdenlegion’ on the front cover), released by Edel Germany GmbH in October 2015 that includes Blu-ray 3D and 2D versions of the film on a single disc, and has English and German audio tracks.
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Popular culture
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In an episode of Doctor Who, entitled "The Impossible Astronaut" (2011), Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) watch the movie on DVD. Rory sees The Doctor (Matt Smith) appear in the film, running towards the camera wearing his fez and waving, before returning to dance with Stan and Ollie. This was achieved with Matt Smith dancing in front of a green screen._NEWLINE_The scene in Georgette's bedroom briefly appears on television in an apartment for elderly people in the movie Cocoon._NEWLINE_The image of Stan and Ollie dancing to "Shine on Harvest Moon" appears in a 1985 Hershey commercial, ‘One of the all-time greats’; their suitcases are replaced with images of giant Hershey bars._NEWLINE_The "Shine On Harvest Moon" sequence appears early in the 1987 movie Dot Goes to Hollywood, with Dot dancing alongside Stan. | 12772163567597285723 |
Q48801829 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Global Work & Travel Co.
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History
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The Global Work & Travel Co. was founded in 2008 by father and son duo Pierre and Jürgen Himmelmann. They and Jürgen's mother Caryl Himmelmann own the company. Based in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, it has offices in three cities: Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Vancouver, and London._NEWLINE_The Global Work & Travel Co. offers working holiday, au pair, internship, volunteer and teaching abroad packages for people between the ages of 18 and 35. It helps travellers with flights, travel visas, and travel insurance. It provides services primarily in five countries: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Trips can last up to 24 months, depending on arrival countries visa specifications. In 2015, it had 100 employees and served over 20,000 travellers, by 2018 it had served over 40,000.
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Criticism and controversy
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In November 2014, the company was investigated jointly by CBC News and Australian Broadcasting Corporation, which found several dozen accusations from consumers who travelled internationally and were unable to find employment. The travellers described The Global Work & Travel Co.'s high-pressure sales techniques, misleading job pledges, and massive markups. The Global Work & Travel Co. settled with OFT after a 13-month probe. The company agreed to refund over $20,000 to 29 customers._NEWLINE_In February 2015, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia fined The Global Work & Travel Co. and its owners $138,000 for not refunding a prior agreed upon sum to six workers they had misclassified as independent contractors. The Global Work & Travel Co. also was investigated by the Queensland's Office of Industrial Relations (OIR). OIR levied a fine on the company in February 2016 for violations of the Private Employment Agents Act of 2005. The company settled with OIR in March 2016 to have all charges resolved after repayment of all fines. | 10662540934834606509 |
Q7737259 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Good Old Days (Hong Kong TV series)
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Synopsis
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The drama series took place around the days of the Nationalists' Republic of China, and also Warlord Era and World War II. The era itself was considered as the most turbulent period in China's modern history._NEWLINE_It depicts how the three women (Sau Hau, Man Fung and Ding Man) in the story strive for their own way of living during China's most turbulent era. | 2592333071443537678 |
Q3209508 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Great Illusion
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Content
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In The Great Illusion, Angell's primary thesis was, in the words of historian James Joll, that "the economic cost of war was so great that no one could possibly hope to gain by starting a war the consequences of which would be so disastrous." For that reason, a general European war was very unlikely to start, and if it did, it would not last long. He argued that war was economically and socially irrational and that war between industrial countries was futile because conquest did not pay. J. D. B. Miller writes: "The 'Great Illusion' was that nations gained by armed confrontation, militarism, war, or conquest." _NEWLINE_According to Angell, the economic interdependence between industrial countries would be "the real guarantor of the good behavior of one state to another", as it meant that war would be economically harmful to all the countries involved. Moreover, if a conquering power confiscated property in the territory it seized, "the incentive [of the local population] to produce would be sapped and the conquered area be rendered worthless. Thus, the conquering power had to leave property in the hands of the local population while incurring the costs of conquest and occupation."_NEWLINE_Further, the nature of modern capitalism was such that nationalist sentiment did not motivate capitalists, because "the capitalist has no country, and he knows, if he be of the modern type, that arms and conquests and jugglery with frontiers serve no ends of his, and may very well defeat them."_NEWLINE_Angell said that arms build-up, for example the naval race between England and Germany that was happening as he wrote the book in the 1900s, was not going to secure peace. Instead, it would lead to increased insecurity and thus ratchet up the likelihood of war. The only viable route to peace would be respect for international law, implemented in a world court, in which issues would be dealt with rationally and peacefully.
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Critical reception
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The Great Illusion was a best-selling popular success and was quickly translated into eleven languages, becoming something of a "cult", spawning study groups at British universities "devoted to propagating its dogma." The book was taken up by Viscount Esher, a courtier who was charged with remodeling the British Army after the Boer War. Also enamored of the book was Admiral John Fisher, the First Sea Lord, who called it "heavenly manna". Historian Niall Ferguson uses the receptiveness to the book of these paragons of the British military and naval establishments as evidence that it was not the pacifist work it superficially seemed to be, but instead a "Liberal imperialist tract directed at German opinion", with the aim of discouraging Germany from continuing its bid to become a great naval power, a program which had begun the fierce, and expensive, naval arms race between the United Kingdom and Germany. The fact that Angell was employed as editor of the Continental Daily Mail by Lord Northcliffe, a press baron whom Ferguson refers to as an "arch-scaremonger", is to Ferguson further evidence of a deeper, non-pacifist purpose to the book.
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Interwar edition
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A new edition of The Great Illusion was published in 1933; it added "the theme of collective defence." Angell was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933. | 16053814270825706720 |
Q1193723 |
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The Guest (short story)
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Plot
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The story takes place in Algeria and begins with two men climbing a rocky slope. One of them, the gendarme Balducci, is on horseback and the other, an Arab prisoner, is on foot. At the summit of the hill, a school teacher named Daru watches them climb their way up. There are no students at the school at this time because they stayed home during the blizzard. _NEWLINE_The two men reach the top of the slope and come to meet Daru. Balducci, an acquaintance of Daru, tells Daru he is ordered by the government to take the prisoner to the police headquarters in Tinguit as a service to his fellow officers. Daru inquires about the crime the Arab committed and Balducci says that he slit his cousin's throat in a fight for some grain, and adds that the prisoner is probably not a rebel. _NEWLINE_As Balducci is leaving, Daru tells him that he will not take the Arab to Tinguit. Balducci is angered by this and makes Daru sign a paper that states the prisoner is in Daru's custody, then he leaves them. Daru feeds the Arab and gives him a cot to sleep on for the night. _NEWLINE_In the morning, Daru takes his captive slightly down the mountain and sets him free. He supplies the prisoner with a thousand francs and some food and tells him if he goes east, he can turn himself in to the police in Tinguit. If he goes south, he can hide with the nomads. Daru then goes back to the school, leaving the prisoner to make his decision. A while later, Daru looks back and sees the prisoner heading east to Tinguit, most likely to turn himself in. When Daru looks back at the blackboard in his classroom, there is a message written on it that says, "Tu as livré notre frère. Tu paieras." (You have turned in our brother, you will pay).
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Major themes
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This piece is characteristic of existentialism, the prevalent school of thought among the era's literature. It also presents Camus' concept of absurdism, as well as many examples of human choices. The dilemmas faced by Daru are often seen as representing the dilemmas faced by Camus regarding the Algerian crisis and there are many similarities between the character of Daru and his creator Camus. Both are French Algerians exiled by the choices they have made._NEWLINE_The main themes of "The Guest" are of choice and accountability. Camus emphasizes, characteristically of existentialist philosophy, that there is always a choice, that the only choice unavailable is not to choose. Daru chooses how he will handle Balducci and whether he will turn in the prisoner; the prisoner chooses whether to go to jail or to freedom. More important, however, is the theme of accountability. The essence of Camus's philosophy is that everyone is "condemned" to an eventual, inevitable death, and accepting this allows for a certain freedom; the prisoner, having achieved self-awareness when Daru gave him the choice to flee or go to jail, realizes the futility of fleeing from the inevitable punishment and goes willingly to jail, thus revolting against the inevitable by making the decision of his own accord and holding himself accountable for the murder._NEWLINE_Daru's choice can also be seen as a "damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't" situation. Daru makes his decision based on what he believes to be the right thing to do. The fact that he will be punished for doing the right thing does not make it any less right. The important point is that people must do what they feel is right, without worrying about how others feel, or about possible rewards or punishments._NEWLINE_Yet another theme can be extracted from this short story, however: complete neutrality is unattainable. This is evidenced by Daru's attempt to avoid making a decision; in the end, the Arab makes the decision for him, and he loses his neutrality.
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Historical context
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"The Guest" is often thought to reflect the various revolutionary experiences of the period in which it was written. Through the French and Algerian controversies, which at the time of Camus's writings was at its extraordinary climax, one can examine how the fighting between these two displayed Camus's sense of individual freedom. As Omar Dilim, head general of the Algerian Fifth Naval fleet, continued his rampage of incestuous language controversies grew higher. Tensions would go beyond this when Robert Claudel, a famous lawyer and statesman of the time, called upon the French to eliminate the brutish Algerians. These types of infuriating arguments are what many historians believed forced Camus to change parts of his story.
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Literary devices
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Symbolism: The specific location of Daru's home is symbolic of the colonial conflict in Algeria. He requested to be placed at the foothills, between the desert and the dark plateau. However, he was placed upon the plateau where he would be—a schoolmaster. In this symbol, the desert represents the Arabs and the plateau represents the French. He was placed upon the plateau, or in other words, he was forced to join up with the French (though he wanted to remain neutral, as was his character)._NEWLINE_Irony: Balducci was the "bad guy" character in this story. Though he was callous and rude to the Arab prisoner, in the end he will just return to his post and live a normal life. On the other hand, Daru was the only person to treat the Arab kindly, and yet he will most likely die for "handing him over."_NEWLINE_Daru, who frees the prisoner, only frees the prisoner to go back to supporting a society similar to the one that Daru is trying to disassociate himself from._NEWLINE_Foreshadowing: Frequently throughout the short story, the reader is given hints about that trouble which might come to Daru. The author says that the village was beginning to stir, and that was the reason for the transportation of the prisoner. Also, Daru hears sounds of footsteps around the schoolhouse, but nothing or no one materializes.
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Film
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David Oelhoffens film Far from Men (2014) is based on the short story. It stars Viggo Mortensen as Daru and Reda Kateb as the prisoner. The film played in competition at the 71st Venice International Film Festival, where it won three awards. | 4632012065561784760 |
Q7738457 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Guide to Modern World Literature
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Guide to Modern World Literature is a reference book by Martin Seymour-Smith that aims to describe every important 20th-century author (as of 1985), in all languages, in an encyclopedic presentation. It was first published in 1973 with a completely revised and updated version in 1985 called The New Guide to Modern World Literature at 1,396 pages._NEWLINE_The book covers an estimated 2,700 authors and more than 7,500 titles. It contains a total of 33 chapters that treat all modern national literatures individually or in groups. African and Caribbean literature is treated collectively; so are the Baltic, French and Belgian, Indian and Pakistani, Jewish, Latin American, Scandinavian, and both Eastern and Western Minor Literatures. A chapter each is given to American, Arabic, Australian, British, Bulgarian, Canadian, Chinese, Czechoslovakian, Dutch, Finnish, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, New Zealand, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, South African, Spanish, Turkish, and Yugoslavian Literature._NEWLINE_It was perhaps Seymour-Smith's best known work. "The book was such a thorough study of 20th-century poetry, drama and fiction that some critics doubted it was the work of one person -- until they read it and found Mr. Seymour-Smith's distinctive voice and deeply felt opinions in every entry.". It was described by one reviewer as "an amazing feat of a book, about half a million words long; half the size of Proust, nearly as big as the Bible". Janet Seymour-Smith, his wife, helped in the creating of the work - "when some expressed incredulity that Martin could actually have read all the authors on whom he passed judgement in that vast but so lively volume he used, cheerfully, to confess that he hadn't. Some were undoubtedly left to Janet." | 7460648792325476944 |
Q3005821 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Gulf Between
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Plot
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As described in a film magazine, little Marie Farrell (Axzelle), through the carelessness of her nurse, is lost and believed drowned. She has wandered upon the ship of the smuggler Captain Flagg (Brandt), who finds her and brings her up as his own. Her parents adopt a boy to help them forget their grief._NEWLINE_The girl grows up with no memory of her former life. The adopted boy moves in the smart set in Mayport, and his parents try to make a match between him and a society girl. Marie (Darmond) is brought to her adopted father's sister, as the old captain believes she should have the care of a loving woman. She meets young Richard Farrell (Welch) and the two come to love each other. The Farrells do everything they can to break up the couple, but with the help of the captain a marriage is accomplished. There is a stormy meeting between the bridal pair and the parents, during which the captain sees a portrait of Marie as a baby and, realizing the truth, tells the story of her life. The family is reunited and Mary and Richard spend their honeymoon on the captain's ship.
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Production
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The Gulf Between was filmed on location in Jacksonville, Florida in 1917 by the Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation, using its two-color "System 1", in which, by means of a prism beam splitter, two consecutive frames of a single strip of black-and-white film were photographed simultaneously, one behind a red filter and the other behind a green filter.
