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EarthBound fandom

Fan community

The 1994 video game EarthBound is known for its cult following and fan community. Multiple video game journalists have written about the dedication of the game's fans in producing fan art and lobbying Nintendo for further releases in the series. The company has been largely unresponsive to their efforts. Prominent fansites include Starmen.net and EarthBound Central. The former was started in 1999 and became the definitive community website. Their members organized petitions and campaigns to bring English-localized games from the Mother series to North America. One such effort included a full-color, 270-page EarthBound Anthology as a demonstration of consumer demand for further releases. After nearly a decade, EarthBound was rereleased for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013, whereupon it became a bestseller. The fandom also spun-out other enterprises. When Nintendo did not release a localized version of Mother 3, fans organized their own fan translation. The video game merchandising business Fangamer grew out of the Starmen.net community, and sells video game-related items online. A full-length documentary on Starmen.net and the fan community, EarthBound USA, is scheduled for release in November 2023. While series creator Shigesato Itoi has stated that he is finished with the series, a fan-created spiritual sequel, Oddity, began development in 2010, while another, Mother 4, was announced in 2021. ## Fan base EarthBound is known for having a cult following, which developed over time well after its release. Colin Campbell of Polygon wrote that "few gaming communities are as passionate and active" as EarthBound's, and 1UP.com's Bob Mackey wrote that no game was as poised to have a cult following. Wired described the amount of EarthBound "fan art, videos, and tributes on fan sites like EarthBound Central or Starmen.net" as mountainous. IGN's Lucas M. Thomas wrote in 2006 that EarthBound's "persistent", "ambitious", and "religiously dedicated collective of hardcore fans" would be among the first groups to influence Nintendo's decision-making through their purchasing power on Virtual Console. The Verge cited the two-year fan translation of Mother 3 as proof of the fanbase's dedication, and Nintendo president Satoru Iwata credited the community response on their online Miiverse social platform as leading to EarthBound's eventual rerelease on their Virtual Console platform. Notable members of the EarthBound fan base include video game developer Toby Fox, who had made various EarthBound ROM hacks in high school and whose game Undertale took inspiration from the Mother series, and Let's Play YouTuber Emile Rosales, whose videos on EarthBound covered various aspects of the game including the sound, art design and various glitches. EarthBound was hard to find before the rerelease. In 2013, prices for the game's cartridge alone were more than twice its retail cost at its 1995 release. IGN wrote that the game became a "cult classic" for its unique RPG and psychedelic elements alongside its reflection on American culture, and Eurogamer credited EarthBound's "cute and funny modern-world styling of the Japanese RPG". Kotaku hypothesized that fan favorite aspects of the game would include its "feeling of innocence, ... sense of whimsical adventure", "humor", "charm", "wonder", and "beautiful 2D maps". Marcus Lindblom, the game's English localizer, cited its "cuteness, colors, and hallucinatory bits" as fan favorites. Reid Young of Starmen.net and Fangamer credits EarthBound's popularity to its "labor of love" nature, with a "double-coat of thoughtfulness and care" across all aspects of the game by a development team that appeared to love their work. Digital Trends's Anthony John Agnello wrote that no video game fans have suffered as much as EarthBound fans, and cited Nintendo's reluctance to release Mother series games in North America. IGN described the series as neglected by Nintendo in North America for similar reasons. Aaron Linde of Shacknews felt that Nintendo's "historic passive-aggression towards EarthBound fans [seemed] somehow anachronistic" in response to the outcries from the game's fan community. He added that while the company is known for providing "the most personal experiences in gaming's history", Nintendo lacks the "bedside manner" required of contemporary game companies, and that he could not think of a "more deserving fan base" than EarthBound's. Marcus Lindblom, who localized the Japanese Mother 2 into the English EarthBound, followed the fan community from afar and, in mid-2012, introduced himself at the Penny Arcade Expo Fangamer booth. When the game's Wii U re-release was announced, the press became interested in Lindblom's experience. Lindblom had planned a book about the game's development, release, and fandom as a Kickstarter project before a reply from Nintendo discouraged him from pursuing the idea. He plans to continue to communicate directly with the community about the game's history. For instance, Lindblom struck down a popular ("infamous") "abortion theory" that the game's final sequence is a metaphor for an abortion, with Giygas as the fetus. A film group known as 54&O Productions developed a fan-made documentary entitled Mother to Earth. The documentary focuses on the road to Mother'''s localization in North America, and includes interviews with key people behind the process. It was released on August 31, 2020. The fan website Mother Forever hosts an annual "Mother Direct" live presentation of Mother-related fan projects. ## Starmen.net Reid Young started an EarthBound fansite in 1997 while in middle school. It was one of the first EarthBound fansites on the Internet. By 1999 and with co-founder Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, the site grew into Starmen.net, named for the game's "most iconic villain, the Starman." 1UP.com described the site as "the definitive fan community for EarthBound on the web" and Shacknews called it the fan community's "one-stop" resource for a decade. Though EarthBound was more obscure at the time, the site quickly grew in popularity and featured "constant updates" and a burgeoning community by 1999. 1UP.com said the viewership growth was "almost inexplicable" when accounting for the game's unpopularity, but credited Super NES emulation, which let "thousands" of people experience the game who might not have otherwise. Young credited the site's growth to the fan content generated by the community. Shacknews described the site's collection of fan-made media as "absolutely massive". It also provided a place to aggregate information on the Mother series and to coordinate fan actions. The EarthBound fan community at Starmen.net coalesced with the intent to have Nintendo of America acknowledge the Mother series. 1UP.com described their intent as reasonable given the company's "frequent dismissal" of the series alongside the community's "monumental efforts to increase American EarthBound awareness". Young felt that their "underdog status" kept Starmen.net vigilant. He also said that he views the community as "a big group of friends having fun together" and sometimes thinks that it is just happenstance that EarthBound was what brought them together, as opposed to another franchise like Pokémon. As the site started in 1999, the community started a petition to have Nintendo release Mother for the Game Boy Color, and collected 1850 physical signatures to this end and bound it in a book for Nintendo. The final word from Nintendo was that the package was received. Other petitions include the 2000 10,000-person petition for a North American Mother 3 release on the Nintendo 64, the 2003 31,000-person petition for a North American Mother 1+2 Game Boy Advance release, and letter and phone campaigns. A source internal to Nintendo later told them that the 2003 campaign was almost successful, but fell out of consideration as the phone campaign ended after a week. The community resolved to never let up again. In time, the fan community's requests shifted from specific demands to no demand at all, wanting only their interest to be recognized by Nintendo. The Starmen.net community launched several campaigns to bring attention to the series. In their 2007 "The EB Siege" project to have Mother 3 receive an official North American localization, community members sent letters and made phone calls to Nintendo. They ultimately created a full-color, 270-page art book, The EarthBound Anthology, to send to Nintendo and press outlets as demonstration of their interest. They also hoped the volume would mobilize established industry professionals to take up their cause in advance of the 2007 Electronic Entertainment Expo. Shacknews wrote that the "folk history" was more of a proposal than a collection of fan art—"the greatest gaming love letter ever created". Wired's Chris Kohler used the Anthology's occasion to explain how Nintendo's upper management has heard the fan community. The Anthology additionally received mention in Nintendo Power. Upon "little" response from Nintendo, they decided to localize the game themselves. Starmen.net co-founder Tomato led the project, and the complete fan translation was finished in October 2008. They then printed a "professional quality strategy guide" through Fangamer, a site that spun off from Starmen.net. Other oblique strategies included an attempt to license Mother 3 for North America from Nintendo through a small video game development studio, but Nintendo replied that the property was theirs and would never be developed externally. In 2008, the site hosted a YouTube contest for videos that raised the visibility for the series in a final effort to get the game on the Wii Virtual Console, but Young found community spirit to be atrophied. A week later, the game appeared on the ESRB website, which signaled success after many years of work. It was finally rereleased for the Wii U Virtual Console in 2013 via a Nintendo Direct announcement. The game was a "top-seller" on the platform, and Kotaku users and first-time EarthBound players had an "overwhelmingly positive" response to the game. ### Mother 3 fan translation After a decade of development hell, the Japanese video game Mother 3 was released in April 2006. When fan interest in an English localization went unanswered by Nintendo, Starmen.net announced their own fan translation in November. The project was led by the fansite's Clyde "Tomato" Mandelin, a professional game translator whose previous work includes games such as Kingdom Hearts II and anime such as Dragon Ball. The dozen fans who worked on the project had been vetted by Mandelin and had prior localization experience. Thousands of hours were put into the project between hacking the game data and translating the 1,000 pages of scripted dialogue. They built their own tools for the work. The final version was released in October 2008 and issued as a patch to be used with an emulator, a process of murky legality. The patch was downloaded over 100,000 times in its first week. A fan-made, full-color, 200-page, professional-quality player's guide was released alongside the fan translation. 1UP.com wrote that "no other game in the history of time garnered such a rabid demand for translation", and The Verge cited the effort as proof of the fan base's dedication. ### Fangamer Fangamer is a video game merchandising business spun out from Starmen.net. The online store sells items including hats, pins, and T-shirts branded with video game-related designs from games such as EarthBound, Chrono Trigger, and Metal Gear Solid. 1UP.com described their fare as "much less tacky than your typical mall-bought video game apparel". The site began in part due to Young's experience with targeted fan communities. In October 2008, he was attempting to get the site officially licensed. Later that month, they released the Mother 3 Handbook, a full-color, 200-page player's guide akin to a professional strategy guide. Wired reported its quality to be "on par with ... Prima and BradyGames". In 2014, Fangamer crowdfunded a box set of media celebrating EarthBound, with \$230,000 raised—over twice its goal. The box set includes a travel zine for the game's fictional settings EarthBound, an album of music, and the documentary EarthBound USA. Since exceeding the campaign's goal, the business hosted Camp Fangamer, an event in Tucson, Arizona, for 450 fans. ### EarthBound USA `In April 2014, siblings Jazzy and Robbie Benson announced the production of their documentary "about how EarthBound fans have fought to popularize the Mother series in North America since the 1990s", EarthBound USA. The Bensons had been conducting interviews with EarthBound fans and Starmen.net members for a year prior to the announcement. They had previously begun a feature-length film about the events of EarthBound. Starmen.net "inspired" the documentary, which seeks to explain how the site's members convened via online message board and the consequent "re-emergence of a cult classic" and birth of Fangamer. The filmmakers had been planning to wait longer before making the announcement, but were preempted in part by interest following a tweet from series creator Shigesato Itoi, which mentioned their interview. Originally scheduled for a 2016 release, the film's production underwent numerous delays until 2023, when it was announced that it would be released on November 27 of that year.` ## Fangames After Mother 3, Shigesato Itoi declared that he was done with the series. Fans wanting the series to be continued began to develop unofficial fangame sequels, starting with Mother 4 in October 2010. As of September 2016, the Mother 4 development team had not received a cease and desist letter from Nintendo. In a preview of the game, Jason Schreier of Kotaku said Mother 4 looked "stunning", as "everything you could possibly want out of a new Mother game", from the music to the environment design. The game was originally planned for release in 2014, but has been delayed twice, with no future release date set. Mother 4 was to be playable as a standalone game, without need for an emulator. In March 2017, after many recent Nintendo fan games received a DMCA notice, the team decided to rebrand it as an original IP, Oddity, and remove all direct references to the Mother series, like Mr. Saturn. There have been no development updates since December 2020. The game takes place in a parody of contemporary America, as a boy named Travis leaves his town of Belring to join three others in a fight against the "mysterious" Modern Men. The game is expected to associate with the stories of the previous series games, and be similar in length. Its music and visuals are similar in style to the rest of the series. Oddity features a new soundtrack. Its creators are currently working on a voluntary basis without compensation. Another fangame, also entitled Mother 4'', is in development as of late 2021, and includes elements like rolling hit point counters, rhythm-based attacks, and an art style derivative of the series.

Lillestrøm Stadion

Building in Skedsmo, Akershus, Norway

Lillestrøm idrettspark, colloquially known as Lillestrøm stadion, is a sports facility located at Lillestrøm in Skedsmo, Norway. The main venue is Romerike friidrettsstadion, an athletics stadium with eight all-weather running tracks. It has multiple football pitches, including one with artificial turf and one with gravel. The park features of two arenas, LSK-Hallen with a full-size artificial football pitch and Skedsmohallen for indoor sports. The venue is located adjacent to Åråsen Stadion, the home ground of Lillestrøm SK. The main tenants for Lillestrøm idrettspark are Flisbyen BK and Focus FK in football, and Strømmen IF, Lørenskog FIL and Minerva IS in athletics. The stadium opened on 6 June 1920 and was the main venue for Lillestrøm SK until 1951. The athletics stadium opened two years later. In 2004, the artificial turf pitch was laid and in 2007 a new athletics venue and LSK-Hallen opened. ## History The stadium opened on 6 June 1920 and was originally named Lillestrøm kommunale idrettsplass ("Lillestrøm Municipal Sports Place"). Lillestrøm SK was the main football tenant from the opening until 1951, when they opened Åråsen Stadion. The original athletics stadium opened in 1953, located at the same place as the current athletics stadium. Minerva arranged the first tournament on 16 June 1954. Subsequently, a velodrome was installed outside the running track. A municipal grant of 5,000 Norwegian krone (NOK) allowed a steeplechase obstacle to be installed in 1959. A cage for discus throw and hammer throw was installed on the current artificial turf pitch in 1970. The athletics venue suffered with drainage problems, and from the 1970s it was no longer used for competitions. This forced Minerva IS to hold many of its trainings at Stovner stadion in Oslo and Jessheim stadion in Ullensaker. In 1976, Minerva IS took initiative to lay all-weather running track, but the proposal was rejected by the municipality. In 1990, Skedsmo Municipal Council initially voted to allocate NOK 2 million for all-weather running track, but the funding was reallocated to fix a leaking roof on Skedsmo Church. No further grants were issued for the stadium. In 2004, Lillestrøm SK took initiative to convert one of the gravel pitches to artificial turf. The proposal also saw the installation of floodlights and under-soil heating. The new field cost NOK 9 million, which was covered by LSK, betting grants and the municipality. Construction started in August 2004 and was completed in November. The pitch located behind Skedsmohallen was converted to a throwing venue in 2005. Ahead of the 2003 municipal elections, the Labour Party mayor candidates for the municipalities of Skedsmo, Rælingen and Lørenskog, Andreas Hamnes, Terje Granerud and Åge Tovan, proposed that a central, inter-municipal athletics venue be built for Nedre Romerike. The proposal was followed up by the three athletics clubs in the area, Minerva IS, Strømmen IF and Lørenskog FIL, who established a committee. Several locations were considered, but the committee landed on Lillestrøm idrettspark because of the availability of existing utilities, parking and changing rooms, which would reduce the investment costs. In the process, Strømmen stadion was rejected because it was undergoing upgrades to receive artificial turf and Marikollen was deemed too remote. Also Nordlimyra in Lørenskog was deemed unsuitable. The choice of Lillestrøm idrettspark was selected by consensus among the municipalities and the sports clubs in June 2005. Grants were issued from the municipalities in 2005, the size of which was determined by the population of each municipality. Multiconsult was hired to design the venue and construction started on 28 June 2006. Earthworks were completed by November and asphalting started on 16 May 2007. The all-weather surface was completed on 13 June and technical installations were completed by mid-August. The new venue was inaugurated on 1 September 2007. It cost NOK 28.6 million, of which NOK 15.9 million were paid for by the municipalities in ratio of their population. The rest was financed through a combination of betting grants, value added tax compensation and volunteer work. In 2006, the municipality approved Lillestrøm SK's plans to build an indoor football pitch. The hall was inaugurated on 11 October 2007 and cost NOK 62 million. In 2009, Lillestrøm launched itself as one of six candidate cities for Norway's joint bid with Sweden to host the UEFA Euro 2016. This would involve building a new venue seating between 35,000 and 44,000 in Lillestrøm. One of three potential locations was at Lillestrøm idrettspark. The stadium would be built in modules, so the upper tiers could be dismounted after the championship and installed on other venues. The proposal was selected as one of four for the bid, but the bid was never sent. ## Facilities Lillestrøm idrettspark is located across the railway from Åråsen Stadion, the home ground of Lillestrøm SK. It is the main recreational sports complex in Skedsmo, located just north of Lillestrøm. It contains several football pitches, including one with gravel and one with artificial turf. The artificial and two of the natural grass pitches have undersoil heating. LSK-Hallen contains an indoor 105-by-68-meter (115 by 74 yd) artificial turf football pitch with capacity for 3,000 spectators. Skedsmohallen is the main indoor arena in Skedsmo; it is largely used for ball sports, athletics and martial arts, but also sees cultural evens such as concerts. Lillestrøm og Omeng Bueskyttere undertakes archery practice behind Skedsmohallen. Also at the park is a driving range and a skateboarding park. Romerike friidrettsstadion is an inter-municipal athletics venue jointly owned by the municipalities of Skedsmo, Rælingen and Lørenskog. The venue is built to a sufficient standard to host the Norwegian Athletics Championship. It features a 400-meter (1,300 ft) long all-weather surface with eight tracks, permitting 110 meters hurdles on both sides. Both sides have two jumping pits, and two areas for pole vault and two for high jump. Javelin throw is possible from both ends, with undersoil heating in the last part of the approach. The throwing cage permits discus throw and hammer throw, and the area for shot put is heated. The venue is used exclusively for athletics and is constructed such that it cannot be used for football. The athletics field has a spectator capacity of 750, of which 185 can be seated. It has floodlighting at 200 lux and electronic timekeeping equipment, as well as two huts. In addition, a gravel football pitch is used for throwing practice. ## Events Lillestrøm SK uses Lillestrøm idrettspark and LSK-Hallen for training sessions for the elite team and for lower-level matches. The Women's Premier League side LSK Kvinner FK play their home matches in LSK-Hallen. The football grounds are also used by Flisbyen BK and Focus FK in the Third Division. The athletics venue is used by Minerva IS, Lørenskog FIL and Strømmen IF. During the 1952 Winter Olympics, the stadium was one of five rinks used for ice hockey. Three rinks were located outside Oslo in order to spread the games to a wider audience. The single match at Lillestrøm stadion saw Poland beat Finland 4–2 on 23 February. The former velodrome hosted two Norwegian championships. The athletics venue annually hosts Romerikslekene and one of the three Huyndai Grand Prix events. Since 2012 the Norway national football team started using Åråsen and Lillestrøm stadion for training.

Hurricane Madeline (1998)

Category 1 Pacific hurricane in 1998

Hurricane Madeline was a costly tropical cyclone whose remnants caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage in Texas in October 1998. The final tropical cyclone of the 1998 Pacific hurricane season, Madeline originated from a tropical wave that emerged off the coast of Africa on September 25, 1998. The wave traversed the Atlantic Ocean and crossed over Central America on October 5 or 6. Gradually, the system intensified and was classified as a tropical depression on October 16, a tropical storm later that day, and a hurricane on October 17. The storm reached peak winds of 85 mph (137 km/h) about 95 miles (153 km) southwest of San Blas, Nayarit, and after 18 hours it subsequently began to weaken. Although Madeline never made landfall, numerous rainbands affected the Mexican coast causing no known damage or fatalities. The remnant moisture moved north and contributed to flooding in central Texas, which killed 31 people and caused \$750 million (1998 USD; \$ 2023 USD) in damage. ## Meteorological history On September 25, 1998, a tropical wave emerged off the coast of Africa, producing intermittent concentrated clusters of convective activity. The wave traversed the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea before crossing Central America on October 5 or October 6. After several days, convection increased, and Dvorak classifications initiated. Satellite imagery indicated that the system dissipated on October 11, although an area of cloudiness persisted off the coast of Mexico. After four days, the system regenerated and under diffluent flow aloft, deep convection became more concentrated; it is estimated that a tropical depression formed at 0000 UTC on October 16, about 230 mi (370 km) west-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Initially, due to disorganization, determining the forward movement of depression was difficult, although a few hours later it was estimated that the system was tracking to the north-northwest. With favorable conditions aloft, the deep convection became more concentrated, and 12 hours after first developing, the depression intensified into Tropical Storm Madeline about 170 miles (270 km) southwest of Cabo Corrientes. During the afternoon, convective cloud tops warmed slightly although the storm continued to intensify. Soon after, thunderstorm activity became limited as Madeline remained generally stationary in movement. An approaching mid-level trough turned Madeline to the northeast. Banding features gradually improved in organization, and late on October 17 the storm attained hurricane status. However, satellite imagery indicated that convective activity was confined to the western portion of the storm, and at the same time an eye began to form. Early on October 18, data from a Reconnaissance aircraft flight into the storm found a minimum central pressure of 985 mbar (29.1 inHg), as the storm was drifting to the northeast at around 4 mph (6.4 km/h) near the western edge of a large-scale east–west ridge axis. The apparent eye became cloud-filled shortly thereafter, and a slight increase in temperature was discovered near the center. Despite this, upper-level outflow was favorable, leading to predictions of slight intensification. Shortly thereafter, Madeline attained peak winds of 85 mph (137 km/h) about 95 miles (153 km) southwest of San Blas, Nayarit. The hurricane maintained peak winds for about 18 hours while curving again to the northwest. With evidence of southern wind shear, only a small area of deep thunderstorm activity existed on October 19, and the system began to appear ill-defined of satellite imagery. The hurricane quickly weakened into a tropical storm, and by later that day, the storm became void of convection due to strong wind shear. On October 19, the storm was downgraded to a tropical depression, leaving just a swirl of low clouds midway between the southern tip of Baja California and mainland Mexico. By 0600 UTC on October 20, the remnants of Madeline had completely dissipated. ## Preparations and impact In anticipation of Madeline, the government of Mexico issued a tropical storm warning for the Baja California Peninsula southward from La Paz, and a hurricane warning from San Patricio, Jalisco to El Dorado, Sinaloa, including the Islas Marías. The storm was initially forecast to move ashore near Mazatlán, prompting officials to close the city's port. President Ernesto Zedillo advised potentially affected residents to stay indoors or seek refuge in shelters. Also, the threat of the hurricane canceled a fishing expedition in the Gulf of California due to rough surf. The expedition was to provide a new aquarium in downtown Denver, Colorado with about 8,500 fish. Mexican authorities deployed 2,000 soldiers in remote areas of the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa to prepare for the hurricane. Several thousand residents and tourists at the resorts of Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan were put on standby to evacuate their homes. Authorities along the coast in the state of Nayarit went house to house, advising people about the oncoming storm. In addition, ships from Salina Cruz to Acapulco were advised to stay in port. Although Madeline never crossed the coast, numerous rainbands affected the Mexican coast, dropping up to 9.8 in (250 mm). Despite this, no damage or fatalities were reported in Mexico. After the storm had dissipated, the remnant plume of moisture contributed to severe flooding in central Texas. Rainfall in Texas reached 22 inches (560 mm) in some locations. Thirty-one people died due to the flooding, and damage totaled to \$750 million (1998 USD). A total of 24 of the deaths were drownings, 22 of them were caused by driving vehicles into high water on a road flooded by the torrential downpours. There were 16 different incidents when these types of deaths occurred, four of them involving in multiple deaths. Three others died due to trauma, and one died from hypothermia after the person was submerged in the water. The greatest impact was in Southern Texas, which included the urban areas of San Antonio and Austin, and all of their surrounding suburbs. The counties with the most significant rainfall, damage, and fatalities were Travis County, Bexar County, Guadalupe County, Comal County, and Caldwell County. This area included both the cities of San Antonio and Austin. In a small area in Caldwell County, there was 29 inches (740 mm) of rain estimated by the United States Geological Survey. This included the area of Lockhart, Texas, which was badly flooded by the storm due to its close proximity to the San Marcos River. Most of the county picked up an estimated 20 to 30 in (510 to 760 mm) of rain, including San Marcos, Texas, New Braunfels, Texas, and Kyle, Texas. In all, portions of 60 counties in Texas were flooded and hundreds of people were forced to flee their homes. Due to the flooding, twenty counties were declared federal disaster areas, clearing the way for assistance such as federal loans. Then-president Bill Clinton promised aid to the victims of the storm and then-governor George W. Bush took a tour of the devastated region with the Federal Emergency Management Agency director. ## See also - Other tropical cyclones named Madeline - Tropical Storm Norman (2012) - Hurricane Rosa (1994) - List of Pacific hurricanes

Time Crash

"Time Crash" is a mini-episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on 16 November 2007, as part of the BBC One telethon for the children's charity Children in Need. Written by Steven Moffat, it starred David Tennant and brought back Peter Davison as the Doctor. The episode, set during the last scene of the previous episode "Last of the Time Lords", depicts a humorous encounter between the Doctor's fifth and tenth incarnations, played by Davison and Tennant respectively. "Time Crash" was praised by critics who reviewed the episode, and was a ratings success; it was the most-viewed show of the night, and briefly the most-viewed episode of Doctor Who since 2005, with 11 million viewers. ## Plot The Tenth Doctor tries to take off in the TARDIS, only for the time machine to spin wildly and sound an alarm. Checking out the systems, the Doctor suddenly collides with his fifth incarnation, who is doing the same thing. The Tenth Doctor recognises his past self and is delighted to see him, gently poking fun at his particular eccentricities. However, the Fifth Doctor is annoyed, thinking that his counterpart is a “fan” who has somehow broken into the TARDIS. The Doctors discover that the same TARDIS at different points in time have collided because the Tenth Doctor left his shields down. This creates a paradox that will cause a black hole strong enough to swallow the entire universe. The Tenth Doctor counters it with a supernova, a solution he remembers seeing himself perform in this same incident (a predestination paradox), making the Fifth Doctor realise the Tenth Doctor really is his future self. The Tenth Doctor reminisces as the Fifth Doctor begins to fade into a separate timeline, revealing various traits from his fifth incarnation that he retained for his tenth, and wishes him well. As the time streams split, the Fifth Doctor calls out, warning the Tenth to put his shields up. But it is too late; the Titanic collides with the TARDIS. ## Production The episode was first conceived by executive producers Julie Gardner and Russell T Davies, who decided to air an interstitial scene for Children in Need 2007. Gardner asked Steven Moffat to write the special, with the stipulations the scene could be shot in one day and one set, and require no CGI effects. Peter Davison was approached to reprise his role as the Fifth Doctor in July 2007, and accepted the role to impress his children. The episode was officially announced by the BBC on 21 October. Moffat's script started by repeating Martha's departure. The script indicated that "this time, we stay with the Doctor. As before ... the Doctor takes a moment, then slam the controls," and described the Fifth Doctor as having a "frock coat, cricket jersey, and a stick of celery on his lapel". Moffat included several references to Fifth Doctor stories in his script: the Tenth Doctor commented about the Fifth Doctor's attire and his disuse of the sonic screwdriver, saying: "Hey, I'm the Doctor, I can save the universe using a kettle and some string, and look at me, I'm wearing a vegetable." A line about the effects of the paradox the TARDIS collision had caused gave an explanation of why the Fifth Doctor looked far older than normal, thus getting around the fact that Peter Davison had left the role over twenty years before. And near the end of the episode, he refers to Tegan Jovanka, Nyssa, the Cybermen stories Earthshock (1982) and The Five Doctors (1983), the Mara serials Kinda (1982) and Snakedance (1983), the Time Lords' "funny hats" from Arc of Infinity (1983), and the various Ainley Master stories during Davison's tenure. "Time Crash" was filmed at Upper Boat Studios in Upper Boat, Cardiff, as part of the fourth recording block of the fourth series (which included "Partners in Crime") on 7 October 2007. Graeme Harper, director of Davison's final serial The Caves of Androzani (1984), directed the episode. To replicate the Fifth Doctor's attire, the production team borrowed items from the Doctor Who exhibition in Blackpool and knitted a new cricket jumper to reflect the style worn from Castrovalva (1982) to Warriors of the Deep (1984). The accompanying Doctor Who Confidential episode reveals that the trousers Davison wore in "Time Crash" were the same pair that Colin Baker wore in his early scenes in The Twin Dilemma (1984). Shortly after this episode was filmed, Tennant began dating and eventually married Davison's daughter Georgia. ## Broadcast and reception Previous Doctor Who charity specials transmitted over the years include Dimensions in Time, Doctor Who and the Curse of Fatal Death and the untitled 2005 special. The anniversary special The Five Doctors was broadcast on Children in Need night for its United Kingdom premiere broadcast. The Children in Need telethon was the most-watched television programme of the night, with a final rating of 9.6 million viewers, and figures peaked between 8:15pm and 8:30pm, when "Time Crash" was aired, with a total of 11.0 million viewers. The episode was therefore the most-viewed since the show's revival in 2005, surpassing the revival's premiere, "Rose", which achieved a rating of 10.8 million viewers. Donations also peaked during the episode's airing. When the episode was replayed four hours later, it garnered an audience of 2.5 million viewers. This rating was later beaten by "Voyage of the Damned", which received 13.3 million viewers. The episode was positively reviewed by critics. Martin Conaghan of TV Squad expressed the belief that the episode was "the highlight of the evening". He mainly complimented Moffat for his writing; he said that Moffat "has a knack for clever paradox-style stories, and managed to capture a fantastic little snippet of emotion, harking back to the early days of Doctor Who," specifically praising the farewell scene. Dek Hogan of Digital Spy mirrored Conaghan's beliefs; he called Moffat's script "witty" and hoped that Davison would return to film a full-length episode.

André Laguerre

Journalist and magazine editor

Marc André Laguerre (February 21, 1915 – January 18, 1979) was a journalist and magazine editor, best known as the managing editor of Sports Illustrated from 1960 to 1974, during which time he oversaw the growth in the magazine from a niche publication to become the industry leader in weekly sports magazines. It was under his leadership that the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue was first published. When he retired in 1974, he had been managing editor of the magazine for 704 issues, then a record among magazines published by Time, Inc., SI's parent company. ## Early life and family André Laguerre was born June 7, 1915, in England to Frenchman Léon James Laguerre and his English wife, Dorothy. He was the oldest of three children; he had a younger brother, Leon and a younger sister, Odette. His father was in the French diplomatic corps, and the family moved frequently during his early years. Before the age of ten, Andre had lived in England, France and Syria. In the summer of 1927, his father took a post at the French Consulate General in San Francisco. The family lived in the upper-class neighborhood of Sea Cliff, and Andre attended a number of private schools, including the Santa Monica School and St. Ignatius College Preparatory. While in San Francisco, he became a fan of American sports, especially baseball, and also had his first job in journalism, as a copyboy for the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1929, he was sent back to England for school. He graduated in 1931, having earned an Oxford Certificate, but he declined to matriculate at Oxford University, instead preferring to pursue a career as a journalist. He enrolled in a correspondence course, and took a job at a book store to support himself. ## Early career and military service He worked hard for many years as a freelance journalist, and began to be noticed for his writing. He wrote for both English language and French language publications. In 1938, he covered the Munich Agreement for the French daily Paris-Soir. When World War II broke out, he enlisted in the French Army as a corporal. His first assignment was on patrol on the Maginot Line. He later served as a liaison to the British forces at Arras, and remained with them until the Battle of Arras forced their retreat. He stayed with the British forces until the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, where he was one of the last to be evacuated. His evacuation ship was sunk by a mine, and he was rescued by a British destroyer, bleeding heavily from a neck wound. Laguerre credited his rescue to his ease with the English language (his rescuers took him for British). He criticised his rescuers in later years for refusing to help Frenchmen who were around him; many of them drowned. After his rescue and recovery from his injuries, days after Charles de Gaulle's famous June 18th Speech, he was given the option of being discharged from his duties, or to join the Free French forces. He chose the latter. He was assigned as a sentry guarding Charles de Gaulle's headquarters. While at that post, he wrote a letter to de Gaulle suggesting techniques to improve the morale of Free French troops. De Gaulle took immediate notice, making him assistant to the chief press attachè. Within a few months, de Gaulle moved Laguerre into the chief position himself, making him his primary press liaison. He followed de Gaulle on his travels to North Africa in 1943 to inspect Free French forces there, and to Washington, D.C., to visit with American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1944. He stayed on de Gaulle's staff for a while after the war, but after interviewing with Henry Luce, the head of Time, Inc., he left de Gaulle's service to accept a job writing for Time magazine. ## Time Laguerre began his Time career in 1946 as one of the magazine's European correspondents. Working mainly out of the Time Paris bureau, he hobnobbed with Paris's top citizens; he was a frequent dinner guest of Albert Camus. He also maintained his connection to sports, first acquired in his youth in San Francisco, by moonlighting as a sports reporter for the Paris-based English-language International Herald Tribune, writing a horse racing column under the pseudonym "Eddie Snow". Meanwhile, Laguerre was attracting the attention of Time, Inc.'s top brass. In 1948, he was promoted to Paris bureau chief and, in December 1950, he was brought to New York City by Time founder Henry Luce for a special one-year assignment to work out of the main Time offices. He returned to Europe in 1951 to serve as London bureau chief. In 1955, after the sudden death of the Paris bureau chief, he was given that position back, and for a time he held both posts simultaneously. While Time bureau chief of London and Paris, he also spent some time writing about his favorite subject, sports, for the magazine, for which he covered the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland, and the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. In early 1956, he accepted a temporary assignment to head a contingent of writers to cover the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for Time, Inc.'s fledgling Sports Illustrated, started two years earlier by Luce. His first article for the magazine was a piece on the dominance of the Soviet Union in their first Winter Olympics. Three months later, Luce installed him as assistant managing editor of Sports Illustrated. On June 7, 1955, Laguerre married Princess Nathalie Alexandria Kotchoubey de Beauharnais, a Russian princess and descendant of both Catherine the Great and Joséphine de Beauharnais. The couple had met in 1943 while André was working for General de Gaulle, and Nathalie was a reporter for Time. They had two daughters, Michèle Anne Laguerre and Claudine Hélène Laguerre. ## Sports Illustrated As assistant managing editor, his first major assignment was to head the team of reporters and photographers covering the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. Among those traveling with Laguerre were Roger Bannister, the former British track and field star and first man in history to run a competition mile in under four minutes, and Roy Terrell, who would eventually succeed Laguerre as managing editor of Sports Illustrated. ### Managing editor Laguerre was promoted to managing editor of Sports Illustrated in May 1960, after four years as assistant managing editor. His time at the magazine was instrumental in saving what was, when he took over, a financially insolvent publication. He would serve as managing editor for fourteen years, leading the magazine for a total of 704 issues, then a record among Time, Inc. managing editors. During his tenure, the circulation grew from 900,000 to 2,250,000 issues, and the advertising budget grew from \$11.9 million to \$72.2 million. He altered the look and feel of the magazine, changing its focus from a lifestyle magazine that focused on leisure sports, to one that covered the major American team sports, at a time when television vastly altered the way in which such sports were covered. As such, he kept Sports Illustrated at the head of the growth of interest in these sports. He also placed a heavy emphasis on the use of color photography and late deadline, to keep the magazine up to date and visually appealing. He hired and encouraged writers who were masters at prose, emphasizing writing over sportswriting, and the crop of writers he brought to the magazine, including Frank Deford, Dan Jenkins, Budd Schulberg, and Gil Rogin, helped change the way people wrote about sports. Laguerre had been very guarded about his personal life among his coworkers. Deford, who worked closely with him for many years, and who looked up to him as a mentor, said of him, "Laguerre was a fascinating paradox: He was almost constitutionally withdrawn, but among the friends he chose, he was magnetic." One publisher called him "A powerful personality" while another called him "A close-mouthed, self-contained man who seemed forbidding to some ... despite his reserve, [his] personality was pervading, dominating; he exuded strength and leadership." Among his more curious and enduring innovations was the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The winter months, between the college bowl season and the start of Major League Baseball's spring training, was a slow time for sports journalism. At the time, winter team sports like basketball and ice hockey were regional niche sports, and there was little to write about. Laguerre had instituted an annual February issue titled "Fun in the Sun", where he sent his staff to an exotic locale to write about and photograph it for his readers. In 1964, he asked Jule Campbell, then a fashion reporter for Sports Illustrated, to "go to some beautiful place and put a pretty girl on the cover" of that year's "Fun in the Sun" issue. That year's issue featured only five pages of girls in swimsuits, and still predominantly featured travel writing, including articles about snorkeling and fish-watching. With the help of that year's "Fun in the Sun" issue, 1964 became the first year that Sports Illustrated would turn a profit. Though originally only planned as a one-off event, Laguerre was convinced by Sports Illustrated art director Dick Gangel to bring back the swimsuits in 1965, only "a lot sexier". Laguerre once again assigned Jule Campbell to scout models and locations. The 1965 issue contained an article entitled "The Nudity Cult" and de-emphasized the travelogue-like writing of previous "Fun in the Sun" issues from which it evolved. Since then, the Swimsuit Issue has become the biggest selling issue of the magazine, and a major cross-over publication for the fashion and modeling worlds as well. Laguerre's tenure as managing editor had a profound effect on the other 51 issues of the year as well. During the magazine's first several years, prior to Laguerre's arrival, the magazine did not place major American team sports at the forefront. As an example, during 1955 and 1956, the magazine's first two years, it featured as many articles on fishing as on professional football, 23 articles. By 1965–1966, five years into Laguerre's term, the magazine published only eight articles on fishing, while it published over 60 articles on pro football. Besides changing the types of sports being covered, the manner in which they were covered changed as well. Under earlier managing editors, the magazine's writing and editorial staff was organized by department. Thus, there was a fashion department, a travel department, and a sports department, which covered all sports. Laguerre reorganized the magazine, giving each sport its own separate department, so there would be a dedicated staff of writers in the baseball department, and a different boxing department, and another for pro football, and so on. Laguerre also encouraged serious investigative journalism, and did not shy away from controversial issues. In 1961, writer Ray Cave broke a story on point shaving in college basketball. In 1968, under Laguerre's direction, and under secrecy from his superiors, the magazine ran a five-part series on the experience of black athletes in America. Laguerre's later years showed less success as the magazine became an industry leader. In 1968, its coverage of the Mexico City Olympics was heavily criticized, having been "scooped" on most stories by both Time and Life magazines. A 1969 book by Jack Olsen, titled The Girls in the Office, embarrassed Time Inc. over its treatment of its female employees, including those at Sports Illustrated. In 1970, 23 women on staff at Sports Illustrated signed a petition demanding equal treatment. Laguerre relented, promoting Pat Ryan to senior editor, and paying her the same as the men in her same position. By 1973, Laguerre's leadership was under a direct challenge from within his staff and from his superiors. A January 1973 story in New York Magazine was highly critical of the degrading quality of the writing and of the stagnating corporate culture at Sports Illustrated. By September of that year, Laguerre was asked to step down as managing editor. He was offered an executive position in corporate offices which he refused and his resignation was complete by February 1, 1974. ## Later career and death After retiring as managing editor, he remained with Sports Illustrated in order to head a group looking into publishing international editions of the magazine. He was offered the job as managing editor of Playboy, and, insulted by the low \$45,000 salary Hugh Hefner offered him, he turned the job down. In 1975, he founded a bi-monthly horse-racing magazine, Classic, which he headed until shortly before his death of a heart attack in New York on January 18, 1979, at the age of sixty-three.

Nevado Tres Cruces

Volcanic massif in the Andes

Nevado Tres Cruces is a massif of volcanic origin in the Andes Mountains on the border of Argentina and Chile. It has two main summits, Tres Cruces Sur at 6,748 metres (22,139 ft) and Tres Cruces Centro at 6,629 m (21,749 ft) and a third minor summit, Tres Cruces Norte 6,030 m (19,780 ft). Tres Cruces Sur is the sixth highest mountain in the Andes. The volcano has an extended history of activity, going back at least 1.5 million years. A number of lava domes surround the complex and a number of craters lie on its summits. The main volcano is of rhyodacitic composition and has generated two major ignimbritic eruptions, one 1.5 million years ago and a second 67,000 years ago. The last eruption was 28,000 years ago, but the volcano is a candidate source for a Holocene eruption and could erupt again in the future. ## Geography and geomorphology Nevado Tres Cruces is located in the High Andes of Copiapo and straddles the boundary between Chile (Atacama Region) and Argentina (Catamarca Province). The Salar de Maricunga is located west of Nevado Tres Cruces, the Almagro valley north and its tributary the Barrancas Blancas valley northeast of it. The international road between Chile and Argentina from Paso de San Francisco passes north of Nevado Tres Cruces; an unpaved road runs through the Barrancas Blancas valley. The volcano is massive, covering an area of about 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi), and consists of a 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) long and 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) wide north-south trending chain made up of at least three overlapping volcanoes. These volcanoes have diameters of 4–5 kilometres (2.5–3.1 mi) and rise about 800–1,600 metres (2,600–5,200 ft) above the surrounding terrain. The highest summit, and sixth-highest summit of South America, of Nevado Tres Cruces is the 6,748 metres (22,139 ft) high southern summit, which is also the least eroded of the three volcanoes that make up Nevado Tres Cruces. The southern summit consists of two overlapping cones, the western and older one of which has two explosion craters while the eastern one is capped by a summit lava dome. The central volcano reaches an elevation of 6,629 metres (21,749 ft), has the steepest slopes and is tilted to the west. The northern volcano has a summit elevation of 6,206 metres (20,361 ft) and is capped by a glacially eroded, 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) wide crater. There are two even more minor summits at the north end of the massif, Punta Torre 6,320 m (20,730 ft) and Punta Atacama 6,206 m (20,361 ft). The volcanoes are formed by explosion craters, lava domes including couleés, lava flows, tephra, and base surge and pyroclastic flow deposits. Fallout of explosive eruptions cover the slopes of the southern summit and deposits of a large Plinian eruption and its eruption column cover much of Nevado Tres Cruces and its surroundings. Normal faults cut across the volcanic structures and a north-northwest trending fault system appears to have directed the development of the three volcanoes. Domo del Indio on the southeastern flank is 3.2 by 1.8 kilometres (2.0 mi × 1.1 mi) wide and 235 metres (771 ft) high. Between it and Nevado Tres Cruces lies a 2 by 1.5 kilometres (1.24 mi × 0.93 mi) wide and 150 metres (490 ft) deep explosion crater that contains the La Espinilla dome, which is 45 metres (148 ft) high and 200–250 metres (660–820 ft) wide. Another lava dome is known as Domo las Vicuñas. The Tres Cruces Ignimbrite was erupted by Nevado Tres Cruces and lies between Nevado Tres Cruces and Ojos del Salado and reaches a thickness of 100 metres (330 ft). It covers a surface area of 81.31 square kilometres (31.39 sq mi). The ignimbrite consists of pumice and volcanic ash, is poorly welded and has a low crystal content. These edifices rise over older volcanoes, which crop out north of Nevado Tres Cruces in the form of the volcanoes Cristi (5,900 metres (19,400 ft) high), Lemp and Rodrigo. The latter has a caldera at 5,950 metres (19,520 ft) elevation. Lemp is located just south of Rodrigo. Puntiagudo crops out south of Nevado Tres Cruces. The older structures are smoothened by erosion and lack primary features. A thick and large lava flow crops out west of the volcano; it has a surface area of 3.5 by 5.5 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi × 2.1 sq mi) and a thickness of 150–200 metres (490–660 ft). Three older lava domes, all heavily eroded, are found on the western flank. ### Glaciation Small glaciers occur on Nevado Tres Cruces on the eastern and southern sides above 5,500 metres (18,000 ft) elevation. They are best developed above 5,750 metres (18,860 ft) elevation and consist of small ice bodies (none exceeding 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi)) in glacial cirques and at the edges of lava flows. One of these is hosted in a cirque on the southeastern flank of the southern summit. Ice area was constant between 1937 and 1956 but declined by almost half between 1985 and 2016. Non-moving ice without crevasses has been found on the northern summit, and there are debris-covered glaciers on the volcanoes. Some sources however deny that any glacier occurs on Nevado Tres Cruces. Moraines occur above 4,400 metres (14,400 ft) elevation and a well-developed terminal moraine at the foot of Nevado Tres Cruces, at 4,200 metres (13,800 ft) elevation, has been broken by the Lamas River. There are cirques at 5,500 metres (18,000 ft) on the eastern sides of Nevado Tres Cruces and traces of periglacial occur. Presently, the equilibrium line altitude lies at about 5,800 metres (19,000 ft); during the last glacial maximum the equilibrium line altitude descended to 5,500 metres (18,000 ft). ## Geology Off the western coast of South America, the Nazca Plate subducts into the Peru-Chile Trench underneath the South America Plate at a rate of 7–9 centimetres per year (2.8–3.5 in/year). The subduction has given rise to three volcanic belts in the Andes, from north to south these are the Northern Volcanic Zone, the Central Volcanic Zone (CVZ) and the Southern Volcanic Zone. These are separated by gaps where Pleistocene and Holocene volcanism is absent and where the downgoing plate sinks into the mantle at a shallow angle, squeezing out the overlying asthenosphere. Nevado Tres Cruces is part of the CVZ, which spans Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile and features over 1100 volcanoes. These old but uneroded volcanoes comprise both stratovolcanoes and lava dome complexes, as well as monogenetic volcanoes and calderas which have produced large ignimbrites. Among the better known volcanoes are Acamarachi, Aguas Calientes, Arintica, Aucanquilcha, Cerro Bajo, Cerro Escorial, Chiliques, Colachi, Cordon de Puntas Negras, Escalante, Guallatiri, Guayaques, Irruputuncu, Isluga, Lascar, Lastarria, Licancabur, Llullaillaco, Olca-Paruma, Ollagüe, Ojos del Salado, Parinacota, Pular, Putana, San Pedro, Sierra Nevada de Lagunas Bravas, Socompa, Taapaca and Tacora. These volcanoes are remote and thus, aside from potential impacts of ash clouds on aerial travel, they do not constitute a major threat to humans. Nevado Tres Cruces together with neighbouring El Fraile, El Muertito, El Muerto, El Solo, Nevado de Incahuasi, Nevado San Francisco and Ojos del Salado forms the Ojos del Salado volcanic chain. It is a group of mostly dacitic volcanoes that is oblique with respect to the local trend of Pleistocene-Holocene volcanoes and was active during the last one million years. During the Oligocene and Miocene volcanic activity occurred in the Maricunga Belt, then around 6 million years ago it migrated eastward. South of Nevado Tres Cruces lies the Los Patos volcano. ### Composition Nevado Tres Cruces has erupted rocks ranging from dacite to rhyodacite which define a potassium-rich calc-alkaline suite. They feature biotite and hornblende phenocrysts and there is evidence that magma mixing took place during the genesis of the magmas. Older volcanic rocks are andesites with clinopyroxene, hornblende, labradorite and orthopyroxene as phenocryst phases. The occurrence of obsidian has been reported. ## Climate and vegetation Strong winds, intense insolation, high diurnal and seasonal temperature variations characterize the region. At high elevations, precipitation falls mainly in winter in the form of snow and hail. The lack of visible life in the hyperarid region has led to numerous travellers deeming it a "lunar landscape". There are wetlands associated with the Rio Lamas on Nevado Tres Cruces. The area is part of the Nevado Tres Cruces National Park created in 1994. ## Human history The volcano was climbed on February 24, 1937, by members of the Second Polish Andean Expedition, Stefan Osiecki and Witold Paryski [pl]. ## Eruption history Nevado Tres Cruces was active during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, with the oldest activity pre-dating 1.5 million years ago. Potassium-argon dating has yielded ages of 3.4±0.5 and 4.9±0.4 million years ago. Rodrigo erupted 4.4±0.6 million years ago, Lemp 2.8±0.3 million years ago and Cristi 2.5±1.3 million years ago. The three western lava domes were emplaced 2.1±0.3 million years ago. The western lava flow is dated to be 1.4±0.4 million years old. The well-preserved Indio and La Espinilla lava domes were erupted 350,000±40,000 and 168,000±6,000 years ago, respectively. Volcanic activity took place in two stages separated by a long pause,. The time-averaged growth rate of 0.01–0.02 cubic kilometres per millennium (0.0024–0.0048 cu mi/ka) is slow for a volcano on a convergent margin. 1.5 million years ago an explosive eruption produced pyroclastic flows in the western part of the volcano. The flows are now covered with glacial and alluvial sediments and form a fan. A large explosive eruption 67,000±9,000 years ago deposited pyroclastic flows east and southeast of Nevado Tres Cruces. These pyroclastic flows form deposits extensive surrounding Ojos del Salado - to which they were originally attributed - and a 15 metres (49 ft) thick base surge deposit is also linked to this eruption. ### Most recent eruption and hazards The last eruption 28,000±22,000 years ago produced the summit dome of the southern summit. There are no known historical eruptions and the volcano is not considered to be active. In light of the long repose periods relative to the date of the last eruption, future eruptions are possible but are unlikely to have high impact, as there is virtually no infrastructure in the region other than the International Route CH-31 [es]. Based on geochemical data, Nevado Tres Cruces has been proposed as the source of a tephra layer in the Bolson de Fiambalá that has also been identified in the Tafi del Valle area and the Valles Calchaquies. The eruption producing this tephra fall took place about 600-700 AD. Archeological observations in the Fiambalá region indicates that this tephra fall event had substantial impact on local communities.

Kae Miller

New Zealand conservationist and activist (1910–1994)

Kae Miller (also known as Kae Hursthouse, 30 December 1910 – 19 June 1994) was a New Zealand conservationist, mental health activist, and cooperative housing advocate. She grew up in the Wellington area, attending local schools. At the age of thirteen, she went abroad to study and attended a private girls' school in Hertfordshire, England. Returning to New Zealand, she earned a Bachelor of Science in 1932 from Victoria College and the following year completed a master's degree with honours from Massey College. Returning to England, Hursthouse obtained a teaching certificate with an emphasis on child psychology at the Institute of Education in London. After a brief marriage in 1936, she spent almost two years travelling, before returning to England to engage in support work during World War II. Having become a committed pacifist, between 1939 and 1942 she worked with a group to rescue Jews from Germany and served as a nurse's aid in the Civil Nursing Reserve and at two hospitals. Returning to New Zealand in 1942, Miller worked at the Anglican Boys Home in Lower Hutt, worked as a child welfare officer, and ran a home for maladjusted children. She also gave radio lectures about child welfare. Back in England, from 1947 she spent several years working in children's homes until she again moved back to New Zealand in the early 1950s. Concerned for the well-being of people who struggled with mental illness, she created the Box Trust for Mental Health in 1969. Miller initiated a recycling scheme at the Porirua tip (or landfill) in 1977. She attempted to create an eco-friendly cooperative housing project on land she owned. Unable to secure approval from the Wellington City Council, in 1980 she changed her plans and founded the View Road Park Project Society. Through her efforts, the View Road Park and Reserve (Te Rae Kaihau Park) was developed to conserve the natural environment. The Alice Krebs Lodge was opened both as accommodation for caretakers managing the park and as a spiritual retreat. ## Early life and education Katrine Fearon Hursthouse, known as "Kae", was born on 30 December 1910 in Wellington, New Zealand, to Rhoda (née Buchanan) and William Richmond Hursthouse. Her father was a dentist, but had recurring clinical depression. He studied dental surgery in England and then had a private practice in Wellington. Her maternal grandparents were Elizabeth (née Saunders), daughter of Alfred Saunders, a member of New Zealand's Parliament and supporter of women's suffrage, and J. E. Buchanan. Her paternal grandparents were Mary Fearon and Richmond Hursthouse, also at one time a member of parliament. She was raised with her younger sister Mary and a brother, William. In 1919, at the conclusion of her father's World War I service in the Royal New Zealand Dental Corps, the family joined him in Egypt for several months before going to England. After he spent a year completing dentistry studies at Guy's Hospital, they returned to New Zealand in August 1920. Hursthouse attended Samuel Marsden Collegiate School and then in 1923 went abroad with her mother, sister, and brother. Mary and William studied at a local lyceum in Paris for two years, while their mother studied languages at the Sorbonne. Kae enrolled at Abbot's Hill School in Hertfordshire, England, a girls' boarding school founded and headed by her godmother Katrine Baird. In 1928, Hursthouse returned from England to New Zealand in September. She was severely injured in an accident in November, when the car she was riding in was struck by a train. She began studying botany and zoology at Victoria University of Wellington, and graduated in 1932 with a Bachelor of Science. Hursthouse then completed a master's degree with honours in 1933 from Massey College. She was back in England in 1934, studying for a teaching certificate and attending lectures on child psychology at the Institute of Education in London. In 1935, she participated in Empire Day celebrations by giving a talk on the League of Nations in Ealing at the junior branch of the League's Union.[^1] In the spring of 1936 in Wellington, she married Alexander "Lex" Miller, a Scottish, Presbyterian minister living in Auckland, who was the general secretary of the New Zealand Student Christian Movement. They separated soon after an August trip that year to San Francisco, California, as delegates for New Zealand to the World Student Christian Federation. In December 1937, Hursthouse and her sister Mary travelled abroad from Australia to the south of France. From France, they journeyed on to Italy and arrived in London the following spring. There they visited their brother, William, who was working at Imperial Airways, and enjoyed the hospitality of an aunt. The sisters left England to spend the summer in Germany with plans to return to New Zealand on 3 December 1938. They were later joined by a cousin and a German-Jewish friend, Alice Krebs, and went to the Ore Mountains on the Czech border. Krebs, who became influential in Hursthouse's life, was a vegetarian and an advocate of foraging for natural foods, a skill she taught the group. Hursthouse remained in Germany when Mary returned to New Zealand. She travelled to Pomerania and stayed with Reinhold von Thadden [de], chair of the World Student Christian Federation and an adherent of the Confessing Church. Von Thadden opposed the Nazi regime, and stepped down from his post when the German state attempted to restrict membership of the organization to Aryans. ## Career ### War years (1938–1945) Although at the beginning of the war Hursthouse was not a pacifist, her friend Laura Livingstone, who was involved in the peace movement, influenced her decision to become an activist in promoting peace. Bishop of Chichester George Bell sent Livingstone, who was his sister-in-law, to Berlin to work with the International Christian Committee for German Refugees. Constituted in London, the group worked with Heinrich Grüber's relief offices to assist Jews and non-Aryan Christians in leaving Germany. Hursthouse began working with Livingstone in Berlin, but they returned to England in early 1939 when the bishop advised the work to rescue Jews from Germany should continue from England because of war conditions. Her skill with languages – she was fluent in German and also spoke French and Russian – facilitated her work with refugees. She also worked as a nurse's aid in the Civil Nursing Reserve and at two hospitals. During this time, Hursthouse became engaged to Franz Baermann Steiner, a Czech émigré, who was an anthropologist and poet. He dedicated his poem "Läuterungen" ("Purifications") to her. Although the engagement was later called off, the two remained friends. Through her friendship with Steiner, she met Elias Canetti, who would later win the Nobel Prize in Literature, and his wife, Veza. To help the Canettis financially, she asked Elias to tutor her to improve her German. In August 1941, Hursthouse's father died and her mother began pressing her to return to New Zealand. She left in May 1942, but remained in contact with the Canettis, facilitating their correspondence to each other and Elias' brother Georges in France. To get around the British censorship rules, the Canettis mailed letters to Hursthouse, who forwarded them from New Zealand until the end of the war. By July, she was engaged in an effort to raise funds to facilitate paying the expenses of refugee students who were attending Canterbury University College. Hursthouse continued to work for peace, often speaking from a soapbox and debating the importance of pacifism. She secured a post on the staff of the Anglican Boys Home in Lower Hutt and began lecturing on the radio about child welfare. In 1945, Hursthouse established a Saturday school for five- to nine-year-old children which taught handicrafts and painting, and allowed children to play games or to participate in picnics, puppet shows, and swimming. ### Post-war period (1947–1966) In December 1947, Hursthouse returned to London. She discovered that Krebs was living there, having survived the war and her internment at the Theresienstadt concentration camp. In spring 1948, Hursthouse's daughter, Felicity, was born in London, and at the end of the year, her mother died. She worked in several children's homes in England, while living in Camden Town. In the early 1950s, she returned to New Zealand and reverted to her married name. She spent the next several years managing properties she had inherited from her mother and returned to studies to further her education. In 1966, she completed a master's thesis entitled, Kant, Canetti, and the Psychopaths: Doubts Compared at Victoria University of Wellington. ### New Zealand activism (1969–1994) Miller had a life-long interest in mental health and the care of persons with mental illness. In 1969, she registered a charity, the Box Trust for Mental Health, which was funded from the revenues of property she owned. In the early 1970s, she became involved with the Action for the Environment group and quickly began advocating for conservation, responsible management of development projects, and preservation of natural habitats. Becoming aware of landfill waste, she began a recycling push to clean up what locals called rubbish tips. In 1977, at the Porirua landfill, she built a lodge, which she called the Alice Krebs Lodge, out of salvaged packing crates and other materials. She lived in the lodge for two years before the Porirua City Council made her vacate the premises. She worked with environmentalists and former psychiatric patients to find and repair recyclable objects in the landfill so that they could be resold. The group was able to raise about \$100 per month by reclaiming bottles and paper. She also gave tours of bush reserves to raise awareness about the importance of maintaining green spaces. During this same time, Miller was committed to creating cooperative housing as a refuge for people with mental illnesses. As she had struggled with depression herself, Miller wanted to establish a natural sanctuary where people could recuperate and relax. She owned property on Mount Kaukau and developed plans to build five homes for this purpose on Simla Crescent in Khandallah. She formed the Collaborative Housing Society in the 1970s and applied numerous times for a permit to develop the properties. The government was unfavourable to cooperative housing at the time and neighbours opposed the development, fearing problems with the proposed residents. Miller owned other properties in Christchurch and Kelburn. In 1980, she sold the Kelburn property with the intent of using the proceeds to establish a housing cooperative. In 1988, the Wellington City Council rejected the housing proposal but allowed the area to be rezoned to prevent development. In 1980, the Collaborative Housing Society reorganized as the View Road Park Society and began working on development of a park. This organization lent money to develop the View Road South Headland Reserve, aiming to create a nature preserve, recreational green space, and sanctuary for recovery from mental illness. In 1981, the View Road Park Society secured approval from the Wellington City Council to establish a park on 9.3 hectares of land located on a ridge overlooking Houghton Bay on one side and Lyall Bay on the other. The city leased the property at peppercorn rental rates to the society for a ten-year term. At the time the reserve was acquired, it was overgrown with gorse. Miller focused on planting trees and native plants and bushes on the site. Though the lease expired in 1991, the Wellington City Council has allowed a month by month rental to continue. In 1985, Miller built a small house on the site of the park, which she named the Alice Krebs Lodge. The structure was built in the traditional kiwi bach holiday home style. The thirty square metre building is made of timber and supported by timber pilings because of the steep grade of the site. It is a utilitarian cottage with few amenities, although it is connected to the city's electrical, sewage, and water systems. The interior contains a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen alcove, and living room. Miller lived in the structure until 1990 and since she vacated it, it has primarily been used as a seasonal residence for caretakers of the park, or a retreat for those seeking mental and physical solace. ## Death and legacy Miller died on 19 June 1994 in Wellington and her funeral followed on 23 June from the St Peter's Church on Willis Street. At her death, she was remembered as one of the leaders of New Zealand's conservation movement and as a staunch advocate of promoting peace, cooperative housing, and care for people with mental illnesses. In 2007, the Kae Miller Trust was established by the Te Rae Kaihau Restoration Group to honour Miller's work in founding the reserve and continue her protection of the environment there. In both 2002 and 2009, the Wellington City Council proposed changing the designation of the site from a recreational reserve to a type B scenic reserve to give greater protection to its unique coastal environment and cultural heritage value. The Te Rae Kaihau Restoration Group established a care-taking plan for the reserve in 2010 with a five-year model for monitoring, restoration, and review of the site. [^1]: [The Middlesex County Times 1935](#CITEREFThe_Middlesex_County_Times1935 "wikilink"), p. 10. sfn error: no target: CITEREFThe_Middlesex_County_Times1935 (help)

Cuca Roseta

Portuguese singer, composer, and model

Maria Isabel Rebelo Couto da Cruz Roseta (born 2 December 1981), known professionally as Cuca Roseta, is a Portuguese fado singer, composer, and model. Roseta is considered one of the most important fado representatives of her generation, appearing early in her career in the movie Fados by Spanish director Carlos Saura. Fado, a musical genre that originated in Lisbon in the early 19th century, is traditionally characterized by feelings of resignation and melancholia, but Roseta's style also incorporates more upbeat influences from world music. She has released seven studio albums with producers including Gustavo Santaolalla and Nelson Motta, has toured extensively, and collaborated with different artists including David Bisbal, Karl Jenkins, and Stewart Sukuma. Roseta has appeared in the Portuguese versions of the television shows Got Talent and Rising Star as a judge, and as a competitor in Dancing with the Stars. She has worked toward causes such as road safety and environmental sustainability, and in 2021 gave a series of hospital concerts to the health professionals fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. ## Career ### Beginnings Cuca Roseta began her musical career by singing in her church choir; she then became a rock singer after being recruited by her friend Tiago Bettencourt to the group Toranja during her teenage years. Roseta entered the fado scene at the age of 19, singing in Lisbon fado clubs in the Alfama district. She was encouraged to pursue a career in fado by the owner of Clube de Fado, guitarist Mário Pacheco, as well as by singers Carlos Zel, and Ana Moura. In 2006, Roseta competed in RTP's Festival da Canção with the song "As Minhas Guitarras", and in 2007 she appeared in the Goya Award-winning film Fados by the Spanish filmmaker Carlos Saura. In 2009, Roseta recorded the advertisement Pingo Doce e venha cá for the Portuguese supermarket chain Pingo Doce. ### Albums Cuca Roseta's first album was released in 2011 and was produced by Gustavo Santaolalla, who saw her perform at the Clube de Fado. After this initial encounter, in which Roseta was not aware of the Argentine producer's identity, she had to wait four years to record the album due to Santaolalla's busy schedule. In 2013, Roseta recorded the album Raíz (in English: Root), which was produced by Mário Barreiros. Roseta wrote most of the album's songs. Roseta invited the Brazilian producer Nelson Motta to collaborate on her third album; Motta agreed to produce the album although he had not recorded an album for more than ten years. The 2015 album called Riû brought together several genres and many significant figures of world music such as Bryan Adams, Djavan, Ivan Lins, Zeca Afonso, Dorival Caymmi, Júlio Resende, Sara Tavares and Jorge Drexler. With Motta's knowledge of world music the record reinvented songs with different origins in a "world fado" style, departing from the traditional sadness of fado with cheerful rhythms and positive lyrics. In 2017, Roseta's fourth studio album Luz, which was produced by Diogo Clemente, was released. The album contains several original songs by Roseta and compositions by artists Pedro da Silva Martins, Jorge Fernando, Carolina Deslandes, Hélder Moutinho and Mario Pacheco. The album's release was preceded in mid-October by the release of the single "Balelas". In July 2018, the track "Don't Be Late" was released as a second single. Roseta released her fifth album Luz de Natal—a Christmas album with Portuguese versions of songs such as "Jingle Bell Rock" and "White Christmas"—in 2018. She published a book of poetry in 2019 called "One hundred poems by Cuca Roseta". Her 2020 album Amália por Cuca Roseta is a tribute album of songs from the repertoire of Amália Rodrigues. In December 2020 Cuca Roseta released the album Meu (in English: Mine), with all the themes written and composed by her, which is unprecedented in the fado genre. The album was presented in an online live concert on December 2, the day of her birthday. In 2023 she released the album Rayana in collaboration with Spanish guitarist Daniel Casares. ### Live performances Cuca Roseta has toured extensively, performing in more than 30 countries, giving individual concerts and participating in music festivals such as MEO Sudoeste in 2011. In 2015, Roseta performed more than 120 concerts, both in Portugal and abroad. That year, she participated in Badasom, a flamenco and fado festival in Badajoz, Spain, where she sang a duet with Niña Pastori. In 2019, she sang in Havana during the celebration of the centenary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and Portugal. In 2020 she performed at the Teatro Real during the Madrid fado festival, participated in an event in Buenos Aires celebrating the 100th birthday of Amália Rodrigues, and sang the Portuguese national anthem at the opening of the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix. In April 2021 she sang Lisboa inspira, the official anthem for Lisbon European Sports Capital 2021, composed by herself, at a ceremony attended by the Minister of Education of Portugal Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, and the coach of the Portuguese national soccer team Fernando Santos. At the end of the same month she was invited by the Spanish flamenco musicians Daniel Casares, guitar, and Jorge Pardo, flute and saxophone, to present their project called Supertrío in a performance at the Teatro del Soho in Málaga. ### Television, modelling and commercial appearances Cuca Roseta has had many television appearances, mainly in Portugal. She was part of the experts' panel in Rising Star: A próxima estrela and a judge in the third and fourth seasons of Got Talent Portugal. She competed in Dança com as Estrelas ("Dancing with the Stars Portugal"), and gave a clue in an episode of The Amazing Race 23 and again in The Amazing Race Australia 3 as the judge. In 2014 Bryan Adams photographed five Portuguese female singers, including Cuca Roseta, which appeared in covers for Vogue Portugal, and were presented in the "Exposed" exhibition at the Cascais cultural center. Roseta has done several commercials throughout her career, and served as brand ambassador for diverse companies and products such as Mitsubichi Motors, the Guess clothing brand, eyewear, jewelry, and nutritional supplements. She did a travel guide video highlighting her favorite spots in Lisbon, as part of a 2018 promotional campaign by Avani Hotels & Resorts. ## Musical style Cuca Roseta's style incorporates influences form jazz, bossa nova, and world music, but maintaining the purity, minimalism and simplicity of traditional fado and emphasizing narrative and meaning. Roseta has shown her versatility and curiosity with multiple international collaborations. She has sung in languages other than Portuguese, for example on the songs "Bésame Mucho" with Julio Iglesias, and "Tum Hi Ho", a Bollywood hit by Mithoon. In her live performances Roseta includes both traditional songs and more modern pop, commercial ballad and Brazilian-style songs. Critics have highlighted her "transcendental emotion", and the elegance of her performances. ## Personal life Cuca Roseta is the daughter of Miguel da Cruz Roseta and Maria Natércia Rebelo Couto, and paternal niece of Pedro Roseta, a former Minister of Culture in Portugal. She has a son named Lopo and a daughter called Benedita, born in 2016. Roseta's husband João Lapa, proposed during one of her concerts in Porto while she was performing on stage. They were married by the church in 2017 in Obidos, where she sang "Ave Maria" during the wedding. Lapa works as a conditioning and rehabilitation coach for the Premier League team Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Outside music, Cuca practices painting, yoga, meditation, and is a black belt in taekwondo. She first studied law but did not finish, changing to a degree in psychology with a postgraduate degree in marketing. ### Volunteering and activism Roseta has contributed to diverse causes such as improving road safety and nature conservation. She partnered with the Automóvel Clube de Portugal to release the single "We'll all safely get home", which she performed at the 2013 gala of the International Automobile Federation. In 2019, Roseta was announced as ambassador for the Mirpuri Foundation, a non-profit organization focused in environmental sustainability. During February 2021 she gave the "Music with hope" series of concerts for health professionals fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic, a joint initiative with Hyundai Portugal. These events took place in hospitals throughout Portugal such as the Hospital Dr Nélio Mendonça in Funchal, Madeira, the Évora hospital, the Faro hospital, and the Gaia and St. João Hospitals in Porto. In April 2021 she participated in the project to recover the Serra de Monchique after it was devastated by fires in 2018. She appeared in the third episode of a web series, showing the results of the reforestation efforts. ## Discography Studio albums - 2011 - Cuca Roseta (Universal Music International and Surco) - 2013 - Raíz (Universal Music International) - 2015 - Riû (Universal Music International) - 2017 - Luz (Sony Music) - 2018 - Luz de Natal (Sony Music) - 2020 - Amália por Cuca Roseta (Sony Music) - 2020 - Meu (Brandit Music) Others - 2007 - Fados - "Rua do Capelão" - 2014 - Nelson 70 - "Apaixonada" (with Ed Motta) Collaborations - 2011 - "Fado de los Barcos" (with Pierre Aderne, in Água Doce) - 2012 - "Apelo - Soneto de Separação" (with João Braga, in Fado Nosso) - 2012 - "É Lisboa A Namorar" (with 3JS, in Totzoverder) - 2013 - "Canción Negra" (with Karl Jenkins, in Jenkins: Adiemus Colores) - 2014 - "Sí Aún Te Quieres Quedar" (with David Bisbal, in Tú Y Yo) - 2014 - "Tristes Pássaros" (with Cristiana Águas, in Cristiana Águas) - 2014 - "Mouros" (with Stewart Sukuma, in Os Sete Pecados Capitais & Boleia Africana) - 2017 - "Yaadon Mein" (with Jonita Gandhi , Mohammed Irfan , and Arjun Chandy , in the soundtrack of Jab Harry Met Sejal) - 2018 - "Vamos Fugir" (with Djodje) - 2023 - "Rayana" (with Daniel Casares)

Middlesbrough F.C.

Association football club in England

Middlesbrough Football Club (/ˈmɪdəlzbrə/ MID-əlz-brə) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. The men's team compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since 1995. The club played at Ayresome Park for 92 years, from 1903 to 1995. Middlesbrough were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992 and became one of the first clubs to be relegated from it following the 1992–93 season. The club came close to folding in 1986 after experiencing severe financial difficulties before they were saved by a consortium led by then board member and later chairman Steve Gibson. During the early Gibson years in the Premier League the club signed several high-profile players, although this did not translate into success and in 1997 the club suffered two lost cup finals and a relegation in the same year. The club's main rivals are Sunderland, Newcastle United and Leeds United. The club's achievements include winning the League Cup in 2004, their first and to date only major trophy, and they also reached the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, losing to Spanish club Sevilla. Their highest league finish to date was third place in the top flight in the 1913–14 season and the club have only spent two seasons outside the top two divisions of English football. The League Cup win and the UEFA Cup run was part of an 11-year consecutive stay in the Premier League, before a relegation in 2009. Although the club returned in 2016, instant relegation followed, and the club has not returned to the Premier League since. The club's traditional kit is red with white detailing. The home shorts and sock colours have interchangeably been shifted between red and white, complementing the red shirt that was adopted in 1899. The various crests throughout the club's history, the most recent of which was adopted in 2007, incorporate a lion rampant. ## History ### Formation and early years (1876–1914) Middlesbrough were formed in 1876, and won the FA Amateur Cup in 1895 and again in 1898. The club turned professional in 1889, but reverted to amateur status in 1892. They turned professional permanently in 1899. After three seasons, they won promotion to the First Division, where they would remain for the next 22 years. In 1903, the club moved to Ayresome Park, their home for the next 92 years. In 1905, the club sanctioned the transfer of Alf Common for £1,000, a record fee. In the same year, Tim Williamson became the first Middlesbrough player to play international football. Over the next few years, their form fluctuated greatly, rising to sixth in 1907–08 before dropping to 17th two seasons later. The club rose to their highest league finish to date, third, in 1913–14. World War I soon intervened and football was suspended. ### Ups and downs (1914–1966) Before league football resumed, Middlesbrough won the Northern Victory League, but the team were unable to maintain their previous form and finished the 1919–20 season in mid-table. They remained in the First Division for the next few seasons, but were relegated in 1923–24 after finishing bottom, 10 points adrift of their nearest rivals. Three seasons later, they won the Division Two title. During that season, debutant George Camsell, who had signed from Third Division North side Durham City the previous season, finished with a record 59 league goals, which included nine hat-tricks. He would continue as top scorer for each of the next 10 seasons. Their tenure back in the top flight lasted only one season, and the club were relegated. They were promoted at the first attempt in 1928–29, winning another Second Division title. The club remained in the First Division until 1954. The decade before the war saw the emergence of Wilf Mannion and George Hardwick, both of whom would go on to become England internationals in the years ahead. Middlesbrough climbed to fourth in the last full season before World War II and were expected to challenge for the title next season, but the war intervened. After the war, the club was unable to recover the form of the previous seasons and hovered around mid-table and exited in the early rounds of the FA Cup. Soon afterwards, the team began to falter, eventually suffering relegation in 1953–54. This was the start of a 20-year spell outside the top division, but saw the emergence of one of the club's top goalscorers, Brian Clough, who scored 204 goals in 222 games, before he left for Sunderland. Over that period, Middlesbrough maintained reasonable progress in the Second Division but were never serious contenders for promotion. After a fourth-place finish in 1962–63, the club endured a steady decline and were relegated to the Third Division for the first time in their history in 1966. ### Resurgence and financial crisis (1966–1994) New manager Stan Anderson returned the club to the second flight at the first attempt. Middlesbrough would not finish below ninth during the next eight seasons. By 1974, Jack Charlton had taken over as manager and guided the team back to the top flight. They ensured promotion as early as 23 March, and with eight games of the season left, they became runaway champions, finishing with a record 65 points. Middlesbrough won their first silverware as a professional side in the 1975–76 season, lifting the Anglo-Scottish Cup in its inaugural season after a two-legged final win over Fulham. In 1979, John Neal made the clubs first international signing, with Boško Janković arriving from Željezničar Sarajevo. The club experienced severe financial difficulties during the mid-1980s. Middlesbrough were dropping down the table, and finished 19th in the 1984–85 season. In April 1986, the club had to borrow £30,000 from the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to pay wages. The final game of the season saw Middlesbrough relegated to the Third Division again. That summer, the club called in the Provisional Liquidator and shortly afterwards, the club was wound up and the gates to Ayresome Park were padlocked. Without the £350,000 capital required for Football League registration, a new rule, it seemed inevitable that the club would fold permanently. Steve Gibson, however, a member of the board at the time, brought together a consortium, and with 10 minutes to spare before the deadline they completed their registration with the Football League for the 1986–87 season. Following the registration came both a change of club crest and a change of the official company name to Middlesbrough Football and Athletic Club (1986) Ltd. Over the next two seasons, Middlesbrough gained successive promotions into Division Two and then into Division One. The next season, however, they came straight back down to Division Two, and with it came the then British transfer record move of Gary Pallister to Manchester United for £2.3 million. Despite constant promotion and relegation, Middlesbrough were founding members of the FA Premier League for the 1992–93 season. ### The Bryan Robson years (1994–2001) Player-manager Bryan Robson, from Manchester United, took charge in 1994 and Middlesbrough were brought back into national attention. Following promotion to the Premier League and high-profile purchases like Brazilian international Juninho, many considered Middlesbrough to be on the rise. A difficult 1996–97 season, however, was compounded by a deduction of three points imposed just after Christmas as punishment for the club's failure to fulfil a fixture against Blackburn Rovers, which ultimately resulted in relegation. Without the points deduction imposed by the FA Premier League despite the club having taken advice from the Premier League themselves prior to calling off the match, the club would have had enough points to avoid the drop. At the same time, the club managed to reach both the League and FA Cups finals for the first time, but lost out in both. Despite being in the second tier, they were again runners-up in the League Cup final the next year. Despite losing high-profile players Fabrizio Ravanelli and Juninho due to relegation, Middlesbrough were promoted back to the Premier League at the first attempt, in 1998. The following season saw them settle well and they enjoyed a 12-game unbeaten run midway through 1998–99, including a 3–2 win at Old Trafford in January during which they took a 3–0 lead; it was Manchester United's only home defeat during their treble-winning season. Middlesbrough continued to stay secure in mid-table the following season, thanks mainly to the goals of Hamilton Ricard and the signings of big name players such as Paul Ince and Christian Ziege. In 2000–01, they had a brief relegation scare that was solved with the arrival of Terry Venables as co-manager, and a 3–0 win away at Arsenal in April was the team's best result. The trend of buying European stars continued with the acquisitions of Christian Karembeu and Alen Bokšić. Bryan Robson left the club before the start of 2001–02 season, having served as manager for seven years. ### Return to top flight and venture into Europe (2001–2009) Robson was replaced by Manchester United assistant coach Steve McClaren. The following seasons saw Premier League security maintained as Middlesbrough slowly improved and were seen as a tough side to beat when playing at the Riverside Stadium. During McClaren's reign, Middlesbrough achieved their highest Premier League placing, finishing seventh in 2004–05. The 2003–04 season was the most successful in the club's history as they finally won a major trophy after beating Bolton Wanderers 2–1 in the League Cup final under McClaren. This success also ensured that Middlesbrough would qualify for Europe – the UEFA Cup – for the first time, ultimately reaching the last 16 in the competition. UEFA Cup qualification was achieved for the second consecutive year after a dramatic 1–1 away draw with Manchester City thanks to a late penalty save from Mark Schwarzer in the final game of the season. A notable event in the 2005–06 season was the final Premier League game against Fulham, where 15 of the 16 squad members were from the local area (the exception being Malcolm Christie). When Josh Walker replaced Malcolm Christie after 62 minutes the 11 players on the field were all born within 30 miles of Middlesbrough and all graduates of the club's academy. It was also the first all English starting line up in the Premier League since Bradford City in 1999, the first all English match squad since Aston Villa in 1998 and the youngest starting line-up in Premier League history. Middlesbrough reached the 2006 UEFA Cup Final in Eindhoven, following two comebacks from 3–0 down in the rounds preceding it, but lost 4–0 to Sevilla. Following the cup final disappointment, McClaren left to manage the England national team, and captain Gareth Southgate took over. Despite not having the coaching qualifications, he was allowed to continue after receiving special dispensation. During the 2007–08 season, Southgate broke Middlesbrough's record transfer fee, paying £13.6 million for Brazilian international striker Afonso Alves. Southgate's first two seasons saw the club finish in 12th and 13th places. He oversaw the club reaching the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for three seasons, but the club was relegated to the Championship on the last day of the 2008–09 season. ### Decline, brief revival and relegation (2009–2017) Southgate was sacked in October 2009 and replaced by Gordon Strachan. At the time of Southgate's dismissal, Boro were fourth in the Championship and only one point away from the automatic promotion spot, but their form under Strachan was significantly worse and they finished mid-table. Despite starting the 2010–11 campaign as promotion favourites, the club started the season poorly and Strachan resigned on 18 October, to be replaced by Tony Mowbray. Following a poor run of form in the 2013–14 campaign, Mowbray left the club with immediate effect on 24 October. Aitor Karanka, a former Spain international defender and assistant coach at Real Madrid to José Mourinho, became the new Middlesbrough manager, signing a two-year contract. He became the first non-British manager at the club, which finished the season 12th in the final league standings. In his first full season in charge, Middlesbrough finished fourth and thus qualified for the 2015 Football League play-offs. After seeing off Brentford 5–1 on aggregate in the semi-final, the club lost 0–2 to Norwich City at Wembley Stadium in the final. Under Karanka's tutelage, Patrick Bamford, on loan from Chelsea, won the Championship Player of the Year award for 2014–15. The next season, Middlesbrough were promoted back to the Premier League after finishing second in the Championship in 2015–16, drawing 1–1 with Brighton & Hove Albion on the final day of the season. Karanka was sacked in March 2017 following a poor run of form, and the team were relegated after just one season back in the top flight in 19th place. The team won only 5 league games, and scored 27 goals, the lowest in the league. ### Return to the Championship (2017–present) The club appointed former Leeds United manager Garry Monk as manager in the off-season. Expectations at the club were high, having spent close to £50 million in the transfer window on player purchases, in order to mount an immediate promotion challenge back to the Premier League. Monk left in December, with Middlesbrough ninth in the Championship and underachieving, and Tony Pulis was appointed as his replacement. Pulis led the side to finish 5th in the table to qualify for the playoffs, but lost in the semi-final to Aston Villa. The following season Pulis looked to secure the playoffs once again, but a poor finish to the season caused them to finish 7th and miss out on the playoffs by one point. Pulis subsequently left his position at the club after his contract expired on 17 May 2019. Pulis was replaced by former Middlesbrough defender and first team coach, Jonathan Woodgate on 14 June 2019 on a three-year contract. From March to June 2020 the 2019–20 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a run of only one win in 12 games, which saw the team drop as low as 21st in the table, Woodgate was sacked on 23 June 2020, after a 3–0 defeat to Swansea City in the first game after the restart. Former Cardiff manager Neil Warnock was appointed as his replacement on the same day, who ensured survival from relegation with a 17th-place finish. On 6 November 2021, Warnock and his assistants, Kevin Blackwell and Ronnie Jepson left Middlesbrough by mutual consent with the club having already identified Warnock's replacement in Chris Wilder. After just over 11 months in charge, Wilder was sacked on 3 October 2022, following a defeat away to bottom-of-the-league Coventry City the previous weekend. He was replaced by Michael Carrick three weeks later on 24 October 2022. The former Manchester United star made the most of his first permanent managerial role, as Boro would finish fourth, clinching a play-off spot before losing 1–0 on aggregate to Coventry City On 26 May 2023, the club officially became affiliated with the women's team. ## Colours and crest Middlesbrough's original home kit upon election to the Football League in 1899 was a white home shirt with red shorts and they did not adopt their colours of blue and white until later that season. Previous kits included a white shirt with a red and white polka dotted collar from around 1889. The Middlesbrough kit has remained broadly the same since 1899; a red shirt with white detailing, with shorts and socks of either red or white. The distinctive broad white stripe across the chest was introduced by Jack Charlton in 1973 (following an attempt to change the home shirt to a Leeds United-style white shirt) and brought back for a one-off in 1997–98 and then again for the 2000–01 and 2004–05 seasons due to popular demand. The club subsequently announced in December 2007 that the club would allow the fans to decide via an online and text vote whether the white band should return for the following season. On 8 January 2008, the club announced that the white band was to return, with 77.4% of voters voting in its favour, with the fans to choose the final shirt design from a selection of three designs, of which the winner was announced on 7 May 2008. The Middlesbrough crest has gone through four changes since the formation of the club. Initially, the badge was simply the town of Middlesbrough's crest with a red lion instead of a blue lion in order to fit in with the club's colours. Following the adoption of the white band on the shirts in 1973, only the red lion remained with the letters "M.F.C" underneath in red. This was further adapted following the reformation of the club in 1986 to a circular crest with the lion in the middle and the words "Middlesbrough Football Club 1986" around the circle in order to reflect this new era. In 2007, Middlesbrough changed their crest again, this time with the lion inside a shield and the words "Middlesbrough Football Club 1876" underneath. The club stated that this was to reflect the club's long history and not just their post-liquidation status. ## Kit information ## Stadium After formation in 1876, and with the club still amateurs, Middlesbrough's first two years of football were played at Albert Park in Middlesbrough. After seeing the damage being caused by players and supporters, the Park Committee ordered the club to find an alternate venue. The club moved to Breckon Hill, behind the former Middlesbrough College longlands site, after agreeing to rent the land from its owner. However, two years later in 1880, the owner increased the rent and the club decided to move. They moved into the Linthorpe Road ground in 1882, home at the time of Middlesbrough Cricket Club. The cricket club departed in 1893–94 to move to the Breckon Hill field, and Middlesbrough Football Club became sole users of the ground. With the club's growing size, and entry to the Football League, they had to move to a new ground in 1903, Ayresome Park. It was designed by Archibald Leitch and would be the club's home for the next 92 years, having also been chosen as one of the stadia for the 1966 FIFA World Cup. Following the Taylor Report in 1990, the ground either needed modernising or the club needed a new stadium. The club decided on the latter, and moved out at the end of the 1994–95 season. It was used as a training ground during 1995–96, before it was demolished in 1997 and a housing estate built in its place. The club now trains at a £7 million complex at Rockliffe Park, in Hurworth, on the outskirts of Darlington. The Riverside Stadium, named by the supporters of the club after a vote, became the club's home in 1995. It was the first stadium to be built in line with the Taylor Report's recommendations on all-seater stadiums for clubs in the top two divisions of the English football league system. It was originally a 30,000-seater stadium, constructed at a cost of £16 million, before it was expanded in 1998 to a capacity of 35,100 for an extra £5 million. Since then, several reorganisations of the Riverside Stadium have taken place. At the start of the 2013–14 season, away fans were moved from behind the goal in the South stand to the South East corner, while home fans are now situated behind both goals to help create a better atmosphere inside the stadium. A giant TV screen was also installed at the back of the South-East corner, replacing the older style scoreboards attached to the North and South stand roofs. For the start of the 2016–17 season (and a return to the Premier League), the club had to improve the stadium's broadcasting facilities and floodlighting in order to meet current Premier League requirements. The club also took the opportunity to move the main camera gantry to the back of the East stand where it now faces the main West stand. The current stadium capacity as of the 2017–18 season is 34,000. Average attendances at Middlesbrough matches have fluctuated over the past several years, moving from a 2004–05 high average of 32,012 to a low of 26,092 in 2006–07, then up again to 28,428 in 2008–09. Following relegation to the Championship, attendances dipped, although the crowd of 23,451 which saw Middlesbrough's first Championship game against Sheffield United represents far higher gates than is usual for the division, and indeed larger than those of some Premier League clubs. The club attracted an average of 24,627 for their 2015–16 promotion season from the Championship to the Premier League. ## Supporters Traditionally supporters come from Middlesbrough itself and towns in the immediate area. Middlesbrough have one of the highest proportions in Britain of locally born season ticket holders at 80%, and one of the highest proportions of female fans at 20%. A survey at the start of the 2007–08 season found Middlesbrough supporters were the seventh-loudest set of fans in the Premier League. Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club, which features its own team in the local football league, has links with supporters' clubs across the globe. The largest supporters' clubs include the Official Supporters' Club, the Middlesbrough Disabled Supporters' Association, Yarm Reds, Red Faction and Middlesbrough Supporters South. Middlesbrough supporters' main rivals are Sunderland (with whom they contest the Tees–Wear derby), Newcastle United (with whom they contest the Tyne–Tees derby), and Leeds United, a fact confirmed by planetfootball.com's 2004 survey. Carlisle United see Middlesbrough as their biggest rivals, but Middlesbrough supporters have not reciprocated, as they do not see Carlisle as a top three rival. The nickname Smoggies was first used as a derogatory term by opposing supporters; it relates to the industrial air pollution – smog – that used to hang over the town, but it was later used by Middlesbrough fans in a somewhat self-deprecating manner before finally being adopted as a badge of pride by supporters of the club. An example of this can be seen on the banners carried to away games stating "Smoggies on Tour". Middlesbrough fans were notably praised by UEFA Chief Executive Lars-Christer Olsson after their behaviour during the 2005–06 UEFA Cup campaign. He commended that: > You have the satisfaction of knowing that, although your team did not win the game, your supporters present in Eindhoven proved to the world that football fans can turn a match into a friendly, violence-free celebration. Middlesbrough fans had also been praised by Cleveland Police for their behaviour in previous rounds, particularly in the light of aggravation prior to and during the match at Roma. ## Media relations Middlesbrough was the first football club in the world to launch its own TV channel – Boro TV. The first broadcasts were tied to the club's first ever major cup final appearance in 1997, a full year ahead of Manchester United's MUTV, which still claims to be the first in the world. The channel was the brainchild of then NTL marketing director, Peter Wilcock. The programme became synonymous with former Middlesbrough star Bernie Slaven and radio commentator Alastair Brownlee who proved to be as popular on TV as they were on radio. Its programmes were not live initially but were pre-recorded and hosted by local radio/TV broadcaster & Boro fan, Dave Roberts. Boro TV went on to claim another first when in August 2001 it became the first English football club to broadcast time-delayed full-match footage of their league games on its own channel. Boro TV ran through NTL cable television until July 2005. The club now shows match highlights through a subscription-based scheme on its official website. Middlesbrough's official matchday programme, Redsquare, was Programme Monthly's 2006–07 Programme of the Year. There are numerous other fanzines available, most notably Fly Me to the Moon, formed in September 1988 following Bruce Rioch's quote to Tony Mowbray, stating "If I had to go to the moon I'd want him by my side". ## Community Middlesbrough Football Club in the Community (MFCIC) was founded in 1996 by club chairman Steve Gibson and is one of the largest community-based football schemes in the United Kingdom. It is run separately from the football club but receives support from both the club in terms of providing players, staff, stadium facilities and PR in the matchday programme and other publications, as well as support from other local organisations. In 2012 MFCIC was relaunched as MFC Foundation. The Foundation aims to use the club's profile to deliver sport, health, education and inclusion projects in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities across Teesside. Since 1996 the Foundation has delivered 20,000 qualifications, engaged over 500,000 people and invested £25 million in local communities to tackle inequality and disadvantage. Since 2002, the club and MFCIC have also run the Middlesbrough Enterprise Academy, a scheme which helps local children improve their entrepreneurial skills and increase their awareness of business planning and finance. In March 2008, plans were announced by the Premier League to roll out the scheme nationally amongst all Premier League clubs. It was announced in December 2007 that Middlesbrough football club had carried out more community work during 2006–07 than any other Premier League club, rising from second place the previous year, with the club making 318 appearances – almost twice the Premier League average of 162. They were in the top two for community appearances again in 2007–08, with 374 – a 17% increase on the previous season. Middlesbrough's mascot is Roary the Lion. The club runs Roary's Children's Charity Fund which purchases items for local children's charities. In 2009, steel producer Corus Group announced the possibility that it would mothball its Teesside plant, with up to 4,000 employees and contractors facing redundancy, after a consortium of steel magnates walked away from a 10-year deal. Middlesbrough Football Club helped with the "Save Our Steel" campaign by hosting dozens of steel workers and their families as they marched around the ground, promoted the campaign via the stadium's PA system, scoreboards and in match day programmes, while players wore T-shirts during warm-ups promoting the campaign. Chairman Steve Gibson said: > "Middlesbrough Football Club exists for the community, for the people of Teesside—and the closure of the steel plants threatens to rip the heart out of our community. We cannot stand by and allow that to happen. We want the steelworkers and their families to know that we are behind them and will help their campaign in any way we can ... We like to think that the football club is the flagship of Teesside. Well this is our town and these are our people and we have to do what we can to help them." ## Honours source: League - Second Division / Championship (level 2) - Champions: 1926–27, 1928–29, 1973–74, 1994–95 - Runners-up: 1997–98, 2015–16 - Play-off winners: 1988 - Third Division (level 3) - Runners-up: 1966–67, 1986–87 - Northern League - Champions: 1893–94, 1894–95, 1896–97 Cup - FA Cup - Runners-up: 1996–97 - League Cup - Winners: 2003–04 - Runners-up: 1996–97, 1997–98 - Full Members' Cup - Runners-up: 1989–90 - FA Amateur Cup - Winners: 1894–95, 1897–98 - UEFA Cup - Runners-up: 2005–06 - Anglo-Scottish Cup - Winners: 1975–76 Minor titles - North Riding Senior Cup - Winners on 55 occasions since 1882 - Kirin Cup - Winners: 1980 ### European Football ## Non-playing staff ### Corporate hierarchy ### Coaching staff ### Academy coaching staff ## Players ### Current squad ### Out on loan ### Reserves and Academy ## Notable players ### Middlesbrough Legends These 10 players were voted for by fans as part of a campaign with the Evening Gazette. - George Camsell - George Hardwick - Wilf Mannion - Brian Clough - John Hickton - Willie Maddren - Tony Mowbray - Bernie Slaven - Juninho - Gareth Southgate ### Top appearances These players made more than 430 appearances during their time at the club. The number in brackets indicates the number of appearances in all competitions. - Tim Williamson (602) - Gordon Jones (532) - John Hickton (499) - John Craggs (487) - Jim Platt (481) - George Camsell (453) - Jacky Carr (449) - Mark Schwarzer (446) - David Armstrong (431) ### Top goalscorers These players scored more than 140 goals during their time with the club. The number in brackets indicates the number of goals scored in all competitions. - George Camsell (345) - George Elliott (213) - Brian Clough (204) - John Hickton (193) - Micky Fenton (162) - Bernie Slaven (146) - Alan Peacock (141) ### Player of the Year award winners ### Football League 100 Legends The Football League 100 Legends is a list of 100 legendary football players produced by The Football League in 1998, to celebrate the 100th season of League football. - Alf Common - George Camsell - Steve Bloomer - Wilf Mannion - George Hardwick - Nobby Stiles - Graeme Souness - Bryan Robson - Paul Gascoigne ### English Football Hall of Fame The English Football Hall of Fame is housed at The National Football Museum in Manchester, England. The Hall aims to celebrate and highlight the achievements of top English footballers and footballers who have played in England. These players appeared for or managed Middlesbrough at some point in their careers. - Brian Clough (2002 inductee) - Paul Gascoigne (2002 inductee) - Bryan Robson (2002 inductee) - Viv Anderson (2004 inductee) - Wilf Mannion (2004 inductee) - Jack Charlton (2005 inductee) - Graeme Souness (2007 inductee) - Nobby Stiles (2007 inductee) - Terry Venables (2007 inductee) - Steve Bloomer (2008 inductee) - Malcolm Allison (2009 inductee) - Raich Carter (2013 inductee) - Paul Ince (2021 inductee) ### Scottish Football Hall of Fame The following former Middlesbrough players and managers have been inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. - Bobby Murdoch (2004 inductee) - Graeme Souness (2004 inductee) - Gordon Strachan (2007 inductee) ## Managers The following are all the full-time Middlesbrough managers since the club turned professional in 1899. ## Middlesbrough Women Middlesbrough Women is the women's football club affiliated to Middlesbrough. Founded as Cleveland Spartans in 1976, they became officially affiliated with the men's team in 2023, and currently play in the FA Women's National League Division One North, the fourth level of English women's football. ## References and notes

Peru at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Peru sent a delegation to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from 12–28 February 2010. This marked Peru's debut at the Winter Olympics. The Peruvian delegation consisted of three athletes: two alpine skiers—Manfred Oettl Reyes and Ornella Oettl Reyes—and the cross-country skier Roberto Carcelen. The nation's best performance in any event was 67th place in the men's giant slalom alpine skiing event by Manfred Oettl Reyes. ## Background Peru first competed at the Summer Olympics at the 1936 Berlin Games, and with the exception of the 1952 Helsinki Games, has participated in every Summer Games since. These Vancouver Olympics, however, would mark the nation's first participation in a Winter Olympic Games. The Peruvian delegation consisted of three athletes, the alpine skiers and siblings Manfred Oettl Reyes and Ornella Oettl Reyes, and cross-country skier Roberto Carcelen. Carcelen was chosen as the flag bearer for both the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony. ## Alpine skiing Manfred Oettl Reyes was 16 years old at the time of the Games. He was born to a German father, and a Peruvian mother, and at the time, said he had only been to Peru twice in his life. HIs first event, the giant slalom, was held on 23 February. He posted run times of 1 minute and 29 seconds and 1 minute and 32 seconds. This saw him in 67th place out of 81 competitors who finished the race. On 27 February, he was disqualified during the first run of the slalom. Ornella Oettl Reyes was 18 years old at the time of the Vancouver Olympics. During 24–25 February, she took part in the weather-impacted giant slalom, finishing the first run in a time of 1 minute and 27 seconds, but she failed to finish the second run and went unplaced in the final standings. The next day, she had a similar experience in the giant slalom, finishing the first run in a time of 59 seconds, but failing to complete the second run. ## Cross-country skiing Roberto Carcelen was 39 years old at the time of the Vancouver Olympics. He took up skiing at the age of 34, after meeting his wife on an online dating site and moving from Peru to Seattle, Washington. He secured qualification at an event held at the Silver Star Mountain Resort in British Columbia. In his race, the 15 kilometre freestyle, he finished with a time of 45 minutes and 53 seconds, placing 94th out of 95 competitors.