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Release
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After private trade showings in Boston on September 13, 1917, and at Aeolian Hall in New York City on September 21, 1917, it was released on February 25, 1918 to play one-week engagements on a tour of a few major Eastern cities, accompanied by the special two-aperture, two-lens, two-filter projector required to exhibit it. Because of the technical problems in keeping the red and green images aligned by prism during projection, it was the only motion picture made in Technicolor's System 1. Technicolor abandoned the additive color process of System 1, and began work on subtractive color processes that did not require a special projector.
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Critical reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
Photoplay magazine complained that all colors were reduced into terms of reds and greens, and that "the story is dull, trite, and drawn out interminably." | 8625493893710925898 |
Q756882 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Guns of Navarone (film)
_START_SECTION_
Plot
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In 1943, the Axis powers plan an assault on the island of Kheros — where 2,000 British soldiers are marooned — to display their military strength and convince neutral Turkey to join them. Rescue by the Royal Navy is prevented by two massive radar-directed large-calibre guns on (fictional) nearby Navarone Island. When aerial bombing efforts fail, Allied Intelligence gathers a commando unit to infiltrate Navarone and destroy the guns. Led by Major Roy Franklin (Anthony Quayle), the team is composed of Captain Keith Mallory (Gregory Peck), a renowned spy and an officer with the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG); Colonel Andrea Stavrou (Anthony Quinn) from the defeated Greek Army; Franklin's best friend Corporal Miller (David Niven), an explosives expert and former chemistry teacher; Greco-American Spyros Pappadimos (James Darren), a native of Navarone; and "Butcher" Brown (Stanley Baker), an engineer and expert knife fighter._NEWLINE_Disguised as Greek fishermen on a decrepit fishing vessel, they sail across the Aegean Sea, where they successfully overwhelm the crew of a German patrol boat intercepting them. Later in the voyage, Mallory confides to Franklin that Stavrou had sworn to kill him after the war, because Mallory was inadvertently responsible for the deaths of Stavrou's wife and children. After shipwrecking on Navarone's coast during a storm, the experienced mountaineer Mallory leads the team in a climb up the cliff, during which Franklin badly injures his leg. While taking shelter in the mountains, Mallory stops Franklin from committing suicide and lies to him that their mission is only a diversion, and that a major naval attack will be mounted on the coast instead. They rendezvous with two local resistance fighters, Spyros' sister Maria (Irene Papas) and her friend Anna (Gia Scala), who was once captured and tortured by the Germans before escaping._NEWLINE_The mission is continually dogged by German soldiers and the group is eventually captured in the town of Mandrakos by Oberleutnant Muesel (Walter Gotell) while trying to find a doctor for Franklin (whose leg is infected with gangrene). While being interrogated by SS Hauptsturmführer Sessler (George Mikell), Stavrou distracts the Germans and the team overpower their captors. They escape in German uniforms, leaving Franklin behind to receive medical attention. In due course, Franklin is injected with scopolamine and gives up Mallory's misinformation. As Mallory had hoped, most forces leave the fortress to counter the expected coastal attack. Upon infiltrating the village of Navarone, however, Miller discovers most of his explosives have been sabotaged and deduces that Anna is the culprit. She confesses that she did not escape but that the Germans recruited her as an informer in exchange for her release. Mallory reluctantly prepares to execute Anna as a precaution against detection, but Maria shoots her instead._NEWLINE_The team splits up: Mallory and Miller go for the guns, Stavrou and Spyros create distractions in town (assisted by local residents), and Maria and Brown steal a boat for their escape. Spyros dies in a stand-off with a German officer, and Brown from being stabbed during the boat theft. Meanwhile, Mallory and Miller infiltrate the gun emplacement, but set off an alarm when they seal the doors behind them. Miller plants explosives on the guns and prepares a large booby trap below an ammunition hoist, with a trigger device set into the hoist's track. The Germans eventually gain entry into the gun emplacement and defuse the explosives planted directly on the guns; meanwhile, Mallory and Miller make their escape over the cliff, reaching the stolen boat. A wounded Stavrou is also able to reach the sea and is helped aboard by Mallory, thus resolving the blood feud between them._NEWLINE_As the Allied destroyers trying to rescue the trapped British troops appear, the Germans open fire at them. When the hoist reaches Miller's trigger, the hidden explosives set off the surrounding shells in a huge explosion that destroys the guns and the entire fortress. Mallory's team safely reaches the British convoy, but Stavrou shakes Mallory's hand and decides to return to Navarone with Maria, with whom he has fallen in love. Mallory and Miller, returning home, observe the aftermath of their success from a destroyer.
_START_SECTION_
Production
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The film was part of a cycle of big-budget World War II adventures that included The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), The Longest Day (1962) and The Great Escape (1963). The screenplay, adapted by producer Carl Foreman, made significant changes from the novel The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean. The film was directed by J. Lee Thompson. Thompson was brought in after original director Alexander Mackendrick was fired by Carl Foreman a week before shooting started due to "creative differences"._NEWLINE_The Greek island of Rhodes provided locations and Quinn was so taken with the area that he bought land there in an area still called Anthony Quinn Bay. Some further scenes were shot on the islands of Gozo, near Malta, and Tino, in the Ligurian Sea. One of the warships in the film, the USS Slater, then a training ship in the Hellenic Navy known as Aetos (D-01), is preserved as a museum ship in Albany, New York._NEWLINE_As described by director Thompson in the DVD commentary track, David Niven became severely ill after shooting in the pool of water underneath the cave elevator and almost died, remaining in hospital for some weeks as other portions of the cave sequence were completed by the crew. However, since key scenes with Niven remained incomplete at that time, and it was doubtful whether he would be able to return to finish the film, the entire production was in jeopardy. Reshooting key scenes throughout the film with some other actor—and even abandoning the whole project to collect the insurance were contemplated. However, Niven was able to complete his scenes some weeks later._NEWLINE_A complication arose when it was found that Gregory Peck, whose character was supposed to be fluent in German, could not speak the language convincingly. Voice actor Robert Rietty dubbed all of Peck's German dialogue for the film._NEWLINE_The film's maps were created by Halas and Batchelor, a British team best known for their animated films._NEWLINE_Although the island of Navarone is fictional, a map depicted in the film purporting to show the island of Navarone shows it as the real island of Antikythera._NEWLINE_Several members of the Greek royal family visited the set the day the Mandrakos cafe scene was filmed and appear in the background as extras.
_START_SECTION_
Release and reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Guns of Navarone had its Royal World Premiere in aid of the Edwina Mountbatten Trust and in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and His Royal Highness Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh on 27 April 1961, at the Odeon Leicester Square in London's West End. The film grossed $28,900,000 at the box office and was the second top-grossing film of 1961, earning a net profit of $18,500,000._NEWLINE_Reviews were mostly positive. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film "one of those muscle-loaded pictures in the thundering tradition of DeMille, which means more emphasis is placed on melodrama than on character or credibility." He added that while the film was predictable, "for anyone given to letting himself be entertained by scenes of explosive action and individual heroic displays, there should be entertainment in this picture, for there is plenty of all that in it." Variety wrote that the film was "the sort of spectacular drama that can ignore any TV competition and, even with its flaws, should have patrons firmly riveted throughout its lengthy narrative. With a bunch of weighty stars, terrific special effects, several socko situations plus good camerawork and other technical okays, Foreman and director J. Lee Thompson have sired a winner." Harrison's Reports gave a grade of "Excellent," raving, "The script, direction, acting (by a brilliant cast) and photography are all prizeworthy." Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called the film "a magnificently detailed cliff-hanger of spectacular settings and deeds of impossible derring-do ... What makes this one of the good ones is superlative photography of the storied Grecian isles, a crackerjack cast and a yarn about WWII in which unlikely incident succeeds unlikely incident with rare largesse." John L. Scott of the Los Angeles Times called it "the best adventure movie to hit the screen this year," adding, "Some viewers will deplore a lack of character motivation—the origins of the six heroes are passed by rather quickly at the beginning—and women may yearn for more romantic passages in the film—but most of us, I am sure, will be satisfied with the epic suspense and sweep of this highly pictorial adventure." Brendan Gill of The New Yorker called it one of those movies "that are no less thrilling because they are so preposterous ... Let me also confess that I was held more or less spellbound all the way through this many-colored rubbish." The Monthly Film Bulletin thought the film fell well short of its ambitions, finding that Foreman's script had "too much diffusion, too much talk, and too many themes raised and dropped, so that the adventure story is not lifted to another plane but overstretched, robbed of the tight narrative concentration needed for a mounting tension." The review also criticized director Thompson for lacking "the ability of the Hollywood veterans to hold a long picture together" and instead moving the action forward "in a series of jerks."_NEWLINE_As of August 2019 the film held an approval rating of 95% on the review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 7.9 out of 10.
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Sequel
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In 1968, author Alistair MacLean reunited Mallory, Miller, and Stavros in the best-selling novel Force 10 From Navarone, the only sequel of his long writing career. That was in turn filmed as the significantly different Force 10 from Navarone in 1978 by British director Guy Hamilton, a veteran of several James Bond films. The cast included Robert Shaw, Harrison Ford and Edward Fox. Though the sequel was a modest success, it did not match the original critically or commercially. | 6960419466587709977 |
Q1168958 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Heart of Jenin
_START_SECTION_
Synopsis
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The Heart of Jenin recounts the true story of Ismael Khatib, a refugee in the Jenin refugee camp in northern West Bank. In 2005, his eleven-year-old son Ahmed suffers fatal head shots by Israeli soldiers who mistake him for an armed Palestinian due to a deceptively real looking toy weapon. After physicians in a hospital in Haifa declare Ahmed brain-dead, Ismael has to decide if his son's organs should be donated. His decision (with his wife's consent) demonstrates humanity at the moment of his greatest sorrow. Thus, the Palestinian enables the survival of Israeli children in the midst of the Arab-Israeli conflict._NEWLINE_The film accompanies Ismael Khatib on his visits to the families of three children who survived thanks to Ahmed's organ donation. The different encounters – with an Orthodox Jewish, a Druze and a Bedouin family, as well as with soldiers at checkpoints – always reflect the situation in the conflict-laden region.
_START_SECTION_
Production
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The film was produced by production company Eikon Südwest in cooperation with broadcasting companies SWR and arte as well as other production companies, German Filmperspektive and Israeli Mozer Film Ltd. It was sponsored by MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg. The film was shown at various film festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008.
_START_SECTION_
Reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The film itself, as well as Ismael Khatib's decision to donate his killed son's organs, attracted worldwide attention. _NEWLINE_The international interest in the film and Ismael Khatib's actions inspired the Italian city of Cuneo to found a youth centre in Jenin's refugee camp. There had been a lack of cultural institutions especially for young people in Jenin. Director Marcus Vetter, who had spent a longer period of time in Jenin during the filming, also began to work with young people and to offer film workshops. In Ismael Khatib's youth center, the young people worked on their own short films - and realized that there was no place to show them. Together with Ismael Khatib and his translator Fakhri Hamad, Marcus Vetter became aware of the old cinema in the heart of the city of Jenin, which had been closed since the beginning of the first Intifada in 1987. Thus came about the idea of creating the project Cinema Jenin, which initially aimed at reopening the old cinema and has meanwhile grown to become one of the largest social entrepreneurship companies in the West Bank._NEWLINE_In 2010, Ismael Khatib was awarded the Hessian Peace Prize in the Wiesbaden State Parliament in Germany. For the first time ever, this prize was awarded to a simple man and not to a world leader. The laudatory speech was given by the former Israeli ambassador to Germany, Avi Primor, who described how difficult Khatib's gesture of peace had been in the tense situation in Israel. "Most people would have thought of revenge," Primor said. Khatib resisted this impulse even when families of the saved Israeli children received him in a hostile manner. Primor quoted Jewish and Islamic beliefs, stating that in both religions the idea exists that whoever saves a life saves the whole world. "You saved the world five times". Primor ended his speech with a simple gesture, his last word being "Shukran", which in Arabic, Khatib's language, means "thank you".
_START_SECTION_
Critical response in German media
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The paper Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote: "[...] A journey through occupied territories and prejudiced hearts – the story of a man, who no longer fights against his enemies but confuses them with his humanity. [...] The Heart of Jenin skilfully connects Ismael Khatibs personal story with the political background: images of a Palestinian suicide attack, of destroyed buildings in Jenin after an Israeli military operation, desperate people on either side, who are left with nothing."_NEWLINE_German newspaper Tagesspiegel called the case _NEWLINE_"[...] an unambiguously good deed, which resulted in more irritation than a suicide attack could ever have. Defiantly, it goes beyond the brutal logic of this conflict and is at the same time just as compelling: These children with new organs really exist, this fact cannot be argued away. Even the political enemies must acknowledge it. It is not impossible that even Ismael Khatib's anger at his child's death is part of this gesture."_NEWLINE_The German film assessment board rated the film "highly recommended": "The German director and his Israeli colleague follow this exceptional story right from the start and, at the same time, show a cross-section of the lives of different people in the crisis area between military presence and cultural prejudices. An admirable, humane and politically highly relevant plea that doesn't fail to take effect. Absolutely worth seeing!"
_START_SECTION_
Critical response in Israeli media
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The liberal Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz writes that [o]f the hundreds of tragic tales of children killed during decades of Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ahmed Khatib's must rank among the most remarkable. [...] One of its most touching, and disappointing, sequences is toward the end of the film, when, two years after Ahmed's death, Khatib and his brother embark on a road trip around Israel in a beat-up car to visit the children whose lives they saved. The climax is a confrontation with the Levinson family, who, in an awkward exchange at their Jerusalem home, apologise for their earlier comments and thank Khatib, but betray a deep misunderstanding about life in the occupied West Bank.“_NEWLINE_An author of the German-Israeli online magazine HaGalil on Jewish issues criticized the film on the occasion of its premiere in Jerusalem: “The film is authentic, emotionally charged and impressively well made. [...] A really good film that will certainly win many awards. But at the same time it is a one-sided propagandist film, capable of stirring up anti-Jewish feelings among the German public. [...]“ | 14674683903636256031 |
Q7739218 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Heartbroken
_START_SECTION_
History
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Heartbroken came together in 2009, and made their debut in March that year at the East Coast Music Awards. The band members had played together previously in Doyle's band Shaye._NEWLINE_The band released an album, Tonight Tonight, in 2011, with guest musicians Stew Crookes and fiddler James McKie. The album was nominated for a Canadian Country Music Award. That year the band went on a Canadian tour._NEWLINE_A second album, Storm Clouds, was released in 2016. | 4472429642935392987 |
Q7739344 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Hellions
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
A lone law enforcement officer, Sam Hargis (Richard Todd), battles criminals in South Africa when the Billings family of Luke Billings (Lionel Jeffries) and his four sons ride into town to get revenge on Hargis for a previous clash, when he ran Luke Billings out of town. At first, the locals leave all of the fighting to Hargis, saying that it is his sole responsibility. However, after the Billings kill two innocent residents, some of them arm themselves and shoot dead all the Billings except Luke who, during a fist fight with Hargis, falls from a roof and is killed.
_START_SECTION_
Reception
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The New York Times called it "High Noon on the veldt... wide screen drivel." | 8691242189895074898 |
Q5754836 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The High (comics)
_START_SECTION_
Publication history
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The High plays a major part in the Stormwatch story arc Change or Die. The character was later revived for the series Number of the Beast and would become a key part of the line-wide storyline World's End.
_START_SECTION_
Fictional character biography
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The High came from an alternate reality. He fought as a superhero alongside Jenny Sparks in the 1930s, but became frustrated and left the crime-fighting occupation long before she did. After years detached from society (including a decade spent seated atop a throne of stone in the Rocky Mountains, contemplating his plan) he was left with a somewhat naive apprehension of others, their motives and ability shrinking in the face of his noble plan. He was overly trusting of his cohorts, quick to mistrust anyone who stepped in their way, and eager to force the world to change and be done with it - and he ultimately learned, as Jenny Sparks said, that people only want change on their own terms. His emblem was five arrows in a circle, much like the symbol for recycling - he wore this on his costume's belt and on a t-shirt he wore when out of costume.
_START_SECTION_
Powers and abilities
_START_PARAGRAPH_
His powers included super strength, invulnerability, stamina and speed, flight and some form of ocular energy beams. | 10297460754995199576 |
Q18157399 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Hipstones
_START_SECTION_
History
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The band was formed in 2006, by Mark Palmer and Anthea White, during a six month contract gig at the Tokyo Hilton in Shinjuku, Japan. The couple then moved to Sydney, Australia where they formed a 10 piece band and began recording their first album, Something's Gonna Start._NEWLINE_Prior to the release of their second album, the band moved to Brooklyn, New York to both develop their musical style and take advantage of the city's vibrant original music scene. The album, Dreamers, was released in 2009._NEWLINE_The band is now permanently based in New York City._NEWLINE_The Hipstones' third album Wise Man was funded by the band’s fans through crowd sourcing. The album was produced by Justin Stanley, who has also produced for Nikka Costa, Sheryl Crow, Jamie Liddel and Chaka Chan. It is set to be released in mid-2014.
_START_SECTION_
Style
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The band's music spans a variety of tempo's and styles. Performances see the band fuse traditional jazz, soul and funk with a variety of other alternative including beat-boxing, voice modulation and Oud._NEWLINE_Michael Smith of Drum Media, said that "tonally White is closer to the glistening dulcet tones of local pop diva Abby Dobson than the edgy growl of the classic soul queens, but that merely adds an evocative ache to songs like Revolution."
_START_SECTION_
Members
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Hipstones' band is generally composed of a bass player, drummer, a string section, and horn section.
_START_SECTION_
Influences
_START_PARAGRAPH_
During an interview for Jamsphere, Anthea said that the band is strongly influenced by classic American RnB, soul and funk artists, including, Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Roberta Flack. She also cited more modern artists including Erykah Badu, and D’Angelo, as having strong influences on the band's sound. | 1150550807170989794 |
Q2336083 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Holy Science
_START_PARAGRAPH_
The Holy Science is a book written by Swami Sri Yukteswar Giri in 1894 under the title Kaivalya Darsanam. Sri Yukteswar states that he wrote The Holy Science at the request of Mahavatar Babaji. The book compares parallel passages from the Bible and Upanishads in order to show the unity of all religions.
_START_SECTION_
Yuga theory
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Sri Yukteswar’s introduction to The Holy Science includes his explanation of the Yuga Cycle which differs from the traditional position because of his premise that the earth is now in the age of Dwapara Yuga, not the Kali Yuga that most Indian pundits believe to be the current age. His theory is based on the idea that the sun “takes some star for its dual and revolves round it in about 24,000 years of our earth – a celestial phenomenon which causes the backward movement of the equinoctial points around the zodiac.”_NEWLINE_The common explanation for this celestial phenomenon is precession, the ‘wobbling’ rotating movement of the earth axis. Research into Sri Yukteswar’s explanation is being conducted by the Binary Research Institute._NEWLINE_He further states that:_NEWLINE_The sun also has another motion by which it revolves round a grand center called Vishnu-Naabhi which is the seat of the creative power Brahma, the universal magnetism. Brahma regulates Dharma the mental virtues of the internal world. When the sun in its revolution round its dual come to the place nearest to this grand center the seat of Brahma (an event which takes place when the autumnal equinox comes to the first point of Aries) Dharma the mental virtue becomes so much developed that man can easily comprehend all, even the mysteries of Spirit._NEWLINE_In The Holy Science, Sri Yukteswar concludes that we are currently in the beginning stages of Dwapara Yuga, which began around 1699 A.D., moving closer to the grand center, and will pass into Treta Yuga around the year 4099 A.D._NEWLINE__NEWLINE_If we represent the Yugas in a clock, the lowest spiritual time would be at 6 o'clock, approx. year 550 A.D., which is the center of Kali Yuga (more or less the Middle Ages), and the highest point is 12 o'clock, in the center of Satya Yuga (literally Age of Truth, as sat=truth), or Golden Age. It takes approx. 12,000 years from the lowest to the highest point, and about 24,000 in a complete turn. Now we would be at approx. 7 c'clock, ascending in Dwapara Yuga or Bronze Age which started in 1699. _NEWLINE_[Note: The graphic to the right displays the Zodiac symbols in its inner circle based on their alignment with the Northern Hemisphere AUTUMNAL Equinox, NOT the Vernal Equinox. This is because the Great Year/Yuga Cycle commences when the Autumnal Equinox is aligned with the First Point of the Constellation Aries as stated above (ref "The Holy Science" by Sri Yukteswar). Hence they may appear to be rotated 180 degrees to those who normally use the Northern Hemisphere VERNAL Equinox as their reference point for the Zodiac 'Ages'] | 3725249663327194124 |
Q7740883 |
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The Human Revolution (human origins)
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"The Human Revolution" is a term used by archaeologists, anthropologists and other specialists in human origins; it refers to the spectacular and relatively sudden – apparently revolutionary – emergence of language, consciousness and culture in our species. The term came into fashion following a conference on human origins held in the late 1980s, resulting in a 1989 edited volume entitled The Human Revolution, edited by archaeologist Paul Mellars and palaeontologist Chris Stringer. In this early version, the rapid process of change was identified as the so-called 'Upper Palaeolithic Revolution' which occurred in Ice Age Europe around 40,000 years ago, resulting in the displacement of the local Neanderthals by anatomically modern Homo sapiens, with their sophisticated ivory tools, carved figurines and cave paintings. More recently, archaeologists have come to realise that if we can speak of a 'human revolution' at all, it happened tens of thousands of years earlier, in sub-Saharan Africa rather than Europe. This means that the revolution was inseparable from the emergence of modern Homo sapiens in Africa between 150,000 and 200,000 years ago._NEWLINE_From the mid-1990s and as of 2010, archaeological revelations from the African Middle Stone Age have transformed our picture of the timing of symbolic culture's emergence. Until the early 1990s, the prevailing view of the "human revolution" was concerned with Europe and focused on the Upper Palaeolithic Revolution, which was seen as humanity's "Great Leap Forward". Recent discoveries from Africa have made some researchers controversially claim symbolic activity before 40,000 years ago. Researchers diverge in their positions concerning the timeline for symbolic culture's emergence, for example:_NEWLINE_1. Francesco D'Errico. Multispecies transition across Africa and Eurasia. Symbolic capacities already in place with Homo heidelbergensis 300,000 – 400,000 years ago. Sporadic behavioural expressions of symbolism among ancestors of both Neanderthals and ourselves._NEWLINE_2. Sally McBrearty and Alison Brooks. African ancestors of modern humans undergo gradual, sporadic build-up of modern cognition and behaviour spanning 300,000 years. Symbolism presents no special theoretical difficulties, emerging as part of the package of modern, flexible, creative behaviours within Africa._NEWLINE_3. Christopher Henshilwood and Ian Watts. The human revolution occurred as part of modern human speciation in Africa. Evidence for symbolism in the form of cosmetics and personal ornamentation is the archaeological signature of this transition. Symbolism was not an optional extra – life following the transition became fundamentally organized through symbols._NEWLINE_4. Richard Klein. Recent interpretations of the African Middle Stone Age record are not conclusive; the original "human revolution" theory remains correct. Middle Stone Age humans evolving in Africa may appear anatomically modern, but did not become cognitively modern until the Later Stone Age/Upper Palaeolithic. Symbolic culture emerged some 50,000 years ago, caused by a genetic mutation that re-wired the brain. | 6745421454232361025 |
Q3204130 |
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The Incredible Journey
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The Incredible Journey (1961), by Scottish author Sheila Burnford, is a children's book first published by Hodder & Stoughton, which tells the story of three pets as they travel 300 miles (480 km) through the Canadian wilderness searching for their beloved masters. It depicts the suffering and stress of an arduous journey, together with the unwavering loyalty and courage of the three animals. The story is set in the northwestern part of Ontario, which has many lakes, rivers, and widely dispersed small farms and towns._NEWLINE_It is usually considered a children's book, although Burnford has stated that she did not write it specifically for children. The book was a modest success when first published, but became widely known after 1963 when it was loosely adapted into a movie by the same name by Walt Disney. The story was again adapted loosely when Disney remade the film in 1993 as Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey._NEWLINE_Burnford based the fictional story on the animals she and her husband owned while living in Canada: a Bull Terrier brought from England; a Siamese cat, whose mutual relationship with the terrier she described as "closer than any other cat-and-dog relationship I had ever seen"; and a young Labrador Retriever, who also developed a close relationship with the older dog.
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Plot
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The animals' owners, the Hunters, leave to go to England for several months because Jim, the father, is scheduled to give a series of university lectures there. They leave their pets in the care of John Longridge, a family friend and godfather of their daughter, Elizabeth. One day, after John Longridge leaves for a two-week duck hunting trip, the animals, feeling the lack of their human helpers, set out to try to find their owners, the Hunters. Mrs. Oakes, who is taking care of Longridges' home, does not find the animals and thinks that John must have taken them with him. The animals follow their instincts and head west, towards home, 300 miles away through the Canadian wilderness. They face many obstacles in their path; from rivers to irritable people, but nonetheless, they struggle bravely on, until they finally reach home. | 12151896640659934689 |
Q7742275 |
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The Interior (novel)
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Plot summary
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Flower Net ends on March 14, 1997. The setting of The Interior is summer 1997—China "post- Deng Xiaoping", a period characterized by "an unholy alliance between post-Deng Communism ('market socialism') and American capitalism", the China of Jiang Zemin. In the novel the narrator speaks about the times in more personal terms: "As the saying went, the blade of grass points where the wind blows. The only problem was that the wind was blowing in so many directions these days no one could completely protect himself"._NEWLINE_The plot centers on the conniving of American and Chinese businessmen to exploit poorly paid Chinese workers, especially women, for profit and power. See describes in great detail the dangers women face because they work in an American toy factory, located in a remote part of the interior of China, that lacks adequate safety protections and is a virtual fire trap. Miaoshan was working at the toy factory before her death. Elisabeth Sherwin quotes Lisa See speaking about the role of Chinese working women from a somewhat different perspective: "'The women making $24 a month in those factories are changing the face of China . . . They are making enough money to open up small stores in their home villages. These women are working at a free market economy and are providing an economic value they never had before.'"_NEWLINE_At the end of The Interior Hulan and David solve several murders related to the toy factory. The novel begins with Hulan's friend Suchee and the murder of Miaoshan, her daughter. It concludes with the solution to the mystery of Miaoshan's death (which had nothing to do with the toy factory) and with her mother Suchee working in the fields, unable to forget her. | 143565662260532460 |
Q17008107 |
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The Isador Goodman Show
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The Isador Goodman Show is an early Australian television variety series. The series debuted on 6 November 1956 and ran into early September 1957, aired on Melbourne station HSV-7 and starred pianist Isador Goodman, with some episodes also featuring a guest vocalist. The series is notable as an early attempt at producing an Australian-produced variety series. The live 15-minute show aired at 7:15PM on Tuesdays, was preceded by a 15-minute newscast and followed at 7:30PM by American series Jet Jackson. When the series debuted, television was still fairly new to Australia, with local series production having just started, and locally produced series often aired on just a single station._NEWLINE_In the episode broadcast 1 January 1957, Goodman was annoyed by two flies. He continued playing, doing his best to ignore them and to appear nonchalant. His numbers in the episode included Chopin Waltz, pop standard If I Love You and some boogie-woogie_NEWLINE_Although kinescope recording existed when the series aired and was possibly seeing at least some use by station HSV-7, it is not known if any such recordings were made of the series, and if so, if any such recordings still exist. | 12275453554341794339 |
Q16850550 |
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The Italian (album)
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Special Editions
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There are several different editions available of the album worldwide. Some include That's Amore and Winter Wonderland as bonus tracks. | 6411092359072548184 |
Q55642294 |
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The Juice Media
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History
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TJM was founded by Giordano Nanni, an Australian historian, author, satirist and video producer. TJM started publishing on YouTube in May 2008 with the first episode of Juice Rap News premiering on 4 October 2009. On 28 May 2016 Juice Media launched the Honest Government ad series with Visit Australia._NEWLINE_On 24 January 2017 TJM released the controversial Australia Day (Piracy parody).