Stronger (Britney Spears song)

2000 single by Britney Spears

"Stronger" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again (2000). It was released on October 31, 2000, by Jive Records as the third single from the album. After meeting with producers Max Martin and Rami in Sweden, Spears recorded several songs for the album, including "Stronger". The dance-pop, synth-pop and teen pop song features self-empowerment lyrics about a girl who is tired of her cheating boyfriend and decides to move on without him. It received acclaim from music critics, who described the song as being both musically and lyrically innovative, with some deeming it the best track on Oops!... I Did It Again. "Stronger" was a global success, reaching the top five in Austria, Germany and Sweden, while reaching the top ten in Finland, Ireland, Switzerland and United Kingdom. "Stronger" peaked at number 11 in the United States' Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for selling over 500,000 units of the single. An accompanying music video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who considered it as a thematic departure from Spears' previous music videos. The music video received a nomination on the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Pop Video. Spears has performed "Stronger" in a number of live appearances, including at the Radio Music Awards of 2000, American Music Awards of 2001, a Fox special titled Britney Spears: There's No Place Like Home, and in two of her concert tours, the Oops!... I Did It Again Tour (2000–2001) and the Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–2002). In 2013, Spears performed the song for the first time in eleven years on her Las Vegas residency concert Britney: Piece of Me (2013–2017). She also performed it at the Britney: Live in Concert (2017) and the Piece of Me Tour (2018). In 2010, "Stronger" was covered by actor Kevin McHale for an episode of TV series Glee titled "Britney/Brittany". The cover received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. In 2023, "Stronger" was ranked at \#37 on Rolling Stone’s “The Most Inspirational LGBTQ Songs of all Time” list. ## Background and composition In 1999, Spears began work on her second studio album Oops!...I Did It Again (2000), in Sweden and Switzerland. After meeting with Max Martin and Rami Yacoub in Sweden, Spears recorded several songs for the album, including "Stronger", which was co-written and co-produced by Martin and Rami. Upon returning to the United States, the singer revealed in an interview with MTV News that: "I just got back from Sweden, and did half [of] the material [for Oops!] over there. I was really, really happy with the material, but we had [such] limited time to get so much done. So I've just really been in the studio nonstop, which is cool, though." Spears recorded her vocals for the song in November 1999 at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. "Stronger" was released on November 13, 2000, as the third single from the album. "Stronger" is a teen pop and dance-pop song that features a heavy dance beat, and lasts 3 minutes and 37 seconds. According to the digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com, the song is composed in the key of G-sharp minor and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 108 beats per minute, while Spears vocal range spans from C3 to C5. Music critics noticed the song as Spears' declaration of independence, which is perceived in self-empowerment lines such as "I'm not your property" and "I don't need nobody". Its lyrics also quote Spears' iconic debut hit "...Baby One More Time", which was also co-written and produced for Spears by Martin and Yacoub and released two years earlier; the latter's famous chorus, "My loneliness is killing me", is answered in "Stronger" with the lyric, "My loneliness ain't killin' me no more". Despite not being written by the singer, it was speculated that the song is directed to the singer's record label and her management. In a review for the album, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly noted that "Stronger" together with "Don't Go Knockin' on My Door" is reminiscent of the Rolling Stones' "The Last Time" (1965). ## Critical response "Stronger" received acclaim from music critics. Stephanie McGrath of Jam! considered the song "the best dance track" of Oops!, deeming the song "every bit as good as \*Nsync's 'Bye, Bye, Bye' or The Backstreet Boys' 'The One'." Tracy E. Hopkins of Barnes & Noble, while reviewing the album, said, "Spears shines on the tongue-in-cheek lead single, the triumphant 'Stronger'..." David Veitch of the Calgary Sun considered "Stronger" to be as "another boom-bastic upbeat track", while saying the song is "notable for its foghorn synth, fabulous rhythm track and heavy effects applied to Britney's voice. Why she's panting at the end of the bridge is anybody's guess." A review by the NME staff compared "Stronger" to songs recorded by ABBA, saying, "there's the deranged helium synth pop of 'Stronger' with the huge ABBA chord change in the chorus that sounds scarier and more robotic than the Backstreet Boys." Andy Battaglia from Salon said "Stronger" "could crush the entire self-help industry with its melody alone." Digital Spy's Alim Kheraj pointed out the "deeper element of defiance embedded both within the lyrics and the epic chord progressions". Writing for Pink News, Mayer Nissim deemed it "a perfect pop masterpiece". For Alex Macpherson from The Guardian, it's one of the best examples of Spears' "distressing vulnerability" as well as her second best song; "for the first but by no means last time, Britney embraces the inhuman qualities of her strange, hiccupping voice with vocals distorted and ground up against the beat". Shannon Barbour from Cosmopolitan opined that it was "proof that Empowered Britney is the best Britney". Similarly, Gay Times' Daniel Megarry called it "an empowering gay club favourite". Entertainment Weekly ranked it at number 14 on their ranking of Spears' songs; "['Stronger'] foretold the future, both lyrically (she vowed to do things 'my way') and sonically (the stormy electronic touches hinted at a shift in her Scandi-pop sound). Today, it’s the theme song for her resilience". Rolling Stone hailed it "a dance pop anthem of self-empowerment that is both obviously autobiographical and highly relatable to anyone eager to define themselves as a young adult". Caryn Ganz from Spin said that "Britney’s first self-empowerment anthem is still her best: a strutting finger-wagger that’s somehow also a fist-pumper". ## Chart performance In the United States, "Stronger" entered the top 40 at number 29 on December 30, 2000. It also peaked at number 17 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart. It was also certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). "Stronger" also peaked at number two on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales component chart, and number 37 on Rhythmic Top 40. As of June 2012, "Stronger" has sold 415,000 physical units, with 270,000 paid digital downloads in the United States. It is Spears' third best-selling physical single in the country. "Stronger" also achieved commercial success worldwide, reaching number one in Mexico and was the number-one best-selling single in 2001, and reaching number four in Austria and Sweden, six in Ireland and Switzerland, and eight in Finland, while reaching the top 20 in several European countries. On the week of December 16, 2000, "Stronger" debuted at number seven in The Official Charts Company from the United Kingdom, falling to number 11 in the following week. In Australia, the song peaked at number 13, and was later certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for shipments of more than 70,000 units of the single. In France, "Stronger" reached number 20, making it the lowest chart position for the song worldwide. However, it was certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP), for selling over 250,000 units of the single. In Germany, the song reached number four on the Media Control Charts, being certified gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipping over 250,000 units of the single. ## Music video The music video for "Stronger" was shot on October 5–7, 2000 at Syncro Aviation Hangar at Van Nuys Airport, Los Angeles, and directed by Joseph Kahn. Kahn revealed that the concept for the music video was created by Spears herself, by saying "I would like to dance in a chair and drive in a car and break up with [my] boyfriend. [...] Those are your three elements." Kahn ended up creating, according to Jocelyn Vena of MTV, "a semi-futuristic world in which Spears walks into a club, breaks up with her cheating boyfriend and triumphantly walks in the rain, knowing her life is better off without him." Kahn also considered the music video as very sophisticated, saying that it is "definitely a departure from the sort of candy-colored videos she was doing before, so I always thought this was the transition between Britney the teenage pop star and Britney the sort of diva she became." It premiered on MTV's Making the Video on November 3, 2000, at 4:30PM ET. An alternate footage of the video can be found on the DVD of Spears' first compilation album, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (2004). Kahn revealed that Spears' referenced Janet Jackson's "The Pleasure Principle" and "Miss You Much" music videos for the video's chair routine, saying her idea was inspired by "Janet Jackson's 'Pleasure Principle' — the iconic chair sequence in that". A review of the video also commented "Ms. Spears gives us her best Janet Jackson impression ("Miss You Much") with a dizzying chair-dance routine." Spears also referenced and draws inspiration from Jackson in several other music videos, including "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know". ### Synopsis The video begins with a closed caption that reads "Britney Spears – Stronger", amidst the sound of a storm. It then cuts to a close up of Spears looking at her boyfriend, who is smiling with another woman (played by Angela Sarafyan) holding him. She realizes she is better without him and walks away, after saying, "Whatever", to the audience. There is a shot of the tower hotel they are in, in an apparent semi-futuristic world, having a party in the restaurant in the hotel tower at the top, and then the hotel tower explodes and blows up. At the beginning of the first verse, Spears starts dancing with an Emeco 1006-style chair in front of a black background. The second half of the video finds Spears driving away from the party in a classic Ford Mustang car during a thunderstorm; however, before long, her car goes into a spin out after she swerves to avoid a chair tossed in front of her from the storm, then stops on the very edge of the bridge. After recovering from the shock of it, she is forced to continue walking on in the rain. Cuts of her dancing with a cane, transformed from the chair, are also included. The video ends with Spears walking across a bridge. Two versions of the video exist, one in which Spears stands in mid-air above the spinning chair during the bridge alongside additional brief choreography shots during the first chorus, and the other replacing the footage with a close-up of her singing. Nuzhat Naoreen of MTV praised the music video, saying, "few performers can work an entire routine on and around a chair as well as Britney did in 'Stronger'". The music video received a nomination on the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Pop Video. ## Live performances and covers Spears performed "Stronger" for the first time during her Oops!... I Did It Again Tour in Columbia, U.S., on June 20, 2000. The show began with the video introduction "The Britney Spears Experience", in which three images of Spears welcomed spectators to the show. Then, a giant metal orb was lowered onstage and lifted again to reveal Spears standing behind it. Wearing a glittery jeans and an orange halter top, she opened the show with a dance-oriented performance of the song. "Stronger" was performed on 2002's Dream Within a Dream Tour. After a dance-oriented performance of "Boys", Spears performed the song, in which she wore a paint-covered robe and in some shows a bowler hat. Spears also performed the song on several television appearances, including on the American Music Awards of 2001, and on a MTV special titled Total Britney Live. A Fox special titled Britney Spears in Hawaii, aired on June 8, 2000, included an exclusive performance of the song. A performance of "Stronger" live from Germany was broadcast on Radio Music Awards of 2000, since Spears was on tour by the time of the awards. "Stronger" was later included on the set list of Spears' Las Vegas residency show Britney: Piece of Me. "Stronger" was covered by Kevin McHale on TV series Glee, on an episode titled "Britney/Brittany", that was dedicated to the singer. In the episode, McHale's character Artie has a hallucination of himself singing "Stronger" during a dental visit. The cover received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal enjoyed the cover version, appreciating the twist of having males sing a feminist empowerment song, while Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly deemed "Stronger" his favorite performance of the episode, as well as the best incorporation of Spears' music, as the song served Artie's storyline. ## Track listings - European CD single 1. "Stronger" (Album Version) – 3:23 2. "Walk on By" – 3:34 - European, Australian and Japanese CD maxi single 1. "Stronger" (Album Version) – 3:23 2. "Stronger" (Instrumental) – 3:23 3. "Walk on By" – 3:34 4. "Stronger" (Miguel Migs Vocal Edit) – 3:41 - French CD maxi single 1. "Stronger" (Album Version) – 3:23 2. "Walk on By" – 3:34 3. "Stronger" (Miguel Migs Vocal Edit) – 3:41 - UK CD maxi single 1. "Stronger" (Album Version) – 3:23 2. "Walk on By" – 3:34 3. "Stronger" (WIP Remix) – 5:50 - US CD single 1. "Stronger" (Album Version) – 3:23 2. "Stronger" (Pablo La Rosa's Tranceformation Edit) – 3:28 - UK cassette single 1. "Stronger" (Album Version) – 3:23 2. "Walk on By" – 3:34 3. "Stronger" (Instrumental) – 3:23 - US 12-inch vinyl 1. "Stronger" (Pablo La Rosa's Tranceformation) – 7:21 2. "Stronger" (Pimp Juice's Extra Strength Dub) – 7:05 3. "Stronger" (Miguel 'Migs' Vocal Mix) – 6:31 4. "Stronger" (Miguel 'Migs' Dub) – 6:54 - US maxi single – The Remixes 1. "Stronger" (Album Version) – 3:23 2. "Stronger" (Mac Quayle Club Mix) – 7:50 3. "Stronger" (Pablo La Rosa's Tranceformation) – 7:21 4. "Stronger" (Miguel 'Migs' Vocal Mix) – 6:31 5. "Stronger" (Jack D. Elliot Club Mix) – 6:38 6. "Stronger" (Pimp Juice's "Ain't No Shame in This Vocal Mix Game" Mix) – 5:50 ## Credits and personnel - Britney Spears – lead vocals, background vocals - Max Martin – production, songwriting, audio mixing, keyboards, programming, background vocals - Rami Yacoub – production, songwriting, keyboards - Nana Hedin – background vocals - John Amatiello – Pro Tools engineering - Tom Coyne – audio mastering Source: ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications and sales ## Release history

USS Osage (1863)

Neosho-class monitor

USS Osage was a single-turreted Neosho-class monitor built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War. After completion in mid-1863 by Edward Hartt, the ship patrolled the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes as part of Rear Admiral David Porter's Mississippi Squadron. Osage participated in the Red River Campaign in March–May 1864, during which she supported the capture of Fort DeRussy in March and participated in the Battle of Blair's Landing in April. The ship was grounded on a sandbar for six months after the end of the campaign and badly damaged. Osage, after being refloated and repaired, was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in early 1865 for the campaign against Mobile, Alabama. During the Battle of Spanish Fort in March 1865 she struck a mine and rapidly sank. The ship was later salvaged and sold in 1867. ## Design and description The steam-powered gun turret of the Osage was at the bow and she had a deckhouse between the funnel and the sternwheel, although another was later added between the turret and the funnel. Her pilothouse was positioned above the rear deckhouse, next to the forward face of the sternwheel. The ship was 180 feet (54.9 m) long overall and had a beam of 45 feet (13.7 m). When launched she proved to have a draft 1 foot (0.3 m) deeper than planned and she measured 523 tons burthen. Osage had four steam boilers powering a two-cylinder, western steamboat-type engine that drove the sternwheel. The ship had a maximum speed of 12 miles per hour (19 km/h) in service and she carried 50 long tons (51 t) of coal. Her crew numbered 100 officers and enlisted men. Osage's main armament consisted of two smoothbore 11-inch (279 mm) Dahlgren guns mounted in a single turret that had an arc of fire of 300°. Firing the guns tended to jam the turret until modifications were made to the guns' recoil system. Each gun weighed approximately 16,000 pounds (7,300 kg). They could fire a 136-pound (61.7 kg) shell up to a range of 3,650 yards (3,340 m) at an elevation of 15°. The turret was protected by 6 inches (152 mm) of wrought iron while the hull had 2.5 inches (64 mm) of armor. The armor plates of the deck and paddle housing were 1.25 inches (32 mm) thick. ## Service Osage, named after the American Indian tribe, was laid down in mid-1862 and launched 13 January 1863 by James Eads at his Union Iron Works, Carondelet, Missouri. She was commissioned at Cairo, Illinois on 10 July 1863, with Acting Volunteer Lieutenant Joseph Pitty Couthouy in command. After completion, the ship was assigned to Rear Admiral David Porter's Mississippi Squadron and patrolled the Mississippi River against Confederate raids and ambushes. During the Red River Campaign Osage was commanded by Lieutenant Commander Thomas O. Selfridge Jr. She supported the Union Army when it captured Fort DeRussy and captured Alexandria, Louisiana by herself on 15 March 1864 without firing a shot. She successfully defended the navy transports attacked during the Battle of Blair's Landing on 12 April, driving off the Confederate forces with heavy losses after having run aground and freed herself. After the end of the campaign in May she was assigned to patrol the Mississippi River. During that month she grounded on a sandbar near Helena, Arkansas and could not be refloated due to the rapidly falling water level even when some of her armor was removed. As the water receded Osage began to hog at the ends because only her middle was supported by the sand. This caused her longitudinal bulkheads to split and broke many rivets in her hull and on her deck. She was repaired in place before being refloated at the end of November. After being towed to Mound City for more permanent repairs, Osage was transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron on 1 February 1865 for the attack on Mobile, Alabama. She participated in the Battle of Spanish Fort, defending Mobile from the east, but struck a mine in a previously swept channel and sank rapidly on 29 March. Two crewmen were killed and some others wounded. The ship was later refloated and sold at auction at New Orleans on 22 November 1867, along with three ex-Confederate ships, for \$20,467.

Warrenton Junction Raid

Cavalry skirmish in Virginia during the American Civil War

The Warrenton Junction Raid (May 3, 1863) was a surprise attack by Confederate guerrilla warriors on a Union cavalry detachment during the American Civil War. The raid took place near a railroad junction in Virginia's Fauquier County, less than 10 miles (16 km) from the town of Warrenton. Confederate Major (eventually Colonel) John S. Mosby led the attack against about 100 men from the Union's 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry. At first, the raid was very successful, as many of the Union soldiers surrendered to the rebels. The remaining portion of the surprised force was surrounded in a house, and two of their leaders were wounded. The house was set on fire, and the Union soldiers surrendered. As Mosby's men rounded up prisoners and horses, a detachment of the 5th New York Cavalry surprised the rebels and rescued most of the captured Union soldiers. After a short fight, more men from the 5th New York, and the 1st Vermont Cavalry, joined in the pursuit of Mosby's fleeing rebels. Casualties for the detachment of the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry, the unit surprised by Mosby, totaled 16 men. Although Mosby was forced to release most of his prisoners while escaping from the 5th New York Cavalry, he still managed to keep at least two West Virginians in captivity. Mosby lost 1 killed and at least 30 taken prisoner—many of whom were wounded. The 5th New York Cavalry had three men wounded. The two sides involved in this minor fight became very skilled in warfare—but were still learning those skills at that time. The Union's 1st Virginia Cavalry, renamed 1st West Virginia Volunteer Cavalry Regiment two months later, became one of West Virginia's most effective regiments and had 14 Medal of Honor recipients. It fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, had an important role in eliminating the Confederate Army of the Valley, and was present at General Robert E. Lee's surrender of his Army of Northern Virginia. The Confederacy's Mosby's Rangers suffered their first defeat, but became masters of guerrilla warfare and were a constant concern for Union armies in eastern Virginia. ## Background By May 1863, the American Civil War was in its third year. The war began when southern states, including Virginia, seceded from the United States and formed a new nation called the Confederate States of America. The federal government of the United States did not accept the secession and fought to end the rebellion. The people of the state of Virginia were especially divided, as many in the western portion of the state preferred to remain as part of the United States instead of joining the Confederacy. ### Fauquier County Fauquier County, Virginia, is located slightly less than 50 miles (80 km) west of Washington, DC, and slightly less than 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Richmond, Virginia, which was the capital of the Confederate States of America. The county's population in 1860 was 21,763, and about half of its people were slaves. Because of the county's location and the presence of a railroad, troops for both sides in the American Civil War were often nearby. Some of the battles that occurred in the county were: the Battle of Thoroughfare Gap, the First Battle of Rappahannock Station, the Second Battle of Rappahannock Station, the First Battle of Auburn, and the Second Battle of Auburn. The Orange and Alexandria Railroad, which ran through the county, had strategic significance because it was part of the only rail link between Washington and Richmond. It was also part of rail connections to the Shenandoah Valley, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and into Tennessee. From Lynchburg, the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad connections accessed lead mines near Wytheville, Virginia, and the lead provided raw material for the bullets of the Confederate Army. The town of Warrenton has always been the county seat of Fauquier County. Its first courthouse was built in 1790, and its population as of 1860 was 604. The Warrenton Branch line, which was 8.9 miles (14.3 km) long, connected the town of Warrenton to the main line of the Orange and Alexandria Railroad at Warrenton Junction. This branch line, which was completed by the 1850s, helped the town thrive as farmers brought crops and livestock for sale and distribution. The town was the home of William "Extra Billy" Smith, who was twice elected governor of Virginia. The town was also the home of the elite Black Horse Cavalry, which was founded before the war. The Black Horse Cavalry was eventually incorporated into the 4th Virginia Cavalry of the Confederate Army. ### Mosby's Rangers In early 1863, Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart gave permission for John Singleton Mosby to lead a group of 15 partisan rangers that would operate within enemy lines in northern Virginia. Mosby had been one of Stuart's best scouts, and his new cavalry unit became known as Mosby's Rangers. Mosby said that the purpose of his unit was not to win major battles, but to "compel the enemy either greatly to contract his lines or to reinforce them; either of which would be of great advantage to the Southern cause." This goal was accomplished through "incessant attacks", at night or day, when his enemy was not prepared for conflict. As partisan rangers, Mosby's Rangers made quick strikes, and then disappeared. Mosby patterned his technique after General Francis Marion, a leader in the American Revolutionary War who learned his fighting style from the Cherokee Indians. Mosby's Rangers had no camp, and typically scattered among local farmhouses—especially in Fauquier and Loudoun Counties. Mosby's weapon of choice was the Colt 6-shot revolver. Each of his men usually had two or more revolvers, and no shooting was done until the target was within the 30 foot (9.1 m) range of the weapon. Mosby disdained sabers, and the Union cavalry standard procedure of getting close enough to use their sabers helped his men get their enemy within the range of their revolvers. Mosby was a small-town Virginian before the war. His Mosby's Rangers operated primarily in a region surrounding Warrenton that included Clarke, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, and Warren counties. Although Mosby's Rangers had existed for less than half a year, Mosby had already conducted successful raids including the capture of General Edwin H. Stoughton. After his raid in Fairfax that captured Stoughton (who had been asleep), Mosby became one of the most famous soldiers in America. Eventually Mosby's Rangers grew and became the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry. By the end of the war, Mosby's Rangers was one of the most renowned military units. The counties where Mosby's Rangers typically conducted operations became known as Mosby's Confederacy. On May 2, Mosby assembled a group of 70 to 100 men for the purpose of attacking the supply wagons of Union General Joseph Hooker's army. They spent the night in Warrenton, and were on the road to Fredericksburg at dawn. Their plan was to attack Hooker's wagon train as it crossed the Rappahannock River, and the probable crossing point was about 20 miles (32 km) away. They were near Warrenton Junction between 8:00 and 9:00 am when they accidentally discovered the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry. ### 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry In May 1863, two 1st Virginia Cavalries existed. One 1st Virginia Cavalry sided with the rebellion and fought for the Confederate States of America. Another 1st Virginia Cavalry preferred that the states remain in a union, and was therefore loyal to the Federal government of the United States. The 1st Virginia Cavalry that was loyal to the union was often noted with "union" or "loyal" near its name, and later with "West". On June 20, the new state of West Virginia consisting of northwestern counties of Virginia joined the union, and the loyal 1st Virginia Cavalry became the 1st West Virginia Cavalry—although many still called it the 1st Virginia. The 1st West Virginia Cavalry was "the most active, and one of the most effective", West Virginia regiments by the end of the American Civil War. It had 14 Medal of Honor winners, the most of any West Virginia regiment. However, it took years for it to become an effective military unit. One Ohio soldier, writing about some fighting that occurred in early 1862, said that the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry's original regiment commander "was one of the foreign adventurers who so largely officered our army at its beginning and were absolutely useless for any purpose except to draw their pay and to wear gold braid." Later in 1862, a report by Union General James Shields, sent to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, said "First Virginia Cavalry good for nothing." The 1st (West) Virginia's first two commanders were court-martialed, and during May 1863 it had no permanent commander. The regiment was under the temporary command of Lieutenant Colonel John S. Krepps according to a May 5 after action report of Brigadier General John J. Abercrombie, but a report by the regiment's Major Benjamin F. Chamberlain lists himself as commanding. Neither is mentioned in the three Union after action reports as being present when the May 3 attack on a detachment of the regiment occurred. Major Josiah Steele is the regiment's highest-ranking officer discussed in the reports, and also Mosby mentions "commanding officer, Maj. Steel" in his memoirs. On May 3, 1863, the detachment was less than 60 miles (97 km) west of Washington, DC, near the junction of the Orange and Alexandria and Manassas Gap railroads. This junction was called Warrenton Junction, and it is about 10 miles (16 km) east of the town of Warrenton. A detachment of about 100 men finished their mission for the day, although it was still early in the morning (around 9:00 am). Their horses were unsaddled and feeding, and few precautions had been taken for the Union force's security. Based on a newspaper article, the detachment included men from Companies C, F, G, and L. The report of General Stahel mentions two captains from the 1st (West Virginia) Cavalry: William Harris, who led Company C; and William McCoy, who led Company F. ## Attack `As Mosby's men left the woods close to Warrenton Junction, they saw the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry about 300 yards (270 m) away in an open field. When Mosby's men approached, the Union soldiers believed they were friendlies from the 1st Vermont Cavalry. Mosby ordered a charge, and his men "raised a yell".` The surprised men from the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry ran for their weapons and sought cover in three nearby buildings. A small stream slowed Mosby enough that all but about 20 of the surprised soldiers could get behind cover. Most of the 20 men that were too far from buildings were quickly captured. The cavalry's Major Josiah Steele, seeing that it was impossible to saddle the horses in time to meet the attack, cut the horses loose to prevent them from being captured. The men who sought cover in the two smallest buildings soon found that they had little protection, and quickly surrendered. Many of the Union soldiers took cover in the largest building, which was located near the railroad tracks. Mosby's men used their revolvers to attack the overcrowded building, and both sides fought fiercely. The fighting continued for about half an hour. Steele and Captain William A. McCoy of Company C initially refused Mosby's demand that they surrender. A few of Mosby's men entered the first floor of the building. Steele and McCoy were wounded, as were many of the men on the first floor. Although the men in the first floor surrendered, the men on the second floor continued the fight, so Mosby had his men set the structure on fire. This caused the remaining members of the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry to surrender. Those that could leave the smoke-filled house exited through a first floor that was covered with blood. The Rangers collected prisoners and equipment, and then began to retrieve horses. ### Rescue When Mosby's men attacked, many of the Union horses set loose by Major Steele stampeded toward the camp of a 70-man detachment of the 5th New York Cavalry, which caused some of the New Yorkers' horses to also run off. About 40 of the New Yorkers, led by Major John Hammond, quickly rode to the rescue of the West Virginians—arriving right after Mosby collected prisoners from the burning house. When Hammond arrived, many of the Rangers were trying to collect horses and discarded weapons. Mosby had about 40 prisoners that he was about to take back to Warrenton. This time, it was Mosby who was unprepared. His Rangers were scattered and he had not designated a second-in-command. He did not see the New Yorkers until they were about 250 yards (230 m) away. Unable to rally his troops, he was forced to give up much of what he captured while his men fled in every direction. The fight became a running battle with Union cavalry pursuing Mosby's Rangers. The 5th New York's Captain Abram H. Krom was shot twice (face and leg) and his horse killed—yet Krom surivied, and continued fighting with his saber. Mosby suffered significant losses, including some of his more-skilled men and 40 horses. Some Rangers escaped by crawling to safety or hiding. The 1st Vermont Cavalry arrived after the initial fighting and joined the pursuit of Mosby's men. More men from the 5th New York Cavalry joined the pursuit after they retrieved their horses. Newspaper reports later believed Mosby was wounded, and his best officer and best spy were among the casualties. ### Casualties Casualties for the Union totaled to 19. The 1st (West) Virginia had 2 killed and 14 wounded, including 2 officers. One of the officers (Steele) was mortally wounded. The 5th New York Cavalry had 3 wounded, including two officers. Mosby was still able to keep 2 prisoners from the 1st (West) Virginia. Mosby had over 30 of his men, including several officers, taken prisoner and at least one killed. It was also believed that some of Mosby's wounded and killed were hidden by locals. About 40 horses were also captured. About 16 of the prisoners were severely wounded. "Templeton, the notorious spy," (actually Madison Templeman) was killed. Although one general's report, and a newspaper account, claimed Mosby was wounded, that was not true. ## Aftermath At least one source believes that Union leaders hid the incompetency of the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry, writing that in "an effort to excuse lax security, they later reported that the front rank of Rangers were dressed in Union uniforms." Union General J.J. Abercrombie's report that said Mosby's "front rank was dressed in the uniform of United States soldiers". A newspaper article also stated that Mosby's men were mistaken for the 1st Vermont Cavalry. Mosby agrees that his men were mistaken for Union cavalry, but wrote that his men were all dressed in the gray of the Confederate Army. Union Sergeant Edwin Havens described Mosby's men that were captured as having "no regularity of uniforms being clad in everything they could find"—and had no mention of the blue uniforms worn by United States soldiers. Lt. Colonel Krepps was not mentioned in after action reports by Stahel, Abercrombie, or Chamberlain. ### Better cavalry The 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry soon had better leaders and better arms. During the spring after the Mosby encounter, the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry Regiment became armed with Spencer repeating rifles. Krepps resigned from the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry on May 22 for medical reasons. Officers from the regiment sent a petition to Secretary of War Stanton to have their well-thought-of second permanent commander, Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel P. Richmond, reinstated. Richmond was reinstated as regimental commander on June 12. Later in June, after the new state of West Virginia joined the Union, the 1st (West) Virginia Cavalry became known as the 1st West Virginia Cavalry. All three Union cavalry regiments involved in the Warrenton Junction Raid (5th New York, 1st Vermont, 1st West Virginia) fought at the Battle of Gettysburg as part of the same brigade. Richmond proved to be a good leader, and assumed temporary command of the brigade at Gettysburg after the commander was killed. He led the brigade for part of the pursuit after the battle. During that pursuit, the 1st West Virginia Cavalry charged down a mountain and captured a Confederate artillery piece and an entire wagon train. In 1865, the 1st West Virginia Cavalry was in the Third Brigade of the Third Division of General Philip Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah. This army eliminated General Jubal Early's Army of the Valley at the Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia when the Third Brigade charged and cut off over half of Early's force—which forced that portion of the rebels to surrender. The regiment also prepared for battle but did not fight in the Battle of Appomattox Court House, as General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia surrendered. In his memoirs, Mosby noted that Major Hammond was wise to attack immediately at Warrenton Junction, not waiting for the rest of his command, which enabled the 5th New York Cavalry to catch Mosby "in disorder and scattered". Hammond assumed command of the 5th New York Cavalry on June 1, 1863. He had an important role in the Battle of Hanover when the brigade was traveling to Gettysburg. His regiment's historian said he was known for his "coolness and bravery", and considered him a great equestrian and leader. In 1864, the New York Herald said that Colonel Hammond was "one of the best officers in the service." Hammond was not the only officer in the Warrenton Junction Raid that would eventually command a regiment. Abram Krom, a captain in the 5th New York Cavalry, became a major and briefly commanded the regiment in 1864 after Hammond left. ### Mosby learned Mosby normally scouted, gathered intelligence, and planned thoroughly. At Warrenton Junction, he was distracted by an unexpected opportunity. He later wrote "When I ordered the charge at Warrenton Junction, I had no idea whether I was attacking a hundred or a thousand men." Not only was this reckless, it also prevented Mosby from accomplishing his goal of attacking Hooker's supply wagons. He also wrote "...it was a mistake my making this fight, even if I had been completely successful." Mosby also learned that working with 100 men was different than working with 15. His men were from various units, and had "none of the cohesion and discipline that springs from organization". Since he had designated no unit commanders or even a second-in-command, it became difficult to rally his men when they were scattered about. During the fight, he also neglected to establish a security detail (pickets) surrounding the area of the fighting, which resulted in his surprise by the 5th New York Cavalry. Mosby learned from his mistakes, and Mosby's Rangers became a constant concern for Union commanders in Virginia. General Ulysses S. Grant narrowly escaped capture by Mosby's men, and decided to avoid traveling to Washington from his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac. During September and the first half of November 1864, Mosby claimed to have captured "not less than seven hundred prisoners". Two of Sheridan's division commanders, General George Custer and General William H. Powell, became especially frustrated with Mosby. Retaliations and injustices occurred (depending on one's point of view), and Powell threatened to execute 22 prisoners for every one of his men he considered murdered by outlawed guerrillas. After receiving a letter from Mosby, Sheridan agreed to a truce in the brutality committed by both sides against prisoners. Although more attempts were made to eliminate Mosby's Rangers, the Rangers were active until the end of the war. After the war was over, Mosby became a Republican and worked several jobs for the U.S. government. He died in 1916 and is buried in Warrenton.

Operation Turkey Buzzard

1943 British military supply mission during World War II

Operation Turkey Buzzard, also known as Operation Beggar, was a British supply mission to North Africa that took place between March and August 1943, during the Second World War. The mission was undertaken by No. 2 Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment and No. 295 Squadron Royal Air Force, prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily. Unusually, the mission was known by different names in different branches of the British Armed Forces: the British Army called the operation "Turkey Buzzard", while in the Royal Air Force it was known as "Beggar". The mission involved Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax bombers towing Airspeed Horsa gliders 3,200 miles (5,100 km) from England to Tunisia. The British Horsas were needed to complement the smaller American Waco gliders, which did not have the capacity required for the operations planned by the 1st Airborne Division. During the mission one Halifax-and-Horsa combination was shot down by German Focke Wulf Condor long-range patrol aircraft. Altogether five Horsas and three Halifaxes were lost, but twenty-seven Horsas arrived in Tunisia in time to participate in the invasion of Sicily. Although this supply operation was a success, few of the gliders made it to their landing zones in Sicily during the two British airborne operations that followed, many becoming casualties of the weather conditions or anti-aircraft gunfire. ## Background By December 1942, with Allied forces advancing through Tunisia, the North African campaign was coming to a close; victory in North Africa being imminent, discussions began between the Allies over what their next objective should be. Many Americans argued for an immediate invasion of France, while the British believed that it should be the island of Sardinia, as did General Dwight D. Eisenhower. In January 1943 the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and the President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, met at the Casablanca conference and settled the debate: the island of Sicily would be the Allies' next objective. The invasion and occupation of Sicily would benefit the Allies by opening Mediterranean sea routes for Allied shipping and allowing Allied bombers to operate from airfields that were much closer to mainland Italy and Germany. The codename Operation Husky was eventually decided on for the invasion, and planning began in February. The British Eighth Army, under the command of General Bernard Montgomery, would land on the south-eastern corner of the island and advance north to the port of Syracuse, while the US Seventh Army, commanded by General George Patton, would land on the south coast and move towards the port of Palermo on the western corner of the island. The landings would be made simultaneously along a 100-mile (160-km) stretch of the island's south-eastern coastline. For their part, the 1st Airborne Division was to conduct three brigade-size airborne operations; the Ponte Grande road bridge south of Syracuse was to be captured by 1st Airlanding Brigade (Operation Ladbroke), the port of Augusta was to be seized by 2nd Parachute Brigade (Operation Glutton), and finally the Primasole Bridge over the River Simeto was to be taken by 1st Parachute Brigade (Operation Fustian). When the plans for the British airborne operations were being discussed, Lieutenant-Colonel George Chatterton, the commander of No. 2 Wing, Glider Pilot Regiment, brought up a problem with the only glider then in theatre, the American Waco CG-4, known in British service as the Hadrian: its small size. The Waco's capacity was only two pilots and thirteen troops, and for cargo either a jeep or an artillery gun but not both together. The plan for Operation Ladbroke involved a coup de main assault on the Ponte Grande Bridge by the 2nd Battalion, South Staffordshire Regiment. Using the Horsa glider, which could carry twenty-seven troops or a jeep and gun together, they could deliver a larger force at the bridge during the initial assault. Chatterton decided he needed around forty Horsas, as well as the American Wacos, for the British missions. ## Mission The only Horsa gliders were in England at the time, and transporting them to North Africa would require a tow of 1,200 miles (1,900 km) over the Atlantic Ocean around the coast of Portugal and Spain, then a further 2,000 miles (3,200 km) across North Africa to reach Tunisia. No one had ever towed a glider that distance before, and it was not known if it was even possible. To test the concept and prove they had the necessary endurance, Handley Page Halifax bombers of No. 295 Squadron RAF towed Horsa gliders around the coastline of Britain. The mission was given the go-ahead; the Horsas were modified to jettison their landing gear after takeoff to reduce drag, while the Halifax bombers were modified with long-range fuel tanks fitted in the bomb bays. The pilots for the gliders came from No. 2 Wing, having been left in England when most of the wing departed for Tunisia earlier in the year. An eleven-week period of training followed, during which four crashes killed thirteen men. At a mission conference on 21 May 1943, hosted by No. 38 Wing RAF, the impossibility of training the bomber crews to tow the gliders and deliver forty gliders to North Africa was discussed. In the end it was decided that as a priority ten bomber crews would be fully trained to deliver around fifteen gliders to North Africa by 21 June. The Halifaxes and Horsas were moved to RAF Portreath in Cornwall, to shorten the distance they would have to travel. Even so, they were left with a ten-hour flight to Sale airport in Morocco. On arrival at Sale the gliders were released to land on a sand-patch alongside the runway. Once on the ground each Horsa was fitted with the spare landing gear it carried inside, and the flight immediately took off again on the next leg of the journey, to Mascara in Algeria. Their journey did not end here; they left for the final destination, Kairouan Airfield in Tunisia, as soon as possible. During the flight the gliders were provided with three pilots, who had to change around every hour to relieve fatigue. The flights were carried out between 3 June and 7 July; the first Horsas arrived at Kairouran on 28 June, only twelve days before they were to be used in Operation Ladbroke. During the flight from England, for its first three hours over the Bay of Biscay the Halifax–Horsa combination was escorted by RAF Bristol Beaufighters or Mosquito long-range fighter aircraft. They kept to an altitude of 500 ft (150 m) to avoid German radar so the escorting fighters could return safely when short of fuel. The mission was not without its dangers. Four hours into one flight, a Horsa snapped its tow-rope while trying to avoid low cloud and ditched in the sea. Another Horsa and Halifax were discovered by a pair of German Focke-Wulf Fw 200s and shot down. After surviving attacks from Luftwaffe fighter patrols and experiencing often-turbulent weather, a total of twenty-seven Horsas were delivered to North Africa in time for the invasion of Sicily. The total losses during the flights were three Halifaxes and five Horsas, with twenty-one RAF aircrew and seven glider pilots killed. ## Aftermath The first British airborne operation in Sicily began at 18:00 on 9 July 1943, when the gliders transporting the 1st Airlanding Brigade left Tunisia for Sicily. En route they encountered strong winds and poor visibility, and at times were subjected to anti-aircraft fire. To avoid gunfire and searchlights, pilots of the towing aircraft climbed higher or took evasive action. In the confusion surrounding these manoeuvres, some gliders were released too early and sixty-five of them crashed into the sea, drowning around 252 men. Fifty-nine of the remaining gliders missed their landing zones, by as much as 25 miles (40 km); others either failed to release and returned to Tunisia or were shot down. Only twelve landed on target; of these gliders a single Horsa, carrying a platoon of infantry from the Staffords, landed near the Ponte Grande Bridge. Its commander, Lieutenant Withers, swam across the river with half his men to take up positions on the opposite bank. The objective was captured following a simultaneous assault from both ends; the platoon then dismantled demolition charges that had been fitted to the bridge, and dug in to wait for reinforcement or relief. Another Horsa came down about 200 yards (180 m) from the bridge but exploded on landing, killing all on board. Three of the other Horsas carrying the South Staffordshire Regiment coup-de-main party had landed within 2 miles (3.2 km) of the bridge, their occupants eventually finding their way to the site. The second and last mission—Operation Fustian—began at 19:30 on 12 July, when the first aircraft carrying the 1st Parachute Brigade took off from North Africa. Following behind the parachute force were the glider-towing aircraft, comprising twelve Albemarles and seven Halifaxes, towing eleven Horsa and eight Waco gliders. The first glider casualties occurred on takeoff, when two aircraft towing Waco gliders crashed. While en route, one glider was released prematurely by its towing aircraft and crashed into the sea. Arriving over Sicily, having lost the element of surprise, four gliders were shot down by coastal anti-aircraft batteries. By the time the gliders arrived at their landing zones, two hours had lapsed since the start of the parachute landings. With the German defences alerted, only four Horsa gliders managed to land mostly intact, all the others being caught by German machine-gun fire and destroyed on their approach. The surviving Horsas had been carrying three of the brigade's anti-tank guns, which were now included in their defence of Primosole Bridge.

Tokyo File 212

1951 film

Tokyo File 212 (Japanese: 東京ファイル212) is a 1951 spy film directed by Dorrell McGowan [fr] and Stuart E. McGowan [fr]. George Breakston wrote the film's script and co-produced it with Dorrell McGowan jointly under the banner of their newly formed Breakston–McGowan Productions and Japanese Tonichi Enterprises Company [ja]. Californian lawyer Melvin Belli executive-produced the feature while composer Albert Glasser provided the film's score. The film, a Japanese-American co-production, starred Florence Marly and Robert Peyton in the lead roles while Tetsu Nakamura played the antagonist. Katsuhiko Haida, Reiko Otani, Tatsuo Saitō and Heihachirô Ôkawa featured as supporting characters. Real life geisha Ichimaru appeared in a song sequence. The plot revolved around an American Intelligence agent (Peyton) sent to Japan to track down a suspected communist who was previously his college-mate (Haida). Principal photography commenced on July 21, 1950 in Japan and was completed in 36 days; making it Hollywood's first feature film to be shot entirely in Japan. RKO Pictures distributed the film in the US. Upon release the film received mixed reviews from critics who found the story unconvincing, though they appreciated the scenic settings. It turned out to be a commercial failure too. ## Plot The film begins with the scene of a bomb explosion. The story then cuts back to a few days earlier. U.S. intelligence agent Jim Carter is sent to Japan as a National Weekly Indicator journalist to find Taro Matsudo who is helping the Communists there. Matsudo happens to be Carter's college friend. In his hotel, Carter meets Steffi Novak, a mysterious woman who speaks six languages and wishes to accompany him. Together they are taken to a bar by Joe, an undercover agent posing as a taxi driver. Carter tries to approach Taro but he does not want to meet Jim. Back at his hotel, Jim receives a telegram informing him to reach Enoshima island. Here he meets Taro who refuses to divulge any information about his commander. He meets Taro's father Matsudo, a government official, who tells him that Matsudo aspired to be a kamikaze pilot but when Japan surrendered during World War II, he was disappointed with the government and sided with the Communists. When Jim returns to his hotel room, he is beaten by a group of Japanese men who tell him to stay away from Taro. Meanwhile, Steffi meets Oyama who promises her that in return for spying on Carter she would be able to meet her sister in North Korea. Unknown to Steffi her sister is dead. She takes Cater to meet Oyama at an enkai party at a resort in Atami. Somehow, Carter learns that the food offered to him is poisoned. He is forced to eat it and heads back to the hotel and unexpectedly survives. Next, he goes to Tokyo's Takarazuka Theater where he meets Taro's lover Namiko. Here he gains a lot of information about Taro. After he leaves, Namiko is kidnapped and thrown from a moving car; she is hospitalized soon after. Once Taro learns of the incident, he rushes to meet her but refuses to believe that his organization had any involvement with the accident. After having gained evidences of Steffi spying on him, Carter arrests her. When she tells him that she was doing this to meet her sister, Carter informs her that her sister was murdered at Oyama's orders. Steffi vows revenge against Oyama and resolves to help Carter. Oyama intends to provoke a railroad strike in order to halt the war efforts. Matsudo and Taro face each other at the railway tracks, where both of them give speeches to the workers. In a short period the gathering turns into a brawl and several people, including Matsudo are badly injured. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department intervenes to restore peace. Taro decides to meet Namiko at the hospital but finds her dead. Oyama's henchmen take him to his office and when Taro learns of Oyama's plan to kill Carter, Steffi and Matsudo by a time bomb explosion, he jumps out of the window to draw them away from the bench under which the bomb is placed. Carter reaches Oyama's place with his associates and the police. Seeing no option left, Oyama confesses his crimes, angering his right-hand man who stabs him for disloyalty towards their organization; the man is shot and Oyama dies. After completing his mission Carter returns to the United States, with Steffi and Matsudo seeing him off. ## Cast - Florence Marly as Steffi Novak; an informer working for the communist later but changes side after learning about her sister's death at the hands of communists. Marly declared that Tokyo File 212 was her best film since coming to the United States. - Lee Frederick (Robert Peyton) as Jim Carter; an undercover US agent sent to Japan to thwart a communist ring's purpose - Katsuhiko Haida as Taro Matsuto; a former kamikaze pilot who defected with the communists after Japan surrendered in World War II - Reiko Otani as Namiko; Taro's girlfriend who is killed by the communists. Her death turns Taro against his allies. - Tatsuo Saitō as Mr. Matsuto; Taros's father, a politician. - Tetsu Nakamura as Mr. Oyama; leader of a Communist ring in Japan and the boss of Taro. - Suisei Matsui as Joe; an undercover agent posing as a taxi driver - Maj. Richard W.N. Childs, U.S. Army Reserve as himself - Lt. Richard Finiels GHQ, U.S. Army Far East Command as himself - Cpl. Stuart Zimmerley, Military Police, U.S. Army as himself - Pvt. James Lyons Military Police, U.S. Army as himself - Byron Michie as Mr. Jeffrey - Ichimaru as herself (Geisha Singer) In addition to the above, Heihachirô Ôkawa, Jun Tazaki and Dekao Yokoo also played minor roles. The Takarazuka Revue performed the Imperial Theater sequence. ## Production ### Development and casting George Paul Breakston, who had appeared in It Happened One Night (1934) and The Grapes of Wrath (1940) as a child actor, worked in the Signal Corps during World War II and also visited Tokyo. After the war ended, Breakston shifted his focus towards films, directing Urubu: The Story of Vulture People (1948) and Jungle Stampede (1950). During this time, he drafted Tokyo File 212 and met Hollywood studio executives and producers with the script. Dorrell and Stewart McGowan, in addition to writing the film's screenplay, agreed to back the production and established the company Breakston–McGowan Productions, Inc. for this venture. Lawyer Melvin Belli invested \$10,000 in the project and was credited as executive producer. Irene Breakston and C. Ray Stahl were the assistant and associate producer respectively. Herman Schopp handled the cinematography while Albert Glasser provided the musical score. The production company joined hands with Japanese Suzuki Ikuzo [ja]'s Tonichi Enterprises Company [ja]. The latter agreed to provide half of the budget and Japanese actors and crew members in return for half of the film's earnings in both Japan and the United States. Tokyo File 212 was approved by Douglas MacArthur in May 1950 with Lloyd Nolan as the male lead though eventually Robert Peyton was finalized, marking his first appearance in a leading role. Contemporary newspaper reports indicated that Leif Erickson and Sessue Hayakawa were also considered for the protagonist and antagonist's roles respectively. The former left 20th-Fox's Half Angel (1951) in hopes of gaining this project. Florence Marly, due to star in a big-budget Mexican feature and under contract with Allied Artists at that time, was borrowed for the film. The cast also included Tatsuo Saitō, Suisei Matsui, Tetsu Nakamura, Katsuhiko Haida and Reiko Otani, who was cast after an audition. It was the only film approved by MacArthur for filming in Japan and he provided the filmmakers with intelligence files to facilitate their research for the film. He also provided interpreters and several intelligence officers appeared in the film. Real military generals and detectives were cast for the respective roles. Tokyo File 212 was the film debut of geisha Ichimaru. Katsuhiko was initially uncomfortable with his kiss scene with Marley. Marley said of Katsuhiko that "[He] could give the Clark Gables and Tyrone Powers a run for their money." Incidentally, she happened to be the first American actress to visit Japan in 15 years. 40 Kamikaze pilots were also included in the cast. ### Filming American actors and crew members reached Japan on July 21, 1950. Principal photography began on the same day under the working title of Danger City. The film was completed in 36 days and its final version was prepared in 2 months. Tokyo File 212 was Hollywood's first feature film to be shot entirely in Japan. Most of the film was shot in Tokyo, and some key scenes were shot in Atami and Enoshima. A communist group wished to appeal to Marly, who was born in Czechoslovakia, not to act in the film. She was told about it only after the crew had returned to the US after completing the principal photography. At the Ohuzumi studio in Tokyo, 26 sets were constructed for the film's shooting. The 100 feet (30 m) long and 70 feet (21 m) wide ballroom set for the underground bar scene, where Carter meets Taro for the first time after the war, was built in \$160. For the final bomb explosion scene, the Japanese used 15 black-powdered bombs instead of the pre-planned six. The blast caused Dorrel McGowan to fall on his back and alarmed the city's air patrol and the military police, fire wagons along with riot squads rushed to the shooting location. They were unaware that the explosion was done for a film. A few crew member including Marly were hurt in the explosion. The scene where Taro leaps from a window was shot by two cameramen and he was pushed from the window with one cameraman recording just above the window. For a street celebration scene shot in Enoshima, the Japanese extras drank a lot of sake to make the scene authentic. The rail strike scene took inspiration from a similar strike that occurred in 1949. 8 trains and 200 engineers were provided for the same scene. During this particular scene several actors were injured. The communists did not want its filming to occur and their threats made the Japanese cast and crew members unwilling to work unless more security was provided. The production team had access to places where only military cars and trucks were allowed. Location shooting in Japan helped reduce the production costs significantly and the film was completed with a budget of approximately US\$700,000 with Dorrel McGowan later stating it would have cost millions of dollars if the film was shot in the US. During her visit, Marly also entertained American soldiers stationed there. She gave instructions in kissing to five Japanese actors, including Toru Abe and Teiji Takahashi, at Meguro Gajoen hotel during a press conference. This incident did not go down well with some sections of the Japanese who loathed Abe for being kissed by a foreigner and even accused him of bringing shame to the nation. After returning from Japan, Dorell McGowan declared that the Japanese were the greatest actors in the world. He also praised the set building techniques employed by the Japanese. One scene was shot at Tokyo's Imperial Theater. ## Release Due to the film's content RKO executives were eager to release Tokyo File 212 soon. The Japanese and US premieres were scheduled for December 15, 1950 and May 2, 1951 respectively. Gen. Douglas MacArthur and the Japanese emperor Hirohito were invited to attend the former event at Tokyo's Ernie Pyle theatre. However it opened in Japan on January 24, 1951 and released in the United States on May 5. Geisha girls were brought from Japan to perform at the film's opening in major US cities including Washington, D.C. The Catholic organisation National Legion of Decency considered the film morally objectionable in part and gave it a B rating. The New York daily Plattsburgh Press-Republican predicted that the film would be an outright purchase. Prominent films it was double billed with included Sealed Cargo and Cyclone Fury (both 1951). It premiered on television on May 13, 1959. The Danish and Portuguese titles for the film were Mysteriet i Tokio and Tóquio, Intriga Oriental respectively. It was released in Sweden on September 8, 1952 as Attentat i Tokyo. The fact that it was filmed in Japan was well publicized. In Japan, Toyoko and Toei managed the film's promotion. ## Soundtrack Albert Glasser provided the music score. In addition to the above titles "Oyedo Boogie" by Yasuo Shimizu & Shizuo Yoshikawa was also included. The soundtrack's LP record was released in 1987 under the label of Screen Archives Entertainment. ## Reception Reviewers criticized the film's plot but praised the scenic settings. Reviewer from Monthly Film Bulletin found the Japanese settings "interesting", but called the story confusing and felt that the depiction of communist activities was childishly silly. Brog in Variety opined that Marly had fulfilled her role and Peyton's acting was okay. He praised the "Oyedo Boogie" song sequence and the Japanese background. He stated that despite having good "exploitation values", the story had turned out be at "pulp fiction level". The Christian Science Monitor's reviewer was of the view that the work was "more or less routine entertainment" but praised Marly's "expert job" and the Japanese settings. However, he felt that the dialogues in Japanese language were a little confusing and Peyton's performance was not worth arousing sympathy for its "professional detachment" and "unemotional determination". The Washington Post's critic Richard L. Coe termed the film a "low-level, pulp magazine job" and a "less worthy buck-catcher" but felt that it had advantage of realistic settings. He also criticized the approval note before the film and advised the government departments to be more careful while approving them. A. H. Weiler of The New York Times questioned why "the long trip" to Japan was made for the "awkward melodrama". He called the story "comic-strip level" fiction, Peyton's performance "[stony]", criticized the "muscular and uninspired" acting and dialogues. He concluded his review by stating that the film was "one "file" that should never have been plucked from the archives." John L. Scott wrote in Los Angeles Times that the "production moves slowly and abrupt cutting doesn't help the matter much" and termed the picture a "routine spy business". For Eiga no tomo's editor Nagaharu Yodogawa who called it a "failure", viewing the feature was a "truly painful" experience. Critic Kodama Kazuo noted in his book that the film's "reputation [was] terribly bad" in Japan. Tasmanian daily Examiner called the film an "explosive melodrama". The Newcastle Sun called it a "rather unusual film", its background atmosphere "excellent" and praised Marly's performance. However, the reviewer felt that her character was "made-up a little too heavily". James King wrote in his book Under Foreign Eyes that Korea and Communist menace was underscored and the Japanese characters were portrayed as having conflicting emotions with the Western ones. He further said that the film created a notion that Japanese had to be rescued from themselves and Oyama represents the Japanese who think of foreigners as enemies. Jeanette Roan felt that the storyline was "well suited to the ideological goals of the reconstruction" but location shooting was unnecessary. In his book Korean War Filmography, Robert J. Lentz stated that Marly had given the film's "best performance" and made the feature worth watching. He was surprised that a few more shots of "scenic Tokyo" had not been included and called the Communist bar scene "unintentionally comic". Lentz was critical of the script, likened Peyton's voice to that of a TV series actor and rated the film, best of the three produced by Breakston. 42–58% turnout was reported during the first week of the film's screening in Tokyo and it was declared a commercial failure. In 2004, it was released on DVD by Alpha Video.

Bangla Desh (song)

"Bangla Desh" is a song by English musician George Harrison. It was released as a non-album single in July 1971, to raise awareness for the millions of refugees from the country Bangladesh, formerly known as East Pakistan, following the 1970 Bhola cyclone and the outbreak of the Bangladesh Liberation War. Harrison's inspiration for the song came from his friend Ravi Shankar, a Indian-Bengali musician, who approached Harrison for help in trying to alleviate the suffering. "Bangla Desh" has been described as "one of the most cogent social statements in music history" and helped gain international support for Bangladeshi independence by establishing the name of the fledgling nation around the world. In 2005, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan identified the song's success in personalising the Bangladesh crisis, through its emotive description of Shankar's request for help. "Bangla Desh" appeared at the height of Harrison's popularity as a solo artist, following the break-up of the Beatles and the acclaim afforded his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. It was pop music's first charity single, and its release took place three days before the Harrison-sponsored Concert for Bangladesh shows at New York's Madison Square Garden. The single became a top ten hit in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe, and peaked at number 23 on America's Billboard Hot 100. The recording was co-produced by Phil Spector and features contributions from Leon Russell, Jim Horn, Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner. The Los Angeles session for the song marked the start of two enduring musical associations in Harrison's solo career, with Keltner and Horn. Backed by these musicians and others including Eric Clapton and Billy Preston, Harrison performed "Bangla Desh" at the UNICEF concerts, on 1 August 1971, as a rousing encore. In a review of the Concert for Bangladesh live album for Rolling Stone magazine, Jon Landau identified this reading as "the concert's single greatest performance by all concerned". The studio recording appeared on the 1976 compilation The Best of George Harrison, which remained its only official CD release until September 2014, when it was included as a bonus track on the Apple Years 1968–75 reissue of Harrison's Living in the Material World album. Artists who have covered the song include Stu Phillips & the Hollyridge Strings and Italian saxophonist Fausto Papetti. ## Background By the spring of 1971, George Harrison had established himself as the most successful ex-Beatle during the former band members' first year as solo artists; in the words of biographer Elliot Huntley, he "couldn't have got any more popular in the eyes of the public". Just as importantly, writes Peter Lavezzoli, author of The Dawn of Indian Music in the West, Harrison had "amassed such good will in the music community" during that time. Rather than looking to immediately follow up his All Things Must Pass triple album, he had spent the months since recording ended in October 1970 repaying favours to the friends and musicians who had helped make the album such a success. These included co-producer Phil Spector, whose wife, Ronnie Spector, Harrison supplied with songs for a proposed solo album on Apple Records; Ringo Starr, whose "It Don't Come Easy" single he produced and prepared for release, following the original session for the song in March 1970; Bobby Whitlock, singer and keyboard player with the short-lived Derek and the Dominos, whose eponymous debut solo album featured Harrison and Eric Clapton on guitar; and former Spooky Tooth pianist Gary Wright, whose Footprint album (1971) Harrison also guested on, along with All Things Must Pass orchestrator John Barham. Another project was a documentary on the life and music of Ravi Shankar, Howard Worth's Raga (1971), for which Harrison had stepped in at the last minute to provide funding and distribution through Apple Films. With Harrison also serving as record producer for the accompanying soundtrack album, work began with Shankar in Los Angeles during April 1971 and resumed in late June, following Harrison-produced sessions in London for the band Badfinger. A Bengali by birth, Shankar had already brought the growing humanitarian crisis in Bangladesh to Harrison's attention, while staying at the ex-Beatle's house, Friar Park, earlier in the year. The state formerly known as East Pakistan (and before that, East Bengal) had suffered an estimated 300,000 casualties when the Bhola cyclone hit its shores on 12 November 1970, and the indifference shown by the ruling government in West Pakistan, particularly by President Yahya Khan, was just one reason the Bengali national movement sought independence on 25 March 1971. This declaration resulted in an immediate military crackdown by Khan's troops, and three days later the Bangladesh Liberation War began. By 13 June, details of the systematic massacre of citizens were beginning to emerge internationally via the publication in London's Sunday Times of an article by Anthony Mascarenhas. Along with the torrential rains and intensive flooding that were threatening the passage of millions of refugees into north-eastern India, this news galvanised Shankar into approaching Harrison for help in trying to alleviate the suffering. "I was in a very sad mood, having read all this news," Shankar later told Rolling Stone magazine, "and I said, 'George, this is the situation, I know it doesn't concern you, I know you can't possibly identify.' But while I talked to George he was very deeply moved ... and he said, 'Yes, I think I'll be able to do something.'" As a result, Harrison committed to staging the Concert for Bangladesh at Madison Square Garden, New York, on Sunday, 1 August. Six weeks of frantic activity ensued as Harrison flew between New York, Los Angeles and London, making preparations and recruiting other musicians to join him and Shankar for the shows. While conceding that Harrison was no "natural sloganeer" in the manner of his former bandmate John Lennon, author Robert Rodriguez has written: "if any ex-Fab had the cachet with his fan base to solicit good works, it was the spiritual Beatle." ## Writing Foreign journalists had been deported from East Pakistan shortly before the Pakistani army's Operation Searchlight, and even after Mascarenhas' first-hand observations had been published, Shankar and Harrison were concerned that the mainstream media in the West were showing a reluctance to report all the facts. That summer, it also emerged that America was supporting General Khan's military offensive, both financially and with weaponry – despite the Blood telegram in April, in which officials at the US Consulate in Dacca advised their State Department of the "genocide" taking place and accused the US Government of "moral bankruptcy". Realising the need to create greater awareness of the situation in Bangladesh, and particularly the refugee camps of India that had become "infectious open-air graveyards" with the outbreak of cholera, Harrison quickly composed a song for the cause. He later said that "Bangla Desh" was "written in ten minutes at the piano". The title translates as "Bengal nation", and the fact that Harrison spelt it as two words is indicative of how little the new country name had been acknowledged by the Western media at this time. As with the concerts, Harrison made a point of steering clear of the politics behind the problem, his lyrics focusing instead on the human perspective. At the suggestion of Leon Russell, who had participated in the recent Ronnie Spector and Badfinger sessions, Harrison began the song with a verse outlining his own introduction to the Bangladesh crisis: > My friend came to me with sadness in his eyes > Told me that he wanted help before his country dies > Although I couldn't feel the pain, I knew I had to try > Now I'm asking all of you to help us save some lives. These lines refer to Shankar's request for help. Author Simon Leng writes that "[in] deference to the Shankar context", Harrison set the opening verse as a rock version of Indian music's traditional alap – "a slow introductory statement of the main ideas". The remainder of the song's lyrics concentrate on the uncompromising message "We've got to relieve Bangla Desh" as thousands of refugees, particularly children, fell victim to the effects of famine and disease. The final verse-chorus, which includes the lines "Now, it may seem so far from where we all are / It's something we can't reject", reflects a point that former US Fund for UNICEF president Charles Lyons later identified as a perennial obstacle when addressing global issues of poverty: that the problems appear to be too big and too distant for individuals to be able to solve. Author Ian Inglis comments that the line "Now won't you give some bread to get the starving fed" contains a "clever pun", whereby the word "bread" is used to refer to both money and food. ## Recording With little time to begin rehearsing for the New York shows, the "Bangla Desh" single was rush-recorded in Los Angeles. Sources differ over the venue and date: the Record Plant West seems the most likely studio, with sessions taking place on 4–5 July and horn overdubs perhaps on 10 July. Phil Spector again co-produced with Harrison. As with the recording details for the sessions, the exact line-up of musicians is a matter of conjecture. According to Simon Leng, the line-up comprised Harrison, Leon Russell (piano), Jim Horn (saxophones), Klaus Voormann (bass), Starr, Jim Keltner (both on drums) and Billy Preston (organ). Horn's recollection is that only Harrison, Russell, Voormann and Keltner were present at the first session. Leng and Beatles historian Bruce Spizer credit a "horn section" led by Jim Horn. The latter went on to lead the six-piece "Hollywood Horns", which included trumpeter and trombonist Chuck Findley, at the New York concerts on 1 August. The recording begins with Harrison's emotive introduction backed by what Lavezzoli describes as a "rolling piano figure" from Russell. Following the words "help us save some lives", the piano sets up the song's "driving groove", Lavezzoli continues, as the rhythm section and Harrison's electric guitar join in, creating the same musical blend of gospel and rock that Harrison had adopted on much of All Things Must Pass. In a review for the NME in August 1971, Derek Johnson wrote of "Bangla Desh": "Opens almost like a sermon, then the beat come is ... as George wails fervently to a backing of a solid rhythm section and handclaps." The track retains an "urgent 'live' mood", according to Leng, and features solos shared between Russell, Horn (on tenor sax) and Harrison (slide guitar). It fades out with the ensemble playing in double time, similar to a fast gat section (or drut) used in Hindustani classical music. In journalist Richard Williams' description: "[Harrison] put a lot of feeling into the record. His voice takes on unusually sad inflections – at times he is almost unrecognisable – and Spector backed him well with leaping riffs supported by a grunting baritone sax." "Bangla Desh" marked the first occasion that Harrison worked with Horn, who would go on to become a regular collaborator. Already a veteran of the LA music scene by 1971, Horn recalls his "jaded" mindset before meeting Harrison, but describes the session as a "real turning point" in his career, "because we were doing something for a cause". It was also the first time that Keltner played on a Harrison session, the two musicians having recently worked together on Lennon's Imagine album. The "Bangla Desh" session was the beginning of a lifelong friendship, with the pair remaining "as brothers", Keltner has said, until Harrison's death in 2001. Together with Clapton, Preston, Bob Dylan and the group Badfinger, all these musicians joined Harrison and Shankar on stage at Madison Square Garden. Ravi Shankar cut a benefit record of his own at this time, the Harrison-produced Joi Bangla EP. The A-side contained two vocal compositions sung in Bengali – the title track (which translated to mean "Victory to Bangladesh") and "Oh Bhaugowan" – while on the reverse was a six-minute recital of "Raga Mishra Jhinjoti", featuring Shankar, sarodya Ali Akbar Khan, and Shankar's regular tabla player, Alla Rakha. ## Release At Harrison's urging, Capitol Records, Apple's distributor in the United States, set all four of its manufacturing plants to producing copies of the "Bangla Desh" single; one-sided, white label promo discs were also rushed through to ensure immediate radio play for the song. For the US picture sleeve, designer Tom Wilkes chose a suitably topical image, incorporating headlines and text from New York Times articles about the Bangladesh crisis. The articles made mention of vultures being the "happiest creatures" amid the chaos in Dacca, and India's "wait and see" policy regarding events in East Pakistan. The front of the picture sleeve was topped with the line "(We've Got to Relieve)" before the words "Bangla Desh", leading a number of publications to include the parenthetical text as part of the official song title. Boxed off at the foot of the front sleeve were details of the George Harrison–Ravi Shankar Special Emergency Relief Fund (care of UNICEF's New York headquarters), to which proceeds of the single would go and further donations were encouraged. The back cover of the US sleeve was taken from a UPI news agency photograph – an "emotional" image showing a mother comforting her starving child. This photo was also used in the aid project's magazine advertising campaign. Backed by "Deep Blue", the "Bangla Desh" single was issued on 28 July 1971 in the United States (as Apple 1836), with a UK release following two days later (R 5912). It peaked at number 10 on Britain's national singles chart and number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100 in America; the other US chart compilers, Cash Box and Record World, placed the single at number 20 and number 13, respectively. "Bangla Desh" attracted sustained airplay in the days leading up to the concerts, and lent the relief project an authentic social and political significance. A Bangladeshi academic, Professor Farida Majid, would later write: "To the utter consternation of [US President] Nixon and [Secretary of State] Kissinger, George Harrison's 'Bangla Desh' hit the chart. It was a thrilling moment in the midst of all the sad news emanating from the battlefront. Even the Western journalists covering the civil war in East Pakistan were not yet using the word 'Bangladesh'." The studio recording was also played at the Concert for Bangladesh shows, following Shankar's opening set, over footage of the refugees and scenes from the war. ### Reissue Despite the song having been a hit – and its status as the first-ever pop charity single, fourteen years before Band Aid and USA for Africa – "Bangla Desh" was mostly ignored by record-company repackagers following 1971. Over a period of 43 years, the studio version received an album release only on the 1976 compilation The Best of George Harrison, which was issued on CD in 1987. The song has since been included as a bonus track, remixed by Paul Hicks, on the 2014 reissue of Harrison's Living in the Material World album, part of the eight-disc Apple Years 1968–75 box set. ## Reception and legacy On release, Billboard magazine described "Bangla Desh" as "a musical appeal to help our fellow-man" that "should find immediate and heavy chart action". In his contemporary review for the NME, Derek Johnson considered the song to be "[n]ot so strong melodically as 'My Sweet Lord', but still nagging and insistent", and added: "one can immediately detect the despair and pity in [Harrison's] voice as he sings of the appalling plight of the East Pakistanis ... his lyric is bound to cause some heart-searching." Record World called it a "beautiful record." A wave of public goodwill accompanied the single's release in 1971, as was the case with the two benefit concerts, the subsequent live album, and the 1972 concert film. Simon Leng has identified genuine friendship as being key to the success of Harrison and Shankar's relief project: the friendship between the two of them that saw the ex-Beatle become involved, and the friendships Harrison had cultivated with Dylan, Clapton and Starr that ensured their participation. Leng notes that the opening lyrics to "Bangla Desh" ("My friend came to me ...") could equally have applied to Harrison's efforts to enlist the reluctant Dylan and heroin-sidelined Clapton. In his concert review for The Village Voice, Don Heckman described "Bangla Desh" as "a song which expresses far better than words what kind of man Harrison is". Heckman went on to compare Harrison's philanthropy with the activities of two of his former bandmates, saying: "I have no quarrel with John Lennon's endless clattering around inside his psyche, or Paul McCartney's search for sweetness and light, but at the moment I have to have stronger feelings about George Harrison's active efforts to do something about the misery in the world around him. How surprising that the most introspective of the Beatles should be the one who, in the long run, takes the most effective actions." Away from its context as a song designed purely to bring attention to the Bengalis' cause, as Harrison himself described it, "Bangla Desh" has often been viewed by commentators as a rushed and underwhelming composition. Robert Rodriguez qualifies this opinion, however: "As a single, the song was possibly not the most commercial of records, but as a call to service, it could scarcely have been improved upon." "Bangla Desh"'s standing as rock music's first charity single is not overlooked, with Ian Inglis stating: "'Bangla Desh' serves as a model for the charity singles that would become commonplace in the decades ahead, although, in this instance, the power of Harrison's song lies not in its assembly of famous performers but in its literal and absolute commitment." On this point, Leng deems the song as having "as much raw energy as anything [Lennon's] Plastic Ono Band ever offered". In The Dawn of Indian Music in the West, Peter Lavezzoli writes: "Harrison's lyric and vocal were concise and powerful, a direct call for action in a specific crisis. As such, 'Bangla Desh' remains one of the most cogent social statements in music history." In his interview for the 2005 reissue of Saul Swimmer's Concert for Bangladesh film, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan acknowledged Harrison and Shankar as "pioneers" in their efforts for the people of Bangladesh, and credited the song's opening verse for personalising the crisis by showing "the man behind the music". Thirty-three years before this, on 5 June 1972, UNICEF officially recognised Harrison and Shankar with its annual Child Is the Father of the Man award. In 2004, "Bangla Desh" was played during the final episode of the BBC television series Himalaya with Michael Palin, in which Palin travels south from Bhutan to Bay of Bengal and reflects on Bangladesh's struggle for independence. Writing for Blender magazine in April that year, Paul Du Noyer described the song as a "fine 1971 single". In the 2005 "Beatles Solo" edition of NME Originals, Adrian Thrills rated "Bangla Desh" second among Harrison's "ten solo gems" (behind "What Is Life"), referring to it as a "jazz-blues-rock shuffle" that "set the template for Band Aid". Writing in The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles in 2009, Michael Frontani said that with his Bangladesh relief effort, Harrison "pioneered the whole idea of the charity album and single, as well as of the rock concert fundraiser". While bemoaning the song's omission from the 2009 Harrison compilation Let It Roll, Jon Cummings of Popdose described "Bangla Desh" as "no great artistic achievement" within itself, but "a key moment ... in the evolution of pop-music activism". The song is featured in Bruce Pollock's 2005 book The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944–2000. In 2010, AOL Radio listeners placed "Bangla Desh" at number 10 in a poll to decide the ten best post-Beatles Harrison songs. ## Live version Harrison played "Bangla Desh" as an encore at both of the Madison Square Garden shows on 1 August 1971, with the evening performance being selected for inclusion on the Concert for Bangladesh triple live album. After the familiar introduction to the song, the band "threw their full weight behind Harrison", Lavezzoli writes, "playing the darkest and heaviest music of the show". On release that December, Jon Landau of Rolling Stone identified the song as "the concert's single greatest performance by all concerned", and added that by the close of the show, the lyrics to Harrison's single were "no longer an expression of intent but of an accomplished mission – help has been given, people have been reached, an effort has been made and results will be felt". In his album review for Melody Maker, Richard Williams wrote that the live version of "Bangla Desh" "roars and rages to a stunning close". Played at a faster tempo than the studio recording, it features what Spizer terms a "blistering" saxophone solo from Horn, and a vocal by Harrison that Leng describes as "astonishingly powerful" and "a pure act of zeal". As shown in the concert film, following his brief guitar solo towards the end of the song, Harrison repeats the line "Relieve the people of Bangla Desh" before exiting the stage to loud applause, as the band play on without him. In his book on the Beatles' first decade as solo artists, Rodriguez views this live performance as perhaps Harrison's "high water mark of public esteem". Pitchfork's Quinn Moreland writes that the song title was the phrase that Harrison "hopes his audience takes away from the [concert]", and he adds: > Concise, direct, and with a killer saxophone solo, "Bangla Desh" makes a convincing argument: Yes, the '60s were done. The Manson murders terrified a nation, Altamont crashed and burned, Joplin and Hendrix were dead, and the Vietnam War raged on. Fear and doubt had poisoned the well of idealism. But right here, right now, Harrison suggests, you can honor some of the decade's lost promises by lending a hand to help a fellow man. Although he was reportedly eager to repeat the experience of these New York shows, Harrison never played "Bangla Desh" in concert after 1971 and he did not perform live again until his 1974 North American tour with Shankar. By that point, the Bangladesh Liberation War had long ended, with the defeat of the Pakistani army in December 1971 by the allied forces of Bangladesh and India, but Bangladesh was now experiencing a devastating famine that would account for up to 1.5 million lives. During a concert in Los Angeles on 11 November, Harrison responded to requests for the song "Bangla Desh" with a suggestion that the audience instead chant "Krishna, Krishna, Krishna" and use the positive power of mantra to help the Bangladeshi population. ## Cover versions Harrison biographer Alan Clayson has written of the "triumph" of the Bangladesh concerts leading to a host of imitators and tribute acts replicating the shows' programme, among which was a French band's cover version of "Bangla Desh". Another example was the Tribe's Bangla Desh (1972), a full album of highlights from the concerts, including Harrison's "Something", "My Sweet Lord" and "Here Comes the Sun". The previous year, Stu Phillips & the Hollyridge Strings released an easy listening version of "Bangla Desh" on their Beatles tribute album The George, John, Paul & Ringo Songbook (1971). Another 1971 cover version, re-released in 2002 on the compilation When They Was Fab – A Tribute to the Solo Beatles, was recorded by the Top of the Poppers. Following Jim Horn's prominent contribution to the original Harrison recording, Italian saxophonist Fausto Papetti recorded the song for his 1972 album 14a Raccolta. Alternative band B.A.L.L. covered "Bangla Desh" on their 1988 album Bird, as part of their parody of early 1970s rock stars such as the former Beatles. ## Personnel The following musicians are believed to have played on the studio recording of "Bangla Desh". - George Harrison – vocals, electric guitar, slide guitar, backing vocals - Leon Russell – piano - Jim Horn – tenor sax, baritone sax, horn arrangement - Billy Preston – organ - Klaus Voormann – bass - Ringo Starr – drums - Jim Keltner – drums ## Chart performance

Revelations of the Dark Mother

1998 epic poem

Revelations of the Dark Mother, subtitled Seeds from the Twilight Garden, is an epic poem written by Phil Brucato and Rachelle Udell, illustrated by Rebecca Guay, Vince Locke, and Eric Hotz, and published by White Wolf Publishing in November 1998. Based on the tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade and the World of Darkness series, the poem centers around Lilith and is her counterpoint to 1993's The Book of Nod, a poem focused on Caine, the first murderer. It is written in the same style as The Book of Nod, with heavy use of illustrations, and with a "vampire scholar" framing. The poem was well received for its portrayal of Lilith and her inclusion in the vampire mythology, for adding depth to the Vampire: The Masquerade world, and for the art and design – particularly Guay's artwork of Lilith – although some critics were divided on whether it would be useful when playing the tabletop game. In 1999, the book was followed by The Erciyes Fragments. ## Summary Revelations of the Dark Mother is an epic poem based on the tabletop role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade and the World of Darkness series, providing background information on the character Lilith. It is written in the style of the earlier publication The Book of Nod (1993), and is Lilith's counterpoint to The Book of Nod's story of the biblical first murderer Caine, who in the fiction of Vampire: The Masquerade is re-imagined as cursed with vampirism and as the progenitor of all vampires. Like The Book of Nod, it has a "vampire scholar" framing device; makes heavy use of illustration; and has the same verse structure. The cover art, too, mirrors The Book of Nod's, featuring a silver pictogram on a black background symbolizing a progenitor – Lilith – surrounded by its offspring. The book, which presents itself as a heretical document existing within the Vampire: The Masquerade fiction, written and compiled by the vampire scholar Rachel Dolium, begins with a foreword by Dolium, describing her research for the book; Lilith and her lessons of growing through pain; and the Bahari cultists who follow Lilith. Following this are three chapters: - "First Circle: The Book of the Serpent" recounts Lilith's creation and her trials: Jehovah creates Adam, the first man, and Lilith, the first woman, from True Earth in the garden of Eden. Lilith eats the fruit of the trees of life and knowledge, and learns to hunt; Adam angrily distances himself from her, and mates with beasts. Finding this detestable, Jehova tells him to mate with Lilith instead; she refuses, finding his actions repulsive. After Adam tries to rape her, she is lifted to heaven, becoming Jehovah's lover. Later, Jehovah jealously banishes Lilith, not wanting her to be his equal, and creates Eve, the second woman, from Adam's rib rather than True Earth. In the desert, Lilith meets Lucifer and becomes his lover and the ruler of the night. Wanting to create her own garden, she returns to Eden and tricks Lucifer, who guards the entrance, into letting her in to steal seeds, disguised as a Great Serpent. Feeling sorry for Eve, she convinces her to eat of the fruit and then has sex with her. In turn, Eve shares the fruit with Adam. Angered, Jehovah exiles Adam, Eve, Lilith and Lucifer. Lilith and Lucifer create a new garden and have six children. - "Second Circle: The Book of the Owl" is a retelling of some of the events from "First Circle" from Lilith's perspective, and recounts her meeting with Caine, taking him in to her and Lucifer's garden, and teaching him to grow through suffering. Lilith creates another garden, D'hainu, which grows until Caine returns with his vampiric descendants, who burn the garden and slaughter Lilith's and Lucifer's children; Lilith curses Caine and his descendants, except for Toreador and Nosferatu, who had pitied the dead. - "Third Circle: The Book of the Dragon" recounts Lilith's declaration of a long night of suffering, particularly upon Caine and his descendants, that will finally end with her return during the end of the world. ## Production and release Revelations of the Dark Mother was written by Phil Brucato and Rachelle Udell, and was illustrated by three artists: Rebecca Guay, Vince Locke, and Eric Hotz. Guay drew the main illustrations for Lilith's story, using pencil or charcoal, and Locke illustrated the vampire scholar Rachel Dolium in the foreword. No works in the book are signed by Hotz, but Don Bassingthwaite, writing for SF Site, guessed that he was responsible for the pictograms. The poem was released by White Wolf Publishing in November 1998 in the form of a 123-page booklet, and has also been published as an e-book. The poem was followed by the Vampire: The Dark Ages book The Erciyes Fragments in 1999. A German translation of Revelations of the Dark Mother was published by Feder & Schwert in 1999. ## Reception In their Western Folklore article "Variations on Vampires", Yvonne J. Milspaw and Wesley K. Evans called the poem "powerful". They found the addition of Lilith, a feminine divine, to the Book of Genesis-based vampire mythology "elegant" and adding depth, with Lilith and Caine used as opposites to Adam and Abel across multiple axes: Lilith the wife versus Adam the husband, and Caine and Abel the brothers; and Lilith the stepmother versus Caine the stepson, and Adam the father versus Abel the son. They saw them as analogies for opposing life styles, and as adding oppositions of magical-versus-mundane, darkness-versus-light, and wilderness-versus-garden. Bassingthwaite called Lilith's story fresh, mature and sophisticated, and appreciated the voice given to her, describing her portrayal as that of a "strong, independent, magickal woman". Backstab called the book graphic, poetic, and inspired, giving Vampire: The Masquerade more depth, and thought that readers interested in alternate views of the Vampire: The Masquerade world and in interpreting and discovering what is revealed in the poem would love it; similarly, Envoyer enjoyed exploring the cryptic and metaphorical writing. Bassingthwaite praised the book's design and layout, comparing it favorably to The Book of Nod: he found Guay's artwork beautiful, and conveying a Lilith that is "variously powerful, afflicted, sorrowful, loving, and avenging"; saw Locke's artwork as successfully setting off the foreword with its portrayal of Dolium; and called the pictograms interesting and organic. Backstab, too, liked Guay's illustration work, calling it "superb". Discussing Revelations of the Dark Mother in the context of an extension of the Vampire: The Masquerade tabletop game, French magazine Casus Belli said that it, like The Book of Nod, would be of interest to those who find the game's occult-esoteric background fascinating, and appreciated its unexpected comedic elements, but thought that the way it only targets big fans of World of Darkness, and the lack of a French translation, could make it hard to use when playing Vampire: The Masquerade. Dosdediez, too, wished that it had been more useful as a game supplement; they found some of the stories "shocking", but considered the book as a whole to mostly be of interest to those caring about details in the game's vampire mythology, and wished that it had spent more time on discussing Lilith's and Caine's past. Envoyer did on the other hand find it useful as background information when portraying the setting in a game of Vampire: The Masquerade. Bassingthwaite thought that the poem would be most useful in a game dealing with themes of mysticism, conspiracies and end-times, with the section "The Rising Tides"'s prophecy of Lilith's return; he also saw it as useful for World of Darkness games outside of Vampire: The Masquerade, particularly Mage: The Ascension, Vampire: The Dark Ages, and dark games of Changeling: The Dreaming. Comparing it to its predecessor The Book of Nod, Dosdediez found Revelations of the Dark Mother lesser, while Magia i Miecz considered it an "amazing" work that lived up to the high standards set by The Book of Nod.