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Australia Day (Piracy Parody)
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On 24 January 2017 TJM released a parody of a well known anti-piracy ad, colloquially dubbed "You Wouldn't Steal a Car", called Australia Day (Piracy parody). The video compared the celebration of Australia Day (26 Jan), which marks the arrival of the First Fleet, to a number of infamous events in history. The events depicted include Nazi's "Final Solution", dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Sep 11 attacks on the Twin Towers._NEWLINE__NEWLINE_The video was released as part of the Change the Date campaign (#changethedate) which calls for changing the date of Australia Day by Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and wider community groups._NEWLINE_Many believe celebrating on January 26 is insensitive as the arrival of the First Fleet marked the beginning of a brutal history which saw mass killings of Indigenous Australians._NEWLINE_This video incited a great deal of debate, especially in social media, with a lot of negative sentiments expressed especially at the comparison of 26 Jan to other historical dates:_NEWLINE_"I understand the sentiment, but these are really poor examples. Not one of these events resulted in the creation of a sustainable society/civilisation," Shaun Fielding said._NEWLINE_The National Australia Day Council said in response:_NEWLINE_"Though 26 January marks this specific event, today Australia Day celebrations reflect contemporary Australia: our diverse society and landscape, our remarkable achievements and our bright future. It also is an opportunity to reflect on our nation's history, and to consider how we can make Australia an even better place in future," _NEWLINE_In 2017 the Australia Day celebrations in Fremantle, Western Australia were cancelled and replaced with alternative celebrations 2 days later on 28 January. This was seen by the left as a litmus test for the #changethedate movement.
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Juice Rap News
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An internet based Australian satirical news show consisting of a rapped "news report" with social commentary using comical rap lyrics. | 2605146632260773204 |
Q20020321 |
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The Keeper (Dekker novel)
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Plot summary
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While in the Russian wasteland, Talus has a secret that is so terrible that it will cost him his life if he shares it. The secret is so terrible that he must share it with those who will help him protect the knowledge that will one day save all of humanity. His two brothers, who are both hermit monks, are the ones he has decided to share his secret with. Time is short, and no man could fully prepare themselves with the revelation that this secret holds, a secret Talus’ two brothers will discover: that they are already dead. | 16637100272438438292 |
Q945230 |
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The Kid Brother
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Plot
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The Hickorys are a respected family in Hickoryville. Sheriff Jim and his big, strong sons Leo and Olin have little respect for the youngest son, Harold, who does not have their muscles._NEWLINE_When Jim, Leo and Olin go to an important town meeting to discuss a dam, Harold is left behind. He puts on his father's gun and badge and is mistaken for the sheriff by "Flash" Farrell, who runs a traveling medicine show for Mary after the death of her father. Farrell talks Harold into signing a permit to let him, strongman Sandoni and dancer Mary perform. Later, Mary tries to avoid the unwanted attentions of Sandoni and encounters Harold. They are attracted to each other._NEWLINE_When Jim finds out that Harold authorized the medicine show, he orders his son to shut down the performance. Harold tries, but Farrell makes a fool of him, then has him tied up. Harold's sworn enemy, Hank Hooper, pelts him and accidentally starts a fire that consumes the medicine show wagon. Harold invites Mary to spend the night in the family home. Jim is asleep, so Harold cannot get his permission; Harold has to use his wits to overcome the opposition of his brothers. However, Mrs. Hooper and her son Hank show up and take Mary with them, as it would not be decent for Mary to spend the night in a house without "womenfolk"._NEWLINE_The next day is a town celebration, where Jim is supposed to turn over to a state official the funds raised by the residents to help build the dam. However, the money is gone. Jim strongly suspects Farrell and Sandoni of being responsible, but Sam Hooper accuses him of the theft and refuses to let him go after them. Jim sends Leo and Olin, but not Harold, after them. When they return empty-handed, Jim allows himself to be tied up. There is talk of lynching._NEWLINE_Harold confesses to Mary that he is not the person he pretended to be, but she tells him she has faith in him. Then Hank accuses her of being in on the robbery. Harold fights back when some men grab her, only to have Hank knock him out and set him adrift in a rowboat. He awakens after the boat reaches an abandoned, beached ship. Aboard he finds the real thieves. Sandoni disposes of Farrell after they argue over the division of the loot. Then the strongman spots Harold and chases him all over the ship. Eventually, Harold subdues Sandoni and races back to town with his prisoner and the money to save his father. An impressed Jim tells him, "Son, you're a real Hickory." As Harold and Mary walk away, they encounter Hank. Harold musters the courage to fight his longtime nemesis and beats him up.
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Production
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This was the last of Lloyd's features to star Jobyna Ralston, who starred as leading lady in five of his previous films. She would go on to play a supporting part in Wings._NEWLINE_Lloyd wanted the film to have more gags than any of his previous features, so around eight writers and gagmen worked on the script. Many of these bits were cut from the finished film, and some were incorporated into Lloyd's subsequent films. The rural setting was a contrast to most of Lloyd's urban films of the mid to late 1920s. It was filmed in then-rural Glendale, Burbank, and Altadena (near current-day Pasadena), and the derelict ship scenes were filmed at Catalina Island._NEWLINE_Lewis Milestone directed a majority of the film, in an uncredited capacity. He left the production due to contract problems with another studio.
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Home media
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A restored version of The Kid Brother with a new score by Carl Davis was prepared by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill in the early 1990s. It is now available on DVD. | 15760683291800617077 |
Q2812289 |
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The Kidnappers
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Plot
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In the early 1900s, two young orphaned brothers, eight-year-old Harry (Jon Whiteley) and five-year-old Davy Mackenzie (Vincent Winter) are sent to live in a Scottish settlement in Nova Scotia, Canada, with their stern Grandfather (Duncan Macrae) and Grandmother (Jean Anderson) after their father's death in the Boer War. The boys would love to have a dog but are not allowed, Grandaddy holding that "ye canna eat a dog". Then they find an abandoned baby. Living in fear of Grandaddy (he beats Harry, the older boy, for disobeying him), they conceal it from the adults. They view the baby as a kind of substitute for the dog that they have been denied (Davy, the younger boy, asks his brother, "Shall we call the baby Rover, Harry?")._NEWLINE_Grandaddy is having problems with the Dutch settlers who have arrived at the settlement in increasing numbers after leaving South Africa at the end of the Boer War. He has had a long-running dispute with Afrikaner Jan Hooft (Francis de Wolff) over ownership of a hill and refuses to accept a legal ruling that the land, in fact, belongs to Hooft. He also keeps a close rein on his grown-up daughter Kirsty (Adrienne Corri) and is reluctant for her to make a life for herself. She is in love with the local doctor Willem Bloem (Theodore Bikel), who left Holland for Canada for reasons he will not disclose. He does not return her affections._NEWLINE_To make matters worse, it turns out that the "kidnapped" baby is Hooft's younger daughter. When found out, Harry is tried at a court set up in the local trading store. He is suspected of taking the baby as a result of the tensions between the two families but states that he did not know her identity. Surprisingly, Hooft speaks up in his defense, stating that no harm had come to her and his older daughter should have been looking after her. The court official suggests that Harry be sent to a corrective school, and is immediately threatened with shooting by Grandaddy. The clerk climbs down, merely suggesting an investigation into the location of these schools in case a further kidnapping should occur. Afterwards, Grandaddy thanks Hooft for speaking up for Harry._NEWLINE_The film ends with Grandaddy (who had never learned to read or write) instructing Harry to write to a mail order company to order the red setter they had set their hearts on. He had found the flyer for the dog in one of his best boots, where the boys had hidden it. They had noticed that he sometimes walked without these boots, slinging them over his shoulder, to save wear and tear. To pay for the dog, Grandaddy had sold them – a prized item among his few possessions. Davy is now able to say, "I think we'll call him Rover, Harry."_NEWLINE_One of the film's most memorable moments comes with the horror on Duncan Macrae's face at what his grandson must have thought of him when the grandson implores "Don't eat the babbie, grandaddy!".
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Reception
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The film was based on Neil Paterson's short story "Scotch Settlement", and was the eighth most popular movie at the British box office in 1954._NEWLINE_Both Whitely and Winter were presented with Honorary Juvenile Acting Oscars for their performances, which had been coached by director Margaret Thomson. In addition, the film was nominated for three BAFTA Film Awards and was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival._NEWLINE_A second film based on the same Patterson short story was released in 1990, under the original film's American title (The Little Kidnappers). Starring Charlton Heston in the role of Granddaddy, the film was written by Coralee Elliott Testar and shot entirely on location in Nova Scotia. | 14148964150036783364 |
Q7747228 |
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The Life with God Study Bible
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The Life with God Bible is a study Bible published by Harper in 2005, and utilizes the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). It was formerly published under the name Renovaré Spiritual Formation Bible, but has been republished under the Life with God title.
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The Deuterocanonical Editions
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There are two editions of the Bible; those with the Deuterocanonical books, and those without them. The reasoning for adding the books (according to former Renovaré president, Richard Foster) is summarized as, "1. The Deuterocanonical books were part of the ancient Greek Bible, the Septuagint, which was in circulation during the time of Christ. It was the Bible of the early Church. This Bible shaped the conscious awareness of God for the first Christians. 2. The Deuterocanonical books help Christian readers understand the New Testament context—the context of Jesus' ministry as well as of the writers of the New Testament books. The people Jesus encountered and taught were in many ways spiritually formed by these writings.3. Most of the Church throughout most of her history has included the Deuterocanonical books as part of the Bible. The Eastern Orthodox Bible, the Greek Bible, the Slavonic Bible, the Anglican Bible and the Roman Catholic Bible all currently include the Deuterocanonical books. Plus, while not viewing them as Scripture, early Protestant Bibles—Luther's translation, the Great Bible of 1539, the Geneva Bible of 1560 (supported by John Calvin and John Knox), the Bishops' Bible of 1568, and the King James Bible of 1611—included the Deuterocanonical books, or "Apocrypha," as something of an appendix. 4. Throughout the ages, many questions have persisted about the value of the Deuterocanonical books. Even those groups in our time who include and use the Deuterocanonicals do not give them the same authority as the primary canon. And we, the General Editors of The Life with God Bible, would not want to accord these books the same authority as revealed Scripture. Still, their role in bridging the gap between Malachi and Matthew is unquestioned and they provide marvelous insight into the way in which the first Christians understood their relationship to God. 5. The Deuterocanonical books do not affect any central doctrine of the Christian faith, but they do contain many helpful insights for spiritual formation. For this reason alone they are worth reading and can function for us today in much the same way that good sermons and devotional writings do. Of them, Luther wrote, "Apocrypha—that is, books which are not regarded as equal to the holy Scriptures, and yet are profitable and good to read."" The Deuterocanonical Books that appear in the Bible are the same as those translated by the NRSV. Foster, however, is incorrect in stating that the 'Anglican Bible' includes the Deuterocanonical books. (Anglican doctrine on the matter is exactly the same as the attitude he attributes to Luther, above.)
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Some of the Editors
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Editors and contributors include Walter Brueggemann, Marva Dawn, Richard Foster, James Earl Massey, Thomas Oden, Eugene Peterson, Andrew Purves, Dallas Willard, William Willimon, and Ben Witherington III. | 7253461398345352576 |
Q7747494 |
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The Lion Rock Institute
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History
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The Institute was founded in August 2004 by founders Simon Lee, Andrew Work, and Andrew Shuen.
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Political stance
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The Lion Rock Institution describes itself as "independent". Academic and democracy activist Joseph Cheng regards the Institution as politically neutral.
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Activities
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The Lion Rock Institution's political activities have been pro-free market. It opposed to an increase of tobacco tax in Hong Kong as proposed by the Hong Kong Government in 2009._NEWLINE_The Lion Rock Institute is active in a range of aspects of Hong Kong society, especially broadcasting and telecom, town planning, transportation, house and redevelopment, fiscal management, competition law, social mobility, minimum wage, education, health care, and financial services. It does not concern itself with foreign policies or those concerning mainland China._NEWLINE_The Institute has been quoted on a number of these issues by newspapers and media outlets in Asia.
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Beliefs
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The Lion Rock Institute subscribes to the view that "policies from a free market perspective", such as defending property rights, lessening government interferences on the market, and advocating low taxes rates and minimal restrictions on businesses, "will contribute to a freer and more prosperous future for Hong Kong".
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Symbolism
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The Institute explains that "In the 1950s, hundreds of thousands fled turmoil in Mainland China. They hoped for freedom and a better life. They settled in droves on the slopes of Hong Kong's geographical centre, Lion Rock..."Under the Lion Rock", a 1970s classic by Roman Tam, tells the story of the people who built Hong Kong. The spirit of a community supported the individual efforts of those seeking freedom and prosperity." The Lion Rock name symbolises the strength of the people of Hong Kong, both during this time and in general; by taking on the name, the Institute hopes to express the "hope for freedom, individual courage" and an aspiration to build a prosperous future of the people of Hong Kong. | 11086122050654214332 |
Q7749678 |
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The Majestic Star Casino, LLC
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History
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The company was formed on December 8, 1993._NEWLINE_It opened the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Indiana on June 7, 1996._NEWLINE_In December 2001, Majestic Star made its first expansion beyond Gary, acquiring three Fitzgeralds casinos from bankrupt Fitzgeralds Gaming for $149 million, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Black Hawk, Colorado, and Tunica, Mississippi. Chief operating officer Michael Kelly, a former Fitzgeralds executive, engineered the deal._NEWLINE_In April 2005, Majestic Star was selected to operate the casino at the French Lick Resort in French Lick, Indiana, being developed by a partnership of Lauth Property Group and the Cook Group. However, the Cook-Lauth partnership eventually decided to form its own casino management team, and Majestic's involvement ended amiably in September of that year._NEWLINE_In December 2005, Majestic Star acquired the neighboring Trump Casino in Gary from Trump Entertainment Resorts for $253 million, and renamed it as the Majestic Star II._NEWLINE_After Barden led an effort to legalize gambling in Pennsylvania, Majestic Star was awarded the only gaming license for Pittsburgh, beating out competing bids from Harrah's and Isle of Capri. Construction began in December 2007 on the $450 million riverfront Majestic Star Casino, which was projected to double the company's yearly revenues to over $1 billion. However, after defaulting on a $200 million bridge loan and failing to pay contractors, Majestic had to hand control in August 2008 to a group led by JMB Realty chairman Neil Bluhm, lead investor in the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, who bought 75% of the project, and renamed it the Rivers Casino. Barden kept his remaining stake in the project outside of the Majestic Star umbrella._NEWLINE_In November 2009, Majestic Star filed for bankruptcy, listing $406 million in assets against $750 million in liabilities. The company cited the recession, increased competition from nearby properties, and a new smoking ban as reasons. In December 2010, Majestic sued Barden, claiming that he changed the company's tax status without notice, costing over $2 million in additional tax liabilities. The company's reorganization plan, filed the following month, would end Barden's ownership interest, while leaving other executives in place. The company left bankruptcy in 2011 under the majority ownership of Wayzata Investment Partners._NEWLINE_In October 2011, several months after Barden's death, his estate sold Fitzgeralds Las Vegas to brothers Derek and Greg Stevens, majority owners of the Golden Gate casino._NEWLINE_In May 2012, Majestic Star agreed to sell Fitzgeralds Black Hawk for $28 million to Saratoga Harness Racing, owner of Saratoga Casino and Raceway in New York. The sale closed in January 2013._NEWLINE_Majestic Star sold Fitzgeralds Tunica to Foundation Gaming in August 2018._NEWLINE_In November 2018, the company agreed to be acquired by Spectacle Entertainment, a new firm owned primarily by two Indiana-based investors. The buyers said they would lobby for permission to move the Majestic Star Casino inland within Gary, and to move the Majestic Star II's casino license to another city in Indiana. | 16557696669175735922 |
Q1195373 |
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The Man Who Never Was
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Plot
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In 1943, Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) devises a scheme to deceive the Nazis about the impending invasion of Southern Europe. It entails releasing a dead body just off the coast of Spain, where strong currents will almost certainly cause it to drift ashore in an area where a skilled German secret agent operates. The corpse will appear as a plane crash victim, the non-existent Royal Marine, Major William Martin, who is carrying false letters about a forthcoming Allied invasion of German-occupied Greece, rather than the obvious target of Sicily. Time is short, but the impatient Montagu is finally given approval to carry out the mission: Operation Mincemeat._NEWLINE_On the advice of a medical expert, Montagu procures the body of a man who died of pneumonia (so that he will seem to have drowned) from the grieving father. Then, after proper preparations, he and his assistant, Lt. Acres (Robert Flemyng), take the corpse (concealed in a canister packed with dry ice) to a waiting submarine. The submarine travels to the Mediterranean before surfacing at night to release the body. As hoped, the body washes ashore on a Spanish beach and is processed by local authorities, observed by German and British consulate staff. After the attache case containing the letters is returned to London, a laboratory expert confirms that the key letter, describing the (false) Allied attack in Greece, was cleverly opened and resealed._NEWLINE_Hitler is convinced the document is genuine, even though the head of the Abwehr––Admiral Wilhelm Canaris––is sceptical. He orders an IRA Nazi spy, Patrick O'Reilly (Stephen Boyd) dispatched to London to investigate. O'Reilly checks into a story he had heard concerning Martin's "fiancée", Lucy Sherwood (Gloria Grahame). She is the roommate of Montagu's assistant, Pam (Josephine Griffin). O'Reilly shows up at their flat, posing as Martin's old friend, on the same day Lucy received news that her real boyfriend has been killed in action. Her genuine grief mostly convinces O'Reilly. As a final test, however, he informs Lucy of the address of his lodgings in north London, telling Lucy to contact him if she needs anything. He then informs his German superiors by radio to expect a message from him in an hour, unless British counterintelligence comes for him. Montagu almost makes this very mistake, but realizes in time why O'Reilly left his address and, with some difficulty, convinces his superiors not to order O'Reilly arrested. O'Reilly then sends a "Martin genuine!" radio message, and the Germans transfer most of their Sicily-based forces to Greece, making the Allied deceit successful. _NEWLINE_After the war, Montagu leaves a medal he was awarded at the grave of "the man who never was".
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Historical accuracy
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Operation Mincemeat involved the acquisition and dressing up of a human cadaver as a "Major William Martin, R.M." and putting it into the sea near Huelva, Spain. Attached to the dead body was a briefcase containing fake letters falsely stating that the Allied attack would be against Sardinia and Greece rather than Sicily, the actual point of invasion. When the body was found, the Spanish Intelligence Service passed copies of the papers to the German Intelligence Service which passed them on to their High Command. The ruse was so successful that the Germans still believed that Sardinia and Greece were the intended objectives weeks after the landings in Sicily had begun._NEWLINE_The exact identity of the "man who never was" has been the centre of controversy since the end of the war. On the one hand, certain accounts claim the true identity of "Major William Martin" was a homeless, alcoholic rat-catcher from Wales, Glyndwr Michael, who had committed suicide by self-administering a small dose of rat poison. However, in 2002, authors John and Noreen Steele published the non-fictional account of The Secrets of HMS Dasher, about an ill-fated escort carrier that exploded and sank in the Firth of Clyde around the time Operation Mincemeat had commenced. The Steeles argued that "Major Martin's" body was actually that of seaman John Melville, one of the Dasher's casualties. Further, it has been reported that the accuracy of this claim was verified by the Royal Navy in late October 2004, and a memorial service was held for Melville, in which he was celebrated as one whose "memory lives on in the film The Man Who Never Was...we are gathered here today to remember John Melville as a man who most certainly was." But in fact, Professor Denis Smyth, a researcher at the University of Toronto, has counter-argued that Glyndwr Michael was indeed the real "Major Martin." To support his claims, Smyth published the contents of a secret memo and an official report, both authored by Ewen Montagu himself, confirming the Glyndwr Michael story._NEWLINE_Regardless of the identity of Major Martin, Nigel Balchin's script stayed as close to the truth as was convenient, yet the film does fall back on some dramatization. For example, the episode of the Irish spy, O'Reilly, is a complete fabrication. The British Secret Service controlled the German spy network in the UK with its Double-Cross System, though this fact was still secret at the time the film was made. Ewen Montagu declared that he was happy with the fictitious incidents which, although they did not happen, might have happened. During filming, Montagu has a cameo role, that of a Royal Air Force air vice-marshal who has doubts about the feasibility of the proposed plan. It was described by Ben Macintyre in Operation Mincemeat as a "surreal" moment when the real Montagu addressed his fictional persona, played by Webb.
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Reception
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The film earned an estimated $1.1 million in North American rentals in 1956._NEWLINE_The Radio Times wrote, "the picture may appear overly reverent by today's standards. But this is still a crucial wartime spy tale that is well worth watching."
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The Goon Show
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The BBC's popular radio comedy show, The Goon Show, made a send-up of the story of The Man Who Never Was (based on the book) and incorporated most of the regular Goon Show characters. Written by Spike Milligan and Larry Stephens, the first version of the script formed two-thirds of the episode broadcast on 31 March 1953, before the film's release, with the first third comprising a separate sketch. Like most of these early episodes, this no longer exists. Milligan and Stephens later wrote a full-length version which was broadcast on 20 March 1956. Milligan later revised this script for the episode broadcast on 17 February 1958. Both of the later versions have been issued on CD sets. Coincidentally, Peter Sellers (one of the Goons) provided the voice of Winston Churchill in the film, although the character did not appear in The Goon Show adaptation. | 910500362346634552 |
Q7750020 |
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The Man from Button Willow
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Production
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According to the film's pressbook, Dale Robertson provided the original story and financed the film though his company United Screen Arts that released the film as well as appearing in the live action prologue. | 12142944597608198058 |
Q7750067 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. gun
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The Man from U.N.C.L.E. gun often referred to as the U.N.C.L.E. Special is a fictional firearm depicted on the popular TV show The Man from U.N.C.L.E. which ran from September 1964 until it was canceled mid-season in 1968. Onscreen it was semi-automatic pistol that could be converted to a carbine-sniper rifle that could fire full automatic.
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History
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The series began as a feature-length television pilot film written by Sam Rolfe titled Solo that was filmed in late November 1963. In the film Napoleon Solo carried a standard Luger pistol which in one scene he called an "X-38 Automatic"._NEWLINE_Stanley Weston, who had handled the toy licensing rights for Dr. Kildare, another MGM Television series produced by Norman Felton, was engaged to do the same for the show retitled The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. After viewing the Solo pilot in February, 1964, Weston wrote a letter to Felton expressing excitement over the show's merchandising potential. Weston made a list of 35 suggestions for emblem designs and spy gadgets that could be exploited for marketing purposes. Among them was the proposal for a distinctive pistol that should feature a silencer. "Also, from our viewpoint," Weston added, "it would be great if Solo uses a machine gun from time to time"._NEWLINE_The U.N.C.L.E. Special was originally based on a 1934 7.65mm German Mauser pistol. While early episodes were being shot, the Mauser jammed frequently, and visually all the accessories added to convert the pistol to a carbine seemed to overwhelm the small pistol. It was soon replaced by the Walther P38 9mm Parabellum that the producers borrowed from the Combat! television series that was also shot on the MGM backlot. The standard barrel of the P-38 was shortened and modified to accept a bird-cage flash suppressor. The Special was depicted on screen as firing "sleep darts". Although the non-lethal feature of the gun was always the intent of its creators, this was not always clearly shown to the audience especially in later seasons, and as producers changed._NEWLINE_For situations where more firepower was necessary, the concealable pistol was modified to accept a barrel extension with hand-grip and silencer, a Phantom Bushnell pistol scope, an extended magazine and a collapsible shoulder stock. The bird cage suppressor, silencer and barrel extension were attached by threaded plugs. Though a sophisticated weapon on screen, the U.N.C.L.E. Special Carbine in reality could not shoot real bullets, only blanks. However the pistol alone was still a working firearm. It was also modified by the studio to allow it to fire in full automatic "machine gun" mode. Unfortunately, this caught the attention of the US Treasury Department- the manufacture of automatic weapons without a license is very illegal, and the show nearly had the guns confiscated. In the end MGM was fined $2000 and the matter was closed._NEWLINE_The prop masters of the series created six U.N.C.L.E. Specials at a cost of approximately $1,500 per gun, but only two had the full array of attachments._NEWLINE_In the episodes, the gun(s) were used by Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin. The gun was extremely popular with viewers. MGM began to get fan mail addressed to "The Gun." At one point the gun was getting 500 letters per week. A US Army Ordinance General once asked if a few of the guns were available, he would like to borrow them for testing as possible weapons for the armed forces.
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The UNCLE Special in popular culture
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Reuben Klamer of Toylab designed a cap firing toy version of the weapon that included a bipod for the Ideal Toy Company as the "Napoleon Solo Gun" and also designed an "Illya Kuryankin" gun based on the AR-7._NEWLINE_A toy UNCLE gun made in Japan as part of Takara's Microman line under the name "MC-12 Gun Robo", and was the inspiration behind the design of the original Transformers Megatron._NEWLINE_By 2011, fans of the show have created an actual, live-firing gun based on the real one. | 4188378039392926555 |
Q19263807 |
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The Mango People
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Production
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The story was conceived two years before the actual shooting for the movie began. Screenwriting started in October 2013 was completed in January 2014. The first draft of the script was actually meant for a two-hour-long feature film which was then cut-short to fit the 30 minute time frame. The lead actors were confirmed one month before the shooting. Savithri Sreedharan (acting as the title role, Sarojini Nair) is a drama-artist from Kozhikode, Kerala who has won many awards (including the State Award) for her performances. Vishal Kuja Prabhu is the director of short films such as Sharikal Mathram, Daivam, Oru Valiya Sathyam, and Puthiya Thudakkam_NEWLINE_Principal photography began on 28 February 2014 in and around Kozhikode city and went on for 10 days. The number of people in the crew was kept to a minimum and the shoot was planned extensively to prevent delays. A promo song, made entirely of Jagathy Sreekumar’s dialogues was composed by Vishal Kuja Prabhu while shooting. Nithya Sri completed all her scenes in the first schedule which was wrapped up in four days. But one particular scene had to be re-shot and the climax was changed during the second schedule shoot which delayed the movie a little bit. Post-production started mid-March and was completed by April first week. The movie faced some serious technical troubles in the following months and had to undergo a second round of editing and colour correction which delayed the release. The official YouTube is scheduled for 2 May 2015 . Posters and a Facebook page was launched on 10 February 2015. A teaser trailer was launched online on 12 April 2015.