Ali al-Hadi

Tenth of the Twelve Shia Imams (828–868)

ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad al-Hādī (Arabic: علي ابن محمد الهادي; 828 – 868 CE) was a descendant of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the tenth Imam in Twelver Shia, succeeding his father, Muhammad al-Jawad (). Born in Medina in 828, Ali is known with the titles al-Hādī (Arabic: الهادي, lit. 'the guide') and al-Naqī (Arabic: النقي, lit. 'the distinguished'). After the death of his father in 835, most followers of al-Jawad readily accepted the imamate of Ali, who was still a child at the time. Drawing parallels with the story of young Jesus in the Quran, Twelver sources attribute an exceptional innate knowledge to Ali which qualified him for the imamate despite his young age. As with most of his predecessors, Ali al-Hadi kept aloof from politics until he was summoned around 848 from Medina to the capital Samarra by the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861), known for his hostility towards Shias. There al-Hadi was held under close surveillance until his death in 868 during the caliphate of the Abbasid al-Mu'tazz (r. 866–869). Still, he managed to communicate with an underground network of representatives who organized the financial and religious affairs of the Shia community on his behalf. Most Shia sources hold the Abbasids responsible for his death at the age of about forty through poison, with the notable exception of al-Mufid (). His image in Twelver sources is that of a pacifist, persecuted Imam who endured numerous attempts by members of the Abbasid court to humiliate and dishonor him. These sources also allege more serious incidents of house search, temporary imprisonment, and even murder plots against al-Hadi. The restricted life of al-Hadi in Samarra marks the end of the direct leadership of the Shia community by the Imams. A theological treatise on free will and some other short texts are ascribed to al-Hadi. Some miracles are also attributed to al-Hadi in Twelver sources, which often emphasize his precognition about various incidents. After his death, the majority of his followers accepted the imamate of his son Hasan al-Askari, who was also detained in Samarra until his unexplained death a few years later. Some instead followed Ja'far, another son of al-Hadi, who became known as Ja'far al-Kadhab (lit. 'Ja'far, the liar') in the Twelver sources. After the death of Ja'far, however, this branch was eventually absorbed within the mainstream Twelver Shia. The tombs of al-Hadi and his successor al-Askari are located in the al-Askari shrine in Samarra, modern-day Iraq. A sacred site for Shia pilgrims, the shrine has been targeted by Sunni militants as recently as 2007. ## Titles Ali ibn Muhammad, the tenth Imam in Twelve Imams, was known by the titles al-Hadi (Arabic: الهادي, lit. 'the guide') and al-Naqi (Arabic: النقي, lit. 'the distinguished'). He was also known as al-Mutawakkil (Arabic: المتوكل على الله, lit. 'he who relies on God'), but this title was perhaps rarely used to avoid confusion with the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). In view of their restricted life in the garrison town of Samarra under Abbasid surveillance, Ali and his son Hasan share the title al-Askari (Arabic: عسكري, lit. 'military'). Ali al-Hadi is also cited in the Shia hadith literature as Abu al-Hasan al-Thalith (Arabic: أبوالحسن الثالث, lit. 'Abu al-Hasan, the third'), so as to distinguish him from his predecessors, namely, Musa al-Kazim () and Ali al-Rida (), the seventh and the eighth of the Twelve Imams, respectively. ## Life ### Birth (c. 828) Ali al-Hadi was born on 16 Dhu al-Hijja 212 AH (7 March 828 CE) in Sorayya, a village near Medina founded by his great-grandfather, Musa al-Kazim. There are also other given dates in the window of Dhu al-Hijja 212 AH (March 828) to Dhu al-Hijja 214 AH (February 830), though these alternatives might be less reliable. It is also 15 Dhu al-Hijja that is annually celebrated by Shias for this occasion. Ali al-Hadi was the son of Muhammad al-Jawad (), the ninth of the Twelve Imams, and his mother was Samana (or Susan), a freed slave (umm walad) of Maghrebi origin. The historian Teresa Bernheimer considers it possible that Ali was instead born to Umm al-Fadl, a daughter of the Abbasid caliph al-Ma'mun (r. 813–833), though this marriage is often considered without an issue. As for his birthplace, the Shia-leaning historian al-Mas'udi () differs from the prevalent view. Ithbat al-wassiya, a collective biography of the Shia Imams attributed to him, reports that Ali was first taken to Medina sometime after 830, when al-Jawad and his family left Iraq to perform Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. ### Reign of al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842) Ali al-Hadi lived in Medina in this period. Probably summoned by al-Mu'tasim (r. 833–842), his father al-Jawad and his wife Umm al-Fadl traveled to the Abbasid capital Baghdad in 835, leaving Ali behind in Medina. Muhammad al-Jawad died in Baghdad in the same year, at the age of about twenty-five. During this short window, Shia sources accuse al-Mu'tasim of multiple attempts to discredit al-Jawad and finally murdering him by poison, while Sunni sources are silent about the cause of his death. Ali al-Hadi was about seven years old when his father died. Among others, multiple Shia accounts in Ithbat and Dala'il al-im'ama show Ali supernaturally alert the very moment his father died. Dala'il al-im'ama is another early collective biography of Shia Imams, often attributed to the Twelver author Ibn Jarir ibn Rustam al-Tabari. After the death of his father, the young Ali was likely placed by the Abbasids under hostile care. In these years, even Muhammad ibn Faraj, a trusted associate of the previous Shia Imams, was probably unable to directly contact Ali, as implied by a report in Bihar al-anwar, a seventeenth-century collection of Shia hadiths by the prominent Twelver scholar Mohammad-Baqer Majlesi (). Ithbat reports that Umar ibn al-Faraj al-Rukhaji, an Abbasid official known for his hostility to Shias, visited Medina soon after the death of al-Jawad and placed Ali under the care of a non-Shia tutor, named Abu Abd-Allah al-Junaydi. This was intended to isolate Ali from Shias, to the point that Ithbat reports that he was kept under house arrest. The account in Ithbat also describes how al-Junaydi was so impressed with the knowledge of the child that he eventually became a Shia. This exceptional innate knowledge of the young Ali is also claimed by the prominent Twelver theologian al-Mufid () in his biographical Kitab al-Irshad, which is considered reliable and unexaggerated by most Shias. In connection to these reports, the Islamicist Matthew Pierce draws parallels with the Hebrew Psalms, Christian gospels, and the Quran, particularly the Quranic verse 3:46 about Jesus, "He will speak to people in the cradle." ### Reign of al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) Ali al-Hadi emerged from isolation with the accession of the less hostile caliph al-Wathiq in 842, who had earlier led the funeral prayer for al-Jawad. The Shia community was relatively free in this period, and the early historian Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani () reports that stipends were given to the Alids, that is, the descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib (), the first Shia Imam. An Alid himself, Ali al-Hadi was also less restricted in this period. He engaged in teaching in Medina after reaching adulthood, possibly attracting a large number of students from Iraq, Persia, and Egypt, where the House of Muhammad traditionally found the most support. An account by Ibrahim ibn Mahziyar al-Ahwazi describes a visit to Ali al-Hadi in 228 AH (842-3) to deliver some goods, accompanied by his brother Ali. The two brothers were both trusted associates of al-Jawad. According to the Islamicist Shona F. Wardrop, this may be an indication of the young Ali beginning to renew links with the loyal followers of his father, al-Jawad. In the next five years, Ali al-Hadi successfully established contact with representatives from several regions. An account in Ithbat from this period might show the political awareness of the young Ali, even though it has been given a miraculous aspect in some other sources. This account is dated 232 AH (846-7) and narrated by a servant in the court of al-Wathiq, named Khayran al-Khadim, whom Ali al-Hadi inquires about the caliph's health. Khayran tells him that al-Wathiq is dying, adding that the general view is that he would be succeeded by his son. Ali, however, correctly predicts the accession of the caliph's brother Ja'far al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). ### Reign of al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861) Partly due to renewed Zaydite Shia opposition, al-Mutawakkil persecuted Mu'tazilites and Shias, to the point that even Sunni sources have noted his hostility towards Shias. The caliph may have imposed the penalty of death by flagellation on anyone who defamed the companions or the wives of the prophet, some of whom are viewed negatively in Shia. He also openly cursed Ali ibn Abi Talib and ordered a clown to ridicule Ali in his banquets, writes the Twelver scholar Muhammad H. Tabatabai (). By his orders, the shrine of Ali's son, Husayn (), was demolished in Karbala, water was turned upon the tomb, and the ground was plowed and cultivated to remove any trace of the tomb, so as to stop Shia pilgrimages to the site, which he also outlawed. The campaign of arrests and torture by al-Mutawakkil in 846 led to the deaths of some associates of Ali al-Hadi in Baghdad, al-Mada'in, Kufa, and the Sawad. These were replaced by new representatives, including Hasan ibn Rashid and Ayyub ibn Nuh. The policies of al-Mutawakkil also pushed many Alids in the Hejaz and Egypt into destitution. The caliph is said to have punished those who traded with the Alids, thus isolating them financially. The village of Fadak, which had previously been returned to the Alids by al-Ma'mun, was now confiscated by al-Mutawakkil and awarded to a descendant of the early caliph Umar (r. 634–644), named as Abd Allah ibn Umar al-Bazyar. The caliph also dismissed officials suspected of Shia sympathies, including the governor of Saymara and Sirawan in the province of Jibal. As the governor of the holy cities in the Hejaz, al-Mutawakkil appointed Umar ibn Faraj, who prevented Alids from answering religious inquiries or accepting gifts, thus pushing them into poverty. The caliph also created a new army, known as Shakiriyya, which recruited from anti-Alid areas, such as Syria, al-Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the Jibal, the Hejaz, and from the Abna, a pro-Abbasid ethnic group. He implemented these policies with the help of his officials, particularly Ahmad ibn al-Khasib al-Jarjara'i () and al-Fath ibn Khaqan (). #### Summoned to Samarra (c. 848) It was during the caliphate of al-Mutawakkil that the governor of Medina, Abd Allah ibn Muhammad, wrote to the caliph and warned him about the subversive activities of al-Hadi, claiming that he had concealed arms and books for his followers. Alternatively, Ithbat attributes the affair to Burahya al-Abbasi, the leader of prayers in Medina, who may have advised the caliph to remove al-Hadi from the city because he was allegedly agitating against the caliph. When al-Hadi learned about the allegations, he too wrote to al-Mutawakkil and defended himself. The caliph responded respectfully but also requested that he with his family relocate to the new Abbasid capital of Samarra, a garrison town where the Turkish guards were stationed, north of Baghdad. This letter also announced the dismissal of Abd Allah from his post in Medina, and is recorded in Kitab al-Irshad and Kitab al-Kafi, a comprehensive collection of Shia hadiths by the prominent Twelver scholar al-Kulayni (). The Islamicist Wilferd Madelung suggests that the letter is authentic, while Wardrop views the reverential and conciliatory tone of the letter as an indication that the caliph was cautious not to provoke an Alid rebellion in Medina, even though there is no evidence that al-Hadi actually intended to revolt. The Muslim academic Jassim M. Hussain suggests that al-Hadi was summoned to Samarra and held there because the investigations of caliph's officials, including Abd Allah, had linked the Shia Imam to the underground activities of the Imamites in Baghdad, al-Mada'in, and Kufa. The caliph thus decided to follow the policy of his predecessor, al-Ma'mun, who had attached the imams al-Rida and al-Jawad to his court in order to monitor and restrict them. The caliph's letter was probably dated Jumada al-Thani 233 AH (January 848), but transmitted incorrectly as Jumada al-Thani 243 AH (October 857) by al-Mofid, the author of al-Irshad. Both Wardrop and Madelung consider the latter date unlikely, while the first date is also corroborated by Bihar, which states that al-Hadi spent twenty years of his life in Samarra. The escort who accompanied al-Hadi to Samarra is named variously in different sources as Yahya ibn Harthama, Yahya ibn Hubayra, or Attab ibn Abi Attab. The account of al-Mas'udi adds that this escort searched the residence of al-Hadi in Medina, without finding any evidence of subversion. He also calmed the public disorder by ensuring the locals that al-Hadi would not be harmed. A similar report is given by the Sunni historian Ibn Khallikan (). #### Life in the Abbasid court When al-Hadi approached Baghdad, people gathered to see him and he was received warmly by the governor, Ishaq ibn Ibrahim al-Tahiri, who welcomed him outside of the city. Later, when al-Hadi arrived in Samarra on 23 Ramadan 233 AH (1 May 848), the caliph did not immediately receive him but assigned a house for him, located in the al-Askar (lit. 'the army') quarter of the city, which was mostly occupied by the army. More specifically, his residence was in the center of the city on the Abi Ahmad street. Having escorted al-Hadi to Samarra, Yahya conveyed to the caliph the recommendations of al-Tahiri and the Turkish commander Wasif, which apparently convinced the caliph to treat al-Hadi honorably. Still, there is a report that al-Hadi was temporarily placed under house arrest after his arrival in Samarra. Ali al-Hadi lived in Samarra under constant surveillance until his death, some twenty years later. Among modern authors, Edward D. A. Hulmes, Moojan Momen, Hamid Mavani, and Reza Aslan liken al-Hadi to a prisoner in this period. In particular, he could rarely meet with ordinary Shias, as suggested by the scarcity of such reports in the early sources. For instance, Bihar describes a group of eager visitors for al-Hadi, who nevertheless had no idea what their imam looked like. The reports about this period depict a persecuted al-Hadi, who suffered frequent attempts by al-Mutawakkil and others at the court to belittle and dishonor him. More seriously, there is some evidence that al-Mutawakkil at least once attempted to kill al-Hadi during this period. Tabatabai and the Muslim academic Abdulaziz Sachedina go further, writing that the caliph on multiple occasions was intent on killing al-Hadi and had his house searched. Sachedina believes that fear of public unrest prevented al-Mutawakkil from killing al-Hadi, who was recognized by this time as a pious and learned figure. In contrast, Madelung quotes al-Hadi as saying that he had not come to Samarra voluntarily but would never leave the city, as he liked its good water and air. His view is that al-Hadi was allowed to move freely within the city, and continued to send (written) instructions for his representatives across the Abbasid empire and receive through them the donations of Shias. Sachedina views this freedom of movement as an indication that al-Hadi did not pose a serious threat, while Wardrop suggests that the passive spiritual excellence of the Shia Imams was probably considered a more serious threat than an armed rebellion which could be easily crushed. That al-Hadi remained in contact with his followers is also the opinion of the Islamicists Farhad Daftary, Sachedina, and Hussain, but the last author believes that al-Hadi sent and received his messages with secrecy, under the watchful eyes of the caliph. For Wardrop, a certain cycle of honor and suspicion was probably inevitable at the court of al-Mutawakkil. Still, in the case of al-Hadi as a Shia Imam with an active following, the image offered by Twelver sources is heavily tilted towards suspicion and persecution. Wardrop also notes that most reports about al-Hadi are attributed to this period, perhaps because al-Hadi was more 'newsworthy' in Samarra, being close both to the center of power and to the large Shia population of Iraq. In her view, many of these reports might be exaggerated but they are likely based on truth and thus unwise to ignore. #### Sample reports from the period Wardrop also studies a few representative accounts about al-Hadi from this period: Kitab al-Kafi reports that al-Mutawakkil ordered to search the residence of al-Hadi at night on a tip by al-Batha'i, an Alid supporter of the caliph. The search did not turn any evidence of subversive activities and the money seized was later returned to al-Hadi. After the search, a relieved al-Mutawakkil invited al-Hadi to drink wine with him late at night. The latter refused and instead recited some poetry, the moral theme of which moved the caliph to tears. Accounts of futile searches appear also in Muruj by al-Mas'udi and in Wafayat al-a'yan by Ibn Khallikan. Shortly before the overthrow of al-Mutawakkil in 861, a temporary imprisonment of al-Hadi is reported in I'lam by the Twelver historian al-Tabarsi () and in Bihar, under the custody of one Ali ibn Karkar. The caliph may have ordered his close advisor Ibn Khaqan to poison the imprisoned al-Hadi. Also dated 861, the biographical al-Khara'ij by the Twelver scholar Qutb al-Din al-Rawandi () similarly reports a house arrest of al-Hadi under Sa'id al-Hajib, who was allegedly ordered to kill the Imam. In his report, a visitor finds al-Hadi seated next to an open grave in his house but is reassured by him that he would not be harmed because al-Mutawakkil would die shortly. Ithbat reports that the prayer of al-Hadi in the palace was once interrupted by a member of the court who accused him of hypocrisy. In an official banquet to which he was invited, al-Hadi silenced a man who continued to loudly interrupt him by predicting his imminent death, reports Bihar. A report on the authority of Zurara, a member of the court, states that the caliph offered a reward to anyone who would embarrass al-Hadi. The offer was taken up by an Indian knowledgeable of various sleights of hand, the report continues, who arranged for the loaves of bread to move away when al-Hadi reached for them, bringing the crowd to laughter. Bihar reports that al-Mutawakkil temporarily forbade his staff from serving al-Hadi, advised by a relative nicknamed Harisa, who warned the caliph that this was boosting the political image of al-Hadi among people. This Twelver report has a miraculous ending with the caliph abandoning his policy after an unexpected breeze blew the curtains open for al-Hadi instead of the guards. ### Later years (861–868) Ali al-Hadi continued to live in Samarra after the assassination of al-Mutawakkil in 861, through the short reign of al-Muntasir (r. 861–862), followed by four years of al-Musta'in (r. 862–866), and until his death in 868 during the caliphate of al-Mu'tazz (r. 866–869). In particular, al-Muntasir and al-Musta'in somewhat relaxed the anti-Alid policies of al-Mutawakkil, and al-Hadi thus lived more freely in those years. For instance, al-Muntasir apparently returned Fadak to the Alids and allowed them to visit the tomb of Husayn. Still, under al-Musta'in, his governor of Egypt arrested the Alid leader Ibn Abi Hudra, and deported him and his supporters to Iraq in 862, according to the Sunni historian Muhammad ibn Yusuf al-Kindi (). Also in Egypt, a follower of al-Hadi by the name of Muhammad ibn Hajar was killed and the estate of another follower, Saif ibn al-Layth, was confiscated by the ruler, according to al-Kulayni. Elsewhere, some supporters of al-Hadi were arrested in Samarra, while his main agent in Kufa, Ayyub ibn Nuh, was prosecuted by the local judge (qadi). On the other hand, Hussain writes that Alid revolts broke out in 864–5 in Kufa, Tabaristan, Rayy, Qazvin, Egypt, and the Hejaz. He adds that the rebel leader in Mecca was an Imamite named Muhammad ibn Ma'ruf al-Hilali (), while the Kufan rebel leader Yahya ibn Umar () was praised by Abu Hashim al-Ja'fari, an agent of al-Hadi. Later under al-Mu'tazz, the Abbasids discovered connections between some rebels in Tabaristan and Rayy and certain Imamite figures close to al-Hadi, who were thus arrested in Baghdad and deported to Samarra. These included Muhammad ibn Ali al-Attar, Abu Hashim al-Ja'fari, and apparently the two sons of al-Hadi, namely, Hasan and Ja'far. More such links to al-Hadi are listed by the Sunni historian al-Tabari (). Hussain suggests that all this paved the way for the murder of al-Hadi by the Abbasids during the caliphate of al-Mu'tazz. It is also the view of Sachedina that the restrictions on al-Hadi were renewed under al-Mu'tazz, who is accused by Shia sources of murdering al-Hadi. ## Death (868) According to both al-Tabari and al-Kulayni, al-Hadi died on 26 Jumada al-Thani 254 AH (21 June 868) at the age of about forty and during the caliphate of al-Mu'tazz. Other reported dates fall in Jumada al-Thani and Rajab 254 AH (June–July 868). In particular, 3 Rajab is annually commemorated by Shias for this occasion. Most Shia authors record that he was poisoned by the Abbasids. The exceptions are al-Mufid, who is silent about the cause of death of al-Hadi, the Shia-leaning historian al-Ya'qubi (), who writes that he died mysteriously, and al-Isfahani, who does not list al-Hadi among the Alid martyrs in his biographical Maqatil al-Talibiyyin. Among modern authors, Tabatabai holds that al-Hadi was poisoned at the instigation of al-Mu'tazz, while Hussain links the murder of al-Hadi to the Abbasids discovering his connections to the ongoing Shia revolts. In contrast, Momen says that the "real power" was in the hands of the Turkish generals by the time al-Hadi died and that the murder of al-Hadi would have had no political benefit for the caliph. The manner of his death is also given differently by the sources. In addition to al-Hadi, Shia sources hold the Abbasids responsible for the deaths of multiple Shia Imams. The silence of Sunni sources here is attributed by Shia authors to the atmosphere of fear and intimidation under the Abbasids. In particular, the Twelver traditionist Ibn Shahrashub () said that he wrote his Manaqib ale Abi Talib "to bring forth what they [the Sunnis] have suppressed." There is also a tradition attributed to Muhammad al-Baqir (), the fifth of the Twelve Imams, to the effect that none of them would escape an unjust death after attaining fame, except their last, whose birth would be concealed from the public. A similar tradition is ascribed to al-Rida, the eighth of the Twelve Imams, this time in response to a follower who had expressed his hope to see the Imam in power because "people have paid allegiance to" al-Rida and "coins have been struck" in his name. The funeral prayer is said to have been led by al-Muwaffaq (), a brother of the caliph. A large number of mourners, however, forced the family to bring the body of al-Hadi back to the house, where he was then buried. The house was later expanded to a major shrine by various Shia and Sunni patrons. More recently, the complex was rebuilt in 1868–9 at the request of Naser al-Din Shah Qajar (r. 1848–1896), ruler of Persia and a Twelver, and the golden dome was added in 1905. In addition to al-Hadi, the shrine also houses the tombs of his son, Hasan al-Askari, and his sister, Hakima Khatun. As an important destination for Shia pilgrimage, the shrine was bombed in February 2006 and badly damaged. Another attack on 13 June 2007 destroyed the two minarets of the shrine. Iraqi authorities hold the Sunni extremist group al-Qaeda responsible for both attacks. ## Personal traits After accounting for the bias of his Twelver sources, the historian Dwight M. Donaldson () writes that al-Hadi comes across to him as a "good-tempered, quiet man," who endured for years the "hatred" of al-Mutawakkil with dignity and patience. For Wardrop, the image of al-Hadi in Shia sources is that of a "pacifist, persecuted Imam," who always remains unmoved by his enemies' attempts to "humiliate and attack him." In these reports, she adds, al-Hadi maintains a detached and dignified pose in threatening situations, thus impressing upon others the certitude of his belief in the protection of God. In such situations, the response of al-Hadi in Shia sources is often to invoke the intervention of God through prayer, for he viewed the "invocation of oppressed against the oppressor" more powerful than "cavalry, weapons, or spirits," in a tradition attributed to him in Bihar. To showcase what she describes as the detachment of al-Hadi from "the trivial anxieties of al-dunya [the material world]," Wardrop mentions the account of an occasion when his house was searched at night for money and weapons, as given by the Twelver sources al-Kafi, al-Irshad, and I'lam. By this account, the soldiers who broke into his house found him praying and he then helped them in their search. After this futile search and similar episodes, al-Hadi again invokes the power of God in Shia sources rather than indulging in "verbal attack or enraged silence." ## Imamate ### Designation After the death of al-Jawad in 835, most of his followers acknowledged his son Ali as the next Imam. As with his father, Ali al-Hadi was still a minor when he succeeded to the imamate at the age of about seven. Thanks to the precedent of al-Jawad, however, the imamate of Ali was widely accepted without much demur, even though in both cases the inner circle of their predecessors must have played a visible role in consolidating their imamate. The only account about the succession of Ali al-Hadi is given by multiple sources, including al-Kafi, al-Irshad, and Bihar. By this account, the designation (nass) was orally delivered to one Abu al-Khayrani by al-Jawad, who thus appointed his son Ali as his successor. Wardrop identifies this person as Ahmad ibn Hammad al-Marwazi, who was close to al-Jawad, while elsewhere he is named as Khayran al-Khadim, a servant of al-Jawad. At any rate, Abu al-Khayrani then wrote to a few notable Imamite figures with the news of this designation, with instructions to open the letters if he died. The oral designation was also overheard by Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Isa, a reputable Imamite from Qom, who happened to be there to inquire about the health of al-Jawad. When al-Jawad died, Ahmad met with Muhammad ibn al-Faraj al-Rukhaji and ten other unnamed Imamite figures and listened to Abu al-Khayrani. Of these, Muhammad was a representative of al-Jawad, who came to the forefront after his death. Indeed, the meeting took place at Muhammad's house and it was him who invited Abu al-Khayrani to join them. At the meeting, the claim of Abu al-Khayrani was reluctantly corroborated by Ahmad, who said he preferred the honor to have gone to an Arab rather than a non-Arab (ajam). After some contemplation, the group accepted the imamate of Ali, the report concludes. More evidence is found in the will attributed to al-Jawad in Kitab al-Kafi, which stipulates that his son Ali would inherit from him and be responsible for his younger brother, Musa, and his sisters. For the Muslim jurist and academic Hossein Modarressi, the account of his succession suggests that the seniority of Ali over his brother was not sufficient and the Shia community had to be convinced that Ali was directly appointed by his father. A small group initially followed Musa as their imam but soon returned to Ali al-Hadi after Musa dissociated himself from them. ### Representatives Bernheimer considers the imamate of al-Hadi as a turning point for Shia: the direct leadership of the Shia community by the Imams effectively ended by al-Hadi's summons to Samarra, where he was held under constant surveillance by the Abbasid caliphs until his death. Still, similar to his predecessors, al-Hadi secretly communicated with an underground network of representatives (wokala, wakil), who were responsible for the financial and religious affairs of the Imamite Shias, and particularly for the collection of religious dues, such as Khums (lit. 'one-fifth'). These agents gradually took over the function of guiding and organizing the Shia community, following the same principle of political quietism to which the Shia Imams adhered. Their efforts seem to have been divided into four geographic areas; the first one included Baghdad, Mada'in, the Sawad, and Kufa, the second area included Basra and Ahwaz, the third included Qom and Hamadan, and the fourth included the Hejaz, Yemen, and Egypt. Each of these four areas was entrusted to an agent, who was also responsible for appointing local agents within his area. Imamite sources also describe some failed attempts by the Abbasids to intercept the agents, including feigned sympathy by Ibn Khaqan to infiltrate the network or last-minute aborted missions of the agents. Nevertheless, there were waves of crackdowns by al-Mutawakkil in 850 and by al-Mustai'n in 862. Some of the arrested agents died under torture while others were imprisoned. Among the trusted agents of al-Hadi were Ali ibn Mahziar Ahwazi, Uthman ibn Sa'id al-Asadi, Ahmad ibn Ishaq al-Ash'ari, Ali ibn Bil'al, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Hamadani, Ali ibn Ja'far, Ayyub ibn Nuh, Hasan ibn Rashid, and Muhammad ibn al-Faraj al-Rukhaji. Because of the underground nature of this network, there were also probably some who falsely claimed to represent al-Hadi. In particular, Faris ibn Hatim ibn Mahawayh al-Qazvini was initially a representative of al-Hadi and his intermediary with the Imamites living in the Jibal, which encompassed the central and western parts of modern-day Iran. Faris was involved in a dispute with Ali ibn Ja'far around 862 and was consequently banned by al-Hadi from receiving alms on his behalf. He continued to do so, however, without forwarding them to al-Hadi, who excommunicated Faris in 864 for embezzling religious dues. As Faris continued to openly incite against al-Hadi, the latter called for his death, and he was indeed assassinated during the imamate of Hasan al-Askari. ### Miracles In Twelver Shia, al-Hadi is considered knowledgeable in the languages of the Persians, Slavs, Indians, and Nabataeans. Similarly, al-Tabarsi writes that al-Hadi was articulate in seventy-three languages, probably in reference to the hadith, attributed to Muhammad, that his community would be split to seventy-three groups. This was not unique to al-Hadi, however, and miracles of speech are attributed to all Shia Imams. One of the many such accounts about al-Hadi is narrated by Ibrahim ibn Mahziyar, who describes a meeting with a young al-Hadi in 228 AH (842-3) in the company of his brother Ali and their servant Masrur, whom the following day al-Hadi sent for and spoke to in his native language of Persian. Ali al-Hadi is also credited in Twelver sources with predicting the death of al-Mutawakkil, who had either imprisoned or humiliated al-Hadi. The variations of this account appear in the Twelver sources Bihar, al-Khara'ij, Ithbat, and Uyun al-mu'jizat. His precognition is also highlighted in another account, appearing in Bihar for instance, according to which al-Hadi already knew the religious question of his visitors. Narrated by Ishaq ibn Abd-Allah al-Alawi, a distant relative of al-Hadi, the question was about the significance of fasting on the birthdate of the Islamic prophet, the day he received his divine message, the day on which the earth was flattened, and the day of the Ghadir Khumm. In this vein, Ali al-Hadi showed a companion a vision of heaven, according to al-Irshad. On one occasion, Bihar describes that the soldiers tasked with killing al-Hadi did not dare to harm him because of "his awe-inspiring presence," seeing around him a hundred raised swords. In the presence of al-Mutawakkil, al-Hadi debunked the claim of a woman who pretended to be Zaynab, daughter of Ali ibn Abi Talib. He reputedly did so by descending into the caliph's den of lions to prove that they do not harm true descendants of Ali ibn Abi Talib. This the woman refused to imitate. It is also said that al-Hadi brought to life a picture of a lion on a carpet, which then ate a juggler who had attempted to humiliate the Imam with his tricks by order of al-Mutawakkil. Another tradition states that he turned a handful of sand into gold for the poor. When he set out for Samarra, despite clear skies, al-Hadi prepared for heavy rain which indeed materialized within a few hours to the amazement of his escort. When asked about it, however, al-Hadi rejected any miraculous interpretation of the incident, saying that he had simply recognized the signs of a brewing storm as a native, as reported in al-Muruj by al-Mas'udi. ### Succession Ali al-Hadi was survived by two sons, namely, Ja'far and his older brother Hasan. The latter was born in Medina to an umm walad, whose name is variously given in different sources as Hudayth, Susan, or Salil. After al-Hadi, the majority of his followers acknowledged as their next imam his adult son Hasan, who is commonly known by the title al-Askari (lit. 'military') on account of his almost life-long detention in the garrison town of Samarra, after moving there with his father as a child. Imamite sources report that al-Hadi designated Hasan as his successor a month before his death in 868. This appointment came after the death of his eldest son Muhammad, whom some expected to be the next Imam. After the death of al-Hadi, his other son Ja'far unsuccessfully claimed the imamate for himself, and he is thus referred to as Ja'far al-Kadhab (lit. 'Ja'far, the liar') in the Imamite sources. Some apparently considered Ja'far particularly unfit for the position because of his poor reputation. The death of Muhammad and the poor reputation of Ja'far thus facilitated the accession of Hasan. He was, however, unknown to many Imamites, as suggested by Ithbat, and the representatives of al-Hadi must have played an important role in consolidating the imamate of Hasan. Still, some considered al-Hadi to be the last Imam and Hasan is said to have written to Imamite figures across the Abbasid empire to dispel their doubts about his imamate. When Hasan al-Askari died without an obvious heir in 874, some of his followers rejected his imamate, because the Imam could not be childless, as they argued. Among them, the now-extinct Muhammadites contended that Muhammad ibn Ali al-Hadi must have been the rightful eleventh Imam, even though he had predeceased his father. For them, Muhammad was the Mahdi, the messianic figure in Islam to (re)appear at the end of times to eradicate injustice and evil. Probably related to this group was Ibn Nusayr, who considered Ali al-Hadi to be divine and claimed to be his prophet. He is considered the founder of the Nusayris, a now-extinct Ghali sect of Shia. The Ghulat (lit. 'exaggerators') believed in the divinity of the Shia Imams. #### Ja'farites Those who accepted the imamate of Ja'far, the youngest son of al-Hadi, are known as Ja'farites. Its members arrived at this claim in different ways. One faction turned to Ja'far after the death of his brother Hasan al-Askari in 874, who did not leave an obvious heir. Another subgroup of Ja'farites believed that al-Askari himself had designated Ja'far as his successor. Notable among them was the Kufan theologian Ali ibn Tahi (or Talhi) al-Khazzaz. This Ali ranked among the Fathites, many of whom thus joined the Ja'farites. Yet another subgroup held that Ja'far was directly designated by his father al-Hadi as his successor. A different subgroup was the Nafisites, who believed that al-Hadi was to be succeeded by his eldest son Muhammad. Before his death in the lifetime of al-Hadi, they say, Muhammad designated his youngest brother Ja'far as his successor, skipping the older Hasan. More specifically, they believed that Muhammad entrusted his testament to his servant Nafis, who passed it on to Ja'far. The latter thus claimed he was the successor to Muhammad. Nafis himself was killed. Similarly, some followers of Faris ibn Hatim claimed that he was succeeded by his son Muhammad, who appointed his brother Ja'far as the next Imam before his death during the lifetime of al-Hadi. They accordingly accepted the imamate of Ja'far instead of al-Askari. This was apparently an act of defiance to Hasan al-Askari, who had sided with his father al-Hadi when he excommunicated Faris for embezzling religious funds and openly inciting against him. In any case, Ja'far soon died and some then turned to his descendants for leadership. The Ja'farites were nevertheless extinct by 373 AH (983-4), as some converted to the mainstream Twelver Shia and some emigrated to Egypt or elsewhere and joined Sufi orders. ## Works A theological treatise on free will and various short texts are attributed to al-Hadi and quoted in Tuhaf al-uqul, a Twelver collection of hadiths. According to Mavani, most Shia hadiths about Khums are also attributed to al-Hadi and his predecessor, al-Jawad. Some regard Khums as an example of the Imams' discretionary authority as religious and temporal Shia leaders, which in this case countered the redirection of Zakat (another Islamic alms) "to sustain the oppressors [the caliphs] and to secure their affluent lifestyle," according to the Shia jurist Hussein-Ali Montazeri (). One example is the response of al-Hadi to a letter from his new agent Hasan ibn Rashid, in which the former describes Khums as a levy on possessions and produce, and on traders and craftsmen, after they had provided for themselves. This last part is clarified in a letter from al-Hadi to another agent, named Ibrahim ibn Muhammad al-Hamadani, which explains that Khums is levied after providing for the land and for dependents, and after the kharaj (land tax) for the ruler. Donaldson quotes one of the prophetic traditions related on the authority of al-Hadi, through Ali ibn Abi Talib, which defines faith (iman) as contained in the hearts of men, confirmed by their deeds (a'mal), whereas surrender (islam) is what the tongue expresses which only validates the union. A hadith attributed to al-Hadi in al-Kafi predicts the occultation of his grandson, the twelfth Imam, and refers to him as al-hujja (lit. 'the proof') from the House of Muhammad. Mavani quotes another hadith, ascribed to al-Hadi and transmitted by al-Tabarsi, as follows. > After the occultation of your Qa'im, a group of the religious scholars (ulama) will call people to believe in his [al-Qa'im’s] imamate and defend his religion by using proofs sent by Allah, so that they might save the weak-minded faithful from either the deceptions of Satan and his followers or the deceptions of the anti-Alids (al-nawasib). If none of these ulama remain, then everyone will stray from the religion of Allah. However, as the pilot holds the rudder of the ship, the ulama will hold firmly onto the hearts of the weak-minded Shia, preventing them from straying. Those ulama are the most excellent in the view of Allah the Exalted. ## See also

She Bangs

2000 single by Ricky Martin

"She Bangs" is a song recorded by Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin for his sixth studio album, Sound Loaded (2000). The song was written by Desmond Child, Walter Afanasieff, and Draco Rosa, while the production was handled by Afanasieff and Rosa. It was released to radio stations by Columbia Records as the lead single from the album on September 22, 2000. A dance track with Latin and salsa music influences, its lyrics see Martin wanting to hold on to a woman, and the song is a "metaphor for the universe". The song received widely positive reviews from music critics, who often noted similarities with Martin's 1999 single "Livin' la Vida Loca", and received a nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards. "She Bangs" was commercially successful, reaching number one in seven countries, including Italy and Sweden, as well as the top five in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. A Spanish-language version of "She Bangs" was recorded under the same title and reached the summit of the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. To promote the original version of the song, Martin performed it on several television programs and award shows, including both the Billboard Music Awards and the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2000. The music video for the song was filmed in the Bahamas and directed by Wayne Isham. The suggested sexual content of the video caused controversy and led to it being banned in several Latin American countries. Despite the backlash, the visual won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Music Video, the Lo Nuestro Award for Video of the Year, and the Billboard Music Video Award for Best Clip of the Year — Latin, all in 2001. The song has been covered by several artists, including William Hung on American Idol in 2004. His cover version received generally unfavorable responses from both the judges at the show and music critics. ## Background and release From 1999 to 2000, Martin embarked on his fifth tour the Livin' la Vida Loca Tour to promote his first English album Ricky Martin. While on tour in 2000, Martin returned to the studio and began recording material for Sound Loaded. On August 29, 2000, El Siglo de Torreón revealed the lead single's name as "She Bangs" in an article and mentioned that in addition to the original version of the song that is in English, it will feature a Spanish version. In an interview with the newspaper, Martin's then representative Ricardo Cordero said "'She Bangs' is going to show Ricky one step further up in his career", and announced the possibilities of Martin performing an acoustic concert for MTV. Also, Martin's publicist Nanette Camboy told El Siglo de Torreón that although "Ricky is still putting the final touches on his production in studios in Miami and New York", the song's music video had already been shot in the Bahamas on August 15, 2000. Columbia Records released "She Bangs" to radio stations in several countries on September 22, 2000, as the lead single from the album. Thereafter, the song was released to the singles markets in October. "She Bangs" was included as the first track on Martin's sixth studio album Sound Loaded, released November 14, 2000, and the Spanish version was included as the tenth track. ## Composition and lyrics Musically, "She Bangs" is a dance song that features Latin and salsa music influences, and lasts for 4:42. According to Alfred Publishing Company's digital sheet music for the song, "She Bangs" is composed in the key of F# minor and set in the time signature of common time, with a groove of 142 beats per minute. Martin's vocals span from the low note of D₄ to the high note of F_\#5. The song's instrumentation features "powerful" percussion, trumpet blasts, and tropical beats. Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that the song begins with a "teasing snatch" of a "sputtering" Spanish guitar, before the disco beats start. The beats are followed by an "equally inevitable [...] driving" horn section, which Willman called reminiscent of the one on Martin's 1999 single "Livin' la Vida Loca". "She Bangs" was written by Desmond Child, Walter Afanasieff, and Draco Rosa, while the production was handled by Afanasieff and Rosa. Also, Glenn Monroig, Julia Sierra and Daniel López joined the original version's lyricists to write the Spanish version. Lyrically, "She Bangs" is similar to the singer's previous singles "María" (1995) and "Livin la Vida Loca"; it tells a "tale of a wild woman who may be hard to let go and even harder to hold". Desmond Child told ABC News that "She Bangs" is "a metaphor for the universe", and explained about it: "You know the big bang theory? So the universe is really this 'mother universe' — she bangs, and explodes [...] She moves. The planets, the galaxies, are all moving. That's what it means." Billboard wrote that the song's lyrics are "insane" and will make cynics drive away in a triumph, "Talk to me, tell me the news/ You'll wear me out like a pair of shoes/We'll dance until the band goes home/Then you're gone, yeah baby." ## Critical reception "She Bangs" was met with widely positive reviews from music critics. The staff of Billboard magazine praised the song and wrote that "She Bangs" is "simply manic with exuberance and energy", being designed to ignite the flavor of "Livin' la Vida Loca". According to the staff, the single was just what the radio needed at the time of release, a "summertime smash" in the fall season. Also from Billboard, Taylor Mims described it as a "danceable track meshed a salsa flare with heavy rock guitar and an irresistible pop beat for universal appeal". Similarly to the staff, Allison Stewart from the Chicago Tribune called the song "clamorous" but thought that it replicates "Livin' La Vida Loca". Sean Piccoli and Lawrence A. Johnson of the Sun-Sentinel agreed with Stewart and noted that the resemblance of the song is a result of both songs being produced by Rosa. The two of them further noted that the song's credits include a personnel consisting of 34 people, opining the "life of any serious party knows: It's all about the entourage". Writing for O, The Oprah Magazine, Amanda Mitchell complimented the song, saying it "solidified Martin's place as a crossover artist thanks to the salsa-infused pop and the double entendre lyrics". She also ranked "She Bangs" as Martin's best song on her 2019 list. In 2020, MTV Argentina ranked it as one of Martin's best songs, and Luca Mastinu from Optimagazine listed it as one of Martin's five greatest hits. He also called the track a "Latin American bomb" and stated that it "is still present in the playlists of all the occasions when you need to ignite the party". Geoff Boucher of the Los Angeles Times noted that the erotic images of the song and accompanying music video are "up a notch" from "Livin' la Vida Loca" "and will likely do no harm to Martin's hunk status". In a review of Sound Loaded, the Orlando Sentinel's Jim Abbott labeled "She Bangs" and "Loaded" as "'bon-bon' shakers". Both Felix Contreras from NPR and Rolling Stone staff described "She Bangs" as a "megahit". ### Accolades Jose F. Promis from AllMusic called the song "electrifying" and stated that it is arguably one of best songs of the 2000s, and Billboard ranked the track as the 85th greatest song of 2000. At the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2001, "She Bangs" was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The track was recognized as one of the best-performing pop songs at the 2002 BMI Pop Awards. At the 16th Annual International Dance Music Awards, presented in 2001, the single won the award for Best Latin 12". ## Commercial performance On October 29, 2000, "She Bangs" debuted and peaked at number three on the Australian Singles Chart. It spent 6 weeks in the top 10 of the chart, before slowly starting to decline on it, though lasted on the chart for a total of 15 weeks. The song was certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of over 70,000 copies in Australia. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 31 on the singles chart, on October 15, 2000. The next week, the song rose 15 places to number 15, going on to reach its peak of number 2 on December 3 of that year. In the United Kingdom, "She Bangs" reached a peak of number three on November 4, 2000, similarly to the charts of other nations, and stayed on the UK Singles Chart for 15 weeks. The song was later certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), indicating shipments of over 200,000 copies in the country. In continental Europe, it was most successful on the Italian and the Sverigetopplistan charts, on which the song peaked at number one. Additionally, the song was certified gold by the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF), denoting sales of over 15,000 copies in Sweden. It was also successful in Spain, peaking at number two, while the song reached number three in Finland, number four in Norway, and number seven in Switzerland. In Latin America, the song peaked at number nine in both El Salvador and Guatemala, number five in Nicaragua, and number one in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay. The song was also a chart topper in Hong Kong and South Africa. "She Bangs" debuted at number 38 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. After several weeks on the chart, the track reached its peak of number 12. As of January 2011, the track has sold over 152,000 digital copies in the United States and stands as Martin's second best-selling single, only behind "Livin' la Vida Loca". The Spanish version was more successful on the country's Hot Latin Songs and Tropical Songs charts, both of which it peaked at number one on, and became his fifth number one song on the former chart. The track further peaked at number two on the US Latin Pop Airplay chart and number eight on the Mainstream Top 40. On the Adult Top 40 and Hot Dance Club Songs charts, "She Bangs" peaked at numbers 24 and 27, respectively. The track was more successful in Canada, reaching number three on the Canada Top Singles chart. It experienced moderate chart success in Japan, peaking at number 58. ## Music video ### Development and synopsis The music video for "She Bangs" was directed by Wayne Isham and shot at the Atlantis Paradise Island hotel in the Bahamas. Isham had worked on some of Martin's previous videos, including the ones for "La Copa de la Vida" (1998) and "Shake Your Bon-Bon". The singer described the concept of the video as being part of a trilogy with "María" and "Livin' la Vida Loca", "with this girl who drives me crazy because she's crazy, she won't talk to me or tell me her name". Martin told Univision he envisioned the visual taking place in Atlantis and felt that the Bahamas was the perfect place to film it. Jamie King was responsible for the creative direction of the video and over 100 people were involved in the production process. A body double for Martin was used during the scenes with sharks. The Spanish version of the music video premiered on September 26, 2000, for the Hispanophone market, while the English version debuted on MTV's Making the Video series the following day. The video begins with a group of women on a beach at night swimming to an underwater nightclub, with Martin following them. Martin explained that filming the scene was hard for him because he had to resist without taking air for a long time, as well as having to mime the lyrics without blowing bubbles out of his mouth. Upon entering the nightclub, Martin proceeds to sing "She Bangs" as he dances with the people in the club, with several scenes resembling an orgy. In one scene, Martin sees himself being seduced by mermaids and is later taken into a closet, in which he dances erotically with several women. Near the end of the visual, Martin spills a bottle of water on himself and the people nearby him. The music video concludes with him returning to the surface at daylight. American actor and dancer Channing Tatum makes an appearance in the video as a shirtless bartender and dancer among many other dancers, which was at the beginning of his career. ### Reception and controversy The explicit sexual scenes of the music video were met with criticism from the audience; several American television stations cut the scenes when airing the video. According to the Daily Records John Dingwall, with the visual, Martin ditched his teen idol image by transforming to a more mature one. It was consequently banned in several Latin American countries, such as the Dominican Republic. Martin told MTV News that the video represented freedom rather than his sexuality. Writing for Mitú, Cristal Mesa complimented the visual, saying: "The use of underwater Martin shots cropped onto the dance floor is pretty amazing". She also ranked "She Bangs" as Martin's 15th best music video on her 2018 list. At the 2nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2001, the video was awarded Best Short Form Music Video. That same year, it won the award for Video of the Year at the 13th Lo Nuestro Awards, as well as Best Clip of the Year — Latin at the Billboard Music Video Awards. ## Live performances Martin gave his first live performance of "She Bangs" on the BBC's Top of the Pops on November 3, 2000. Later that year, he performed it live at the 2000 Billboard Music Awards on December 5. To promote the song in Mexico, he performed it on the television programs Al Fin de Semana and Otro Rollo that same year. At the 2000 MTV Europe Music Awards, Martin was accompanied by underwater dancers in tanks while he sung "She Bangs". In his only North American concert of 2001, "She Bangs" was one of the songs Martin performed during the annual Wango Tango in Los Angeles. In the same year, it was sung by Martin at the 43rd Annual TV Week Logie Awards. The song was included on the set lists for Martin's 2011 Música + Alma + Sexo World Tour, 2013 Australian Tour, and the Enrique Iglesias and Ricky Martin Live in Concert tour. Martin also performed "She Bangs" along with his other hits during the 55th Viña del Mar International Song Festival on February 23, 2014. He performed "Livin' la Vida Loca", "She Bangs" and "Adrenalina" with the show's finalists, and "La Copa de la Vida" with Cristina Scuccia on season two of The Voice of Italy in 2014. Also, on May 13, 2015, he performed "Mr. Put It Down", "Livin' la Vida Loca", "She Bangs", and "The Cup of Life" alongside Clark Beckham, Nick Fradiani, Quentin Alexander, Qaasim Middleton, and Rayvon Owen on fourteenth season's finale of American Idol. ## Cover versions and appearances in media "She Bangs" has been covered by several contestants on various music talent shows. Ronny B performed "She Bangs" on season three of America's Got Talent in 2008. His rendition was poorly received, with judge David Hasselhoff remarking that Ronny B had "zero talent", and he was immediately eliminated afterwards. In 2020, Llama (Drew Carey) delivered a performance of "She Bangs" on season three of The Masked Singer, and in 2010, Wagnar performed the track along with a cover version of "Love Shack" by the B-52's on series seven of The X Factor. Wagner was ranked as one of the most iconic X Factor contestants of all time by Grazia. "She Bangs" was featured in the American computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film Sing 2 (2021). ### William Hung version Hong Kong–born American motivational speaker and former singer William Hung gained notoriety when he auditioned for the third season of American Idol in 2004. Hung was strongly criticized for his singing and dancing; judge Simon Cowell interrupted his audition and asked him, "You can't sing, you can't dance, so what do you want me to say?" Despite the negative reception, Hung gained a following after his performance and ultimately signed to Koch Entertainment. Hung released a cover of "She Bangs" on his debut studio album Inspiration (2004), with the cover being generally panned. AllMusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that Hung "sang it as if the song meant something to him even though he didn't understand the words, which gave the Berkeley civil engineering student innocence or, to some of his harsher critics, the appearance of being mildly retarded". Chris Carle of IGN said that it is the "best track... but that's like saying a tetanus shot is the best kind of injection you can get". Clem Bestow wrote for Stylus Magazine that Hung's performance of the song is "like a tone-deaf taxi driver and dancing like an epileptic octopus". The music video for Hung's version was directed by Jeff Richter and filmed in Los Angeles. On June 3, 2018, Martin invited Hung as a surprise guest to his concert at the Monte Carlo Theater in Las Vegas, and the two performed the original together. In an interview with Variety, 20 years after the release of "She Bangs", Hung told the magazine that he's "grateful" to have Martin's song, and explained that "otherwise I wouldn’t be where I am today. I just enjoyed the song right from the beginning. I thought it sounded cool and very upbeat. It was unique compared to everything else I was hearing back in the early 2000s." On May 2, 2022, coinciding with American Idol's 20th anniversary, Hung returned to the show "to reprise his epic" performance of the song. ## Formats and track listings - Australian maxi-single 1. "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 2. "She Bangs" (Obadam's English Radio Edit) – 3:59 3. "Por Arriba, Por Abajo" – 3:07 4. "Amor" – 3:27 5. "She Bangs" (Obadam's Afro-Bang Mix) (English) – 7:28 - Brazilian promotional CD single 1. "She Bangs" (Album Version) – 4:40 2. "She Bangs" (Obadam's English Radio) – 4:04 3. "She Bangs" (Obadam's Afro-Bang Mix) (English) – 7:30 4. "She Bangs" (Obadambangadub) – 10:24 - European 12-inch single 1. "She Bangs" (English) – 4:44 2. "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 3. "She Bangs" (Spanish Edit) – 4:01 4. "She Bangs" (Spanglish Edit) – 4:01 5. "Almost a Love Song (Casi Un Bolero)" – 4:41 - Japanese CD single 1. "She Bangs" (English Radio) – 4:04 2. "She Bangs" (Spanish) – 4:35 3. "She Bangs" (Spanglish) – 4:41 4. "She Bangs" (English) – 4:42 - UK CD 1 1. "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 2. "She Bangs" (Obadam's English Radio Edit) – 3:59 3. "María" (Spanglish Radio Edit) – 4:30 - UK CD 2 1. "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 2. "Amor" – 3:27 3. "She Bangs" (Obadam's Afro-Bang Mix) (English) – 7:28 - US 7" single''' 1. "She Bangs" (English Edit) – 4:02 2. "She Bangs" (Spanish Edit) – 4:02 ## Credits and personnel ### Recording - Recorded at Sony Music Studios (New York City); The Hit Factory Criteria, the Gentleman's Club (Miami); WallyWorld Studios, Capitol Studios (Hollywood); Aireborne Studios (Indianapolis); Quad Recordings (Nashville) - Mixed at Sony Music Studios ### Personnel #### Musicians - Ricky Martin – vocal - Desmond Child – composer, lyricist, vocal producer - Walter Afanasieff – composer, lyricist, producer, drum programmer, keyboards - Robi Rosa – composer, lyricist, producer, executive producer - Glenn Monroig – additional composer, lyricist for the Spanish version - Julia Sierra – additional composer, lyricist for the Spanish Version - Daniel López – percussion, additional composer, lyricist for the Spanish version - Michael Landau – acoustic guitar, electric guitar - René Toledo – acoustic guitar - Michael Migliore – alto saxophone - Maurice Lauchner – background vocal - Chris Willis – background vocal - Will Lee – background vocal - Ron Grant – background vocal - Gustavo Laureano – background vocal - Illyak Negroni – background vocal - Larry Loftin – background vocal - Michael Contratto – background vocal - Robbie Nevil – background vocal - Ronnie Cuber – baritone saxophone - Ramses Colón – bass - Herb Besson – bass - Rusty Anderson – electric guitar - Paquito Hechavarría – piano - Ed Calle – saxophone - Jerry Vivino – tenor saxophone - Lenny Pickett – tenor saxophone - Keith O'Quinn – trombone - Wayne Andre – trombone - Richard Rosenberg – trombone - Dana Teboe – trombone - Glen Drewes – trumpet - Earl Gardner – trumpet - Mark Pender – trumpet - Danny Cahn – trumpet - José Sibajas – trumpet - Scott Healy – arranger #### Production - Mike Couzi – recording engineer - Jules Gondar – recording engineer - Gregg Bieck – recording engineer, macintosh & digital programmer - David Reitzas – recording engineer - Dave Gleeson – recording engineer - Ted Jensen – mastering engineer - Tony Maserati – mixing engineer - Jimmy Hoysen – assistant engineer - Juan Turek – assistant engineer - Nathan Malki – assistant engineer - Larry Brooks – assistant engineer - John Hendrickson – assistant engineer - Aaron Shannon – assistant engineer - Andy Manganno – assistant engineer - Conrad Golding – assistant engineer - Craig Lozowick – assistant engineer - Fabian Marascillo – assistant engineer - Germán Ortiz – assistant engineer - Robert Conley – additional programmer - Carlo Tallarico – coordinator - Brian Coleman – coordinator - Dean Lawrence – coordinator - Chris Apostle – coordinator - Jolie Levine-Aller – coordinator - Angelo Medina – executive producer - Phantom Vox – executive producer - Ricardo Cordero – project coordinator - Iris Aponte – project coordinator - Nanette Lamboy – project coordinator Credits adapted from Tidal and the liner notes of Sound Loaded'', Columbia Records. ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications ## Release history

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light

1990 video game

, known in Japan as Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Famicom. It is the first installment in the Fire Emblem series and was originally released in Japan in 1990. Set on the fictional continent of Archanea, the story follows the tale of Marth, prince of the kingdom of Altea, who is sent on a quest to reclaim his throne after being forced into exile by the evil sorcerer Gharnef and his dark master Medeus, the titular Shadow Dragon. Forming new alliances with neighboring kingdoms, Marth must gather a new army to help him retrieve the sacred sword Falchion and the Fire Emblem shield in order to defeat Gharnef and Medeus and save his kingdom. The gameplay revolves around turn-based battles on grid-based maps, with defeated units being subject to permanent death. Beginning development in 1987, it was conceived by designer and writer Shouzou Kaga: he wanted to combine the strategic elements of Intelligent Systems's previous simulation project, Famicom Wars, with the story, characters, and world of a traditional role-playing video game influenced by Kure Software's First Queen (1988). Keisuke Terasaki acted as director and Gunpei Yokoi produced, while the music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko. The scale of the game meant that the team needed to find ways around memory storage problems, and make compromises with the graphics and storyline. While initial sales and critical reception were lackluster, it later became popular, launching the Fire Emblem series. The game would later be credited with popularizing the tactical role-playing genre in general. The game was officially localized and released outside of Japan for the first time on the Nintendo Switch on December 4, 2020 in commemoration of the franchise's 30th anniversary. This updated version features new quality-of-life improvements such as fast-forwarding and rewinding through player and enemy turns, and the ability to create suspend points in the middle of gameplay. ## Gameplay Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is a tactical role-playing game where players take on the role of Marth and his growing army during their campaign across the continent of Archanea. The game progresses in a linear fashion, with maps being unlocked and played as dictated by the storyline. Each playable character is assigned to unique character classes that have various functions in battle, such as being mounted or having access to magic. A unit's class affects their range of movement and strength on the battlefield: mounted or flying units have greater mobility, archers have a greater attack range, while heavily armored characters have more defense. Each character has a set character class, and each time a unit raises its experience level its various stats increase randomly. There are a total of 52 characters that can be recruited over the course of the game. Battles use a turn-based battle system, with a limited number of player units and enemy units each taking turns and moving across a grid-based battlefield: battles are won by the player defeating key enemy units such as commanders and other boss characters. In battle, the game transitions to a dedicated battle arena, where the battle plays out in real-time. Each action yields experience points (EXP), and when the character earns 100 EXP, they level up, their health increases, and their class-specified statistics are randomly raised. During missions, towns and secret vendors can be visited, where new items such as healing potions and weapons can be purchased. Weapons are specific to different characters, and each weapon has a limited lifespan before breaking when it reaches its limit. Currency is limited to certain scripted or player-driven events, or wagering on arena battles. If a character falls in battle, they are subjected to permanent death, removing them from subsequent missions and the rest of the storyline. The game ends if Marth falls in battle. ## Synopsis Long ago, the continent of Archanea was invaded by the Dolhr Empire, led by the Shadow Dragon Medeus. Anri, a youth from Altea, defeated the Shadow Dragon using the divine sword Falchion. The Kingdom of Archanea was restored and the world entered an era of peace. However, 100 years later, Medeus is resurrected by the evil wizard Gharnef, who has conquered the mage-state of Khadein. The two form an alliance with the kingdoms of Macedon and Grust in order to conquer the world. Cornelius, the king of Altea and successor of Anri, takes up Falchion and leaves to battle them, leaving his son Prince Marth and daughter Princess Elice in the care of his castle manned by Altea's ally, Gra. However, Gra betrays Altea to Dolhr; Cornelius is killed, Falchion is stolen, and Elice sacrifices herself so Marth can escape. Accompanied by a handful of knights, he takes refuge in the island nation of Talys. Several years later, Marth repels a pirate invasion of Talys, leading its king to conclude that he is ready to battle Dolhr; he sends Marth out with several of his most trusted men and his daughter, Princess Caeda. Marth first rescues the kingdom of Aurelis and enlists the aid of its king's younger brother, Duke Hardin and his retainers. He meets Princess Nyna, the last survivor of the Archanean royal family and leader of the resistance against Dolhr. She gives him the Fire Emblem, a legendary treasure given to the hero destined to save the world. The two march to Archanea and free it from Grust's grasp. After briefly invading Khadein in search of Falchion, Marth retakes Altea. He learns that his mother was killed in the invasion and that Gharnef is holding Elice prisoner. Marth next battles Grust and their top general, Camus, who rescued Nyna from execution at Dohlrian hands; he chooses to uphold his honor as a knight of Grust, and Marth is forced to defeat him. Marth is contacted by Gotoh, a wise old sage, who informs him that Gharnef wields the tome Imhullu, making him invincible; the only thing capable of defeating him is the magic of Starlight. Gotoh sends Marth to the Fane of Raman to find the materials needed to create Starlight; he also rescues the divine dragon, Tiki. Marth then invades Macedon and deposes the tyrannical King Michalis with the aid of Michalis' sister Princess Minerva. There, Gotoh reforges Starlight. Marth invades Khadein once more, defeats Gharnef, reclaims Falchion, and rescues Elice. He then makes his way to Dolhr, battles, and defeats Medeus, returning peace to the land. If Caeda has survived the events of the game, she and Marth declare their love for one another. ## Development Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was co-developed by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo Research & Development 1. It began after Intelligent Systems turned its attention away from developing hardware for the Famicom towards creating what they called "simulation games". It was directed by Keisuke Terasaki and produced by Gunpei Yokoi. The initial concept was created by Shouzou Kaga, who acted as scenario writer and designer. The graphics and character art was cooperatively handled by Tohru Ohsawa, Naotaka Ohnishi, Satoshi Machida and Toshitaka Muramatsu. The music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, with technical guidance from Hirokazu Tanaka. Tsujiyoko, who would become a recurring composer for the series, became involved as she was the only composer then employed by Intelligent Systems. The initial development team was not very large, and several staff members undertook multiple tasks. Conceptual development for Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light began in 1987, three years prior to its release. The concept was first decided upon after the completion of Famicom Wars, as the team wanted to move away from the war-based setting of Famicom Wars and create a role-playing experience. The project was first proposed to Nintendo by Kaga with a design document. The document included all the basic elements, including the story, main character and gameplay mechanics. At this stage, the project was called "Battle Fantasy Fire Emblem". Kaga cites Kure Software's First Queen (1988) as an influence for the game. The staff never considered the game as a commercial product, being defined by Kaga as a dōjin project that was made on a whim. To make the game accessible to a wide audience, Kaga did his best to avoid emphasizing stats and other numerical data. The game's genre necessitated the extensive use of the Famicom cartridge's memory. Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light exceeded these limits, so Intelligent Systems used a portion of memory dedicated to saving games to get around this limitation. With Nintendo's help, they created a new chip for the cartridge that could process and display Japanese text. Kaga wanted to create a scenario where players would care about the characters in a similar way to a role-playing video game. According to Kaga, while role-playing games had strong stories but limited protagonists, tactical games had multiple characters but a weak story: Fire Emblem was his solution, combining the two to create a fun gameplay experience with relatable characters. This lack of emphasis on a single character was intentional, to the point that even Marth was not considered by Kaga to be the main character. The setting and characters drew inspiration from Classical mythology. During the early story draft, there were two dragons that acted as bosses: the Earth Dragon Gaia and the Water Dragon Neptune. While Neptune was scrapped due to hardware limitations, Gaia would evolve into the character of Medeus. The series' titular "Fire Emblem" appears in its first and most recognizable form as a shield with mystical power. The artifact's title made reference to war and the power of dragons, which would form a key part of future entries. The use of such an extensive story approach was a rarity in Famicom games at the time, which were still beset by memory storage problems. Multiple scenarios were also planned by Kaga to alleviate the linear feel of the campaign, but this could not be managed. The initial plan was to create setpiece graphics for key story moments, similar to simulation titles on PC games. Among the scenes initially planned were Marth kneeling next to the character Jagen in a pool of blood, and two characters escaping from an ambush. To try and accommodate the advanced graphics, the team opted to use an MMC3 memory chip. The adoption of the MMC3 was influenced by memory space difficulties experienced by the team during the development of Famicom Wars. When it was discovered that the chip only had one megabyte of memory, the team were forced to streamline the graphics and visuals, resulting in the setpiece graphics being cut. The reduced emphasis on graphics meant that the game was not visually impressive, which was later regretted by Kaga and other team members. ## Release During its early advertising, the game was dubbed Honō no Monshō (炎の紋章, lit. Emblem of Fire), and used character and narrative concepts that did not appear in the final product. The graphics also underwent changes, being particularly noticeable with Marth's hair color and style. The game was advertised on television with a live-action commercial featuring a version of the Fire Emblem theme. Filming the commercial proved troublesome: the actors overheated due to their heavy costumes, and the light and sound effects made the actor horse skittish. The commercial required twenty retakes. The game released on April 20, 1990. In Japan, an emulated version of the game was released via Virtual Console. It was released for Wii on October 20, 2009; for Nintendo 3DS on August 1, 2012; and for Wii U on June 4, 2014. The game was made available for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers in Japan and Hong Kong as of March 13, 2019. It was released for the Nintendo Switch on December 4, 2020 for a limited time in North America, Europe, and Oceania. This was the game's first release in which it was officially localized into English. A special edition Fire Emblem 30th Anniversary Edition bundle was available exclusively in North America, which includes a download code for the game as well as various physical items, including a replica NES Game Pak with its own packaging and instruction manual. The game was delisted from the e-Shop on March 31, 2021. ## Reception According to Kaga, upon release Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light received extensive criticism from Japanese publications. Many of them noted that it was difficult to understand and had fairly poor graphics, awarding it low scores. In contrast, popular opinion was more positive: in a poll taken by Family Computer Magazine, the game scored 23.48 points out of 30. Likewise, sales of the game were flat for the first two months of sales, but improved after word of mouth had spread. According to Kaga, a notable journalist devoted a Famitsu column to the game, and this prompted sales to pick up around half a year after release. As of 2002, Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light had sold 329,087 units, being the third best-selling title in the series to that date. According to Metacritic, the Nintendo Switch version received "mixed or average reviews", based on a weighted average score of 62 out of 100 from 29 critics. The website also stated that the game "understandably failed to impress modern critics." In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their "Best JRPGs of All Time" list. ### Legacy Despite the slow start, Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light proved enough of a success that a sequel was commissioned. This would become Fire Emblem Gaiden, which was released in 1992. Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was partially remade as part of the third installment, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, which also continued the story of Marth. A full remake for the Nintendo DS was released internationally under the title Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, marking the first time the content of the first Fire Emblem was made available outside Japan. The setting of Archanea would be used again for the thirteenth entry, Fire Emblem Awakening. Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light not only launched the wider Fire Emblem series, but is also seen as the reason tactical role-playing genre became popular in Japan. It has thus been credited with indirectly influencing the creation of other notable games within the genre, including Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Final Fantasy Tactics, and the Disgaea series. The basic mechanics within Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light would form the basis for the gameplay of nearly all subsequent Fire Emblem titles. In addition to helping popularize the genre, it is also credited with pioneering multimedia advertising through its use of a live-action television commercial in addition to magazine previews, which would later be used for series such as The Legend of Zelda. Its combination of battle and story segments also provided inspiration for the gameplay of the Sakura Wars series.

Brereton C. Jones

Kentucky politician (born 1939)

Brereton Chandler Jones (born June 27, 1939) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky. From 1987 to 1991, he served as the 50th lieutenant governor of Kentucky and from 1991 to 1995, he was the state's 58th governor. He now chairs the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), a lobbying organization for the Kentucky horse industry. Born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia, Jones became the youngest-ever member of the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1964. Two years later, he was chosen as the Republican floor leader in the House. In 1968, he decided to leave politics and focus on his real estate business. He married Elizabeth "Libby" Lloyd in 1970 and in 1972, the family moved to historic Airdrie Farm, Libby's family estate in Woodford County, Kentucky. There, Jones founded Airdrie Stud, now an internationally recognized Thoroughbred farm. Although he remained mostly out of politics, Jones changed his party affiliation to Democratic in 1975, and was appointed to various boards and commissions by governors John Y. Brown, Jr. and Martha Layne Collins. In 1987, Jones announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor, admitting that he considered the office a stepping stone to some day becoming governor. He was elected, but experienced a poor relationship with Governor Wallace Wilkinson throughout their four-year terms. Jones was elected governor in 1991, turning back a challenge from Governor Wilkinson's wife Martha in the Democratic primary. (Wilkinson was ineligible to succeed himself in office.) Although Jones maintained a strained relationship with the Kentucky General Assembly following comments he made in the wake of the federal Operation Boptrot investigation, he was still able to pass much of his agenda, including an amendment that would allow state officials to succeed themselves in office once. (Jones was able to secure passage of the amendment by exempting the state's sitting officials, including himself.) However, he achieved only a partial victory on his top priority – health care reform. While the legislature acceded to many of Jones' proposals, such as eliminating the practice of denying insurance coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, they did not approve his mandate for universal health care for all Kentuckians. Following his term in office, Jones founded the Kentucky Equine Education Project. He considered running for governor again in 2003, but never formally became a candidate. ## Early life Although his family lived in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, Brereton Jones was born on June 27, 1939, in Gallipolis, Ohio, the site of the nearest hospital to the family's home. One of six children born to E. Bartow Jones II, who served two terms in the West Virginia Senate, and Nedra Wilhelm Jones, he was raised on a dairy farm in Point Pleasant. Jones was a star football player in the public schools of Point Pleasant (Point Pleasant High School, Class of 1957). After graduating from high school as valedictorian, he attended the University of Virginia on a football scholarship, playing both offensive and defensive end. He earned a Bachelor of Commerce in 1961. For one semester, he studied at the University of Virginia School of Law, but he returned home to West Virginia and established a real estate and construction business. In 1964, Jones' political career began with his election as a Republican to the West Virginia House of Delegates. He was the youngest person ever elected to that body. In 1966, he was chosen as the Republican floor leader in the House. In 1968, Jones announced that he would not seek re-election to his seat, despite facing no opposition. Among the factors influencing his decision was his perception of corruption in state politics. After his service in the West Virginia House, Jones began to concentrate on his real estate business and established a small horse farm just outside Huntington. His interest in the horse business led him to make several trips to Keeneland race track in central Kentucky; it was on one of these trips that he met his future wife, Elizabeth "Libby" Lloyd, daughter of Arthur Lloyd, the former Adjutant General of Kentucky. Jones and Lloyd married in 1970; they had two children – Lucy and Bret. In 1972, the Joneses moved to Airdrie Farm, Libby's childhood home in Woodford County, Kentucky. Jones leased a portion of the farm from his father-in-law and founded Airdrie Stud, a thoroughbred horse farm that has since been internationally recognized for its horses. Airdrie contains the original site of Woodburn Stud, a top thoroughbred farm in the 1800s. The property had not been used for breeding for 70 years prior to Jones' creation of Airdrie Stud. Jones went on to chair the Kentucky Thoroughbred Commission and serve as treasurer of the Breeders' Cup. ## Political career in Kentucky In 1975, Jones registered as a Democrat, citing his disenchantment with the Nixon administration and his desire to participate in Kentucky primary elections. At the time, Democrats outnumbered Republicans in Kentucky by a 2-to-1 margin. Governor John Y. Brown, Jr. named him to the board of directors for the University of Kentucky and the Chandler Medical Center. In the mid-1980s, Jones created the Kentucky Health Care Access Foundation to provide free health care to individuals who fell below the poverty line but did not qualify for Medicaid. Governor Martha Layne Collins chose Jones to chair her Medicaid Program Review Team and serve on her Council on Education Reform. ### Lieutenant governor In late 1985, Jones announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor in the 1987 election, conceding that he sought the office because he would like to serve as governor in the future. He convincingly won in the Democratic primary against Paul E. Patton, who later became governor, and David L. Armstrong, the sitting Attorney General and later Mayor of Louisville. Wallace G. Wilkinson, winner of the Democratic gubernatorial primary, praised Jones and said that, if elected, he would make Jones the head of a blue-ribbon economic development council. Wilkinson and Jones went on to win the general election; Jones defeated Republican nominee Lawrence R. Webster by a convincing vote of 517,811 to 186,321. Soon after the election results were announced, Jones was quoted in a newspaper as saying that he had talked with Wilkinson about opening channels with the media, whom Wilkinson often refused to speak with. Jones also said that he did not agree with all of Wilkinson's political positions and would not be his "yes man". These comments angered Wilkinson, who backtracked on his promise to give Jones an active role in the administration. Relations between Jones and Wilkinson further deteriorated as both men tried to recoup the money spent during their campaigns. During the 1988 legislative session, Governor Wilkinson proposed an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution that would allow state officials, including the sitting incumbents, to succeed themselves in office once. As presiding officer in the Senate, Jones insisted that any such measure also include a runoff provision if a candidate did not receive a majority of votes in the party primary. Wilkinson opposed this provision, and the measure died in the state senate. Wilkinson's proposed education program also failed in the session, and Jones suggested that the governor should build a consensus among legislators before including the program on the agenda of a special legislative session, which Wilkinson had proposed for January 1989. After the 1988 session, Wilkinson called Jones a backstabber and accused him of sabotaging the succession amendment. The two did not meet for six months following the session. As lieutenant governor, Jones advocated for the preservation of family farms and for school reform. He won praise for his efforts to include a "Made in Kentucky" label on produce grown in the state. Further, he claimed the state could save \$500,000 a year by merging the offices of lieutenant governor, secretary of state, and state treasurer. Jones maintained that the arrangement would give the lieutenant governor something specific to do between legislative sessions and would provide a broader record upon which voters could judge the officeholder should they seek higher office. Jones' proposal, which would have required a constitutional amendment, was never adopted. Jones also claimed to have saved his office \$200,000 by choosing not to live in the lieutenant governor's mansion, by reducing the number of Kentucky State Police troopers used for security at the mansion, and by giving up seven cars assigned to the office – two for him and wife Libby, and five used by the state troopers. ### Governor In 1991, Jones was the front-runner for the governorship for the entire gubernatorial campaign. The rivalry between Jones and Wilkinson had become so strong that Wilkinson's wife Martha was among Jones' challengers in the Democratic primary; she ended her candidacy 18 days before the primary. Advocating campaign finance reform, Jones garnered 184,703 votes in the primary, enough to best a field including Scotty Baesler (149,352 votes), Dr. Floyd Poore (132,060 votes), and Gatewood Galbraith (25,834). In the general election, Jones faced Republican Larry Hopkins, a seven-term congressman representing Kentucky's 6th congressional district. Hopkins was considered the Republicans' best hope of capturing the governorship since Louie B. Nunn in 1967. Instead, Hopkins' negative campaign ads, mistakes about his record, and involvement in a House scandal involving bounced checks all hurt his chances. Jones won the election by a vote of 540,468 to 294,542, the largest margin of victory in a Kentucky gubernatorial race. A supporter of "good government", Jones' first policy action as governor was to issue an executive order restricting the post-government employment of his appointees. He also secured passage of one of the nation's toughest ethics laws, limiting the activities of lobbyists and instituting campaign finance reform to diminish the advantage of wealthy candidates for office. The so-called "trustees bill", passed in 1992, provided for an independent review of all appointees to university boards of trustees. Jones later removed former governor Wilkinson from the board of the University of Kentucky using the bill's provisions. Despite these reforms, Jones drew criticism from ethics watchdogs because no law required him to disclose the identities of his business partners and associates with Airdrie Stud and because the farm benefited from a 1992 law that set up off-track betting parlors and allowed some of their proceeds to go to successful breeders. The state faced a \$400 million revenue shortfall when Jones took office. Shortly after his election, Jones created the Quality and Efficiency Commission to study ways to streamline state government. Among the enacted recommendations were refinancing state bonds at lower interest rates, cutting the state workforce by 2,000 employees (mostly through attrition), and spurring local economic growth through tax incentives. By the end of Jones' term, the state enjoyed a \$300 million budget surplus. During the first year of his administration, Jones and five others were traveling in a state helicopter from Frankfort to Fort Knox on August 7, 1992 when a tail rotor blade snapped, causing the helicopter to crash near Graefenburg in Shelby County. The pilot was able to guide the helicopter into a treetop to soften the impact. No one was killed, but Jones suffered a severe back strain and a bruised kidney. The National Transportation Safety Board later determined that the pilot and co-pilot had not properly attached an engine cowling that knocked off the tail rotor blade. Both pilots maintained that they did nothing wrong, and Jones credited them for the survival of the passengers aboard the helicopter. Although fellow Democrats controlled two-thirds of the Kentucky General Assembly, Jones never developed a good working relationship with the legislature. This was due in part to remarks Jones made in the wake of the Operation Boptrot investigation that led to the conviction of 15 sitting or former state legislators. Jones called the investigation "a cleansing process"; legislators reacted negatively, claiming Jones was trying to take "the high ground" above them. Following Jones' remarks, state senate president John "Eck" Rose became Jones' bitter political foe. Nevertheless, Jones was able to enact many of his legislative priorities during his term. Jones' top priority as governor was the passage of health care reform. He appointed two health care reform study commissions, and in May 1993, he called the legislature into a special session to consider a universal health care bill. The only measure to come out of this session was a temporary tax on health care providers. Legislators also agreed to work toward a bill that could be passed in the next regular legislative session. On March 2, 1994, the Kentucky House of Representatives passed a health care reform bill that did not include universal coverage. Angered, Jones began campaigning against the bill, but the Kentucky Senate passed its version on March 22. Both chambers worked to reconcile differences between their respective versions of the bill, and on April 1, 1994, the last regular day of the legislative session, the Senate passed a compromise bill, but the House killed it on a procedural motion. On April 15, the last day of the session, which legislators had set aside to override any gubernatorial vetoes, the health care bill was reintroduced and passed both houses of the General Assembly. Jones then reversed course and signed it. Among the reforms included in the bill were a mechanism making the policies of all companies uniform and the creation of a Health Policy Board to regulate rate increases. It ensured that insurance companies could not deny coverage because of a pre-existing condition and allowed workers to retain their insurance after changing jobs. Jones also advocated for an amendment to the state constitution that had major implications for the governor's office. Under the terms of the amendment, the lieutenant governor no longer became acting governor when the sitting governor left the state. It also allowed candidates for governor and lieutenant governor to run as a ticket instead of being elected on separate ballots. The centerpiece of the amendment, however, was the removal of the restriction on governors from succeeding themselves in office. The state constitution had previously barred the incumbent from seeking a second consecutive term; under the new amendment, the sitting governor would be allowed to succeed himself once. Succession amendments had been proposed and defeated during the administrations of John Y. Brown, Jr. and Wallace Wilkinson, but Jones was able to see it passed because, unlike Brown and Wilkinson, he was willing to exempt the present incumbents, including himself, from the succession provision. Separate legislation passed during Jones' term required a runoff election if no gubernatorial candidate won a majority in his or her party primary. (Each of Jones' three immediate predecessors would have faced a runoff had this law been in effect during their primaries.) Among Jones' other accomplishments were the passage of a mandatory seat belt law, an increase in funding for the state park system, and the phasing out of the state inheritance tax. He also established the state's largest-ever reserve trust fund using income from the state's sales, income, corporate, coal, severance, and property taxes. He exceeded his goal of having a 7.4 percent minority representation in the state workforce, and appointed three times more African-Americans than the previous administration had recruited. He also appointed more women to government positions than his predecessor, including Sara Combs, the first woman to serve on the Kentucky Supreme Court. ## Later life At the end of his term as governor, Jones retired to Airdrie Stud. He started Commonwealth Broadcasting and joined with partners to purchase several radio and television stations in Kentucky and Tennessee. He remained a public advocate of campaign finance reform and health care reform and was a supporter of posting the Ten Commandments in public schools. Jones talked openly of running for governor in 2003 but did not enter the race. In 2004, he founded the Kentucky Equine Education Project (KEEP), an organization dedicated to educating the public about Kentucky's horse industry and lobbying the General Assembly for more horse-friendly legislation. He served as chair of KEEP from 2004 to 2011. In October 2016, Jones was the recipient of the inaugural Industry Vision Award for "significant contributions to Kentucky's horse industry."

Glorious Revolution in Scotland

Overview of the Glorious Revolution's impact in Scotland

The Glorious Revolution in Scotland refers to the Scottish element of the 1688 Glorious Revolution, in which James VII was replaced by his daughter Mary II and her husband William II as joint monarchs of Scotland and England. Prior to 1707, the two kingdoms shared a common monarch but were separate legal entities, so decisions in one did not bind the other. In both countries, the Revolution confirmed the primacy of Parliament over the Crown, while the Church of Scotland was re-established as a Presbyterian rather than Episcopalian polity. Although James became king in February 1685 with widespread support in both countries, tolerance for his personal Catholicism did not apply to the religion in general. When the Parliaments of England and Scotland refused to rescind legal restrictions on Catholics, James suspended them and ruled by decree. The birth of a Catholic heir in June 1688 caused widespread civil disorder in Scotland and England and a coalition of English politicians and soldiers issued an Invitation to William. They agreed to support Dutch military intervention in order to enforce Mary's rights as heir to the English throne; on 5 November 1688, William landed in South-West England and James fled to France on 23 December. Despite Scotland's lack of involvement in the Invitation, the veteran Scots Brigade formed part of the Dutch invasion force and Scots were prominent on both sides. Many of William's advisors were Protestant exiles like Leven and Melville, while James' closest counsellors were two Scots Catholics, the Earl of Perth and his brother Melfort. On 7 January 1689, the Scottish Privy Council asked William to act as regent pending election of a Convention of the Estates of Scotland. In February 1689, William and Mary were appointed joint monarchs of England and in March, the Convention met to agree a similar settlement for Scotland. While the Revolution was quick and relatively bloodless in England, a Scottish rising in support of James caused significant casualties and Jacobitism persisted as a political force until the mid-18th century. In 2016, one of the Revolution's amendments, the Claim of Right Act 1689, was referenced in legal arguments as to whether Scotland was bound by Brexit. ## Background The Glorious Revolution in Scotland has been poorly understood because...no full-scale treatment...exists comparable to those we possess for England and we have no scholarly analysis of the Scottish constitutional settlement of 1689 (as encapsulated in the Claim of Right and the Articles of Grievances) on a par with...the English Declaration of Rights. The different paths of the Glorious Revolution in Scotland and England stemmed from political and religious differences between the two kingdoms, which experienced the 1638 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms and 1660 Restoration differently. Close links between religion and political ideology meant disputes caused huge dislocation and damage; casualties in the Civil Wars were proportionally higher in percentage terms than those later experienced by the United Kingdom in the First World War. Presbyterian versus Episcopalian now implies differences in both structure and doctrine, but this was not the case in the 17th century. Episcopalian meant governance by bishops, appointed by the monarch, while Presbyterian structures were ruled by Elders, nominated by congregations; in Scotland, both sides were doctrinal Calvinists. Since bishops sat in the Scottish Parliament, arguments over their role were as much about politics as religious practice. Changes of regime in 1638, 1651 and 1661 led to the victors excluding their opponents, making the contest for control of the kirk increasingly bitter. As Charles II had no legitimate children, his brother James was heir to the Scottish and English thrones. In 1669, he secretly converted to Catholicism; when this became public knowledge in 1679, the Parliament of England attempted to exclude him from the English throne. In parts of Scotland, particularly the south west, James inherited a complex situation where the recent Abjuration oath of Nov 1684 actively inflamed an already tense situation. The Killing Time was an unpopular and brutal government suppression carried over from the recent past under King Charles and while Protestant military opposition to his reign in the form of Argyll's Rising was easily put down, support for James seemed far greater in other parts of Scotland; the 1681 Scottish Succession Act confirmed his status as the legal heir 'regardless of religion,'. The Act also stated its aim was to make his exclusion from the English throne impossible without '...the dreadfull consequences of a civil war.' This was reaffirmed in the 1681 Scottish Test Act, with the crucial qualifier all government officials and MPs 'promise to uphold the true Protestant religion.' Tolerance for James' personal beliefs did not extend to Catholicism in general, and his failure to appreciate that distinction ultimately led to his deposition. ## Deposition of James VII In 1685, James' position in Scotland was more secure than it was in England. The 1681 Scottish Succession and Test Acts made obedience to the monarch a legal obligation, 'regardless of religion' but in return confirmed the primacy of the Church of Scotland, or Kirk. Argyll's Rising collapsed due to lack of popular support; repealing the Test Act undermined James' Episcopalian base while rewarding the dissident Presbyterians who backed Argyll. The perception that James was willing to ignore his commitments, his Coronation Oath and his own supporters undermined his policies. They were also badly timed, since the October 1685 Edict of Fontainebleau revoked tolerance for French Protestants, causing an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 Protestants to flee France in the next five years. The killing of over 2,000 Swiss Waldensians in 1686 reinforced fears that Protestant Europe was threatened by a French-led Catholic counter-reformation. In June 1688, two events turned dissent into a crisis; the birth of James Francis Edward on 10 June created a Catholic heir, who would precede James' Protestant daughter Mary, married to William of Orange, in the succession. Though James argued that he merely wanted to increase freedom for Catholics, his prosecution of the Seven Bishops seemed to go beyond this and was perceived as an assault on the Episcopalian establishment; their acquittal on 30 June destroyed James' political authority. In 1685, many feared civil war if James were bypassed; by 1688, anti-Catholic riots made it seem only his removal could prevent one. As events in England rapidly escalated James's chief advisor, the Earl of Sunderland secretly co-ordinated with Henry Sydney to prepare the Invitation to William, assuring him of support from across the English political class for armed intervention. Anxious to secure English financial and military support against France, William landed in Brixham on 5 November with 14,000 men; as he advanced, much of the Royal Army deserted and James went into exile on 23 December. While Scotland had remained relatively passive in the events, once the king fled to France, mob riots in Edinburgh removed Jesuits from the Chapel Royal at Holyrood. Events in England pre-empted a Scottish solution. As the English Parliament offered the their throne to William and Mary in February 1689, James remained King of Scots for a further four months until 4 April 1689. While in England a large majority agreed that Mary should replace her father, William demanded he be made joint monarch and sole ruler if she died. This was only narrowly approved. In Scotland, the split within the Kirk made William more important; his Calvinism meant that Presbyterians saw him as a natural ally, while the Episcopalian minority needed his support to retain control. ## Convention of Estates On 7 January 1689 the Scottish Privy Council asked William to take over government pending a Scottish Convention that would agree a settlement. 70 of the 125 delegates elected in March were classed as Presbyterian, with a tiny minority loyal to James; this made the convention a contest between Episcopalians and Presbyterians over control of the kirk and the limits of Royal authority. On 12 March, James landed in Ireland and on 16th a Letter to the convention was read out, demanding obedience and threatening punishment for non-compliance. Public anger meant some Episcopalians stopped attending the convention, claiming to fear for their safety while others changed sides. Tensions were high, with the Duke of Gordon holding Edinburgh Castle for James and Viscount Dundee recruiting Highland levies. This exaggerated the Presbyterian majority in the Convention which met behind closed doors guarded by its own troops. The Convention of the Scottish Estates met to consider letters received on 16 March 1689 from the two contenders for the Crown. On 4 April they voted to remove James VII from office, drawing on George Buchanan's argument on the contractual nature of monarchy. Later that month, the Convention adopted the Claim of Right and the Article of Grievances, enumerating what they saw as the contemporary requirements of Scottish constitutional law. It also declared that, because of his actions in violation of these laws, James had forfeited the Scottish throne. The English Parliament held James had 'abandoned' his throne the previous December, thereby rendering the position available to another; while in Scotland, On 4 April 1689 a Convention of the Three Estates declared that James VII “had acted irregularly” by assuming regal power “without ever taking the Coronation Oath required by Law”. Thus, he had “forfeited the Right to the Crown, and the Throne is become vacant”. This was a fundamental difference; if Parliament could decide James had forfeited his throne by actions having, in the words of the Claim of Right Act "Invaded the fundamentall Constitution of the Kingdome and altered it from a legall limited monarchy To ane arbitrary despotick power", monarchs derived legitimacy from Parliament, not God, ending the principle of divine right of kings. In an attempt to preserve Episcopalianism, the Scottish Bishops proposed Union with England but this was rejected by the English Parliament. On 11 April, the Convention ended James' reign and adopted the Articles of Grievances and the Claim of Right Act that made Parliament the primary legislative power in Scotland. On 11 May 1689, William and Mary accepted the Scottish throne and the Convention became a full Parliament on 5 June. Dundee's rising highlighted William's reliance on Presbyterian support and he ended attempts to retain the Bishops, leading to the 1690 Act of Settlement restoring Presbyterianism. The Glorious Revolution in Scotland resulted in greater independence for Parliament and kirk but the ending of Episcopacy isolated a significant part of the political class; this would be a major factor in debates over the 1707 Act of Union and the Scottish Jacobite movement. ## Parliament Key figures in the new government were Lord Melville, who joined William in the Netherlands in 1683 after the Rye House Plot and the Earl of Stair, a former member of James VII's administration. In 1689, Melville was appointed Secretary of State for Scotland with Stair as Lord Advocate, a combination intended to minimise Presbyterian dominance of Parliament. The first session was a stalemate over abolishing Episcopacy in the Kirk and the Committee of the Articles, an unelected body that decided what legislation Parliament could debate. As a result, Parliament refused to approve taxes or nominations for legal officers, effectively closing the law courts and William blocked implementation of legislation by withholding Royal Assent to Acts approved by Parliament. A majority of MPs formed themselves into an anti-government group called the club, led by Sir James Montgomery, previously one of William's chief supporters but angered by Melville being preferred as Secretary of State. While some like Montgomery simply resented exclusion from office, most opposed the government on political grounds and primarily wanted to eliminate the Committee of the Articles. The government compromised by agreeing to remove bishops from the kirk but resisted abolition of the Committee of the Articles before Parliament was suspended on 2 August, following the Battle of Killiecrankie. Parliament reconvened in April 1690 in an atmosphere of high tension due to the Jacobite war in Ireland, fears of an Irish invasion of Scotland and continuing unrest in the Highlands. An alleged Jacobite conspiracy called the Montgomery Plot was uncovered, involving Montgomery, the Marquess of Annandale and Lord Ross. In the resulting panic, Melville agreed to abolish the Committee of the Articles, although it is still unclear how serious the plot actually was. Its principal objective achieved, the Club disintegrated, and on 7 June Parliament approved an Act ending Episcopacy and a grant of taxes. The constitutional settlement that emerged from the 1689 and 1690 Parliamentary sessions was less radical than in 1641. The Crown retained important prerogative powers, including the right to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament but in return abolition of the Committee of Articles gave Parliament control of the legislative agenda. ## Religious settlement Conflicts between Protestors and Resolutioners during the Protectorate, then Episcopalians and Cameronians after 1660 had left deep divisions while also normalising the eviction of defeated opponents. The Kirk's General Assembly meeting in November 1690 was the first since 1654 and even before it convened, over 200 conformist and Episcopalian ministers had been removed from their livings. This meant the Assembly was overwhelmingly composed of radical Presbyterians who rejected any measure of Episcopalianism or the reinstatement of those already evicted. Despite being a fellow Calvinist, William was more tolerant towards Episcopalians, seeing them as potential allies while recognising the dangers of alienating an important political constituency. However, the Assembly eliminated Episcopacy and created two commissions for the south and north of the Tay which over the next 25 years removed almost two-thirds of all ministers. The General Assembly of 1692 refused to reinstate even those Episcopalian ministers who pledged to accept Presbyterianism leaving many presbyteries with few or no parish clergy. William issued two acts of indulgence in 1693 and 1695 restoring ministers who accepted him as king; nearly one hundred clergy took advantage of this and a further measure of indulgence in 1707 left only a small remnant of Jacobite Episcopalians and some Society people. The final settlement was closer to that of 1592 rather than the more radical position of 1649 and the degree of independence between Kirk and State remained ambiguous. Despite the theoretical abolition of lay patronage, heritors and elders retained the right to nominate candidates for their own parishes who could then be "called" by the congregation. ## Jacobite resistance The Scottish Parliament was dominated by Presbyterians, with a small group of Stuart loyalists known as Jacobites from Jacobus, Latin for James. This included members of the Roman Catholic minority, conservative Episcopalians or those with personal ties such as Viscount Dundee, his military chief in Scotland. The vast majority were unenthusiastic about either James or William, while the Jacobites were also split between Protestant and Roman Catholic factions. Dundee led a campaign in Scotland to support James' landing in Ireland, where clan rivalries or simple opportunism were often more important than allegiance to William or James. The Presbyterian Macleans joined the Jacobites in order to regain territories in Mull lost to the Campbells in the 1670s, while the Jacobite Keppoch MacDonalds tried to sack Inverness and were bought off only after Dundee intervened. Despite victory at Killiecrankie in July, the Jacobites suffered heavy losses including Dundee himself. Organised resistance ended with defeat at Battle of Cromdale on 1 May 1690, although it took another two years to enforce allegiance to the new regime. ## Assessment The Glorious Revolution settled the dominance of the Presbyterians in the Church of Scotland and the Whigs in politics but alienated a significant segment of the political class. The Whig dominance continued in both Scotland and England well into the mid-eighteenth century. As in England, the Revolution confirmed the ascendancy of Parliament over the Crown but by removing bishops from the Kirk, it alienated a significant segment of the political class. In the long-term, Episcopalianism rather than Highlander or Lowlander was a key determinant of Jacobite support in both 1715 and 1745. Scotland's involvement in the Nine Years' War and the War of the Spanish Succession ultimately led to the Acts of Union and the creation of Great Britain, as the danger of a divided succession between Scotland and England drove the need for a lasting resolution.

Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day

Poem by Walt Whitman about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

"Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day" is a poem by Walt Whitman dedicated to Abraham Lincoln. The poem was written on April 19, 1865, shortly after Lincoln's assassination. Whitman greatly admired Lincoln and went on to write additional poetry about him: "O Captain! My Captain!", "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", and "This Dust Was Once the Man." "Hush'd" is not particularly well known, and is generally considered to have been hastily written. Some critics highlight the poem as Whitman's first attempt to respond to Lincoln's death and emphasize that it would have drawn comparatively little attention if Whitman had not written his other poems on Lincoln. ## Background ### Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln Although they never met, Whitman saw Abraham Lincoln several times between 1861 and 1865, sometimes in close quarters. The first time was when Lincoln stopped in New York City in 1861 on his way to Washington. Whitman noticed the President-elect's "striking appearance" and "unpretentious dignity", and trusted Lincoln's "supernatural tact" and "idiomatic Western genius". He admired the President, writing in October 1863, "I love the President personally." Whitman considered himself and Lincoln to be "afloat in the same stream" and "rooted in the same ground". Whitman and Lincoln shared similar views on slavery and the Union, and similarities have been noted in their literary styles and inspirations. Whitman later declared that "Lincoln gets almost nearer me than anybody else." There is an account of Lincoln reading Whitman's Leaves of Grass poetry collection in his office, and another of the President saying "Well, he looks like a man!" upon seeing Whitman in Washington, D.C., but these accounts are probably fictitious. Lincoln's death on April 15, 1865, greatly moved Whitman, who wrote several poems in tribute to the fallen President. "O Captain! My Captain!", "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day", and "This Dust Was Once the Man" were all written as sequels to Drum-Taps. The poems do not specifically mention Lincoln, although they turn the assassination of the President into a sort of martyrdom. ## Text > > HUSH'D be the camps to-day; And, soldiers, let us drape our war-worn weapons; And each, with musing soul retire, to celebrate, Our dear commander's death. > > > > No more for him life's stormy conflicts; Nor victory, nor defeat—No more time's dark events, Charging like ceaseless clouds across the sky. > > > > But sing, poet, in our name; Sing of the love we bore him—because you, dweller in > > > > ` camps, know it truly.` > > > > Sing, to the lower'd coffin there; Sing, with the shovel'd clods that fill the grave—a > > > > ` verse,` > > > > For the heavy hearts of soldiers. ## Writing and publication Whitman was home in Brooklyn on a break from his job with the Department of the Interior when he heard of Lincoln's assassination. He recalled that, although breakfast was served, the family did not eat and "not a word was spoken all day". He heard a similar story that troops under William Tecumseh Sherman on their homeward march were loud and jubilant until they heard the news about Lincoln, which stunned them into silence. Although the poem is narrated from the point of view of a witness of Lincoln lying in state, Whitman himself likely didn't see it personally. The original subtitle of the poem included "April 19", the date of Lincoln's coffin was on display in the East Wing of the White House, but Whitman did not leave Brooklyn for Washington, D. C. until April 24. He therefore also missed the ceremonies in New York when Lincoln's body was there on April 24. The first poem that Whitman wrote on Lincoln's assassination was "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day", which was dated April 19, 1865—the day of Lincoln's funeral in Washington. Although Drum-Taps had already begun the process of being published on April 1, Whitman felt it would be incomplete without a poem on Lincoln's death and hastily added "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day". William Coyle, in his book The Poet and the President, gives a formal publication date of May 4, 1865, for the poem. It was later republished in the 1871 edition of Leaves of Grass in the "Memories of President Lincoln" cluster. Several commas were removed and the fourth stanza was revised. ## Reception and analysis Although the poem is not particularly well known, it was Whitman's first response to Lincoln's death, and the scholar Gregory Eiselein considers it to have many of the defining characteristics of Whitman's elegies to the fallen president. Eiselein particularly notes how the poem "mourns for the dead but celebrates death", considers Lincoln's death as a moment that will bring peace, and remembers Lincoln "not because he was a great leader or conqueror but because he was well-loved". By not naming Lincoln and comparing him to every soldier who died in the war, Whitman extends the elegy to all soldiers. The critic Helen Vendler considers "Hush'd" to be written from the collective voice of the Union Army mourning their commander. She argues that it demonstrates "omnimobility" of words by travelling from the camps to Lincoln's burial site. The scholar Gay Wilson Allen considered "Hush'd" to be written "hastily" as Whitman's tribute to Lincoln's funeral. Whitman's biographer Justin Kaplan called "Hush'd" a "stop press insertion". Peter J. Bellis agreed, writing that "Hush'd Be the Camps To-Day", as Whitman's first elegy to Lincoln, "seeks both to describe and to perform that burial, to make itself the physical and narrative endpoint of the nation’s grief". "Hush'd Be The Camps To-Day" has inaccuracies and what scholar Ted Genoways describes as "stock form"; Whitman was unsatisfied by it. Allen argues that this poem was not "the elegy he [Whitman] felt was needed", and neither was "My Captain!" Throughout the summer Whitman developed his feelings on the assassination as he wrote "Lilacs", which represented the fitting elegy and was one of Whitman's greatest expressive works. Vendler noted that "Hush'd" is an instance of Whitman subordinating himself and writing as someone else. In 1943, Henry Seidel Canby wrote that Whitman's poems on Lincoln have become known as "the poems of Lincoln". William E. Barton wrote in 1928 that neither "This Dust Was Once the Man" nor "Hush'd be the Camps" "would have attracted much attention at the time or have added anything later to the poet's reputation". ## See also - Abraham Lincoln cultural depictions - Walt Whitman and Abraham Lincoln

1932 Freeport hurricane

Category 4 Atlantic hurricane in 1932

The 1932 Freeport hurricane was an intense tropical cyclone that primarily affected areas of the Texas coast in August of the 1932 Atlantic hurricane season. It was the second storm and first hurricane of the season, developing just off the Yucatán Peninsula on August 12. While moving to the northwest, the storm began to quickly intensify the next day. It rapidly intensified from a category 1 hurricane to a category 4 with winds estimated at 150 mph (240 km/h) and an estimated central pressure of 935 mbar (27.6 inHg) shortly before making landfall near Freeport, Texas, early on August 14. After landfall, the hurricane began to quickly weaken before dissipating over the Texas Panhandle. The storm caused heavy rainfall inland, peaking at 9.93 in (252 mm) in Angleton. Record rainfall rates were also reported in some areas. Power outages were reported in Galveston and San Antonio. The storm caused \$7.5 million in damages, mostly to crops, and 40 deaths. ## Meteorological history The Freeport hurricane was first noted by ships on August 12 as a tropical disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico. However, it was suggested in later research that the disturbance may have originated from a low-pressure area between Belize and Honduras on August 11. Steadily moving to the northwest, the storm began to intensify, reaching hurricane strength on August 13, and soon after reaching major hurricane strength later that day. A report remarked that the storm was "phenomenal" due to the fact that previously the storm had "seemed to be of only moderate intensity" while near land before rapidly intensifying. The storm eventually reached winds of 145 mph (233 km/h), making it a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir–Simpson scale. The hurricane proceeded to make landfall early on August 14 just east of Freeport with winds of 150 mph (240 km/h). A ship just offshore of the coast reported a minimum pressure of 942 mbar (27.8 inHg), but the official estimate for the hurricane's landfall intensity was set to 935 mbar (27.6 inHg) given the fact that the system was still rapidly intensifying at the time. Due to the storm's small size, it quickly weakened to tropical storm strength later that day. The storm finally weakened into a tropical depression before dissipating the next day over the Texas Panhandle. ## Preparations, impact, and aftermath In preparation for the storm, 150 vehicles evacuated out of Freeport, while water craft were taken up the Brazos River as far inland as possible. 100 families in Caplen and Gilchrist were also evacuated. The 38th division of the Texas National Guard, stationed in Palacios, was alerted due to the oncoming storm. Heavy rainfall occurred across the coast and further inland due to the storm. Four locations set 24-hour rainfall records for the month of August, the highest of which was set near Angleton, recording 9.93 in (252 mm) of rain on August 13. Angleton also faced a water shortage after its pumping station was destroyed. The remnants of the storm produced as much as 12 in (300 mm) of rain in Oklahoma. Occupants in four vehicles were rescued by the United States Coast Guard near San Luis Pass. In Wharton, 800 birds went missing in the heavy rain. Galveston suffered primarily wind damage in the form of unroofed structures and broken windows. The Galveston Causeway was flooded by the heavy rain, preventing access from Galveston Island to the mainland. Several other roads were blocked by fallen trees. The city was also affected by a power outage after the storm caused loss of power and damaged communication lines. In addition, communication lines in San Antonio were damaged. At William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, 11 planes were damaged when a hangar collapsed, resulting in losses of \$250,000. Hermann Park was also affected by the storm, where nine goats began to roam within the park due to a broken fence caused by a fallen limb. 35 convicts were freed from the Ramsey Unit state prison during the storm due to the chance of the prison collapsing. However, after the storm, only eight returned to the prison, leaving 27 others missing. After the storm, the American Red Cross brought supplies to areas affected by the hurricane, requesting as much as \$10,000 in relief work. Several other local relief committees also brought supplies to affected areas. An estimated \$2 million in damages from the storm were attributed to crop damage alone, especially rice and cotton. The storm was estimated to have killed 40 people and caused \$7.5 million in damage. ## See also - 1941 Texas hurricane - 1949 Texas hurricane - Hurricane Harvey - List of Texas hurricanes (1900–49)

Siempre Selena

Compilation album by Selena

Siempre Selena (English: Always Selena) is the second posthumously released album by American singer Selena, released by EMI Latin on October 29, 1996. The album contained mostly unreleased recordings and remixes of previously released content. Songs on the album range from a 14-year-old Selena on "Soy Amiga" (1986) to the shelved Don Juan DeMarco (1995) soundtrack song "Siempre Hace Frio". Siempre Selena was a result of the impact of Selena's death in March 1995, where the singer's father and manager Abraham Quintanilla Jr. began receiving requests from fans of her music. Abraham rediscovered forgotten tapes of songs Selena recorded for various projects. Following her death, Abraham expressed how he wanted to keep the singer's legacy alive and that public knowledge of Selena was very important to him. Critical reception of Siempre Selena was mixed, with varying reviews suggesting that the album was more for Selena's fan base and found no particular track on the album to be of any interest, while others favored its diversity and remastered songs. Music retailers believed that Siempre Selena would be another sellout due to the commercial success of Dreaming of You (1995), as well as strong presale copies and demands for the album by fans, and by local disc jockeys who were hyping the album. Retailers reported "modest" sales, while other stores reported that sales for the album had flattened. Manolo Gonzalez, marketing director of EMI Latin, explained to media outlets how the company intentionally did not market Siempre Selena aggressively. An Austin American-Statesman editor called corporate EMI Latin's marketing team an "oxymoron" on their marketing scheme. Despite sluggish sales, Siempre Selena debuted and peaked atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums chart with 10,500 units sold in its first week. It peaked at number 82 on the Billboard 200 chart. It remained at number one for two consecutive weeks on the Top Latin Albums chart and 14 consecutive weeks atop the Regional Mexican Albums chart. The lead single, "Siempre Hace Frio" peaked at number two on the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs and Regional Mexican Songs chart, while "Costumbres" peaked within the top 15. In November 2017, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has certified the album triple platinum for shipments of 300,000 units in the United States. ## Background In March 1995, American Tejano music singer Selena was shot and killed by Yolanda Saldívar, her friend and former manager of the singer's boutiques. At the time of her death the singer was working on a crossover album that would have propelled her into the American pop arena. The impact of the singer's death had a negative impact on Latin music, her genre—which she catapulted it into the mainstream market—suffered and its popularity waned following Selena's death. The crossover-planned album Dreaming of You was released posthumously in July 1995, debuting and peaking atop the United States Billboard 200 albums chart, the first majority Spanish-language recording to do so in the chart's history. The album's release started a "buying frenzy" for anything related or containing Selena among Hispanic and Latino Americans. Selena's father and manager Abraham Quintanilla Jr. explained to Mario Taradell of The Odessa American that "there is an insatiable hunger for Selena's music out there". He further said how he constantly receives letters and phone calls from fans requesting the singer's music. Following his daughter's death, Abraham began going through boxes and found "more songs that Selena recorded that we had forgotten about." He explained how he wanted to preserve Selena's legacy and that it's important to him that public consciousness of the singer remains intact. Selena's brother and principal record producer, A.B. Quintanilla explained on Biography that Selena's wishes were for her fans to "never forget about her". Since Selena's death, her family has been criticized by fans and the media for exploiting the singer and cannibalizing on her murder by releasing more music. ## Music and lyrics Siempre Selena contains mostly unreleased recordings and remixes of previously released content. The oldest song on the album, "Soy Amiga" was recorded when Selena was 14-years old. Taradell called it a "breezy Latin pop number." and found that the singer's vocals "were kept intact but the music was redone to fit today's radio sound." Chris Riemenschneider of the Austin American-Statesman did not approve of the remastered version of "Soy Amiga", calling it a "fluffy pop song" that lacks "any passion." Along with "Soy Amiga", other songs on the album including, "Como Quisiera" and "Costumbres", were released prior to Selena signing a recording contract with EMI Latin in 1989. "Como Quisiera" was originally a "Tex Mex tune" and remixed into a midtempo mariachi recording, while Juan Gabriel's "Costumbres", was turned into a "feisty yet palatable cumbia style" track. Lyrically, "Como Quisiera" is about a girl who "deeply loves" a guy who broke her heart. The unreleased demo that was intended for the crossover market, "Only Love", was recorded in 1990 and was shelved. Abraham told Taradell how the song was "too adult contemporary and we wanted to go with something more pop." Taradell called it a "faceless pop ballad." while editors of the Orlando Sentinel called it a contemporary R&B track about "whether to go on with life without the man she loves." Taradell found "A Million to One" as being "a slightly sensuous flavor" due to the introduction of the saxophone on the recording. Riemenschneider found "Only Love" and "A Million to One" to be musically similar as "jazz-light" numbers that failed to convey the singer as having mainstream potential. The producers of the soundtrack of the 1995 romantic comedy-drama film Don Juan DeMarco—in which Selena played a mariachi singer—decided not to include her recordings of "Tú Sólo Tú", "El Toro Relajo", and "Siempre Hace Frio". Christopher John Farley of Time magazine said the producers who excluded the songs regretted this move following the impact of Selena's death. The latter two were included on the Dreaming of You album, while "Siempre Hace Frio" was added to the Siempre Selena set list. "Siempre Hace Frio", which is a "soulful mariachi song." lyrically describes a woman who wants her boyfriend back, though he is with another girl. Riemenschneider called the track a "lazy, mournful mariachi" that finds Selena "belting her own special borderland blues, but she leaves little to cry at the end." He added how "Selena's doubters who think she was more about image than talent" should listen to "Siempre Hace Frio". He wrote shock jock Howard Stern—who poke fun of the singer's death and her mourners—as one of those "Selena's doubters". Songs such as "No Quiero Saber", "Ya No", and "Tu Robaste Mi Corazon" have all been remixed. "Tu Robaste Mi Corazon", originally recorded as a duet with Emilio Navaira, was re-recorded with Pete Astudillo, former Selena y Los Dinos band member. The remix version of "No Quiero Saber" on the album was remixed in early March 1996 for the 1996 Summer Olympics Latin-themed album, Voces Unidas. It entered the US Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart at number 35 in the week ending May 11. It peaked at number six on the week ending June 22, 1996, while peaking at number 10 a week later on the Latin Pop Songs chart. "Siempre Hace Frio" was released as the lead single from the album in October 1996, it debuted at number 21 on the Hot Latin Songs chart and number ten on the US Billboard Regional Mexican Songs chart. It peaked at number two on the Hot Latin Songs and Regional Mexican Songs chart in its seventh week, following the album's debut on the Top Latin Albums chart. It remained at number two on the Regional Mexican Songs chart for three consecutive weeks, and four consecutive weeks at number two on the Hot Latin Songs charts before falling. "Costumbres" was released as the final single in January 1997, debuting at number 24 on the Hot Latin Songs chart in the week ending January 25. In its second week Selena's version outperformed Banda El Recodo's version on the Hot Latin Songs chart on the week ending February 1. In the following week, "Costumbres" peaked at number 15. At the 1997 Tejano Music Awards, "Siempre Hace Frio" won the Tejano Music Award for Song of the Year, while "No Quiero Saber" won Crossover Song of the Year. ## Critical reception Mario Tarradell of The Odessa American called the album "Selena's musical scrapbook." He favored its diversity, calling it "more impressive than most posthumous repackingings" essentially for having previously unreleased tracks. He believed it was "timed to set up the media blitz" on the then-upcoming soundtrack to the Selena biopic. The Desert Sun's Fred Shuster panned the album as "second-rate material at best." He called the ballads on the album "dreary" and found the album to be generated towards "fans awaiting the Selena movie." Shuster noted that if the listener has "a weakness to slow love songs [then] forget it." Because of the new mixes and unreleased content, Natalia Pignato and Umatilla High of the Orlando Sentinel reported that they "love this CD" and that it displays "the bittersweet success of unfulfilled promise." In a poll conducted by News-Press in January 1997, DJs were asked to pick their top ten albums they would bring on a deserted island, Siempre Selena was among those chosen. AllMusic called Siempre Selena a "posthumous collection of rarities and lesser-known songs." The website found the album to be "of interest to dedicated fans" and noted that there "are a few worthwhile items" throughout the recording. Ramiro Burr wrote in The Billboard Guide to Tejano and Regional Mexican Music (1999), that Siempre Selena contained "vocal tracks [that] were lifted and combined with different instrumental tracks". John Lannert of Billboard magazine called the album "a collection of previously unreleased English- and Spanish-language tracks" with what he said to be "sonically touched up early Latino numbers". Paul Verna, also from Billboard, called the recording as "slickly packaged" and a "so-so grab bag [that contains] romantic ballads" that he believed "is sure to appeal to [Selena's fan base] vast and loyal legion of fans". He found that Selena's fan base has "not grown weary of slow-paced love songs [such as] "Como Quisiera" and "Tu Robaste Mi Corazon." Riemenschneider found the album to "[offer] a wide and impressive range of mostly unheard music from Selena's too short career." He opined that Siempre Selena "proves [the singer] was the queen of her domain." ## Commercial performance On October 19, 1996, it was revealed that Siempre Selena would be commercially available on October 29. Local music shops reported that interest in the album reached far back as a few weeks before the album was released. Local Tejano disc jockeys further hyped the craze predicting that the album would be "wildly popular" because of Selena's fans. Presale copies and interest in the album gave music retailers high hopes for the recording, believing it would be a sellout. Roughly 500 people had pre-screened the album at Hastings Books in Midland, Texas, the night before it went on sale. Music retailers were flabbergasted that sales for the album had flattened, though reported that sales were "modest". According to South Texas music retailers, sales for the album were considerably lower in comparison to Dreaming of You. All That Music in El Paso reportedly was "busy [in] filling the demand for [the album]", while other stores in the same area reported that "sales were slow". The album wasn't selling much but "a handful of copies" at a Blockbuster Music store in San Antonio. Local businesses predicted that sales would eventually pick up towards Christmas. Marketing director of EMI Latin, Manolo Gonzalez expressed how the company intentionally went "low-key" in marketing Siempre Selena in comparison to Dreaming of You. Gonzalez said how he wanted to be "very conservative with this album" and that EMI Latin had shipped 400,000 units throughout the United States. Riemenschneider called EMI Latin and the singer's family an "oxymoron" for their marketing scheme, or rather lack thereof of Siempre Selena. Riemenschneider believed their reasoning behind the insignificant promotion to be an avoidance of "Selena overkill" with the soundtrack and biopic that were due in a few months. He found their move in having little promotion to be a "mistake", calling Siempre Selena the one "Selena's caretakers should have promoted [following her death]". The album became a sleeper hit, debuting atop the US Billboard Top Latin Albums and Regional Mexican Albums chart with 10,500 units sold in the week ending November 23, 1996. On the Billboard 200, Siempre Selena debuted and peaked at number 82. The album also helped increased sales to Selena's other works, including Dreaming of You and Amor Prohibido (1994). After two weeks at number one, Siempre Selena was displaced by Julio Iglesias' Tango album in the week ending December 7. Siempre Selena finished 1996 as the 44th best-selling Latin album of the year, her Dreaming of You album remained that year's best-selling record. After 14 consecutive weeks at number one on the Regional Mexican Albums chart, Siempre Selena was dethroned by Grupo Limite's Partiendome el Alma. On its 19th week, the album regain the number one position on the Regional Mexican Albums chart on the week ending March 29, 1997, following the release of the Selena soundtrack. During the second anniversary of the singer's death on March 31, sales of Siempre Selena jumped 48% remaining atop the Regional Mexican Albums chart and climbing the Top Latin Albums chart at number three, a position higher from the previous week. The album remained at number one for three additional weeks before it fell from the top spot on the week ending May 10. It was subsequently nominated for Female Album of the Year at the 1997 Billboard Latin Music Awards. In its quarterly recap of the top selling Latin albums of 1997, Siempre Selena ranked third behind Enrique and Julio Iglesias' albums, respectively. The recording finished 1997 as the fourth best-selling Latin album in the United States, while it finished second on the Regional Mexican Albums year-end list. In December 2002, the RIAA certified Siempre Selena double platinum for shipments of 200,000 units; her 10th certified album. They re-certified the recording triple platinum (180,000 album-equivalent units sold) in November 2017. ## Track listing ## Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Siempre Selena. Vocal credits - Selena – vocals, composer - Rebecca Valdez – background vocals - Mariachi Sol de Mexico – background vocals - Jessie Garcia – background vocals - Pete Astudillo – background vocals Instruments - Ismael Espinoza – violin - Miguel Guzman – violin - Carlos Rosas – violin - Jose M. Vargas – violin - Rafael Garcia – trumpet - Fabian Maltos – accordion - Joe Posada – saxophone - A.B. Quintanilla – bajo sexto, bass - Ricky Vela – keyboards - Ray Paz – keyboards - Chris Perez – guitar - Jesse Garcia – guitar - Jesse Ybarra – guitar - Henry Gomez – vihuela - Mateo Garcia – requinto - Brian "Red" Moore – bajo sexto, bass Technical and production credits - Pete Astudillo – composer - Robbie Buchanan – composer - Alberto Cervantes – composer - Ruben Fuentes – composer - Juan Gabriel – composer - Simon Gallup – composer - Phil Medley – composer - Cuco Sanchez – composer - Robert Smith – composer - Mark Spiro – composer - Laurence Tolhurst – composer - Ricky Vela – composer - A.B. Quintanilla – composer, executive producer - Brian "Red" Moore – engineer, producer - Nelson Gonzalez – supervisor producer Visuals and imagery - Paul Wenzel – art direction ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Quarterly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications ## See also - 1996 in Latin music - Selena albums discography - List of number-one Billboard Top Latin Albums from the 1990s - List of number-one Billboard Regional Mexican Albums of 1996 - Latin American music in the United States

Don Black (baseball)

American baseball player

Donald Paul Black (July 20, 1916 or 1917 – April 21, 1959) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for six seasons in the American League with the Philadelphia Athletics and Cleveland Indians. In 154 career games, Black pitched 797 innings and posted a win–loss record of 34–55, with 37 complete games, four shutouts, and a 4.35 earned run average (ERA). Born in Salix, Iowa, he played minor league baseball in Fairbury, Nebraska, and Petersburg, Virginia, before signing with the Philadelphia Athletics. He played with them for three seasons before being released. Black signed with the Cleveland Indians at the end of 1945, and after a season with them joined Alcoholics Anonymous. After completing the program, during the off season, he then played two more seasons with Cleveland, pitching a no-hitter on July 10, 1947. On September 13, 1948, Black suffered a cerebral hemorrhage on the field, which marked the end of his professional career. After a comeback attempt, Black went on to become a sports announcer and salesman. He died in 1959. ## Early life and minor leagues Black was born in Salix, Iowa. He had his first taste of professional baseball in 1937, when he was signed by the Fairbury Jeffs of the Nebraska State League. The Jeffs were the rookie-level minor league team of the St. Louis Browns farm system. He played alongside two others who would later make the major leagues, George Bradley and Johnny Lucadello. Black pitched in 26 games for the Jeffs, posting a 5–11 record, 154 innings pitched, and a 4.85 ERA. He spent the next three years out of professional baseball, then signed a contract with the Petersburg Rebels of the Virginia League. Black spent the 1941 and 1942 seasons with the Rebels. In 1941, he pitched in 19 games, starting 16 of them. He won 11 games, lost five, and had an ERA of 2.35. He also threw the first no-hitter of his career that season. The following season, Black pitched in 34 games for the rebels, tying for the team lead with Lou Knerr. He pitched 235 innings, winning 18 games, losing 11, and finishing with an ERA of 2.49. Black was selected for the 1942 Virginia League All-Star game, though did not attend as, instead, he was at the hospital where his wife gave birth to their second child, a daughter. He also threw the second no-hitter of his career, which led to a tryout with the Philadelphia Athletics. ## Philadelphia Athletics When he was called up by the Athletics, Black worked to earn a spot on the roster in spring training. After performances which included a 2–0 victory over the University of Delaware baseball team where he struck out three in an inning, he was awarded a spot on the Athletics' roster for the 1943 Philadelphia Athletics season. That pitching rotation featured many other rookie pitchers including Jesse Flores. Black made his major league debut on April 24, 1943, and was in the Athletics' starting rotation most of the season. He had some early success in his career, pitching a one-hitter on May 30 against the St. Louis Browns in a 3–0 victory. Black finished the season with a 6–16 record, a 4.20 ERA, and 208 innings pitched. He also pitched 110 bases on balls, and hit six batters with pitches; both numbers were second highest in the American League. Black remained in the starting rotation at the beginning of the 1944 Philadelphia Athletics season, despite the possibility of him being drafted into the United States Army for World War II. He was rejected for military service after a physical examination on June 22, and remained with the team throughout the season. His win total improved from last season; however, he went a span of about a month, from June 28 until late July, without a victory. He finished the season with a 10–12 record, a 4.06 ERA, and 27 games started, second highest on the team behind Bobo Newsom. At the end of the season, there were rumors that manager Connie Mack was planning to trade Black and Frankie Hayes to Cleveland for Jim Bagby, Jr. and Jeff Heath, though Mack stated there was no substance to the rumors. The following season, Black was part of an optimistic Athletics team, so much so that coach Earle Mack felt Black, Newsom, Flores, and Russ Christopher were the best quartet of starting pitchers in the league. He started the season being considered the ace of the staff, as the others in the rotation were either battling injury or not yet fully conditioned. His third season in the majors, however, ended with little success. Early on in the season, Black missed some playing time as a result of a badly bruised finger. He was later suspended for a month for violation of team rules. Upon his return, Connie Mack noted that it would be Black's "last chance" to avoid trouble. He finished the season with a 5–11 record and a 5.17 ERA. This was Black's final season on the Athletics. At the conclusion of the season, he was sold to the Cleveland Indians for an undisclosed amount. Connie Mack later stated he regretfully fired him due to his alcohol use, leading to him not being dependable as a pitcher. ## Cleveland Indians Black began the 1946 Cleveland Indians season as a member of the roster, looking to see playing time in an established starting rotation. His season began inauspiciously when he was hit on the chin with a ball, causing him to miss a week during spring training. The 1946 season marked the first time Black did not finish on the major league roster. After pitching in 18 games for the Indians, he was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. While with the Brewers, Black failed to win any games, and at one point was suspended after he disappeared during a road trip. At the conclusion of the season, Indians owner Bill Veeck had a talk with Black, who admitted he had a problem with drunkenness. He agreed to spend the winter with Alcoholics Anonymous with Veek's help, and by the time the 1947 Cleveland Indians season began, Black was sober. The year 1947 became a career year for the now-sober Black. There was optimism in the Indians clubhouse regarding his talent, with manager Lou Boudreau saying that Black was "a leading candidate for one of our starting jobs." In his first pitching appearance of the season against the Detroit Tigers, a tough 5–3 victory, someone in the press box said, "I wonder what he'd give for a slug of bourbon", to which he replied, "All I wanted in that situation was a fresh stick of chewing gum. Bourbon doesn't even tempt me." He followed this with a 1–0 shutout win against the Chicago White Sox. A game against his former team, the Philadelphia Athletics, became the highlight of his career. On July 10, 1947, Black no-hit the Athletics 3–0 at Cleveland Stadium, allowing six walks and five strikeouts in besting Bill McCahan—himself a no-hit pitcher on September 3 of that 1947 season. Only Eddie Joost came close to getting a hit on Black, hitting a ball in the eighth inning that just barely went foul. On top of his no-hit performance, Black had two singles and a squeeze bunt that day. He was modest about his performance afterwards, saying "My control was pretty bad. I got behind on a lot of hitters, but they didn't seem to hit me." Black finished the season with ten wins, 12 losses, a 3.92 ERA, eight complete games, and three shutouts. At the end of the season, he was planning to play in the Cuban Winter League along with fellow Indians Bob Feller and Al López, though this did not eventuate. During the off-season, Black returned to his hometown of Salix, where he was given a key to the city and made honorary mayor for a day. The 1948 Cleveland Indians season began with Black maintaining a spot in the starting rotation. He had spent the off-season selling tickets for the Indians in Hot Springs, Arkansas. After signing a new contract, Black earned his first victory of 1948 on May 23 in a doubleheader against the New York Yankees, winning 5–1 in the second game. Early on in the season, due to the Indians' pitching depth, Black, along with Al Gettel and Bob Muncrief, lost their starting jobs and were moved to the bullpen, though there were plans to still use Black occasionally as a starter. He missed some playing time in June as the result of a bone chip in his left big toe, suffered during batting practice. He pitched for the Indians for most of the rest of the season, making ten starts in 18 total appearances, finishing the season with two wins and losses, a 5.37 ERA, and 52 innings pitched. About a month before the end of the season, Black pitched his final professional baseball game. During the height of the 1948 pennant race, on September 13 in Cleveland, Black suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while batting in the second inning during a home game against the St. Louis Browns. He had fouled off a pitch into the upper deck of the stadium, and then collapsed holding onto his neck. He was able to walk to the dugout, but had lost consciousness by the time an ambulance arrived. Black was taken to St. Vincent Charity Hospital and was conscious for a time, but lapsed into a coma. His doctor noted that he was likely to make a full recovery, though he was "through with baseball for this year and possibly for good." After a few days in critical condition, he had begun to recover and his condition was reported to have improved greatly. In response to Black's injury, the Indians hosted a "Don Black Night" on September 23 in a game against the Boston Red Sox to help raise money for his medical bills. In that game, watched by 76,772 fans, the Indians raised \$40,370 for Black as they won the game, 5–2. The Indians went on to defeat the Red Sox in a one-game playoff for the American League pennant and the Boston Braves in six games in the 1948 World Series as Black recovered in the hospital. After the Indians won the World Series, Lou Boudreau said that the Indians won the title in his honor. ## Later life After a stay of six weeks, Black was released from the hospital in late October 1948. He continued to suffer from headaches, however, and had to have further surgery done in December to remove a weak spot in an artery near his head. He was released from the hospital shortly afterward, but by the start of 1949 his time with the Indians was over, as Veeck stated he would not accept the responsibility of allowing Black to pitch again, though said "If Black is determined to try it again, I won't stand in his way." This statement, however, did not keep Black away, as he signed a contract in late January with the Indians for the same amount as the previous season. After pitching with the Indians in Florida in spring training, he returned to Cleveland and decided to retire temporarily, citing that he felt too weak to be effective. He made one final pitching appearance before retiring in an exhibition game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 13, pitching two innings for the Indians in a 1–0 loss. After his retirement from baseball, Black went on to become a sportscaster, automobile salesman and insurance salesman. He lived with his wife, Joyce, and his two daughters, Stevie and Donna, in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. In December 1957, Black was injured in a car accident in Virginia, leaving him in critical condition. He recovered and spent the summer of 1958 teaching for the city recreation department. The following year, on April 21, 1959, Black died in Cuyahoga Falls while watching an Indians game at his home. ## See also - List of Major League Baseball no-hitters

Matsuo Bashō

Japanese poet

Matsuo Bashō (松尾 芭蕉, 1644 – November 28, 1694; born Matsuo Kinsaku [松尾 金作], then Matsuo Chūemon Munefusa [松尾 忠右衛門 宗房]) was the most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku (then called hokku). He is also well known for his travel essays beginning with Records of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton (1684), written after his journey west to Kyoto and Nara. Matsuo Bashō's poetry is internationally renowned, and, in Japan, many of his poems are reproduced on monuments and traditional sites. Although Bashō is famous in the West for his hokku, he himself believed his best work lay in leading and participating in renku. He is quoted as saying, "Many of my followers can write hokku as well as I can. Where I show who I really am is in linking haikai verses." Bashō was introduced to poetry at a young age, and after integrating himself into the intellectual scene of Edo (modern Tokyo) he quickly became well known throughout Japan. He made a living as a teacher; but then renounced the social, urban life of the literary circles and was inclined to wander throughout the country, heading west, east, and far into the northern wilderness to gain inspiration for his writing. His poems were influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often encapsulating the feeling of a scene in a few simple elements. ## Biography ### Early life Matsuo Bashō was born in 1644, near Ueno, in Iga Province. The Matsuo family was of samurai descent, and his father was probably a musokunin (無足人), a class of landowning peasants granted certain privileges of samurai. Little is known of his childhood. The Matsuo were a major ninja family, and Bashō was trained in ninjutsu. In his late teens, Bashō became a servant to Tōdō Yoshitada (藤堂 良忠) most likely in some humble capacity, and probably not promoted to full samurai class. It is claimed he served as cook or a kitchen worker in some near-contemporaneous accounts, but there is no conclusive proof. A later hypothesis is that he was chosen to serve as page () to Yoshitada, with alternative documentary evidence suggesting he started serving at a younger age. He shared Yoshitada's love for haikai no renga, a form of collaborative poetry composition. A sequence was opened with a verse in 5-7-5 mora format; this verse was named a hokku, and would centuries later be renamed haiku when presented as a stand-alone work. The hokku would be followed by a related 7-7 mora verse by another poet. Both Bashō and Yoshitada gave themselves haigō (俳号), or haikai pen names; Bashō's was Sōbō (宗房), which was simply the on'yomi (Sino-Japanese reading) of his adult name, "Munefusa (宗房)." In 1662, the first extant poem by Bashō was published. In 1726, two of Bashō's hokku were printed in a compilation. In 1665, Bashō and Yoshitada together with some acquaintances composed a hyakuin, or one-hundred-verse renku. In 1666, Yoshitada's sudden death brought Bashō's peaceful life as a servant to an end. No records of this time remain, but it is believed that Bashō gave up any possibility of samurai status and left home. Biographers have proposed various reasons and destinations, including the possibility of an affair between Bashō and a Shinto miko named Jutei (寿貞), which is unlikely to be true. Bashō's own references to this time are vague; he recalled that "at one time I coveted an official post with a tenure of land", and that "there was a time when I was fascinated with the ways of homosexual love": there is no indication whether he was referring to real obsessions or fictional ones. (Biographers of the author, however, note that Bashō was involved in homosexual affairs throughout all his life and that among his lovers were several of his disciples; in Professor Gary Leupp's view, Bashō's homoerotic compositions were clearly based on his personal experiences). He was uncertain whether to become a full-time poet; by his own account, "the alternatives battled in my mind and made my life restless". His indecision may have been influenced by the then still relatively low status of renga and haikai no renga as more social activities than serious artistic endeavors. In any case, his poems continued to be published in anthologies in 1667, 1669, and 1671, and he published a compilation of work by himself and other authors of the Teitoku school, The Seashell Game (貝おほひ, Kai Ōi), in 1672. In about the spring of that year he moved to Edo, to further his study of poetry. ### Rise to fame In the fashionable literary circles of Nihonbashi, Bashō's poetry was quickly recognized for its simple and natural style. In 1674 he was inducted into the inner circle of the haikai profession, receiving secret teachings from Kitamura Kigin (1624–1705). He wrote this hokku in mock tribute to the shōgun: > > ` the Dutchmen, too, / kneel before His Lordship— / spring under His reign. [1678]` When Nishiyama Sōin, founder and leader of the Danrin school of haikai, came to Edo from Osaka in 1675, Bashō was among the poets invited to compose with him. It was on this occasion that he gave himself the haigō of Tōsei, and by 1680 he had a full-time job teaching twenty disciples, who published The Best Poems of Tōsei's Twenty Disciples (桃青門弟独吟二十歌仙, Tōsei-montei Dokugin-Nijukasen), advertising their connection to Tōsei's talent. That winter, he took the surprising step of moving across the river to Fukagawa, out of the public eye and towards a more reclusive life. His disciples built him a rustic hut and planted a Japanese banana tree (芭蕉, bashō) in the yard, giving Bashō a new haigō and his first permanent home. He appreciated the plant very much, but was not happy to see Fukagawa's native miscanthus grass growing alongside it: > > ` by my new banana plant / the first sign of something I loathe— / a miscanthus bud! [1680]` Despite his success, Bashō grew dissatisfied and lonely. He began to practice Zen meditation, but it seems not to have calmed his mind. In the winter of 1682 his hut burned down, and shortly afterwards, in early 1683, his mother died. He then traveled to Yamura, to stay with a friend. In the winter of 1683 his disciples gave him a second hut in Edo, but his spirits did not improve. In 1684 his disciple Takarai Kikaku published a compilation of him and other poets, Shriveled Chestnuts (虚栗, Minashiguri). Later that year he left Edo on the first of four major wanderings. Bashō traveled alone, off the beaten path, that is, on the Edo Five Routes, which in medieval Japan were regarded as immensely dangerous; and, at first Bashō expected to simply die in the middle of nowhere or be killed by bandits. However, as his trip progressed, his mood improved, and he became comfortable on the road. Bashō met many friends and grew to enjoy the changing scenery and the seasons. His poems took on a less introspective and more striking tone as he observed the world around him: > > ` even a horse / arrests my eyes—on this / snowy morrow [1684]` The trip took him from Edo to Mount Fuji, Ueno, and Kyoto. He met several poets who called themselves his disciples and wanted his advice; he told them to disregard the contemporary Edo style and even his own Shriveled Chestnuts, saying it contained "many verses that are not worth discussing". Bashō returned to Edo in the summer of 1685, taking time along the way to write more hokku and comment on his own life: > > ` another year is gone / a traveler's shade on my head, / straw sandals at my feet [1685]` When Bashō returned to Edo he happily resumed his job as a teacher of poetry at his bashō hut, although privately he was already making plans for another journey. The poems from his journey were published as Nozarashi Kikō (野ざらし紀行). In early 1686, he composed one of his best-remembered haiku: > > ` an ancient pond / a frog jumps in / the splash of water [1686]` Historians believe this poem became instantly famous: in April, the poets of Edo gathered at the bashō hut for a haikai no renga contest on the subject of frogs that seems to have been a tribute to Bashō's hokku, which was placed at the top of the compilation. Bashō stayed in Edo, continuing to teach and hold contests, with an excursion in the autumn of 1687 when he traveled to the countryside for moon watching, and a longer trip in 1688 when he returned to Ueno to celebrate the Lunar New Year. At home in Edo, Bashō sometimes became reclusive: he alternated between rejecting visitors to his hut and appreciating their company. At the same time, he enjoyed his life and had a subtle sense of humor, as reflected in his hokku: > > ` now then, let's go out / to enjoy the snow ... until / I slip and fall! [1688]` ### Oku no Hosomichi Bashō's private planning for another long journey, to be described in his masterwork Oku no Hosomichi, or The Narrow Road to the Deep North, culminated on May 16, 1689 (Yayoi 27, Genroku 2), when he left Edo with his student and apprentice Kawai Sora (河合 曾良) on a journey to the Northern Provinces of Honshū. Bashō and Sora headed north to Hiraizumi, which they reached on June 29. They then walked to the western side of the island, touring Kisakata on July 30, and began hiking back at a leisurely pace along the coastline. During this 150-day journey Bashō traveled a total of 600 ri (2,400 km) through the northeastern areas of Honshū, returning to Edo in late 1691. By the time Bashō reached Ōgaki, Gifu Prefecture, he had completed the log of his journey. He edited and redacted it for three years, writing the final version in 1694 as The Narrow Road to the Interior (奥の細道, Oku no Hosomichi). The first edition was published posthumously in 1702. It was an immediate commercial success and many other itinerant poets followed the path of his journey. It is often considered his finest achievement, featuring hokku such as: > > ` the rough sea / stretching out towards Sado / the Milky Way [1689]` ### Last years On his return to Edo in the winter of 1691, Bashō lived in his third bashō hut, again provided by his disciples. This time, he was not alone; he took in his nephew Toin and a female friend Jutei, who were both recovering from illness. He had many great visitors. Bashō wrote to a friend that "disturbed by others, I have no peace of mind". Until late August 1693, he continued to make a living from teaching and appearances at haikai parties. Then he shut the gate to his bashō hut and refused to see anybody for a month. Finally, he relented after adopting the principle of karumi or "lightness", a semi-Buddhist philosophy of greeting the mundane world rather than separating from it. Bashō left Edo for the last time in the summer of 1694, spending time in Ueno and Kyoto before arriving in Osaka. There, he came down with a stomach illness and surrounded by his disciples, died peacefully. Although he did not compose a formal death poem, the following is generally accepted as his poem of farewell: > > ` ` > > ` falling sick on a journey / my dream goes wandering / on a withered field [1694] ` ## Influence and literary criticism ### Early centuries Rather than sticking to the formulas of kigo (季語), which remain popular in Japan even today, Bashō aspired to reflect his real environment and emotions in his hokku. Even during his lifetime, the effort and style of his poetry was widely appreciated; after his death, it only increased. Several of his students compiled quotations from him about his own poetry, most notably Mukai Kyorai and Hattori Dohō. During the 18th century, appreciation of Bashō's poems grew more fervent, and commentators such as Ishiko Sekisui and Moro Nanimaru went to great length to find references in his hokku to historical events, medieval books, and other poems. These commentators were often lavish in their praise of Bashō's obscure references, some of which were probably literary false cognates. In 1793 Bashō was deified by the Shinto bureaucracy, and for a time criticizing his poetry was literally blasphemous. In the late 19th century, this period of unanimous passion for Bashō's poems came to an end. Masaoka Shiki, arguably Bashō's most famous critic, tore down the long-standing orthodoxy with his bold and candid objections to Bashō's style. However, Shiki was also instrumental in making Bashō's poetry accessible in English, and to leading intellectuals and the Japanese public at large. He invented the term haiku (replacing hokku) to refer to the freestanding 5–7–5 form which he considered the most artistic and desirable part of the haikai no renga. Basho was illustrated in one of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi's ukiyo-e woodblock prints from the One Hundred Aspects of the Moon collection, c. 1885-1892. His Bunkyō hermitage was illustrated by Hiroshige in the One Hundred Famous Views of Edo collection, published around 1857. ### 20th century-present Critical interpretation of Bashō's poems continued into the 20th century, with notable works by Yamamoto Kenkichi, Imoto Nōichi, and Ogata Tsutomu. The 20th century also saw translations of Bashō's poems into other languages around the world. The position of Bashō in Western eyes as the haiku poet par excellence gives great influence to his poetry: Western preference for haiku over more traditional forms such as tanka or renga have rendered archetypal status to Bashō as Japanese poet and haiku as Japanese poetry. Some western scholars even believe that Bashō invented haiku. The impressionistic and concise nature of Bashō's verse greatly influenced Ezra Pound, the Imagists, and poets of the Beat Generation. On this question, Jaime Lorente maintains in his research work "Bashō y el metro 5-7-5" that of the 1012 hokkus analyzed by master Bashō 145 cannot fit into the 5-7-5 meter, since they are a broken meter (specifically, they present a greater number of mora [syllables]). In percentage they represent 15% of the total. Even establishing 50 poems that, presenting this 5-7-5 pattern, could be framed in another structure (due to the placement of the particle "ya"), the figure is similar. Therefore, Lorente concludes that the teacher was close to the traditional pattern. In 1942, the Haiseiden building was constructed in Iga, Mie, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Basho's birth. Featuring a circular roof named the "traveler's umbrella", the building was made to resemble Basho's face and clothing. Two of Bashō's poems were popularized in the short story "Teddy" written by J. D. Salinger and published in 1952 by The New Yorker magazine. In 1979, the International Astronomical Union named a crater found on Mercury after him. In 2003, an international anthology film titled Winter Days adapted Basho's 1684 renku collection of the same name into a series of animations. Animators include Kihachirō Kawamoto, Yuri Norstein, and Isao Takahata. ## List of works - Kai Ōi (The Seashell Game) (1672) - Edo Sangin (江戸三吟) (1678) - Inaka no Kuawase (田舎之句合) (1680) - Tōsei Montei Dokugin Nijū Kasen (桃青門弟独吟廿歌仙) (1680) - Tokiwaya no Kuawase (常盤屋句合) (1680) - Minashiguri (虚栗, "A Shriveled Chestnut") (1683) - Nozarashi Kikō (The Records of a Weather-Exposed Skeleton) (1684) - Fuyu no Hi (Winter Days) (1684)\* - Haru no Hi (Spring Days) (1686)\* - Kawazu Awase (Frog Contest) (1686) - Kashima Kikō (A Visit to Kashima Shrine) (1687) - Oi no Kobumi, or Utatsu Kikō (Record of a Travel-Worn Satchel) (1688) - Sarashina Kikō (A Visit to Sarashina Village) (1688) - Arano (Wasteland) (1689)\* - Hisago (The Gourd) (1690)\* - Sarumino (猿蓑, "Monkey's Raincoat") (1691)\* - Saga Nikki (Saga Diary) (1691) - Bashō no Utsusu Kotoba (On Transplanting the Banana Tree) (1691) - Heikan no Setsu (On Seclusion) (1692) - Fukagawa Shū (Fukagawa Anthology) - Sumidawara (A Sack of Charcoal) (1694)\* - Betsuzashiki (The Detached Room) (1694) - Oku no Hosomichi (Narrow Road to the Interior) (1694) - Zoku Sarumino (The Monkey's Raincoat, Continued) (1698)\* \* Denotes the title is one of the Seven Major Anthologies of Bashō (Bashō Shichibu Shū) ### English translations ## See also - Hattori Ransetsu - Takarai Kikaku

Garry Williams (gridiron football)

American gridiron football player (born 1986)

Garry Williams (born August 20, 1986) is a former American football offensive tackle. He previously played for the Carolina Panthers, who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He attended the University of Kentucky, where he played college football for the Wildcats while studying community communications and leadership development. Williams dealt with repeated injuries while playing for the Carolina Panthers. His injuries prevented him from being a consistent starter despite multiple opportunities. In 2012, Williams played a complete season and contributed to a team record 29 first downs in a single game. ## High school career Williams played high school football at Seneca High School MCA for the Red Hawks, where he started at the defensive tackle position as a freshman before switching to offensive tackle. The Red Hawks competed in the playoffs each year that Williams played. In his senior year, he was named a 2003 first-team all-state player by the Associated Press and the Courier-Journal after leading his team to a 10–2 record and the second round of state playoffs. The Red Hawks were also ranked first in the state for the first time in school history that season. Williams also played track and field at Seneca, and he was ranked second in the state at shot put in 2003. ## College career In early 2004, Williams committed to play football at the University of Kentucky, but he did not join the team that season. He later recommitted to Kentucky in 2005 and enrolled that year. In the 2005 season, Williams played in five games before starting in the final three matches of the season at left tackle. He started 12 games in his sophomore year and was named the Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman by the team. In early 2007, Williams was indefinitely suspended from the Wildcats for academic reasons, but his suspension was later lifted prior to the start of the season. In 2007, Williams started in all 13 games and was named a second-team All-SEC player. The Wildcats offense also broke the team record for most points scored in a season with 475 points in Williams' junior year. Williams was named the SEC's offensive lineman of the week for his play against the Florida Atlantic Owls on September 29. As a senior, Williams was again named to the All-SEC second-team after starting in 11 games. He was also named the team's most outstanding offensive lineman after allowing only a single sack the entire season. A knee injury caused Williams to miss two games as a senior. He finished his career at Kentucky with 45 games played and 39 starts. ## Professional career ### Carolina Panthers Williams was eligible for the 2009 NFL Draft but went undrafted. He was later signed by the Carolina Panthers as a free agent, and was the only undrafted rookie to make the active roster of the Panthers following training camp. Williams made his NFL debut in Week 11 of his rookie season against the Miami Dolphins. He went on to play in seven games in 2009, where he was utilized mostly on special teams. In 2010, Williams played in all 16 regular season games, while starting in 11. He started for the first time against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 7, and remained a starter for the rest of the season. In Carolina's final preseason game of 2011, Williams suffered a broken ankle, causing him to miss the entire season. Head coach Ron Rivera later said the Panthers had planned on Williams taking on the role of a starter prior to his injury. In 2012, Williams played in all 16 games and started in nine. In Week 15 against the San Diego Chargers, Williams started and contributed to the Panthers breaking a team record with 29 first downs. Williams also started on the offensive line that helped reach 273 rushing yards and 530 total offensive yards in Week 17 against the New Orleans Saints, both the second highest values in team history. Prior to the 2013 season, the Panthers released right guard Geoff Hangartner and announced Williams as the likely starter. He started against the Seattle Seahawks in the regular season opener, but was injured and left the game. He was later diagnosed with a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, ending his season. Williams played in the 2014 season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but left practice later that week with coaches citing a sore hip. He was later placed on injured reserve with a back injury, ending his season. Williams became a free agent in 2015 and the Panthers did not resign him. ### Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders signed Williams as an international free agent on May 28, 2015. Williams made the Stampeders' active roster following preseason and made his CFL debut on July 18 against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He started three games at left tackle before being forced to leave the August 1 game against the Montreal Alouettes with an arm injury. After Williams reportedly had X-rays of his elbow taken, he was diagnosed with a hyperextended right elbow. He suffered multiple injuries during the rest of the regular season, causing him to sit out several games. He returned in time to play in both playoff games for Calgary. ### Chicago Bears Williams signed with the Chicago Bears on August 4, 2016. On September 2, he was released by the team. ## Personal life Williams was born in Atlanta, Georgia to Garry Williams Sr. and Angela Williams. While playing college football and studying public service and leadership at the University of Kentucky, he was involved in community service. He helped with a "Breakfast with Santa" event at the University of Kentucky Children's Hospital and rang bells to collect donations for the Salvation Army.

Digital forensics

Branch of forensic science

Digital forensics (sometimes known as digital forensic science) is a branch of forensic science encompassing the recovery, investigation, examination, and analysis of material found in digital devices, often in relation to mobile devices and computer crime. The term "digital forensics" was originally used as a synonym for computer forensics but has expanded to cover investigation of all devices capable of storing digital data. With roots in the personal computing revolution of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the discipline evolved in a haphazard manner during the 1990s, and it was not until the early 21st century that national policies emerged. Digital forensics investigations have a variety of applications. The most common is to support or refute a hypothesis before criminal or civil courts. Criminal cases involve the alleged breaking of laws that are defined by legislation and enforced by the police and prosecuted by the state, such as murder, theft, and assault against the person. Civil cases, on the other hand, deal with protecting the rights and property of individuals (often associated with family disputes), but may also be concerned with contractual disputes between commercial entities where a form of digital forensics referred to as electronic discovery (ediscovery) may be involved. Forensics may also feature in the private sector, such as during internal corporate investigations or intrusion investigations (a special probe into the nature and extent of an unauthorized network intrusion). The technical aspect of an investigation is divided into several sub-branches related to the type of digital devices involved: computer forensics, network forensics, forensic data analysis, and mobile device forensics. The typical forensic process encompasses the seizure, forensic imaging (acquisition), and analysis of digital media, followed with the production of a report of the collected evidence. As well as identifying direct evidence of a crime, digital forensics can be used to attribute evidence to specific suspects, confirm alibis or statements, determine intent, identify sources (for example, in copyright cases), or authenticate documents. Investigations are much broader in scope than other areas of forensic analysis (where the usual aim is to provide answers to a series of simpler questions), often involving complex time-lines or hypotheses. ## History Prior to the 1970s, crimes involving computers were dealt with using existing laws. The first computer crimes were recognized in the 1978 Florida Computer Crimes Act, which included legislation against the unauthorized modification or deletion of data on a computer system. Over the next few years, the range of computer crimes being committed increased, and laws were passed to deal with issues of copyright, privacy/harassment (e.g., cyber bullying, happy slapping, cyber stalking, and online predators), and child pornography. It was not until the 1980s that federal laws began to incorporate computer offences. Canada was the first country to pass legislation in 1983. This was followed by the US Federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in 1986, Australian amendments to their crimes acts in 1989, and the British Computer Misuse Act in 1990. ### 1980s–1990s: Growth of the field The growth in computer crime during the 1980s and 1990s caused law enforcement agencies to begin establishing specialized groups, usually at the national level, to handle the technical aspects of investigations. For example, in 1984, the FBI launched a Computer Analysis and Response Team and the following year a computer crime department was set up within the British Metropolitan Police fraud squad. As well as being law enforcement professionals, many of the early members of these groups were also computer hobbyists and became responsible for the field's initial research and direction. One of the first practical (or at least publicized) examples of digital forensics was Cliff Stoll's pursuit of hacker Markus Hess in 1986. Stoll, whose investigation made use of computer and network forensic techniques, was not a specialized examiner. Many of the earliest forensic examinations followed the same profile. Throughout the 1990s, there was high demand for these new, and basic, investigative resources. The strain on central units lead to the creation of regional, and even local, level groups to help handle the load. For example, the British National Hi-Tech Crime Unit was set up in 2001 to provide a national infrastructure for computer crime, with personnel located both centrally in London and with the various regional police forces (the unit was folded into the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) in 2006). During this period, the science of digital forensics grew from the ad-hoc tools and techniques developed by these hobbyist practitioners. This is in contrast to other forensics disciplines, which developed from work by the scientific community. It was not until 1992 that the term "computer forensics" was used in academic literature (although prior to this, it had been in informal use); a paper by Collier and Spaul attempted to justify this new discipline to the forensic science world. This swift development resulted in a lack of standardization and training. In his 1995 book, High-Technology Crime: Investigating Cases Involving Computers, K. Rosenblatt wrote the following: > Seizing, preserving, and analyzing evidence stored on a computer is the greatest forensic challenge facing law enforcement in the 1990s. Although most forensic tests, such as fingerprinting and DNA testing, are performed by specially trained experts the task of collecting and analyzing computer evidence is often assigned to patrol officers and detectives. ### 2000s: Developing standards Since 2000, in response to the need for standardization, various bodies and agencies have published guidelines for digital forensics. The Scientific Working Group on Digital Evidence (SWGDE) produced a 2002 paper, Best practices for Computer Forensics, this was followed, in 2005, by the publication of an ISO standard (ISO 17025, General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories). A European-led international treaty, the Convention on Cybercrime, came into force in 2004 with the aim of reconciling national computer crime laws, investigative techniques, and international co-operation. The treaty has been signed by 43 nations (including the US, Canada, Japan, South Africa, UK, and other European nations) and ratified by 16. The issue of training also received attention. Commercial companies (often forensic software developers) began to offer certification programs, and digital forensic analysis was included as a topic at the UK specialist investigator training facility, Centrex. In the late 1990s, mobile devices became more widely available, advancing beyond simple communication devices, and were found to be rich forms of information, even for crime not traditionally associated with digital forensics. Despite this, digital analysis of phones has lagged behind traditional computer media, largely due to problems over the proprietary nature of devices. Focus has also shifted onto internet crime, particularly the risk of cyber warfare and cyberterrorism. A February 2010 report by the United States Joint Forces Command concluded the following: > Through cyberspace, enemies will target industry, academia, government, as well as the military in the air, land, maritime, and space domains. In much the same way that airpower transformed the battlefield of World War II, cyberspace has fractured the physical barriers that shield a nation from attacks on its commerce and communication. The field of digital forensics still faces unresolved issues. A 2009 paper, "Digital Forensic Research: The Good, the Bad and the Unaddressed" by Peterson and Shenoi, identified a bias towards Windows operating systems in digital forensics research. In 2010, Simson Garfinkel identified issues facing digital investigations in the future, including the increasing size of digital media, the wide availability of encryption to consumers, a growing variety of operating systems and file formats, an increasing number of individuals owning multiple devices, and legal limitations on investigators. The paper also identified continued training issues, as well as the prohibitively high cost of entering the field. ### Development of forensic tools During the 1980s, very few specialized digital forensic tools existed. Consequently, investigators often performed live analysis on media, examining computers from within the operating system using existing sysadmin tools to extract evidence. This practice carried the risk of modifying data on the disk, either inadvertently or otherwise, which led to claims of evidence tampering. A number of tools were created during the early 1990s to address the problem. The need for such software was first recognized in 1989 at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, resulting in the creation of IMDUMP (by Michael White) and in 1990, SafeBack (developed by Sydex). Similar software was developed in other countries; DIBS (a hardware and software solution) was released commercially in the UK in 1991, and Rob McKemmish released Fixed Disk Image free to Australian law enforcement. These tools allowed examiners to create an exact copy of a piece of digital media to work on, leaving the original disk intact for verification. By the end of the 1990s, as demand for digital evidence grew, more advanced commercial tools such as EnCase and FTK were developed, allowing analysts to examine copies of media without using any live forensics. More recently, a trend towards "live memory forensics" has grown, resulting in the availability of tools such as WindowsSCOPE. More recently, the same progression of tool development has occurred for mobile devices; initially investigators accessed data directly on the device, but soon specialist tools such as XRY or Radio Tactics Aceso appeared. ## Forensic process A digital forensic investigation commonly consists of 3 stages: acquisition or imaging of exhibits, analysis, and reporting. Ideally acquisition involves capturing an image of the computer's volatile memory (RAM) and creating an exact sector level duplicate (or "forensic duplicate") of the media, often using a write blocking device to prevent modification of the original. However, the growth in size of storage media and developments such as cloud computing have led to more use of 'live' acquisitions whereby a 'logical' copy of the data is acquired rather than a complete image of the physical storage device. Both acquired image (or logical copy) and original media/data are hashed (using an algorithm such as SHA-1 or MD5) and the values compared to verify the copy is accurate. An alternative (and patented) approach (that has been dubbed 'hybrid forensics' or 'distributed forensics') combines digital forensics and ediscovery processes. This approach has been embodied in a commercial tool called ISEEK that was presented together with test results at a conference in 2017. During the analysis phase an investigator recovers evidence material using a number of different methodologies and tools. In 2002, an article in the International Journal of Digital Evidence referred to this step as "an in-depth systematic search of evidence related to the suspected crime." In 2006, forensics researcher Brian Carrier described an "intuitive procedure" in which obvious evidence is first identified and then "exhaustive searches are conducted to start filling in the holes." The actual process of analysis can vary between investigations, but common methodologies include conducting keyword searches across the digital media (within files as well as unallocated and slack space), recovering deleted files and extraction of registry information (for example to list user accounts, or attached USB devices). The evidence recovered is analysed to reconstruct events or actions and to reach conclusions, work that can often be performed by less specialised staff. When an investigation is complete the data is presented, usually in the form of a written report, in lay persons' terms. ## Application Digital forensics is commonly used in both criminal law and private investigation. Traditionally it has been associated with criminal law, where evidence is collected to support or oppose a hypothesis before the courts. As with other areas of forensics this is often a part of a wider investigation spanning a number of disciplines. In some cases, the collected evidence is used as a form of intelligence gathering, used for other purposes than court proceedings (for example to locate, identify or halt other crimes). As a result, intelligence gathering is sometimes held to a less strict forensic standard. In civil litigation or corporate matters digital forensics forms part of the electronic discovery (or eDiscovery) process. Forensic procedures are similar to those used in criminal investigations, often with different legal requirements and limitations. Outside of the courts digital forensics can form a part of internal corporate investigations. A common example might be following unauthorized network intrusion. A specialist forensic examination into the nature and extent of the attack is performed as a damage limitation exercise, both to establish the extent of any intrusion and in an attempt to identify the attacker. Such attacks were commonly conducted over phone lines during the 1980s, but in the modern era are usually propagated over the Internet. The main focus of digital forensics investigations is to recover objective evidence of a criminal activity (termed actus reus in legal parlance). However, the diverse range of data held in digital devices can help with other areas of inquiry. Attribution Meta data and other logs can be used to attribute actions to an individual. For example, personal documents on a computer drive might identify its owner. Alibis and statements Information provided by those involved can be cross checked with digital evidence. For example, during the investigation into the Soham murders the offender's alibi was disproved when mobile phone records of the person he claimed to be with showed she was out of town at the time. Intent As well as finding objective evidence of a crime being committed, investigations can also be used to prove the intent (known by the legal term mens rea). For example, the Internet history of convicted killer Neil Entwistle included references to a site discussing How to kill people. Evaluation of source File artifacts and meta-data can be used to identify the origin of a particular piece of data; for example, older versions of Microsoft Word embedded a Global Unique Identifier into files which identified the computer it had been created on. Proving whether a file was produced on the digital device being examined or obtained from elsewhere (e.g., the Internet) can be very important. Document authentication Related to "Evaluation of source," meta data associated with digital documents can be easily modified (for example, by changing the computer clock you can affect the creation date of a file). Document authentication relates to detecting and identifying falsification of such details. ### Limitations One major limitation to a forensic investigation is the use of encryption; this disrupts initial examination where pertinent evidence might be located using keywords. Laws to compel individuals to disclose encryption keys are still relatively new and controversial. but always more frequently there are solutions to brute force passwords or bypass encryption, such as in smartphones or PCs where by means of bootloader techniques the content of the device can be first acquired and later forced in order to find the password or encryption key. ## Legal considerations The examination of digital media is covered by national and international legislation. For civil investigations, in particular, laws may restrict the abilities of analysts to undertake examinations. Restrictions against network monitoring, or reading of personal communications often exist. During criminal investigation, national laws restrict how much information can be seized. For example, in the United Kingdom seizure of evidence by law enforcement is governed by the PACE act. During its existence early in the field, the "International Organization on Computer Evidence" (IOCE) was one agency that worked to establish compatible international standards for the seizure of evidence. In the UK the same laws covering computer crime can also affect forensic investigators. The 1990 Computer Misuse Act legislates against unauthorised access to computer material; this is a particular concern for civil investigators who have more limitations than law enforcement. An individual's right to privacy is one area of digital forensics which is still largely undecided by courts. The US Electronic Communications Privacy Act places limitations on the ability of law enforcement or civil investigators to intercept and access evidence. The act makes a distinction between stored communication (e.g. email archives) and transmitted communication (such as VOIP). The latter, being considered more of a privacy invasion, is harder to obtain a warrant for. The ECPA also affects the ability of companies to investigate the computers and communications of their employees, an aspect that is still under debate as to the extent to which a company can perform such monitoring. Article 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights asserts similar privacy limitations to the ECPA and limits the processing and sharing of personal data both within the EU and with external countries. The ability of UK law enforcement to conduct digital forensics investigations is legislated by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. ### Digital evidence When used in a court of law digital evidence falls under the same legal guidelines as other forms of evidence; courts do not usually require more stringent guidelines. In the United States the Federal Rules of Evidence are used to evaluate the admissibility of digital evidence, the United Kingdom PACE and Civil Evidence acts have similar guidelines and many other countries have their own laws. US federal laws restrict seizures to items with only obvious evidential value. This is acknowledged as not always being possible to establish with digital media prior to an examination. Laws dealing with digital evidence are concerned with two issues: integrity and authenticity. Integrity is ensuring that the act of seizing and acquiring digital media does not modify the evidence (either the original or the copy). Authenticity refers to the ability to confirm the integrity of information; for example that the imaged media matches the original evidence. The ease with which digital media can be modified means that documenting the chain of custody from the crime scene, through analysis and, ultimately, to the court, (a form of audit trail) is important to establish the authenticity of evidence. Attorneys have argued that because digital evidence can theoretically be altered it undermines the reliability of the evidence. US judges are beginning to reject this theory, in the case US v. Bonallo the court ruled that "the fact that it is possible to alter data contained in a computer is plainly insufficient to establish untrustworthiness." In the United Kingdom guidelines such as those issued by ACPO are followed to help document the authenticity and integrity of evidence. Digital investigators, particularly in criminal investigations, have to ensure that conclusions are based upon factual evidence and their own expert knowledge. In the US, for example, Federal Rules of Evidence state that a qualified expert may testify “in the form of an opinion or otherwise” so long as: > \(1\) the testimony is based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the testimony is the product of reliable principles and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the principles and methods reliably to the facts of the case. The sub-branches of digital forensics may each have their own specific guidelines for the conduct of investigations and the handling of evidence. For example, mobile phones may be required to be placed in a Faraday shield during seizure or acquisition to prevent further radio traffic to the device. In the UK forensic examination of computers in criminal matters is subject to ACPO guidelines. There are also international approaches to providing guidance on how to handle electronic evidence. The "Electronic Evidence Guide" by the Council of Europe offers a framework for law enforcement and judicial authorities in countries who seek to set up or enhance their own guidelines for the identification and handling of electronic evidence. ### Investigative tools The admissibility of digital evidence relies on the tools used to extract it. In the US, forensic tools are subjected to the Daubert standard, where the judge is responsible for ensuring that the processes and software used were acceptable. In a 2003 paper Brian Carrier argued that the Daubert guidelines required the code of forensic tools to be published and peer reviewed. He concluded that "open source tools may more clearly and comprehensively meet the guideline requirements than would closed source tools." In 2011 Josh Brunty stated that the scientific validation of the technology and software associated with performing a digital forensic examination is critical to any laboratory process. He argued that "the science of digital forensics is founded on the principles of repeatable processes and quality evidence therefore knowing how to design and properly maintain a good validation process is a key requirement for any digital forensic examiner to defend their methods in court." ## Branches Digital forensics investigation is not restricted to retrieve data merely from the computer, as laws are breached by the criminals and small digital devices (e.g. tablets, smartphones, flash drives) are now extensively used. Some of these devices have volatile memory while some have non-volatile memory. Sufficient methodologies are available to retrieve data from volatile memory, however, there is lack of detailed methodology or a framework for data retrieval from non-volatile memory sources. Depending on the type of devices, media or artifacts, digital forensics investigation is branched into various types. ### Computer forensics The goal of computer forensics is to explain the current state of a digital artifact; such as a computer system, storage medium or electronic document. The discipline usually covers computers, embedded systems (digital devices with rudimentary computing power and onboard memory) and static memory (such as USB pen drives). Computer forensics can deal with a broad range of information; from logs (such as internet history) through to the actual files on the drive. In 2007 prosecutors used a spreadsheet recovered from the computer of Joseph Edward Duncan to show premeditation and secure the death penalty. Sharon Lopatka's killer was identified in 2006 after email messages from him detailing torture and death fantasies were found on her computer. ### Mobile device forensics Mobile device forensics is a sub-branch of digital forensics relating to recovery of digital evidence or data from a mobile device. It differs from Computer forensics in that a mobile device will have an inbuilt communication system (e.g. GSM) and, usually, proprietary storage mechanisms. Investigations usually focus on simple data such as call data and communications (SMS/Email) rather than in-depth recovery of deleted data. SMS data from a mobile device investigation helped to exonerate Patrick Lumumba in the murder of Meredith Kercher. Mobile devices are also useful for providing location information; either from inbuilt gps/location tracking or via cell site logs, which track the devices within their range. Such information was used to track down the kidnappers of Thomas Onofri in 2006. ### Network forensics Network forensics is concerned with the monitoring and analysis of computer network traffic, both local and WAN/internet, for the purposes of information gathering, evidence collection, or intrusion detection. Traffic is usually intercepted at the packet level, and either stored for later analysis or filtered in real-time. Unlike other areas of digital forensics network data is often volatile and rarely logged, making the discipline often reactionary. In 2000 the FBI lured computer hackers Aleksey Ivanov and Gorshkov to the United States for a fake job interview. By monitoring network traffic from the pair's computers, the FBI identified passwords allowing them to collect evidence directly from Russian-based computers. ### Forensic data analysis Forensic Data Analysis is a branch of digital forensics. It examines structured data with the aim to discover and analyze patterns of fraudulent activities resulting from financial crime. ### Digital image forensics Digital image forensics (or forensic image analysis) is a branch of digital forensics that deals with examination and verification of an image's authenticity and content. These can range from Stalin-era airbrushed photos to elaborate deepfake videos. This has broad implications for a wide variety of crimes, for determining the validity of information presented in civil and criminal trials, and for verifying images and information that are circulated through news and social media. ### Database forensics Database forensics is a branch of digital forensics relating to the forensic study of databases and their metadata. Investigations use database contents, log files and in-RAM data to build a timeline or recover relevant information. ### IoT Forensics IoT forensics is a branch of Digital forensics that has the goal of identifying and extracting digital information from devices belonging to the Internet of things field, to be used for forensics investigations as potential source of evidence. ## See also - List of digital forensics tools - Cyberspace - Forensic search - Glossary of digital forensics terms - Outline of forensic science

Turnin Me On

"Turnin Me On" is a song by American singer-songwriter Keri Hilson, from her debut album, In a Perfect World... The song features American rapper Lil Wayne who co-wrote the song alongside Hilson and Zachary Anson Wallace. Production credits are shared between Danja and Polow da Don, who also co-wrote the song. Following the minimal chart success of Hilson's worldwide lead single "Energy" in the United States, international markets received "Return the Favor", while "Turnin Me On" was released as the third single in the US. After experimenting with more pop-oriented music in her previous mentioned songs, Hilson opted for a more urban, hip-hop flavored sound for the song, due to her wanting to keep to her roots. While noting her less than stellar vocals on the track, critics praised Hilson's sassiness and attitude on the track and complimented Lil Wayne's verse, which has been called the best surprise rap since Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes on TLC's "Waterfalls." The song's accompanying music video features intricate Aaliyah and "Soldier"-esque choreography, dance scenes such as the Bird Walk, and Hilson being flaunted by men. The scenes are intercut with mirror scenes with younger kids. The song was a commercial success in the United States, reaching number fifteen on the Billboard Hot 100, whilst reaching two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Turnin Me On" received two nominations at the 2009 BET Awards, and a "Song of the Year" nomination at the 2009 Soul Train Music Awards. A leaked remix of the song caused controversy, with rumors that Hilson was taking shots at fellow female R&B singers Beyoncé Knowles and Ciara; however, Hilson has fervently denied the rumors that it was a diss. Hilson performed the song as a part of a medley at the 2009 Soul Train Music Awards and BET Awards. ## Background In June 2008, Rap-Up originally reported the song as "Turn Off", while Hilson was playing it at Interscope-Geffen-A&M Records' second annual "Creme of the Crop" post-BET Awards dinner on June 25, 2008. Then an unmastered version of "Turn Off" was leaked online in September 2008. After selecting the predominantly pop-sounding "Energy" and "Return the Favor", Hilson selected "Turnin Me On" as In a Perfect World...'s third single. When asked in an interview with That Grape Juice if choosing the song was a conscious effort, since the song had a different sound than the previous singles, Hilson responded, > "Absolutely! I mean, there’s another side of me. I’m from Decatur, Georgia and that is a predominantly black neighbourhood with a lot of lower-class and some middle-class neighbourhoods. I guess that is the song that probably properly describes the type of girl I am, in relation to where I’m from. So yeah, it was definitely a conscious effort to make sure that I stay close to home on some records." ## Composition and critical reception The song is a futuristic-esque R&B, synth-driven, bass-heavy urban song, featuring "bouncy" horn samples. Written in the key of C minor the song is in a "moderate R&B groove". It is set in common time and Hilson's vocals span from the low note of G₃ to the high note of C₅ " "Turnin Me On" is lyrically about physical attraction and composed in a hard-edged tone." MTV Buzzworthy described the song "as one-part Rihanna 'Umbrella' and two parts Beyoncé 'Ring the Alarm'" Naming it a standout track from In a Perfect World... Andy Kellman of AllMusic called the song a "coquettish trunk rattler." Barry Walters of Spin complimented Hilson's "sassiness" on the song which she "wore well." MTV Buzzworthy called the Wayne's verse "the best surprise rap since Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes' verse in TLC's 'Waterfalls.'" J.K. Glei of Cincinnati Metromix called the track "playful" and said the track was easily the album's standout, commenting that Lil Wayne's cameo "steals the show." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine commended the song, calling it "tight." Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said called the song "slinky" and said, "the busyness coheres, with Ms. Hilson neatly gliding among the song’s many layers. And she may need the crutch; she is a careful, slight singer." Mikael Wood of The Los Angeles Times called the song "impeccably arranged." After watching the video, a writer for BET Sound Off said after it seemed Hilson and her label were losing faith, that "out of nowhere, Keri got her ish together", and said, "I’m sure she’ll regain the steam she lost during her first two singles." Rap-Up called "Turnin Me On" a standout track from In a Perfect World.... The song received several accolades, as it was nominated for "Viewers' Choice" and "Best Collaboration" at the 2009 BET Awards. Additionally it was nominated for "Song of the Year" at the 2009 Soul Train Music Awards. ## Chart performance On the issue date of January 3, 2009, "Turnin Me On" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety. In its sixth week on the chart, it reached number thirty-five, giving Hilson her second top forty hit at a solo or featured artist. It later reached number fifteen, where it spent two weeks, becoming Hilson's biggest hit until the top five hit, "Knock You Down." Overall, the song had a twenty-two-week stint on the Hot 100. Additionally it charted at twenty-eight on the now defunct Pop 100, and twenty-five on the Pop Songs chart, reaching the peak after seven weeks. On the week of February 28, 2009, in its eighteenth week on the chart, it peaked at two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It debuted at number eighty in Canada, where it peaked, spending a total of four weeks on the Canadian Hot 100. The song peaked and debuted at twenty-nine on the New Zealand Singles Chart. It fell to thirty-three the following week, and falling off the next week, completing a two-week stint on the chart. ## Music video The music video for the single was directed by Erik White and shot in Atlanta, Georgia. It premiered on November 19, 2008, two weeks before the single was released for airplay or download. It was featured on E! News on December 15, 2008. Rich Boy, Polow da Don, and Leah LaBelle make cameos in the clip. While it was reported that T.I. would appear in the video, a doppelgänger does instead. The video is set almost entirely behind white and black backdrops, besides one club scene. Hilsonperforms choreography such as the Bird Walk, which according to MTV Buzzworthy is Aaliyah-style choreography, while being flaunted by shirtless, muscular men and donning "on" and "off" finger rings. BET Sound Off noted that some of the choreography was similar to Destiny's Child's "Soldier." As Hilson continues to be flaunted and performs additional choreography, which includes crumping-like moves, the scenes are interspersed with younger kids re-enacting the same scenes. Hilson appears alongside a speaker and a group of men dancing before the video cuts to Wayne. In this scene the rapper delivers his verse alongside Hilson in front of a black backdrop and on a couch. Near the end the younger girls and boys are shown performing Hilson and her dancers' moves, as the latter also continue to be flaunted by men. The video ends with Hilson being turned off by men at a club, with women in the club wearing "off" earrings like on Hilson's fingers. MTV Buzzworthy said, "give it up for her sleek biker chick-meets-Park-Slope wardrobe and feel free to ogle/drool over the parade of shirtless dudes who look like they jumped off the cover of Abs Weekly magazine." The review also complimented "rapper/pants-dropper extraodinaire Lil Wayne" who helped "push her chest-bumpin' vid into must-see territory." Although calling it a "Soldier" knock-off, BET Sound Off blog said, "the visual is pretty entertaining." Tracey Ford of AOL Boombox said, "the diva makes it perfectly clear how easy it is to turn a woman on and off." The video ranked at number two on BET: Notarized Top 100 Videos of 2009 countdown. ## Live performances In promoting her album, Hilson performed the song on February 2, 2009, on 106 & Park. Hilson performed the song on March 17, 2009, on Dogg After Dark. Lil Wayne joined her to perform the song with "Energy" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! "Turnin Me On" was performed by Hilson at BET's Spring Bling 2009, and at BET's Rip the Runway 2009. She performed the song as part of medleys at the 2009 BET Awards as well as the 2009 Soul Train Music Awards. ## Remixes The official remix of the song features new verses from Hilson & Lil Wayne and an additional verse & intro by R&B singer T-Pain. It was leaked on March 3, 2009. The leaked version of the official remix also features background vocals by Polow da Don, which was removed on the final version. The final version of the remix can be found Atlanta DJ Greg Street's mixtape, "Sertified Worldwide". Several remixes for the song were released. Busta Rhymes is featured on one remix, to which BET Sound Off preferred to the original version, commenting, "Not that I don’t appreciate Keri and Weezy’s version because it’s actually a snazzy lil ditty, but Busta’s ambiance over Polow’s sound scape gives me a different vibe, that 'stand on your desk and mean mug everyone in your office who tells you to turn down your music' vibe." In January 2010, a remix featuring T.I. was released. A MSTRKRFT remix of the original version was released on iTunes. ### Diss controversy On March 3, 2009, a remix version of the song, entitled "Turnin' Me Off", featuring new verses from Hilson and Lil Wayne, and an additional verse by T-Pain, surfaced online. In the remix, Hilson takes jabs at two unnamed female entertainers. Referred to as "the remix heard round the industry", media rumored that Hilson was taking shots at Beyoncé and Ciara, with lines like "You can dance, she can sing but need to move it to the left", possibly referencing Ciara's acclaimed dancing ability, and Beyoncé's hit "Irreplaceable." The lyrics also point at other possible shots taken toward the artists, such as Hilson stating one needs to "go sit down and have babies" and points out several songs written for the other. A BET columnist wrote, "critics couldn't fathom the purpose or reasoning behind the malicious gesture", while a writer for BET Sound Off noted that if Hilson or her management intended to engage in this, that it would be "career suicide." However, in an interview with Hard Knock TV, Hilson denied the claims that the remix was directed at dissing Knowles or Ciara. According to Hilson, Polow da Don gave her the idea to do a "fiery" record. Although she said she was not retracting anything in the song, calling her response a "blanket statement" she said she was not going to feel some sort of way about how other people interpret, and that blatantly dissing anyone was not the energy behind the record. Hilson commented she wanted to address the haters, and all the media speculation about the remarks was something they did not intend to accomplish with the song. She also addressed that the release of the song was not an intentional leak, stating most remixes are meant to be done when a record is hot, and although admitting that while "Turnin Me On" was not "a number one record", the remix was done three months prior. While calling into WVEE during their interview with Ciara and Polow da Don, Hilson said, > "I just want to tell Ciara it’s not about you. People are just reading way too far into it. People take things and make it what they want it to be. It wasn’t taking shots at nobody." [sic] I just want to let Atlanta know and Ciara know that this is a true leak. I did, and I don't know if Polow said this on the radio, but I did fight this coming out. I didn't want this coming out because we played it for people when I did it and that's what people said it was about; they started throwing out names. We were like 'No, it's not about that' and we tried to let them know what it was really about. But the fact that people brought back names, it was like ok, that wasn't the reaction we need, so I told Polow, 'let's not do this and he agreed". Ciara happened to call in during the time period and said she was happy of where Hilson was at in her career, to which Hilson responded the same, saying how proud she was, and "watching her from ground zero." Hilson went on to state she was not jealous of anyone's career, noting how all female R&B artists are the same, pointing out that "Keyshia’s on my album. I’ve worked with Ciara many times. I’m a fan of Beyoncé’s." When asked exactly who the song is about, Hilson said the targets knew who they were, responding, "It's anybody that ever tried to take me down and didn't want to see me succeed. I’m not gonna call their names because I feel I’ve addressed it." She further clarified, commenting "I will say this, my journey has been 12 years long and there have been many people, specifically girls, and it really just isn't one person, it's been a lot of people." Rumors circulated once again when Ciara released a viral video "Basic Instinct (U Got Me)" to kick off promotion for her album of the same name. Ciara addressed claims that remarks in the song were referring to Hilson in an interview with Rap-Up, stating that the song was dedicated to her haters, gave her a chance to express herself, and was about trusting her first instinct on everything. Beyoncé has never acknowledged or commented on the alleged diss. ## Track listing - Digital download 1. "Turnin Me On" (feat. Lil Wayne) – 4:08 [Clean or Explicit] - Digital download – MSTRKRFT Remix 1. "Turnin Me On" (feat. Lil Wayne) – 4:04 [Explicit] ## Personnel - Songwriting – Keri Hilson, Dwayne Carter, Jamal Jones, Zachary Anson Wallace - Production – Polow da Don, Danja (additional) - Vocal arrangement and production – Keri Hilson - Recording – Tony Terrebonne, Marcella Araica, Jason Schweitzer - Mixing – Marcella Araica Source ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications ## Release history