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Reception
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The film was released on 2 May 2015 directly on YouTube and met with widespread critical acclaim. With over 40,000 views in two weeks it was featured in Mathrubhumi paper's "YouTubed" column as the "Most Watched Short Film Of The Week". The performances of the three lead actors and the screenplay of the movie were highly appreciated. | 15302554607579686779 |
Q2412775 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Mayor of Hell
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Plot
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Racketeer Patsy Gargan is made deputy commissioner of a reform school as a reward from his corrupt political cronies. Initially, he has no interest in the school, but his sympathy for the boys, who are abused and battered by a brutal, heartless warden and his thuggish guards convince him to take the job seriously, as does an attractive resident nurse named Dorothy._NEWLINE_Gargan sends Thompson, the superintendent, on vacation and, while he is gone, puts Dorothy's reform ideas into action. The school is functioning well under a system of self-government when Patsy is called back to the city to take care of some political business. Patsy shoots another man during a fight and has to go into hiding. Thompson returns to the school and convinces the boys that Patsy has abandoned them. He then starts running things the old way and, when Dorothy protests over the poor quality of the food served, he fires her. Then one of the boys, Johnny "Skinny" Stone, dies while in solitary confinement and the boys rebel. Thompson is put on trial by the boys, who find him guilty. Thompson, in a panic, jumps out a window to escape. Pursued by the boys, many of whom carry torches, he scrambles up onto the roof of a barn. The boys immediately set fire to the barn. Dorothy, meanwhile, finds Patsy in his hideout and tells him the whole story. Patsy races back to the school to restore order, but Thompson is dead, having fallen from the roof of the barn. At the picture's end, Patsy decides to give up his political career and stay at the school permanently.
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Production
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The film originally went under the title Reform School. It took 36 days to shoot with a cost of $229,000.
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Reception
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David Cornelius of DVD Talk wrote: "To its credit, the film pushes to make several of its minority characters complex and intelligent, but still, an ugly stereotype is an ugly stereotype... It seems to have been cobbled together from various sources; most of the film looks very vibrant and clean, although some shots are slightly grainier, often right around scene transitions." He believed that Cagney's performance and many of the others were "quite strong".TimeOut wrote: "Cloud nine tosh from the days when Warner movies preached that delinquents were just good kids in need of a helping hand", but concluded that "Despite the risible script, Cagney is as watchable as ever, and Mayo directs sleekly." | 15233493368387622026 |
Q654439 |
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The Merry Widow (1925 film)
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Plot
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Prince Danilo falls in love with dancer Sally O'Hara. His uncle, King Nikita I of Monteblanco, forbids the marriage because she is a commoner. Thinking she has been jilted by her prince, Sally marries the old and lecherous Baron Sadoja, whose wealth has kept the kingdom afloat. When he dies suddenly, Sally must be wooed all over again by Danilo.
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Production
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The film was shot over twelve weeks with a budget of $592,000. Filming was tense as Mae Murray and the film's director, Erich von Stroheim, did not get on well. After production, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer decided it could no longer work with the director after he added sexually explicit scenes and changed the operetta's libretto.
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Reception
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Upon its release, the film was both a critical and box office success. Critics praised Murray's dramatic skills while also noting that von Stroheim had "made an actress out of Miss Murray". The film made a profit of $758,000.
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Other adaptations
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The Merry Widow was adapted for the screen in 1934, 1952, 1962, and 1994. | 392937697323322077 |
Q29532539 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Millionaires' Unit
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Release
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The film won the Best Documentary Feature honor at the 2015 G.I. Film Festival and the Garden State Film Festival. It also screened at the Kansas City Film Festival, the Newport Beach Film Festival and the Julien Dubuque Film Festival, as well as at numerous museums and the Experimental Aircraft Association's AirVenture event. | 6191710836151276668 |
Q7751495 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Milne School
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The Milne School, frequently referred to as Milne High School, was the campus laboratory school for what is now known as the University at Albany, State University of New York, located in Albany, New York. Its mission was to provide a location for prospective teachers to do their practice teaching. It may have been among the first practice-teaching schools in the United States, having opened in 1845._NEWLINE_The Milne School was named for Dr. William J. Milne, a former president of the State Normal College, one of the earlier names for the University at Albany. By 1929, when The Milne School moved to a newly constructed building at 135 Western Avenue, it consisted of a junior and senior high school and served grades 7 through 12. Theodore Fossieck was the principal of the school from 1947 to 1972. In the 1960s, the school's admissions policies were challenged as being overly favorable to the relatives of Milne students and thus effectively excluding minorities and new residents; the state human rights commission agreed with the challenge. By the 1970s, SUNY was suffering budget shortfalls and also deemphasizing the teaching mission of the Albany branch. Fossieck decided to retire in 1972. Milne had five different principals during its last five years, and closed in 1977._NEWLINE_In the 1977 Bricks and Ivy yearbook, Charles Bowler referred to the Milne School as having "a high-powered faculty teaching beautiful student teachers, experimenting with methodology, still keeping their covenant by turning out educated students."_NEWLINE_The building is now called "Milne Hall" and currently houses the University at Albany Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy; the Department of Political Science; the Department of Public Administration and Policy; and the Center for Policy Studies._NEWLINE_The last annual Milne Alumni Ball was held in 1977. Since that time, there have been three Milne School reunions: June 7-9, 1991; April 8-10, 2005 (at which there was an extensive display of Milne School memorabilia presented by alumni and by Geoffrey Williams, the University at Albany Archivist at that time); and September 7-9, 2012. Further information is available on the Milne School Alumni website (see link below)._NEWLINE_In an effort to keep the memory of The Milne School alive and to improve communication among Milne alumni, there is a Milne School Alumni website. Milne School alumni are encouraged to visit this site and provide comments, suggestions, and corrections. (See The Milne School Alumni website.) In addition, there is a Milne School Alumni Facebook group; search for "Milne School Alumni." | 6457857293902492528 |
Q1601986 |
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The Motherland Calls
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Construction
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The work of sculptor Yevgeny Vuchetich and engineer Nikolai Nikitin is an 85 metre (279 ft) figure of a woman stepping forward with a raised sword. The statue is an allegorical image of the Motherland, which calls on its sons and daughters to repulse the enemy and continue their further attack._NEWLINE_The Motherland Calls is highly complex from an engineering point of view, due to its characteristic posture with a sword raised high in the right hand and the left hand extended in a calling gesture. The technology behind the hollow statue is based on a combination of prestressed concrete with wire ropes, a solution which can also be found in another work of Nikitin's, the Ostankino Tower in Moscow. The sculpture is hollow. Inside, the entire statue consists of separate cells or chambers, like rooms in a building. The concrete walls of the sculpture are 25–30 centimetres (9.8–11.8 in) thick._NEWLINE_The construction of the monument was started in May 1959 and completed on 15 October 1967. It was the tallest sculpture in the world at the time of creation. Restoration work on the main monument of the monument complex was done in 1972, when the sword was replaced by another entirely consisting of stainless steel. _NEWLINE_It is most likely that Vuchetich sculpted the figure from the discus thrower Nina Dumbadze, and the face from his wife Vera. According to various sources, Valentina Izotova or Ekaterina Grebneva posed for the sculpture. It is also believed that the statue has parallels with the figure of the "Marseillaise" on the Triumphal arch in Paris, and that the statue's pose was inspired by the statue of Nike of Samothrace._NEWLINE_At night, the sculpture is illuminated by floodlights. It was specially illuminated as part of a light show titled "The Light of the Great Victory", marking the 72nd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.
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Measurements
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When the memorial was dedicated in 1967 it was the tallest statue in the world, measuring 85 metres (279 ft) from the tip of its sword to the top of the plinth. The plinth measures another 2 metres (6.6 ft), and is installed on a concrete foundation with a depth of 16 metres (52 ft). The figure measures 52 metres (171 ft), and the sword 33 metres (108 ft). The monument weighs over 8,000 tonnes (7,900 long tons; 8,800 short tons). The statue contains 5,500 tonnes of concrete and 2,400 tons of metal structures, the sword itself weighs 14 tons. The rigidity of the frame is supported by 99 metal cables constantly in tension.
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Dedication
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Two hundred steps, symbolizing the 200 days of the Battle of Stalingrad, lead from the bottom of the hill to the monument. The statue appears on both the current flag and coat of arms of Volgograd Oblast._NEWLINE_Marshal of the Soviet Union Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov is buried in the area of the monument, as is famous Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev, who killed 225 soldiers and officers of the German army and their allies in the battle of Stalingrad._NEWLINE_The monument is the central part of the triptych, consisting of the monuments "Rear-Front" in Magnitogorsk and "Warrior-Liberator" in Berlin's Treptower Park. It is understood that the sword, forged by the side of the Urals, was later raised by Motherland in Stalingrad and dropped after the Victory in Berlin.
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Structural problems
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The sword was originally made of stainless steel, trimmed with titanium sheets. The huge mass and high windage of the sword, due to its colossal dimensions, caused a strong swinging of the sword under the influence of wind loads, which caused excessive mechanical stress in the place where the hand holding the sword was attached to the body of the sculpture. Deformations in the design of the sword also caused the movement of sheets of titanium plating, creating-pitched sound of thundering metal. Therefore, in 1972, the blade was replaced by another – entirely consisting of steel, – and in the upper part of the sword, holes were provided that made it possible to reduce its windage._NEWLINE_In 2009, reports said the statue was leaning due to changes in groundwater level causing movement of the foundations. The statue is not fixed to its foundations and is held in place only by its weight. An anonymous official claimed that it had shifted 20 centimetres and was not expected to move much farther without collapsing. A program of monument restoration was developed in 2008–2009, and conservation and restoration work started in 2010._NEWLINE_In spring 2017, a comprehensive restoration program of the monument lasting for a year and a half at a cost of two billion rubles began. All formed cracks will be repaired and more than 6,000 m² of concrete surfaces will be restored. | 17430969768838033744 |
Q1689109 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Murder of My Sweet
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Band history
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The Murder of My Sweet was founded in Stockholm in 2006 by drummer and producer Daniel Flores. It consists of Angelica Rylin (vocals), Patrik Janson (bass), Christopher Vetter (guitar), and Daniel Flores (drums and keyboards). Their debut single Bleed Me Dry reached 14th spot in the national Swedish singles chart. In January 2010 they released their debut album Divanity on the Italian label Frontiers Records.
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Music
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The lyrics deal with personal experiences, and the music is influenced by books and movie soundtracks.
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Band name
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The band's name was inspired by the 1944 film noir Murder, My Sweet. | 7575334328615179233 |
Q926231 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Murmurs
_START_SECTION_
The Murmurs
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Leisha Hailey and Heather Grody (Reid) began performing as The Murmurs in 1991 while the duo were both students of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. They released Who Are We, produced and released by William Basinski's Arcadia Records, in 1991. The band became popular around the East Village in Manhattan. In 1994, The Murmurs signed with MCA Records. They released their self-titled major label debut album the same year. Their single "You Suck" got radio airplay and gained them national attention. While the song reached number 89 in the United States, it was a number-one hit in Norway, reaching Platinum status. The duo expanded into a four-woman group in 1997 with the addition of bassist Sheri Ozeki and drummer Sherri Solinger. They released Pristine Smut in 1997 and Blender a year later.
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Gush
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In 2001, Hailey and Grody reunited as a band named Gush which featured more of an indie rock sound. The band also included members Jon Skibic, Brad Caselden and Dave Doyle. They released one self-titled album that was sold exclusively at their live shows.
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Redcar
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In 2005, following the breakup of Gush, Heather Reid (formerly Grody) and Jon Skibic formed the band Redcar with Michael Sullivan and Ryan MacMillan. Their debut album was released in March 2007 and was produced by Grammy award winning producer Greg Collins (U2 and Gwen Stefani). Reid also started a record company, Phyllis Records. | 10140513820488419257 |
Q1978802 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Naked Kiss
_START_SECTION_
Plot
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Kelly is a prostitute who arrives by bus in the small town of Grantville, just one more burg in a long string of quick stops on the run after being chased out of the big city by her former pimp. She engages in a quick tryst with local police captain Griff, who then tells her to stay out of his town and refers her to a cat-house just across the state line._NEWLINE_Instead, she decides to give up her illicit lifestyle, becoming a nurse at a hospital for handicapped children. Griff doesn't trust reformed prostitutes, however, and continues trying to run her out of town._NEWLINE_Kelly falls in love with J.L. Grant, the wealthy scion of the town's founding family, an urbane sophisticate, and Griff's best friend. After a dream-like courtship where even Kelly's admission of her past can't deter Grant, the two decide to marry. It is only after Kelly is able to finally convince Griff that she truly loves Grant and has given up prostitution for good that he agrees to be their best man._NEWLINE_Shortly before the wedding, Kelly arrives at Grant's mansion, only to find him on the verge of molesting a small girl. As he grinningly tries to persuade her to marry him, arguing that she too is a deviant, the only one who can understand him, and that he loves her, Kelly kills him by striking him in the head with a phone receiver. Jailed, and under heavy interrogation from Griff, she must convince him and the town that she is telling the truth about Grant's death._NEWLINE_Kelly tries to exonerate herself, but the little girl can not be located, and one disappointment follows another, as enemies old and new parade through the jailhouse to defame her. In despair, she is finally able to identify Grant's victim and prove her innocence. She is released, but, now notorious, has to leave town, boarding a bus to her next destination.
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Critical response
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The staff at Variety magazine gave the film and acting a positive review, writing, "Good Samuel Fuller programmer about a prostie trying the straight route, The Naked Kiss is primarily a vehicle for Constance Towers. Hooker angles and sex perversion plot windup are handled with care, alternating with handicapped children 'good works' theme...Towers' overall effect is good, director Fuller overcoming his routine script in displaying blonde looker's acting range."_NEWLINE_Critic Jerry Renshaw liked the film and wrote, "The Naked Kiss finds Sam Fuller's tabloid sensibilities boiling to the surface, as it dwells on the uncomfortable and taboo subjects of deviancy, prostitution, and small-town sanctimony. In typical Fuller style, it's a hard look at a nightmarish world, lurid and absorbing enough to demand that the viewer watch. It's part melodrama, part sensationalism, and part surreal, but above all it's absolutely, positively 100% Sam Fuller, with all the nuance and subtlety of a swift kick in the butt."_NEWLINE_Eugene Archer, writing in The New York Times, wrote that The Naked Kiss "has style to burn" and shows that Fuller is "one of the liveliest, most visual-minded and cinematically knowledgeable filmmakers now working in the low-budget Hollywood grist mill", but denounced the plot as "patently absurd" and "sensational nonsense", judging the whole as a "wild little movie".
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Home media
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A digitally restored version of the film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection. The release includes new video interview with star Constance Towers by film historian and filmmaker Charles Dennis, excerpts from a 1983 episode of The South Bank Show dedicated to Samuel Fuller, an interview with Fuller from a 1967 episode of the French television series Cinéastes de notre temps, and an interview with Fuller from a 1987 episode of the French television series Cinéma cinémas. There is also a booklet featuring an essay by critic and poet Robert Polito and excerpts from Fuller’s autobiography, A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting, and Filmmaking. | 1876967574528399703 |
Q1059786 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Needle (1988 film)
_START_SECTION_
Plot
_START_PARAGRAPH_
An enigmatic drifter known as Moro (Viktor Tsoi) comes to Alma-Ata to extract a debt from a lowly criminal known as Spartak. Moro tracks down his ex-girlfriend Dina, who lets him stay in her apartment. Meeting his debtor in a cafe called "Parliament," he learns that Spartak also owes money to a lot of other people. Later he finds out that Dina's employer, the surgeon Artur (Pyotr Mamonov), is supplying her with drugs and using her apartment to store morphine. In an attempt to help Dina, Moro takes her away to the Aral Sea, which they had visited together years before. The sea is by this time a barren wasteland. Moro conceals the ampules of morphine to which Dina is addicted, and after a few weeks in withdrawal she appears to be cured, but her habit returns when they go back to the city. Almost desperate, Moro confronts the drug dealers, sees Spartak go into a state of hysteria, and turns Artur's people against him. The film ends as Moro is stabbed by one of Artur's thugs in a snowy street, on his walk back home to Dina. The ending is ambiguous, with Moro's ultimate fate unknown. | 13800845897186800112 |
Q7754353 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The North Sea Scrolls
_START_SECTION_
Background
_START_PARAGRAPH_
An alternative musical history of the British Isles, The North Sea Scrolls was originally performed at the Edge Festival in Edinburgh in August 2011. _NEWLINE_The premise behind the show is that historical documents showing a different version of history were passed to Haines and Coughlan by the actor Tony Allen. The show featured songs based on this alternative history performed by Haines and Coughlan, with narration from Mueller._NEWLINE_Haines described his motivation for the project: "It occurred to me that we understand everything now. I wanted to do something that made people go, 'What the fuck is this?' There comes a time in a man's life, when he must make the ultimate concept album."_NEWLINE_An album of the show was released on the Fantastic Plastic label on 19 November 2012. A limited edition two-disc version featured a full performance of the show on a second disc._NEWLINE_The album was described by Simon Price in The Independent as "deeply engrossing" and ringing "resoundingly with cultural and historical truth". Will Hodgkinson, Writing in The Times gave the album a four star review. Jude Rogers, writing in The Guardian, described it as "a discombulating listen, but also a daft, enjoyable one"._NEWLINE_A series of live performances was announced for November and December 2012. | 1011773475356177074 |
Q28183484 |
_START_ARTICLE_
The Northern Argus
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The Northern Argus, first published on 19 February 1869, is a newspaper printed in Clare, South Australia. It is now a member of Fairfax Media.
_START_SECTION_
History
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The Northern Argus newspaper (as distinct from the Southern Argus published in Strathalbyn) was founded by Alfred Clode and his brother-in-law Henry Hammond Tilbrook (c. 1848– 9 September 1937). The first issue was greeted with polite silence by other newspapers, most saying nothing more than it was "the same size as the Wallaroo Times". The Kapunda Herald observed that it had been produced under difficulties, and would refrain from criticism._NEWLINE_In 1870 Henry's brother Alfred Tilbrook (c. 1847 – 10 July 1913) was taken on and Clode left the partnership to found an English-language newspaper in Japan. Robert Kelly succeeded Clode as editor, to be followed by Robert's father William Kelly (6 February 1827 – 30 January 1913) when Robert left to become a minister of religion. William Kelly served as editor for 13 years (and was a longtime mayor of Clare), followed by Alfred Tilbrook. Henry retired in 1889; the partners then becoming his son Reginald Henry Tilbrook (16 December 1870 – 4 November 1944) and Alfred Tilbrook. Ownership and management of the business passed to Reginald's three sons: Eric Hammond Hanley Tilbrook (1895–1966), Maurice Henry Tilbrook (1897–1963), and Godfrey Vincent Tilbrook (1901–1975)._NEWLINE_The Blyth Agriculturist (6 November 1908 - 25 June 1969) was begun as an offshoot of the Northern Argus newspaper and ran until 1969, covering news for Blyth and nearby regions.
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Distribution
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Like other Fairfax Media publications, the newspaper is also available online.
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Digitisation
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Issues from Vol.1 No.1 of 19 February 1869 to Vol.LXXXV No.5832 of 22 December 1954 have been OCR digitised from photographic copies by the National Library of Australia and may be retrieved using Trove. | 16126320594808951866 |
Q4441111 |
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The Old New Year
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Plot
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The Old New Year's Eve. Two families - The Sebeykins, representatives of the working class and The Poluorlovs, representatives of the intelligentsia - celebrate the holyday, The Sebeykins also have a housewarming. Pyotr Poluorlov comes home in the evening, everything is ready for the holiday, but he is in a bad mood. He is disappointed with his life and with everything that he has achieved. Wealth and the equipped apartment - this is not something what he has been living for. His wife and family do not understand why he suddenly decided to throw away furniture, TV-set and the piano from the apartment. Pyotr Sebeykin also does not find a common language with his family. He worked all his life to achieve welfare and prosperity for his family, but all of a sudden it turns to mean nothing for him._NEWLINE_Finally Poluorlov and Sebeykin quarrel with their families and slamming their doors, both leave their homes. The two men take their friends with them and go to banya, and after taking a bath and drinking a mug of beer, they try to understand how to live further.
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Soundtrack
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Sergey Nikitin's song "Snow falls" (rus. «Снег идёт», lyrics by Boris Pasternak) appeared in this movie for the first time. This Pasternak's poem mentions Old New Year. This song was released by Melodiya studio on vinyl discs, compact cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes._NEWLINE_Boney M.'s song "Let It All Be" also sounds in the film. | 11028488882813911491 |
Q50403583 |
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The One with All the Candy
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Plot
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Monica decides that she would like to get to know the neighbours in the apartment building better (to Chandler's dislike) and resorts to doing what she does best: cooking. She makes a batch of wonderful chocolates and hangs them on the door in a basket hoping that her neighbors will take some and they can meet. The neighbours (including Joey) eventually go crazy over the candy and demand more. The sign on the candy basket eventually changes from "Enjoy the Candy! Happy Holidays" to "Candy Served Between 5am and 6pm Only. No Exceptions! PS. Happy Holidays!"_NEWLINE_Ross gets Phoebe her first bike. Then the gang finds out she doesn't know how to ride. So Ross takes Phoebe to the park to teach her. Though, Phoebe is reluctant. Phoebe, after much convincing from Ross, rides her bike. With training wheels._NEWLINE_Rachel writes up a fake evaluation for Tag, her assistant/boyfriend involving naughty things. Then Rachel gives the evaluation to Tag, who doesn't know it is fake, doesn't read it, and gives it to the boss. Rachel devises a scheme to get it back, but before she does Mr. Zellner reads it, and Tag takes the blame, while Mr. Zellner says he enjoys a "naughty limerick or two."
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Reception
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Distractify ranked it the ninth best Friends Christmas episode, and wrote that Phoebe's "blunders and Ross's patient lessons set the stage for many nervous laughs and heartwarming holiday cheer"._NEWLINE_Catriona Wightman from Digital Spy called it the season's worst episode._NEWLINE_Sam Ashurst from the same website ranked the episode 119 on their ranking of the 236 Friends episodes._NEWLINE_Telegraph & Argus also ranked it #119 on their ranking of the 236 Friends episodes. | 8522105509994707409 |
Q7755519 |
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The Other Side: The Secret Relationship Between Nazism and Zionism
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Study at Patrice Lumumba University
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Abbas attended at Patrice Lumumba University to prepare and present his doctoral thesis. The institute's director at the time, Yevgeny Primakov, one of the Soviet masterminds of active measures and academic research, appointed a Soviet specialist on Palestine, Vladimir Ivanovich Kisilev as Abbas' dissertation adviser. They communicated mostly in English and Arabic. In an interview with the magazine Kommersant 20 years later, Kisilev remembers Abbas as a well-prepared graduate student, who came to Moscow with an already chosen research topic and a large amount of already prepared material._NEWLINE_The title of Abbas' thesis is The Connection between the Nazis and the Leaders of the Zionist Movement or, in Russian, "Связи между сионизмом и нацизмом. 1933–1945". In 1984, a book based on Abbas' doctoral dissertation was published in Arabic by Dar Ibn Rushd publishers in Amman, Jordan under the title al-Wajh al-akhar : al-`alaqat al-sirriyah bayna al-Naziyah wa-al-Sihyuniyah.
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Content of the thesis and book
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In the doctoral thesis, Abbas describes the number of Jews murdered in the Nazi Holocaust as agreed upon by mainstream historians, six millions, as a "fantastic lie". In the book, he wrote:_NEWLINE_It seems that the interest of the Zionist movement, however, is to inflate this figure [of Holocaust deaths] so that their gains will be greater. This led them to emphasize this figure [six million] in order to gain the solidarity of international public opinion with Zionism. Many scholars have debated the figure of six million and reached stunning conclusions — fixing the number of Jewish victims at only a few hundred thousand._NEWLINE_In the book, he wrote:_NEWLINE_Following the war, word was spread that six million Jews were amongst the victims and that a war of extermination was aimed primarily at the Jews . . . The truth is that no one can either confirm or deny this figure. In other words, it is possible that the number of Jewish victims reached six million, but at the same time it is possible that the figure is much smaller, below one million._NEWLINE_Abbas quotes historian Raul Hilberg to support his allegations that fewer than one million Jews were killed. However, Rafael Medoff of the David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies denied the assertion that "The historian and author, Raoul Hilberg, thinks that the figure does not exceed 890,000", and said this is "utterly false". He wrote that "Professor Hilberg, a distinguished historian and author of the classic study The Destruction of the European Jews, has never said or written any such thing."_NEWLINE_Abbas raised doubts regarding the existence of the gas chambers, quoting Robert Faurisson, on the nonexistence of gas chambers._NEWLINE_Additionally, he stated that the much smaller number of Jews which he reportedly admitted that the Germans did massacre were actually the victims of a Zionist-Nazi plot:_NEWLINE_The Zionist movement led a broad campaign of incitement against the Jews living under Nazi rule to arouse the government's hatred of them, to fuel vengeance against them and to expand the mass extermination._NEWLINE_The thesis also discussed topics such as the Haavara Agreement of 1933, in which the Third Reich agreed with the Jewish Agency to enable Jews to emigrate from Germany directly to Mandate Palestine, which he sees as evidence of collaboration._NEWLINE_A global survey of Holocaust denial, published by David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies in 2004, describes the book as "denying the Holocaust".