Mari Illustrious Makinami

Fictional character in Neon Genesis Evangelion

Mari Illustrious Makinami (真希波・マリ・イラストリアス, Makinami Mari Irasutoriasu) or Maria Iscariot (イスカリオテのマリア, Isukariote no Maria) is a fictional character in the anime film tetralogy Rebuild of Evangelion, based on the television series Neon Genesis Evangelion and introduced in the film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009). Mari is a pilot for the European branch of the special agency Nerv, founded to counter enemies of humankind known as the Angels. She first appears aboard the mecha Evangelion Unit 05, before fighting on Evangelion Unit 02 in place of Asuka Langley Shikinami. Brave and tenacious on the battlefield, Mari is friendly, lighthearted and humorous with her colleagues. She is originally voiced by Maaya Sakamoto; in the English-language version, she is voiced by Trina Nishimura and Deneen Melody. Besides the Rebuild of Evangelion films, Mari appears in an extra chapter of the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga, written and illustrated by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, and in several video games. The character was created after a request by Toshimichi Ōtsuki, producer of the original anime, to introduce a new female character to the Rebuild to attract a new audience. Hideaki Anno, director and main screenwriter of the original series and the films, decided not to meddle in the pilot and replicate the other main characters, all of whom were based on his personality. He entrusted its development to other members of Khara studio, particularly Kazuya Tsurumaki. The concept went through a complex chain of changes and second thoughts; neither Anno nor the others knew what kind of heroine to create, and were undecided until the last minute. Her character design was entrusted to Sadamoto, the series' character designer, who played on stereotypical elements associated with England. The character had a mixed reception from critics. Reviewers were divided between those who found her overly sexualized and her role insignificant and those who found her a viable alternative to the characterization of the other protagonists. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021) revealed more details about Mari, which generated more mixed reviews; some critics noted a lack of explanation of her nature, and others appreciated her psychology and her role in the finale. ## Conception For the film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009), the second installment of the Rebuild of Evangelion saga, King Records representative and former Neon Genesis Evangelion producer Toshimichi Ōtsuki requested a new female character to strengthen its appeal and expand its audience. Director and main screenwriter Hideaki Anno welcomed the idea as a breath of fresh air which would distance the new films from the original work and give its audience fan service. Anno planned to introduce Mari in the film's opening scenes and play on ha (破), a kanji in the film's Japanese title which has the two meanings of "interlude" and "break". Her presence was initially intended to be minor; not speaking, she would be introduced by other characters. Mari's personality, speech and first battle, however, varied during development. Anno was conflicted; as producer and director he wanted to introduce changes to the story through her, but as the original series writer he did not want to make major changes. Mari was introduced in a promotional poster for the film which was noted by fans. Her first name was revealed in the Nintendo DS game Petit Eva: Evangelion@School, and her surnames were introduced in Eva Extra magazine. Anno, as he did with other characters in Neon Genesis Evangelion, combined two actual warship names. He chose the aircraft HMS Illustrious, lead ship of the British Royal Navy's class of the same name, for Mari's first surname; her second surname was inspired by the Makinami from the Ayanami class destroyer of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force. The kanji nami (波, litt. "wave") played on the names of the series' other two main female characters, Rei Ayanami and Asuka Langley Soryu ("Shikinami Langley" in Rebuild of Evangelion). The new pilot was initially planned to be named Mariko (マリコ), an homage to a character by Moyoco Anno, Anno's wife. The director also considered Chizuru (ちづる), in reference to Chizuru Nambara in Combattler V. The name Mari was finally chosen in homage to Mari Sakurano's character in Brave Raideen. Anno struggled with the character, unable to decide on Mari's role and personality. He first feared that he was forcing her into the story to distance Rebuild of Evangelion from the classic series; his early drafts were uneven, and she only appeared in the film's opening scene. Anno rewatched the original anime, trying to come up with original ideas, but was constrained by the main characters' rigid roles. The inclusion of novelty, in his opinion, could have ruined the whole work. Anno was thus vague at first, giving generic directions to his colleagues at studio Khara, such as the new character loving animals. Anno's generic guidance complicated the staff's work; assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki said that Mari seemed to have "multiple personalities" and was a different character in each scene, and it was difficult to make her consistent. Anno's instructions included, "In this scene, she looks for her glasses"; "She says meow" (にゃ, nya) at the end of the sentence", and "Her breasts need to get bigger". Wanting to make the character foreign, he decided to hang back so she would be different from the existing characters in the classic series and entrusted her creation to others, particularly Tsurumaki. In the first version of Anno's storyline, Mari became active in the third chapter and appeared briefly in the second. The opening scene of 2.0 tried to break with the old Evangelion, with dialogue in Russian and English. The familiar voice of Ryoji Kaji, the first character to interact with Mari, was added to reassure viewers and not be confused by the innovations. Anno wanted to avoid exploring her in depth, preferring to emphasize Asuka. After the premiere of Evangelion 1.0: You Are (Not) Alone at Shinjuku Milano, however, a rewrite of the second film began. About forty changes were made to the script until the last minute; when the roles of Rei, Asuka, and Misato Katsuragi became clear, Anno still found problems with Mari's. He attempted to create an as-yet-untried character type, but did not know what exactly to do. Due to fan demand, Anno expanded Mari's scenes from the script's first drafts. Some ideas were rejected by other staff members and discarded, such as a scene in which Mari and Asuka would fight in the same Evangelion against the eighth Angel in a nininbaori, a Japanese comedic act where two people wear the same large coat and pretend to be one person. Another shelved suggestion saw her in the role of Asuka's European classmate, which would have weakened Asuka's isolation. Other possibilities involved Mari meeting Shinji Ikari near a railroad track and drinking tea on the roof of a school; after several drafts, however, her character was still unclear to Anno. The end result was a character somewhat similar to Rei, Asuka, and Misato; Tsurumaki remained dissatisfied, believing that he could not detach Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance from the original series. He wanted to have Mari do something bizarre, such as parachute from the sky; her meeting with Shinji was storyboarded just on February 2009, while Tsurumaki and other staff members continued to work close to the deadline. To decide on her personality, Anno asked other staff members, including Yoji Enokido, for their opinions. Enokido, remembering harem anime stereotypes, proposed a fighter like Sapphire in Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight, so a neutral, carefree and innocent character. Anno then came up with a childlike girl similar to Chiyoko Wato in Tezuka's Mitsume ga Tōru, considering her more realistic. Other ideas were proposed; studio staff suggested that Mari belong to a wealthy English family, owns dogs and cats, and has tattoos of her pets' names. Ikko Todoroki suggested making Mari a guest at Hikari Horaki's house and a rival with Asuka for Kaji's attention and control of Unit 02. Another proposal by Enokido included a romantic subplot with Shinji. ### Design Character designer Yoshiyuki Sadamoto gave Mari a stereotypically English look. Anno tried to influence her design as little as possible, giving very rough guidelines to Sadamoto and Tsurumaki and only checking the completed work. Using the stereotype of a meganekko girl, Sadamoto added Mari eyeglasses. This succeeded in aesthetically differentiating her from the other protagonists; glasses were seldom used for the characters in the classic series to simplify the animators' work. Anno finally chose the sketch with the eyeglasses for Mari's preview in the credits of You Are (Not) Alone, which was later refined by Sadamoto. The only guidelines Sadamoto received from the staff were for a "British-style" girl who was a student at a private Christian institution. When he asked Anno what he meant by a "private Christian institution," however, Anno said that he did not know. Sadamoto imagined Mari with Victorian-era clothes and a parasol before opting for a plaid skirt. Anno gave him photographs of British schoolgirls as a reference, and Sadamoto noticed that most of them wore tights and jackets with colorful borders. First giving Mari a long-sleeved jacket inspired by the protagonists in Danny Boyle's 1996 film Trainspotting, he opted for a simple white shirt and tie because of the anime's summer setting. The studio required a character who would appeal to a new audience, and Sadamoto had to keep that requirement in mind. Merging the characteristics of Asuka and Rei at first, he found that too derivative. To visually distinguish her from the two protagonists of the classic series, he gave Mari straight, dark hair and a thinner head and body than her colleagues. He also designed her with long and well-defined eyes, giving her a cute appearance. Sadamoto then decided to give her two braids; since Asuka has a similar hairstyle, Anno suggested adding a headband. The artist took inspiration from Umemura Hikari, a character from the dorama My Boss, My Hero, played by Yui Aragaki. Anno decided to have Mari wear two battle suits, one older and one newer, to further distinguish her from the other pilots. During the film's early production, a green, indigo, or yellow plug suit was considered; pink, a popular color in the Japanese animation industry, was ultimately chosen to give Mari a more feminine touch. Sadamoto later noticed that pink had less visual impact than Rei and Asuka's red and white designs, so he designed her an old green suit, a more "outrageous" color stereotypically associated with England, at the suggestion of colorist Kikuchi Kazuko. For Mari's old costume design he took inspiration from the uniforms of the Gamilas in Space Battleship Yamato and from the space suits in the British television series UFO. Cold War Soviet space-suit design inspired Sadamoto to color the lower part of the old plug suit checkered-green. Sadamoto wanted to make the new plug suit more modern than the green one, taking advantage of technology and noting the differences between the first and second series of the Lotus Elise spyder. Anno also decided to give Mari a helmet, covering her face until the end of the first battle for dramatic effect, and Sadamoto took his cue from bicycle helmets. The design of her lower clothing was based on a fencing suit, suggesting membership in the European aristocracy. ### Voice The choice of Mari's voice actress was postponed for a long time, since Anno tried to avoid meddling too much in the character's creation. During a studio party, however, Ōtsuki said that the production was close to recording but the role had not been cast and the director had provided no input. Anno asked the other staff members who they thought would be most suitable. Sadamoto discussed the matter with Tsurumaki, who suggested several actors, including Maaya Sakamoto, who had previously worked with him on Diebuster. Tsurumaki noted that Sakamoto's voice would make Mari more endearing and suggested her to Anno, who immediately accepted. Sakamoto, hired without an audition, felt "under pressure" at first; when she began recording, however, the atmosphere changed. With no precise information about Mari, she had to voice her intuitively. Anno immediately stopped Sakamoto's initial exaggerated acting. She synchronized with Mari dubbing her in the first battle, channeling her nervousness into the character, and the staff praised her performance. Sakamoto wanted further instruction from Anno, who remained vague. She turned to Tsurumaki, who was precise, detailed, and helped her interpret the character. Sakamoto eventually made Mari an "alien" element, breaking with the old Evangelion. Her performance was praised by Sadamoto, and Tsurumaki said that after hearing her voice he began to understand the character for the first time. Anno eventually made suggestions to Sakamoto, by giving it the keyword "father of the Shōwa period" (昭和のおやじ, Shōwa no oyaji), so a typical 1970s Japanese parent. She was asked to act like a beast in the scene where Mari uses the Beast mode, lowering her tone of voice until it became hoarse. By Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012), the third installment of the saga, Sakamoto felt less anxious and as if Mari "had been there [from] the beginning". Unclear about the film's plot, since Mari appears mainly in action scenes and does not interact much with the other characters, she tried not to worry about it and continued delivering an energetic performance. Sakamoto was guided by Anno, who gave her secret instructions she stated to want to take "to the grave". In Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021), the last chapter of the Rebuild of Evangelion, she tried to play the role simply and convey positivity, joy, and innocence. Mari, who recalled a Showa-era father, had to appear neither old nor young, neither male nor female. Sakamoto adopted this neutral technique for the scene in which Mari talks to Deputy Commander Fuyutusuki, and it worked on her first attempt. She had to do the post-recording nearly alone, without seeing the other voice actors except for Yuko Miyamura, the voice of Asuka. Trina Nishimura voiced Mari in the first English-language version, while Deneen Melody voiced the character in the Amazon Prime Video release of Rebuild. ## Appearances ### Rebuild of Evangelion Mari is a girl of English descent who is introduced in the film Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance. Nothing is revealed about her life or origins, except that she has a mysterious relationship with Ryoji Kaji, apparently her superior. In the first scenes of the film, she boards a mecha named Unit Evangelion 05, or Eva-05, with Kaji's permission. She makes her first sortie in a place named Bethania base, where she faces the third in a series of enemies named Angels. Mari acts instinctively, moving without a clear plan, and says that she does not want to involve adults in her goal. Although she seems to have the worst of it at first, she defeats her enemy. The Angel generates a large explosion, from which Mari escapes. She parachutes to the roof of the Tokyo-3 Municipal Middle School some time later, colliding and getting acquainted with Evangelion Unit 01 pilot Shinji Ikari. The city is then attacked by the tenth Angel, Zeruel; Mari, unbeknownst to the special agency Nerv, takes control of Evangelion Unit 02, formerly owned by Asuka Langley Shikinami. She uses several weapons to pierce Zeruel's AT Field barrier, repeatedly striking the enemy and demonstrating familiarity with Evangelion units. Despite the attacks, the Angel is unharmed. Mari then activates a mode called the Beast; the mecha begins to walk like a four-legged animal and furiously attacks the target. Zeruel defends itself by cutting off the arms and striking the head of Eva-02, and Rei Ayanami's Evangelion Unit 00 begins to fight it. The Eva-02 bites the enemy's AT Field, which counterattacks; Rei saves Mari by flinging her unit away from the battlefield. Mari's mecha falls on a civilian shelter where Shinji Ikari, intent on abandoning Nerv, is located; Mari lifts him with her mecha hand, and shows him the annihilation of the 00. Shinji boards the Eva-01 and confronts Zeruel to save Rei. In Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo, set fourteen years after the second chapter in a nearly-unlivable world, Mari is part of an organization formed to destroy Nerv known as Wille. Her body, like that of the other pilots, has remained unchanged due to what is called "the curse of the Evas". She often works with Asuka Shikinami, with whom she has a close relationship, and obeys the orders of Captain Misato Katsuragi. She and Asuka head with Mari's Evangelion Unit 08 into space to intercept and recover 01, with Shinji inside it. Sometime later Asuka's 02 and Mari's 08 faces another Evangelion, the Evangelion-13 with Shinji and Kaworu Nagisa aboard in the Nerv base. Mari covers Asuka during the fight and pulls Shinji out of the robot's cockpit, asking him to save Asuka. In Evangelion 3.0+1.0: Thrice Upon a Time, the final installment of the saga, Mari prepares with Asuka and Shinji at the Wille and they head to the South Pole, the epicenter of the catastrophic Second Impact. Mari and Asuka, on their respective Evangelions, face a series of enemies known as Mark.07. At the end of the battle, Mari has Shinji board the Eva-01 to confront Gendo Ikari; she enters the ship containing Nerv's deputy commander, Kozo Fuyutsuki, and says goodbye to him. At the end of the film, Mari and Shinji meet on a beach and say goodbye again to the Evangelions. They meet much later on the platform of a train station. Mari removes a collar named DSS Choker from Shinji's neck and they take each other by the hand, ready to live in a new world. ### Neon Genesis Evangelion manga Mari appears in an extra chapter in the last volume of the Neon Genesis Evangelion manga, written and drawn by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto between 1994 and 2013, in which she is introduced as a sixteen-year-old student enrolled at Kyoto University, the same school attended by researcher Yui Ikari, who plays the role of her senpai and spiritual guide. The rector summons her to his office, proposing an internship in England; Mari is uncomfortable with Gendo Rokubungi, a colleague who has recently become romantically involved with Yui. Mari declares her feelings to Yui at the end of the story, wishing her a happy life with Gendo. According to Sadamoto, the chapter should be understood as separate from the feature story; it was conceived and developed without input from the Khara studio staff. The artist made it as an homage to Mari and an opportunity to explore unusual aspects of the character, such as her habit of calling Gendo "Gendo-kun" and singing songs from the Showa period, representing as a young woman in love with Yui. The manga artist assumed that Mari is part of the same generation as Shinji's mother and became a pilot, never growing up. Some fans similarly speculated that Mari's physique remained unchanged due to the Eva curse; her true age would be around thirty-three at the beginning of the saga, and forty-seven after the fourteen-year time jump in You Can (Not) Redo. Megumi Ogata, Shinji Ikari's Japanese voice actress, provided a similar interpretation about her true age. ### Other media Mari is featured in Neon Genesis Evangelion: Anima, a light novel by series mecha designer Ikuto Yamashita set three years after the events of the original animated series. In the light novel, Mari is a seven-year-old girl artificially created by the North American branch of Nerv to become a pilot for a unit called US Evangelion/Wolfpac (US エヴァンゲリオン/ウルフパツク). Due to hybrid genes used in her development, Mari has feline traits, loves animals and is a close friend of Rei Six, a clone of Ayanami. Chibi versions of Mari and her Eva-05 also appear in the Petit Eva: Evangelion@School comic strip, a parody of the original series. In addition to the video and pachinko games from the original animated series, Mari has appeared outside the Evangelion franchise, such as in the video games Puyopuyo!! Quest, The Battle Cats, Monster Strike, Tales of Zestiria, Puzzle & Dragons, Million Arthur, Hortensia Saga, Keri hime sweets, Summons Board, Othellonia, Final Gear and the RPG Kotodaman. ## Characterization Mari is a cheerful, outgoing, ironic, rebellious, self-confident, absent-minded and eccentric girl. She seems to have no regard for the limits of her strength or her Eva unit, piloting it with enthusiasm. Mari is distinguished by her casual and sensual ways. Unlike her colleagues, who are emotionally addicted to the Evangelions or intimidated by confrontations with enemies, she demonstrates strength and self-confidence. In the fight with the tenth Angel, Mari activates the Beast mode without worrying about mental contamination. Her Eva unleashes an animalistic force, biting off the enemy's AT Field. She has a wry, contemptuous smile, even in seemingly-hopeless situations. Mari is also clear and forthright; Anno explained to voice actress Maaya Sakamoto her psychology, saying she "does exactly what she says". In 3.0+1.0 Mari reveals to love literature, having collected many books with the dream of reading all books written in the whole history of humanity. According to Yoji Enokido, a staff member of You Can (Not) Advance, Mari differed in several respects from Asuka and Rei Ayanami, the two female protagonists of the classic series: "She is not practical like Asuka, but thinks about 'deep' things, like one of those people who can see mysterious things, such as those related to the gods". He also compared her to a miko, a young woman who works at Shinto temples and channels deities.» Enokido also emphasized that Mari was very talkative, different from Rei's otherworldly air. According to the Japanese portal Good Movies, she is an "omniscient" character, similar to Seele or Commander Ikari from the classic series. Assistant director Kazuya Tsurumaki described her as an "irresponsible," shrewd, and stubborn young woman, the kind of girl who "uses her apparent frivolity to her advantage". She is portrayed as an "irresponsible," cunning, and stubborn young woman. Her eccentric character is reflected in her colloquial, expressive, and ironic way of speaking; in the original version, Mari calls Asuka "princess" (姫, hime) and Shinji Ikari "puppy" (ワンコ君, wanko-kun). She maintains that attitude with elders, using the honorific suffix kun (君) for Gendō Ikari, typically used in confidential and informal situations. Mari ends sentences with the onomatopoeic nya, stereotypically associated with cats and kawaii characters in manga and anime. Sakamoto described her as a simple person who does things her way and does not care about the rest, happy to pilot an Eva. According to the actress, Mari "really likes people", particularly Shinji and Asuka; Asuka treats Mari coldly but she still calls her "princess," respecting and protecting her "as if she were a special person". ### Cultural references and themes In the opening scenes of Evangelion 2.0, Anno decided to have Mari sing 365 no march (三百六十五歩のマーチ, litt. "the 365-step march"), a 1968 song originally performed by Kiyoko Suizenji to which he listened as a child and which was meant to depict her connection to the Showa period. The song was intended to induce a "feeling of ease" and relaxation. In the battle against the tenth Angel, Anno had Mari say dokkoisho (ドッコイショ) – typical of traditional Sōran Bushi dance, to conveying the idea of an "old man" from the era. Similarly, in the early scenes of Evangelion 3.0 Mari hums the opening theme of Arrow Emblem: Hawk of the Grand Prix, an anime aired from 1977 to 1978. Other songs related to and sung by the character are Mamikazumichi no māchi (真実一路のマーチ) by Suizenji, Sekai ha futari no tameni (世界は二人のために) by Naomi Sagara and Hitori janai no (ひとりじゃないの) by Mari Amachi. Moreover, in Evangelion 3.0+1.0, Sakamoto was asked to imitate Chosuke Ikariya, a Japanese comedian and actor who was the leader of the 1960s musical group The Drifters. In Evangelion: 2.0, Mari clashes with Shinji on the roof of the Tokyo-3 school; the boy's Digital Audio Tape, which in the classic series is stuck on tracks 25 and 26, advances to track 27. This has been interpreted as a metaphor for the divergence of the Rebuild storyline from that of the TV anime. According to Anno, "the connection between Shinji's S-DAT starting to act up" and Mari's fall to the rooftop was "the result of casuality"; the scene was rewritten many times, and originally conceived to be inserted after a scene in which the Eva-02 is sealed. Mari has been interpreted as a representation of the Other, since she is the only character who was not created by Anno. Other fans have interpreted her as an alter ego of Moyoco Anno, the director's wife; the parallel was mentioned by Toshio Okada, co-founder of Gainax and an old acquaintance of Anno. Khara staff, however, denied the comparison. Moyoco herself commented on the issue, asking not to be likened to the character. In 3.0+1.0, Professor Fuyutsuki calls Mari "Maria Iscariot"; the name has been interpreted as a reference to Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed and handed over Jesus to the Jewish authorities and Mary Magdalene. The Nizidara site saw in "Mary" a reference to Mary Magdalene, the apocryphal mistress or wife of Jesus, and the Virgin Mary; Mari would be a mother figure and a romantic interest for Shinji, who is identified as a messianic figure within Evangelion. Japanese critic Naoya Fujita, noting that Mari can activate the Beast mode, described her as an "animalistic" character, a symbol of the affirmation of life, humanity, the body, and desire. According to Fujita, Mari would also represent a philosophy different from that of the TV anime. In 2.0, Mari urges Shinji to escape from Nerv; this, for Fujita, would make her the first person in the Evangelion universe to affirm "the need to run away". He wrote that Mari is "a being who does not suffer from the Christian sense of original sin or modern self-awareness", and compared her sensuality to that of the protagonist of Cutie Honey, a 2004 film directed by Anno. Analyses found elements of Asuka in the character. Comic Book Resources saw potential romance in the relationship between them, seeing a bisexual subtext in their interaction. Shinji Higuchi called Mari a female version of Kaworu Nagisa, another character in the classic series. Kazuya Tsurumaki described her as a decisive pilot, similar to Captain Tatsumi Tashiro or Koichirō Outa in Gunbuster. According to Khara staff, Mari "has Tsurumaki's libido in her" and seems to have come from his FLCL series; Tsurumaki said that he had tried to create a character who was "not from Evangelion", representing "common ground" between himself and Anno, and did not intend to reproduce a character similar to those in his previous series. ## Cultural impact ### Public response Mari was received positively in Japan; although she appeared in only a few scenes, she immediately attracted public attention. She became popular, and appeared in the monthly polls of readers' favorite animated characters in the magazine Newtype; she placed third in September 2009, months after the debut of Evangelion 2.0. Mari was ranked 24th on Newtype's March 2010 list of the best female characters of the 2000s. She topped the list in July of that year, after the release of the Japanese Blu-ray edition of Evangelion: 2.0, and finished eighth in August. In June 2021, in conjunction with the release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time, the character returned to Newtype's monthly polls in third place. Yahoo! Japan asked in 2009 to anime fans which animated heroine they would like to marry; Mari finished first, with 11,348 votes. In 2013, the website AnimeOne asked its users to name the best female character with glasses in the history of Japanese animation; Mari finished 37th, with about two hundred votes. Similar polls were also taken by the website Goo Ranking in which she ranked among the best glasses-wearing characters for several years, and was listed among Sakamoto's most memorable roles. In popularity polls of Neon Genesis Evangelion characters, Mari consistently placed in the top ten but usually the lowest Eva pilot. ### Critical reception Mari received mixed critical reviews. Her erotic fan-service scenes were criticized, and she was considered an unimpressive protagonist and an unnecessary addition to the films. Some critics noted the lack of explanation of her character, calling her confusing, unexplored, and frustrating. In The Anime Encyclopedia, Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy wrote that Mari seemed to be inserted into the franchise as a "cynical exercise in justifying new action figures". Mark Sombillo of Anime News Network and Nicoletta Browne of THEM Anime Reviews agreed; Browne, appreciating hints about Mari's role in the Rebuild storyline, criticized the character's lack of depth and absurdly complicated English dialogue which made her seem out of place. Rehan Fontes of Comic Book Resources saw Mari as futile and flat, existing only for fan service and to pander to the otaku fan base. Morgan Lewis of VGCultureHQ, who had favorably reviewed You Can (Not) Advance, disliked Mari because of the fan service and the scene in which she talks to Shinji before he decides to re-board his own Eva detracting from Kaji's character. Mari's role in Evangelion: 3.0 was also criticized for the same reasons, with Anime Reign magazine describing her as a superfluous character who contributes nothing noteworthy to the plot. Nicoletta Christina Browne of T.H.E.M. Anime Reviews called her entertaining, but enigmatic and underdeveloped. Chris Homer of The Fandom Post gave Mari an honorable mention in his 2019 list of the ten best British characters in Japanese animation, praising her lighthearted and combative attitude. He found the character underdeveloped, however, and apparently included for fan service. Other reviewers praised Mari and her introduction. James Mudge of the website Beyond Hollywood noted that Mari had several of Asuka's personality traits, speculating interesting future developments. Bryan Morton of The Fandom Post liked her personality, describing her as a welcome dose of uncertainty in a familiar story. Chris Nelson of Dreamlogic.net wrote, "She’s an awesome addition to the series, and even though little is known about her this far, she’s become one of my new favorite characters". Josh Tolentino of Japanator listed her among the best British anime characters and liked the fact that, unlike the other pilots, she seemed happy to board an Eva; this made her "more interesting" than the franchise's other characters. Anime News Network's Martin Theron wrote, "She is the breath of fresh air that the franchise needs and helps restore the sense of mystery inherent in the original series". Evangelion 3.0+1.0, the final chapter in the Rebuild saga, also received mixed reviews. Some fans were puzzled by the final scene in which Mari takes Shinji's hand in Ube Station; the gesture was interpreted as indicating a romantic relationship between them, contradicting the idea that the young man would get involved with Asuka. Mari was the focus of a number of discussions, with a good reception from Japanese audiences. She was described as the star of the film, and Sakamoto's performance was also praised. Several English-speaking reviewers criticized the character, finding her role underdeveloped and noting the lack of explanation about her. Other critics praised the character and her role in the latest film. Henrique Padula of IGN, calling her the shallowest of the saga's pilots, nevertheless appreciated the clarity of her role. Raul Velazquez of Game Rant praised her battle scenes, saying that she may deserves as much cosplay as Rei and Asuka. Rebuen Baron of Comic Book Resources called her uninteresting compared to the characters in the classic series, but "she actually serves more of a purpose beyond simple fan service"; Baron wrote that her stability positively affects Shinji, a factor "extremely important to make the ending work as well as it does". Comic Book Resources colleague Daniel Kurland said that Mari would be a vital element in the growth of Shinji and the other characters and, interpreting her as a metaphor for Anno's wife, described her as an "even more poignant and important" element for the protagonist. ### Legacy Mari has been used for merchandising items, including dolls, action figures, plush toys, Nendoroids, pins, and a variety of collectible models. Clothing lines and articles of clothing were produced with the character, including sweatshirts, bags, kimonos, jerseys, replica clothing, boots and underwear. Other merchandise included glasses, necklaces, jewelry, lighters, iPhone stickers, coffee, alcohol and other drinks. Mari's glasses were particularly popular. A life-size reproduction of the character was displayed at Fuji-Q HighLand amusement park in 2011 with other Evangelion-themed installations. Her picture appeared the following year on buses in Hakone, near the series' fictional Tokyo-3. In the same city, Panasonic installed electric-vehicle charging stations in 2013 with her picture and those of other characters from the Rebuild of Evangelion. The interactive attraction "Evangelion The Real 4D" was unveiled in 2016 to commemorate the original series' twentieth anniversary, recreating the battle against the tenth Angel from Mari's point of view. "Evangelion The Flight", a ride with seats covered by a screen showing a sightseeing trip to Mount Fuji guided by Mari, was announced in 2020. For the last chapter of Rebuild, one million copies of two A4 posters of Mari and Kaworu were distributed to Japanese cinemas in June 2021. Mari, Rei and Asuka became popular cosplay characters. A number of celebrities have cosplayed her, including idol Jurina Matsui, former member of the group AKB48, Airi Shimizu, singer Shoko Nakagawa, First Summer Uika, Tenka Hashimoto, Mea Shimotsuki, Ayana Tsubaki and actress Natsuki Kato. In 2010, in conjunction with the Blu-ray release of You Can (Not) Advance, a cosplayer dressed as Mari appeared at the Animate's store in Tokyo's Akihabara district. The song "365 no march", which Mari hummed in her introductory scene, again became popular. D.Va's character in Overwatch has been compared to Mari; critics noted that D.Va also owns a pink robot, an armed drone known as Meka. There is also a reference to Mari in an episode of Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku.

Minuscule 543

Greek manuscript of the New Testament

Minuscule 543 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), ε 257 (in von Soden's numbering of New Testament manuscripts) and labelled 556 by biblical scholar and textual critic F. H. A. Scrivener, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on parchment. Using the study of comparative handwriting styles (palaeography) it has been assigned to the 12th century. The manuscript contains the text of the four Gospels, with some gaps and some unusual grammar forms and numerous errors. The manuscript is housed at the University of Michigan. ## Description ### Contents The manuscript is a codex (precursor to the modern book), containing the text of the four Gospels on 184 thick parchment leaves (size ), with several gaps (Matthew 12:11-13:10; Mark 8:4-28; Luke 15:20-16:9; John 2:22-4:6; 4:52-5:43; 11:21-47). One leaf was misplaced during its binding. The parchment is coarse and yellowed by age. The text of the codex was written two columns per page, 27-30 lines per page, 17 letters per line, in a minute hand using brown ink. The same scribe copied all four Gospels. Breathings (utilised to designate vowel emphasis) and accents (used to indicate voiced pitch changes) are employed in regular form, but in some sort of system. Iota subscript (a small Greek letter ι (iota) written underneath vowels in certain words to indicate a change of sound) is not used, though iota adscriptum (where the ι is written as part of the main text with the same function as the iota subscript) occurs very often, especially in the Gospel of Mark. The titles to the Gospels of Matthew and Mark run: Ευαγγέλιον εκ του κατά Ματθαίου (Μάρκου) (The Gospel of that according to Matthew (Mark)). The titles to Luke and John are the usual: Ευαγγέλιον κατά Λουκάν (Ιωάννην) (The Gospel according to Luke (John)). The lists of the chapters (known as κεφαλαια / kephalaia) are placed before each Gospel; the numbers of the κεφαλαια are given at the left margin, with their titles (known as τιτλοι / titloi) in red at the top of the pages. There is a division according to the Ammonian Sections, with references to the Eusebian Canons (an early system of dividing the four Gospels into different sections). It contains lectionary markings (to indicate what verse was to be read on a specific day in the churches yearly calendar), Synaxarion (a list of saint's days), Menologion (a list of readings to be read each calendar month), subscriptions, lists of how many phrases (known as ρηματα / rhemata) are used in each gospel, and how many lines (known as στιχοι / stichoi) are written in each gospel. The list of κεφαλαια to Matthew is missing, and the Gospel of Matthew begins on the first page of the codex. It has additional non-biblical material: The Limits of the Five Patriarchates (as in codices 69 and 211), of which one page is lost. ### Nomina sacra and OT quotations The nomina sacra are contracted in the usual way, but there are a number of words which the scribe failed to abbreviate. In some of the cases where nomina sacra are uncontracted, they have the heavy bar signifying contraction. υιος (son) is contracted only once (John 4:47). On the other hand, it gives the unusual abbreviations for the other nomina sacra. Some unusual ones are σταυρωσον (crucify), which is written as ; σταυρωθη (to be crucified) — ; and παρθένος (virgin) is contracted to παρ^θνος. Quotations from the Old Testament are indicated in the left margin by a rubricated letter or sign. ### Errors Almost all the necessary corrections of misspellings have been made. Sometimes a stroke of the pen indicates an error, perhaps to be corrected later. Some corrections seem to be written by prima manu (e.g. Matthew 4:10; 5:19) others plainly secondary manu (Matthew 6; Luke 3; 10:35). The apostrophe is used even when not required, especially in εξ', and ουκ'. According tο Scrivener, movable nu occurs 416 times especially with words ειπεν, εστιν. In Matthew 12:7; Luke 8:10; John 5:46; 7:7; 8:27 there is a hiatus for lack of it. The error of iotacism occurs 358 times: ει for ι (16 occurrences), ι for ει (35), ο for ω (40), ω for ο (33), αι for ε (13), ε for αι (31), ει for η (23), η for ει (19), η for ι (11), ι for η (7), ε for η (11), η for ε (2), οι for ι (3), ω for ου (20), η for υ (3), υ for η (5), υ for οι (1), υ for ει (1), η for οι (1), οι for η (1), ι for υ (1), οι for ει (2). There are many errors by homoeoteleuton (Mark 2:18; 4:24; 12:26; 14:70; 15:14; Luke 12:22.47; 13:28.29; John 4:14). There are some unusual forms like: ανεπεσαν, ειπαν, εθεωρων, εμελλεν, εμπροσθε, εσπλαγχνισθη, ιδαμεν, ιδεν, σαρκαν, συνετιθεντο. ## Text The Greek text of the codex has been considered a representative of the Caesarean text-type. It belongs to the textual family ƒ¹³, known also as the Ferrar Group/Family. The handwriting and the menology show the manuscript is a close member of the group. According to biblical scholars and textual critics Kurt and Barbara Aland, it agrees with the Byzantine standard text 151 times, and 72 times with the Byzantine when it has the same reading as the original text. It agrees 31 times with the original text against the Byzantine. It has 57 independent or distinctive readings. It is currently placed in Category III. According to the Claremont Profile Method, it represents the textual ƒ¹³ in Luke 1, Luke 10, and Luke 20, as a core member. The Pericope Adulterae follows Luke 21:38, as in other manuscripts of the Ferrar Family. Textual Variants (short list) The words after the square bracket are the readings of the codex (before the square bracket are readings of the Textus Receptus). - Matthew 1:18 and 1:23 — εν γαστρι (pregnant, literally in womb) ] εγγαστρι (inwomb) - Matthew 5:48 — εν τοις ουρανοις (in the heavens) ] (heavens) - Matthew 6:24 — μαμμωνα (mammona) ] μαμωνα (mamona) - Matthew 7:2 — απο (from) ] εκ (from) - Matthew 8:4 — Μωσης (Moses) ] Μωυσης (Moses) - Matthew 8:8 — δεινως (terrible) ] δεινος (terrible) - Matthew 8:8 — ικανος (sufficient) ] αξιος (worthy) - Matthew 8:26 — τοις ανεμοις (winds) ] τω ανεμω (wind) - Matthew 9:17 — απολουνται (ruined) ] απολλουνται (ΝΑ27 has απολλυνται) - Matthew 9:17 — αμφοτερα ] αμφοτεροι (both) - Matthew 11:5 — και νεκροι εγειρονται και πτωχοι ευαγγελιζονται (and the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them) ] και πτωχοι ευαγγελιζονται και νεκροι εγειρονται (and the poor have the gospel preached to them and the dead are raised up) - Matthew 26:39 — (text of Luke 22:43-44 appears here) ] ωφθη δε αυτω αγγελος απο του ενισχυσον αυτον και γενομενος εν αγωνια εκτενεστερον προσηυχετο εγενετο δε ο ιδρος αυτου ωσει θρομβη αθματος καταβαινοντες επι την γην (An angel from heaven appeared to him, empowering him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.) - Mark 1:9 — Ναζαρετ (Nazaret) ] Ναζαρεθ (Nazareth) - Mark 1:10 — ἀπὸ (from) ] ἐκ (from) - Mark 1:10 — ἐκ (from) ] εἰς (to) - Mark 2:4 — κραββατον ] κραβαττον (bed) ## History Concerning the history of the manuscript, nothing is known until the year 1864, when it was in the possession of a dealer at Janina in Epeiros. It was then purchased from him by a representative of Baroness Burdett-Coutts (1814–1906), a philanthropist, together with other Greek manuscripts (among them codices 532-546). They were transported to England in 1870–1871. The manuscript was presented by Burdett-Coutts to Sir Roger Cholmely's School, and was housed at the Highgate (Burdett-Coutts III. 5), in London. In 1922 it was acquired for the University of Michigan It is currently housed at the University of Michigan (Ms. 15) in Ann Arbor. J. Rendel Harris pointed out that the menology of the Ferrar group contains saints which appear to be peculiar to Calabria or Sicily. Abbe Martin had previously stated that certain palaeographical traits to be observed in these manuscripts were characteristic of Calabrian scriptoria. Scrivener observed a close textual affinity to the Ferrar group and announced in 1883 in the third edition of "Plain Introduction" as pertaining to the same class. Scrivener collated its text and it was edited posthumously in 1893. This collation was not wholly accurate and Jacob Geerlings, from the University of Utah, gave a new and more accurate collation in 1932. ## Gallery ## See also - List of New Testament minuscules - Biblical manuscript - Textual criticism

Angel Sanctuary

Manga series by Kaori Yuki

Angel Sanctuary (Japanese: 天使禁猟区, Hepburn: Tenshi Kinryōku) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. It was serialized in the shōjo manga magazine Hana to Yume from July 1994 to October 2000. It follows Setsuna Mudo, a human teenager who, as the reincarnation of a prominent angel who rebelled against Heaven, becomes entangled in political machinations between the angels and demons. The 120 chapters were collected and published in twenty bound volumes by Hakusensha from February 1995 to February 2001. Titled Coming of the Seraphim in the early stages of its development, Angel Sanctuary was inspired by the Japanese fantasy novel Nocturne and was originally slated to be only ten chapters long, which led Yuki to worry about being able to properly end the story. Angel Sanctuary made cultural references to various mythologies, including Greek and Norse, as well as to real-world people, music, literature, and places. Viz Media published an English-language translation in North America from February 2004 to June 2007. Angel Sanctuary was also adapted into a series of drama CDs, published from December 1999 to September 2001, and a three-episode original video animation (OVA) by Bandai Visual and Hal Film Maker published in 2000; Yuki assisted on various aspects of both adaptations. Angel Sanctuary was critically and commercially well-received by English-language readers and critics, with Yuki's art and narrative highlighted as its strengths. The OVA received more mixed reviews from critics, who were generally divided on whether they enjoyed it as an introduction to the events of the manga or found its content objectionable due to the sibling incest. ## Plot Beginning in Japan in 1999, Angel Sanctuary focuses on Setsuna Mudo, a 16-year-old troubled high-school student in love with his 15-year-old sister Sara. While struggling with his incestuous feelings, he learns that he is the reincarnation of Organic Angel Alexiel, who led a rebellion against her fellow angels after witnessing their slaughter of the Evils, a group of demons, after God's disappearance. At the conclusion of the revolt, she sealed away her younger twin brother, Inorganic Angel Rosiel, within the Earth, emotionally unable to fulfill his request to be killed before he became insane and destructive. Captured and branded a fallen angel, Alexiel was punished by having her body frozen and her soul endlessly reincarnated as a human whose life is full of misery. While Rosiel is freed by his subordinate Katan, Setsuna finds his life and Sara's endangered by various attempts to awaken Alexiel's dormant soul within him. Realizing they cannot bear to be separated, Setsuna and Sara run away together and consummate their love, hoping to start a new life together. Sara eventually dies protecting him from one of Rosiel's subordinates, and devastated, Setsuna awakens Alexiel's soul, causing widespread damage. Adam Kadamon, the angel closest to God, intervenes by turning back time to just after Alexiel's awakening and freezing time on Earth; she then tasks him with freeing her from her imprisonment. To search for Sara's soul, sent to Hell for incest, Setsuna's body enters a near-death state. While in Hell, his soul searches for hers, eventually learning that it has been taken to Heaven instead. Sara, meanwhile, awakens in the body of Jibriel, the archangel of water held prisoner by the angels; revealed to be Jibriel's reincarnation, Sara is eventually returned to her original body but finds herself impregnated by the malicious angel Sandolphon, who hopes that she will bear him a body. After Rosiel absorbs Sandolphon to gain his power, an act which speeds up Rosiel's physical and mental decay, Sandolphon's remnants possess her, causing her to see Setsuna as a monster. Assisted by Lucifer, the ruler of the demons who is in love with Alexiel, Rosiel unseals the Tower of Etenamenki, where God rests, with Alexiel's body. Intent on restoring the Earth, Setsuna follows him, with Kurai and the archangels of fire and earth; along the way, he aids an injured Katan, who hopes to save Rosiel before he loses his free will to do so. At the tower, Rosiel kills Katan, only to realize that he had killed the one he loved and tried to protect from himself; he then goes into a state of destructive despair. Awakening in her own body with Setsuna's help, Alexiel reveals to him that she had always loved him: because he had been born the opposite of his healthy sister, she bargained with God to save his life in exchange for her imprisonment, from which she later escaped with Lucifer, and an agreement to never show him any compassion. She then kills him and absorbs him into her womb so that they will never be apart again. Before dying, Rosiel passes along his power to Setsuna. Setsuna and his group find Adam Kadamon's head, used to nourish the unborn angels, and learn that she attempted to prevent God's plan of destroying humanity by hiding him and the tower from the angels and freezing time in hopes that Alexiel's reincarnation could save them. Because God draws power through Adam Kadamon, the archangels and Kurai seal her up, while Setsuna confronts God and encounters Sara and Lucifer there. Sara overcomes her possession to cast out Sandolphon, and Setsuna defeats God with Lucifer's help. Time returns to normal on Earth, where Setsuna and Sara joyfully reunite at last. ## Development According to manga artist Kaori Yuki, the concept for Angel Sanctuary has been with her "for the longest time". As a middle-school student in her second year, Yuki found the story of fallen angels, particularly Lucifer, fascinating; in Angel Sanctuary, she offered her own interpretation of fictional angels, which differed from her thoughts on actual angels. Yuki was inspired to write about angels and demons in Tokyo after reading the Japanese fantasy novel Nocturne; the book centered around a demonic prince and princess who search for another demon on earth, who has possessed an idol singer, and try to destroy it. While the original title for the manga was Coming of the Seraphim, Yuki later decided against it in favor of Angel Sanctuary, as she thought that "angel" should be included in the title and "sanctuary" had a sense of something "forbidden" or "against God". Sara, originally named Sana, was the first character designed, while the first episode of the manga imagined was one in which the protagonist's love interest "was actually a living angel". She decided to set Angel Sanctuary in Japan in "near future", partially because the setting would be largely unchanged and partially because she had a wish to draw modern clothing styles and sailor uniforms. As she had been already working on a successful serial, the gothic mystery manga Earl Cain, she faced difficulty in convincing others to let her begin another serial. Initially, she was allowed only ten installments of Angel Sanctuary, which led her to worry about being able to properly end the story. At that time, she had the character development up to Zaphikel's death scene and fragments of the plot; she found it difficult to construct a narrative to join the scenes she wanted to draw. The original character designs underwent changes, and only Kato's remained unchanged. Several angels were planned to make an appearance, but never did; among them were the Angel of the Yoke and the leader of the angels, Sakaki. For the conclusion, she originally had planned to use a tragic ending, but decided against it in favor of a happy one, because she thought that it would be too upsetting for the fans to read after twenty volumes. When Angel Sanctuary was adapted into an audio drama series, Yuki participated in selecting voice actors; around two to three auditioned for each role. Ten, however, auditioned for the role of Setsuna, with Kenji Nojima ultimately chosen. Ayako Kawasumi provided the voice of Sara, while Takehito Koyasu and Yuuko Miyamura voiced Sakuya Kira and Kurai, respectively. For Arachne, Yuki envisioned a "transvestite" voice actor, which proved to be unfeasible. The antagonists Katan and Rosiel were voiced by Shin-ichiro Miki and Nozomu Sasaki, respectively. Yuki attended several sessions, during which she directed the voice actors and helped them with their interpretations of the characters. Yuki assisted on Angel Sanctuary's adaptation into an original video animation (OVA). She helped with the color direction on the first episode; although she prefers the color combinations of white, red, and black, the production staff was interested in including an abundance of color to the anime adaptation to prevent it from seeming "dull". She also produced character designs with detailed descriptions on various elements, such as eye shape and earrings. Editing the already finished script was the most difficult aspect of the adaptation for her, as time and space constraints resulted in the elimination of some scenes and she felt that sometimes a character's personality would be changed. She insisted on the inclusion of certain narrative points, which made it tricky to reach a compromise with the production staff at times. Regardless, she expressed her satisfaction with the finished product. ### Cultural references and influences In Angel Sanctuary, Yuki incorporated references to several mythologies and religions. Greek mythology features prominently, with allusions to the Orpheus' descent to the underworld, the mythical location Hades, Pandora's box, and Prometheus. Additionally, the transgender demon Arachne takes her name from the weaver Arachne. References to Norse mythology also appears, with allusions to Yggdrasil and the dragon Nidhogg. Other mythologies alluded to include Jewish and Christian mythology; Yuki used quotes from the Bible periodically in the series. Additionally, Yuki included references to real-life people, literature, locations, and music. The Tower of Etenamenki is an allusion to the ziggurat Etemenanki in Babylon. The character Katan shares his name with Katan Amano, a dollmaker. Kira's name is a reference to Japanese music group Zabadak's Tomohiko Kira, while the minor character Kirie takes her name from a Mr. Mister song. Moonlil, another minor character, was based on Japanese idol singer Hirosue. The Goth subculture in Tokyo, Japan, and rock bands with androgynous musicians influenced the clothing of the angels and demons in the series. References to literature appeared in the series, such as Lewis Carroll's children's novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Rapunzel". ## Themes Yuki identified "forbidden love" as the theme of Angel Sanctuary. Jason Thompson wrote that Angel Sanctuary's portrayal of incest adhered to the "classical tormented sense" which results in unfavorable consequences for the involved characters, including "guilt, madness, and the punishment of heaven". One reviewer for Manga News remarked that, while Angel Sanctuary's premise is centered on the romantic relationship between the protagonists, the series includes more ambiguous portrayals of love, with dedication blending into submission and hatred into passion; love, according to the reviewer, is sometimes synonymous with "hatred, treachery, and suffering", rather than "happiness and tenderness". Other themes and social issues have been discussed. Active Anime's Holly Ellingwood wrote that the universe of Angel Sanctuary concerned itself with the concepts of good and evil, unconditional love, human nature, and the interpersonal struggle for "love, acceptance, and [...] survival". The reviewer for Manga News wrote that the portrayal of angels and demons in the series challenged the binary of good and evil, with both sides given positive and negative traits; the Evils are additionally shown to be the victims of both the angels and human-caused environmental pollution. In an interview, Yuki drew attention to the tension between science and nature in the series. She wondered if it was possible for the natural world to coexist with science, despite continual, considerable environmental damage as a result of human innovations, and reflected that in the titles of Rosiel and Alexiel, the Inorganic and Organic Angels. ## Media ### Manga The chapters of Angel Sanctuary appeared twice a month as a serial in the manga magazine Hana to Yume from the 5 July 1994 issue to the 20 October 2000 issue. Hakusensha collected and published the 120 chapters in twenty bound volumes from 17 February 1995, to 19 February 2001. Hakusensha later re-released the series in ten volumes from 14 June 2002, to 13 June 2003. Angel Sanctuary is licensed by Viz Media for an English-language release in North America. Viz Media published the series from 25 February 2004 to 12 June 2007. A digital edition was also published in 2013. Angel Sanctuary has been translated into a variety of languages, among them Chinese, German, Italian, Polish, Hungarian, French, Russian, and Spanish. A sequel manga written by Yuki, titled Angel Sanctuary: Tokyo Chronos, began serialization in Hakusensha's Hana Yume Ai web magazine on 20 April 2022. ### Audio drama A total of fifteen audio drama CDs, divided into six arcs, were released for Angel Sanctuary. The first arc, Assiah, was published by Bandai Music Entertainment in four parts between 16 December 1998 to 21 March 1999. It featured music by Kuroyurishimai, and a soundtrack was released on 21 April 1999. Prhythm later re-released the Assiah arc from 17 March to 21 April 2004, with the soundtrack published on the same day as the final CD. The remainder of the audio drama was published by Lantis. Hades comprised three parts and was published from 3 August to 25 October 2000, while the remaining four arcs were released in two parts: Gehenna was published on 21 December 2000 and 24 January 2001, followed by Yetzirah on 21 March and 25 April 2001, and Beri'ah on 27 June and 25 July 2001. The final arc, Atziluth, was published on 29 August and 29 September 2001. ### OVA Directed by Kiyoko Sayama and produced by Bandai Visual, Lantis, and Hal Film Maker, the Angel Sanctuary OVA consisted of three episodes: "Encounter", "Awakening", and "Regeneration". Satoshi Kubo, Yoshiyuki Itoh, and Katsunori Haruta served as producers, while Junichiro Nishikawa was the art director. Shuichi Shimamura worked as supervising director and was in charge of character design. Hikaru Nanase composed the OVA's music, with Hideyuki Tanaka as sound director. The opening theme song was "MESSIAH", while the ending theme song, "Knife of romance", was performed by Phi. Bandai published the episodes individually from 25 May to 25 August 2000. An English-language translation was licensed in North America by Central Park Media, which published it on 10 July 2001 and re-released it on 24 May 2005. Media Blasters acquired the license for the OVA in 2007, and later re-released it with new cover art. ### Art books Hakusensha published two Angel Sanctuary art books: the first, was released on 25 July 1997, and the second, followed on 27 September 2000. Viz Media released English-language translations of both in North America from 6 September 2005 to 30 October 2007. ## Reception Angel Sanctuary was nominated for the Grand Prize of the 1st Sense of Gender Award in 2001. The manga series has been well received by English-language readers, with fifteen volumes appearing in ICv2's monthly lists of the 100 best-selling graphic novels. The French translation also became a bestseller. Angel Sanctuary received generally favorable reviews from critics. One reviewer for Manga News lauded it as one of the classics of shōjo manga and the most popular of Yuki's works. Jason Thompson described it in Manga: The Complete Guide as "The archetypical 1990s goth manga". Yuki's artwork received praise as detailed, "breath-taking", "absorbing", and "beautiful", though one reviewer found the art "overcrowded" and had difficulty distinguishing between the male and female characters. While writing that the artwork could have been improved in some instances, most notably in regards to some placements of the characters' eyes, could have used better placement, Rika Takahashi of Ex magazine remarked that the overall quality ranked among some of the best in the horror or occult genre. Critics generally enjoyed the plot as "dense", intriguing, suspenseful, complex, and quickly paced. Liann Cooper of Anime News Network commented that the story of Angel Sanctuary was well written, despite the inclusion of shock factors, with enough plot twists to hold the attention of the reader while staying focused on the main narrative. Thompson wrote that the plot was difficult to follow because of the page layouts, the large cast of androgynous characters, and the dense world building. Another reviewer found the plot "confusing" at times and thought that the series's topics of gender issues and incest might discourage some readers. The tie-in artbook received similarly positive reviews for Yuki's artwork. The OVA, in contrast, generally received more mixed reviews. Some enjoyed it as a prologue or introduction to the events of the manga, while others were put off by the sibling incest. Critics generally enjoyed the animation, although one reviewer disagreed, writing that the anime disregarded the "delicate" character designs of the manga in favor of artwork that was "nothing special". The English-language dub, however, was generally not favorably regarded, and one reviewer noted technical issues with its audio syncing.

Sasuke Uchiha

Fictional character from Naruto

Sasuke Uchiha (Japanese: うちは サスケ, Hepburn: Uchiha Sasuke) (/ˈsɑːskeɪ/) is a fictional character in the Naruto manga and anime franchise created by Masashi Kishimoto. Sasuke belongs to the Uchiha clan, a notorious ninja family, and one of the most powerful, allied with Konohagakure (木ノ葉隠れの里, English version: "Hidden Leaf Village"). Most of its members were massacred by Sasuke's older brother, Itachi Uchiha, before the series began, leaving Sasuke one of the few living. Despite becoming empathetic toward his teammates Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, Sasuke's feelings of powerlessness force him to abandon his friends and his home in his quest to become stronger, and to find Orochimaru. Sasuke appears in several of the series' animated feature films and related media, including video games, original video animations (OVAs), and Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015) and its manga sequel, Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2016), in which he is depicted as a vigilante supporting his village and a mentor to Naruto's son Boruto Uzumaki. Kishimoto conceived Sasuke as a rival of the series' title character Naruto Uzumaki. Despite Sasuke's dark character development later in the story, Kishimoto avoided portraying him as a villain; he found designing the character challenging and had difficulty creating a suitable look for him. Nonetheless, Kishimoto has grown to enjoy drawing him. In the manga's animated adaptations, Sasuke was voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in Japanese and Yuri Lowenthal in English. Sasuke's character has received mixed responses from anime and manga publications. His impressive fighting skills, plot contribution, and rivalry with Naruto Uzumaki received some praise, but he was criticized as a stereotypical rival in the mold of similar characters from other shōnen manga and as exhibiting a cold personality. Nevertheless, Sasuke's characterization in latter parts of the story and more mature personality in the Boruto sequel earned further positive comments. Sasuke has also placed highly in Naruto reader popularity polls and has also been the subject of studies by scholars. Character-based merchandise, including action figures and key chains, has been released. ## Creation ### Development Manga artist Masashi Kishimoto did not include Sasuke Uchiha in his original concept for the Naruto series, a story revolving around the character Naruto Uzumaki. Discussing the series' future, his editor, Kosuke Yahagi, advised him to add a rival character for the protagonist Naruto and he created Sasuke. The character's first name came from Sanpei Shirato's manga Sasuke and Sarutobi Sasuke, a fictional ninja character in Japanese children's stories. To introduce Sasuke, Kishimoto wrote a chapter that was set before the formation of his ninja squad, Team 7. The idea was scrapped; Yahagi told Kishimoto to focus the series' first two chapters on introducing Naruto instead and the focus on Sasuke and the rest of the supporting characters were shown in the next chapters for the first time. Once creating Sasuke's character, Kishimoto decided to use him as a protagonist rather than supporting character in order to start his development at the same time as Naruto. When plot developments made Sasuke one of the story's antagonists, Kishimoto called him and Naruto yin and yang because of their differences and complementary natures. During this period, he was asked whether Sasuke was good or evil; he replied that Sasuke was neither and called him a "very pure person." He said although some of Sasuke's actions such as following his clan's ideas were positive, his self-centeredness tended to cause problems with others. Since the beginning of the story's serialization, Kishimoto planned to conclude the series with a fight between Sasuke and Naruto, but he was uncertain whether the characters would end up as friends or enemies. Kishimoto had read a variety of manga to obtain ideas for the creation of an effective rivalry between two characters, which he incorporated into Naruto and Sasuke's relationship. He was also inspired by his relationship with his twin brother, Seishi Kishimoto; since childhood, Masashi had worried about Seishi when he faced failure and had tried to help him. To contrast Sasuke with Naruto, Kishimoto made him less emotional and depicted him as a "cool genius"; he felt he had created an ideal rivalry in the pair, and when one character progressed he ensured the other did as well. Kishimoto wanted Naruto and Sasuke to seem like brothers and rivals, building on a mutual experience of childhood loneliness. Although Sasuke does not regard Naruto as a worthy opponent at first, he is surprised by Naruto's growth and becomes fiercely competitive. In the Part I finale, their rivalry leads to a fight and they grow further apart. Kishimoto said he did not want Sasuke to recognize Naruto as an equal until later in Part II. Although both characters had used ninja techniques throughout the series, Kishimoto wanted the two fighters to rely on hand-to-hand combat for the climax of their final battle. He decided to have Naruto forgive Sasuke because he had also forgiven Nagato, another former enemy. The final fight between Sasuke and Naruto was considered one of the biggest challenges ever faced by the staff from Pierrot as it took an entire month to adapt it from the manga. Director Hiroyuki Yamashita elected himself in charge of the battle which left most of the anime members relieved due to his experience. For the scenario, Pierrot received assistance from CyberConnect2, the video game development studio who had already adapted this battle through the fighting game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4. There was a need to make every movement in the fight look realistic, giving Sasuke a scary look as well as hair movement in order to express the idea of both fighters willing to do anything to kill each other, which confused some due to Naruto's wish to avoid this fate. The final clash between Sasuke's Chidori and Naruto's Rasengan moves involved references from other scenes of the series to give the viewer a bigger emotional impact. The staff noted that following this fight, Sasuke's face became calmer despite his initial look, giving room to explore his redemption. Kishimoto found Sasuke a difficult character to write, requiring considerable planning. In the series finale, Sasuke leaves on a solo journey; Kishimoto later stated that in addition to atonement, Sasuke wants to discover the origin of the final antagonist, but this was not explained in the story. He planned Sasuke and Sakura Haruno's romance early in Naruto's production and decided that despite having a good relationship with his allies, Sasuke would remain a rogue ninja at the end of the series. Kishimoto wished to further explore Sasuke's role in the series after Naruto's finale. He wanted to explain the connection between Sasuke and Sakura in the spin-off manga Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (2015), which focuses on their daughter, Sarada Uchiha. Despite their separation during Sasuke's mission, which draws him away from his village, the story explains the bond between the three characters. Kishimoto focused on the final scene of the Uchiha family, which he regards as the spin-off's most important facet. Because Sasuke had few appearances in the Naruto films, Kishimoto decided to give him a bigger role in Boruto: Naruto the Movie (2015), in which he teaches Naruto's firstborn child, Boruto Uzumaki; a reference to Piccolo and Gohan in Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball manga series and also depicted in the manga Boruto: Naruto Next Generations (2016). Kishimoto identified Naruto's fights alongside Sasuke against Momoshiki as the highlights of the film and asked that the film's staff pay close attention to those sequences. Two other scenes written by the staff which surprised Kishimoto were Sasuke's use of one of his taijutsu moves and the combination of his Susanoo technique and Naruto's recreation of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Another relationship the novelist Jun Esaka wanted to explore was the one Sasuke has with his wife in Sasuke Retsuden most notably in the manga adaptation where liked the focus on romance. ### Design Kishimoto regarded Sasuke as his most memorable character design because he was developed as Naruto's opposite. He said the design of Sasuke and his Sharingan (写輪眼, lit. "Copy Wheel Eye", English manga: "Mirror Wheel Eye") ability were influenced by the character Hiei in Yoshihiro Togashi's manga series, YuYu Hakusho. Sasuke originally had necklaces and ties around his arms and legs because Kishimoto had a habit of giving characters as much ornamentation as possible; realizing he could not draw such a complex character on a weekly basis, Kishimoto simplified the design to a basic contrast with Naruto's costume. The Chidori (千鳥, lit. "One Thousand Birds") — one of Sasuke and Kakashi Hatake's best-known fighting techniques — originally had a different name that Kishimoto forgot. He found the name "Chidori" and its variant, the "Lightning Blade", appropriate. Kishimoto considered Sasuke his most challenging character to design and draw. He lacked a clear idea of how his face should look, saying Sasuke seemed older than Naruto, his contemporary, and felt this inconvenience was a result of his inexperience in drawing characters who were mature beyond their years. Sasuke's hair, originally short to save Kishimoto time, slowly grew longer as the series progressed. Mid-way through Part I, he drew a new costume for Sasuke with belts strapped around his arms and legs, but he returned to the character's original design because it took less time to draw. Sasuke is his favorite character to draw despite the time and energy required, and he compared Sasuke with Sakura in difficulty. Kishimoto's superiors sometimes asked him to redraw parts of the manga that did not illustrate Sasuke well. Kishimoto's design focus for Part II was Sasuke's older appearance. Originally, Kishimoto had wanted to draw him as a more attractive person, but the idea was discarded. An outfit he initially planned combined the younger Sasuke's outfit with new, more modern clothes. Kishimoto tried several other looks, including the use of Shimenawa to evoke the antagonist Orochimaru, and a turtleneck and military uniform to connote cleanliness. He avoided the second option due to similarities with cold weather clothing and eventually chose Japanese clothing and a chokutō sword. For The Last: Naruto the Movie, Kishimoto gave Sasuke a new, young-adult design with sharper facial features. In contrast with the older Naruto, who cut his hair, Sasuke's hairstyle grew longer to cover part of the character's face. In the original concept, the hair hid Sasuke's mysterious left eye — the Rinnegan (輪廻眼, lit. "Saṃsāra Eye"). According to Kishimoto, he decided to give the character a large hood because Sasuke concealed his identity during the events of the film. Sasuke's design was specifically created to support his actions; the area that showed Sasuke had lost his left arm in the Naruto finale was also covered by his clothes. ### Personality and voice actors Sasuke is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in Japanese media. At the beginning of the anime's first part, Sugiyama had difficulty voicing Sasuke because he knew little about his personality; he began to understand the character at the point in the story where Sasuke encounters his brother, Itachi Uchiha. Sugiyama read the manga and became particularly interested in Sasuke's development when the character left Konohagakure; he wanted to revoice some scenes from the anime, including Sasuke's departure from Konohagakure. In Behind the Scenes of Uchiha, a feature about Sasuke and Itachi's backstory, Sugiyama said he had become emotional during the recording sessions of the sixth season of the anime's second part (Naruto: Shippuden), in which Sasuke learns the truth about his brother's role in the massacre of the Uchiha clan. Sugiyama thought Sasuke's line, "You are annoying," summed up the character's feelings toward Sakura and indicated a change in their relationship each time it was said; although she initially annoys him, he smiles when he repeats it before leaving Konohagakure. Naruto's Japanese voice actress, Junko Takeuchi, said Sasuke's line addressed to Sakura, "See you next time... Thank you," revealed his feelings for her. Sugiyama stated that by the end of the series, Sasuke realized how much he had hurt Sakura's feelings and apologized to her after his final fight against Naruto because of this. While recording for Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Sugiyama expected to see a bond between Sasuke and his apprentice, Boruto Uzumaki. According to Sugiyama, Sasuke's personality had changed for the Boruto anime series, and the actor wanted fans to see the character's interaction with his family. Japanese rock band Scenarioart in charge of performing the ending theme song of this story arc were given directions by Pierrot to make the song show the distant but caring relationship between Sasuke and Sarada. As a result, although the lyrics often mentions the farewells Sasuke and Sarada had, the intention was meant to make it look optimistic as they are destined to meet once again. Yuri Lowenthal, who voices Sasuke in the English dubs, said he was honored to receive the role since many actors had auditioned for it, and he added that the job was stressful. Although fans were critical of deviations and mistakes in his recordings, he enjoyed voicing the character. His first impression of Sasuke was of "a serious guy dedicated to his training", but his view changed as he learned about the character's backstory. Lowenthal said that some of Sasuke's lines, such as his use of the word "kill", were changed as Viz Media often censored parts of the series' dialogue for Western viewers. As a result, he found the original Japanese version truer to the character. ## Appearances ### In Naruto #### In Part I Sasuke is introduced in the third chapter of Naruto's manga as a young ninja assigned to become a member of Team 7 alongside his rival Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno, the latter of whom is infatuated with him. The trio are trained under the guidance of Kakashi Hatake. Although Sasuke is antisocial, cold, and distant, he starts caring about Naruto and Sakura. During a mission, Sasuke awakens his Sharingan — his clan's inherited ability to see through illusions — which allows him to learn imperceptible movements at a superhuman rate. It is revealed later that Sasuke is the sole survivor of the once-powerful Uchiha clan of Konohagakure. He, at the age of seven, survived the massacre of his clan perpetrated by his brother, Itachi, who spared Sasuke's life because he did not consider him worth killing. Sasuke seeks strong fighting opponents to reassure himself his power is growing. During a ninja examination meant to improve their ranks, Team 7 encounters Orochimaru, an exile from Konohagakure who afflicts Sasuke with a Cursed Seal that contains a fragment of Orochimaru's consciousness, which increases Sasuke's physical abilities, but makes him cruel and sadistic. Kakashi teaches Sasuke the lightning-based offensive technique called Chidori in an attempt to appease Sasuke's desire for power. During a siege of Konohagakure, a berserker ninja named Gaara beats Sasuke, who is rescued by Naruto. Shortly afterward, Itachi returns to the village; Sasuke tries to kill him, but he is beaten and tortured instead. Shaken by the experience he decides to leave Team 7 and Konohagakure to become stronger. Thinking Orochimaru's training will make him more powerful, Sasuke becomes an outlaw. Naruto follows him and they fight when Sasuke refuses to return; Sasuke wins, spares Naruto's life, and continues to Orochimaru's hideout. #### In Part II After two-and-a-half years of training, Sasuke absorbs Orochimaru before he can possess his younger body. Following this, Sasuke forms Team Hebi to find Itachi. Itachi and Sasuke fight and Itachi dies at the climax of the battle from an illness. Sasuke then meets Tobi, Itachi's superior, who reveals that Itachi killed the Uchiha clan under orders from Konohagakure and spared Sasuke out of love rather than contempt. Sasuke rejoins Hebi — which he renames Taka — and declares his intention to destroy his former village in retribution. Due to his brother's death, Sasuke's Sharingan has evolved into a Mangekyo Sharingan (万華鏡写輪眼, Mangekyō Sharingan, lit. "Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye"), giving him powerful new techniques. After he agrees to work temporarily for Tobi's terrorist organization, Akatsuki, Sasuke becomes a criminal. He kills Danzo Shimura — a mastermind of the Uchiha massacre and the acting Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure, at the time. Sasuke is confronted by his former Team 7 colleagues, and Naruto challenges him to a death match. Sasuke initially prepares to fight Naruto but instead decides to protect Konohagakure after he encounters the re-animated bodies of Itachi and the First Hokage. He rejoins Team 7 and fights the Ten-Tails monster that is controlled by the masterminds behind Akatsuki. Sasuke inherits the Rinnegan — a legendary eye technique — from the spirit of the Sage of the Six Paths Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the Founder of Shinobi. Team 7 fights and seals an ancient being called Kaguya Otsutsuki — Hagoromo's mother — who created the Ten-Tails. Sasuke then fights Naruto alone to settle their village's future; when he loses his left arm, Sasuke surrenders and reconciles with Naruto. Sasuke then destroys Akatsuki's illusion placed on mankind with his Rinnegan. He is pardoned for his crimes by Kakashi — the current Hokage — and decides to travel the world in search of redemption. Before leaving, he says farewell to both Sakura and Naruto with gratitude. By the end of the manga, having briefly returned to the village, Sasuke is revealed to have married Sakura who is raising their daughter Sarada. ### In the Boruto franchise In the Naruto spin-off manga, Naruto: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, and the Boruto: Naruto Next Generations anime (2017), Sasuke has left Konohagakure sometime after Sarada's birth on a secret mission to investigate a possible threat relating to Kaguya, traveling across the world and Kaguya's dimensions for clues while aiding the other villages in secret. In the Boruto anime, Sasuke briefly returns to his village before the arc begins and asks Naruto to offer Sakura his apologies. He rejoins Naruto to oppose Orochimaru's former test subject Shin, who takes the Uchiha surname for his own while seeking to avenge Itachi and revive the Akatsuki to end the peace. After defeating Shin and his clone children, Sasuke bonds with his daughter for the first time and resumes his mission. A novel by Mirei Miyamoto focuses on Sasuke's work in his village where he replaces Konohamaru Sarutobi as the leader of Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki's team. Another novel which is being adapted into a manga is focused on a new adventure Sasuke and Sakura. The theme of Sasuke's novel is that of "a married couple's view on life and death". In Boruto: Naruto the Movie, also covered in both the Boruto manga and anime, Sasuke returns to Konohagakure to warn Naruto of the threat posed by Kaguya's kinsmen Momoshiki Otsutsuki and Kinshiki Otsutsuki, who seek the tailed beast chakra for their end. He meets Naruto's son, Boruto, and becomes the boy's mentor once having him learn to use his father's Rasengan (螺旋丸, lit. spiral sphere, English manga: "Spiral Chakra Sphere"). When the Otsutsuki members abduct Naruto during the Chunin Exam, Sasuke is accompanied by Boruto as he and the Kage — the leaders of the ninja villages — travel to Momoshiki's planet to save Naruto. Sasuke then aids Naruto and Boruto in defeating Momoshiki, who absorbs Kinshiki to increase his power. After Momoshiki's defeat, Sasuke notices the enemy has placed a seal on Boruto. The anime has Sasuke searching Urashiki Otsutsuki alongside Gaara. Sasuke learns the Otsutsuki clan are connected to Kara and faces them with Naruto, noting that he might die in combat due to their superior powers. When one of Kawaki's allies makes the villages think Boruto killed his parents and that Kawaki is the real son, Sasuke realizes from his daughter's comments that his memories were altered and escapes from the village with Boruto to protect him from the villagers. ### In other media Sasuke appears in the first four original video animations (OVAs) produced for the series. In the first episode, he helps Naruto and Konohamaru find a four-leaf clover; in the second, he joins Naruto's team for a mission; he participates in a tournament in the third; and he works with Team 7 in the fourth. One OVA presents an alternate fight between Sasuke and Naruto in Naruto: Shippuden. The character is present in the first two Naruto feature films; he guards a princess in Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (2004) and makes a brief appearance in a flashback in Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel (2005). The first Part II film in which he appears is Naruto Shippuden 2: Bonds (2008). The sixth Part II film, Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie (2012), contains a flirtatious, alternate-reality version of Sasuke. In The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014), an adult Sasuke returns briefly to Konohagakure to protect it from a meteor. He is a recurring character in the Naruto light novels and the protagonist of the manga Naruto Jinraiden: The Day the Wolf Howled (2012), which explores Sasuke's reflections after Itachi's death and his decision to destroy Konohagakure. In Sakura Hiden (2015), an adult Sasuke continues his journey of redemption but returns to Konohagakure out of concern for Sakura's safety. In Akatsuki Hiden (2015), Sasuke meets two children who tell him stories about Akatsuki, and they discuss Itachi's legacy. He is the protagonist of Sasuke Shinden (2015); he agrees to aid Konohagakure by investigating a series of disappearances, which he solves with the help of Taka and a Konohagakure ninja named Sai. Sasuke is also the protagonist of manga artist Kenji Taira's Naruto spin-off, Sasuke Uchiha's Sharingan Legend (2014), in which he and Taka search for Itachi. According to Taira, Sasuke would be characterized as an "idiot." A new novel focused on Sasuke's life as an adult alongside Sakura, Sasuke Retsuden: The Uchiha Descendants and the Heavenly Stardust (2019), was written by Jun Esaka. Sasuke is a playable character in Naruto video games, including the Clash of Ninja and Ultimate Ninja series. His Cursed Seal can be unlocked and activated in some games. Due to his absence from early Naruto: Shippuden episodes, Sasuke has not appeared in any games based on Naruto: Shippuden until the launch of Gekitō Ninja Taisen! EX 2 and Ultimate Ninja 5 (2007). Sasuke is also present in crossover games, such as Jump Super Stars (2005), Battle Stadium D.O.N (2006), Jump Ultimate Stars (2006), J-Stars Victory VS (2014), and Jump Force (2019). ## Cultural impact ### Characterization and themes Lowenthal said in 2010 that Sasuke was one of the first dark characters he voiced, adding, "He's sort of a hero, but he's not the naïve, young white–hat hero." Scholars have also analyzed the character. In El Anime como elemento de Transculturación, Sasuke's corruption from a friend of the main character to his antagonist is considered one of the major interests in the narrative as it causes Naruto a dilemma about whether or not he will have to kill him during his growth as a ninja, making it one of the best written storylines presented in the narrative. According to a study of readers' abilities to predict character types based on physical cues, Sasuke was classified as an INTJ (Myers-Briggs) character type, making him a foil for Naruto. Rik Spanjers regarded Sasuke's dissimilarity to Naruto as tragic but wrote that the contrast between the protagonists' approaches to the world was fundamental to the plot: "Naruto's strength grows as he gains more loved ones to protect, while Sasuke remains alone and is increasingly absorbed by his quest for revenge". According to academic Amy Plumb, Kishimoto's references to Japanese mythology in Naruto, including the heraldic symbol of Sasuke's clan — a fan known as an uchiwa — added layers to the story and Sasuke's ability to 'blow away' the Nine-Tailed Fox's influence on Naruto resembled the mythological use of the fan to dispel evil. Beatriz Peña viewed Sasuke's antagonism in the series as a result of the war theme often shown throughout the story, with the Uchihas having been slaughtered due to a possible civil war against Konohagakure, which expanded the connection between him and Naruto. Tejal Suhas Bagwe from Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment for the Degree of Masters of Arts in English describes the usage of god themed techniques within the Uchihas as major references to Japanese mythology especially when awakening the stronger Mangekyo Sharingan. Another reference is how Orochimaru becomes the mythical Yamata-no-Orochi during Sasuke's fight against Itachi who seals Orochimaru through his own Susanoo similar to the myth. The series' final antagonist, Kaguya Otsutsuki, is based on Kaguya Hime. Similar to the references of the Sharingans, Kaguya also references Japanese mythology, with both Sasuke and Naruto being the descendants of her children in a similar fashion to Amaterasu, the powerful Goddess of the Sun, and Susanoo, the God of thunder. The contrasting relations between these two characters is a common theme within the manga, as not only this is explored through Naruto and Sasuke but also through the two other connected ninjas, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha. ### Popularity Sasuke has ranked among the top-five Naruto characters in every Weekly Shōnen Jump popularity poll of the series. Initially alternating between third and fourth places, he has finished first twice. A popularity poll on the Japanese website Charapedia ranked Sasuke and Naruto's rivalry as the best in anime. Similarly, Sasuke was voted as the second best rival in manga and anime in a poll by Anime Anime. At New York's 2015 Comic-Con, moderator Christopher Butcher and editor Jo Otsuki commented that Sasuke had become the series' most popular character, and Otsuki called him his favorite. Butcher wondered whether readers considered Sasuke a more-relatable character after he had embraced Naruto's positive outlook on life in the series finale. According to Otsuki, fans regarded Sasuke's character and abilities as "cooler" than those of his rival. Jacob Hope of Anime News Network (ANN) listed Sasuke and Naruto as two of the "Fiercest Frenemies" in anime due to their resemblance despite being adversaries and their need to engage in a mortal fight to become friends. In a Tokyo Otaku Mode poll, Sasuke was deemed the sixth best character women would want to have a date with. IGN also listed him as one of the ten best rivals in anime in general, while a poll from Anime! Anime! listed Naruto and him as one of the best rivals turned into allies. In poll from 2021, Sasuke was voted as the fifth best character from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. Upon seeing the final fight between Sasuke in the game, CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama admitted he got emotional. Matsuyama also made his own sketch of Sasuke, aiming to put in the video game when he faces Naruto. Matsuyama further reflected the anime's 133rd episode to be one of his favorites not only for the action sequences between Naruto and Sasuke but also the emotional value displayed. ### Merchandise Sasuke merchandise includes key chains and figurines. Boruto film audiences were offered fans bearing images of Sasuke and his daughter, Sarada. To promote the video game Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4, two 1/6-scale statues depicting Sasuke and Naruto during their final clash from the series were developed by Luxembourgian company Tsume. Japanese toy company Bandai released an action figure of Sasuke performing the Chidori move. In May 2017, Bandai launched a figurine of Sasuke performing his Susanoo eye technique, which represents the god of thunder Raijin. Studio Pierrot released artwork that was sold alongside this figure. Bandai also produced a limited-edition adult figurine of Sasuke as he appears in the Naruto finale and the Boruto franchise, which impressed Scott Green, a writer for Ain't It Cool News and Crunchyroll. ### Critical response Sasuke's character has received both praise and criticism in online and printed publications. Reviewing the series' first part, writers said they enjoyed Sasuke's fights but disapproved of his dark personality, which resembled the stereotypical rival in shōnen manga. Critics commended the relationship between Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura; they regarded the characters as complex and mature because of their teamwork and despite their youth. Reviewers considered that the characters' tactics and the emphasis on their rivalry's emotional undercurrents made Sasuke and Naruto's final fight from the story's first part one of the most entertaining in the series, and they praised the one-sided romantic relationship between Sasuke and Sakura. Although critics enjoyed Yuri Lowenthal's voicing of Sasuke, Theron Martin of ANN said the actor had difficulty sounding younger in flashbacks. Reviewers were more enthusiastic about Sasuke's character in the second part of the series. Critics stated that his more-emotional demeanor and his conversation with the Nine-Tailed Fox — a creature sealed within Naruto's body — made his scenes in Naruto: Shippuden interesting. Jason Thompson wrote that Sasuke had not become evil despite siding with the antagonist Orochimaru, lending ambiguity to his character. Writers believed Sasuke's fights during the story's first part's climax against Naruto second part had a major impact on the plot and the character, and they regarded his battles as some of the franchise's best. The series finale garnered praise from critics for the intensified rivalry between Naruto and Sasuke because of the characters' similarities. Reviewers also applauded Sasuke's acknowledgement of his crimes, his agreement to go to prison, and his decision to begin a journey of redemption, indicating an acceptance of responsibility for his misdeeds and a response to Sakura's feelings. Writers thought the character's monologue after his final fight with Naruto highlighted his deeper side and that his farewell was a satisfying ending to the final story arc. Sasuke has continued to receive praise following the end of the Naruto series. Writers considered his fight scenes in Boruto: Naruto the Movie and in particular his teamwork with Naruto to be the best parts of the film, with its television series also received critical acclaimed to the point of finding as appealing as the final fight from Shippuden between Sasuke and Naruto. A similar assessment was made of Sasuke's characterization as an adult; Chris Beveridge of The Fandom Post approved of his new personality. Critics also commented that Sasuke had become more caring toward his daughter, and they said the Boruto anime had developed Sasuke as a father and a husband and had solidified his relationship with his wife, Sakura, despite his flawed interaction with his family due to his mission to stop Kaguya's followers in order to atone for his past actions and protect his hometown in the process. The storyline Sasuke Retsuden where Sasuke questions his marriage due to his constant wanderings resulted positive reactions from the media as he gives Sakura an engagement ring and the couple start acting commonly. Sasuke's interaction with Boruto also earned praise by Anime News Network for how supportive he is on his student when Boruto is depressed about his father's disappearance and he encourages to join his rescue team to find him. The character's possible mortal fate in the fight against Kara was found by IGN to be a common commentary within readers who feared Sasuke dying in the narrative based on build up where he tells Boruto he and Naruto are ready to die protecting the village. ## See also

Murder of Irene Garza

American school teacher and murder victim

Irene Garza (November 15, 1934 – April 1960) was an American schoolteacher and beauty queen whose death was the subject of investigation for several decades. She was last seen alive on April 16, 1960, when she went to confession at a church in McAllen, Texas. She was reported missing the following morning. Following the largest volunteer search to that date in the Rio Grande Valley, Garza's body was discovered in a canal on April 21. An autopsy concluded that she had been sexually assaulted before being killed; the cause of death was suffocation. Father John Bernard Feit, the Catholic priest who heard Garza's last confession, was the only identified suspect in her death. Two clergymen, Fr. Dale Tacheny and Fr. Joseph O'Brien, came forward to authorities in 2002 to say that Feit had confessed to Garza's murder shortly after the crime. He had left the priesthood in the 1970s, married and had a family. For many years, the district attorney in Hidalgo County considered the evidence against Feit to be too weak to secure a conviction. He brought the case before a grand jury in 2004, but Feit, Tacheny and O'Brien were not subpoenaed and the jury did not indict Feit. The investigation into Garza's death was renewed in 2015 after a new district attorney took office in Hidalgo County. In February 2016, the 83-year-old Feit was arrested in Arizona in connection with Garza's death. He was later extradited to Texas. His murder trial began in late November 2017. On December 7, 2017, Feit was found guilty of murder and the next day he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Feit died in February 2020. ## Background Irene Garza was born in 1934. Her parents, Nicolas and Josefina, owned a dry cleaning business in McAllen, Texas, a city located in the South Texas border region known as the Rio Grande Valley. By the time Garza was a teenager, her parents' business had become successful, and the family was able to move from the south side of McAllen to a more affluent area on the north side. She graduated from McAllen High School, where she had become the first Latina to perform as a twirler or head drum majorette. Garza was crowned the 1958 Miss All South Texas Sweetheart and was a homecoming queen at Pan American College. At the time of her death, Garza was a second-grade schoolteacher; she taught indigent students at an elementary school on the south side of McAllen. In a letter written to a friend before her disappearance, she described herself as extremely shy but expressed fulfillment in her work. Noting that she had recently become secretary of her parent-teacher association, Garza said that she was beginning to feel more confident in herself. A member of the Legion of Mary, she took her Catholic faith seriously. In her letter, Garza indicated that she found comfort in attending daily Mass and Communion. On Saturday, April 16, 1960, Garza–who lived with her parents–told them that she was going to confession at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen. She was often conspicuous in the congregation because of her striking appearance, and several parishioners remembered seeing Garza at the church that night. When her parents did not hear from her that evening, they first thought that she had stayed at the church for the Easter Vigil mass. When Garza did not return home by 3:00 a.m., they went to the McAllen Police Department to report their daughter missing. ## Investigation On April 18, in a trail of evidence stretching several hundred yards down a McAllen road, passersby found Garza's purse, her left shoe and her lace veil. Authorities and volunteers started a search that was the largest in Rio Grande Valley history at that time. A woman claiming to be Garza called her home, saying that she had been kidnapped and taken to a hotel in nearby Hidalgo, but the call was found to have been false. Another person told an Edinburg waitress that he had killed Garza, but that was found to be a joke made after the man had been drinking heavily. Garza's body was found in a canal on April 21, in an area several miles away from the other evidence. From the postmortem examination, medical examiners could tell that Garza had died of suffocation. She had been raped while unconscious and beaten. There was bruising over both of her eyes and to the right side of her face. Any physical evidence that might have identified an attacker, such as hair, blood or semen, appeared to have been washed away during the time the body spent in the canal. Law enforcement officials questioned about 500 people across several Texas cities, including known sex offenders and Garza's family members, co-workers and ex-boyfriends. They carried out almost fifty polygraph examinations, and offered a \$2,500 reward for information about her death, which was larger than any amount of money previously offered in a Rio Grande Valley murder case. South Texas businessmen later posted \$10,000 of reward money. ### John Bernard Feit The priest who heard Garza's last confession, Father John Feit (27), came under suspicion soon after her disappearance. Feit had been at the McAllen church since completing seminary training in San Antonio. Church members reported that Feit's confession line moved slowly on the night of Garza's disappearance and that he was away from the sanctuary several times. When the canal was drained several days after the discovery of Garza's body, Feit's photo slide viewer was found. Fellow priests had noticed scratch marks on Feit's hands after Easter Vigil mass, and said it was irregular for Feit to have taken Garza to the church rectory to hear her confession as he had reportedly done that night. McAllen police initially stated that Feit passed polygraph tests, but the tests were later said to be inconclusive. Feit initially denied hearing Garza's confession in the rectory, but later admitted to having done so. He accounted for his absence from the sanctuary by claiming that he had broken his glasses that night; he said that he often played with his glasses nervously as he listened to confession. Feit stated that he had driven back to his church’s pastoral house, a short drive away, to get another pair of glasses, and when he arrived he had no key, so he had to climb into the house on the second floor. He said that he sustained the scratches on his hands as he was climbing the outside of the brick structure. Three weeks before Garza's death, a woman named Maria America Guerra had been sexually assaulted while kneeling at the communion rail at another Catholic church in the McAllen area. Rumor held that Feit was responsible, but local church leaders discouraged people from considering the possibility that a priest could have been involved in a violent crime. Feit admitted to visiting a priest at that church on the day of Guerra's attack, but he denied assaulting her. He was later charged with rape, and the trial ended in a hung jury. In 1962, rather than face a second trial, Feit entered a plea of no contest to a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault and paid a \$500 fine. Years later, Feit said he did not understand that a no contest plea would be considered a conviction in the case. ## Stagnation in the case After the legal proceedings in the Guerra case, Feit was sent to Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery in Missouri. An abbot at Assumption Abbey told monk Dale Tacheny that Feit had killed someone and asked Tacheny to counsel Feit for a few months to determine whether he had the disposition to become a monk. Tacheny said that Feit confessed to hurting a young lady and murdering another one, but he said it was not his job to judge Feit at the time. Feit's confession went unreported to authorities for many years. Feit did not feel comfortable with the monastic lifestyle at Assumption Abbey. He was sent to Jemez Springs, New Mexico, to a treatment retreat for troubled priests run by the Servants of the Paraclete, after which he joined the order as a staff member and worked his way into a supervisory role at the center. Father James Porter came to the center after he was known to have begun molesting children in the 1960s, and Feit cleared him for placement in another parish. Porter was later defrocked and imprisoned after abusing as many as 100 children. Feit left the priesthood in the 1970s. He married, moved to the Phoenix area and had three children. He worked at the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul as a food charity volunteer for seventeen years. In 2002, Tacheny decided he could no longer keep the secret of Feit's confession. Thinking that the murder had taken place in San Antonio because Feit had trained there, Tacheny called authorities in that city. The investigation into Garza's death was reopened that year. Texas Rangers investigator Rudy Jaramillo contacted Father Joseph O'Brien, a priest who had worked with Feit at the time of Garza's death. While O'Brien had told a television program in 2000 that he did not know anything about the murder, he admitted to Jaramillo that Feit had confessed shortly after it had taken place. Later in 2002, the polygraph examiner who had tested Feit in 1960 said that he questioned the reported results. The initial report said that Feit passed the polygraph, but the report was later edited to say that the results were inconclusive; the examiner felt all along that Feit had failed the test. Rene Guerra (no relation to Maria America Guerra), the district attorney of Hidalgo County from the 1980s until 2014, chose not to bring the Garza case before a grand jury until 2004. Tacheny, O'Brien and Feit did not receive subpoenas in the case, and the grand jury declined to indict Feit. O'Brien died in 2005. Guerra was reluctant to revisit the case, saying that the early police investigation had been shoddy, that O'Brien was suffering from dementia when he was questioned and that there was no physical evidence. He said that Jaramillo had inappropriately fed Tacheny the location of the murder after the monk mistakenly said it occurred in San Antonio. Guerra angered Garza's family by asking, "Why would anyone be haunted by her death? She died. Her killer got away." ## Renewed interest In 2014, district court judge Ricardo Rodriguez campaigned to unseat Guerra as district attorney, and the Garza case arose as a campaign issue. Rodriguez said that he wanted justice for the Garza family, and promised to take a new look at the case if he were elected. In the days Rodriguez' election as district attorney, Guerra sought to appoint him as a special prosecutor in the Garza case. Rodriguez declined, saying that he preferred to take a new look at the evidence once he took office in January 2015. In April, he announced that the Garza case was reopened. In February 2016, Feit was arrested in Scottsdale, Arizona. He was 83 at the time of his arrest, and he used a walker when he appeared in court. Feit was extradited to Texas in March 2016 and incarcerated at the Hidalgo County Sheriff Adult Detention Facility. He entered a plea of not guilty. The prosecution requested a \$750,000 bond, while the defense team asked for a \$100,000 bond, adding that Feit had stage 3 kidney and bladder cancer. Judge Luis Singleterry set a \$1 million bond. Status hearings in the case were held in June and November 2016, and the discovery process was ongoing as of November. In February 2017, a judge set a late April trial date, and Feit remained under medical supervision at the Hidalgo County jail. In April 2017, Feit's defense filed for a change of venue because they believed that their client would not receive a fair and impartial trial in Hidalgo County. They filed a 700-page document with evidence showing that reporters allegedly condemned Feit as a murderer, and that the only reason why he avoided prosecution for years was because the Roman Catholic Church had protected him. Sometime in March, Tacheny testified against Feit in closed deposition. This was permitted under Texas law given the witness' age and exclusive knowledge of the case. On May 24, Judge Singleterry heard arguments from the prosecution and the defense on the request for the change of venue. On June 7, he denied a request for a change of venue after considering that the defendant failed to prove that there was prejudice against him in the Hidalgo community. On July 19, Feit appeared in court for a prehearing. The trial was expected to begin on September 11. However, on September 10, the court decided to push the trial back because of scheduling conflicts; one of Feit's attorneys was defending another high-profile murder suspect in Hidalgo County. Feit appeared in court on September 11 – for the first time without a prison uniform – expecting to face trial that week. The initial phase of jury selection was done in mid-September; the trial was delayed until mid-October. On October 30, Feit's defense filed a motion for continuance; jury selection was reset to November 14 and the November 6 trial date was moved back to November 28. On December 7, Feit was convicted of Garza's murder. In the punishment phase of the trial, Feit's defense attorney asked that Feit be given probation, citing his lack of felony convictions since Garza's death. The prosecution asked for a sentence of 57 years, which was symbolic of the amount of time that had passed since Garza's death, but on December 8, 2017, the jury pronounced a sentence of life in prison. Feit was incarcerated at the W.J. Estelle Unit, ten miles (16 km) north of central Huntsville, Texas. He died of natural causes on February 12, 2020. ## See also - List of solved missing person cases

Washington State Route 530

Highway in Washington

State Route 530 (SR 530) is a state highway in western Washington, United States. It serves Snohomish and Skagit counties, traveling 50.52 miles (81.30 km) from an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5) southwest of Arlington past SR 9 in Arlington and Darrington to end at SR 20 in Rockport. Serving the communities of Arlington, Arlington Heights, Oso, Darrington and Rockport, the roadway travels parallel to a fork of the Stillaguamish River from Arlington to Darrington, the Sauk River from Darrington to Rockport and the Whitehorse Trail from Arlington to Darrington. The first segment of SR 530 to appear on a map was a road extending from Arlington to Oso in 1899. The first segment to be state-maintained was Secondary State Highway 1E (SSH 1E), which ran from Conway to Arlington. SSH 1E was extended to Darrington in 1957 and later renumbered to SR 530 in 1964; the road was extended to Rockport in 1983 and later the route from Conway to I-5 was removed from the system in 1991. A section of the highway was destroyed in the 2014 Oso landslide and was rebuilt; a longer portion of SR 530 was designated the Oso Slide Memorial Highway in 2019. ## Route description SR 530 begins at a diamond interchange with I-5 at Island Crossing in Arlington, near the freeway's bridge over the Stillaguamish River. The road continues west from the interchange as the Pioneer Highway towards Stanwood and travels east as SR 530 through the Island Crossing commercial area. The highway leaves Arlington city limits after intersecting Smokey Point Boulevard and crosses a predominantly rural area along the banks of Stillaguamish River. SR 530 turns north and east on the approach to downtown Arlington, crossing over March Creek and intersecting SR 9 at the west end of Division Street. The two state highways travel north concurrently for one block to Burke Avenue, which SR 530 uses to travel east through downtown Arlington and cross over the Centennial Trail. After leaving downtown Arlington, the highway crosses over the South Fork Stillaguamish River and travels along the river bank near Twin Rivers Park. SR 530 continues northeast and follows the North Fork Stillaguamish River into the rural Arlington Heights area, ascending into the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. The highway passes through Trafton, where it intersects a road that leads to the U.S. Navy's Jim Creek Naval Radio Station, and continues northeast around Ebey Hill. It is joined by the Whitehorse Trail, an unpaved hiking and equestrian trail that is being developed by the county government along a former railroad grade. SR 530 then crosses the North Fork Stillaguamish River on a steel tied-arch bridge and turns east, following an arm of Frailey Mountain that runs parallel to the Skagit–Snohomish county border. SR 530 travels east past a rock quarry and several farms on the outskirts of Oso, which consists of several homes on the east side of Deer Creek and north of the Rhodes River Ranch. The highway crosses over the river again and travels along the south bank through the narrowed valley. It passes a memorial at the site of the 2014 Oso mudslide, which destroyed a small residential subdivision. The highway continues due east through Hazel and White Horse before it passes the venue of the Darrington Rodeo and Bluegrass festival. SR 530 then veers southeast and enters the town of Darrington, passing the municipal airport and traveling through downtown on Seeman Street. The highway turns north onto Emmens Street at a junction with the Mountain Loop Highway, which continues south to Granite Falls, and continues through a lumberyard before leaving Darrington. SR 530 then travels northeast along the west side of the Sauk River and enters Skagit County after skirting the boundary of the Mount Baker National Forest. The highway travels through the Sauk-Suiattle Indian Reservation, home to a small casino and smoke shop, before turning east to cross over the river on a steel truss bridge. SR 530 continues north along the river through the forested Sauk Valley and crosses over the Skagit River into Rockport. The highway turns northeast and terminates at an intersection with SR 20, which continues west to Burlington and east into North Cascades National Park. SR 530 is maintained by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The section between I-5 at Island Crossing and SR 9 in downtown Arlington is designated as a Highway of Statewide Significance by the state legislature and as a minor route of the National Highway System by the federal government. WSDOT conducts an annual survey of average traffic volume on the state highway system that is measured in terms of average annual daily traffic. Daily traffic volumes on SR 530 in 2016 range from a minimum of 1,100 vehicles near its eastern terminus in Rockport to a maximum of 19,000 vehicles near I-5 at Island Crossing. ## History The Stillaguamish and Sauk rivers were traditionally used by the Sauk-Suiattle peoples, who traversed them in boats and also used parallel overland trails. A rough wagon road was plowed along the river bank by 1889, connecting Arlington to new settlements in the Stillaguamish valley. The wagon road also continued north along the Sauk River to Rockport. The wagon road was improved in 1901 alongside the construction of a new Arlington–Darrington railroad by the Northern Pacific Railway to support logging in the area. The road originally terminated in Oso, but was extended as a one-lane highway that was constructed from 1910 to 1912. The current route of SR 530 first appeared on a map around 1899, when a road following the North Fork of the Stillaguamish River ended east of Oso. A map published in 1911 showed a road traveling from Conway southeast past Stanwood and Arlington towards Oso and Darrington. The first state-maintained highway that used a section of the current roadway was Secondary State Highway 1E (SSH 1E), which was established in 1937 during the creation of the Primary and secondary highways; SSH 1E ran from an intersection with Primary State Highway 1 (PSH 1) in Conway south to what would become SSH 1Y in 1945 in Stanwood (then called East Stanwood) and east past PSH 1 again to SSH 1A in Arlington. SSH 1E was later extended in 1957 past SSH 1A in Arlington to the Mountain Loop Highway in Darrington, which had been finished by late 1941. The original county road between Arlington and Darrington, paved in 1916, generally ran on the north side of the river, but the new highway was shifted to the south bank. During the 1964 highway renumbering, SSH 1E became SR 530, SSH 1A became SR 9 and SSH 1Y became SR 532; from 1964 until 1983, SR 530 was 49.07 miles (78.97 km) long. The highway's interchange with Interstate 5 west of Arlington was opened to traffic on September 28, 1965. On December 26, 1980, SR 530 was closed between Stanwood and Silvana due to a flood that caused the Stillaguamish River to overflow from its banks, which the highway parallels. The roadway was extended 18.64 miles (30.00 km) north from Darrington to SR 20 in Rockport, making the highway a total of 68.34 miles (109.98 km) and both termini being in Skagit County. SR 530 was later shortened 16.98 miles (27.33 km), moving the western terminus to an interchange with I-5 southwest of Arlington. Since being shortened, five minor construction projects, arranged by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), have occurred. The confluence of the Sauk and Suiattle rivers have eroded the riverbank that supports the road north of Darrington. Wilder Construction Inc. of Bellingham was hired by WSDOT to stabilize the riverbank to prevent the highway collapsing into the river. The project was completed in December 2007 and took place between Darrington and Rockport. A temporary rock wall was also constructed to protect SR 530 and will be removed once WSDOT realigns the highway north of Darrington, which is expected to be completed after 2011. On March 22, 2014, a three-mile section of SR 530 in northern Snohomish County, roughly midway between Darrington and Arlington, was completely blocked by the Oso landslide. The highway was cleared enough by May 31 to open one lane of escorted traffic and by June 20 to two-lane traffic. Temporary access had been restored within a month of the mudslide using a utilities road guided by pilot cars. A longer detour via State Route 20 was supplemented by the early reopening of the Mountain Loop Highway to provide limited access to Darrington. Because the highway was badly damaged, and because the topography of the area had been altered by the landslide, WSDOT decided to elevate that section of the highway when it was rebuilt. The new roadway was opened September 22, 2014. A minor landslide in April 2017 forced the highway to close for five days while a hill was monitored for potential movement. In 2018, the community proposed naming a section of SR 530 the "Oso Memorial Highway" to commemorate the disaster. The "Oso Slide Memorial Highway" designation from Arlington to Oso was approved by the state transportation commission in February 2019. The Arlington city government plans to construct a roundabout on SR 530 at Smokey Point Boulevard in the Island Crossing area due to increased traffic volumes. A temporary traffic signal was installed at the intersection in 2020. ### Former route (1964–1991) From 1964 until 1991, SR 530 began at an interchange with I-5 in Conway and traveled southeast to I-5 again at the current western terminus and then followed the current route. The former routing, now called the Pioneer Highway, followed the Seattle–Vancouver, BC route of the Great Northern Railway served by the International from Conway to Silvana. The former route began at a diamond interchange with I-5 in Conway, which was also the western terminus of SR 534. From the interchange, the roadway traveled west to Fir Island Road, which travels west across the South Fork of the Skagit River to Fir Island. The road then turned south to parallel railroad tracks owned by the Great Northern Railway and also parallel the South Fork of the Skagit River. At Milltown, SR 530 intersected Milltown Road, which would later interchange with I-5 to the east. South of Milltown and west of Lake Ketchum, the route crossed into Snohomish County. After crossing into Snohomish County and passing Lake Ketchum, SR 530 traveled south to a junction with the Old Pacific Highway and turned southeast into North Stanwood. The highway exited North Stanwood to enter Stanwood, where it intersected SR 532. The roadway curved southeast and passed Sunday Lake, some residential areas and Norman before entering Silvana. After Silvana, the road continued southeast and later eastward to interchange with I-5. ## Major intersections

Henry Smith (Royal Navy officer)

British admiral

Admiral Sir Henry Smith KCB (1803 – 18 January 1887) was a British officer in the Royal Navy. He commanded the Aden Expedition in 1839 which took Aden as the first colonial acquisition of the reign of Queen Victoria. For this service he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. Smith was then sent to serve on the China Station, where he fired the first shot of the First Opium War at the Battle of Kowloon. He played an important role at the controversial Battle of Chuenpi later in the year, and as senior naval officer on the south coast of China fought the Battle of the Barrier. He later participated in the Battles of Second Chuenpi, the Bogue, and Canton, before forming part of the Amoy garrison after the Battle of Amoy. Having left China in 1843, he went on to command ships in the Mediterranean and then in the Baltic Sea during the Crimean War. Smith never served at sea again after obtaining flag rank in 1855 but became superintendent of the Royal Hospital Haslar and the Royal Clarence Yard. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1873, retiring in the same year. ## Naval career ### Early career Henry Smith was born around 1803; he joined the Royal Navy in 1814. He was promoted to lieutenant on 19 July 1821 and was appointed on 25 April 1823 to serve as such on the ship of the line HMS Genoa on the Lisbon Station. Smith left Genoa midway through 1825 and some time soon afterwards joined the brig-sloop HMS Pelican in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Pelican served on anti-piracy duties, taking the schooner Aphrodite on 3 January 1827; on 2 March another Turkish ship was investigated by Pelican and through her obstinacy in refusing to be searched by Pelican was deemed to also be a pirate. Smith was one of a number of men sent across to the ship to destroy it, killing two crew members and wounding four others; Smith distinguished himself in the fight and at the same time was badly injured. Smith was appointed first lieutenant of the brig-sloop HMS Fairy on 7 May. In Fairy Smith sailed for the West Indies where on 3 February 1828 he was promoted to commander and given command of the brig-sloop HMS Ferret. On 14 April Smith transferred to command another brig-sloop, HMS Arachne. He was then made acting-captain of the receiving ship HMS Magnificent at Jamaica on 8 September 1829 and officially promoted to post captain in 1831 with seniority from the beginning of his tenure as acting-captain. While commanding Magnificent Smith was the senior officer at Port Royal and received the thanks of the mercantile community there for his assistance with Jamaica's commercial interests. ### Aden On 27 November 1837 Smith was sent to the East Indies Station in command of the frigate HMS Volage. In January 1838 the Sultanate of Lahej agreed to transfer a number of its possessions, including the town of Aden to Britain but later decided against this and opened fire on the sloop-of-war HCS Coote. Smith was given command of an expedition, comprising Volage, the brig HMS Cruizer, Coote, the schooner HCS Mahé, and three transports, to secure Aden. Smith and his small expedition arrived at Aden on 16 January 1839 and in the morning of 18 January Volage, Cruizer, and Mahé sailed to the front of the town from where they were fired upon. At 9.30 a.m. the rest of the expedition arrived and the warships sailed in close to Aden's batteries to bombard them. By 11 a.m. the gunnery of the ships had demolished Aden's lower batteries and destroyed a large tower, while landing parties ordered by Smith had cleared out the remaining enemy musket men in the rubble. At this point Smith ordered the main two landings of troops to take place, which were completed successfully with two naval casualties and sixteen from the army, with the defending garrison of 1,000 men suffering around fifty casualties. This was the first colonial acquisition of the reign of Queen Victoria. Aden was later purchased by the East India Company and used as a coalling station. For his capture of Aden Smith was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 13 August and received the thanks of the George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, the Governor General of India. ### China #### Opening shots of the Opium War Volage and Smith subsequently sailed for China, arriving at Macao on 30 August and then immediately sailing for Hong Kong. On 4 September the Chinese at Kowloon refused to continue supplying provisions to the British contingent there. Negotiations broke down and the British were worried that their water supplies would be poisoned and so at 2 p.m. Smith, present in Volage's pinnace alongside several other small boats, fired at the nearest ship of the Chinese squadron of war junks. This was the opening shot of the First Opium War. While the Chinese ships were severely outdated, eventually the British began to run out of ammunition and they retreated. Smith's commanding officer, the Chief Superintendent of British Trade Captain Charles Elliot, called off any further attacks. Smith had to be persuaded not to return with Volage to destroy the junks and the battery protecting them. A frigate action was deemed less politically acceptable than a small-scale boat action. Despite the failure of Smith's action, several days later the Chinese opened trade with Hong Kong again, having received considerable damage to their warships in the attack. Relations with the Chinese continued to sour and on 11 September Smith was ordered by Elliot to blockade Canton in order to stop British trade with the Chinese while they refused to accept ships with opium on board. The Chinese then began to offer British merchantmen a bond to sign promising that they were not carrying opium, and on 14 October the first British ship bypassed the blockade to accept this. A fleet of twenty-nine junks was then sent out to the British shipping waiting at Chuenpi to enter Canton. The ships there also included refugees that had escaped Macao after the crackdown on opium sellers. On 2 November Elliot arrived there with Volage and the sloop-of-war HMS Hyacinth to negotiate the matter. This quickly led to an impasse. Volage and Hyacinth subsequently opened fire on the Chinese fleet, beginning the Battle of Chuenpi. The British claimed that this was because the Chinese were threatening the merchant fleet, and allowing them to stay there overnight could allow the ships to be attacked. The Chinese, on the other hand, wrote that the British forced another merchant ship to stop attempting to break the blockade, and fired into the Chinese when they responded to this. Volage and Hyacinth ran along the line of the junks, destroying three of them before a ceasefire was brokered and the Chinese retired. Smith did not agree with Elliot's move to stop the engagement, and was furious. On 30 June 1840 Smith was given command of another frigate, HMS Druid, in which he continued to blockade the Chinese, taking eight merchant ships as prize by 10 July as senior naval officer on the south of the Chinese coast. On 6 August the missionary Vincent John Stanton was captured by the Chinese while swimming in Casilha Bay near Macao and Smith took a small squadron of ships to avenge this. Smith's force consisted of Druid, the sloops-of-war HMS Larne and Hyacinth, and two smaller vessels. On 19 August Smith with 120 Royal Marines, 80 seamen, and 180 local volunteers, successfully fought the Battle of the Barrier in which he attacked the Chinese works and barracks at Portas do Cerco, including destroying seventeen guns and two junks; casualties were light, with four of the British wounded. By 7 p.m. the entire force had reembarked on the ships and left the area ablaze, with so many cannonballs having been fired by the ships that they picked up their used shot to recycle it before leaving. It was said of Smith's actions at the battle that 'seldom has a more signal service been rendered in so short a space of time'. Druid continued after this to protect British trade and hunt down pirates, at one point having several men of a boarding party killed when the junk they were investigating blew up. #### Attacks on Canton On 8 January 1841 Smith commanded Druid in a force under Commodore Gordon Bremer at the Second Battle of Chuenpi. Simultaneous attacks were put in on the forts at Tycocktow and Chuenpi, which were on opposite peninsulas to each other, guarding the entrance to Canton. Druid was part of the squadron sent to attack Tycocktow. The ships anchored in succession around 200 yards out and silenced the fort's guns within a few minutes. The firing created a breach in the fort which was attacked by boats manned by the crews of the ships and quickly taken. Twenty-five cannons were destroyed and the casualties of the Chinese were suggested to be 'very severe'. Smith was praised by Bremer for his conduct during the attack. Second Chuenpi secured an opening into Canton. In February a larger attack was put forth to attack it; Smith and Druid assisted in the preparations for the Battle of the Bogue by convoying the force's transports from Hong Kong. Druid arrived off Canton to join with Bremer's main force on 24 February, after the initial stages of the battle had already taken place to the west of Canton. At 11 a.m. on 25 February Smith took Druid in with a portion of Bremer's force to attack the Chinese batteries on the south, south-west, and north-west of the island of Wangtong, while also firing on the forts still active on the west bank of the river. The fire of the ships destroyed the batteries on Wangtong within the hour, allowing landing parties to attack and secure the location. Only the marines of Druid played a further part in the battle with Smith otherwise not employed; his service up to this point was again praised in the dispatches of his commanders. In Druid Smith subsequently fought at the Battle of Canton on 18 March and Battle of Amoy on 26 August, in which encounters his conduct was again frequently praised by his commanders. At the latter battle Smith commanded the port division of the fleet, engaging the Chinese batteries at the entrance to Amoy, in order that the rest of the attack could go ahead securely. Smith stayed at Amoy after the battle to garrison it in September. There he repulsed threats of invasion from a nearby Chinese provincial governor, which included deliberating over the apparent capture of a native bride by British forces midway through her marriage and stopping attacks on the population of Amoy by other Chinese forces. He continued on the China Station in Druid until 1843 and was presented with gifts from the British merchant community in China for his 'valuable services as senior officer during a period of unexampled danger and difficulty'. Smith married Anna, the eldest daughter of Sylvester Costigin of Dublin, on 18 September 1844 in Berne, Switzerland, at the British Embassy. ### Later service On 1 March 1848 Smith was given command of the ship of the line HMS Ganges at Sheerness in which he served in the Mediterranean for four years. While some time was spent at Portsmouth and Gibraltar, much of Smith's service in the Mediterranean was spent sailing from Malta and cruising the nearby coasts. Smith briefly commanded the ship of the line HMS Neptune as guard ship at Portsmouth from 17 February 1854 to 7 March, on which latter day he was given command of the ship of the line HMS Prince Regent. Soon after, Prince Regent and Smith sailed for the Baltic to form part of the Royal Navy force fighting in the Crimean War. By 13 June Prince Regent was a part of the combined Franco-British fleet under Admiral Charles Napier fighting the Åland War but did not play a particularly active role in the campaign. Smith's part in the war was only brief, as Prince Regent was paid off at Portsmouth on 16 December. Smith did not serve at sea again, and was promoted to rear-admiral on 3 July 1855, later becoming superintendent of the Royal Hospital Haslar and the Royal Clarence Yard. He was advanced to vice-admiral on 12 April 1862. On 30 November 1865 he was given one of the two flag officer's good service pensions, worth £150 a year. Smith was promoted to admiral on 12 September 1865, and subsequently retired from the navy in 1873. On 24 May he was nominated a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. Smith died on 18 January 1887 at his home in Florence at the age of 84. ## Notes and citations

Washington State Route 9

Highway in Washington

State Route 9 (SR 9) is a 98.17-mile (157.99 km) long state highway traversing three counties, Snohomish, Skagit, and Whatcom, in the U.S. state of Washington. The highway extends north from an interchange with SR 522 in the vicinity of Woodinville north through Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Arlington, Sedro-Woolley, and Nooksack to become British Columbia Highway 11 (BC 11) at the Canada–US border in Sumas. Three other roadways are briefly concurrent with the route: SR 530 in Arlington, SR 20 in Sedro-Woolley, and SR 542 near Deming. A spur route in Sumas serves trucks traveling into British Columbia. Before SR 9 was created, several other roads used the route of the current highway. The first was a roadway extending from the current southern terminus to Snohomish established by 1895 and another road between Arlington and Sedro-Woolley by 1911. The current SR 542 concurrency was first established in 1925, when a branch of State Road 1 from Bellingham to Mount Baker was added to the state highway system. These roads were combined and several other roads were added to create Secondary State Highway 1A (SSH 1A), which originally ran from Woodinville to Blaine in 1937. A branch of SSH 1A connected the mainline to the Canada–US border in Sumas, but was later included into SSH 1A when the Blaine to Sumas segment was deleted in 1953. A highway renumbering in 1964 introduced the sign routes that would be co-signed with the existing system until 1970, one of which would replace SSH 1A, SR 9. SSH 1A / SR 9 extended south to Woodinville until 1965, when it was shortened to SR 202, later SR 522, which wasn't complete yet. SR 9 was not complete between Lake Stevens and Arlington until after 1966. Between 2004 and 2009, nine complete construction projects, arranged by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), have improved the roadway. The projects ranged from expanding the current weigh station at the Soper Hill Road intersection in 2005 to realigning the highway between Nooksack and Sumas in 2006 to eliminate 90-degree turns. WSDOT is also widening SR 9 in Snohomish County from 2 lanes to a four-lane divided highway. Between 2009 and 2013, WSDOT plans to complete six other projects in Snohomish County to improve the corridor from SR 522 to Bryant. Some projects include widenings, adding a roundabout at SR 531, realignments south of Snohomish and the addition of web cameras. ## Route description SR 9 begins less than one mile (1.6 km) north of the King–Snohomish county line near Woodinville at a partial cloverleaf interchange with SR 522. The roadway continues south as Woodinville–Snohomish Road, while SR 522 connects the area to Seattle, Bothell, and Monroe. SR 9 travels north along the west side of the Brightwater sewage treatment plant and a community park in Maltby. The four-lane highway continues north and intersects SR 524 at Turners Corner before turning northeast towards Clearview and Cathcart. SR 9 travels along the eastern ridge that overlooks the Snohomish River valley and has several sections with median barriers to form a divided highway. Shortly after passing Cathcart, SR 96 terminates at the road. SR 9 passes Harvey Airfield and crosses another BNSF rail line and the Snohomish River to enter Snohomish. North of the Snohomish River Bridge, the highway encounters a diamond interchange with 2nd Street and Riverview Road and turns northeast to intersect Bickford Avenue, which once was U.S. Route 2 (US 2). Curving north out of Snohomish, the route interchanges with US 2 in a modified diamond interchange, with a westbound US 2 offramp routed onto New Bunk Foss Road. In suburban West Lake Stevens near the Lake Stevens shoreline, SR 204 ends at the highway. After the intersection, the roadway had an estimated daily average of 25,000 motorists in 2007, making this stretch of road the busiest on the whole highway. SR 9 also forms the western boundary of Lake Stevens and the eastern boundary of Marysville while passing a weigh station and the SR 92 junction. After Lake Cassidy, the road intersects SR 528 and continues into North Marysville, where the roadway passes over the Snohomish County Centennial Trail. After intersecting SR 531 at a roundabout, and several residential subdivisions near the Arlington High School, the highway enters downtown Arlington as Hazel Street. After a brief concurrency with SR 530, SR 9 crosses the Stillaguamish River and passes Bryant to enter a heavily forested area and leave Snohomish County. Entering Skagit County, the highway continues northwest through a large forest to Lake McMurray, where it intersects SR 534 and encounters the Lake McMurray Store, established in 1889. The road passes through Big Lake and its community of the same name before intersecting SR 538 at a roundabout east of Mount Vernon. Turning northeast to Clear Lake, the route crosses the Skagit River into Sedro-Woolley. In Sedro-Woolley, the street becomes concurrent with SR 20 and is named Moore Street. At the end of the concurrency, the road turns north as Township Street, paralleling another BNSF rail line, at Cascade Middle School. Continuing north out of the city and into rural areas, SR 9 crosses the Samish River and exits Skagit County. The highway enters Whatcom County in a valley located east of Lake Whatcom. Passing Acme and crossing the Nooksack River, the roadway becomes concurrent with SR 542 at a roundabout in Deming. Traveling west with SR 542 along the Nooksack River, the road splits at another roundabout in Cedarville and continues north through a series of 90-degree turns in a plain located near the Sumas River. In Nooksack, the route becomes Nooksack Avenue and encounters SR 544, named Main Street, which travels west to Everson. North of Nooksack, SR 9 intersects SR 546 in a rural area and travels northeast along the Sumas River to Sumas. In Sumas, SR 547 ends at SR 9 and a spur route that serves trucks branches off and SR 9 terminates at the Canada–US border. The road continues north from the Canada–US border, through Abbotsford, BC to Highway 1 (BC 1), as BC 11. ### Spur route Within Sumas, SR 9 has a short 0.24 mi (0.39 km) spur route that is used by trucks travelling into Canada. SR 9 Spur starts at SR 9 (Cherry Street) and travels east as Garfield Street and north as Sumas Avenue to the Canada–US border, where it becomes Boundary Avenue and reconnects back to SR 9's continuation in Canada, Highway 11 (BC 11) in Abbotsford, BC. After the Cherry Street intersection, an estimated daily average of 1,800 motorists used the roadway in 2007. ## History The current route of SR 9 began as a road extending from Grace (today Woodinville) north to Snohomish, first appearing in an 1895 map. The Snohomish to Arlington segment was not built until after SR 9, but between Arlington and Sedro-Woolley, there was a highway by 1911. The first section of the roadway to be included in the state highway system was the current SR 542 concurrency, which became a branch of State Road 1 extending from Bellingham to Mount Baker in 1925. Secondary State Highway 1A (SSH 1A) was established in 1937 and ran from Primary State Highway 2 (PSH 2) in Woodinville north to Sumas and west to PSH 1 in Blaine. A branch of SSH 1A connected the main highway to the Canada–US border. Much of the highway was not complete at the time, leading to calls from the Associated Clubs of the North End to accelerate construction to provide an alternate connection to Canada. Between Lynden and Nooksack, SSH 1A was realigned in 1951 and in 1953, SSH 1A between Blaine and Sumas was deleted. The corridor was also incorporated into the East Pacific Highway, a designation created in 1951 as an alternative route to US 99 between Tenino and the Canadian border at Sumas. Plans to build a full limited-access highway on the corridor as originally proposed were later dropped by the state government. A five-mile (8.0 km) section between Snohomish and Lake Stevens was moved to a new, straightened roadway that opened on September 12, 1952. The Lake Stevens–Arlington section of SSH 1A was opened in late 1959, bypassing Jordan Road and the Granite Falls area. SSH 1E became concurrent with SSH 1A in 1957 when it was extended east through Arlington to Darrington. A third concurrency was added in 1961 when PSH 16 was extended west, concurrent in Sedro-Woolley, to Fredonia. During the 1964 highway renumbering, a new system of highways, sign routes, was introduced and was co-signed with the existing primary and secondary state highways. SSH 1A became SR 9, but SSH 1A was still signed until 1970. In 1965, SSH 1A / SR 9 was shortened from Woodinville to SR 202 in Grace, which was not complete yet. A plan to truncate SSH 1A to Maltby and build a new highway from Snohomish was proposed in the 1950s but later abandoned. In 1970, SR 202 became SR 522. Since 2004, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has completed nine construction projects on SR 9. The Lake Stevens weigh station, located on the west side of the highway at the Sopher Hill Road intersection was expanded to serve two trucks at once in late 2005. The U.S. Route 2 (US 2) interchange was modified to use New Bunk Foss Road as an onramp and traffic signals were added in January 2006. The roadway was repaved between Snohomish and Lake Stevens and also guardrails and turn lanes were added in 2006.\< On November 22, 2006, WSDOT opened a new alignment of SR 9 between Nooksack to Sumas that bypassed three 90-degree turns. A roundabout was added to the SR 538 intersection east of Mount Vernon in summer 2007. Between SR 522 and SR 524, the highway was widened from a 2-lane road to a four-lane divided highway in 2008. A curve on the roadway north of Arlington was straightened in late 2008 and turn lanes were added to two intersections near Bryant. ## Future developments Between 1980 and 2000, the population of Snohomish County grew by 80 percent, resulting in increased congestion on the two-lane SR 9. Accidents have increased from an average of 325 collisions per year in the 1990s to 450 collisions per year between 2000 and 2007. Since late 2005, WSDOT has been improving the corridor with six projects located between SR 522 and the Skagit County line that are scheduled to be completed by 2013. South of Snohomish, WSDOT is improving the highway in multiple ways including new intersections and alignments, new web cameras and new turn lanes. Between SR 524 and Clearview, the 2-lane road is being widened to a four-lane divided highway starting in 2011. The SR 531 intersection south of Arlington was scheduled to be rebuilt as a roundabout in 2011. The roundabout option was chosen over a traffic signal in early October 2009. A route development plan is currently being designed for the highway between SR 522 and Schloman Road north of Arlington. During a project to widen SR 9 in Lake Stevens, a left-turn lane to Lake Stevens Road was removed in 2009 and residents located on the road have protested. The intersection of SR 9 and SR 204 in Lake Stevens was replaced with a series of four roundabouts that opened in July 2023. WSDOT plans to widen SR 9 near downtown Snohomish to four lanes by building a second bridge over the Snohomish River to carry southbound traffic. The \$142 million project is projected to be completed in 2025. ## Major intersections ### Spur intersections

Yellow (Coldplay song)

2000 single by Coldplay

"Yellow" is a song by the British rock band Coldplay. The band wrote the song and co-produced it with British record producer Ken Nelson for their debut album, Parachutes (2000). The song was released on 26 June 2000 as the second UK single from Parachutes, following "Shiver", and as the lead single in the United States. "Yellow" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, giving Coldplay their first top-five hit in the United Kingdom. It was Coldplay's breakthrough hit internationally, reaching number one in Iceland, number five in Australia, number nine in Ireland and number 48 in the United States. Helped by radio rotation and usage in television and movies, the song thrust the band into popularity. "Yellow" has since been covered by various recording artists worldwide, and remains one of the band's most popular songs. ## Background and inspiration "Yellow" was written in Rockfield's Quadrangle studio near Monmouth in South Wales, where Coldplay began working on their debut album, Parachutes. One night after finishing recording "Shiver", the band took a break and went out of the studio. Outside, there were few lights on and the stars in the sky were visible and "just amazing", according to the song's co-producer, Ken Nelson. He told the band to look at the stars, which they did. Lead singer Chris Martin was inspired by the sight and the song's main melody, consisting of a chord pattern, popped into his head. At first, Martin did not take it seriously and sang the tune to the rest of the band in "his worst Neil Young impersonation voice". Martin has said, "The song had the word 'stars' and that seemed like a word you should sing in a Neil Young voice." The melody "started off a lot slower", according to drummer Will Champion, and it sounded like a Neil Young song. Not long after, despite not taking the song seriously, Martin's idea worked out when he had developed the tempo of the verse. When guitarist Jonny Buckland started playing it and supplemented it with his ideas, they had created the riff, "and it sort of got a bit heavier". While composing the song's lyrics, Martin could not find the right words. He was thinking of a specific word, which he deemed a missing keyword in the lyrics, to fit the song's concept. He looked around the studio and saw the Yellow pages. The lyrics progressed from there, with the band collaborating. Bassist Guy Berryman came up with the opening line "Look at the stars". That night, having quickly composed the song, the band recorded it. On The Howard Stern Show in November 2011, Chris Martin explained to Stern that he was impersonating Neil Young while entertaining guests when he came across the first chord of the song, which stuck with him for a bit; then in a Neil Young voice he sang "look at the stars". Martin went on to further explain that the word "yellow" has absolutely no meaning whatsoever and while writing the rest of the song he tried his best to change "yellow" to something else since every lyric before yellow made no sense but in the end the word "yellow" just sounded right. Martin also told Stern that through the years depending on the attitude and manner of whoever interviews him, he would make up some story about a song or album titles just to move on to the next question. Martin applauded Stern saying "I like you, Howard, so that's the first time I've ever told anyone the truth behind 'Yellow'." When asked if the song was about a particular girl, Chris Martin said “It’s about all girls.” ## Recording and production The band and Nelson produced the track. Nelson was acquainted with the band's music through the former's manager. Nelson's manager gave him a copy of an EP and single by Coldplay, and showed interest in working with them after seeing the band perform live. "Yellow" was initially recorded upstairs in the project studio, basically a demo room in Liverpool's Parr Street Studios. The track was later mixed in New York City. Nelson and the band encountered problems in producing some aspects of the song. According to Champion, "... it was really difficult to record because it worked at about five or six different tempos. It was a tough choice of choosing which tempo to play, because sometimes it sounded too rushed, and sometimes it sounded as if it was dragging..." The band was trying to get the right tempo, according to Nelson, "because a beat either side of the tempo we picked didn't have the same groove". To improve the song, they recorded this part live and Buckland overdubbed his guitar. They recorded it two or three times until Nelson and the band were happy at the output. The backing vocals were recorded in the control room of Quadrangle. Nelson used an analogue 2-inch type tape in recording most of the tracks on the album. As the recording progressed, "Yellow" was one of a couple of songs that they "couldn't quite get on analogue". They recorded different versions but it did not satisfy their taste. So Nelson used Pro Tools "to get the feel of [the track] just right"; once all takes were recorded into the computer, "we then put it down to the 2-inch, which I found was a great way to do it", according to Nelson. ## Composition "Yellow" has been called an alternative rock and post-Britpop song. Martin has explained, "Yellow' refers to the mood of the band. Brightness and hope and devotion." The references in some of the lyrics, including swimming and drawing a line, "are all metaphorical slants on the extent of his emotional devotion". The drawing of a line refers to Martin's habit of writing lists, and underlining those important things on the list. Martin has commented that the song is about devotion, referring to his unrequited love for someone or something. Despite its lyrical theme, many fans have considered "Yellow" to be an upbeat track, although it is often interpreted as melancholy as well. The song is written in the key of B major with a tempo of 88 beats per minute. ## Release "Yellow" and "Shiver" were initially released as EPs in the spring of 2000 along with the songs "Help Is Round the Corner" and "No More Keeping My Feet on the Ground", the third taken from the band's first EP, Safety. In the United States, it was released as the lead single from the album. In October 2000, the track was sent to US college and alternative radio outlets. The band released a limited-edition CD, Mince Spies, which features a remix of "Yellow". It was pressed to 1,000 copies and issued only to fans and journalists. The single, accompanied by its TV reception through its music video, received massive radio airplay, particularly at BBC Radio 1. The reaction was chiefly positive and even the newly revitalised BBC Radio 2 played the track repeatedly. This heavy rotation continued for months after its release, eventually ending as 2000's most-aired song. A month after the album was released in the United States via record label Nettwerk, "Yellow" was used as the theme song for ABC autumn television promotions. The song was also used as the theme music for The Cancer Council Australia's "Daffodil Day", in recognition of that organisation's official flower's yellow hue. ## Critical reception The song received critical acclaim. Matt Diehl of Rolling Stone has noted "Yellow" is "unrepentantly romantic", adding that "the band creates a hypnotic slo-mo otherworld where spirit rules supreme". "Yellow" has also won Best Single at the 2001 NME Awards and got nominated at the 2002 Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Billboard said that "every time that electric-guitar riff barges in, you're hooked all over again." In October 2011, NME placed it at number 139 on their "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" list. In a retrospective article from 2020, The Independent praised the band for how the song "made being heartfelt seem effortless". In 2021, Billboard included "Yellow" at 35th place in their "Greatest Songs of 2001" list. ## Chart performance In the United Kingdom, its midweek sales suggested that the single would reach the Top 10 of the chart. Although the band supposed "Yellow" would decline inside the Top 20, they would have considered its performance a triumph since the album's lead single, "Shiver", had only reached the 35th position. "Yellow"'s second-week sales were stronger than the first week, and the song eventually reached number four, giving the band their first Top 10 single in the United Kingdom. The popularity of the song in British clubs, pubs and sporting events bolstered the album to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart. As of February 2015, the song has sold 530,000 copies in the UK. "Yellow" achieved popularity in the United States and was Coldplay's first American hit. The single charted on eight different Billboard singles charts; it also topped various US modern-rock radio playlists in the spring of 2001. The single performed as it did in Europe and has helped Parachutes be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America during the single's stay on the chart. As of October 2014, the song has sold over 2 million copies in the US. After Coldplay's appearance at Sound Relief in Australia, in the charting week starting 22 March 2009, the single made a return to the Australian ARIA Top 50, after almost eight years since its last appearance in the Top 50. It re-entered the chart at number 48. ## Music video The music video for "Yellow" was filmed at Studland Bay in the county of Dorset, South West England on 23 May 2000. The video is minimalistic, featuring only Martin singing the song as he walks along the beach. He is seen wearing a set of waterproofs with his hair wet. The video is one continuous shot with no cuts. The entire sequence is in slow motion. Originally, it had been intended for the whole band to appear in the video. However, drummer Will Champion's mother's funeral was being held on the day of filming, so it was decided that only Martin would appear in the video, which was also the immediate explanation of his mood during this part. The weather also opposed the original plan, with harsh winds and rain instead of the sunny day that had been envisioned. It had also been originally intended for there to be moving stars in the sky, as if in a time-lapse. The directors agreed that the moving stars would distract the focus of the video from Martin. The plan of time advancing was kept. The video begins with the beach being somewhat dark until sunlight arrives nearly at the video's midway point. The video was directed by British directing duo James Frost & Alex Smith of The Artists Company. It was shot at 50 frames per second, twice the regular speed. At the shoot, Chris Martin had to sing the song at double speed so that the audio and visual content would be in sync, a common yet difficult practice of music videos. The final product is slowed to 25 frames per second, giving the slow-motion effect of the video. The transition of the video from night to day was achieved during the telecine process. During the transfer from film to videotape, an operator manually adjusted from a monochromatic, grainy look at the start, to a warm, colourful and bright look at the end of the video. The look was inspired by the night swimming scenes in the movie Jaws. In 2022, Tegan and Sara paid homage to the music video for their new single, also called "Yellow", the pair walking in slow motion along a beach in rain clothes as the sun rises behind them. ## Live performances Coldplay have performed the song throughout their career, and it is a firm audience favourite. An early version of the song with different lyric arrangement and instrumentals was performed during the band's NME Tour in January 2000. The song had its debut performance on television on the show Later...with Jools Holland on 6 May 2000. They performed Parachutes' lead single, "Shiver", and the new song, "Yellow"; but it was the latter that had an immediate studio audience impact. They have also performed it at the Glastonbury Festival, one of the prominent festivals in Europe. During their second appearance in June 2000, Coldplay performed "Yellow" and "effortlessly" captured over 10,000 spectators. Coldplay's popularity at this time was still growing and "Yellow" has helped cultivate it; Martin has said it was the best day of their year. During most concert performances, large yellow balloons are dropped on the audience. The first known sighting of yellow balloons was on 24 September 2002 at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago. Chris Martin noticed the balloons in the air with a surprised look. In more recent years, (January 2013) the balloons are filled with confetti, and at the end of the song Chris Martin would pop one with his guitar causing confetti to fly everywhere. A live acoustic version performed on Jo Whiley's The Lunchtime Social was included on the Acoustic EP. Another live version featuring only piano and vocals performed and broadcast in Los Angeles on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic was included on the Japanese "Clocks" EP. More recently an acoustic piano version the song was recorded in the studio for Starbucks charity compilation album Every Mother Counts 2012. Coldplay performed the song at the Celebrating Steve event at the Apple campus on 19 October 2011. Before the performance, Martin revealed that, when they first played it for Steve Jobs 10 years ago, Jobs said the song was "shit" and that "they would never make it". The song was later performed on 7 July at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany with guest vocals from Shakira. Martin performed a rearranged version of song acoustically and unaccompanied via video link for the late Australian cricketer Shane Warne's memorial service, as it was one of his favourite songs. Warne was personal friend of Martin, and he had previously accompanied Coldplay for a live performance of "Don't Panic" on the harmonica during a Melbourne concert in 2016. ## Legacy The song is regarded as a career-making record by Rolling Stone magazine and has since been considered the centrepiece of the Parachutes album. Martin Roach claimed in his book Coldplay: Nobody Said It Was Easy that although "Shiver" earned the band their first UK Top 40 single, it was "Yellow" that changed "everything"; he also mentioned how the track "exemplifies much of what made [them] popular". In a 20th-anniversary article, The Independent credited the song for altering the course of 21st-century rock, given how it was responsible for beginning Coldplay's trajectory as one of the biggest bands in the world. Similarly, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included "Yellow" on their "Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll" list for being one of the most successful and important recordings in music, while Barry Walters from Spin magazine noted that Coldplay is still known in the United States for their "surprise smash". The track is considered one of the best from the 2000s decade by Pitchfork and The Guardian, being also listed amongst the best of all-time by NME on their 2014 list. In the same year, the song was featured in Richard Linklater's film Boyhood. In 2019, Billboard ranked the song number two on their list of the 50 greatest Coldplay songs, and in 2021, American Songwriter ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Coldplay songs. The Savannah Bananas exhibition baseball team has played "Yellow" after the eighth inning of every game since 2023. ### Rankings ## Track listings ## Personnel - Chris Martin – vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboard - Jonny Buckland – electric guitar - Guy Berryman – bass guitar - Will Champion – drums, percussion, tambourine ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications and sales ## Release history ## Notable cover versions and samples "Yellow" has been covered by many musicians across languages and musical styles. - A Mandarin Chinese cover by Katherine Ho featured in the 2018 movie Crazy Rich Asians. Both Warner Bros. and Coldplay were initially opposed to using the song, but director Jon M. Chu convinced them otherwise, adding that "a white director couldn't do it," but he could. Coldplay was convinced after Chu wrote a moving letter to the band. - In 2019, Jodie Whittaker covered "Yellow" for the BBC Children in Need album Got it Covered, assisted by Will Champion and Jonny Buckland. - Lizzo sampled "Yellow" on her song "Coldplay" from her 2022 studio album Special. - Australian rock band King Stingray covered "Yellow" on triple J's Like a Version in 2022. The song later ranked in at number 43 on that year's Triple J Hottest 100.

Architecture of Madagascar

Buildings of Madagascar

The architecture of Madagascar is unique in Africa, bearing strong resemblance to the construction norms and methods of Southern Borneo from which the earliest inhabitants of Madagascar are believed to have immigrated. Throughout Madagascar, the Kalimantan region of Borneo and Oceania, most traditional houses follow a rectangular rather than round form, and feature a steeply sloped, peaked roof supported by a central pillar. Differences in the predominant traditional construction materials used serve as the basis for much of the diversity in Malagasy architecture. Locally available plant materials were the earliest materials used and remain the most common among traditional communities. In intermediary zones between the central highlands and humid coastal areas, hybrid variations have developed that use cob and sticks. Wood construction, once common across the island, declined as a growing human population destroyed greater swaths of virgin rainforest for slash and burn agriculture and zebu cattle pasture. The Zafimaniry communities of the central highland montane forests are the only Malagasy ethnic group who have preserved the island's original wooden architectural traditions; their craft was added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003. As wood became scarce over time, wooden houses became the privilege of the noble class in certain communities, as exemplified by the homes of the Merina nobility in the 19th century Kingdom of Madagascar. The use of stone as a building material was traditionally limited to the construction of tombs, a significant feature of the cultural landscape in Madagascar due to the prominent position occupied by ancestors in Malagasy cosmology. The island has produced several distinct traditions in tomb architecture: among the Mahafaly of the southwest coast, the top of tombs may be stacked with the skulls of sacrificed zebu and spiked with aloalo, decoratively carved tomb posts, while among the Merina, aristocrats historically constructed a small wooden house on top of the tomb to symbolize their andriana status and provide an earthly space to house their ancestors' spirits. Traditional styles of architecture in Madagascar have been impacted over the past two hundred years by the increasing influence of European styles. A shift toward brick construction in the Highlands began during the reign of Queen Ranavalona II (1868–1883) based on models introduced by missionaries of the London Missionary Society and contacts with other foreigners. Foreign influence further expanded following the collapse of the monarchy and French colonization of the island in 1896. Modernization over the past several decades has increasingly led to the abandonment of certain traditional norms related to the external orientation and internal layout of houses and the use of certain customary building materials, particularly in the Highlands. Among those with means, foreign construction materials and techniques – namely imported concrete, glass and wrought iron features – have gained in popularity, to the detriment of traditional practices. ## Origins The architecture of Madagascar is unique in Africa, bearing strong resemblance to the architecture of southern Borneo from which the earliest inhabitants of Madagascar are believed to have emigrated. Traditional construction in this part of Borneo, also known as South Kalimantan, is distinguished by rectangular houses raised on piles. The roof, which is supported by a central pillar, is steeply sloped; the gable beams cross to form roof horns that may be decoratively carved. The central Highlands of Madagascar are populated by the Merina, peoples who bear strong physiological and cultural resemblance to their Kalimantan ancestors; here, the traditional wooden houses of the aristocracy feature a central pillar (andry) supporting a steeply sloped roof decorated with roof horns (tandro-trano). In the southeast of Madagascar, actual zebu horns were traditionally affixed to the gable peak. Throughout Madagascar, houses are rectangular with a gabled roof as in Kalimantan, central pillars are widespread, and in all but a handful of regions, traditional homes are built on piles in a manner handed down from generation to generation, regardless of whether the feature is suited to local conditions. Certain cosmological and symbolic elements are common across Indonesian and Malagasy architecture as well. The central house pillar is sacred in Kalimantan and Madagascar alike, and in both places, upon constructing a new house this pillar was often traditionally anointed with blood. The features of the building or its dimensions (length, size, and particularly the height) are often symbolically indicative of the status of its occupants or the importance of its purpose on both islands. Likewise, both Madagascar and Borneo have a tradition of partially above-ground tomb construction and the inhabitants of both islands practice the carving of decorative wooden funerary posts, called aloalo in western Madagascar and klirieng in the Kajang dialect of Borneo. ## Plant-based construction `Dwellings made of plant material are common in the coastal regions and were once commonly used throughout the Highlands as well. The types of plants available in a given locality determine the building material and style of construction. The vast majority of homes made of plant material are rectangular, low (one-story) houses with a peaked roof and are often built on low stilts. These architectural features are nearly identical to those found in parts of Indonesia. Materials used for construction include reeds (near rivers), rushes (in the southwest around Toliara), endemic succulents (as fencing in the south), wood (in the south and among the Zafimaniry, and formerly common in the Highlands), bamboo (especially in the eastern rain forests), papyrus (formerly in the Highlands around Lake Alaotra), grasses (ubiquitous), palms (ubiquitous but prevalent in the west around Mahajanga) and raffia (especially in the north and northeast).` For much of the length of the eastern coast of Madagascar bordering the Indian Ocean, architecture is highly uniform: nearly all traditional homes in this region are built on low stilts and are roofed with thatch made of the fronds of the traveler's palm (ravinala madagascariensis). The stilts, floor and walls are commonly made of the trunk of this same plant, typically after pounding it flat to make wide planks (for floors and roofing) or narrow strips (for walls). These strips are affixed vertically to the frame; the raffia plant is often used in the same way, in place of the traveler's palm, in the north. When bamboo is used in place of ravinala, the long pounded sheets are often woven together to create walls with a checker-like pattern. These traditional homes have no chimney. Their floor is covered in a woven mat with stones heaped in one corner where wood fires can be burnt to cook food; the smoke that accumulates blackens the ceiling and interior walls over time. The doorways of these homes were traditionally left open or could be shut by a woven screen held closed with a leather strap; today the entryway is frequently hung with a fabric curtain. Variations on this basic template can be found in all coastal regions using locally available material. The largest of the traditional coastal houses are found in the southeast among the Antemoro, Tanala and Antefasy peoples, where homes can reach 18' long, 9' wide and 15' high. Elsewhere along the coast homes are much smaller, averaging 10' long, 8' wide and 9' high. ## Wood-based construction `It is believed that wood construction was formerly common in many parts of Madagascar but it has all but disappeared due to deforestation. This is especially true in the Highlands where, until recently, wood had been a building material reserved for the aristocratic class due to its increasing rarity, leaving the lower classes to construct in other locally available materials such as reeds and grasses; sticks and branches are occasionally used where available, creating sporadic villages of wood typically within proximity to forest reserves. While the wooden architectural tradition among the aristocracy of the Merina has died out, at least two ethnic groups can be said to have a continuing tradition of plank wood architecture: the Zafimaniry in the central Highlands, and the Antandroy in the far south. Each of these three traditions is described below.` ### Merina aristocratic tradition Among the Merina of the central Highlands, the Temanambondro (Antaisaka) people of the southeastern Manambondro region, and several other ethnic groups, deforestation rendered wood a valuable construction material only to be used by aristocrats. Indeed, its traditional association with the royal andriana class led King Andrianampoinimerina (1787–1810) to issue a royal edict forbidding construction in stone, brick or earth within the limits of Antananarivo and codifying a tradition in which only the houses of nobles were constructed from wood, while those of peasants were made from local plant materials. This tradition historically existed among a number of ethnic groups in Madagascar, particularly along the eastern coast where the preservation of rainforests continues to facilitate access to wood for construction. Traditional peasants' houses throughout Imerina featured a thick central pillar (andry) that supported the roof beam and a smaller upright beam at each corner extending into the ground to stabilize the structure. Unlike most coastal houses, Highland homes have never been raised on stilts but have always sat flush to the ground. To the south of the central pillar, in the area designated for sleeping and cooking, wooden or bamboo planks were occasionally installed for flooring, or woven mats were laid on the packed earth floor, which extended north past the pillar. Traditionally, the bed of the head of the family was in the southeast corner of the house. The northern area was distinguished by the hearth, delineated by three oblong stones set vertically into the ground. Houses and tombs were aligned on a north-south axis with the entrance on the west face. The north portion of the house was reserved for males and guests, while the south was for women, children and those of inferior rank. The northeast corner was sacred, reserved for prayer and offerings of tribute to the ancestors. The houses of the nobles were constructed according to these same cultural norms, with several additions. They were distinguishable from the outside by their walls made of upright wooden planks and the long wooden horns (tandrotrano) formed by the crossing of the roof beams at each end of the roof peak. The length of the tandrotrano was indicative of rank: the longer the length, the higher the status of the noble family that lived within. The interior of the building was also somewhat modified, often featuring three central pillars rather than one and occasionally a wooden platform bed raised high off the ground. After Andrianampoinimerina's edicts regarding construction materials in the capital were revoked in the late 1860s, wooden construction was all but abandoned in Imerina and older wooden houses were rapidly replaced with new brick homes inspired by LMS missionaries' British-style dwellings. The tandrotrano horns were gradually replaced by a simple decorative finial installed at the two ends of the roof peak. Other architectural norms such as the north-south orientation, central pillar and interior layout of homes were abandoned, and the presence of finials on roof peaks is no longer indicative of a particular social class. Classic examples of Highland wooden architecture of the aristocratic class were preserved in the buildings of the Rova compound of Antananarivo (destroyed in a fire in 1995 but under reconstruction) and the walled compound at Ambohimanga, location of the wooden palaces of King Andrianampoinimerina and Queen Ranavalona I. Ambohimanga, arguably the most culturally significant remaining example of the wooden architecture of the Highlands aristocracy, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. ### Zafimaniry traditions The Zafimaniry inhabit the heavily forested, rainy and temperate region of the Highlands to the east of Ambositra. Their homes are rectangular and large (15' long, 12' wide and 18' high) with a peaked roof, overhanging eaves, and wooden windows and doors. Many of the same standards found in the aristocratic architectural traditions of Imerina are present in the Zafimaniry structures, including the central wooden pillar supporting the roof beam, exclusive use of a tongue and groove joining technique and the orientation of building features such as windows, doors and the interior layout. Zafimaniry houses are often elaborately decorated with carved, symmetrical, abstract patterns that are rich in complex spiritual and mythological symbolism. The architecture of the houses found in this region are considered to be representative of the architectural style that predominated throughout the Highlands prior to deforestation, and as such, they represent the last vestiges of a historic tradition and a significant element of Malagasy cultural heritage. For this reason, the woodcrafting knowledge of the Zafimaniry was added in 2003 to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. ### Antandroy traditions By contrast, the Antandroy inhabit the Madagascar spiny thickets, an extremely dry and hot region in the south of Madagascar where unique forms of drought-resistant plants have evolved and thrived. Their homes are traditionally square (not rectangular), raised on low stilts, topped with a peaked roof and constructed of vertically-hung planks of wood affixed to a wooden frame. These homes traditionally had no windows and featured three wooden doors: the front door was the women's entrance, the door at the rear of the house was for children, and the third door was used by the men. Fences are often constructed around Antandroy houses using prickly-pear cactus (raketa) or lengths of indigenous succulents from the surrounding spiny forests. ## Earth-based construction In the central Highlands, power struggles between the Merina and vazimba principalities and later amongst Merina principalities over the centuries inspired the development of the fortified town in Imerina, the central region of the Highlands of Madagascar. The first of these, the ancient Imerina capital of Alasora, was fortified by 16th-century king Andriamanelo, who surrounded the town with thick cob walls (tamboho, made from the mud and dry rice stalks gathered from nearby paddies) and deep trenches (hadivory) to protect the dwellings inside. The entryway through the town wall was protected by an enormous stone disk (vavahady) – five feet in diameter or more – shaded by fig trees (aviavy) symbolic of royalty. The town gate was opened by laboriously rolling the vavahady away from the entryway each morning and back into place again in the evening, a task that required a team of men to accomplish it. This fortified town model was adopted throughout Imerina and is well represented at the historic village of Ambohimanga. ### Foreign influences `Protestant Missionary James Cameron of the London Missionary Society is believed to have been the first in Madagascar to demonstrate how local cob building material could be used to create sun-dried bricks in 1826. In 1831, Jean Laborde introduced brick roof tiles that soon began replacing rice stalk thatch in Antananarivo and the surrounding areas, and disseminated the technique of using a kiln to bake bricks.` Foreigners were responsible for several architectural innovations that blended the traditions of Highlands architecture with European sensibilities. In 1819, Louis Gros designed the Tranovola for Radama I in the Rova complex, introducing the wraparound veranda supported by exterior columns. Jean Laborde designed the Queen's Palace in the Rova (built 1839–1841) using this same model on an even grander scale by enlarging the building and adding a third-story veranda. The new wooden buildings constructed by Gros and Laborde transformed the tandrotrano of traditional aristocratic Merina homes into the a decoratively carved post affixed at each end of the gable peak. ### Local innovations In 1867, restrictions were relaxed on the aristocracy's use of stone and brick as building materials, before all restrictions on construction were abolished in 1869 by Queen Ranavalona II, who had already commissioned Jean Laborde in 1860 to encase the exterior of her wooden palace at the Rova in stone. The building took its final form in 1872 after James Cameron added stone towers to each corner of the palace. The queen converted to Christianity in 1869 and that same year the London Missionary Society commissioned James Cameron to construct a private home for its missionaries. He drew his inspiration from the work of Gros and Laborde to develop a multi-story wooden house with veranda and columns. This model exploded in popularity throughout Antananarivo and surrounding areas as an architectural style for the aristocracy, who had to that point continued to inhabit simple homes similar to the wooden palace of Andrianampoinimerina at Ambohimanga. These newly favored brick houses often featured shortened tandrotrano and elaborately carved verandas. These homes can naturally range in color from deep red to almost white depending on the characteristics of the earth used in its construction. Over time, and particularly with the colonization of Madagascar by the French, these earthen houses (known as trano gasy – "Malagasy house") underwent constant evolution. The simplest form of earthen house is one or more stories tall, rectangular, and features a thatched roof with slightly overhanging eaves to direct rain away from the foundation and thereby prevent its erosion. Wealthier families replace the thatch with clay roofing tiles and construct a veranda on the west face of the building supported by four slender equidistant columns; this design is even more effective at protecting the building's foundations from the eroding effects of rainfall. Further expansion often entails the enclosure of the western veranda in wood and the construction of an open veranda on the eastern face of the building, and so forth, leading to wrap-around verandas, the connection of two separate buildings with a covered passage, the incorporation of French wrought-iron grills or glass panels into verandas, the application of painted concrete over the brick surface and other innovations. In suburban and rural zones, the ground floor of the trano gasy is often reserved as a pen for livestock, while the family inhabits the upper floors. The entrance typically faces west; the kitchen is often to the south, while the family sleeps in the northern part of the building. This configuration is consistent with that seen in the traditional Zafimaniry houses and reflects traditional cosmology. ## Mixed cob construction On the eastern side of Madagascar, there is virtually no zone of transition between the earthen houses of the Highlands and the dwellings made of plant materials common to the coastal regions. In the vast and sparsely populated expanses between the Highlands and the western coastal areas, however, inhabitants utilize locally available materials to construct dwellings that bear features of both regions. Most often houses are small – one room and only one story high – constructed of a skeleton of horizontally arranged sticks affixed to the wooden house frame as pictured in the preceding section on wooden construction. But unlike coastal homes where this stick skeleton would serve as a base for affixing plant material to form walls, earthen cob may be packed into the framework instead. The roof is thatched to complete the dwelling. These intermediary houses are also often distinguished by the presence of shortened Highlands-style wooden columns on the western face to support the elongated eave of the peaked roof, much as they support the verandas of the larger homes of Imerina. The floor is typically packed dirt and may be covered with woven mats of grasses or raffia. ## Tomb construction According to the traditional beliefs of many Malagasy ethnic groups, one attains the status of "ancestor" after death. It is often believed that ancestors continue to watch over and shape events on Earth and can intervene on behalf of (or interfere with) the living. As a consequence, ancestors are to be revered: prayers and sacrifices to honor or appease them are common, as well as the observation of the local fady (taboos) the ancestors may have established in life. Gestures of respect, such as throwing the first capful of a new bottle of rum into the northeast corner of the room to share it with the ancestors, are practiced throughout the island. The most visible emblem of the respect due to ancestors is the construction of the elaborate family tombs that dot the countryside in much of Madagascar. ### Earliest burial practices Traditionally, the majority of Malagasy ethnic groups did not construct solid tombs for their dead. Rather, the bodies of the deceased were left in a designated natural area to decompose. Among the Bara people of the southern arid plains, for instance, tombs may be built into natural features such as rock outcroppings or hillsides by placing the bodies within and partially or entirely sealing the space with stacked stones or zebu skulls. Alternately, among the Tanala, the deceased may be placed in coffins made from hollowed-out logs and left in caves or a sacred grove of trees, sometimes covered over by wooden planks held down by small piles of stones. It is said the Vazimba, the earliest inhabitants of Madagascar, submerged their dead in the waters of a designated bog, river, lake or estuary, which was thereby considered sacred for that purpose. The practice also existed among the earliest Merina, who submerged their dead chiefs in canoes into Highland bogs or other designated waters. Where tombs were built, minor variation in form and placement from one ethnic group to the next is overshadowed by common features: the structure is partially or fully subterranean, typically rectangular in design and made of stone that is either stacked loosely or cemented with masonry. Among the Merina and Betsileo, some early stone tombs and burial sites were indicated by upright, unmarked standing stones. ### Islamic origins of tomb construction The earliest known rectangular stone tombs on Madagascar were most likely built by Arab settlers around the 14th century in the northwestern part of the island. Similar models emerged later among western (i.e. Sakalava, Mahafaly) and highlands (i.e. Merina, Betsileo) peoples, first using unhewn stones and heaped or packed earth before transitioning toward masonry. In the Highlands, the transition to masonry was preceded by the construction of tombs from massive stone slabs collectively hauled by community members to the tomb site. Late 18th century Merina king Andrianampoinimerina is said to have encouraged the construction of such tombs, observing "A house is for a lifetime but a tomb is for eternity." ### Highlands traditions In the Highlands of Imerina, the above-ground entrances of ancient tombs were originally marked by standing stones and the walls were formed of loosely stacked flat stones. Examples of these ancient tombs can be found at some of the twelve sacred hills of Imerina. Where a body was not able to be retrieved for burial (as in times of war), a tall, unmarked standing stone (vatolahy, or "male stone") was sometimes traditionally erected in memory of the deceased. Andrianampoinimerina promoted more elaborate and costly tomb construction as a worthy expense for honoring one's ancestors. He also declared that the highest Merina andriana (noble) sub-castes would enjoy the privilege of constructing a small house on top of a tomb to distinguish them from the tombs of lower castes. The two highest andriana sub-castes, the Zanakandriana and the Zazamarolahy, built tomb houses called trano masina ("sacred house"), while the tomb houses of the Andriamasinavalona were called trano manara ("cold house"). These houses were identical to standard wooden nobles' houses except for the fact that they had no windows and no hearth. While the lamba-wrapped remains were laid to rest on stone slabs in the tomb below, the deceased's valuable possessions such as gold and silver coins, elegant silk lambas, decorative objects and more were placed in the trano masina or trano manara, which was often decorated much like a regular room with comfortable furniture and refreshments such as rum and water for the deceased's spirit to enjoy. The trano masina of King Radama I, which burned with other structures in the 1995 fire at the Rova palace compound in Antananarivo, was said to be the richest known. Today, tombs may be constructed using traditional methods and materials or incorporate modern innovations such as concrete. Inside, superimposed slabs of stone or concrete line the walls. The bodies of the ancestors of an individual family are wrapped in silk shrouds and laid to sleep on these slabs. Among the Merina, Betsileo and Tsihanaka, the remains are periodically removed for the famadihana, a celebration in honor of the ancestors, wherein the remains are re-wrapped in fresh shrouds amid extravagant communal festivities before being once again laid to rest in the tomb. The significant expense associated with tomb construction, funerals and reburial ceremonies honors the ancestors even as it counters the emergence of unequal wealth distribution in traditional communities. ### Southern and western traditions The tombs found in the southwest of Madagascar are among the most striking and distinctive. Like those in the Highlands they are generally rectangular and partially subterranean; modern tombs may incorporate concrete in addition to (or in place of) traditional stone. They are distinguished from Highlands tombs by their elaborate decoration: images may be painted on the exterior of the tomb, recalling events in an ancestor's life. The roof of the tomb may be stacked with the horns of zebu sacrificed in the ancestor's honor at their funeral, and numerous aloalo—wooden funerary posts carved with symbolic patterns or images representing events in the life of the deceased—may be planted on top. The tombs of the Mahafaly people are especially famed for this type of construction. Among the Sakalava of the western coast, aloalo may be topped with erotic carvings evocative of the cycle of birth, life and death. ## Modern architecture Foreign architectural influences, having arisen through increased European contact over the course of the 19th century, intensified dramatically with the advent of French colonization in 1896. Over the past several decades, the increasing availability of relatively inexpensive modern construction materials imported from China and elsewhere has further reinforced a growing trend in urban areas away from traditional architectural styles in favor of more durable but generic structures using industrially produced materials such as concrete and sheet metal. Certain modern innovations may be more highly esteemed than others. In the Manambondro region, for instance, corrugated sheet metal roofing was typically the least expensive and prestigious and most common addition to a traditional house. The replacement of locally sourced wood frames with factory-milled lumber was the next most common house modification, followed by the laying of a concrete foundation. Houses built entirely of concrete with glass windows and imported decorative balcony railings and window bars implied great wealth and the highest social status. Although low income levels have served to preserve traditional construction among the majority of the population of Madagascar, due to the prestige associated with modern architectural innovations, traditional construction is often abandoned as income increases. A limited number of recently constructed homes in Antananarivo attempt to blend Malagasy architectural traditions with the comforts of modern house construction. These hybrids resemble traditional brick Highlands houses from the exterior, but use modern materials and construction techniques to efficiently incorporate electricity, plumbing, air conditioning and current kitchen features in a fully contemporary interior. This innovation is exemplified in the recent residential development at "Tana Water Front" in the Ambodivona district of downtown Antananarivo.

Under a Blood Red Moon

Role-playing game supplement

Under a Blood Red Moon is an adventure module released in June 1993 by White Wolf Publishing for use with either of their tabletop role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and is a part of the World of Darkness series. It is set in and around Chicago, and follows the conflict between the local vampire and werewolf communities; players take the roles of werewolves, or vampires belonging to the Camarilla or Sabbat sects. The book was developed by Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg and written by Steven C. Brown, and is an early example of a cross-over between different role-playing games. It was well received by critics for its role-playing opportunities and writing, but retrospectively criticized for how the game mechanics of vampire and werewolf characters do not work perfectly together. It also performed well commercially, and like with other Werewolf: The Apocalypse books, part of the profits from sales were donated toward environmental protection. ## Overview Under a Blood Red Moon is a cross-over adventure module intended to be used with the World of Darkness tabletop role-playing games Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse. It is set in and around Chicago, where players role-play as either vampires or werewolves in a conflict between the local vampire and werewolf communities. The book is split into chapters, each of which contains three viewpoints: werewolves, and members of two vampire sects – the Camarilla and the Sabbat, who in turn are in conflict with each other. The book also contains information for how to play the scenario as human vampire hunters or as the mummies of the book Mummy. The story begins differently depending on what roles the players take: for werewolves, it begins with a meeting about vampire activity in Chicago; for Camarilla vampires, it begins with a werewolf attack on the Succubus Club, a vampire club in Chicago, after which the local Camarilla prince Lodin calls for a blood hunt on werewolves; and for Sabbat vampires, it begins with their sect sending an envoy to collaborate with the Black Spiral Dancers, a fallen werewolf faction. Following this, the werewolves hunt vampires and sabotage escape routes from the city to keep them trapped, while the Sabbat tries to get Camarilla vampires killed. Attacks and counter-attacks continue, including the killing of Lodin, and the outcome of the adventure is affected by the players' actions. In addition to the scenario, the book contains information on sacred places to werewolves around Chicago for storytellers to use in their campaigns, details about intrigues in Chicago, and game mechanics and rules for werewolves who have been embraced by a vampire and turned undead, referred to as "abominations". ## Production Under a Blood Red Moon was developed by Bill Bridges and Andrew Greenberg, and written by Steven C. Brown, with art direction by Richard Thomas, interior art by Jeff Rebner, Dan Smith, Joshua Gabriel Timbrook, and Ron Spencer, and cover art by Tony Harris. It was designed with war as the main theme, exploring topics such as loyalty, fear, chaos, power, and death; the staff intended for players to see their characters as smaller and less important in the larger picture, while still being at great risk, and for them to question what their loyalty and lives are worth and what it means to die or kill for a cause. It was among the first cross-overs between different role-playing games, preceded only by a few supplements such as TSR, Inc.'s Spelljammer (1989); writer Shannon Appelcline noted in his book Designers & Dragons that White Wolf Publishing was in a rare position in that all their games at the time were set in the same fictional universe, making cross-over books more feasible to produce. Despite this and how it is compatible with Vampire: The Masquerade, the production staff primarily designed it with Werewolf: The Apocalypse in mind. The book was originally released by White Wolf Publishing in June 1993 as a 96-page softcover book. It was reprinted in unaltered form together with the second edition of the Vampire: The Masquerade setting book Chicago by Night in July–September 1996 as part of the second volume of the Chicago Chronicles line of compilations. Both the stand-alone book and the compilation have since been re-released as e-books. Like other Werewolf: The Apocalypse books, 3% of profits from sales of the book were donated toward environmental protection. The events of the book affected later World of Darkness books, advancing the series' overarching narrative: Chicago by Night's second edition was released the same year as Under a Blood Red Moon, and updated the Chicago setting to reflect the events that occur in the module, depicting the Chicago vampire community trying to recover from the werewolf attack. Under a Blood Red Moon was followed by other cross-over books, both mechanical and thematical, which were used to introduce players of one World of Darkness game to others. ## Reception Under a Blood Red Moon was well received by critics, and performed well commercially, having sold out by 1996 and prompted the Chicago Chronicles reprint. Critics enjoyed the book's writing, calling it an interesting and high-quality book; French gaming magazine Casus Belli recommended it, and wished that it would have gotten a French translation. Magia i Miecz liked the book's scenario and its dark tone, and considered it a good introduction to the World of Darkness series and its setting. Lider recommended the book, and thought that it, although not essential for a Chicago-based campaign, worked well together with the second edition of Chicago by Night, as did Dragón. The role-playing opportunities were well received: Saga appreciated the option to play as both vampire and werewolf characters, and Magia i Miecz enjoyed getting to take the roles of werewolves and battle against vampires. Appelcline did find one major problem with the adventure's gameplay, in that Vampire: The Masquerade and Werewolf: The Apocalypse work differently on a mechanical level, and do not go perfectly well together. He thought that this was a problem with later World of Darkness books featuring mechanical cross-overs, too, and found that only thematic cross-overs in the series worked truly well.

New York State Route 287 (1970s)

Former highway in New York

New York State Route 287 (NY 287) was a state highway within the town of Alexandria in Jefferson County, New York, in the United States. The route served as a connector between NY 283 southeast of Alexandria Bay in the hamlet of Browns Corners and NY 37 in the hamlet of Redwood. It was 3 miles (5 km) long and passed through open fields for most of its length. NY 287 was originally designated as part of NY 3 in 1924. In 1930, NY 3 was rerouted east of Watertown to follow a more southerly routing across the North Country. The Browns Corners–Redwood portion of its former alignment was redesignated as New York State Route 26B by the following year. NY 26, NY 26B's parent route, was truncated southward on July 1, 1977; as a result, NY 26B was redesignated as NY 287. In 1979, ownership and maintenance of NY 287 was transferred from the state of New York to Jefferson County as part of a highway maintenance swap between the two levels of government. The route is now designated as County Route 192 (CR 192). ## Route description NY 287 began at an intersection with NY 283 southeast of Alexandria Bay in Browns Corners, a hamlet within the town of Alexandria. It headed southeast from the small community and gradually curved to the northeast as it proceeded through large, cultivated fields in an isolated portion of Jefferson County. West of Redwood, NY 287 had only four intersections with other highways, two of which were for a local road that began and ended at the state highway. About 1 mile (1.6 km) outside of Redwood, NY 287 passed over Jewett Creek as it entered a small forest situated adjacent to the hamlet. On the opposite side of the forest, NY 287 entered Redwood, a small, residential community bordered to the south and east by Mud Lake and Butterfield Lake, respectively. It continued east for two blocks to a junction with NY 37 near the northern edge of the hamlet, where NY 287 ended. ## History The east–west highway connecting Browns Corners to Redwood was originally designated as part of Route 27, an unsigned legislative route, by the New York State Legislature on March 1, 1921. When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, all of legislative Route 27 northeast of Clayton became part of NY 3. NY 3, a cross-state highway that began in Erie County and ended in Clinton County, entered Browns Corners on modern NY 26 and left Redwood on what is now NY 37. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 3 was rerouted east of Watertown to follow a more southerly routing across the North Country. The Browns Corners–Redwood portion of its former alignment was designated as NY 26B by the following year. It connected to its parent, NY 26, at its west end. On July 1, 1977, NY 26 was truncated southward to Carthage to eliminate 36 miles (58 km) of overlaps with other routes. All of NY 26's former routing north of Antwerp was renumbered to NY 283 while NY 26B was redesignated as NY 287. The NY 287 designation proved to be short-lived, however, as ownership and maintenance of the route was transferred from the state of New York to Jefferson County on August 1, 1979, as part of a highway maintenance swap between the two levels of government. NY 287 was subsequently redesignated as CR 192. ## Major intersections ## See also - List of county routes in Jefferson County, New York

Phellodon

Genus of tooth fungi in the family Bankeraceae

Phellodon is a genus of tooth fungi in the family Bankeraceae. Species have small- to medium-sized fruitbodies with white spines on the underside from which spores are released. All Phellodon have a short stalk or stipe, and so the genus falls into the group known as stipitate hydnoid fungi. The tough and leathery flesh usually has a pleasant, fragrant odor, and develops a cork-like texture when dry. Neighboring fruitbodies can fuse, sometimes producing large mats of joined caps. Phellodon species produce a white spore print, while the individual spores are roughly spherical to ellipsoid in shape, with spiny surfaces. The genus, with about 20 described species, has a distribution that includes to Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. About half of the species are found in the southeastern United States, including three species added to the genus in 2013–14. Several Phellodon species were placed on a preliminary Red List of threatened British fungi because of a general decline of the genus in Europe. Species grow in a symbiotic mycorrhizal association with trees from the families Fagaceae (beeches and oaks) and Pinaceae (pines). Accurate DNA-based methods have been developed to determine the presence of Phellodon species in the soil, even in the extended absence of visible fruitbodies. Although Phellodon fruitbodies are considered inedible due to their fibrous flesh, the type species, P. niger, is used in mushroom dyeing. ## Taxonomy Phellodon was circumscribed in 1881 by Finnish mycologist Petter Karsten to contain white-toothed fungi. Karsten included three species: P. cyathiformis, P. melaleucus, and the type, P. niger (originally published with the epithet nigrum). P. nigrum was originally described by Elias Fries in 1815 as a species of Hydnum. Some early authors did not consider Phellodon distinct enough to be a separate genus, and folded species assigned to this genus into Hydnellum. Hydnellum is classified in the family Bankeraceae, which was circumscribed by Marinus Anton Donk in 1961. Donk's original family concept included the genera Bankera and Phellodon, whose species produce hyaline (translucent) and echinulate spores (covered with small spines). Donk also noted that Bankeraceae species lacked clamp connections. When clamp connections were discovered in Phellodon fibulatus and tuberculate spore ornamentation (the presence of small nodules on the spores) was found in P. niger, Kenneth Harrison thought the family Bankeraceae was superfluous, and placed Phellodon and Bankera in the family Hydnaceae. This taxonomic rearrangement was rejected by Rudolph Arnold Maas Geesteranus in 1974, who showed that the tuberculate spores of P. niger were the result of an immature specimen. Richard Baird and Saeed Khan investigated spore ornamentation in North American Phellodon species using scanning electron microscopy, and rejected the placement of Phellodon in the Bankeraceae, preferring to leave it and Bankera in the Hydnaceae. Modern molecular phylogenetic analysis places Phellodon in the thelephoroid clade (roughly equivalent to the order Thelephorales) along with the related genera Bankera, Hydnellum, and Sarcodon. Although the status of the Bankeraceae has not been fully clarified with molecular genetic techniques, Phellodon is classified in this family by authorities on fungal taxonomy. The generic name is derived from Greek phell-, meaning 'cork', and -don, meaning 'tooth'. In North America, Phellodon species are commonly known as "cork hydnums". The British Mycological Society, in their recommended list of common names for fungi in the United Kingdom, name Phellodon species in the form "descriptor word" plus tooth: fused tooth (P. confluens), grey tooth (P. melaleucus), black tooth (P. niger), and woolly tooth (P. tomentosus). ## Description The fruit bodies of Phellodon species have caps and stipe, and thus fall into the general category of stipitate hydnoid fungi. The cap surfaces are initially velvety to tomentose, eventually becoming matted. The surface is rough, with pits and ridges, and sometimes with concentrical zones of color or texture. The color can vary considerably, from cream to yellowish, brownish, greenish, greyish or black. Neighboring fruitbodies can fuse, forming intertwined caps and partially fused stipes. Alexander H. Smith wrote of P. tomentosus, "It often occurs in large mats of fused caps almost producing a ceiling over large areas of the moss under conifers." Phellodon fruitbodies can envelop nearby grass or twigs. The stipe is thickly tomentose or smooth, typically the same color as the cap or darker. In P. niger, the outer covering of the stipe is a thick felty layer of mycelium that absorbs water like a sponge. The hymenophore (the fertile, spore-bearing surface) is on the underside of the cap. The spines become grey at maturity. In conditions of high humidity, P. niger can form striking drops of black liquid on the actively growing caps. The fibrous flesh is single to double-layered; duplex layering results from differences in compactness or in the alignment of the constituent hyphae. Tough and leathery when fresh, the flesh develops a corklike texture when dry. In the dried state it often has an odor of fenugreek or curry powder. Phellodon species are often free of insect damage, suggesting that they may have defensive chemicals that deter predation. Fruitbodies are not considered edible due to their fibrous flesh. The hyphal system is monomitic, containing only generative hyphae. These hyphae are not less than 6 μm in diameter. All European species lack clamp connections, but they are present in the North American species P. fibulatus and P. mississippiensis. The basidia (spore-bearing cells) are four-spored. Cystidia are either absent, or present infrequently as incompletely differentiated cystidioles (sterile cells about the size of an immature basidium). In mass, the spores are white. Spores are broadly ellipsoid to roughly spherical, and echinulose (covered with small spines). They are also hyaline and inamyloid. ## Habitat and distribution Fruit bodies grow on the ground. Phellodon species, like all members of the order Thelephorales, are thought to be mycorrhizal, forming symbiotic relationships with trees. Usual hosts include species from the families Fagaceae (beeches and oaks) and Pinaceae. The ectomycorrhizae that P. niger forms with Norway spruce (Picea abies) has been comprehensively described. It is distinguished from the ectomycorrhizae of other Thelephorales species by the unique shape of its chlamydospores. Stable isotope ratio analysis of the abundance of the stable isotope carbon-13 shows that P. niger has a metabolic signature close to that of saprotrophic fungi, indicating that it may be able to obtain carbon from sources other than a tree host. Many Phellodon species are known from the southeastern United States, where they have been extensively researched. According to Baird and colleagues, there are nine distinct Phellodon species from Great Smoky Mountains and the surrounding southern Appalachian Mountains. Three additional species from this area, P. mississippiensis, P. brunneo-olivaceus, and P. fuligineoalbus were added to the genus in 2013–14. ## Conservation Phellodon species, like other members of the family Bankeraceae, are sensitive to air pollution and soil pollution, and are in general decline in western Europe. In a preliminary assessment for a red list of threatened British Fungi, P. confluens, P. tomentosus, and P. melaleucus are considered vulnerable, and P. niger is rare. Conservation efforts for stipitate hydnoid fungi are hampered by a dearth of information about their basic ecology, and so molecular genetic techniques are increasingly employed in attempts to better understand these fungi. In the case of Phellodon tomentosus, for example, there is little correlation between fruitbody appearance and below-ground mycelium, making it hard to determine the distribution and rarity of the fungus with standard surveying techniques. Phellodon melaleucus and P. niger were included in a Scottish study to develop species-specific PCR primers that can be used to detect the mycelia of stipitate hydnoids in soil. DNA testing of collections labelled as P. melaleucus and P. niger from the United Kingdom revealed additional cryptic species. PCR analysis can be used to determine the presence of a Phellodon species up to four years after the appearance of fruitbodies, allowing a more accurate determination of their possible decline and threat of extinction. ## Chemistry Phellodon species contain thelephoric acid, a metabolite of the shikimic acid pathway. Thelephoric acid is a terphenyl quinone—a 1,4-benzoquinone wherein positions carbon-2 and carbon-5 are substituted with phenyl groups. The hirsutane derivative phellodonic acid is found in P. melaleucus. Phellodonic acid, which exhibits antibiotic activity towards bacteria and other fungi, was the first bioactive compound reported from any member of the order Thelephorales. A total synthesis was described for phellodonic acid in 2008 using cis-1,2-dihydrocatechol as the starting material. The compound atromentin was reported to occur in fruitbodies of P. melaleucus, but this was not confirmed in a later analysis. P. niger has been a source for several bioactive compounds: the cyathane-type diterpenoids, nigernin A and B; a nitrogenous terphenyl derivative, phellodonin; 2',3'-diacetoxy-3,4,5',6',4''-pentahydroxy-p-terphenyl; grifolin; and 4-O-methylgrifolic acid. P. niger has also been used for mushroom dyeing, in which it produces gray-blue and green colors. ## Species Phellodon was originally circumscribed with three species. Joost Stalpers included 13 Phellodon species in his 1993 monograph on the Thelephorales. The tenth edition of the Dictionary of the Fungi (2008) indicated 16 species in the genus. As of September 2015, Index Fungorum lists 18 species of Phellodon, not including the three eastern United States species added in 2013–14.

Big stick ideology

American political catchphrase

Big stick ideology, big stick diplomacy, big stick philosophy, or big stick policy refers to an aphorism often said by the 26th president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt; "speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far". The American press during his time, as well as many modern historians today, used the term "big stick" to describe the foreign policy positions during his administration. Roosevelt described his style of foreign policy as "the exercise of intelligent forethought and of decisive action sufficiently far in advance of any likely crisis". As practiced by Roosevelt, big stick diplomacy had five components. First, it was essential to possess serious military capability that would force the adversary to pay close attention. At the time that meant a world-class navy; Roosevelt never had a large army at his disposal. The other qualities were to act justly toward other nations, never to bluff, to strike only when prepared to strike hard, and to be willing to allow the adversary to save face in defeat. The idea is negotiating peacefully but also having strength in case things go wrong. Simultaneously threatening with the "big stick", or the military, ties in heavily with the idea of Realpolitik, which implies a pursuit of political power that resembles Machiavellian ideals. It is comparable to gunboat diplomacy, as used in international politics by the powers. ## Background Roosevelt (then Governor of New York) to Henry L. Sprague, dated January 26, 1900. Roosevelt wrote, in a bout of happiness after forcing New York's Republican committee to pull support away from a corrupt financial adviser: > I have always been fond of the West African proverb: "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far." Roosevelt would go on to be elected Vice President later that year, and subsequently used the aphorism publicly in an address to the Minnesota State Fair, entitled "National Duties", on September 2, 1901: > A good many of you are probably acquainted with the old proverb: "Speak softly and carry a big stick—you will go far." ## Usage Although it had been used before his presidency, Roosevelt used military muscle several times throughout his two terms with a more subtle touch to complement his diplomatic policies and enforcing the Monroe Doctrine throughout multiple interventions in Latin America. This included the Great White Fleet, 16 battleships which peacefully circumnavigated the globe as an illustration of United States's rising yet neutral prestige under Roosevelt's direction. ### Latin America #### Venezuelan Affair (1902) and the Roosevelt Corollary In the early 20th century, Venezuela was receiving complaints from Britain and Germany about "acts of violence against the liberty of British subjects and the massive capture of British vessels" who were from the UK and the lack of Venezuelan initiative to pay off long-standing debts. After the Royal Navy and Imperial German Navy took naval action with a blockade on Venezuela (1902–1903), Roosevelt denounced the blockade. The blockade began the basis of the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe doctrine. Though he had mentioned the basis of his idea beforehand in private letters, he officially announced the corollary in 1904, stating that he only wanted the "other republics on this continent" to be "happy and prosperous". For that goal to be met, the corollary required that they "maintain order within their borders and behave with a just obligation toward outsiders". Most historians, such as one of Roosevelt's many biographers Howard K. Beale have summarized that the corollary was influenced by Roosevelt's personal beliefs as well as his connections to foreign bondholders. The U.S. public was very "tense" during the two-month blockade; Roosevelt asked Britain and Germany to pull out their forces from the area. During the requests for the blockade's end, Roosevelt stationed naval forces in Cuba, to ensure "the respect of Monroe doctrine" and the compliance of the parties in question. The doctrine was never ratified by the senate or brought up for a vote to the American public. Roosevelt's declaration was the first of many presidential decrees in the twentieth century that were never ratified. #### Canal diplomacy The U.S. used the "big stick" during "Canal Diplomacy", the diplomatic actions of the U.S. during the pursuit of a canal across Central America. Both Nicaragua and Panama featured canal related incidents of big stick diplomacy. ##### Proposed construction of the Nicaragua Canal In 1901, Secretary of State John Hay pressed the Nicaraguan Government for approval of a canal. Nicaragua would receive \$1.5 million in ratification, \$100,000 annually, and the U.S. would "provide sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity". Nicaragua then returned the contract draft with a change; they wished to receive, instead of an annual \$100,000, \$6 million in ratification. The U.S. accepted the deal, but, after Congress approved the contract, a problem of court jurisdiction came up. The U.S. did not have legal jurisdiction in the land of the future canal. This problem was on the verge of correction until pro-Panama representatives posed problems for Nicaragua; the current leader (General José Santos Zelaya) did not cause problems, from the outlook of U.S. interests. ##### Construction of the Panama Canal In 1899, the Isthmian Canal Commission was set up to determine which site would be best for the canal (Nicaragua or Panama) and then to oversee construction of the canal. After Nicaragua was ruled out, Panama was the obvious choice. A few problems had arisen, however. With the U.S.'s solidified interests in Panama (then a small portion of Colombia), both Colombia and the French company that was to provide the construction materials raised their prices. The U.S., refusing to pay the higher-than-expected fees, "engineered a revolution" in Colombia. On November 3, 1903, Panama (with the support of the United States Navy) revolted against Colombia. Panama became a new republic, receiving \$10 million from the U.S. alone. Panama also gained an annual payment of \$250,000, and guarantees of independence. The U.S. gained the rights to the canal strip "in perpetuity". Roosevelt later said that he "took the Canal, and let Congress debate". After Colombia lost Panama, they tried to appeal to the U.S. by the reconsidering of treaties and even naming Panama City the capital of Colombia. #### Cuba The U.S. after the Spanish–American War had many expansionists who wanted to annex Cuba. Many people felt that a foreign power (outside of the U.S.) would control a portion of Cuba, thus the U.S. could not continue with its interests in Cuba. Although many advocated annexation, this was prevented by the Teller Amendment, which states "hereby disclaims any disposition of intention to exercise sovereignty, jurisdiction, or control over said island except for pacification thereof, and asserts its determination, when that is accomplished, to leave the government and control of the island to its people". When summarized, this could mean that the U.S. would not interfere with Cuba and its peoples. The expansionists argued that the Teller Amendment was created "ignorant of actual conditions", which released the U.S. from its obligation. Following the debate surrounding the Teller Amendment, the Platt Amendment took effect. The Platt Amendment (the name is a misnomer; the Platt Amendment is actually a rider to the Army Appropriation Act of 1901) was accepted by Cuba in late 1901, after "strong pressure" from Washington. The Platt Amendment, summarized by Thomas A. Bailey in "Diplomatic History of the American People": 1. Cuba was not to make decisions impairing her independence or to permit a foreign power [e.g., Germany] to secure lodgment in control over the island. 2. Cuba pledged herself not to incur an indebtedness beyond her means [It might result in foreign intervention]. 3. The United States was at liberty to intervene for the purpose of preserving order and maintaining Cuban independence. 4. Cuba would agree to an American-sponsored sanitation program [Aimed largely at yellow fever]. 5. Cuba would agree to sell or lease to the United States sites for naval or coaling stations [Guantánamo became the principal base]. With the Platt Amendment in place, Roosevelt pulled the troops out of Cuba. A year later, Roosevelt wrote: > Just at the moment I am so angry with that infernal little Cuban republic that I would like to wipe its people off the face of the earth. All that we wanted from them was that they would behave themselves and be prosperous and happy so that we would not have to interfere. ## See also - Pax Americana - Peace through strength - History of U.S. foreign policy, 1897–1913

Cyber Sunday (2007)

World Wrestling Entertainment pay-per-view event

The 2007 Cyber Sunday was the fourth annual Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event took place on October 28, 2007, at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The most important feature of Cyber Sunday was the ability for fans to vote online through WWE.com on certain aspects of every match. While it was the fourth event in this interactive PPV's chronology, it was only the second titled Cyber Sunday as the first two events were titled Taboo Tuesday. The main match on the SmackDown! brand was Batista versus The Undertaker for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Batista won by pinfall after executing a Batista Bomb. The special guest referee, which was either Stone Cold Steve Austin, John "Bradshaw" Layfield, or Mick Foley. The predominant match on the Raw brand was for the WWE Championship between Randy Orton and the fans' choice of either Shawn Michaels, Jeff Hardy, or Mr. Kennedy. The voting for the event started on October 9, 2007, and ended during the event. Most of the existing feuds continued after the event. Notably, Shawn Michaels would continue to feud with Randy Orton over the WWE Championship, which led to a match at Survivor Series for the championship, which Orton won. After losing to Batista, Undertaker challenged Batista to a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Batista won after Edge interfered. Edge then became a part of the feud and it became a Triple Threat match at Armageddon for the World Heavyweight Championship, which Edge won. After beating Umaga in a Street Fight, Triple H faced off against Umaga in a Survivor Series match. Triple H's team won the match and their feud ended. The event had 194,000 buys, down from the Cyber Sunday 2006 figure of 228,000 buys. ## Production ### Background Cyber Sunday, originally known as Taboo Tuesday, was an annual pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) since 2004. A unique feature of the event was the ability for fans to vote on certain aspects of every match. Because of this, the event was billed as an "interactive pay-per-view." The 2007 event was the second event to be titled Cyber Sunday, but the fourth overall in the Taboo Tuesday/Cyber Sunday chronology. It was scheduled to be held on October 28, 2007, at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. While the previous three years' events were produced exclusively for the Raw brand, the 2007 event featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brands, as following WrestleMania 23 earlier in April, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs. It was also the last Cyber Sunday PPV in 4:3 format until January 2008 when all WWE shows went in high definition. ### Storylines The main feud heading into Cyber Sunday on the Raw brand was between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels, with the two battling over the WWE Championship. This feud began in May when Michaels faced Edge in Edge's last match on Raw, which Michaels won the match by pinfall after Sweet Chin Music. After the match, Orton came out and attacked Michaels, which was preceded by a punt to the head. At Judgment Day, Orton attacked Michaels before their scheduled match, where Orton defeated him via referee stoppage. After the match, Orton again attacked Michaels, putting him out of action for several months. Their feud restarted on the October 8, 2007 episode of Raw, the night after Orton won the WWE Championship. Michaels returned during Orton's appreciation ceremony and hit him with Sweet Chin Music, when Orton was going to hit Michaels with the WWE Championship belt. Afterwards, a match was made for Cyber Sunday where Orton would defend the WWE Championship against the fans' choice of either Michaels, Jeff Hardy, or Mr. Kennedy. The next week on Raw, Orton faced his three possible opponents in individual matches. Kennedy interfered and attacked Hardy in his match with Orton. Hardy attacked Kennedy in his match, and Kennedy assaulted Michaels in his match, leading to Hardy making the save. Despite this, Michaels hit Orton with Sweet Chin Music to end the show. On October 22, on Raw, Hardy and Michaels defeated Kennedy and Orton in a tag team match. After the match, Michaels hit Orton with Sweet Chin Music for the third week in a row, when Orton went to deliver Hardy an RKO. The main feud on the SmackDown! brand was between Batista and The Undertaker, with the two feuding over the World Heavyweight Championship. Their feud began at WrestleMania 23 when The Undertaker won the title from Batista. It ended when The Undertaker faced Batista in a steel cage match. The match became a draw, when both Undertaker and Batista's feet both hit the ground at the same time. After the match, the returning Mark Henry came out and attacked The Undertaker. Edge then came out and cashed in his Money in the Bank contract that he won from Mr. Kennedy the same week on Raw and defeated the Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Championship, which then ended the feud between The Undertaker and Batista. Undertaker was sidelined due to the injury, but was booked to return at Unforgiven. Soon after returning at Unforgiven in September, their feud restarted. A match between the two was made for Cyber Sunday with a special guest referee selected by the fans between Stone Cold Steve Austin, John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL), and Mick Foley. Neither Foley or Austin appeared before Cyber Sunday, while JBL began campaigning with banners, T-shirts, and buttons. The main feud on the ECW brand involved CM Punk and his ECW Championship. Punk had just retained his title against Big Daddy V at No Mercy, the previous pay-per-view. John Morrison, whom Punk defeated for the title, returned on the October 9 episode of ECW, after a brief absence, and defeated Punk in a non-title match. The Cyber Sunday match was then made to be CM Punk defending the ECW Championship against the fans' choice between Big Daddy V, Morrison, and The Miz. The next week on ECW, Punk, along with Kane, defeated his three possible opponents in a 3-on-2 handicap match. Morrison and The Miz (who were a tag team) turned on each other, and they faced each other in a match later in the show, which was interrupted by Big Daddy V. On the October 23 episode of ECW, Big Daddy V faced Kane, and Punk teamed with Balls Mahoney to face The Miz and Morrison in a tag team match, which they won due to a miscommunication between The Miz and Morrison. The feuds between Triple H and Umaga, Rey Mysterio and Finlay, and Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter also continued, resulting in their matches at Cyber Sunday. Fans could vote for the match type of these three matches. Hardy, however, suffered a head injury on the October 26 episode of SmackDown!. ## Event Before the event went live on pay-per-view, Jesse and Festus defeated Deuce 'n Domino in a dark match. Throughout the event, the WWE Divas were shown in Halloween costumes in a contest where the winner would be determined by the fans. ### Preliminary matches The first match that aired was between Rey Mysterio and Finlay, voted by the fans to be a Stretcher match. Finlay managed to retrieve his shillelagh and attacked Mysterio's legs. Mysterio fought back and performed the 619 on Finlay, sending him onto the stretcher. Mysterio then performed a senton and pushed Finlay over the line for the win. It was announced that Matt Hardy was not medically cleared to compete (due to an injury suffered on a previous episode of SmackDown!), and a match was announced with Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) defending his WWE United States Championship against the fans' choice between Kane, The Great Khali, and Mark Henry. The second match was for the ECW Championship between CM Punk and The Miz, the winner of the voting. The match was back and forth for the first half of the match. The Miz gained the advantage after forcing Punk to fall from the second rope. Punk came back after hip tossing The Miz from the top rope. Punk won the match after a GTS. The voting results for the WWE Championship match were then revealed, with Shawn Michaels winning. A bonus match was made between the two losers in the voting, Jeff Hardy and Mr. Kennedy. Hardy gained the advantage after dropkicking Kennedy off the apron to ringside. Kennedy came back after throwing Hardy out of the ring. Hardy regained control with a top rope Hurricanrana. Kennedy won the match via pinfall after Hardy missed a rope-aided corner dropkick. The fourth match was between MVP and Kane for the United States Championship. Kane quickly gained control, but MVP had the advantage after attacking Kane's injured ribs. Kane came back, and targeted MVP's ribs. Kane dominated until MVP rolled outside the ring and was counted out. Kane won the match, and MVP retained his title as a title could not change hands on a countout. ### Main event matches The WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels followed. After starting back and forth, Michaels took advantage by targeting Orton's left arm. Orton regained the advantage after a Belly to back suplex to Michaels onto the barricade, and subsequent attacks to the back. Near the end of the match, Michaels regained the upper hand, but as he was attempting "Sweet Chin Music", Orton delivered a low blow to Michaels. Michaels won the match by disqualification, but Orton retained his title. After the match, Orton attempted a running punt to the fallen Michaels, but before he could, Michaels got up, and performed Sweet Chin Music on Orton. The sixth match was between Triple H and Umaga, voted by the fans to be a Street Fight, where the match could take place anywhere in the arena, and any weapon could be used. The match began in the entrance area and involved Umaga getting speared through the stage setting. The match moved into the audience before returning to the ring. Several weapons were used, and Umaga splashed Triple H through an announce table. The match ended when Triple H hit Umaga with a sledgehammer and performed a Pedigree to score the victory via pinfall. Mickie James was then announced to be the winner of the Divas Halloween costume contest. The main event saw Batista defend the World Heavyweight Championship against The Undertaker, with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the special guest referee. Both John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and Mick Foley came into the ring and fought before Austin came down and delivered a Stone Cold Stunner to both men. Both Batista and The Undertaker had the match in their advantage. Batista performed a series of powerslams and throws on the Undertaker. Undertaker, however, chokeslammed Batista, but only got a two count. Undertaker then followed up with a Last Ride but for a kickout at two. Undertaker then went for a Tombstone Piledriver, but Batista reversed the move into a Spinebuster, but got a two-count. Batista then executed a Batista Bomb on The Undertaker, but Undertaker kicked out. Batista then executed another Batista Bomb and pinned The Undertaker to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. ## Aftermath The feud between Randy Orton and Shawn Michaels continued the following night on Raw, when Michaels demanded a title rematch due to how the match ended. Their rematch was made for the following pay-per-view, Survivor Series. As in added stipulation the title match, Michaels was banned from using the "Sweet Chin Music" by orders of Raw General Manager William Regal. In the same stipulation, if Orton caused a disqualification of any sort, he would lose the WWE Championship. Using the special stipulations of the match, Orton pinned Michaels after an "RKO" (a jumping cutter) to retain the title. After Survivor Series their feud ended. The feud between Batista and The Undertaker also continued, with both agreeing to compete in a Hell in a Cell match at Survivor Series on the November 2 episode of SmackDown!. Near the end of the match at Survivor Series, The Undertaker looked to have Batista defeated, but Edge returned and joined the feud by attacking The Undertaker and letting Batista retain the World Heavyweight Championship. The feud between Triple H and Umaga continued after Cyber Sunday with the two choosing four other men to make a five-on-five elimination tag team match at Survivor Series. Matt Hardy, who was chosen to be on Triple H's team suffered an injury caused by Montel Vontavious Porter (MVP) on the November 16 episode of SmackDown!, which made the match at Survivor Series a four-on-five elimination tag team match. Triple H's team won the match after Jeff Hardy pinned Umaga. This was the last Cyber Sunday PPV to air in 4:3 format until January 2008 when all WWE shows went in high definition. ## Results ### Voting results

Diamond Trust of London

2012 turn-based strategy video game

Diamond Trust of London is a turn-based strategy video game by Jason Rohrer, with music by Tom Bailey. Following a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter the game was published by indiePub and released for the Nintendo DS on August 28, 2012. The game has been placed in the public domain and is hosted on SourceForge. Inspired by German-style board games, Diamond Trust of London is played between two players, each controlling a diamond trading company. The game is set in 2000, before the implementation of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme to curb the blood diamond trade, and the player's aim is to extract diamonds from Angola over the nine turns which comprise a game. To extract the most diamonds and win, players resort to a combination of bribery and deception. First pitched in 2009, Diamond Trust of London went through a protracted development process, going through two publishers and taking over three years to reach the market. To raise capital for the game's manufacture, Rohrer launched a Kickstarter campaign, where it became the first successfully crowdfunded Nintendo DS game. Critics had reservations about the amount of content on offer and the game's user interface, but were appreciative of the psychological gameplay and the themes explored. ## Gameplay Players control one of two diamond trading companies: the eponymous Diamond Trust of London or an unnamed Antwerp-based competitor. The game is set in 2000 and the aim is to extract diamonds from Angola before the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme is put in place. The winner is the one who finishes the game with the most diamonds after nine turns. Each turn, players decide where to send their three agents. They can be sent to six different Angolan regions to extract diamonds, or recalled to the player's headquarters to deposit extracted diamonds. Players make decisions in secret, and both sets of decisions are resolved on the game board simultaneously. The competitors must decide how much to pay each agent, and how much to pay the local guide in that region. If there are competing offers for the same guide in a particular region, the highest offer receives all of that region's diamonds in an all-pay auction. Competing agents can be bribed to reveal inside information regarding the competitor's decisions. Complicating matters further is the UN inspector, who moves at random between regions on each turn. The inspector blocks all diamond extraction from the region in which he is present, and can confiscate diamonds from agents within that region. Like other agents though, the inspector can be bribed and directed to regions of a player's choice. In single-player mode, the player competes against an AI opponent available at various difficulty levels. Multiplayer gameplay includes support for DS Download Play, allowing an entire group of players to play from only one game card. ## Development Jason Rohrer was inspired by German-style board games to build a turn-based strategy game. He wanted to harness the unique qualities that a video game could bring to a board game, and so focused on their ability to deliver different views of the board to each player. He wanted to create a game which explored "knowledge chains", where the player must not only be aware of his knowledge and movements on the board, but also how much of that has been exposed to the opponent. In March 2009, he was invited by publisher Majesco Entertainment to pitch an idea for a Nintendo DS game, and keeping these mechanics in mind, he pitched a game called Deception. In Deception, two players would play one half of a married couple, with the aim to gather damaging evidence regarding their spouse's infidelities as ammunition for a forthcoming divorce case. Majesco rejected this concept as being "too sensitive a subject for the DS market". Rohrer later transferred the themes of Deception onto a framework around corporate espionage and the blood diamond trade. Though not particularly concerned about blood diamonds, and wary of the game being perceived as a finger-wagging exercise, he felt that the setting would give an "extra oomph to the game's seedy mechanics". Instead of being an overt protest against the blood diamond trade, the game would explore the psychology of the industry through its game mechanics, causing players to reflect after a game on their decisions made within it. Majesco greenlit this, and in July 2009, a publishing contract was signed. Rohrer began work on Diamond Trust of London as a pen and paper prototype to iron out the design before committing to code. By December, the game was in a fully playable state, lacking only the soundtrack and tutorial. Majesco, however, decided to back away from a physical cartridge release, and pushed instead for a DSiWare download version. Rohrer disagreed, believing that the smaller DSiWare market would limit the game's audience; Majesco, on the other hand, was not willing to invest in the manufacturing of cartridges without strong pre-order numbers. The company made the game available to GameStop to gauge pre-order interest, stating that 3,000 pre-orders would be necessary for a cartridge release. Diamond Trust generated only 23 pre-orders, and in 2010, the Majesco agreement was terminated. Lacking a publisher for Diamond Trust of London, Rohrer moved onto other projects such as Inside a Star-Filled Sky and Sleep is Death. He also took on work at Gun, a video games consultancy firm, and there he made contact with Mark Seremet, CEO of Zoo Publishing. Zoo was interested in pursuing Diamond Trust of London as a limited physical release on their indiePub label, and so work on the game resumed. To provide the game's soundtrack, Rohrer approached his friend and former bandmate, Tom Bailey. This was the first time that Rohrer had collaborated with others on his games. He cited this collaboration as helping to "restore [his] creative momentum" for the project. To avoid hearing exactly the same music every time the game is played, Rohrer developed a music generation engine which would arrange Bailey-composed loops procedurally depending on the game's state. If the lid of the Nintendo DS is closed with headphones plugged in while the game is still running, it will act as a random music generator. Rohrer's previous project, Inside a Star Filled Sky, had used entirely computer generated music, but he felt that the thematic demands of Diamond Trust of London required Bailey's handcrafted compositions and musicianship. By July 2011, Rohrer had submitted a beta version of the game for Nintendo approval. This was followed up with the master version in October. An issue raised during the approval process was Rohrer's desire to credit Bailey on the game's cover, which Nintendo rejected. He got around this by officially naming the game Jason Rohrer with Music by Tom Bailey: Diamond Trust of London. In May 2012, the game was ready for manufacturing. However, due to changing market conditions, Zoo Publishing was no longer able to afford the manufacturing of cartridges given the large minimum order of 6,000 units that Nintendo required, and so, Rohrer turned to the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. Rohrer launched the Kickstarter campaign on May 9, 2012, looking to raise \$78,715; the campaign closed on May 26, 2012, after raising \$90,118 from 1,305 backers. This allowed manufacturing to proceed, and Diamond Trust of London became the first successfully crowdfunded Nintendo DS game. By mid-July, the 6,000 cartridges had been manufactured by Nintendo in Japan, and in August, they arrived at Rohrer's home in California. As he was packaging the cartridges personally, it allowed him to release a special signed and numbered limited edition of 1000 copies, bundled with mystery bonuses. The game was released on August 28, 2012, and as customers received their copies, they revealed the contents of the limited edition. Jason Cipriano at MTV Multiplayer received, alongside his limited edition, postage stamps and a coin from countries featured in the game, and four actual diamonds. ## Reception Diamond Trust of London received few reviews, and they were generally mixed. Critics enjoyed the gameplay, but found that the game required a human opponent for it to shine, with the single-player element acting merely as a practice mode. Nintendo Gamer found the game "mind-bending", likening its cycle of bluffs and double-bluffs to the Ouroboros. GamesTM enjoyed the experience of "trying to outwit and deceive a friend", but found achieving victory over-reliant on control of the UN inspector. Paste praised the support for DS Download Play functionality as generous, and described games of Diamond Trust of London as "fabulous palate cleansers" in between board game sessions. They also observed that during these games, much of a player's personality would be expressed through the moves they made. Commenting on a preview build, Nintendo World Report highlighted the game's music, describing it as a "wonderfully eclectic mix", and "a constantly evolving ambient soundscape". MTV Multiplayer, while finding the music "a little out of place", still found it "really good", and believed that players would find themselves "zoning out, enjoying the music without even realizing it" as they waited for their next turn. GamesTM felt that the game did not have sufficient content to justify a full-price retail release, being more suited instead to a budget-priced app. The publication described Diamond Trust of London as "a fantastic iOS strategy game. On the DS." Similarly, Nintendo Gamer called it a "worthwhile, if insubstantial game". The user interface was described as confusing by Nintendo Gamer, and while Edge felt that the interface was "simple to the point of crudity", it could also be "opaque and cluttered, making a reasonably complex game seem even more so". Edge concluded that if the player can get through these issues, there is "an acute psychological game to be played". Molleindustria named Diamond Trust of London as one of their top games of 2012, describing it as Rohrer's "most elegantly designed game to date". They highlighted how it critiques the blood diamond trade by using game mechanics that present "the world from the cynical, detached perspective of the Homo economicus", rather than by lecturing the player. Paste echoed these thoughts, stating that the game offered "no overt judgments" on the diamond trade, but had mechanics that paint it as "one that encourages and maybe even requires misdeeds". Reflecting on the game's unlikely journey in becoming a physical product, Paste declared Diamond Trust of London to be "not just a success in design, but also one of creation".