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Political controversy and Abbas' clarifications
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After Abbas was appointed prime minister of the Palestinian Authority in 2003, the Israel Defense Forces removed excerpts from the Abbas book from its website, including quotes questioning the use of gas chambers and talking of less than one million victims._NEWLINE_According to the Anti-Defamation League, the Simon Wiesenthal Center called for Abbas to clarify his position on the Holocaust in 1995, but he did not do so at that time. Abbas' reported defence when asked about the book was telling: "When I wrote The Other Side… we were at war with Israel. Today I would not have made such remarks… Today there is peace and what I write from now on must help advance the peace process."_NEWLINE_In his May 2003 interview with Haaretz, Abbas stated:_NEWLINE_I wrote in detail about the Holocaust and said I did not want to discuss numbers. I quoted an argument between historians in which various numbers of casualties were mentioned. One wrote there were twelve million victims and another wrote there were 800,000. I have no desire to argue with the figures. The Holocaust was a terrible, unforgivable crime against the Jewish nation, a crime against humanity that cannot be accepted by humankind. The Holocaust was a terrible thing and nobody can claim I denied it._NEWLINE_According to the Ma'an News Agency, in an interview in 2013, Abbas defended his doctoral thesis regarding the relationship between the Zionists and the Nazis and said he "challenges anyone who can deny that the Zionist movement had ties with the Nazis before World War II." | 3839347477279448089 |
Q7755622 |
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The Ouse
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The Ouse is a tidal estuary in northern Shapinsay, Orkney Islands. This water body has been shown on early maps of the island in a very similar shape to its current geometry. The Ouse is fed by small rivulets and upland springs that rise on the western part of the island's northeast spur. pH levels of these feed waters are moderately alkaline, in the range of 9.1. | 672343538341977884 |
Q7755764 |
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The Owl House
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Helen Martins
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Helen Martins was a reclusive outsider artist who remains something of an enigma. Born on 23 December 1897 in Nieu-Bethesda, she was the youngest of six surviving children of Pieter Jakobus Martins and Hester Catharina Cornelia van der Merwe._NEWLINE_Helen was schooled in Graaf-Reinet and obtained a teaching diploma at the teachers college in Graaf-Reinet (now the police training college)._NEWLINE_In 1919, Helen Martins moved to the Transvaal where she began teaching. On 7 January 1920, she married a colleague by the name of Willem Johannes Pienaar. The couple travelled around the country acting in theatre productions in the Transvaal, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Their marriage was not a happy one, and Helen left her husband on several occasions. She eventually divorced Pienaar in 1926._NEWLINE_Some time around 1927 or 1928, Helen returned to Nieu-Bethesda where she stayed for the next 31 years taking care of her elderly parents. Her mother Hester, with whom she reportedly had a close relationship, died of breast cancer in 1941. Her father has been various described as "eccentric and demanding" and possibly abusive. He lived in an outside room, with a stove and a bed to sleep on. After her father died of stomach cancer in 1945, Helen bricked up the windows, painted his room black, and put a sign reading "The Lion's Den".
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Death
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Martin's longtime exposure to the fine crushed glass she used to decorate her walls and ceilings eventually caused her eyesight to start failing. This led her to attempt suicide by ingesting caustic soda on 6 August 1976 at the age of 78. She was found and taken to a hospital in Graaff-Reinet, where she died on 8 August 1976.
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Museum
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As per her wishes, the Owl House has been kept intact as a museum. In 1991, the Friends of The Owl House arranged for Koos Malgas to return to Nieu-Bethesda to care for the site. The Owl House Foundation, which was formed in 1996, now manages the site. The house was declared a provisional national monument in 1989 and was opened as a museum in 1992.
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In popular culture
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Athol Fugard published a play based on Helen Martins in 1985 called The Road to Mecca, which was later made into a film of the same name._NEWLINE_In 2015, a Marathi play Prawaas was produced by Abbhivyaktee theatre group from Panaji (Goa). Written and directed by Saish Deshpande, the play was influenced by Martin's story and Athol Fugard's play. | 6352605940822518648 |
Q7756442 |
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The Peak Lookout
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History
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The Peak Lookout has experienced major transformations in function and renovations since the site was used in 1888 as a rest place and workshop for British engineers that constructed the Peak Tram line._NEWLINE_In 1901, the site was handed over to the government and built into a chair shelter and rest place for sedan chair carriers for both public and private sedan chairs (similar to taxis and chauffeurs today)._NEWLINE_An 1898 official report stated: "A suitable area is being leveled for the accommodation of chairs and it is proposed to erect a permanent structure on this site as a shelter for chairs and bearers." Shortly afterwards, it was reported that: "The masonry is completed and the roof is on, so that the coolies can even now shelter from the weather. The building being in an exposed position is built in a very solid and massive way to defy typhoons." In 1902 it was reported that the building had been fully completed: "It is divided into two sections, one of which is for the accommodation of public chairs,whilst the other is for private chairs. The former is entirely enclosed, large sliding doors being provided along the front, whilst the latter is left open in front. The Walls are of the blue stone obtainable in the neighbourhood, with granite dressings, and the floors are laid with cement concrete, the roofs being tiled in the usual way. A space is left in front of the shed, clear of the road, on which the chairs can stand during fine weather."_NEWLINE_It has been suggested that the stone for the building may have been left over from the construction of the Governor's Peak residence, Mountain Lodge, which has now been demolished. It was opened to the public in 1923 when sedan chair carriers were allowed to serve for tourists at the Peak._NEWLINE_During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (1941–1945), the chair shelter was believed to be used by the Japanese army as a police station._NEWLINE_The catering history began in 1947 when it was suggested that the building should be converted into an open-air café, serving light refreshments. "Since that date," wrote an official of the Peak Tram in 1977, "the building has been used as a café. Subsequently the arches of the building were fitted with wood and glass doors and, at a latter date, wooden flooring was laid on top of the original concrete floor. Other than these minor modifications, the building stands as it was originally built."_NEWLINE_The increasing popularity of the Peak area led to a proposal in 1973 to demolish The Peak Lookout building to make way for a car park. The resulting outcry and public petition ensured that this plan was scrapped. The Old Peak Café was given Grade II Historic Building status as a historic building in Hong Kong by the Antiquities and Monuments Office in 1981. Grade II is defined as "Buildings of special merit; efforts should be made to selectively preserve". As the 1973 petition was approved, the company Freedragon Ltd. won the bid for the rental contract from the government to continue running the café business when the café's rental contract expired in 1989. The Old Peak Café was renovated and renamed The Peak Lookout in 2001 as the new contract started with a new company, Epicurean Management Ltd. Most recently in October 2012, The Peak Lookout reopened its doors following a redesign, which includes the introduction of a contemporary raised outdoor terrace for al fresco dining.
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Architecture
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Originally, the architecture of The Peak Lookout was largely in the Arts and Crafts style, which was popular in late-Victorian and Edwardian times. However, due to numerous renovations and other alterations throughout the years, The Peak Lookout now has a considerably different appearance to when it was originally used as a chair shelter. For example, the roof tiles have been replaced by Chinese ones._NEWLINE_It is a single-storey building with a red, pitched roof, reminiscent of an English country cottage. Adding to this impression are the stone walls, arched windows, black and white half-timbering on the gable, and the visible chimney stack. The building's garden surrounds are notable for the old boundary wall, and a wide variety of trees, shrubs and flowers complete the austere, rural appearance._NEWLINE_The inside of the restaurant is dimly lit and decorated with old photographs of life on the Peak several generations ago. Most of the earlier interior ambiance has been retained._NEWLINE_The Peak Lookout is one of few remaining examples of Arts and Crafts architecture in Hong Kong, and many people feel that it has become an irremovable part of its surroundings. The restaurant continues to attract local patrons from Hong Kong and visitors from across the globe. Due to its unique historical background, fine food and stunning views, The Peak Lookout is a popular venue for hosting weddings and private events. | 16195964076455339088 |
Q1756641 |
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The Peel Sessions 1991–2004
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Release
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The Peel Sessions 1991–2004 was released on 23 October 2006 in the United Kingdom, Europe, Canada and the United States on Island Records. The album was pressed on CD and LP. John Peel died two years prior to the album's release and Harvey included a tribute message in the album's liner notes that read: "More than I would ever care to admit for fear of embarrassment to both sides, but I sought his approval always. It mattered. Every Peel Session I did, I did for him. It is with much love that I chose these songs, in his memory. A way of saying 'Thank You', once more. Thank You, John."_NEWLINE_The album charted in two countries upon its release. It peaked at number 121 in the UK Albums Chart and number 46 in Ultratop's Belgian Albums Chart in Flanders. | 5230416779767504819 |
Q20649869 |
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The Perfect Marriage
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Reception
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T.M.P. of The New York Times said, "Whatever it was about The Perfect Marriage which convinced Producer Hal Wallis that this Samson Raphaelson-play was worth the trouble and expense of filming just doesn't come through on the screen. For the new potpourri of comedy, farce and drama, which opened yesterday at the Paramount Theatre, is a singularly shapeless and unrewarding entertainment. Not being acquainted with the play, we wouldn't know whether Leonard Spigelgass, the scenarist, tampered to any great extent with the original. But (and this is the only thing that matters right now) it is quite evident that Mr. Spigelgass certainly didn't contribute any improvements. He wrote an abundance of dialogue, to be sure, but most of it is witless." | 7079287361949196963 |
Q17361862 |
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The Pineapple, Kentish Town
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The Pineapple is a Grade II listed public house at 51 Leverton Street, Kentish Town, London._NEWLINE_It was built in about 1868._NEWLINE_Its resident cat is called Spongebob. | 11519040976945161862 |
Q7758082 |
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The President Is Missing (video game)
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Plot
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In the game, which is set in 1996, the President of the United States is attending an anti-terror summit in Europe with ten Western European leaders. Terrorists attack the summit, knocking out the attendees and security personnel with sleeping gas. The terrorists then kidnap the president and the other leaders and hold them hostage. The terrorists leave an audiotape behind, stating that they are Islamic and make numerous demands in exchange for safe release of the hostages._NEWLINE_The player assumes the role of the special investigator, who must find the President and the rest of the hostages. The investigator works from his computer terminal, which has access to dossiers of many different individuals such as known terrorists and members of the Cabinet. The investigator also has eight special agents, whom he can send out to interview people or find out information. The agents' reports are then stored on the computer._NEWLINE_The audiotape that comes with the game contains news reports, recorded messages by the President of the United States and the President of France while in captivity, intercepted telephone calls, an interview with the First Lady, and intercepts of Morse code messages._NEWLINE_The game includes tools to decipher Morse code messages and other coded clues._NEWLINE_If the player learned where a hostage or hostages were being held, he could send a special strike team to a particular address. The strike team would then report its findings, which could include other clues._NEWLINE_The computer terminal also has two secret files, one by the CIA and one by the National Security Council, that could not be accessed without prior authorization. The player, however, could attempt to hack into the files.
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Resolution
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As the game went on, it was clear that there was a much wider conspiracy going on. The player had to figure it out. As a game, The President Is Missing never ended. The game includes a note telling the player that once they unraveled the game's complex plot, they are to write a report and summarize all of the evidence and send it to Cosmi. In turn, the company would respond to the player.
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Reception
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Computer Gaming World applauded The President Is Missing's premise, plot, and graphics, but criticized its execution. The magazine concluded, "the game has simply too much dead-time to be truly exciting or for players to maintain their initial enthusiasm." | 11569426594586053305 |
Q7759068 |
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The Questions
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History
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They formed in the summer of 1977 at St. Augustine's High School in Edinburgh and performed their first gig in December of that year at St. Margaret's Church Hall in Davidson's Mains, a suburb of Edinburgh._NEWLINE_The following year, they sent a demo tape of rehearsals to Bruce Findlay of Bruce's Records Shop, which led to signing a recording contract with Zoom Records in Edinburgh in 1978. The band's first single was "Some Other Guy" backed with "Rock & Roll Ain't Dead" (August 1978). They were crowned Young Band of the Year by Southern Television on Saturday Banana in December 1978._NEWLINE_"I Can't Get Over You" b/w "Answers" followed in January 1979. The band subsequently left school in June 1980 and came to the attention of Paul Weller with "Get Away From it All", a track that was never officially released. The band supported The Jam at the Edinburgh Playhouse Theatre on the first of many occasions in October 1980, and signed to Weller's fledgling Respond Records in 1981. The Questions contributed three songs to Respond's Love the Reason album - "Work and Play", "Building on a Strong Foundation" and "Give It Up Girl". They also contributed to the track "Mama Never Told Me" with Tracie Young as Tracie & The Questions. Many tours, TV appearances and singles followed, including "Work and Play", "Tear Soup" and "Price You Pay". In 1983, band members Paul Barry and John Robinson penned the Top 10 hit "The House That Jack Built" for fellow Respond Records label mate Tracie Young. They would go on to write three additional songs - "I Can't Hold on Till Summer", "Moving Together" and "What Did I Hear You Say" - for Young's debut LP, Far From the Hurting Kind._NEWLINE_In 1984, Belief, the band's only full-length album was finally released. "Tuesday Sunshine" and "A Month of Sundays" were released as singles._NEWLINE_The album did not sell well, and the band played its final concert on 30 November 1984, at the 100 Club in Oxford Street, London._NEWLINE_After a twelve-year wait, Belief was issued on CD by the Japanese label, Trattoria Records. The re-issue included the album's original eleven songs, plus eight previously unreleased tracks. | 13158381859317950729 |
Q7759686 |
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The Real You
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History
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The Real You formed in 2007 and successfully toured as an unsigned act. They have also been featured on network TV show's such as MTV's "The Jersey Shore", and MTV's "The Real World". The Real You have toured with Every Avenue, Hit the Lights, Lifehouse, Valencia, and There For Tomorrow. The Real You have also successfully toured overseas multiple times in the last year with Flo Rida, as well as headlining gigs. | 10395110311815386477 |