Josiane Lima

Brazilian para rower

Josiane Dias de Lima (born 25 February 1975) is a Brazilian para-rower in sculling events. She has won various accolades in her main event, the PR2 (formerly TA) mixed double sculls, including a bronze medal with Elton Santana at the 2008 Summer Paralympics, and a gold medal with Lucas Pagani at the 2007 World Rowing Championships. Lima has competed at every Paralympic Games that has featured rowing, and won Brazil's first Olympic rowing medal with Santana (thus also the first woman to win a rowing medal for Brazil). She has also competed in the women's single sculls and indoor rowing. ## Early life and injury Josiane Dias de Lima was born on 25 February 1975 in the island city of Florianópolis, in southern Brazil. Her father was a fisherman; she credits this and growing up knowing the sea with making her a good athlete in the water. After playing volleyball and practicing judo, she became a PE teacher, and continued participating in various sports; in 2004, she was involved in a motorcycle accident while on her way to football training. The muscles in her legs atrophied, which was exacerbated by breaking her leg a year later while bodysurfing. She was left with paralysis in her left leg. ## Career Having explored swimming as a means of physical rehabilitation, in 2006 Lima was invited to learn rowing with a non-governmental organization to help disabled people in sport in Florianópolis. She was immediately entered into competition for the 2006 World Rowing Championships with Rafael Luz in the mixed doubles sculls. She came back with Lucas Pagani as her partner for the 2007 World Rowing Championships, and the pair took the gold. The Brazilian Rowing Confederation [pt] then paired Lima with Elton Santana, from Bahia in the north of Brazil, ahead of the Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympics. Lima and Santana had focused pairs training for about eight months, despite living in different parts of the country; they trained in their own cities, sharing training online with the confederation, and met up at the University of São Paulo for two weeks training together at the Olympic lane every 40 days. The pair won their heat in Beijing, with the overall second-fastest time; in the final, they won the bronze medal. Lima contracted a sinus infection shortly before the Games and was displeased with the air quality in Beijing, noting that while she and Santana dominated the race for the first three-quarters, she got blurred vision and was seeing stars at the end. Sticking together for the 2009 World Rowing Championships, they won the silver medal. They were finalists for the World Rowing 2009 Adaptive Crew of the Year award, and Lima was named World Rowing Athlete of the Month in February 2011. Her training then returned to instability: having several more boat partners, she missed out on a medal at the London 2012 Summer Paralympics. In 2013, Michel Gomes Pessanha became a para-rower, and the same year the confederation gave him the opportunity to try-out to be Lima's next partner. Pessanha stood out to Lima for his commitment to training, while Pessanha found in Lima experience and confidence in the boat that he sought. The new duo won the bronze medal at the 2014 World Rowing Championships; they had needed to go to repechage to qualify for the final, winning the repechage by a second. This medal led to them being described by World Rowing as ones to watch ahead of the Rio 2016 Summer Paralympics, held in Brazil. When the 2020 Summer Paralympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Lima's home state of Santa Catarina supported her to continue training. Brazil's Paralympic rowers then relocated to the Paralympic Training Centre facility in 2021. At the 2022 World Rowing Championships, Lima rowed with Leandro Sagaz; though they came last in both their heat and repechage, they improved by over 20 seconds to win the small final. Having competed at all Paralympic Games to feature rowing, Lima has said that her favourite Paralympic Games experiences were at home in Rio 2016 and conquering the pandemic in Tokyo 2020. She has also said that her first Games in 2008 "was one of the happiest moments of [her] life", considering the medal she won in 2008 the greatest achievement of her career. Still an active rower, Lima became the president of the ethics division of the rowing confederation in 2022, with her term set to end in 2024. She has said that she wants to use the position to combat systemic abuses after having experienced bullying, harassment and misogyny in her own career. She has also criticised the previous administration of the confederation for changing her boat partner for their own reasons, as well as politicians in Brazil since the crisis in 2015 for also creating instability in its treatment of athletes. ## Personal life Lima is of indigenous descent. She is LGBTQ+, an advocate for combating queerphobia in Brazil, and has said she is proud to represent female, queer and indigenous people in sport. ## See also - List of Paralympic medalists in rowing - List of LGBT Paralympians

Russian battleship Oryol

Russian Borodino-class battleship

Oryol (Russian: Орёл, "Eagle"; also Orel, Orël) was a Borodino-class battleship built for the Imperial Russian Navy in the first decade of the 20th century. The ship was completed after the start of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904 and was assigned to the Second Pacific Squadron sent to the Far East six months later to break the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur. The Japanese captured the port while the squadron was in transit and their destination was changed to Vladivostok. Oryol was badly damaged during the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905 and surrendered to the Japanese, who put her into service under the name of Iwami (Japanese: 石見). Reconstructed by the Japanese in 1905–1907, Iwami was reclassified by the Imperial Japanese Navy as a coastal defense ship in 1912. She participated in the Battle of Tsingtao at the beginning of World War I and supported the Japanese troops that landed in Siberia in 1918 during the Russian Civil War. Iwami was used as a training ship beginning in September 1921. The ship was disarmed in 1922 to comply with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty and sunk as a target ship two years later. ## Design and description The Borodino-class ships were based on the design of the French-built Tsesarevich, modified to suit Russian equipment and building practices. They were built under the 1898 program "for the needs of the Far East" of concentrating ten battleships in the Pacific. Oryol was 397 feet (121 m) long overall, had a beam of 76 feet 1 inch (23.19 m) and a draft of around 29 feet 2 inches (8.9 m) at deep load. Designed to displace 13,516 long tons (13,733 t), she was more than 600 long tons (610 t) overweight and actually displaced 14,151 long tons (14,378 t). This caused a problem during her sister's sea trials on 6 October 1903 when Imperator Aleksandr III made a high-speed turn that caused her to heel 15° and submerged the embrasures for the 75-millimeter (3 in) guns. The ship's crew consisted of 28 officers and 826 enlisted men. The ship was powered by a pair of four-cylinder triple-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft, using steam generated by 20 Belleville boilers. The engines were rated at 15,800 indicated horsepower (11,800 kW) and designed to reach a top speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). Oryol's engines, however, only achieved 14,176 indicated horsepower (10,571 kW) during her official machinery trials on 10 September 1904, although the ship was able to reach her designed speed. She carried enough coal to allow her to steam for 2,590 nautical miles (4,800 km; 2,980 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). The Borodinos' main battery consisted of four 12-inch (305 mm) guns mounted in two twin-gun turrets, one forward and one aft of the superstructure. The secondary armament consisted of 12 Canet 6-inch (152 mm) quick-firing (QF) guns, mounted in twin-gun turrets. A number of smaller guns were carried for defence against torpedo boats. These included twenty 75-millimeter QF guns and twenty 47-millimeter (1.9 in) Hotchkiss guns. She was also armed with four 15-inch (381 mm) torpedo tubes, one each at the bow and stern above water and two submerged on the broadside. Oryol's waterline armor belt consisted of Krupp armor and was 5.7–7.64 inches (145–194 mm) thick. The armor of her gun turrets had a maximum thickness of 10 in (254 mm) and her deck ranged from 1 to 2 inches (25 to 51 mm) in thickness. She had anti-torpedo bulkheads 1.5 inches (38 mm) thick. ## Construction and career Construction began on Oryol (Eagle) on 7 November 1899 at the Baltic Works in Saint Petersburg. The ship was laid down on 1 June 1900 and launched on 19 July 1902, in the presence of the Emperor. While fitting out in Kronstadt in May 1904 in preparation for the installation of her armor, some temporary sheathing was removed that allowed water to enter and sank the ship five days later. The water was pumped out and the ship refloated without incident. She was completed in October 1904 at the cost of 13,404,000 rubles. On 15 October 1904, Oryol set sail for Port Arthur from Libau along with the other vessels of the Second Pacific Squadron, under the overall command of Vice Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky. Rozhestvensky led his squadron down the Atlantic coast of Africa, rounding the Cape of Good Hope, and reached the island of Nosy Be off the north-west coast of Madagascar on 9 January 1905 where they remained for two months while Rozhestvensky finalized his coaling arrangements. The squadron sailed for Camranh Bay, French Indochina, on 16 March and reached it almost a month later to await the obsolete ships of the 3rd Pacific Squadron, commanded by Rear Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov. The latter ships reached Camranh Bay on 9 May and the combined force sailed for Vladivostok on 14 May. With all of the additional coal and other supplies loaded for the lengthy voyage, the ship was 1,785 long tons (1,814 t) overweight; most of which was stored high in the ship and reduced her stability. The most important aspect of this, however, was that the additional weight completely submerged the ship's main armor belt. Rozhestvensky decided to take the most direct route to Vladivostok using the Tsushima Strait and was intercepted by the Japanese battlefleet under the command of Admiral Tōgō Heihachirō on 27 May 1905. At the beginning of the battle, Oryol was the last ship in line of the 1st Division, which consisted of all four Borodino-class battleships under Rozhestvensky's direct command. The ship fired the first shots of the Battle of Tsushima when the ship's captain, Nikolay Yung, ordered her to open fire at a Japanese cruiser that was shadowing the Russian formation at a range of 9,000 meters (9,800 yd). Rozhestvensky had not given any pre-battle instructions to the fleet covering this situation, but he ordered Yung to cease fire after 30 rounds had been fired without effect. Oryol was not heavily engaged during the early part of the battle, but she was set on fire by Japanese shells during this time. About an hour after the battle began, the Japanese cruiser Chihaya fired two torpedoes at a ship that may have been Oryol, although both torpedoes missed. The Russian formation had become disordered during the early part of the battle and Oryol was second in line after her sister Borodino by 16:00. The Japanese battleships generally concentrated their fire on Borodino during this time and sank her around 19:30. Oryol was hit a number of times as well, but was not seriously damaged. Oryol took the lead after Borodino was sunk; she was joined by Nebogatov's Second Division after Tōgō ordered the Japanese battleships to disengage in the gathering darkness. Nebogatov assumed command of the remains of the fleet and they continued towards Vladivostok. The ships were discovered by the Japanese early the following morning and attacked by Tōgō's battleships around 10:00. The faster Japanese ships stayed beyond the range at which Nebogatov's ships could effectively reply and he decided to surrender his ships at 10:30 as he could neither return fire nor close the range. The ship was formally stricken from the navy list on 13 September 1905. During the battle, Oryol was probably hit by five 12-inch, two 10-inch (254 mm), nine 8-inch (203 mm), thirty-nine 6-inch shells, and 21 smaller rounds or fragments. Although the ship had many large holes in the unarmored portions of her side, she was only moderately damaged as all of the four (one 12-inch and three 6-inch) shells that hit her side armor failed to penetrate. The left gun of her forward 12-inch turret had been struck by an 8-inch shell that broke off its muzzle and another 8-inch shell struck the roof of the rear 12-inch turret and forced it down, which limited the maximum elevation of the left gun. Two 6-inch gun turrets had been jammed by hits from 8-inch shells and one of them had been burnt out by an ammunition fire. Another turret had been damaged by a 12-inch shell that struck its supporting tube. Splinters from two 6-inch shells entered the conning tower and wounded Yung badly enough that he later died of his wounds. Casualties totaled 43 crewmen killed and approximately 80 wounded. ## Japanese career as Iwami As Oryol followed the First Division of the Combined Fleet back to Japan after the battle, she developed a list to starboard and her engines began to fail. Escorted (and occasionally towed) by the battleship Asahi and the armored cruiser Asama, she was diverted to Maizuru Naval Arsenal for emergency repairs that lasted until 29 July. While under repair, she was renamed Iwami on 6 June, after the eponymous province, now part of Shimane Prefecture. The Japanese substantially rebuilt Iwami at Kure Naval Arsenal and officially recommissioned her into the Imperial Japanese Navy on 2 November 1907. To reduce her top weight, her funnels were shortened, her fighting tops removed, and her superstructure reduced in height. Her twin six-inch gun turrets were removed and replaced by half a dozen eight-inch guns on pedestal mounts that were protected by gun shields. The fore and aft eight-inch guns were repositioned one deck lower, on the same level as the midships guns, and the midships 75-millimeter gun positions were plated over. The 75-millimeter guns were replaced by sixteen Japanese-built QF 12-pounder, 12 cwt guns and two submerged broadside 18-inch torpedo tubes replaced her original torpedo armament. Her boilers were replaced by an unknown number of Japanese-built Miyabara water-tube boilers. These changes reduced her displacement to approximately 13,500 long tons (13,700 t) and her crew now totaled 806 officers and crewmen. Iwami was assigned to the 1st Fleet on 26 November 1907 although she participated in the 1908 naval maneuvers as part of the 2nd Fleet before rejoining the 1st Fleet the following year. On 1 September 1912, the ship was reclassified as a second-class coastal defense ship. Shortly after the start of World War I in 1914, Iwami was assigned to the 2nd Division of the 2nd Fleet, formed from captured Russian ships. The division blockaded the port and bombarded German defenses during the siege of Tsingtao in August–November 1914. In 1915 Iwami was a guardship at Kure, but she did participate in that year's naval maneuvers and subsequent fleet review. She was assigned to the 5th Division of the 3rd Fleet on 7 January 1918 as its flagship and landed a company of marines in Vladivostok five days later at the start of the Japanese intervention in Siberia during the Russian Civil War. Iwami returned to Kure on 9 September and was subsequently relieved from her assignment with the 3rd Fleet. The ship was assigned to defend Kamchatka from 24 September 1920 to 30 June 1921 and was based in Vladivostok and Petropavlovsk. She was reclassified as a first-class coast defense ship in September 1921 and was used as a training ship. In accordance with the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, Japan agreed to scrap Iwami. She was disarmed in April 1922 and used as a depot ship until she was struck on 1 September. Iwami moored to the west of the island of Jōgashima near the mouth of Tokyo Bay and used as a target by aircraft of the Yokosuka Naval Air Group from 5–8 July, finally sinking on 10 July 1924.

Netherlands at the 2014 Winter Paralympics

The Netherlands sent a delegation to compete at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, held between 7–16 March 2014. The Netherlands delegation consisted of seven competitors, all of which were competing in sports under the alpine skiing banner. Bibian Mentel won the nation's only medal at these Paralympics, a gold in women's snowboard cross. With one gold medal, the Netherlands ranked a joint 14th place on the medal table with Switzerland. ## Background The Netherlands have competed in every Summer Paralympics since the inaugural event in 1960. Since making their debut at the third Winter Paralympics in 1984, they have missed the winter edition of the Paralympics only once, in 2006. Before the Sochi Paralympics, the Netherlands had won 10 Winter Paralympic medals, all by one person, Marjorie van de Bunt. The delegation sent to these Paralympics consisted of seven athletes: three skiers and four snowboarders. The Chef de Mission for the Netherlands in Sochi was Andre Cats. Bibian Mentel was chosen as the Dutch flagbearer for the Parade of Nations during the opening ceremony. Anna Jochemsen was selected as the flagbearer for the closing ceremony. ## Disability classification Every participant at the Paralympics has their disability grouped into one of five disability categories; amputation, the condition may be congenital or sustained through injury or illness; cerebral palsy; wheelchair athletes, there is often overlap between this and other categories; visual impairment, including blindness; Les autres, any physical disability that does not fall strictly under one of the other categories, for example dwarfism or multiple sclerosis. Each Paralympic sport then has its own classifications, dependent upon the specific physical demands of competition. Events are given a code, made of numbers and letters, describing the type of event and classification of the athletes competing. Events with "B" in the code are for athletes with visual impairment, codes LW1 to LW9 are for athletes who stand to compete and LW10 to LW12 are for athletes who compete sitting down. Alpine skiing events grouped athletes into separate competitions for sitting, standing and visually impaired athletes. ## Medalists ## Alpine skiing ### Men Kees-Jan van der Klooster was born in 1977, and broke his back in 2001, leaving him a paraplegic. He had previously represented the Netherlands in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics. He competes in a sitting position, where he is classified as LW11. He competed in three events, however, he failed to complete any of them, falling in both the downhill and the super-G, recording three DNF's over his Paralympics. Bart Verbruggen was born in 1988. He is classified as LW9-1 and competes in a standing position. He entered the downhill and the Super-G. In the downhill, he finished with a time of one minute and thirty seconds. The race was competitive, and despite being only six seconds back from gold medal position, he finished 14th and last of all competitors to complete the race. In the super-G, he failed to finish the race. ### Women Anna Jochemsen was born in 1985. She entered all five standing races in alpine skiing, and was classified as an LW2. On 8 March 2014 she competed in the downhill, but was unable to complete the race. Two days later, she took part in the Super-G, where she finished with a time of one minute and 35 seconds, good enough for 6th place, finishing roughly four and a half seconds off the podium. The next day, she failed to finish the first run of the Super combined. The slalom was contested the next day, over two legs, with both run times being added together to determine final standing. She was in silver medal position after finishing the first run with a time of one minute and one second; however she was significantly slower in the second run with a time of one minute and thirteen seconds, forcing her to settle for 7th place. The giant slalom was held on 16 March. She posted run times of one minute and thirty-four seconds and one minute and twenty seconds, to finish in 8th place out of 15 competitors. ### Snowboarding For the 2014 Winter Paralympics, snowboard cross was considered a discipline of alpine skiing, rather than a separate sport. Snowboarding was offered only for athletes who competed in a standing position. Each competitor was allowed to make three runs down the course, with their two best runs counting towards the final result. #### Men The Netherlands fielded two competitors for the snowboard cross—Merijn Koek (born in 1990) and Chris Vos (born in 1998)—there were 33 competitors in total. Koek had a slow first run with a time of one minute and twenty-one seconds, but improved dramatically with his second and third runs coming in just fractions of a second above one minute. He finished in 14th overall. Vos was more consistent, but became progressively slower with each run. Counting only his first and second runs, he finished in 13th place. #### Women There were 11 competitors that started in the snowboard cross on 14 March 2014. The Netherlands had two competitors entered, Lisa Bunschoten (born in 1995) and Bibian Mentel (1972–2021). Bunschoten was in 5th place for both her first and second legs, but crashed on her third run. She would finish 7th overall for the competition. Mentel fared much better than her teammate, she posted the best time in each run, and won the gold medal. This was the only Dutch medal in Sochi. ## See also - Netherlands at the Paralympics - Netherlands at the 2014 Winter Olympics

Stonyhurst College

Co-educational Roman Catholic school in Lancashire, England (UK)

Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. The school has been fully co-educational since 1999. A precursor institution of the college was founded in 1593 by Father Robert Persons SJ at St Omer, at a time when penal laws prohibited Roman Catholic education in England. After moving to Bruges in 1762 and Liège in 1773, the college was headed for oblivion, but for the generosity of an old boy, Thomas Weld (of Lulworth) who intervened. Weld's enormous benefaction enabled the expatriated school to establish itself on English soil in 1794 when it was granted the Stonyhurst estate. It provides boarding and day education to approximately 450 boys and girls aged 13–18. On an adjacent site, its preparatory school, St Mary's Hall, provides education for boys and girls aged 3–13. ## History ### Stonyhurst Hall The earliest deed concerning the Stanihurst is held in the college's Arundell Library; it dates from approximately 1200. In 1372, a licence was granted to John de Bayley for an oratory on the site. His descendants, the Shireburn family, completed the oldest portion of the extant buildings. Richard Shireburn began building the hall, which was enlarged by his grandson Nicholas who also constructed the ponds, avenue and gardens. Following his death, the estate passed to his wife and then to sole heir, their daughter, Mary, the Duchess of Norfolk. ### Great benefactor emerges In 1754, it was inherited by her cousin, Edward Weld (Senior) (1705-1761), the subject of controversy and two trials, one for impotency. After his death it passed to Weld's eldest son, also Edward. Unfortunately, this Edward (1740-1775), who was to be Maria Fitzherbert's obscure first husband, fell off his horse three months after the wedding and not having had time to sign the will before he died of his injuries, the estate passed to Edward senior's third son and Edward's youngest brother, Thomas. Thomas Weld (1750-1810) and his wife had many children and great swathes of land which he distributed among his progeny. However, as a former pupil of the English Jesuit Colleges of St Omer and Liège, and already a philanthropist, he stepped in to save the refugee Jesuit schools over the Channel and resolved in 1794 to donate his Lancashire estate, including the buildings, with 30 acres (120,000 m²) of land to the Society of Jesus for the purpose of settling them and their evacuated charges from Northern France and the Austrian Netherlands. ### The college The story of the school may be traced back to establishments in St Omer in what was then the Spanish Netherlands in 1593, where a college, under the Royal Patronage of Philip II of Spain, was founded by Fr Robert Persons SJ for English boys unable to receive a Catholic education in Elizabethan England. As such it was one of several expatriate English schools operating on the European mainland. In 1762, the Jesuits were forced to flee and re-established their school at Bruges. The school was moved in 1773 to Liège, where it operated for two decades before moving to Stonyhurst on 29 August 1794. Schooling resumed on 22 October that year. The college flourished during the 19th century: the Society of Jesus was re-established in Britain at Stonyhurst in 1803, and over the century, student numbers rose from the original twelve migrants from Liège. By the turn of the following century, it had become England's largest Roman Catholic college. Stonyhurst Hall underwent extensive alterations and additions to accommodate these numbers; the Old South Front was constructed in 1810, only to be demolished and replaced with much grander buildings in the 1880s. A seminary was constructed on the estate, and an observatory and meteorological station erected in the gardens. The 20th century saw the gradual hiring of a mostly lay staff, as the number of Jesuits declined. The seminary at St Mary's Hall was closed, and the school discontinued its education of university-aged philosophers. With the closure of Beaumont College in 1967 and the transfer away from the Society of Jesus of Mount St Mary's College, Spinkhill, Derbyshire, in 2006, Stonyhurst became the sole Jesuit public school in England. Since the Second World War, the buildings have been refurbished or developed. Additions include new science buildings in the 1950s and 1960s, a new boarding wing in the 1960s, a new swimming pool in the 1980s and Weld House in 2010. The school became fully co-educational in 1999. ## Hodder Place, St Mary's Hall and Hodder House The original preparatory school to Stonyhurst, Hodder Place, came into the hands of the Jesuits as part of the estate donated by alumnus Thomas Weld. Originally used as a novitiate, it became a preparatory school to the college in 1807. St Mary's Hall, on an adjoining site to Stonyhurst, was built as a Jesuit seminary in 1828 (extended in the 1850s) and functioned until 1926, when the seminarians moved to Heythrop Hall. The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins, and John Tolkien, son of J. R. R. Tolkien, trained as priests there. During World War II, the English College left Benito Mussolini's Italy and occupied the hall. After their return to Rome, St Mary's Hall opened as a middle school in 1946. At the same time, Hodder Place continued to educate those aged eight to eleven, until its closure and conversion into flats in 1970. Hodder Place pupils moved up to St Mary's Hall to form Hodder Playroom. As successor to Hodder Place, St Mary's Hall has a claim to being the oldest surviving preparatory school in Britain. In 2004, the old gymnasium at St Mary's Hall was converted into new nursery and infant facilities named Hodder House, for those aged three to seven. ## Religious life The college is Roman Catholic and has had a significant place in English Catholic history for many centuries (including controversial events such as the Popish Plot and Gunpowder Plot conspiracies). It was founded initially to educate English Catholics on the continent in the hope that, through them, Roman Catholicism might be restored in England. Finally, the school settled in England in 1794 and the Society of Jesus was officially re-established in Britain in 1803. Stonyhurst remained the headquarters of the English Province until the middle of the century; by 1851, a third of the Province's Jesuits were based there. Until the 1920s, Jesuit priests were trained on site in what is today the preparatory school. There was a drop in vocations after World War I and the seminary was closed. The number of Jesuits teaching at Stonyhurst fell to a third of the staff within a decade. Since then, the Jesuit presence has been in decline, but the school continues to place Roman Catholicism and Jesuit philosophy at its core under the guidance of a Jesuit-led chaplaincy team and the involvement of the Jesuits in its governance. ### Chapels The school has one main church, St Peter's, and five chapels: the Boys' Chapel, the Chapel of the Angels, the Sodality Chapel, the St Francis Chapel and the St Ignatius Chapel. The last two are both within the towers of St Peter's Church, and are not normally used by pupils. The Sodality Chapel is the home of the relics of the 3rd-century Roman convert St Gordianus. The Jesuits brought his remains from the College of St Omer and held them beneath the altar since 1859. His bones were temporarily removed in 2006 while the chapel underwent restoration, but they have since been returned. The chapel is again used by the re-established Sodality. Adjacent to the Old Infirmary is the Rosary Garden, a place for spiritual contemplation, at the centre of which is a stone statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. St Peter's Church underwent extensive repair and refurbishment in 2010–11. Most of the Victorian stencilling was not restored, although the whitewash was removed from the stencilling above the altar. ### Traditions It is a long-standing practice, as with many Jesuit schools around the world, that pupils write A.M.D.G. in the top left hand corner of any piece of work they do. It stands for the Latin phrase Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam which means For the Greater Glory of God. At the end of a piece of work they write L.D.S. in the centre of the page. It stands for Laus Deo Semper which means Praise to God Always. These are both traditional Jesuit mottoes. ## Charitable status As a registered charity, Stonyhurst is obliged to provide benefits to the wider community under the terms of the Charities Act 2006. As such, the college is home to the local Catholic parish church, which receives worshippers from Hurst Green every day. Its sports facilities, including the swimming pool and all-weather pitch are available for public use; the latter was used for competitors training for the London 2012 Olympic Games. Much of the estate has public access; in particular the gardens and tea house are visited during the summer months, while the college plays host to tours, antiques fairs, food festivals, music concerts, conferences and weddings. The school has relationships with several state schools, arranging shared activities with their pupils, in particular those serving special needs children. In addition, the school makes available some places to pupils offered on scholarship, bursaries or free of charge; almost a third of current pupils receive financial support for their places. ## Motto The French motto Quant Je Puis (As Much as I Can) is central to the ethos of the school, which focuses upon the all-round development of the individual. It is inherited from the Shireburn family who once owned the original mansion on the site; the family emblem is emblazoned, in stone, with the motto, above the fireplace in the Top Refectory. At the far end of the same room, once the dining room of the Shireburns, the motto can be seen again, carved into the minstrel's gallery: Quant Je Puis. Hugo Sherburn armig. me fieri fecit. Anno Domini 1523. Et sicut fuit sic fiat. ## Academic Academic standards are high: 93% of GCSE students attain A\*-C grades; there is a 100% pass rate at A-Level; and 100% of A-Level leavers take up places at universities (10% to Oxbridge) or on gap year schemes. The school's most recent inspection rated much of the education and pastoral provision as 'outstanding'. Ten GCSEs are usually taken by each pupil, consisting of five compulsory subjects (Religious Studies, Mathematics, English Language and Literature, and a modern language (French, German or Spanish) plus Information Technology and Personal, Social Education, with five other options from humanities, sciences, or arts subjects. In Poetry (lower sixth), four or five AS-Levels are taken from a choice of 25 subjects, with a weekly Theology class. One of these may be dropped and the remainder, or all, taken on to A-Level. Six A\* – C grades are the requirement for Sixth Form entry. Each academic department has dedicated teaching rooms around the school, in addition to the general classrooms and playroom study places. Education during the college's early history was based on St Ignatius' Ratio Studiorum, with emphasis upon theology, classics and science, all of which still feature prominently in the curriculum. The educational practice, observed at the College of St Omer, of dividing a class into Romans and Carthaginians continued long after the migration to Stonyhurst but is not employed today; each pupil would be pitched against an opponent with the task of picking up on the other's mistakes in an attempt to score points. Until Roman Catholics were admitted to Oxbridge in 1854, Stonyhurst was also home to "philosopher gentlemen" studying BA courses under the London Matriculation Examination system. Their numbers began to fall after 1894 and the department was closed in 1916. ## Libraries and collections ### Libraries Stonyhurst College has four main libraries: the Arundell, the Bay, the Square and the More (dedicated to Saint Thomas More). The More Library is the main library for students while the 'House Libraries' (the Arundell, the Bay, and the Square) contain many artefacts from the Society of Jesus and English Catholicism. The Arundell Library, presented in 1837 by Everard, 11th Baron Arundell of Wardour, is the most significant; it is not only a country-house library from Wardour Castle but also has a notable collection of 250 incunabula, medieval manuscripts and volumes of Jacobite interest, signal among which is Mary Tudor's Book of Hours, which it is believed was given by Mary, Queen of Scots to her chaplain on the scaffold. The manuscript Le Livre de Seyntz Medicines was written in 1354 by Henry, Duke of Lancaster. To these were added the archives of the English Province of the Society of Jesus, which include 16th-century manuscript verses by St Robert Southwell SJ, the letters of St Edmund Campion SJ (1540–81) and holographs of the 19th-century poet Gerard Manley Hopkins. The Arundell Library has a copy of the Chronicles of Jean Froissart, captured at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, and held the 7th-century Stonyhurst Gospel of St John before it was loaned to the British Library, as well as a First Folio of Shakespeare. ### Collections Among those collections kept away from public view are numerous blood-soaked garments from Jesuits martyred in Japan, the skull of Cardinal Morton, ropes used to quarter St Edmund Campion SJ, hair of St Francis Xavier SJ, an enormous solid silver jewel-encrusted monstrance, the Wintour vestments, a cope made for Henry VII, and a thorn said to be from the crown of thorns placed upon Jesus' head at the crucifixion. The school owns paintings, including a portrait of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and another of the Jesuit Henry Garnet. In the Stuart Parlour are portraits of Jacobites including James Francis Edward Stuart, and his sons Charles Edward Stuart and Henry Benedict Stuart. There are also several original engravings by Rembrandt and Dürer, such as the 'Greater Passion' and the 'Car of Maximillian'. ## Observatory The school has a functioning observatory which was built in 1866. An older observatory, built in 1838, is now the Typographia Collegii, but was once one of seven important stations in the country when the Meteorological Office came under the auspices of the Royal Society. The records of temperature taken there start from 1846 and are the oldest continuous daily records in the world. During the nineteenth century, the observatory was maintained by the astronomer priests, Fr Alfred Weld, Fr Perry and Fr Sidgreaves whose research included astronomy, geomagnetrometry and seismology. Astrophysicist Pietro Angelo Secchi, director of the Vatican Observatory, also taught astronomy at the college during the period. Sir Edward Sabine chose the observatory as one of his main stations when conducting a magnetic survey of Britain in 1858. Five years later Fr Sidgreaves began the first series of monthly geometric observations, which continued until May 1919. During the course of the twentieth century, the observatory fell out of use and its telescope, parts of which dated to the 1860s, was sold after the Second World War. When its private owner came to sell it, the college was able to buy it back and restore it to its original home. The observatory is today used for astronomical purposes again, whilst also functioning as one of four weather stations used by the Met Office to provide central England temperature data (CET). "The observatory has been made famous by many astronomers of wide reputation," says Brittanica. ## Arts ### Music, drama and art Music plays a prominent rôle in school life. All those entering the school in Lower Grammar (year nine) are obliged to learn to play an orchestral instrument. There are two choirs: the Chapel Choir, which sings regularly at mass, and the Schola Cantorum, composed of teachers and pupils, which sings at concerts and public events such as the May celebration in the college amphitheatre. Pupils participate in the school orchestra and various bands, whilst the staff band is a feature of the Poetry Banquet and Rhetoric Ball. Drama is equally important, with plays staged throughout the school year, the main performance being at Great Academies, whilst some students take Theatre Studies as an additional AS Level subject. The college has a traditional theatre, the Academy Room, and a high-tech theatre built at St Mary's Hall as part of the Centenaries Appeal in 1993. The latter plays host to the annual Ribble Valley International Piano Week. Several former pupils have gone on to achieve success upon the stage, including OSCAR-winning actor and director Charles Laughton and BAFTA-winning director and producer Peter Glenville. Art is an important part of the curriculum, and is compulsory for those in Lower Grammar (year nine). There is a dedicated art studio in addition to a separate design and technology centre. Student artwork is displayed on the walls of the Lower Gallery, including a portrait of the Queen painted by Isobel Bidwell during the Golden Jubilee year; upon receipt of a copy, the Queen's lady-in-waiting said that "The Queen was delighted to see the painting and know that it is on display in the school". ### Literary associations Stonyhurst has provided inspiration for poets and authors who include former classics teacher Gerard Manley Hopkins, whose poems feature details of the local countryside, and former pupil Sir Arthur Conan Doyle whose "Baskerville Hall" was modelled on Stonyhurst Hall, and who named Sherlock Holmes' nemesis, Moriarty, after a fellow pupil. J. R. R. Tolkien wrote part of The Lord of the Rings in a classroom on the Upper Gallery during his stay at the college where his son taught Classics; his "Middle-earth" is said to resemble the local area, while there are specific resonances in names such as "Shire Lane", (the name of a road in Hurst Green) and the "River Shirebourn" (the Shireburns built Stonyhurst). Poet Laureate Alfred Austin, and the poet Oliver St John Gogarty ("Stately plump Buck Mulligan" in James Joyce's Ulysses) were educated at the school, (as were the sons of Oscar Wilde and Evelyn Waugh). George Archer-Shee, at the centre of Terence Rattigan's play The Winslow Boy, is an alumnus. The school runs its own publication company, St Omer's Press, which publishes religious literature, and first began when the college was located at St Omer in Flanders. ## Sport Pupils are required to participate in games on a regular basis. The school plays rugby union and other sports. Since turning fully co-educational, hockey and rounders have widened the sports programme. ### Stonyhurst College Rugby Union Football Club (SCRUFC) Rugby has played a big part in the life of the school, despite only supplanting football as the school's primary sport in 1921. All boys are encouraged to play when they enter Lower Grammar but are not required to play throughout their time at the school. Stonyhurst has a successful rugby season, with games well supported by pupils, staff and parents. Sporting rivalry is particularly prominent against fellow Catholic independent schools Ampleforth College, Mount St Mary's College and Sedbergh School in Cumbria. The Stonyhurst Sevens take place annually, attracting large crowds and teams from all over the country. The school has produced sixteen international rugby players (England (5), Ireland (6), Scotland (1) Italy (1), the USA (1) Bermuda (1) and the Bahamas (1)), as well as players for the Barbarians and the British and Irish Lions. Most recently they include Iain Balshaw and Kyran Bracken, who both played for England when they won the 2003 Rugby World Cup, whilst another member of that team, Will Greenwood, went to Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall, where his mother taught maths until 2007. Current pupils of the school have won places to represent Spain, Mexico (under 19s) the Irish Exiles and the Welsh Exiles (under 19s). Old boys have also played at varsity level and have won blues for Oxford or Cambridge. Stonyhurst has had well-known coaches, including former England coaches Ben Sanders, Dick Greenwood and Brian Ashton who coached the first XV. Many pupils have represented Stonyhurst in the England Schools U16 and U18 Rugby teams. These include Daniel Mckenzie and Andy Fuller who both received an U18 England cap in 2000. ### Stonyhurst Football Stonyhurst Football, inherited from the College of St Omer (along with Stonyhurst Cricket), was played between the handball walls on the Playground. The game was discontinued with the advent of association football but was re-established in 1988 when a "Grand Match" was played at Great Academies; traditionally a "Grand Match" was played on Shrove Tuesday and was the primary Stonyhurst Football match of the season. The teams were England vs France (although during the Crimean War England vs Russia was played and more recently England vs Ireland was played in the 1980s). The last game took place in 1995. ### Rhetoric vs. Hodder cricket and rounders Towards the end of the Summer Term each year, Rhetoric boys issue a challenge, written in Latin, to the boys in preparatory at Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall, inviting them to compete in a cricket match. Preparatory respond in turn, also in Latin. The Rhetoricians take part wearing fancy dress, and are traditionally defeated by preparatory. In 2003, the tradition was adopted by the girls who issued a Latin challenge to preparatory girls inviting them to compete at rounders. ## Military ### Officer Training Corps (OTC) The Stonyhurst Officer Training Corps assembled for the first time on 16 October 1900, in the Ambulacrum, overseen by The First Volunteer Battalion, the East Lancashire Regiment who gave instruction in drill and musketry. The original uniform was scarlet with a white piping and slouch hat, which was changed to khaki before the First World War. The Corps was granted the honour of representation at the Coronation of 1910 and sent members to the Royal Review at Windsor in 1911. It also appeared on parade annually for the spectacle of the Corpus Christi celebrations until the practice became obsolete after Vatican II. ### Combined Cadet Corps (CCF) After the Second World War, school OTCs were succeeded by the Combined Cadet Force. Stonyhurst's is run from the College Armoury adjoining the Ambulacrum and Shooting Range, led by a team of officers under a Major assigned to the school. It meets weekly on a Thursday afternoon and comprises the following platoons named after Stonyhurst's seven Victoria Cross winners: #### Junior company - Costello Platoon (Lieutenant Edmund William COSTELLO V.C., Malakand, India 1897) - Coury Platoon (Second Lieutenant George Gabriel COURY V.C., Guillemont, Somme 1916) - Liddell Platoon (Captain John Aiden LIDDELL V.C, Ostend, Belgium 1915) - Kenna Platoon (Captain Paul Aloysius KENNA V.C., Khartoum, Sudan 1898) #### Senior company - Dease Platoon (Lieutenant Maurice James DEASE V.C., Mons, Belgium 1914) - Jackman Platoon (Captain James Joseph Bernard JACKMAN V.C., Ed Duda, Tobruk, 1941) - Andrews Platoon (Captain Harold Marcus ERVINE-ANDREWS V.C., Dunkirk 1940) - Support Platoon Those in Grammar Playroom (year ten) are automatically enrolled in the CCF and are given the option of continuing at the end of the year, following a summer camp which takes place at a local barracks. Training involves a range of activities such as drill (marching and related manoeuvres), shooting, learning how to assemble and clean weapons, tactical planning and team work. The school supplies pupils with uniform, the orderliness of which is rigorously enforced and inspected each week. Each platoon is led by a Junior Under Officer, his sergeant and corporals who are sixth form students. ### Military careers Some pupils have gone on to receive places at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. This follows a long tradition of service from Stonyhurst pupils: many Old Stonyhurst (O.S.) were killed in the two World Wars and are commemorated on the war memorial at the end of the Upper Gallery. The Stonyhurst War Records were published in their honour. A memorial at the top of the main staircase records the names of the six O.S. killed in the Boer War. ## School organisation ### Playroom system Unlike most English public schools, Stonyhurst is organised horizontally by year groups (known as playrooms) rather than vertically by houses, although the girls are also split into junior and senior houses. Each playroom has an assigned playroom master, with each cohort moving through the playrooms, having a sequence of playroom masters (rather than a single housemaster). ### Lines In addition to the horizontal division of the school into playrooms, there is also a vertical grouping which cuts through the year groups, the "lines", and is used mostly for competitive purposes in sport and music. The lines and colours are as follows: - Campion (red) (named after St Edmund Campion) - St Omers (yellow, though brown for sporting attire) (named after St Omer, the town the school was founded in) - Shireburn (green) (named after the Shireburn family which built Stonyhurst) - Weld (blue) (named after Thomas Weld who donated Stonyhurst to the Jesuits) ## Notable events in the school year The Ascensio Scholarum, inherited from the College of St Omer, in its present form, is the opening address of the headmaster at the beginning of the year to the entire school gathered in the Academy Room. Previously, it was a formal transition for pupils from one playroom to the next at the beginning of the year, which involved a pupil from each year announcing to the playroom of the year below them that the next playroom had been vacated by the senior pupils. The students and their belongings would then move up to their next playroom. "Great Academies" takes place annually at the end of the first half of the summer term. Although different in its present form, it is a continuation of a tradition begun at St Omers, with the first taking place at Stonyhurst on 6 August 1795. Today, it is an occasion when the school is on display – there are exhibitions, musical performances, the school play, sporting events, as well as prize-giving and the headmaster's speech, culminating with the Rhetoric Ball and Rhetoric Mass the following morning. ## Stonyhurst Association After less formal arrangements had been made for many years, the Association was formed in 1879. Its primary objective is to foster a strong spirit of union amongst past pupils and friends of Stonyhurst, which has been achieved in a variety of ways reflecting the spirit of succeeding generations. Recently, there has been a strong charitable emphasis, embedded with similar developments at the college. This was formalised in 1985, when the Association was granted charitable status by the Charity Commission. It also supports charities connected to the school including Eagle Aid. ### Alumni Stonyhurst has educated prominent individuals in every area, from statesmen to sportsmen, and actors to archbishops. Seven alumni have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry; paintings of them adorn the walls of the Top Refectory in the school. The school's alumni include three Saints, twelve Beati, seven archbishops, seven Victoria Cross winners, a Peruvian president, a Bolivian president, a New Zealand prime minister, a signatory of the American Declaration of Independence and several writers, sportsmen, and politicians. Notable alumni include: - Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signatory of the U.S. Declaration of Independence - Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes - St Thomas Garnet SJ, canonised saint and protomartyr of St Omers, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales - John Harbison, first State Pathologist of Ireland - Joseph Mary Plunkett, Irish signatory of the Irish Proclamation of Independence leading activist in the Easter Rising, for which he was executed - John Francis Moriarty, Attorney General for Ireland - Richard More O'Ferrall, Governor of Malta and Irish landownder. - Sir Frederick Weld, New Zealand prime minister - Eduardo Lopez de Romaña, president of Peru - Lieutenant Maurice James Dease, was the first posthumous recipient of the Victoria Cross during WWI, fought and died at the Battle of Mons - Thomas Meagher, Irish poet, leader of the Young Ireland movement, American Civil War Brigadier General, and Acting Governor of the Montana Territory. - Daniel Carroll, brother of John and cousin of Charles, one of only five men to sign both the Articles of Confederation and the United States Constitution. - John Carroll, brother of Daniel and cousin of Charles, served as first bishop and archbishop in the United States, founder of Georgetown University. Contemporaries - Joe Ansbro, Scottish rugby international - Crispian Hollis, Bishop of Portsmouth - Michael D. Hurley, Cambridge don engaged in literature, philosophy and theology - Paul Johnson, writer, artist and popular historian - Professor Gabriel Leung, GBS, JP, Dean of the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, University of Hong Kong - Mark Thompson, former Director General of the BBC - Chris Morris, satirist, BAFTA winner - Tom Morris, theatre director, producer and writer, and Tony Award winner - Matt Greenhalgh, screenwriter, BAFTA winner - Tim Hetherington, photographer, Oscar nominee - Patrick Rock former government deputy director of policy for Prime Minister David Cameron and convicted sex offender\* - Bill Cash, MP for Stone, Staffordshire and prominent Brexiteer - Patrick McGrath, novelist ## Notable masters - Brian Ashton, history master and England rugby coach. - Dick Greenwood, Assistant bursar and England rugby coach. - Christopher Hollis, assistant master, history master (1925–1935), author, politician and president of the Oxford Union. - Gerard Manley Hopkins, classics master and poet. - Stephen Joseph Perry, astronomy master. - Alfred Weld SJ, director of the Observatory, grandson of founder Thomas Weld (of Lulworth) - Pietro Angelo Secchi, astronomy master, astrophysicist, and director of the Vatican Observatory. - George Tyrrell, philosophy master and Roman Catholic modernist. ### Headmasters Since the college's foundation in Flanders in 1593, there have been 78 headmasters, (variably known as presidents, rectors, superiors and directors). Until the appointment of Giles Mercer in 1985, the headmaster had always been a member of the Society of Jesus. There have been three lay headmasters. `style="font-size:100%;"` St Omer, Bruges, Liège (1593–1794) See: Heads of St Omer, Bruges, Liège Stonyhurst (1794–present) Presidents Marmaduke Stone SJ (1794–1808) Nicholas Sewall SJ (1808–1813) John Weld SJ (1813–1816) Nicholas Sewall SJ (1816–1817) Rector and Headmaster Charles Plowden SJ (1817–1819) Joseph Tristram SJ (1819–1827) Richard Norris SJ (1827–1832) Richard Parker SJ (1832–1836) John Brownbill SJ (1836–1839) Francis Daniel SJ (1839–1841) Andrew Barrow SJ (1841–1845) Richard Norris SJ (1845–1846) Henry Walmesley SJ (1846–1847) Richard Sumner SJ (1847–1848) Francis Clough SJ (1848–1861) Joseph Johnson SJ (1861–1868) Charles Henry SJ (1868–1869) Edward Purbick SJ (1869–1879) William Eyre SJ (1879–1885) Reginald Colley SJ (1885–1891) Herman Walmesley SJ (1891–1898) Joseph Browne SJ (1898–1906) Pedro Gordon SJ (1906–1907) William Bodkin SJ (1907–1916) Edward O'Connor SJ (1916–1924) Walter Weld SJ (1924–1929) Richard Worsley SJ (1929–1932) Edward O'Connor SJ (1932–1938) Leo Belton SJ (1938–1945) Bernard Swindells SJ (1945–1952) Francis Vavasour SJ (1952–1958) Desmond Boyle SJ (1958–1961) Headmasters Frederick J. Turner SJ (1961–1963) George Earle SJ (1963–1971) Michael Bossy SJ (1971–1985) Giles Mercer (1985–1996) Adrian Aylward (1996–2006) Andrew Johnson (2006-2016) John Browne (2016-present) Headmasters of Hodder Place & St Mary's Hall (1807–present) See: Headmasters of Stonyhurst Saint Mary's Hall ## Controversy James Chaning-Pearce, a priest who taught at the school, was gaoled for sexually assaulting pupils between 1987 and 1995. The youngest victim was a boy of 12. In 1999, the Lancashire Constabulary conducted "Operation Whiting", which looked into allegations of abuse at the school dating back to the 1970s. This resulted in two convictions, one of which was quashed on appeal. On 14 May 2002, a parliamentary committee member described the operation as "a scandal in itself" and an "expensive... fiasco". Another priest, Father Paul Symonds, at Stonyhurst between 1972 and 1979, was arrested in November 2009 for having allegedly abused a 13-year-old boy for three years. The case was dropped by the CPS Lancashire, a year later and was revealed in March 2014. In 2014, Stonyhurst was fined £100,000 and ordered to pay £31,547.78 in legal costs for the prosecution after pleading guilty to a breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for health and safety failings after a stonemason working for the college developed silicosis, a potentially fatal lung disease. The college made the stonemason, who had worked for the college for almost 12 years, redundant, four months after his diagnosis. ## See also - List of Jesuit sites in the United Kingdom - List of Jesuit schools - St Gordianus, interred in the school - Listed buildings in Aighton, Bailey and Chaigley

Sue Me, Sue You Blues

1972 single by George Harrison

"Sue Me, Sue You Blues" is a song written by English musician George Harrison, released on his 1973 album Living in the Material World. Harrison initially let American guitarist Jesse Ed Davis record it for the latter's Ululu album (1972), in gratitude to Davis for his participation in the Concert for Bangladesh. When writing the song, Harrison drew inspiration from the legal issues surrounding the Beatles during the early months of 1971, particularly the lawsuit that Paul McCartney initiated in an effort to dissolve the band's business partnership, Apple Corps. The inclusion of "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" on Material World marked a rare example of a secular composition on Harrison's most spiritually oriented album. Recorded at the Beatles' Apple Studio in London, the track features his extensive use of the Dobro-style resonator guitar, as well as musical contributions from Gary Wright, Nicky Hopkins, Klaus Voormann and Jim Keltner. The song's musical mood and lyric recall aspects of old English square dance, a quality that some writers identify as mirroring the changing of sides amid the lawsuits relating to the Beatles' break-up. Some critics have compared the track with John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?"; Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone magazine described it as a "clever Lennonist diatribe". Harrison performed "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" throughout his 1974 North American tour, utilising a funk-inspired arrangement that featured musicians Willie Weeks, Andy Newmark and Tom Scott. For these performances, Harrison modified the lyrics to reflect the former Beatles uniting against manager Allen Klein. The song's title was a phrase that Harrison and commentators adopted when referring to Beatles-related legal issues during the 1970s. A film clip containing Harrison's 1971 demo of "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" appeared on the DVD accompanying the 2006 remaster of Living in the Material World. ## Background and composition As third songwriter to Lennon and McCartney, George Harrison had written about his experiences regarding the disharmonious atmosphere within the Beatles during the late 1960s, in compositions such as "Not Guilty", "I Me Mine", "Wah-Wah" and "Run of the Mill". The latter two songs, which reflect on the failing friendships among the Beatles, appeared on Harrison's critically acclaimed triple album All Things Must Pass, released in November 1970, seven months after Paul McCartney's departure had initiated the band's break-up. On 31 December of that year, McCartney filed suit against Apple Corps and his former bandmates at London's High Court of Justice, in an effort to free himself from the legal obligations imposed on him by the Beatles' partnership, and particularly from manager Allen Klein. Author Robert Rodriguez describes the situation as an "unfathomably sour turn of events" that "mystified" the public and angered fans of the Beatles. Beginning on 19 February 1971, the court heard reports from Harrison, John Lennon and Ringo Starr of McCartney's attempts to control the band, and McCartney's equally unflattering assessment of Klein. Although the other three former Beatles had presented a united front against McCartney since his April 1970 departure from the band, the recent publication of Lennon's scathing comments to Rolling Stone editor Jann Wenner, about McCartney, Harrison and Starr, added to the ill-feeling surrounding the group. On 12 March, High Court judge Mr Justice Stamp ruled in McCartney's favour, appointing London accountant James Spooner as Apple Corps' official receiver. While Lennon reportedly unleashed his anger that day by throwing two bricks through the windows of McCartney's St John's Wood home, Harrison channelled his frustration into a new composition, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues". Harrison biographer Simon Leng suggests that the song "takes a nearly impersonal overview of the Beatles' self-inflicted legal wounds". In his 1980 autobiography, I, Me, Mine, Harrison describes the opening verse as being "vaguely based on the Square dance type of fiddle lyric": > Well, you serve me and I'll serve you > Swing your partners, all get screwed > Bring your lawyer and I'll bring mine > Get together, and we could have a bad time In Leng's opinion, the song's lyrics "revel in the certainty that lawyers are an easy target for general scorn and a quick way of securing a common denominator". During the second verse, the line "It's affidavit swearing time" reflects real-life events – whereby Harrison, Lennon and Starr all submitted their statements to the court via affidavit – before Harrison concludes: "Now all that's left is to find yourself a new band." In the third verse, Harrison predicts the eventual outcome of the lawsuit: > Hold the block on money flow > Move it into joint escrow > Court receiver, laughs and thrills > But in the end we just pay those lawyers their bills Author Ian Inglis identifies Harrison's use of the plural form "we" in the lyric as evidence of his hope for "a shared and sensible outcome" for the former Beatles, since the situation "disadvantages them all". While Harrison biographer Dale Allison interprets a degree of animosity towards the other Beatles in the song's lyrics, Leng argues that they are directed solely at the legal profession. Inglis similarly dismisses the idea that Harrison was targeting his former bandmates; instead, the song expresses "frustration rather than hostility" and addresses the "absurdity" of the situation. Inglis writes of "Sue Me, Sue You Blues": "It makes clear that amid the legal arguments, financial requirements, and technical language ... there are four former friends who are powerless to control events." Regarding the song's square-dance theme, Leng suggests that folk dancing's cycle of about-turns and to-and-fro movement reminded Harrison of the Beatles' "seemingly endless, and pointless, legal orbits around one another". The song's lyrics are set against a blues-based bottleneck riff, typical of Harrison's work at the time with the dobro. Played in his favoured open E tuning, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" was one of a number of bottleneck-inspired Harrison compositions from the early 1970s. The song title soon became part of regular Harrison parlance, as evidenced by his appearance on The Dick Cavett Show in November 1971, when he used the phrase to goad Capitol Records boss Bhaskar Menon over delaying the release of the Concert for Bangladesh live album. Commentators similarly adopted "sue me, sue you blues" as a description for the litigation surrounding Harrison and his fellow ex-Beatles throughout the 1970s. ## Pre-Living in the Material World recording history ### Harrison's solo demo Harrison recorded a brief demo of "Sue Me, Sue You Blues", in the Delta blues style, which became available in the 1990s on bootleg compilations such as Pirate Songs. Leng describes this 1971 recording as "astonishing" and a "must" for inclusion on any forthcoming George Harrison anthology, with Harrison sounding like "a lost bluesman, bootlegged in Chicago". The demo was officially issued in September 2006, on the DVD included in the deluxe edition of Harrison's remastered 1973 solo album, Living in the Material World. The song is set to archival footage, showing images of Harrison's National resonator guitar, over which his handwritten lyrics are superimposed. In the opinion of Music Box editor John Metzger, this version of "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" "stings more than its studio counterpart". Although the 2006 reissue lists it as an "acoustic demo version", Harrison played electric slide guitar on the recording. The same film clip appears on the DVD exclusive to the Apple Years 1968–75 Harrison box set, released in September 2014. ### Jesse Ed Davis's version Harrison met Tulsa-born guitarist Jesse Ed Davis through mutual friends, singer-songwriter Leon Russell and drummer Jim Keltner, both of whom took part in the hastily arranged session for Harrison's "Bangla Desh" charity single in July 1971. Russell also assisted Harrison in recruiting personnel for the associated benefit concerts, held at Madison Square Garden in New York, and suggested Davis as a replacement for Eric Clapton, who was then dealing with a severe heroin addiction. Both Davis and Clapton ended up playing at the two shows, on 1 August. In gratitude to Davis, Harrison offered him "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" for inclusion on his second solo album, Ululu. A former guitarist with blues singer Taj Mahal, Davis arranged the song as a Southern blues shuffle, creating a "beautiful version" in the words of music critic Thom Jurek. As on the 1971 demo, which Harrison had passed on to Davis, this version of "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" omits the song's third verse and, at just 2 minutes 45 seconds, it is significantly shorter than Harrison's better-known 1973 recording. Other musicians on Davis's version include Keltner, Dr. John and Billy Rich. Like Keltner, Davis went on to work with all the former Beatles except McCartney during the 1970s, remaining close to Harrison and playing regularly with Lennon over the 1973–75 period. Ululu was released in March 1972, before which Atco Records had issued "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" as the album's advance single on 25 January. Davis co-produced the recording with Grammy Award-winning producer Albhy Galuten. In an interview with Los Angeles Free Press the following year, Davis expressed disappointment with his two albums on the Atco label and named "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" as one of the few songs he liked. ## Living in the Material World recording Harrison returned to the song in December 1972, during a break in the sessions for his Living in the Material World album, the start of which had been delayed by the various business and tax problems connected with his Concert for Bangladesh aid project. By this time, Harrison, Lennon and Starr had grown disaffected with manager Allen Klein and had chosen not to renew his contract. Once album sessions resumed in January 1973, Harrison taped the basic track for "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" at the Beatles' Apple Studio, in central London. Harrison was backed on the recording by Keltner on drums, keyboard players Gary Wright and Nicky Hopkins, and bassist Klaus Voormann. These musicians provided the core line-up throughout the Material World sessions, in a deliberate move by Harrison to work with a small band and pare down the production after the excesses of All Things Must Pass. The recording begins with the song's single-chord riff, created by a combination of Hopkins' low piano notes and Harrison's dobro, before the rhythm shifts to what author Alan Clayson calls "downbeat hootenanny" over the verses. Leng identifies the rhythm as approximating the do-si-do dance step found in square dancing. Harrison takes the first solo, midway through the track, playing a second, overdubbed dobro, while Wright's Wurlitzer electric piano leads the instrumental passage that closes the song. Contrasting with his more substantial presence on All Things Must Pass, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" marks a rare instance where Wright's keyboard work, rather than just Hopkins', features prominently on Living in the Material World. Harrison completed the song's vocals by late February, soon after his 30th birthday. He then travelled to Los Angeles for a series of Beatles-related business meetings held at the offices of Apple's US distributor, Capitol Records, primarily to discuss the upcoming Beatles compilations 1962–1966 and 1967–1970. While these two double albums were intended to foil bootleggers, Doggett notes that the profits financed the Beatles' litigation against Klein until well into 1974. ## Release "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" was issued at the end of May 1973 as the second track on Living in the Material World, following the album's lead single, "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth)". According to authors Chip Madinger and Mark Easter, Harrison considered an alternative running order, whereby "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" was track 1 and "Give Me Love" opened side two of the album. In the UK cassette format, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" was the opening track, followed by "The Lord Loves the One (That Loves the Lord)". The song's inclusion marked the only secular composition on Material World. It also served as a rare foray into rock amid the album's abundance of spiritually themed ballads and occasional acoustic-based pop such as "Give Me Love" and "Don't Let Me Wait Too Long". Reflecting the album content, Tom Wilkes's design for the record's face labels contrasted a devout spiritual existence with life in the material world, by featuring a painting of Krishna and his warrior prince Arjuna on side one and a picture of a Mercedes stretch limousine on the reverse. Regarded by some as the most level-headed and musically consistent ex-Beatle in mid 1973, with "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" Harrison provided observers with another example in the band's tradition of self-referential songwriting. Leng has written of the public and the media "long[ing] for these further installments of 'the Beatles soap opera'", of which this song was "less paranoiac" than "How Do You Sleep?" and "not as roseate" as Starr's "Early 1970". ## Reception On release, Billboard magazine noted "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" as a comment on "the Beatles and their mish-mash", while Stephen Holden of Rolling Stone described the track as "a biting slide-guitar showcase for Harrison, its lyric a clever Lennonist diatribe against such monetary quarrels as those that ended the Beatles". In their respective books discussing the former Beatles' first decade as solo artists, Nicholas Schaffner and NME critic Bob Woffinden likewise praised Harrison's dobro playing, Schaffner likening it to the "vicious slide guitar work" Harrison had supplied for Lennon on "How Do You Sleep?" Woffinden compared "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" with Harrison's 1966 Beatles track "Taxman", as a composition that showed its author's "impatien[ce] with those who come between him and his money", and for that reason, found it "rather out of place" on Material World. Recalling the album's release in The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles, Michael Frontani writes: "Harrison's slide-playing is featured throughout, with the swamp-drenched, nocturnal wails of 'Sue Me, Sue You Blues,' in particular, demonstrating his grasp of the form." Among more recent reviewers, AllMusic's Lindsay Planer draws parallels with Lennon's compositions "How Do You Sleep?" and "Steel and Glass", and describes "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" as a "scathing rocker" in which Harrison "forgoes his trademark arid wit for a decidedly more acerbic and direct approach". To Zeth Lundy of PopMatters, "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" expresses Harrison's "passive-aggressiveness". John Metzger views the lyrics as "ridiculously simplistic" and the track as "perhaps, the most bilious song that [Harrison] ever penned". AllMusic critic Bruce Eder and Chip Madinger and Mark Easter instead recognise humour in Harrison's lyrics. Writing for Rough Guides, Chris Ingham views this track and "Try Some, Buy Some" as "wry, reasonable digs at symptoms of what Harrison sees as a diseased world", while Hugh Fielder of Classic Rock magazine recognises the song's place on its parent album, in that the legal wrangling "explains his retreat from the material world". Blogcritics' Chaz Lipp considers "the sinewy 'Sue Me, Sue You Blues'" to be among the highlights of Material World and a song that "rank[s] right alongside Harrison's best work". Among Harrison biographers, Ian Inglis finds an additional comic element in the use of dobro and, like Leng, sees the do-si-do rhythm as an apt musical metaphor for the changing alliances occurring in the courtroom through the early 1970s. Another author who recognises "a good pinch of humour" in the song, Elliot Huntley describes "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" as an "excellent" track, with a "magnificent steel guitar riff". Leng praises the performance of all the musicians on the recording, particularly Keltner, and describes it as "one of Harrison's most accomplished pieces". "It speaks of a very confident, classy musician near the height of his powers", Leng writes, while remarking on the contrast between Harrison in 1972–73 and the "resigned figure" he had portrayed in the Beatles' 1970 documentary film Let It Be. ## Live performance During an interview midway through Harrison's 1974 North American tour with Ravi Shankar, band leader Tom Scott described "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" as having been a certain inclusion in the setlist from the start of rehearsals, along with "What Is Life", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" and Lennon's Beatles-era composition "In My Life". Harrison gave "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" a new musical arrangement, the track "reborn as horn-driven funk", Leng writes, via the all-American rhythm section of Willie Weeks and Andy Newmark, and Scott's three-piece horn section. In a feature article for Rolling Stone that otherwise savaged the opening West Coast portion of the Harrison–Shankar tour, Ben Fong-Torres wrote approvingly of its inclusion while bemoaning the paucity of other "familiar Beatles or Harrison songs" in the setlist. The tour coincided with speculation about a possible Beatles reunion, as well as an agreement regarding the official dissolution of their partnership, which would be ratified following the receipt of all four members' signatures in December 1974. With Starr opting to sign in London, to avoid being subpoenaed by Klein upon entering the United States, Harrison and McCartney provided their signatures in New York on 19 December. Throughout the tour, Harrison changed a line in "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" to reflect the turnaround in his, Lennon's and Starr's allegiances over the previous two years – "Bring your lawyer and I'll bring Klein" name-checking the common enemy of all four ex-Beatles by 1974. Instead of a copy of the Bible, as in the studio versions of the song, Harrison now sang "Hold your Gita in your hand". Despite his plans for a live album and a concert film, no recording of this or any other Harrison song from the tour has ever received widespread official release. A noted performance of "Sue Me, Sue You Blues" appears on bootlegs from his show at Long Beach Arena, where, Leng writes, "the crowd was buzzing", so "set[ting] the tone" for a series of successful concerts in America's Southern states. During this Long Beach performance, on 10 November, Harrison followed his lyric about "find[ing] yourself a new band" with the quip "I think I've got one of those!", reflecting his claim that he was having "too much fun" with his current musicians to consider a Beatles reunion. ## Personnel - George Harrison – vocals, dobros, backing vocals - Gary Wright – electric piano - Nicky Hopkins – piano - Klaus Voormann – bass - Jim Keltner – drums

JAL Express

Defunct low-cost airline of Japan (1997—2014)

JAL Express Co., Ltd. (JEX) (株式会社ジャル エクスプレス, Kabushiki-gaisha Jaru Ekusupuresu), was an airline with its headquarters at Tokyo International Airport and in Ota-ku, Tokyo, Japan, and its main hub at Tokyo International Airport. It also maintained offices in the Japan Airlines Building in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its operations included scheduled and non-scheduled passenger services to eight regional destinations across Japan. It also served 15 additional destinations in Japan, and two in the People's Republic of China on behalf of Japan Airlines, under a wet-lease agreement. JAL Express was a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan's flag carrier, Japan Airlines and an affiliate member of the Oneworld alliance. It was founded April 1, 1997, and began operations with a Boeing 737-400 on July 1, 1998. It celebrated its tenth anniversary and first flight in April 2007 and July 2008, respectively. It operated its first international flight in May 2009, and flew to Hangzhou and Shanghai. In the fiscal year ending March 31, 1999, JAL Express, together with its sister airlines within the JAL Group, carried over 32 million passengers and over 1.1 million tons of cargo and mail. The carrier ended operations on 30 September 2014 after being fully integrated with Japan Airlines. ## History JAL Express (JEX) was established on April 1, 1997 as a wholly owned domestic subsidiary airline of Japan Airlines (JAL), with initial capital of ¥5.8 million. It operated scheduled passenger services to regional domestic destinations in Japan, as well as some low-demand flights for JAL under wet-lease agreement. It was also considered for services on the domestic trunk and short-haul international routes. On July 1, 1998, JAL Express commenced operations from Osaka to Miyazaki and Kagoshima with two Boeing 737-400s, non-Japanese cockpit crew, and short-term contracted cabin attendants. The airline's cabin attendants, called Sky Cast, were responsible for cleaning the 150-seat cabin between flights. The airline celebrated its one millionth passenger in June 2000 and commenced wet-lease operation for its parent JAL in December 2000. On 14 November 2002, JAL introduced a new aircraft livery design, "The Arc of the Sun", across the JAL Group fleet. A reception to celebrate the completion of the first aircraft with the new design was held at the JAS M2 hangar. In April 2005, the McDonnell Douglas MD-81 was introduced to the airline fleet, with an all Economy Class configuration with 163 seats. JAL Express became an affiliate member of Oneworld on April 1, 2007, together with four of its sister airlines, in the alliance's biggest expansion in its young history. On the same day, the airline celebrated its tenth anniversary of establishment. JAL Express welcomed the arrival of the new Boeing 737-800 to its fleet in January 2008 and celebrated the tenth anniversary of its first flight in July 2008. It operated its first international flight in May 2009 under a wet-lease agreement with JAL. On July 9, 2010, JAL Express pilot Ari Fuji became its first female airline flight captain. As of March 27, 2011, all of JAL Express flights were being operated as JAL flights, until the full merger of the two carriers in September 2014. ## Destinations JAL Express operated to the following destinations: ## Fleet As of September 2013, JAL Express operated 42 narrow-body aircraft, with either two classes of service (class J and Economy class) or single class of service (Economy Class). ## Services ### In-flight catering Cold beverages (including Hajime Saori cooled-green tea, JAL Original citrus drink Sky Time and apple juice), hot beverages (including tea, green tea, coffee and consommé soup), JAL Original candy, and sugar candy were available on JAL Express flights. Passengers traveling in Class J could enjoy JAL Class J in-flight catering services. From March 27, 2011, passengers traveling in all classes could enjoy in-flight catering services on all flights. ### In-flight entertainment JAL Group's in-flight magazine, Skyward, JAL Express's in-flight magazine JEX Letter, and in-flight shopping magazine JALSHOP were available on board. No newspaper or audio or video programs were available. Class J passengers could enjoy JAL Class J in-flight entertainment services where available. After March 27, 2011, passengers in all classes could enjoy in-flight entertainment services on all of flights. ## See also - Air transport in Japan - List of airports in Japan - List of Japanese companies - Transport in Japan

1989 Serbian general election

General elections were held in Serbia on 12 November 1989 to elect the president of the presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia and delegates of the Assembly of SR Serbia. Voting for delegates also took place on 10 and 30 November 1989. In addition to the general elections, local elections were held simultaneously. These were the first direct elections conducted after the adoption of the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution and the delegate electoral system, and the last elections conducted under a one-party system. The election was preceded by the rise of Slobodan Milošević, who after being elected president of the presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS) in 1986, ousted his mentor Ivan Stambolić and Stambolić's allies from key positions in 1987. Milošević started the anti-bureaucratic revolution and began amending the constitution of Serbia in 1988. After Milošević got appointed to the position of the president of the presidency of SR Serbia in May 1989, presidential and parliamentary elections were announced for November 1989. Milošević, Mihalj Kertes, Zoran Pjanić, and Miroslav Đorđević were the candidates in the presidential election; Milošević ended up winning the election in a landslide. SKS won 303 seats, a net loss of 20 seats in comparison with the 1986 election, and 37 individuals that were not members of SKS won the rest of the seats in the Assembly. The League of Communists of Yugoslavia ceased to exist in January 1990, and after a referendum in July 1990, Serbia adopted a new constitution that implemented a multi-party system and reduced powers of its autonomous provinces, Kosovo and Vojvodina. The first multi-party elections were then held in December 1990. ## Background ### Post-World War II After World War II, the Communist Party consolidated power in Yugoslavia, transforming the country into a socialist state. Each constituent republic had its own branch of the Communist party, with Serbia having the Communist Party of Serbia. The federal Communist party renamed itself as the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (SKJ) at its 6th Congress in 1952. Its branches did the same; the Communist Party of Serbia became the League of Communists of Serbia (SKS). Josip Broz Tito was the president of SKJ until his death in 1980. After Tito's death, Yugoslavia was faced with issues related to the economy, constitutional problems, and a potential rise in ethnic nationalism. Yugoslavia initially implemented austerity measures to reduce its debt. A swift increase of debt, inflation, and unemployment was saw in the 1980s instead. According to publicist Zlatoje Martinov, the republics got "stronger and became de facto states with their own armed forces" (sve više jačaju i predstavljaju faktičke države sa sopstvenim oružanim snagama) because of the crises. Martinov also said that the gradual process of the dissolution of Yugoslavia was underway. Following the 1986 parliamentary election, Desimir Jevtić was elected prime minister of Serbia. ### Rise of Slobodan Milošević Ivan Stambolić, the president of the City Committee of the League of Communists of Belgrade, was elected president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS in 1984. Considered a liberal and reformist within SKS, Stambolić was the mentor of Slobodan Milošević, his colleague from the University of Belgrade Faculty of Law. After becoming the president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS in 1984, Stambolić appointed Milošević as his successor to his previous role, despite opposition from older Communist officials. Milošević then began forming a faction of officials that were loyal to him. Prior to the 1986 parliamentary election, Stambolić announced that he would step down from his position as the head of SKS. Despite receiving support from 84 municipal boards of SKS, Milošević was still met with strong opposition inside the party. There were proposals to have several candidates in the leadership election, although, the presidency voted 12–8 to propose Milošević as the sole candidate for the president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS. Milošević was successfully elected president of SKS in May 1986, while Stambolić also began serving as president of Serbia, after being elected by the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS. Dragiša Pavlović, a liberal and Stambolić's ally, also became the president of the City Committee of the League of Communists of Belgrade. Milošević took a populist turn in April 1987. He began portraying himself as a supporter of Kosovo Serbs, and during one visit to Kosovo, he said to Serbs that "no one will dare to beat you" (ne sme niko da vas bije). During the same period, he became more critical of Stambolić and Pavlović, particularly due to their moderate stance on Kosovo. Milošević called a session of the Central Committee of SKS to be held in September 1987. At the session, Stambolić tried to reconcile Pavlović and Milošević, but Milošević instead criticised Stambolić and Pavlović. Pavlović and Stambolić's other allies were then dismissed from their positions. Some political scientists have characterised the session as a coup d'état. Stambolić was isolated after the session and was removed from the position of the president of Serbia in December 1987. He then retired from politics. Beginning in 1988, protests, dubbed the anti-bureaucratic revolution, began in Serbia and Montenegro in support of Milošević's centralisation programme. Although Milošević denied that he was directly involved in the protests, he actually had direct contact with the organisers. In Montenegro, the leadership was forced to resign. It was replaced by the pro-Milošević faction, led by Momir Bulatović. This soon followed in Vojvodina and Kosovo. In Vojvodina, Mihalj Kertes particularly became a prominent figure due to his statement: "How can you Serbs be afraid of Serbia, when I, a Hungarian, am not afraid of Serbia?". The Socialist Alliance of Working People of Serbia (SSRNS), an popular front organisation subordinate to SKS, proposed Milošević to the position of the president of the presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia and was successfully appointed on 8 May 1989. ### Constitutional changes The aftermath of the 1988–1989 anti-bureaucratic revolution saw the amendments of the 1974 Yugoslav Constitution. As part of the 1974 constitution, Kosovo was granted full autonomy and was given equal voting status like other six constituent republics. Following the protests in March 1989, Milošević proposed amendments that were soon accepted by the Assembly of SAP Kosovo and Assembly of SR Serbia. The amendment revoked the powers that autonomous provinces Kosovo and Vojvodina received in the 1974 constitution. ## Electoral system At the time of the 1989 elections, Serbia's electoral system was in accordance with the 1974 constitution. Instead of directly electing members of the Assembly, citizens voted for the compositions of delegation bodies. Members of these delegation bodies then elected delegates that served in the Assembly of SR Serbia. The voting system was complex; it combined elements of a direct, indirect, and the first-past-the-post voting majoritarian system. Those who were 15 or older had the right to vote, and those who served in the army at the time of the elections were able to vote at their military stations. Invalid ballots were introduced with the 1989 elections; ballots that were blank or ballots which could not be determined who was voted for would be considered invalid. The Assembly was divided into three councils. The Council of Associated Labour had 160 delegates, while the Council of Municipalities and Socio-Political Council each had 90 delegates. The delegates then elected members of the Presidency of the Socialist Republic of Serbia, the Council of the Republic, and a member of the Presidency of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. At the time of the 1989 elections, Serbia was still a one-party state but the 1989 elections were the first direct elections to be held since 1974. The parliamentary election was conducted on three separate days: 10, 12 and 30 November 1989. Local elections were conducted on the same days as the parliamentary elections. The presidential election was only held on 12 November. Polling stations were opened from 07:00 (UTC+01:00) to 19:00. ### Political parties The table below lists political parties elected in the Assembly of SR Serbia after the 1986 parliamentary election. In the Council of Associated Labour, there were 148 SKS delegates; in the Council of Municipalities, there were 88 SKS delegates, and in the Socio-Political Council, there were 87 SKS delegates. Most of the delegates were 50 years old or younger. ## Conduct Following Milošević's appointment to the position of the president of the presidency of SR Serbia, elections were called to dismiss any potential criticism on whether Milošević's appointment was "the wish of the people" (želja čitavog naroda). The presidential election thus served as a referendum on whether Milošević should retain his position as the president of the presidency. SKS stated that these "elections should show that we believe in the policies of our leadership" (izbori treba da pokažu da verujemo u politiku svog rukovodstva). At the time of the election, Bogdan Trifunović was the president of the presidency of the Central Committee of SKS. As part of the pre-election campaign, over 10,000 delegation body conferences were organised in Serbia. There were 19,478 delegation bodies that had 346,518 members in total. ### Presidential candidates At a SSRNS session on 1 November 1989, Milošević was officially proposed as a presidential candidate. So the presidential election would be perceived as democratic, multiple candidates were proposed for the election by SSRNS. However, no candidate initially wanted to risk running against Milošević. SSRNS then proposed final four candidates, these being Milošević, Kertes, and professors Zoran Pjanić and Miroslav Đorđević. ## Results According to a Politika report from November 1989, 14,855 polling stations were opened during the elections. Results of the elections were announced on 20 November, eight days after the election was held. ### Presidential Beginning on 13 November, Radio-Television Belgrade and Politika reported turnouts and results. It was reported that in Kuršumlija that 99 percent of voters voted for Milošević, and that in some villages of the municipality of Kraljevo, Milošević won all votes. Similar results were reported in Kačanik, while in Vučitrn, Kertes won the most votes. In the Sandžak region, Milošević won most votes. The turnout was later reported to be at 83 percent and that Milošević won 80 percent of all votes cast. Milošević won most of his votes in Central Serbia, followed by Vojvodina, and then Kosovo, where he only won 25 percent of popular vote. In Belgrade, Milošević received 93 percent of the popular vote. Pjanić placed second with 4 percent, Kertes third with 3.3 percent, and Đorđević fourth with 2.7 percent. Turnout in Belgrade was 80.3 percent. ### Parliamentary For the parliamentary elections, there were 6,640,675 registered citizens that had the right to vote in total. 82 percent of the registered voters exercised their right to vote in the election. In the parliamentary election, SKS won 303 seats in the Assembly of SR Serbia, a decrease of 20 seats in comparison with the 1986 parliamentary election. 37 of those who were not affiliated with SKS were elected in the election. In the Council of Associated Labour, 134 SKS delegates were elected, in the Council of Municipalities, 84 SKS delegates were elected, and in the Socio-Political Council, 85 SKS delegates were elected. ## Aftermath ### Assembly leadership The Assembly of SR Serbia was constituted on 5 December 1989. Zoran Sokolović was elected president of the Assembly while Vukašin Jokanović, Slobodan Janjić, and Đorđe Šćepančević were elected vice-presidents of the Assembly. Stanko Radmilović was elected prime minister of Serbia, while on 6 December, the Assembly of SR Serbia officially declared Milošević as the president of the presidency. Radmilović was a Milošević loyalist. ### Dissolution of SKJ Milošević proposed reforms of the Federal Assembly of Yugoslavia in 1989. These proposals were opposed by the Slovene delegation, which favoured keeping the composition in accordance with the 1974 constitution. Because of the dispute, the first and only extraordinary congress was organised for 1990. The 14th congress, held in Sava Centar, Belgrade, was eventually organised for 20–23 January 1990. Presided by Milan Pančevski, the congress was attended by over 1,600 delegates of all six constituent republics and two autonomous provinces. The congress started with a polemic between Borut Pahor and Milomir Minić, and it continued with Milan Kučan saying that Slovenes reject Serbia's proposed centralisation policies. Ciril Ribičič and the Slovene delegation expressed their disappointment with the first plenary session of the 14th congress. The head of the Serbian delegation, Milošević, proposed to introduce a "one man–one vote" system but, this was also opposed by the Slovene delegation, which favoured the reconstruction of SKJ and Yugoslavia to a confederal system instead. With the help of Kosovo, Vojvodina, Montenegro, and Yugoslav People's Army delegates, all proposals from the Slovene and Bosnian delegation were rejected while Serbia's proposals were accepted. At the second plenary session, the Slovene delegation left the Congress, stating that they did not want to be responsible "for the agony of LC of Yugoslavia into which the current impositions of will and the bearers of those impositions are leading it" (ne žele biti suodgovorni za agoniju SK Jugoslavije u koju je vode sadašnja nametanja volje i nosioci tih nametanja). Despite Milošević wanting to continue the congress without the Slovene delegation, the Croatian delegation, led by Ivica Račan, objected this. The Croatian delegation, joined by the Macedonian and Bosnian and Herzegovinian delegations, left the congress soon after. Pančevski adjourned the session to 3 am for 23 January; on 23 January, the rest of Serbia's proposal were accepted. The third plenary session of the 14th congress never occurred, and SKJ ceased to exist. ### 1990 constitutional referendum While Serbia was still a one-party state, a referendum was organised in July 1990 on whether to adopt a new constitution or to hold multi-party elections first. A majority of voters voted in favour of adopting a new constitution despite Kosovo Albanians boycotting the referendum; the constitution was adopted in September 1990. The first multi-party elections were held in December 1990. With the adoption of the 1990 constitution, the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina were renamed to Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija and Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, respectively, while the Socialist Republic of Serbia was renamed to the Republic of Serbia. The power of the provinces were greatly reduced. Serbia's electoral system was also changed; the delegate system was abolished, Assembly of SR Serbia was renamed to the National Assembly, and the number of seats was decreased to 250. The president of the National Assembly was also the one who would schedule parliamentary and presidential elections. Serbia also became a multi-party state, meaning that under the Law on Political Organisations, political parties could be registered to take part in future elections. SKS merged with the Socialist Alliance of Working People of Yugoslavia to create the Socialist Party of Serbia, while opposition parties, like the Democratic Party, Serbian Renewal Movement, People's Radical Party, and People's Peasant Party also registered as political parties.

Flag of Prince Edward Island

Canadian provincial flag

The flag of Prince Edward Island consists of a golden lion passant on a red field in the upper portion and a white field defaced with three oak saplings and a large oak tree on a green island in the bottom portion. This is bordered on three edges other than the hoist by a fimbriation of alternating red and white rectangles. Adopted in 1964 in the run-up to the Canadian Centennial, it has been the flag of the province since March 24 of that year. It is a banner of arms modelled after the province's coat of arms. When flown with the flags of other Canadian provinces and the national flag, it is eighth in the order of precedence. ## History The French first settled in modern-day Prince Edward Island during the 1720s and named it Ile Saint-Jean. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 saw France permanently relinquish the island to the United Kingdom. It was consequently placed under the administration of the Colony of Nova Scotia and its name was anglicized to St. John’s Island. The territory became a separate colony in 1769, and was accorded its own seal on July 14 of that same year. It featured an oak tree with three adjacent smaller trees. The island was renamed in 1799 to honour Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, who was the commander of the British forces in North America and garrisoned in nearby Halifax at the time. Responsible government was accorded to Prince Edward Islanders in 1851. The territory hosted the Charlottetown Conference in 1864, which culminated in Canadian Confederation three years later on July 1, 1867, between the Province of Canada (consisting of modern-day Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. Although the island was consequently dubbed the "Cradle of Confederation", it initially opted not to join due to lack of popular support. However, major economic troubles on the island led it to reconsider and eventually acquiesce to confederation. It officially joined the Dominion of Canada exactly six years later on July 1, 1873. Subsequently, King Edward VII issued a Royal Warrant on May 30, 1905, allowing Prince Edward Island to utilize their own coat of arms. The shield was derived from the Great Seal of 1769, with the addition of a gold lion on a red chief. In the time leading up to the Canadian Centennial in 1967, Conrad Swan – the first Canadian to be appointed to the College of Arms in London – was invited to design a flag for Prince Edward Island. He created an armorial banner based on the province's coat of arms and included a fimbriation of alternating red and white rectangles on the outer three sides of the flag. The Act of Legislature that tabled this flag received royal assent on March 24, 1964. In a 2001 online survey conducted by the North American Vexillological Association, Prince Edward Island's flag ranked within the top third of state, provincial and territorial flags from Canada, the United States, and select current and former territories of the United States. It finished in 21st place out of 72, and placed fifth among official Canadian flags after Quebec, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, and New Brunswick. ## Design ### Description The flag of Prince Edward Island is described in detail in the Provincial Flag Act, provincial legislation that has been in force from March 24, 1964. It specifies the flag is to have an aspect ratio of 2:3. The blazon for the arms – as outlined in the letters patent registering it with the Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA) on July 15, 2011 – reads, "Argent on an island Vert, to the sinister an oak tree fructed, to the dexter thereof three oak saplings sprouting all proper, on a chief Gules a lion passant guardant Or". The flag itself was registered with the CHA on November 15, 2010. The fimbriation of alternating red and white bands consists of rectangles measuring 10 inches (25 cm) in length and 3 inches (7.6 cm) in height. ### Symbolism The colours and symbols of the flag carry cultural, political, and regional meanings. According to vexillologist Whitney Smith, the gold lion in the upper part of the flag – corresponding to the one on the Royal Arms of England – alludes to the English heritage of the early colonists to Prince Edward Island. It also evokes the coat of arms of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, who is the namesake of the island. The large oak tree on the right symbolizes England, while the three oak saplings on the left epitomize the three counties that constitute the province (namely Kings County, Queens County, and Prince County). The green island on which these trees are planted on represents Prince Edward Island and Great Britain, which are both islands. Taken altogether, the trees tie in with the province's motto of Parva sub ingenti ("the small under the protection of the great", from the second book of the Georgics by Virgil). The island was historically a small colony of the British Empire, as well as the smallest Canadian province by area. The three oak saplings are therefore interpreted in Complete Flags of the World by DK as the "descendants" of the British oak tree and are guarded by the British lion. The oak tree on Prince Edward Island's coat of arms (and by extension, its flag) is surmised to be Quercus rubra (red oak). This was adopted as the provincial tree in 1987. However, it has not been officially identified as such with regard to the arms. ## Protocol Advice regarding flag etiquette is the responsibility of the province's Office of Protocol, specifically the Chief of Protocol. When flown together with the flag of Canada and the other provincial and territorial flags, the flag of Prince Edward Island is eighth in the order of precedence (after the national flag and, in descending order of precedence, the flags of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and British Columbia). This is because it was the seventh province to enter into Confederation. Within Prince Edward Island, the provincial flag is third in the order of precedence, after the personal standard of a member of the Royal Family, the Governor General, or the province's Lieutenant Governor, as well as the national flag. Under section 3 of the Provincial Flag Act, the utilization of the flag in a way that is prohibited by the Lieutenant Governor-in-Council is a summary offence that is punishable by a maximum fine of C\$50 for the first instance and a maximum of \$500 for every offence thereafter. In addition to the dates set out by the federal government for flying flags at half-mast, the provincial flag is half-masted upon the death of the Lieutenant Governor or premier (either an incumbent or a previous one), as well as the incumbent speaker of the legislative assembly, member of the executive council, and federal members of parliament (MPs) and senators who represent the province. It may also be flown in such a manner when an individual honoured by Prince Edward Island dies. The flag may be draped over the casket of an individual who was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces or who served in public office. When utilized in this situation, the flag should measure 4.5 feet (1.4 m) by 9 feet (2.7 m) and be placed with the canton covering the left end of the coffin. The guidelines also state that the flag is not to touch the ground, nor should it be used to cover a table or seat. It ought to be hoisted at sunrise and lowered before sunset, unless the flag is illuminated by floodlight throughout the night. The provincial flag should not be flown on the same flagpole that displays another flag. The only exception to this is if the other flag is the banner of an organization, in which case it is to be flown underneath the flag of Prince Edward Island if individual flagpoles are not available. It is not to be employed at an unveiling ceremony to cover a statue, monument, or plaque, nor should it be situated between the ground tier and platform tier at the front of a stage.

The Boat Race 1873

The 30th Boat Race took place on the 29 March 1873. The Boat Race is an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames. In a race umpired by former Oxford rower Joseph William Chitty, Cambridge won by three lengths in a time of 19 minutes and 35 seconds, the fastest time in the history of the event. It was the first time that rowers raced on sliding seats. ## Background The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. Cambridge went into the race as reigning champions, having defeated Oxford by two lengths in the previous year's race, while Oxford led overall with sixteen wins to Cambridge's thirteen. Although the use of sliding seats had been considered the previous year, the then-Cambridge boat club president John Goldie disallowed the Light Blue boat manufacturer Harry Clasper from fitting them. However, for the 1873 race, both boats were, for the first time, fitted with the innovation. Cambridge were coached by John Graham Chambers (who rowed for Cambridge in the 1862 and 1863 races, and was non-rowing boat club president for the 1865 race). Oxford's coach was Robert Lesley, the non-rowing president of Oxford University Boat Club (who had rowed in the 1871 and 1872 races). Joseph William Chitty (who had rowed for Oxford twice in 1849 (in the March and December races) and the 1852 race) returned as umpire for the race (with Robert Lewis-Lloyd having officiated the previous year) while the starter was Edward Searle. ## Crews The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 11 st 11 lb (74.7 kg), 5.25 pounds (2.4 kg) more than their opponents. Oxford saw four former Blues return from the 1872 crew, while Cambridge's crew included three rowers who had participated the previous year, in James Brooks Close, Charles Stokes Read and Constantine William Benson. ## Race Oxford won the toss and elected to start from the Surrey station, handing the Middlesex side of the river to Cambridge. The race commenced at 2.32 p.m. Oxford's higher stroke rate enabled them to make "a good race of it", and remained in contention for the first mile-and-a-half to Hammersmith Bridge, but in doing so exhausted themselves. Cambridge eased off and won the race by three lengths. The winning time was 19 minutes and 35 seconds, the fastest time in the history of The Boat Race and 29 seconds faster than the previous record set in the 1869 race.

Hyde Park, London

Royal Park in London, United Kingdom

Hyde Park is a 350 acres (140 ha), historic Grade I-listed urban park in Westminster, Greater London. A Royal Park, it is the largest of the parks and green spaces that form a chain from Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Green Park, past Buckingham Palace to St James's Park. Hyde Park is divided by the Serpentine and the Long Water lakes. The park was established by Henry VIII in 1536 when he took the land from Westminster Abbey and used it as a hunting ground. It opened to the public in 1637 and quickly became popular, particularly for May Day parades. Major improvements occurred in the early 18th century under the direction of Queen Caroline. The park also became a place for duels during this time, often involving members of the nobility. In the 19th century, The Great Exhibition of 1851 was held in the park, for which The Crystal Palace, designed by Joseph Paxton, was erected. Free speech and demonstrations have been a key feature of Hyde Park since the 19th century. Speakers' Corner has been established as a point of free speech and debate since 1872, while the Chartists, the Reform League, the suffragettes, and the Stop the War Coalition have all held protests there. In the late 20th century, the park was known for holding large-scale free rock music concerts, featuring groups such as Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones and Queen. Major events in the park have continued into the 21st century, such as Live 8 in 2005, and the annual Hyde Park Winter Wonderland from 2007. ## Geography Hyde Park is a Royal Park in central London, bounded on the north by Bayswater Road, to the east by Park Lane, and to the south by Knightsbridge. Further north is Paddington, further east is Mayfair and further south is Belgravia. To the southeast, outside the park, is Hyde Park Corner, beyond which is Green Park, St. James's Park and Buckingham Palace Gardens. The park has been Grade I listed on the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens since 1987. To the west, Hyde Park merges with Kensington Gardens. The dividing line runs approximately between Alexandra Gate to Victoria Gate via West Carriage Drive and the Serpentine Bridge. The Serpentine is to the south of the park area. Kensington Gardens has been separate from Hyde Park since 1728, when Queen Caroline divided them. Hyde Park covers 142 hectares (351 acres), and Kensington Gardens covers 111 hectares (274 acres), giving a total area of 253 hectares (625 acres). During daylight, the two parks merge seamlessly into each other, but Kensington Gardens closes at dusk, and Hyde Park remains open throughout the year from 5 a.m. until midnight. ## History ### Early history The park's name comes from the Manor of Hyde, which was the northeast sub-division of the manor of Eia (the other two sub-divisions were Ebury and Neyte) and appears as such in the Domesday Book. The name is believed to be of Saxon origin, and means a unit of land, the hide, that was appropriate for the support of a single family and dependents. Through the Middle Ages, it was property of Westminster Abbey, and the woods in the manor were used both for firewood and shelter for game. ### 16th–17th centuries Hyde Park was created for hunting by Henry Vlll in 1536 after he acquired the manor of Hyde from the Abbey. It was enclosed as a deer park and remained a private hunting ground until James I permitted limited access to gentlefolk, appointing a ranger to take charge. Charles I created the Ring (north of the present Serpentine boathouses), and in 1637 he opened the park to the general public. It quickly became a popular gathering place, particularly for May Day celebrations. At the start of the English Civil War in 1642, a series of fortifications were built along the east side of the park, including forts at what is now Marble Arch, Mount Street and Hyde Park Corner. The latter included a strongpoint where visitors to London could be checked and vetted. In 1652, during the Interregnum, Parliament ordered the then 620-acre (250 ha) park to be sold for "ready money". It realised £17,000 with an additional £765 6s 2d for the resident deer. During the Great Plague of London in 1665, Hyde Park was used as a military camp. Following the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, Charles II retook ownership of Hyde Park and enclosed it in a brick wall. He restocked deer in what is now Buck Hill in Kensington Gardens. The May Day parade continued to be a popular event; Samuel Pepys took part in the park's celebrations in 1663 while attempting to gain the King's favour. ### 18th century In 1689, William III moved his residence to Kensington Palace on the far side of Hyde Park and had a drive laid out across its southern edge which was known as the King's Private Road. The drive is still in existence as a wide straight gravelled carriage track leading west from Hyde Park Corner across the southern boundary of Hyde Park towards Kensington Palace and now known as Rotten Row, possibly a corruption of rotteran (to muster), Ratten Row (roundabout way), Route du roi, or rotten (the soft material with which the road is covered). It is believed to be the first road in London to be lit at night, which was done to deter highwaymen. In 1749, Horace Walpole was robbed while travelling through the park from Holland House. The row was used by the wealthy for riding in the early 19th century. Hyde Park was a popular duelling spot during the 18th century, with 172 taking place, causing 63 deaths. The Hamilton–Mohun Duel took place there in 1712, when Charles Mohun, 4th Baron Mohun, fought James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton. Baron Mohun was killed instantly, and the Duke died shortly afterwards. John Wilkes fought Samuel Martin in 1772, the year in which Richard Brinsley Sheridan duelled with Captain Thomas Mathews over the latter's libellous comments about Sheridan's fiancée, Elizabeth Ann Linley. Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow, fought Andrew Stuart in a Hyde Park duel in 1770. Military executions were common in Hyde Park at this time; John Rocque's Map of London, 1746, marks a point inside the park, close to the Tyburn gallows, as "where soldiers are shot." The first coherent landscaping in Hyde Park began in 1726. It was undertaken by Charles Bridgeman for King George I; after the king's death in 1727, it continued with approval of his daughter-in-law, Queen Caroline. Work was supervised by Charles Withers, the Surveyor-General of Woods and Forests. The principal effect work was to Hyde Park and create Kensington Gardens. The Serpentine was formed by damming the River Westbourne, which runs through the park from Kilburn towards the Thames. It is divided from the Long Water by a bridge designed by George Rennie in 1826. The work was completed in 1733. The 2nd Viscount Weymouth was made Ranger of Hyde Park in 1739 and shortly after began digging the Serpentine lakes at Longleat. A powder magazine was built north of the Serpentine in 1805. ### 19th–21st centuries Hyde Park hosted a Great Fair in the summer of 1814 to celebrate the Allied sovereigns' visit to England, and exhibited various stalls and shows. The Battle of Trafalgar was re-enacted on the Serpentine, with a band playing the National Anthem while the French fleet sank into the lake. The coronation of King George IV in 1821 was celebrated with a fair in the park, including an air balloon and firework displays. One of the most important events to take place in Hyde Park was the Great Exhibition of 1851. The Crystal Palace was constructed on the south side of the park. The public did not want the building to remain after the closure of the exhibition, and its architect, Joseph Paxton, raised funds and purchased it. He had it moved to Sydenham Hill in South London. Another significant event was the first Victoria Cross investiture, on 26 June 1857, when 62 men were decorated by Queen Victoria in the presence of Prince Albert and other members of the Royal Family, including their future son-in-law Crown Prince Frederick William of Prussia. The Hyde Park Lido sits on the south bank of the Serpentine. It opened in 1930 to provide improved support for bathing and sunbathing in the park, which had been requested by the naturist group, the Sunlight League. The Lido and accompanying Pavilion was designed by the Commissioner of Works, George Lansbury, and was half funded by a £5,000 (now equivalent to £) donation from Major Colin Cooper (1892–1938). It still sees regular use in the summer. Hyde Park has been a major venue for several Royal jubilees and celebrations. For the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria in 1887, a party was organised on 22 June where around 26,000 school children were given a free meal as a gift. The Queen and the Prince of Wales made an unexpected appearance at the event. Victoria remained fond of Hyde Park in the final years of her life and often drove there twice a day. As part of the Queen's Silver Jubilee in 1977, a Jubilee Exhibition was set up in Hyde Park, with the Queen and Prince Philip visiting on 30 June. In 2012, a major festival took place in the park as part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. On 6 February, the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery, fired a 41-gun Royal Salute at Hyde Park Corner. On 20 July 1982, a Provisional Irish Republican Army bomb killed four soldiers and seven horses. A memorial was constructed to the left of the Albert Gate to commemorate the soldiers and horses killed in the blast. Since 2007, Hyde Park has played host to the annual Winter Wonderland event, which features numerous Christmas-themed markets, along with various rides and attractions, alongside bars and restaurants. It has become one of the largest Christmas events in Europe, having attracted over 14 million visitors as of 2016, and has expanded to include the largest ice rink in London, live entertainment and circuses. On 18 September 2010, Hyde Park was the setting for a prayer vigil with Pope Benedict XVI as part of his visit to the United Kingdom, attended by around 80,000 people. A large crowd assembled along the Mall to see the Pope arrive for his address. An attempt to assassinate the Pope had been foiled after five people dressed as street cleaners were spotted within a mile of Hyde Park, and arrested along with a sixth suspect. They were later released without charge as police said they posed no credible threat. ## Grand Entrance During the late 18th century, plans were made to replace the old toll gate at Hyde Park Corner with a grander entrance, following the gentrification of the area surrounding it. The first design was put forward by Robert Adam in 1778 as a grand archway, followed by John Soane's 1796 proposal to build a new palace adjacent to the corner in Green Park. Following the construction of Buckingham Palace, the improvement plans were revisited. The grand entrance to the park at Hyde Park Corner was designed by Decimus Burton, and was constructed in the 1820s. Burton laid out the paths and driveways and designed a series of lodges, the Screen/Gate at Hyde Park Corner (also known as the Grand Entrance or the Apsley Gate) in 1825 and the Wellington Arch, which opened in 1828. The Screen and the Arch originally formed a single composition, designed to provide a monumental transition between Hyde Park and Green Park, although the arch was moved in 1883. It originally had a statue of the Duke of Wellington on top; it was moved to Aldershot in 1883 when the arch was re-sited. An early description reports: > "It consists of a screen of handsome fluted Ionic columns, with three carriage entrance archways, two-foot entrances, a lodge, etc. The extent of the whole frontage is about 107 ft (33 m). The central entrance has a bold projection: the entablature is supported by four columns; and the volutes of the capitals of the outside column on each side of the gateway are formed in an angular direction, so as to exhibit two complete faces to view. The two side gateways, in their elevations, present two insulated Ionic columns, flanked by antae. All these entrances are finished by a blocking, the sides of the central one being decorated with a beautiful frieze, representing a naval and military triumphal procession. This frieze was designed by Mr. Henning, junior, the son of Mr. Henning who was well known for his models of the Elgin Marbles. The gates were manufactured by Messrs. Bramah. They are of iron, bronzed, and fixed or hung to the piers by rings of gun-metal. The design consists of a beautiful arrangement of the Greek honeysuckle ornament; the parts being well defined, and the raffles of the leaves brought out in a most extraordinary manner." The Wellington Arch was extensively restored by English Heritage between 1999 and 2001. It is now open to the public, who can see a view of the parks from its platforms above the porticoes. ## Features Popular areas within Hyde Park include Speakers' Corner (located in the northeast corner near Marble Arch), close to the former site of the Tyburn gallows, and Rotten Row, which is the northern boundary of the site of the Crystal Palace. ### Botany Flowers were first planted in Hyde Park in 1860 by William Andrews Nesfield. The next year, the Italian Water Garden was constructed at Victoria Gate, including fountains and a summer house. Queen Anne's Alcove was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and was moved to the park from its original location in Kensington Gardens. During the late 20th century, over 9,000 elm trees in Hyde Park were killed by Dutch elm disease. This included many trees along the great avenues planted by Queen Caroline, which were ultimately replaced by limes and maples. The park now holds 4 acres (1.6 ha) of greenhouses which hold the bedding plants for the Royal Parks. A scheme is available to adopt trees in the park, which helps fund their upkeep and maintenance. A botanical curiosity is the weeping beech, which is known as "the upside-down tree". A rose garden, designed by Colvin & Moggridge Landscape Architects, was added in 1994. ### Monuments There are a number of assorted statues and memorials around Hyde Park. The Cavalry Memorial was built in 1924 at Stanhope Gate. It moved to the Serpentine Road when Park Lane was widened to traffic in 1961. South of the Serpentine is the Diana, Princess of Wales memorial, an oval stone ring fountain opened on 6 July 2004. To the east of the Serpentine, just beyond the dam, is Britain's Holocaust Memorial. The 7 July Memorial in the park commemorates the victims of 7 July 2005 London bombings. The Standing Stone is a 7 t (7.7-ton) monolith at the centre of the Dell, in the east of Hyde Park. Made of Cornish stone, it was originally part of a drinking fountain, though an urban legend was established, claiming it was brought from Stonehenge by Charles I. An assortment of unusual sculptures are scattered around the park, including: Still Water, a massive horse head lapping up water; Jelly Baby Family, a family of giant Jelly Babies standing on top of a large black cube; and Vroom Vroom, which resembles a giant human hand pushing a toy car along the ground. The sculptor Jacob Epstein constructed several works in Hyde Park. His memorial to the author William Henry Hudson, featuring his character Rima caused public outrage when it was unveiled in 1925. There has been a fountain at Grosvenor Gate since 1863, designed by Alexander Munro. There is another fountain opposite Mount Street on the park's eastern edge. A pet cemetery was established at the north edge of Hyde Park in the late 19th century. The last burial took place in 1976. ### Police station Currently, the Metropolitan Police Service are responsible for policing the park and are based inside what is colloquially known as 'the Old Police House', which is situated within the park. The building was designed by John Dixon Butler, who was the forces's surveyor between 1895 and 1920. For the police, he completed around 200 buildings, including the Former New Scotland Yard, Norman Shaw South Building (assisting Richard Norman Shaw); the adjoining Canon Row Police Station; Bow Road Police Station, Tower Hamlets; Tower Bridge Magistrates Court and adjoining Police Station; and 19–21 Great Marlborough Street, Westminster (court and police station). The architectural historian describes the building as being like, from a distance, "a medium-sized country house of Charles II’s time." Hyde Park was policed by the Metropolitan Police from 1867 until 1993, when policing of the park was handed over to the Royal Parks Constabulary. In 2004 this changed back to the Metropolitan Police, following a review of the Royal Parks Constabulary by Anthony Speed. ## Debates Hyde Park's Speakers' Corner has acquired an international reputation for demonstrations and other protests due to its tolerance of free speech. In 1855, a protest at the park was organised to demonstrate against Robert Grosvenor's attempt to ban Sunday trading, including a restriction on pub opening times. Karl Marx observed approximately 200,000 protesters attended the demonstration, which involved jeering and taunting at upper-class horse carriages. A further protest occurred a week later, but this time the police attacked the crowd. In 1867 the policing of the park was entrusted to the Metropolitan Police, the only royal park so managed, due to the potential for trouble at Speakers' Corner. A Metropolitan Police station ('AH') is situated in the middle of the park. Covering Hyde Park and sixteen other royal parks (mostly in London), the 1872 Parks Regulation Act formalised the position of "park keeper" and also provided that "Every police constable belonging to the police force of the district in which any park, garden, or possession to which this Act applies is situate shall have the powers, privileges, and immunities of a park-keeper within such park, garden, or possession." Speakers' Corner became increasingly popular in the late 19th century. Visitors brought along placards, stepladders and soap boxes in order to stand out from others, while heckling of speakers was popular. Donald Soper, Baron Soper, was a regular visitor throughout the 20th century, until just before his death in 1998. The rise of the Internet, particularly blogs, has diminished the importance of Speakers' Corner as a political platform, and it is increasingly seen as simply a tourist attraction. As well as Speakers' Corner, several important mass demonstrations have occurred in Hyde Park. On 26 July 1886, the Reform League staged a march from their headquarters towards the park, campaigning for increased suffrage and representation. Though the police had closed the park, the crowd managed to break down the perimeter railings and get inside, leading to the event being dubbed "The Hyde Park Railings Affair". After the protests turned violent, three squadrons of Horse Guards and numerous Foot Guards were sent out from Marble Arch to combat the situation. On 21 June 1908, as part of "Women's Sunday", a reported 750,000 people marched from the Embankment to Hyde Park protesting for votes for women. The first protest against the planned 2003 invasion of Iraq took place in Hyde Park on 28 September 2002, with 150,000–350,000 in attendance. A further series of demonstrations happened around the world, culminating in the 15 February 2003 anti-war protests, part of a global demonstration against the Iraq War. Over a million protesters are reported to have attended the Hyde Park event alone. ## Concerts The bandstand in Hyde Park was built in Kensington Gardens in 1869 and moved to its present location in 1886. It became a popular place for concerts in the 1890s, featuring up to three every week. Military and brass bands continued to play there into the 20th century. The music management company Blackhill Enterprises held the first rock concert in Hyde Park on 29 June 1968, attended by 15,000 people. On the bill were Pink Floyd, Roy Harper and Jethro Tull, while John Peel later said it was "the nicest concert I’ve ever been to". Subsequently, Hyde Park has featured some of the most significant concerts in rock. The supergroup Blind Faith (featuring Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood) played their debut gig in Hyde Park on 7 June 1969. The Rolling Stones headlined a concert (later released as The Stones in the Park) on 5 July that year, two days after the death of founding member Brian Jones, and is now remembered as one of the most famous gigs of the 1960s. Pink Floyd returned to Hyde Park on 18 July 1970, playing new material from Atom Heart Mother. All of the early gigs from 1968 to 1971 were free events, contrasting sharply with the later commercial endeavours. Queen played a free concert organised by Richard Branson in the park on 18 September 1976, partway through recording the album A Day at the Races. The band drew an audience of 150,000 – 200,000, which remains the largest crowd for a Hyde Park concert. The group were not allowed to play an encore, and police threatened to arrest frontman Freddie Mercury if he attempted to do so. The British Live 8 concert took place in Hyde Park on 2 July 2005, as a concert organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise awareness of increased debts and poverty in the third world. Acts included U2, Coldplay, Elton John, R.E.M., Madonna, The Who, and Paul McCartney, and the most anticipated set was the reformation of the classic 1970s line-up of Pink Floyd (including David Gilmour and Roger Waters) for the first time since 1981. The gig was the Floyd's final live performance. Acts from each of the four nations in the UK played a gig in the park as part of the opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics. The headliners were Duran Duran, representing England, alongside the Stereophonics for Wales, Paolo Nutini for Scotland, and Snow Patrol for Northern Ireland. Since 2011, Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park has taken place each September. The British Summer Time series of concerts have taken place every summer in Hyde Park since 2013, and have included performances by Black Sabbath, Neil Young, Celine Dion and Bon Jovi. Local residents have become critical of Hyde Park as a concert venue, due to the sound levels, and have campaigned for a maximum sound level of 73 decibels. In July 2012, Bruce Springsteen and Paul McCartney found their microphones switched off after Springsteen had played a three-hour set during the Park's Hard Rock Calling festival, and overshot the 10:30 pm curfew time. ## Sports Hyde Park contains several sporting facilities, including several football pitches and a Tennis centre. There are numerous cycle paths, and horse riding is popular. In 1998 British artist Marion Coutts recreated Hyde Park, along with Battersea and Regent's Park, as a set of asymmetrical ping-pong tables for her interactive installation Fresh Air. For the 2012 Summer Olympics, the park hosted the triathlon, which brothers Alistair Brownlee and Jonathan Brownlee took the Gold and Bronze medals for Team GB, and the 10 km open water swimming events. The park has also hosted the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final. ## Transport There are five London Underground stations located on or near the edges of Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens (which is contiguous with Hyde Park). In clockwise order starting from the south-east, they are: - Hyde Park Corner (Piccadilly line) - Knightsbridge (Piccadilly line) - Queensway (Central line) - Lancaster Gate (Central line) - Marble Arch (Central line) Bayswater tube station, on the Circle and District lines, is also close to Queensway station and the north-west corner of the park. High Street Kensington tube station, on the Circle and District is very close to Kensington Palace located on the Southwest corner of Kensington Gardens. Paddington station, served by Bakerloo, Circle and District, and Hammersmith & City lines, is close to Lancaster Gate station and a short walk away from Hyde Park. Several main roads run around the perimeter of Hyde Park. Park Lane is part of the London Inner Ring Road and the London Congestion Charge zone boundary. Transport within the park for people lacking mobility and disabled visitors is provided free of charge by Liberty Drives, located at Triangle Carpark. Cycle Superhighway 3 (CS3) begins at Lancaster Gate, on the northern perimeter of Hyde Park. It is one of several TfL-coordinated cycle routes to cross the Park. CS3 also crosses Hyde Park Corner on its route towards Westminster and the City of London. The route opened in September 2018 and is signposted and cyclists are segregated from other road traffic on wide cycle tracks.

WVIR-TV

NBC/CW affiliate in Charlottesville, Virginia

WVIR-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Gray Television, the station has studios on East Market Street (US 250 Business) in downtown Charlottesville, and its primary transmitter is located on Carters Mountain south of the city. WVIR-TV began broadcasting as the first television station in Charlottesville on March 11, 1973. It took Charlottesville considerable time to develop a local TV station in part because half the city sits in the United States National Radio Quiet Zone, which constricted acceptable broadcast facilities in the region. In part as a result, it remained the only full-service commercial television station in Charlottesville for 31 years after being built and came to dominate the market. Waterman Broadcasting acquired the station in 1986 and would later lead the station through digitalization, the addition of the CW subchannel, and the introduction of high-definition local news in 2008, early for a market of Charlottesville's size. In 2019, Waterman sold WVIR-TV to Gray Television, which then sold the station's direct competition—WCAV and WVAW-LD—to make the purchase. WVIR-TV switched to the VHF band in 2020, causing technical issues. WVIR-CD operates in the Charlottesville area as a rebroadcaster on the UHF band. ## Television in Charlottesville: A quiet zone It took Charlottesville until 1973 to have a television station of its own in part because of the assignment of exclusively ultra high frequency (UHF) television channels and the location of part of Charlottesville and the surrounding area in the United States National Radio Quiet Zone. The Quiet Zone boundary runs through the grounds of the University of Virginia. The Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) 1952 Sixth Report and Order, its first nationwide channel allocation table, gave Charlottesville only one – UHF channel 45, reserved for non-commercial use; the nearest commercial allocation was on channel 42 in Waynesboro. In the ensuing public comment period, the city of Charlottesville and Charles Barham, the owner of WCHV radio, jointly petitioned to have very high frequency (VHF) channel 8 reassigned from Petersburg to a planned mountaintop tower near Crozet. They argued the VHF allocation would give a large part of central and northern Virginia its first ever television service. This was denied by the FCC, which reasoned removing VHF service from the larger city of Petersburg was unwarranted, though it conceded that a Waynesboro UHF station would be unviewable in Charlottesville and added channel 64 to compensate. Barham settled for channel 64 and received a construction permit on January 29, 1953. One week later, CBS affiliate WLVA-TV signed on from Lynchburg on VHF channel 13, and Charlottesville residents reported good reception. Early UHF stations were largely futile undertakings against VHF competition, as most televisions could not receive them yet and those that did produced a poor quality picture; the Daily Progress compared the difference between VHF and UHF reception to that between local AM radio and shortwave. WCHV radio saw no economic path forward and returned the channel 64 construction permit in January 1954. In 1961, the Charlottesville Broadcasting Corporation, owner of radio station WINA, applied to have VHF channel 11 assigned to the Waynesboro–Staunton area. However, even as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) took applications for channel 11, the plan faced stiff opposition from the United States Navy, which planned to build a radio telescope at Sugar Grove, West Virginia. In the meantime, Virginia Broadcasting Corporation, a company owned by stockbroker and bluegrass music artist William Marburg—better known as Bill Clifton—filed for Charlottesville's channel 64 allocation. The channel 64 station received a construction permit in June 1964; six months later, the WINA proposal for channel 11 was denied after the Navy insisted on continued protection for the Sugar Grove site. The channel 64 permit was never built, though it was transferred to another group in 1966. Two parties then filed for new UHF stations, both originally specifying channel 25, in January 1965. Shenandoah Valley Broadcasting proposed a semi-satellite of WSVA-TV in Harrisonburg with local news and public affairs programming, while WINA soon filed a competing proposal, believing Charlottesville needed a station of its own. WINA won the construction permit, amended to specify channel 29, but failed to convince the national networks that they needed an affiliate in Charlottesville. In 1969, WINA radio was sold, but neither the buyer nor the seller wanted to retain the channel 29 construction permit, which was returned to the FCC. ## History ### Early years Another company known as the Virginia Broadcasting Corporation, a consortium of more than 30 local stockholders, filed with the FCC on October 19, 1971, for permission to build channel 29. The FCC granted the construction permit on March 1, 1972, and the company announced it would be operating within a year from a transmitter on Carters Mountain and studios on Main Street. In June, the station secured affiliation with NBC and announced plans for daily 6 and 11 p.m. newscasts; the company bought the equipment of a bankrupt TV station in Greensboro, North Carolina, which was dismantled, loaded into three rental trucks, and reassembled on Carters Mountain. WVIR-TV began broadcasting on March 11, 1973. The station was three and a half hours late to its own sign-on due to a technical mishap. It took four years for channel 29 to turn a profit. WVIR-TV was the first television station in Charlottesville and the only full-service outlet for more than 30 years; WHSV-TV opened a translator in Charlottesville in 1980, and Richmond public television station WCVE-TV built full-power repeater WHTJ in 1989. It also expanded its coverage area to include Staunton and the Harrisonburg–Rockingham County areas by way of two translators of its own. The station originally operated from studios on Main Street, in a former shoe store, and later added more offices on East Market Street. In 1983, it bought a building on Market Street which was being used as a parking garage to renovate for its studios and offices. ### Waterman ownership In 1986, Waterman Broadcasting Corporation, led by Winchester native Bernie Waterman, presented an offer to the Virginia Broadcasting Corporation to buy WVIR-TV. The 41 stockholders unanimously agreed to sell the station for \$8.694 million. The station continued to dominate its local market with no competition. In one 1998 ad, the station touted its news programs as the highest-rated in Virginia; the 6 p.m. news attracted 71 percent of the audience at that hour. In 2003, WVIR was the object of a major libel case in Virginia stemming from a 2001 news report that incorrectly stated a man's property had been searched and cocaine had been seized. The station had refused to retract the incorrect report. Jurors returned a \$10 million verdict against the station, but a judge reduced the amount, calling it "undue". Channel 29 gained its first full-power commercial competition when WCAV (channel 19) launched as a CBS affiliate on August 13, 2004. The station was built by Gray Television, owner of WHSV-TV, and was followed by the conversion of the former WHSV translator into WVAW-LP, a separately programmed ABC affiliate for the Charlottesville area, as well as the 2005 launch of WAHU-CA "Fox 27". WVIR-TV started a subchannel to air The CW when the network began in September 2006. This included a 10 p.m. local newscast. The station began producing high-definition newscasts in April 2008, making Charlottesville the second-smallest market at the time with HD local news. By this time, WVIR continued to hold a commanding lead over its competition. WVIR-TV ceased regular programming on its analog signal at 12:30 p.m. on February 17, 2009, the original date for the digital television transition under federal mandate (which was later pushed back to June 12, 2009). The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 32, using virtual channel 29; the decision to continue the February switchover saved the station \$40,000. As part of the analog nightlight service, the station was required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to leave its analog signal on-air for two months after the end of digital transition at an estimated cost to the station of \$20,000 to broadcast an endless loop of instructional video on digital converter box installation. This was interrupted daily to carry local newscasts. The station entered the 2016–17 spectrum reallocation auction, electing to take \$46,399,285 for its channel 32 allocation and move to the low-VHF band (channels 2 through 6). Chief engineer Bob Jenkins noted that the station was not particularly happy with moving to channel 2 but chose it over entering a channel-sharing agreement with another station. ### Gray Television ownership Waterman announced a deal to sell WVIR-TV to Gray Television on March 4, 2019. To acquire WVIR-TV, Gray concurrently announced it would sell WCAV and WVAW-LD, as well as WAHU-CD's programming, to Lockwood Broadcast Group. Gray, however, retained the WAHU-CD license. The sale was approved on April 15. The transaction was completed on October 1. On December 1, Gray split off the NBC and CW services for the Harrisonburg and Staunton area as a separate station run from WHSV-TV, WSVW-LD "NBC 3 in the Valley". Gray implemented the station's repack. The station was to move its signal from channel 32 to channel 2 by January 17, 2020. Equipment shipping and construction delays forced WVIR-TV to use WCAV's channel 19 facility temporarily before it completed the relocation to channel 2 on March 18. Despite the UHF relay, WVIR-TV received hundreds of reception complaints in the following month and applied to increase its effective radiated power on channel 2 from 10 kW to 34 kW. In addition to WVIR-CD, the former WAHU-CD which now broadcasts the same subchannels on the UHF band in the Charlottesville area, the station received a construction permit in 2022 to build a digital replacement translator on channel 30 at Madison, Virginia. This facility began operating in July 2023. ### Notable alumni - Brooke Baldwin – anchor - Lonnie Quinn – weather anchor/reporter (now at WCBS-TV in New York) ## Subchannels The station's signal is multiplexed:

Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021

None

Albania participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, with the song "Karma" performed by Anxhela Peristeri. Its entry was selected through the national selection competition Festivali i Këngës organised by Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) in December 2020. To this point, the nation had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixteen times since its first entry in . Prior to the contest, the song was promoted by a music video and various television and radio appearances in Albania, Greece, Kosovo and San Marino. Albania was drawn to compete in the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 20 May 2021. Performing as number 11, the nation was announced among the top 10 entries of the second semi-final and therefore qualified to compete in the grand final. In the grand final on 22 May 2021, it performed as number two and placed 21st out of the 26 participating countries, scoring 57 points. ## Background Prior to the 2021 contest, Albania had participated in the Eurovision Song Contest sixteen times since its first entry in . The nation's highest placing in the contest, to this point, had been the fifth place, which it achieved in with the song "Suus" performed by Rona Nishliu. The first entry was performed by Anjeza Shahini with the song "The Image of You" and finished in the seventh place, Albania's second-highest placing to date. During its tenure in the contest, the nation failed to qualify for the final seven times, with both the and entries being the most recent non-qualifiers. Since 2018, it managed to qualify for the final in both the and contest with Eugent Bushpepa finishing 11th place with "Mall" and Jonida Maliqi placing 17th with "Ktheju tokës". In September 2020, the national broadcaster of Albania, Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH), officially confirmed Albania's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. RTSH broadcasts the contest within Albania and organises the selection process for the nation's entry. Since its debut in 2004, it has consistently selected its entry through the long-standing competition Festivali i Këngës. ## Before Eurovision ### Festivali i Këngës Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) organised the 59th edition of Festivali i Këngës in order to select the nation's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The competition consisted of two semi-finals on 21 and 22 December, respectively, and the final on 23 December 2020. The three shows took place at the Italy Square in Tirana instead of the Palace of Congresses (the regular venue of the festival) due to COVID-19 restrictions, and were hosted by Albanian actress Jonida Vokshi and host Blendi Salaj. From August 2020 to 2 October 2020, interested artists were able to submit their entries to the broadcaster. An artistic committee, consisting of Agim Doçi, Alma Bektashi, Eugent Bushpepa, Jonida Maliqi and Klodian Qafoku, reviewed the received submissions and chose 26 artists and songs shortlisted to compete in the semi-finals of Festivali i Këngës. On 16 November, RTSH released all of the competing songs on its official YouTube channel. #### Contestants #### Shows ##### Semi-finals The two semi-finals of Festivali i Këngës took place on 21 December and 22 December 2020 and were broadcast at 21:00 (CET) on the respective dates. As a result of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the performances of the semi-finals and final were pre-recorded prior to the scheduled dates. During the first semi-final, the competing participants performed the official studio version of their entries, while on the second semi-final, they presented their acoustic versions. Prior to the second semi-final, the votes of an expert jury panel selected eighteen songs to advance to the final. ##### Final The final of Festivali i Këngës took place on 23 December 2020 and was broadcast at 21:00 (CET). 18 songs competed and the winner was determined by the combination of the votes from a seven-member jury panel consisting of Andri Xhahu, Kastriot Çaushi, Prec Zogaj, Rame Lahaj, Robert Radoja, Vasil Tole and Zana Shuteriqi. Before the end of the show, Anxhela Peristeri with "Karma" emerged as the winner of the competition and was simultaneously announced as the country's representative for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. Key: `Winner` `Second place` `Third place` ### Promotion A music video for "Karma" premiered on the official YouTube channel of the Eurovision Song Contest on 1 March 2021 at 20:00 (CET). Prior to the scheduled live shows, Peristeri went on to promote the song in her native Albania and Kosovo with television appearances on ABC News, Klan Kosova, Ora News, and Televizioni Klan (TV Klan) as well as for radio interviews on Radio Televizioni 21 (RTV21) and Top Channel. Her promotional phase on European television and radio stations continued on Greek Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) and Open TV as well as on Sammarinese RTV. For further promotion, Peristeri also performed the song during the virtual concerts in the British Wiwi Jam, Croatian Adriatic Pre Party and Spanish PrePartyES. ### Live-on-tape performance As according to the European Broadcasting Union's (EBU) prevention plan against a COVID-19-cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, each participant was required to record a live-on-tape performance of their planned entry in a location of their choice prior to the event. The tape was set to be broadcast during the live shows of the contest in case the artist was unable to travel to the contest venue to perform their song due to pandemic restrictions or related reasons. A large portion of the mostly unused live-on-tape performances, including Peristeri's, were unveiled after the contest on 28 May and 29 May 2021 as part of Eurovision Song Celebration shows. ## At Eurovision The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 took place at Rotterdam Ahoy in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and consisted of two semi-finals held on the respective dates of 18 and 20 May and the grand final on 22 May 2021. According to the Eurovision rules, all participating countries, except the host nation and the "Big Five", consisting of , , , and the , are required to qualify from one of two semi-finals to compete for the final, although the top 10 countries from the respective semi-final progress to the grand final. On 17 November 2020, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) confirmed that the semi-final allocation draw for the 2021 contest would not be held. Instead, the semi-finals featured the same line-up of countries as determined by the draw for the cancelled 2020 contest, which was held on 28 January 2020 at the Rotterdam City Hall. Albania was drawn to participate in the second half of the second semi-final, which was held on 20 May 2021. Once all the competing songs for the 2021 contest had been released, the running order for the semi-finals was decided by the producers of the contest rather than through another draw, to prevent similar songs from being placed next to each other. Albania was set to perform at position 11, succeeding and preceding . At the end of the semi-final, the nation was announced among the top 10 entries and therefore qualified to compete in the grand final. The results of the show were determined by a 50/50 combination of votes from each participating country's professional jury panel and public televote. Soon after, it was announced that Albania would be performing second in the grand final, succeeding and preceding . ### Voting Voting during the three shows involved each country awarding two sets of points from 1–8, 10 and 12: one from their professional jury and the other from televoting. Each nation's jury consisted of five music industry professionals who are citizens of the country they represent, with a diversity in gender and age represented. The judges assess each entry based on the performances during the second Dress Rehearsal of each show, which takes place the night before each live show, against a set of criteria including vocal capacity; the stage performance; the song's composition and originality; and the overall impression by the act. Jury members may only take part in panel once every three years, and are obliged to confirm that they are not connected to any of the participating acts in a way that would impact their ability to vote impartially. Jury members should also vote independently, with no discussion of their vote permitted with other jury members. The exact composition of the professional jury, and the results of each country's jury and televoting were released after the grand final; the individual results from each jury member were also released in an anonymised form. The tables below visualise a breakdown of points awarded to Albania in the second semi-final and final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2021, as well as by the nation on both occasions. In the semi-final, Albania finished in 10th place, being awarded a total of 112 points, including 10 by the televoters from and the same number of points by the juries from . In the final, Albania reached 21st place with 57 points, including 10 by the televoters from and , and 12 by the juries from . The nation's televoters and juries awarded its 12 points to on both occasions the semi-final and final. #### Points awarded to Albania #### Points awarded by Albania #### Detailed voting results The following members comprised the Albanian jury: - Aurel Thellimi - Kastriot Tusha - Kejsi Tola - Rozana Radi - Sokol Marsi

Soviet destroyer Statny (1939)

Soviet Storozhevoy-class destroyers

Statny (Russian: Статный, lit. 'Stately') was one of 18 Storozhevoy-class destroyers (officially known as Project 7U) built for the Soviet Navy during the late 1930s. Although she began construction as a Project 7 Gnevny-class destroyer, Statny was completed in 1941 to the modified Project 7U design. The destroyer entered service in July of that year, a month after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, and shelled German positions on the Gulf of Riga coast in early August. While evading air attack on 18 August, she struck a mine that blew off her bow. Statny grounded and was abandoned before sinking during a storm on 22 August following a failed salvage effort to pump out water from her flooded compartments. Her wreck was salvaged for scrap in 1957. ## Design and description Originally built as a Gnevny-class ship, Statny and her sister ships were completed to the modified Project 7U design after Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, ordered that the latter be built with their boilers arranged en echelon, instead of linked as in the Gnevnys, so that a ship could still move with one or two boilers disabled. Like the Gnevnys, the Project 7U destroyers had an overall length of 112.5 meters (369 ft 1 in) and a beam of 10.2 meters (33 ft 6 in), but they had a reduced draft of 3.98 meters (13 ft 1 in) at deep load. The ships were slightly overweight, displacing 1,727 metric tons (1,700 long tons) at standard load and 2,279 metric tons (2,243 long tons) at deep load. The crew complement of the Storozhevoy class numbered 207 in peacetime, but this increased to 271 in wartime, as more personnel were needed to operate additional equipment. Each ship had a pair of geared steam turbines, each driving one propeller, rated to produce 54,000 shaft horsepower (40,000 kW) using steam from four water-tube boilers, which the designers expected would exceed the 37-knot (69 km/h; 43 mph) speed of the Project 7s because there was additional steam available. Some fell short of it, although specific figures for most individual ships have not survived. Variations in fuel oil capacity meant that the range of the Project 7Us varied from 1,380 to 2,700 nautical miles (2,560 to 5,000 km; 1,590 to 3,110 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph), that upper figure demonstrated by Storozhevoy. The Project 7U-class ships mounted four 130-millimeter (5.1 in) B-13 guns in two pairs of superfiring single mounts fore and aft of the superstructure. Anti-aircraft defense was provided by a pair of 76.2-millimeter (3 in) 34-K AA guns in single mounts and three 45-millimeter (1.8 in) 21-K AA guns, as well as four 12.7-millimeter (0.50 in) DK or DShK machine guns. They carried six 533 mm (21.0 in) torpedo tubes in two rotating triple mounts amidships. The ships could also carry a maximum of 58 to 96 mines and 30 depth charges. They were fitted with a set of Mars hydrophones for anti-submarine work, although these were useless at speeds over 3 knots (5.6 km/h; 3.5 mph). ## Construction and career Statny was laid down at Shipyard No. 190 (Zhdanov) in Leningrad with the yard number 518 on 26 December 1936 as a Gnevny-class destroyer. She was relaid down as a Project 7U destroyer on 29 December 1938, and launched on 24 November 1939. After completing her trials in June 1941, the destroyer was accepted by a state commission on 9 July and entered service with the Baltic Fleet on 18 July, almost a month after the beginning of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on 22 June. During August, she and her sister Surovy shelled German positions on the coast of the Gulf of Riga, expending 111 main-gun rounds on a coastal artillery battery near Ainaži on 6 August and 72 on the railway station and jetty of Mērsrags two days later; she escaped unscathed from the return fire from coastal batteries on both occasions. While anchored in the Rohuküla roadstead in the Moonsund on 18 August, Statny came under German air attack at 10:10 and weighed anchor, but struck a German bottom mine fifteen minutes later while carrying out evasive maneuvers. The forward portion of her bow was blown off and sank within ten minutes; her captain was among those killed in the explosion. The bow section and the forward boiler room flooded almost instantly, and as crewmen evacuated the forward engine room and second boiler room they failed to close the hatches, allowing the flooding to continue into those compartments. After a failed attempt to reverse, the destroyer grounded at a depth of 7–8 meters (23–26 ft). At 12:00 the rescue ship Saturn approached and attempted to pump out the water from the flooded compartments, but was forced to withdraw until nightfall due to another air raid. This process continued for three and a half days as the compartments were drained by the pumps at night, but flooded again during the day. The destroyer was abandoned after a storm broke out, and rolled over to port and sank on 22 August. She was struck from the Navy List on 31 August. In 1957, the wreck was raised and towed to Tallinn for scrapping.

James Fisher Robinson

Governor of Kentucky

James Fisher Robinson (October 4, 1800 – October 31, 1882) was the 22nd Governor of Kentucky, serving the remainder of the unfinished term of Governor Beriah Magoffin. Magoffin, a Confederate sympathizer, became increasingly ineffective after the elections of 1861 yielded a supermajority to pro-Union forces in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly. Magoffin agreed to resign the governorship, provided he could select his successor. He selected Robinson. Politically, Robinson opposed both secession and abolition. Though he had Union sympathies, he was considered a moderate, opposing both fugitive slave laws and the enlistment of black soldiers. As a state senator, he supported the Crittenden Compromise and opposed the Civil War. As governor, he drew criticism from the administration of President Abraham Lincoln for opposing the Emancipation Proclamation. ## Early life Robinson was born to Jonathan and Jane Black Robinson in Scott County, Kentucky on October 4, 1800. His early studies were done under a private tutor, then under Presbyterian minister Robert Marshall. He was of English and Scottish descent. He attended Forest Hill Academy and Transylvania University, graduating in 1818. His brother, John McCracken Robinson graduated in the same class and moved to Illinois, where he eventually served two terms as a U.S. Senator. James Robinson studied law under William T. Barry, and was admitted to the bar, beginning his practice in Georgetown, Kentucky. On December 29, 1821, Robinson married Susan Mansell of Georgetown, the first of his three wives. Mansell and Robinson had two children, a son and a daughter, before Mansell died in 1835. Robinson married Willina S. Herndon of Scott County on March 21, 1839. The couple had eight children, seven of whom survived to adulthood. Herndon died in 1861. ## Political career Robinson's political career began in 1851, when he was elected to the Kentucky Senate as a Whig without opposition. He did not immediately seek re-election, but was again elected to the state Senate in 1861 over challenger James B. Beck. He was elected Speaker of the Senate on September 2, 1861, but resigned the post only a few days later. Robinson again assumed the position as Speaker of the Senate on August 16, 1862 as part of a political deal to effect the resignation of Governor Beriah Magoffin. Magoffin's lieutenant governor, Linn Boyd, had died in office in 1859, and Magoffin was unwilling to allow John Fisk, then Senate Speaker and next in line for the governorship, to succeed him. Magoffin agreed to resign if the Senate would elect Robinson as Speaker, putting him next in line for the governorship. This was done, and at 10:00 am on August 18, 1862, Robinson succeeded Magoffin upon the latter's resignation. Because he never resigned from the Senate, Robinson technically held both his legislative seat and the governorship concurrently. The Civil War was ongoing during Robinson's administration. During Robinson's tenure, the Confederacy made its major advance into the Commonwealth. In an attempt to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth, Robinson raised taxes in an effort to revive Kentucky's state militia. He was also concerned with the effect the war had on public education in the state. He asked the General Assembly to investigate the condition of state schools, especially in war-ravaged areas, and encouraged them to accept the Lincoln administration's offer of land to establish an agricultural and mechanical college. Robinson proudly noted that by January 1, 1863, a divided Kentucky had still managed to send 44,000 soldiers – fifty-one regiments – to aid the Union cause. At the same time, he lamented what he perceived as poor treatment of the state as disloyal by the Federal government. He cited examples such as the declaration of martial law in the Commonwealth and the suspension of the right of habeas corpus for its citizens. He answered President Lincoln's contention "that military necessity is not to be measured by Constitutional limits" by warning "If military necessity is not to be measured by Constitutional limits, we are no longer a free people." On completion of his term, Robinson supported his eventual successor, Thomas E. Bramlette. The constitutional questions Robinson raised during his administration shaped much of the political debate for Bramlette's term. ## Later life and death Following his term as governor, Robinson retired to "Cardome," his family farm in Scott County. Politically, he became more distant from the national administration, supporting George B. McClellan for president in 1864. He served as president of the Farmers' Bank of Georgetown and chair of the Georgetown College Board of Trustees. On December 1, 1873, he married his third wife, Caroline "Carrie" Hening of Georgetown, who was 36 years his junior. He died on October 31, 1882, and is buried in the Georgetown Cemetery in Georgetown, Kentucky. ## See also - Kentucky in the Civil War

Alex Rhodes (footballer)

English footballer

Alexander Graham Rhodes (born 23 January 1982) is an English former professional footballer who predominantly played as a left winger but also as a striker. Rhodes started his career with Eastern Counties League Premier Division side Newmarket Town, where he came to prominence after scoring hat-tricks in three successive games in 2003. Rhodes scored 20 goals in the early part of the 2003–04 season, including 14 goals in 11 games in the league. After trials with several Football League clubs, he joined Brentford in November 2003 and scored the goal that ensured they were not relegated six months later. Rhodes scored five goals during his four seasons at Brentford, which were hampered by injury and included loan spells at Swindon Town and Grays Athletic. He signed for Bradford City in August 2007 but was released after one season, before joining Rotherham United. A loan spell at Woking was followed by his release from Rotherham in May 2009, when he dropped back out of the Football League to join Oxford United. He played just four games before leaving Oxford by mutual consent, and moved to Braintree Town, initially on a short-term deal. Rhodes rejoined Grays Athletic in January 2010, but was released at the end of the 2009–10 season. ## Personal life Rhodes was born on 23 January 1982 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. He first attended a football game at his hometown side Cambridge United but grew up as a Liverpool fan. As well as football, he played cricket as a youngster. Rhodes is nicknamed "Tiger", because of his likeness to golfer Tiger Woods. Rhodes had a tattoo of a 142-word quotation inked onto his leg in November 2008; the passage was originally written by peace activist Marian Williamson. It took five hours to inscribe onto Rhodes' leg. Rhodes said he had the tattoo done because "I had a few knock-backs when I was younger, when people were telling me I was too small, but I've always been determined to prove them wrong and I just feel this quotation is appropriate for me and my life." ## Career ### Newmarket Town Rhodes started his football career at non-League side Newmarket Town, breaking into the club's youth team at the age of 17. He combined his early years at the club with work as a coach at Cambridge Regional College. During the 2002–03 season, Rhodes scored more than 30 goals. He continued his goal-scoring form the following season and three successive hat-tricks in September 2003 attracted the attention of league scouts, including Norwich City, Cambridge United and Yeovil Town. He scored 21 goals for Newmarket in the Eastern Counties League during the first four months of the 2003–04 season. After trials with Yeovil, Norwich and Ipswich Town, Rhodes signed with Brentford in November 2003 for £10,000. It was the first time Brentford had paid a transfer fee for a player since Jean-Philippe Javary three years earlier, with the money donated by the club's fans. In his final game with Newmarket, he scored a hat-trick in a 4–3 victory against Great Yarmouth Town. ### Brentford Rhodes made his Brentford debut on Boxing Day 2003 in a 2–1 defeat to Bristol City but had to wait more than four months for his second game. He scored his first senior goal in his third game to ensure Brentford avoided relegation from the Second Division when they defeated AFC Bournemouth 1–0. Rhodes returned to Newmarket Town for a pre-season friendly game with Brentford in August 2004, during which he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 win. It helped him to win a place in the first team, and he scored on the first day of the 2004–05 season when Brentford lost 3–1 to Chesterfield. It was not until November 2004 that he scored his second goal in another defeat—2–1 to Bradford City. Five days later, he scored the winning penalty against Bristol City to take Brentford through to the second round of the FA Cup. In December, Rhodes scored in successive games, first in the league against Sheffield Wednesday, then another penalty in the FA Cup as Brentford's 2–1 victory against Hinckley United set up a third round tie with Luton Town. He was unable to play in the third round tie after he suffered a serious knee injury against Walsall in January 2005, which kept him out of action until September 2005. Although Rhodes had been a regular in the Brentford squad, his 22 league games included just four starts. Injury again hit Rhodes' 2005–06 season, during which he scored just one goal in a 2–1 victory over Yeovil Town. He started just five league games during the season, as Brentford reached the League One play-offs. Rhodes started the second leg of the play-off semi-finals but a 2–0 defeat to Swansea City denied them a place in the final. He made 11 appearances for Brentford at the start of the 2006–07 season, but on 10 October 2006, Rhodes signed for League Two side Swindon Town on a month's loan deal. He made his debut for Swindon against Grimsby Town, when he had a goal disallowed. Rhodes played just four games for Swindon all as substitute without scoring before returning to Brentford, before being immediately placed on the transfer list by Brentford manager Scott Fitzgerald. Rhodes played another three games for Brentford and had a trial with Yeovil Town in January 2007 but stayed with Brentford. In March 2007, he was loaned out again, to Conference side Grays Athletic for seven weeks. He played 12 league games and twice in the FA Trophy during his spell at Grays, scoring once in each competition, before he returned to Brentford in time to play in their final game of the season. Rhodes was offered a new contract by new Brentford manager Terry Butcher but turned it down and left the club on 25 June 2007. He played 65 games in all competitions for Brentford, but two-thirds of those were as substitute, scoring just six goals. ### Bradford City After trials with League Two sides Darlington and Bradford City, Rhodes signed for the latter on a short-term deal. He made his debut in City's first game of the season when they drew 1–1 with Macclesfield Town in a team featuring six new players. He scored his first goal in a 2–1 win over Chester City on 6 November 2007. He extended his stay at Bradford City until the end of the season in January 2008. Despite signing a new contract, injury kept Rhodes out of the side at the start of 2008 until 23 February when he scored his second Bradford goal in a 3–1 victory at Notts County after coming on as substitute. His performance in the Notts County victory earned him a place in the starting side three days later when he again scored in a 3–2 win against Rotherham United. On 29 April, he was one of 13 players released by manager Stuart McCall. Rhodes played a total of 30 games for Bradford, but started only 11 of those, scoring three goals. ### Rotherham United In June 2008, Rhodes returned to League Two, when he signed a one-year deal with Rotherham United, after their manager Mark Robins was impressed by Rhodes' performance against them the previous season. Rotherham were deducted 17 points at the start of the 2008–09 season because of improperly exiting administration. They started the season with a 1–0 against Lincoln City, in which Rhodes made his debut before he was substituted in the second half. He scored his first goal for Rotherham in a League Cup first round tie against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on 12 August 2008. Rhodes' goal game only seconds after Wednesday had opened the scoring, before the game finished 2–2. Rotherham eventually won through to the second round on penalties. His first league goal for the club came less than two weeks later as Rotherham beat Chester City 3–1 to maintain their winning start to the season. Rhodes was a regular in the Rotherham side at the start of the season as the team overhauled their point deduction to go above Grimsby Town in the league, but he was dropped for a game against his former side Bradford City in November 2008. He briefly returned to the side the following month for a Football League Trophy area semi-final with Darlington, which Rotherham won on penalties, but did not play again until the two sides met once more in a league game at the end of January 2009. It was only a brief return to the side and two months later Rhodes joined Conference National side Woking on loan for the rest of the season. His debut for Woking came two days later in the club's 1–1 draw with Wrexham, with Rhodes being substituted towards the end of the second half by Joel Ledgister. He played three games for Woking, scoring one goal. Rhodes returned to Rotherham but was released by the club having played 18 games and scoring four goals during his one season stay. ### Return to non-League Having been released, Rhodes returned to the Conference by joining Oxford United on a free transfer in May 2009. Rhodes made his Oxford debut in their opening game of the season against York City as a second-half substitute for Jack Midson to help his team come from 1–0 down to win 2–1. However, after he had played just four games, Rhodes left by mutual consent. Rhodes immediately joined Conference South side Braintree Town, initially on a contract until the start of January. His new assistant manager Jason Broom described Rhodes as an "exciting" talent. He made his debut against St Albans City helping to create his new side's goal in a 1–1 draw. Rhodes failed to impress and was released after Christmas 2009. Rhodes rejoined former club Grays Athletic, where he had played on loan in 2007, on 19 January 2010. He scored a goal on his debut in a hastily arranged friendly, after their league game with Kidderminster Harriers was postponed, later in the week during a 4–1 victory against Aveley. Rhodes' senior debut came at the end of the same week, when he was one of six new members of manager Julian Dicks' side, only for them to lose 4–0 to Rhodes' former team Oxford United. Rhodes was substituted by Harry Agombar during the second half. He was released at the end of the 2009–10 season, having made 15 appearances. Rhodes instead started to train with A.F.C. Sudbury and played in a pre-season friendly against Bury Town, during which he scored to help Sudbury win 4–3. However, although Rhodes said he would like to join the semi-professional Isthmian League Division One North side, he wanted to keep his options open in case he could remain in the professional game. A week later, he was given a trial with League Two Hereford United. Instead, the following week, Rhodes signed for Isthmian League Premier Division side Canvey Island and immediately went into the first-team to make his debut on 28 August in a home league match against Carshalton Athletic, which finished 1–1, with Rhodes close to scoring what would have been a late winning goal for his new club. Rhodes' first goals for Canvey Island came in a FA Cup first round qualifying match against Newport Pagnell Town, scoring twice in a 4–1 victory. He scored again in the next round to put Canvey into the third qualifying round. Rhodes signed a contract to keep him with the club until the end of the season and scored two more in Canvey's ultimate exit from the FA Cup. ## Career statistics

Quyllurit'i

Religious festival in Peru

Quyllurit'i or Qoyllur Rit'i (Quechua quyllu rit'i, quyllu bright white, rit'i snow, "bright white snow,") is a syncretic religious festival held annually at the Sinakara Valley in the southern highlands Cusco Region of Peru. Local indigenous people of the Andes know this festival as a native celebration of the stars. In particular they celebrate the reappearance of the Pleiades constellation, known in Quechua as Qullqa, or "storehouse," and associated with the upcoming harvest and New Year. The Pleiades disappears from view in April and reappears in June. The new year is marked by indigenous people of the Southern Hemisphere on the Winter Solstice in June, and it is also a Catholic festival. The people have celebrated this period of time for hundreds if not thousands of years. The pilgrimage and associated festival was inscribed in 2011 on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. According to the Catholic Church, the festival is in honor of the Lord of Quyllurit'i (Quechua: Taytacha Quyllurit'i, Spanish: Señor de Quyllurit'i) and it originated in the late 18th century. The young native herder Mariano Mayta befriended a mestizo boy named Manuel on the mountain Qullqipunku. Thanks to Manuel, Mariano's herd prospered, so his father sent him to Cusco to buy a new shirt for Manuel. Mariano could not find anything similar, because that kind of cloth was sold only to the archbishop. Learning of this, the bishop of Cusco sent a party to investigate. When they tried to capture Manuel, he was transformed into a bush with an image of Christ crucified hanging from it. Thinking the archbishop's party had harmed his friend, Mariano died on the spot. He was buried under a rock, which became a place of pilgrimage known as the Lord of Quyllurit'i, or "Lord of Star (Brilliant) Snow." An image of Christ was painted on this boulder. The Quyllurit'i festival attracts thousands of indigenous people from the surrounding regions, made up of Paucartambo groups (Quechua speakers) from the agricultural regions to the northwest of the shrine, and Quispicanchis (Aymara speakers) from the pastoral (herders) regions to the southeast. Both moieties make an annual pilgrimage to the feast, bringing large troupes of dancers and musicians. There are four groups of participants with particular roles: ch'unchu, qulla, ukuku, and machula. Attendees increasingly have included middle-class Peruvians and foreign tourists. The festival takes place in late May or early June, to coincide with the full moon. It falls one week before the Christian feast of Corpus Christi. Events include several processions of holy icons and dances in and around the shrine of the Lord of Quyllurit'i. The culminating event for the indigenous non-Christian population takes place after the reappearance of Qullqa in the night sky; it is the rising of the sun after the full moon. Tens of thousands of people kneel to greet the first rays of light as the sun rises above the horizon. Until recently, the main event for the Church was carried out by ukukus, who climbed glaciers over Qullqipunku and brought back crosses and blocks of ice to place along the road to the shrine. These are believed to be medicinal with healing qualities. Due to the melting of the glacier, the ice is no longer carried down. ## Origins There are several accounts of the origins of the Quyllurit'i festival. What follows are two versions: one relates the pre-Columbian origins, and the other the Catholic Church's version as compiled by the priest of the town of Ccatca between 1928 and 1946. ### Pre-Columbian origins The Inca followed both solar and lunar cycles throughout the year. The cycle of the moon was of primary importance for the timing of both agricultural activities and associated festivals. There are many celebration of seasonal events related to animal husbandry, sowing seeds, and harvesting of crops. Important festivals such as Quyllurit'i, perhaps the most important festival given its significance and meaning, are still celebrated on the full moon. The Quyllurit'i festival takes place at the end of a period of a few months when the Pleiades constellation, or Seven Sisters, a 7-star cluster in the Taurus constellation, disappears and reappears in the skies of the Southern Hemisphere. Its time of disappearance was marked in Inca culture by a festival for Pariacaca, the god of water and torrential rains. It occurs near the date of qarwa mita (qarwa meaning when the corn leaves are yellow). The return of the constellation about 40 days later, called unquy mita in Quechua, was long associated in the Southern Hemisphere with the time of the coming harvest and therefore a time of abundance for the people. Incan astronomers had named the Pleiades constellation as Qullqa, or "storehouse," in their native language of Quechua. Metaphorically, the constellation's disappearance from the night sky and reemergence approximately two months afterward is a signal that the human planes of existence have times of disorder and chaos, but also return to order. ### Catholic Church origins In the city of Cuzco in the late 17th century, the celebration of Corpus Christi reached a height under Bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo (1673–99), with processions through the city including Inca nobles in ceremonial regalia. The bishop also commissioned portraits of the nobles in their ceremonial clothes. Scholars such as Carolyn Dean have studies this evidence for its suggestions about related church rituals. Dean believes that such early churchmen thought that such Catholic rituals could displace indigenous ones. She examines the feast of Corpus Christi and its relationship to the indigenous harvest festival at winter solstice, celebrated in early June in the Southern Hemisphere. According to the church, events of the late 18th century that included a sighting of Christ on the mountain Qullqipunku became part of myth, and the pilgrimage festival of the Lord of Quyllurit'i is still celebrated in the 21st century. It is told that an Indian boy named Mariano Mayta used to watch over his father's herd of alpaca on the slopes of the mountain. He wandered into the snowfields of the glacier, where he encountered a mestizo boy named Manuel. They became good friends, and Manuel provided Mariano with food. When the boy did not return home for meals, Mariano's father went looking for his son. He was surprised to find his herd had increased. As a reward, he sent Mariano to Cusco to get new clothes. Mariano asked to buy some also for Manuel, who wore the same outfit every day. His father agreed, so Mariano asked Manuel for a sample in order to buy the same kind of cloth in Cusco. Mariano was told that this refined cloth was restricted for use only by the bishop of the city. Mariano went to see the prelate, who was surprised by the request. He ordered an inquiry of Manuel, directed by the priest of Oncogate (Quispicanchi), a village close to the mountain. On June 12, 1783, the commission ascended Qullqipunku with Mariano; they found Manuel dressed in white and shining with a bright light. Blinded, they retreated, returning with a larger party. On their second try they reached the boy. But when they touched him, he was transformed into a tayanka bush (Baccharis odorata) with the crucified Christ hanging from it. Thinking the party had harmed his friend, Mariano fell dead on the spot. He was buried under the rock where Manuel had last appeared. The tayanka tree was sent to Spain, as requested by king Charles III. As it was never returned, the Indian population of Ocongate protested. The local priest ordered a replica, which became known as Lord of Tayankani (Spanish: Señor de Tayankani). The burial site of Mariano attracted a great number of Indian devotees, who lit candles before the rock. Religious authorities ordered the painting of an image of Christ crucified on the rock. This image became known as Lord of Quyllurit'i (Spanish: Señor de Quyllurit'i). In Quechua, quyllur means star and Rit'i means snow; thus, the term means Lord of Star Snow. ## Pilgrims The Quyllurit'i festival attracts more than 10,000 pilgrims annually, most of them indigenous peoples from rural communities in nearby regions. They are from two moieties: Quechua-speaking Paucartambo, people from agricultural communities located to the northwest of the shrine in the provinces of Cusco, Calca, Paucartambo and Urubamba; and Aymara-speaking Quispicanchis, which encompasses those living to the southeast in the provinces of Acomayo, Canas, Canchis and Quispicanchi, This geographic division also reflects social and economic distinctions, as the Quechuas of Paucartambo cultivate agricultural crops, whereas Quispicanchis is populated by the Aymara, whose lives are based on animal husbandry, especially herds of alpaca and llama. Peasants from both moieties undertake an annual pilgrimage to the Quyllurit'i festival, with representatives of each community carrying a small image of Christ to the sanctuary. Together, these delegations include a large troupe of dancers and musicians dressed in four main styles: - Ch'unchu: wearing feathered headdresses and carrying a wood staff, the ch'unchus represent the indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon Rainforest, to the north of the sanctuary. There are several types of ch'unchu dancers; the most common is wayri ch'unchu, which comprises up to 70% of all Quyllurit'i dancers. - Qhapaq Qulla: dressed in a "waq'ullu" knitted mask, a hat, a woven sling and a llama skin, qullas represent the Aymara inhabitants of the Altiplano to the south of the sanctuary. Qulla is considered a mestizo dance style, whereas ch'unchu is regarded as indigenous. - Ukuku: clad in a dark coat and a woolen mask, the ukukus (spectacled bear) represent the role of tricksters; they speak in high-pitched voices, and play pranks, but have the serious responsibility of keeping order among the thousands of pilgrims. Some also go up to the glacier to spend the night. They cut blocks of glacier ice and carry them on their backs to their people at the festival in the valley. When melted, the water is believed to be medicinal for body and mind. It is used for holy water in the churches during the next year. In Quechua mythology, ukukus are the offspring of a woman and a bear, feared by everyone because of their supernatural strength. In these stories, the ukuku redeems itself by defeating a condenado, a cursed soul, and becoming an exemplary farmer. - Machula: wearing a mask, a humpback, and a long coat, and carrying a walking stick, machulas represent the ñawpa machus, the mythical first inhabitants of the Andes. In a similar way to the ukukus, they perform an ambiguous role in the festival, being comical as well as constabulary figures. Quyllur Rit'i also attracts visitors from outside the Paucartambo and Quispicanchis moieties. Since the 1970s, an increasing number of middle-class mainstream Peruvians undertake the pilgrimage, some of them at a different date than more traditional pilgrims. There has also been a rapid growth in the number of North American and European tourists drawn to the indigenous festival, prompting fears that it is becoming too commercialized. The pilgrimage and associated festival were inscribed in 2011 on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. ## Festival The festival is attended by thousands of indigenous people, some of whom come from as far away as Bolivia. The Christian celebration is organized by the Brotherhood of the Lord of Quyllurit'i (Spanish: Hermandad del Señor de Quyllurit'i), a lay organization that also keeps order during the festival. Preparations start on the feast of the Ascension, when the Lord of Quyllurit'i is carried in procession from its chapel at Mawallani 8 kilometers to its sanctuary at Sinaqara. On the first Wednesday after Pentecost, a second procession carries a statue of Our Lady of Fatima from the Sinaqqara sanctuary to an uphill grotto to prepare for the festival. Most pilgrims arrive by Trinity Sunday, when the Blessed Sacrament is taken in procession through and around the sanctuary. The following day, the Lord of Qoyllur Rit'i is taken in procession to the grotto of the Virgin and back. Pilgrims refer to this as the greeting between the Lord and Mary, referring to the double traditional Inca feasts of Pariacaca and Oncoy mita. (See section above.) On the night of this second day, dance troupes take turns to perform in the shrine. At dawn on the third day, ukukus grouped by moieties climb the glaciers on Qullqipunku to retrieve crosses set on top. Some ukukus traditionally spent the night on the glacier to combat spirits. They also cut and bring back blocks of the ice, which is believed to have sacred medicinal qualities. The ukukus are considered to be the only ones capable of dealing with condenados, the cursed souls said to inhabit the snowfields. According to oral traditions, ukukus from different moieties used to engage in ritual battles on the glaciers, but this practice was banned by the Catholic Church. After a mass celebrated later this day, most pilgrims leave the sanctuary. One group carries the Lord of Quyllurit'i in procession to Tayankani before taking it back to Mawallani. The festival precedes the official feast of Corpus Christi, held the Thursday following Trinity Sunday, but it is closely associated with it. ## See also - Religion in Peru - Syncretism

Andronikos V Palaiologos

Andronikos V Palaiologos or Andronicus V Palaeologus (Greek: Ανδρόνικος Παλαιολόγος; c. 1400–1407) was the Byzantine ruler of the city of Thessalonica and surrounding territories from 1403 to his death in 1407, alongside his father John VII Palaiologos. Though they did not control Constantinople, John and Andronikos ruled Thessalonica with the full Byzantine imperial title, recognized by the ruling senior emperor, John VII's uncle Manuel II Palaiologos. Recognized as third-in-line to Constantinople, Andronikos' parents had high hopes for his future and regarded him as the future legitimate senior Byzantine emperor. These hopes were dashed when Andronikos died in 1407, just seven years old. On account of his ephemeral status and short life, Andronikos is a shadowy historical figure of whom little is known. He was not acknowledged by modern historians until 1967, who had previously believed John VII to be childless. ## Life Andronikos V Palaiologos was born c. 1400. The only son of John VII Palaiologos (r. 1390, 1403–1408) and his wife Irene Gattilusio, Andronikos was named after his paternal grandfather, Andronikos IV Palaiologos (r. 1376–1379). John VII had briefly ruled the Byzantine Empire in 1390, after usurping the throne from his grandfather, John V Palaiologos (r. 1341–1391). Although John VII had been deposed after just five months on the throne, he never gave up his claim to be the legitimate senior emperor, even after the accession of John V's successor, Manuel II Palaiologos (r. 1391–1425), John VII's uncle, in 1391. After a long feud between the two, and risking civil war, Manuel and John VII reached an agreement in 1403, in which John VII, still officially a junior emperor, would reign alone after Manuel's death. Per the agreement, John VII would then be succeeded by Manuel's son, John VIII Palaiologos (r. 1425–1448), who in turn would be succeeded by John VII's son, Andronikos V. Additionally, John VII was granted the city of Thessalonica, whom he had recently been responsible for returning to Byzantine control, and was also allowed to keep the title of emperor. Shortly after arriving in Thessalonica in 1403, John VII established his own imperial court there and crowned Andronikos V as co-emperor. The emperors in Thessalonica continued to use the full imperial title, which they were entitled to per the agreement with Manuel, employing both the styles basileus (emperor) and autokrator (autocrat). John VII regarded Andronikos V not just as his own successor, but also the future legitimate senior Byzantine emperor. John VII's entry into Thessalonica was commemorated in a Byzantine ivory pyxis (a cylindrical box with a lid), today housed at Dumbarton Oaks, which depicts the families of both John VII and Manuel. The pyxis notably depicts Andronikos V more prominently than Manuel's son John VIII, despite John VIII being both older and higher in the line of succession. The plans and hopes for Andronikos V's future fell through when he died c. 1407, at the age of seven. Monodies (lamentations for a death) were composed for Andronikos and John VII succumbed to intense grief. The Metropolitan of Thessalonica, Gabriel I, wrote a consolatory letter to John VII. In his letter, Gabriel wrote that he too grieved, since he had prayed that the young emperor would grow to adulthood and succeed his father and also stated that he regretted not being present in Thessalonica at the time to offer consolation and sympathy in person. John VII died not long after Andronikos, on 22 September 1408, ending the Byzantine diarchy established in 1403 and John VII's rival imperial lineage. ## Historiography As a short-lived child emperor, Andronikos is a shadowy and ephemeral figure of whom little source material survives. He was only recently acknowledged by Byzantinists. Andronikos was first identified by George T. Dennis in 1967, with John VII previously believed to have been childless. Dennis based his argument for Andronikos' existence mainly on two previously unpublished manuscripts, one containing a monody and the other containing a consolatory letter to an emperor from a bishop. The monody is titled "Monody on the death of the Lord Emperor Andronikos Palaiologos, the son of Lord John the nephew of Lord Emperor Manuel, at the age of seven years", expliclity identifying the name, father, and age of the child, as well as confirming that he was emperor. The consolatory letter was identified as written by Gabriel of Thessalonica, which means that the timeframe only fits if he wrote to John VII concerning Andronikos' death. Dennis also used the 1403 succession agreement between John VII and Manuel as evidence. The surviving documents only state that John VII would become senior emperor after Manuel, and then be followed by "Manuel's son", who would be followed by "the son of John". Though this could be interpreted as a future supposed child of John, Dennis interpreted it as evidence that John already had a son (Andronikos) by this point. The sole surviving depiction of the emperor, the ivory pyxis from Thessalonica, was first studied in 1899, though the researcher, Josef Strzygowski, was uncertain as to what imperial family was depicted given that the father John, mother Irene and son Andronikos did not appear to match any known family. In 1960, André Grabar proposed that the artwork depicted John VI Kantakouzenos, his wife Irene and their grandson Andronikos IV Palaiologos, an explanation also accepted by Kurt Weitzmann in 1972. This identification presents problems due to difficulties in then identifying the second imperial family depicted (Manuel II, his wife Helena and their son John VIII) and their connection to the first family. The identification of the first family as that of John VII was first proposed by Nicolas Oikonomides in 1977. Whether Andronikos is most appropriately considered a despot of Thessalonica, a purely nominal or titular co-emperor, or a full emperor varies between sources. It is general practice among Byzantinists to only view actually reigning senior rulers as emperors, eliminating junior co-rulers who, though they had the same titles, often only had nominal power. There are some exceptions, notably the earlier Michael IX Palaiologos (r. 1294–1320), whose rule was fully encompassed by that of his father, Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328). Regardless of the status ascribed to Andronikos V, his enumeration as emperor is unproblematic given that no further emperors named Andronikos reigned after him. The numeral was first assigned to Andronikos by George T. Dennis in 1967.

The Fiery Trial

2010 book by Eric Foner

The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery is a historical non-fiction book written by American historian Eric Foner. Published in 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company, the book serves as a biographical portrait of United States President Abraham Lincoln, discussing the evolution of his stance on slavery in the United States over the course of his life. The Fiery Trial, which derives its title from Lincoln's Annual Message to Congress of December 1, 1862, was the 22nd book written by Foner, the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. It was praised by critics and won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for History, the Bancroft Prize, and the Lincoln Prize. ## Synopsis In the preface to The Fiery Trial, Eric Foner states his intention to trace "the evolution of Lincoln's ideas and policies about slavery from his early life through his career in the Illinois legislature in the 1830s, his term in Congress in the 1840s, his emergence as a leader of the new Republican party in the 1850s, and his presidency during the Civil War". The book closely examines Lincoln's speeches and writings, and avoids direct engagement with previous Lincoln historians. The Fiery Trial begins with Lincoln's encounters with slavery in his early life, growing up in Kentucky and Indiana. He occasionally dealt with issues of slavery in his law practice in Illinois. The book also discusses Lincoln's position on slavery in the context of his political career. Lincoln was a moderate, attempting to bridge the gap between the abolitionist Radical Republicans and conservative Democrats, including those in the slave-holding states, whom he hoped would choose preserving the Union over steadfastly defending slavery. Lincoln initially supported the idea of voluntary colonization of freed blacks to Africa, a stance supported by some politicians at the time, although considered unethical by many. However, Lincoln eventually abandoned his moderate stance on slavery when he determined that to win the American Civil War, he needed to act to end slavery. In the epilogue, Foner praises Lincoln's "capacity for growth, the essence of [his] greatness", and speculates that had he not been assassinated, he could have helped to prevent the disenfranchisement and segregation of blacks that followed emancipation. Foner concludes with a quotation by abolitionist Lydia Maria Child: > I think we have reason to thank God for Abraham Lincoln ... With all his deficiencies, it must be admitted that he has grown continuously; and considering how slavery had weakened and perverted the moral sense of the whole country, it was great good luck to have the people elect a man who was willing to grow. ## Background Eric Foner, the book's author, is the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. His specialties include the American Civil War and the subsequent Reconstruction Era. The Fiery Trial was his 22nd book. Foner's 1989 book Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 won the Bancroft Prize of Columbia University, an award also given to The Fiery Trial. Before The Fiery Trial, several of Foner's works had discussed Lincoln, but this was the first of his books to study the president directly. Foner began the book because he believed "that it was still possible to say something new, despite the voluminous literature that's out there." The Fiery Trial was published in 2010 by W.W. Norton & Company. The book's title is a quotation from Lincoln's December 1, 1862, Annual Message to Congress (today the State of the Union address), in which he said of the Civil War: "Fellow citizens, we cannot escape history. We of this Congress and this administration, will be remembered in spite of ourselves.... The fiery trial through which we pass, will light us down, in honor or dishonor, to the latest generation." ## Reception The Fiery Trial was generally well received by critics, who praised its insights and lucidity. David S. Reynolds, reviewing for The New York Times, described the book as a "political biography of Lincoln", and concluded that "More cogently than any previous historian, Foner examines the political events that shaped Lincoln and ultimately brought out his true greatness." James M. McPherson, a previous winner of the Pulitzer Prize for History, stated of the book that "No one else has written about [Lincoln's] trajectory of change with such balance, fairness, depth of analysis, and lucid precision of language." Library Journal called it "an essential work for all Americans.... In the vast library on Lincoln, Foner's book stands out as the most sensible and sensitive reading of Lincoln's lifetime involvement with slavery and the most insightful assessment of Lincoln's—and indeed America's—imperative to move toward freedom lest it be lost." David M. Shribman, writing in The Boston Globe, called Foner "perhaps the preeminent historian of the Civil War era" and the book "a masterwork that examines Lincoln's passage to Gettysburg and beyond". In the San Francisco Chronicle, David W. Blight called The Fiery Trial "a distinctive and valuable book, showing persuasively that we should not understand Lincoln from the myth-glazed outcome reading backward, but from the beginning, through one transformative event after another, looking forward." In a review for The Historian, Lawrence Frederick Kohl wrote of the book that "Eric Foner's prodigious research and his deep knowledge of the era allow him to provide perhaps the best account of this subject available today. Even seasoned scholars will find facts in this volume that are new to them and fresh insights that they will want to consider." Patrick Prendergast stated in The Irish Times that "For the interested but non-specialist reader Foner's book is a triumph, and he explains the progression in Lincoln's views of slavery in an accessible and exciting way." Reviewing for The Washington Post, Fred Kaplan was more critical. Though Kaplan stated that the "comprehensive review of mostly familiar material" would make The Fiery Trial "the book of first convenience to go to on the subject", he also argued that in contrast to Foner's thesis of growth, "a stronger argument can be made that Lincoln hardly 'grew' at all on the issue of slavery, that he responded to changing circumstances that he did not create...." The Fiery Trial won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for History, the Bancroft Prize, and the Lincoln Prize. The New York Times Book Review listed The Fiery Trial as one of its 100 Notable Books of 2010, writing, "Foner tackles what would seem an obvious topic, Lincoln and slavery, and sheds new light on it."

Princes Street, Dunedin

Street in Dunedin, New Zealand

Princes Street (often misspelt as "Princess Street") is a major street in Dunedin, the second largest city in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs south-southwest for two kilometres from The Octagon in the city centre to the Oval sports ground, close to the city's Southern Cemetery. North of The Octagon, George Street continues the line of Princes Street north-northeast for two and a half kilometres. Princes Street is straight but undulating, skirting the edge of the City Rise to its northwest. The part of the street immediately below The Octagon is the steepest section, as the road traverses an old cutting through Bell Hill. Princes Street was developed during Dunedin's 1860s boom from the Central Otago gold rush, and consequently is one of New Zealand's most historic streets, with about 70 buildings in close proximity listed on the New Zealand Historic Places Trust Register. Originally the site of the city's wharf, a substantial area of land to the east of the street was formerly part of Otago Harbour, much of it reclaimed via rock removed during the lowering of Bell Hill which separated Princes Street from northern Dunedin in the early years of settlement. In the years following the gold rush, Princes Street was the heart of Dunedin's central business district, but much of the city's main retail area has now shifted north to George Street. ## History In the early years of Dunedin's settlement, much of the city's growth was on two areas of reasonably flat land close to the harbour, separated by the large Bell Hill and an area of low swampy land. The northern of these two flat areas surrounded the floodplain of the Water of Leith, a small river that runs through Dunedin. As the city grew the swamp was drained to become the new city's centre, and the hill was lowered by excavation to allow access between the two areas of settlement. A street grid was set up with the main road split in two by the city centre (now The Octagon) – Princes Street to the south and George Street to the north. As with many of the city's other place names, both these names and that of the Water of Leith reflect the names of places in Edinburgh, Scotland. In the settlement's early days, Bell Hill proved a major obstacle to travel south of the city centre, and major excavation work was carried out to provide access to the south. A cutting was made in the hill in 1858, and during the 1860s the hill was lowered by some 14 metres (46 ft). The cutting allowed for the passage of transport between the two parts of the town. The southern flank of the hill was also completely removed (that area now being occupied by Queen's Gardens). The stone removed from the hill was used as construction material for many of the city's first permanent buildings, and also as fill to reclaim the northern end of the Southern Endowment along the edge of the harbour. This reclamation work added a considerable area to the central city; the original docks, close to the Exchange area of Princes Street, are now several hundred metres inland. The area of Princes Street between the Exchange and Market Reserve was a frequent source of dispute in the early years of European settlement. This area, at that time on the foreshore of Otago Harbour was a traditional landing site for Māori waka. Captain Cargill, the founder of the new city, wished to follow the British practice of keeping the foreshore as public land. As the town spread, the area around the landing site became populated by settlers, and visiting Maori relied on the coastal strip as a place to set up their encampments. The southern Commissioner for Crown Lands, Walter Mantell noted the problem and proposed to his superiors in Wellington that a site be found at which the Māori could erect permanent structures, naming the Princes Street foreshore as the preferred site. Mantell and Cargill, who had been bitter political opponents for the control of the early settlement, quickly found themselves at loggerheads over the proposal, and disputes over the ownership and allocation of the land dragged on for over two decades, finally being settled in the courts in 1877. In the years following the Central Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s Dunedin grew rapidly, with much of the growth being centred on Princes Street. In the city's early years this road was notorious for its unformed rough nature, a consequence of the work on Bell Hill, and led to Dunedin's early nickname of "Mud-edin". The prosperity brought by the gold rush led to a boom in construction, and within a handful of years, the area around lower Princes Street became the most prosperous in the country. Many of the prominent grand buildings of this part of Dunedin date from this period, and numerous structures in the area have New Zealand Historic Places Trust classification as a result. There is a considerable photographic record of early Princes Street, largely thanks to the presence in the street of the studios of the Burton Brothers, pioneering New Zealand photographers. Many of their images, and those of other early Dunedin photographers, were collated and published in a series of books by photographic historian Hardwicke Knight, one of which — a collection of photographic works by Daniel Louis Mundy — was entitled Princes Street by gaslight (1977). Several notable companies have either been founded or had their headquarters in Princes Street. Notable among these were The Drapery and General Importing Company of New Zealand, later simply known as The D.I.C., Hallenstein's, and H.E. Shacklock. The first New Zealand headquarters of Briscoes were also located on Princes Street. In 2018, Whakamana Cannabis Museum, New Zealand's first and only cannabis museum, relocated to the Eldon Chambers Building on Princes Street, though it has since moved to Christchurch. ## Route ### The "Top 100" From the Octagon, Princes Street initially rises as it passes through a commercial district formerly commonly known as the Top 100, crossing the outer Octagon of Moray Place before descending through the original cutting of Bell Hill towards the Exchange. The Top 100 theoretically took its name from the 100 retail businesses which line Princes Street from the Octagon to the Exchange, although the actual number of businesses is not one hundred. This part of the city is sometimes seen as the creative heart of Dunedin, with numerous art galleries, artist's studios, and video production companies being based in the area from Moray Place to Rattray Street and especially around the Dowling Street area. Some parts of the Bell Hill cutting are still visible from Princes Street, though the most obvious escarpment of the hill is found between Moray Place and Queen's Gardens, close to First Church. From Princes Street, the most notable part of the cutting is at Dowling Street, 300 metres south of the Octagon. Dowling Street narrows significantly above this intersection. The Dowling Street Steps, a 1926 structure listed by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, rise from close to the Princes Street-Dowling Street intersection, ascending a cliff that was formed as a result of the original work on Bell Hill. ### The Exchange The Exchange, on Princes Street 400 metres south of The Octagon, was the original financial heart of the city, but the CBD has drifted north to its current location on George Street. Princes Street still contains many of the city's older and more stately business properties, particularly in the few blocks from The Exchange south. This area is also the lowest part of the street, as it descends from the remains of Bell Hill. Now several hundred metres inland from the edge of the Otago Harbour, this was the site of the original landing place of settlers from the two ships which brought the Otago Association's settlers to Dunedin, and was the site of the homes and offices of the city's founder, Captain William Cargill and chief surveyor Charles Kettle. The two ships, the John Wickliffe and the Philip Laing, arrived in early 1848. As they could not negotiate the harbour, they set anchor at the Otago Heads. Settlers from the ships travelled by smaller rowing boat from there to Dunedin. Massive reclamation of the area led to the creation of a wide strip of land, since occupied by commercial premises, warehousing, and the main rail line. The original nature of the site is reflected in the names of Jetty Street and Water Street, both of which cross Princes Street close to the Exchange. This part of Princes Street was at one point the location of a bridge across a small stream, the Toitu Stream, now diverted underground. A spring which fed the stream is still used as the source of water for Speight's Brewery, which is located 200 metres to the northwest on Rattray Street. The former Exchange Building, from which The Exchange takes its name, was an impressive structure, designed by William Mason as a Post Office and later occupied by the University of Otago and the Otago Museum. Next to this was the 1863 Customhouse building, and outside the two was an open space known as Customhouse Square. The Exchange building was pulled down in 1969, and it was largely the destruction of this building that led to changes in attitudes by Dunedinites regarding the change of their cityscape. Since this time, changes to the city's old buildings have been met with vociferous protests. The Customhouse building is also long since gone. Today, the site of the buildings is the location of one of Dunedin's biggest office blocks, John Wickliffe House, and the nearby John Wickliffe Plaza. Both are named for the John Wickliffe, the first of the two ships which brought the Otago Association's settlers to Dunedin (a nearby building, Philip Laing House, is named for the other of these two ships). Despite this, the area is the site of several prominent Victorian buildings, notably former bank buildings at the northern end of the area. Other imposing buildings in the area include the Chief Post Office building, the proposed site of a hotel, and – one block to the east – Consultancy House, a seven-storey 1908 building regarded (by dint of its construction methods) as Dunedin's first skyscraper. John Wickliffe Plaza is also the site of one of Dunedin's more notable public monuments, the Cargill Monument, dedicated to city founder Captain William Cargill. This monument, designed by Charles Robert Swyer and built in 1863-4, was originally sited in the Octagon, but was moved to the Exchange in 1872. The Exchange was at one time a complex intersection with two busy streets, Rattray Street and High Street. These lead from the twin streets which make up State Highway 1 at Queen's Gardens (an open park containing the city's main war memorial, Dunedin Cenotaph, close to which lies the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum and the Dunedin Chinese Garden) 200 metres to the east of Princes Street, to the older hill suburbs to the west. Though these streets originally both crossed Princes Street, civic planning has reduced High Street at the intersection to a minor road, and John Wickliffe Plaza now covers part of the original intersection. The area around State Highway 1, extending from the Exchange and Queen's Gardens south towards the Oval, is known as the Warehouse Precinct, and is the site of several major street beautification projects. Apart from the Cargill Monument, the Plaza contains several other items of public sculpture, notably a series of three small brass penguins called "We are not alone", sculpted by Dan Parry-Jones and unveiled in 1999. A Historic Places Trust blue plaque at the foot of the Cargill Monument marks the location of the first Salvation Army meeting in New Zealand, held at the site in April 1883. ### Below the Exchange The lower Exchange and area immediately to the south of it contains some other notable buildings, including several of Dunedin's more notable former and current public houses. Among these are Wain's Hotel, the Provincial Hotel (at the foot of Stafford Street), the Empire Tavern, and the former Prince of Wales Hotel. Wain's Hotel, immediately opposite the former Post Office building, is an imposing Italianate structure built in 1878 from designs by Mason and Wales. The Empire Tavern also has a long history, and claims to be Dunedin's oldest pub, having been continuously licensed since 1858. Its recent past is closely tied with the Dunedin sound music scene of the 1980s, of which it was a principal venue. Prior to its gutting by fire in the 1980s, the Prince of Wales Hotel, a block further down Princes Street, was noted for an unusual gimmick, in that the upstairs restaurant facilities were extensively themed on old railway carriages, and included in their decor several original vintage pieces of rolling stock. The Prince of Wales was later (1992–2010) the location of one of the city's top restaurants, Bell Pepper Blues. Lower Princes Street rises slightly from the Exchange before dropping down, becoming flat for the final kilometre of its length. Here, there is a mix of commercial, wholesale, and light industrial properties, with only occasional retail shops. The street itself widens from thee crest below the Exchange, becoming a dual carriageway from this point south to the major junction at the southern end of the Oval. Several notable buildings are still found in the lower Princes Street area, among them the former H.E. Shacklock building and the Crown Roller Mills Building; the latter in particular is a notable landmark. The Crown Roller Mills building is not in Princes Street itself, but rather lies at the foot of Manor Place, close to its intersection with Princes Street. It stands at the edge of a small area of parkland called the Market Reserve, at the opposite edge of which is the city's main bus depot. This area was swampland when the first European settlers arrived in Dunedin, but was reclaimed and did host a regular market for a few years from the 1870s. The market was not well-supported, however, and eventually folded. The bus depot is located on the site of the city's 1902 Tram workshops. The Market Reserve also contains a children's playground and, at the edge closes to the Crown Roller Mills Building, a small monument dedicated to Otago workers who have lost their lives while at work. This simple bluestone memorial was erected in 2003 by the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions on a site donated by the Dunedin City Council. At the bottom end of Princes Street is the former Dunedin Metropolitan Club building, now home to Natural History New Zealand, one of the country's leading television production companies. Opposite this lies a large recreation reserve, which — despite its roughly triangular shape — is called the Oval, or more correctly, Kensington Oval. Kensington Oval contains mainly cricket and association football pitches, and also caters for rugby, hockey, and softball. The Oval also contains one of the city's main war memorials, dedicated to the fallen of the Boer War campaign. This lies close to the Oval's northernmost point. Close to the Oval are two major road junctions. At the north end, a link road connects Princes Street with the city's one-way street system (part of State Highway 1) and with Anderson's Bay Road, a major arterial route to South Dunedin and Otago Peninsula. The part of Princes Street close to the Oval, as well as several other nearby streets, was for many years used annually as part of the Dunedin Street Circuit, a temporary inner city motor-racing circuit used during the week-long Southern Festival of Speed, which ran from the 1980s until the early 2010s. At the southern end of the Oval is a further junction, with Princes Street terminating in a link road to South Dunedin's main street, King Edward Street, and a further road skirting the edge of a hilly spur to join South Road at the northern end of the suburb of Caversham. This latter road passes Dunedin's Southern Cemetery, the oldest and arguably most historic of the city's main cemeteries. The Southern Cemetery's earliest graves are from 1858, and it contains the remains of many of the city's founding fathers, including Captain William Cargill, Thomas Burns, and Johnny Jones. The cemetery is notable for its large Chinese and Jewish sections. ## Transport links The top section of Princes Street, from the Octagon to the Exchange, has for many years been a nexus for Dunedin's public transport system. Until the 2010s, buses from the north of the city largely passed along George Street and into the Octagon; since that time they have largely avoided George Street, being routed through a new bus hub in Great King Street. Buses from the south pass into the southern end of Princes Street, and those from the hill suburbs arrive at the Octagon via Stuart Street or at the Exchange via High and Rattray Streets. Almost all of these use upper Princes Street between the Exchange and the Octagon as part of their route. In the city's early years trams followed many of these same routes. Until the demise of the system in the 1950s, this area was also at the heart of the Dunedin cable tramway system, with the longer lines running up the slopes of City Rise via High, Rattray, or Stuart Streets. ## Heritage New Zealand listed buildings Few, if any, streets in New Zealand contain as many Heritage New Zealand Category I or Category II protected buildings as Princes Street. These buildings include the following: - The Haynes' Building, 42–72 Princes St (cnr. Princes St and Moray Place) (Category I). Often now known as the Savoy Building after the restaurant which is its main tenant, this four-storey building was designed by Edmund Anscombe and completed in 1914. The building, with its distinctive cupola, is a major landmark of upper Princes Street, lying one block south of the Octagon. - The Queen's Building, 109 Princes St (Category II). An early, if small, skyscraper, the five-storey Queen's Building was completed in 1929 on the site of the former Queen's Theatre, to a design of J. Louis Salmond. - Excelsior Apartments, 33 Dowling Street (cnr. of Dowling and Princes Sts) (Category II). Standing at the heart of Dunedin's 19th century Central Business District, the Excelsior Apartments are an 1888 structure originally built as a tavern and hotel. The building was designed by Robert Forrest. - The National Bank Building, 193 Princes St (Category I). Designed by William Dunning, an Australian architect, and Charles Fleming MacDonald, this building is reminiscent of many of the grander buildings in Melbourne and Sydney. Constructed in a neo-Baroque style, it uses Tasmanian sandstone and trachyte as a major feature in its façade, and was completed in 1913. Continuing the history of the building be tenanted by financial institutions, the building was for many years home to MTF, a vehicle finance company. - The Façade of the old Woolworth's Building, 194 Princes St (Category II). - The Bank of New Zealand Building, 205 Princes St (cnr. Princes and High Sts) (Category I). Designed in Venetian Renaissance styling, the 1882 BNZ building stands just two doors along from the National Bank building. The William Armson-designed building is notable for the richly carved exterior work by Louis Godfrey and moulded ceilings in its interior. The façade combines Doric, Ionic and Corinthian styles, and makes good use of Port Chalmers bluestone and Oamaru stone, a compact, cream-coloured limestone. - The Southern Cross Hotel, 118 High St (cnr. High and Princes Sts) (Category I). One of Dunedin's principal hotels, the Southern Cross is housed in an impressive 1883 building designed by Louis Boldini. It occupies a prominent corner site in the heart of the Exchange. Formerly the Grand Hotel, the building has been extended considerably on several occasions in its history, and was considerably renovated in the 1980s, though most of its original features remain. The Southern Cross Hotel Building is home to Dunedin Casino. - The Clarion Building, 282–292 Princes St (Category II). This 1878 William Mason building was originally a major drapery store in the heart of what was then Dunedin's retail district. The exterior is of Venetian Gothic style, though the interior has been largely redeveloped in recent years. - The Chief Post Office Building, 283 Princes St (Category II). The Chief Post Office Building has not had an easy history. Designed by John Mair and the Governments Architects Office, construction was severely delayed by the Great Depression. Originally intended to be built in the early 1930s, it was not completed until 1937. A sturdy and impressive structure, possibly modelled on some of the government architecture in vogue in the United Kingdom during this era, the building held Dunedin's main post office branch until the late 1980s and continued in use as postal offices until 1997. The building remained empty for some time after this. Many plans were put forward for its use, including a hotel, a new site for the city's public library, and offices for either the Dunedin City Council or Otago Regional Council. In 2013, an extensive renovation of the lower few floors began, with Silver Fern Farms moving in on the ground and first floors as anchor tenant in February 2014. Later in the decade the interior of the building was further transformed, turning ito a 4-star hotel, the Distinction Dunedin Hotel. - Wain's Hotel, 310 Princes St (Category I). Built in 1879 to a design by Mason & Wales, Wain's Hotel remains Dunedin's grandest hotel building, and reflects the opulence which followed the Central Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s. The interior has been substantially remodelled, but the exterior's Italianate Renaissance façade remains largely intact. This latter features much intricate work by mason George Munro, notably the figures found carved within the panelled spandrels and supporting the façade's oriel windows. - The ANZ Bank Building, Dunedin, 319 Princes St (Category II). Robert Lawson's 1874 Union Bank of Australasia building is the only classical temple form structure in Dunedin. It is a partner to the architect's work on bank buildings in Oamaru, and features carved Corinthian columns by Godfrey. The building continued to be used as a bank until 1992, and now houses a night club. - The H.E. Shacklock Building, 595–625 Princes St (Category II). The only listed manufacturing building in Princes Street, the Shacklock building covers a large site at the southern end of Princes Street opposite the Market Reserve. The Cargill Monument at John Wickliffe Plaza is also listed (Category I), as are numerous buildings and structures which lie close to the intersection of side roads with Princes Street (e.g., the Category I Crown Roller Mills Building in Manor Place and the Category II Dowling Street Steps). ## See also - Colombo Street, Christchurch - History of Dunedin - Lambton Quay, Wellington - List of historic places in Dunedin - Princes Street, Edinburgh - Queen Street, Auckland

Victoria Newman

Fictional Character in the Young and the Restless

Victoria Newman is a fictional character from The Young and the Restless, an American soap opera on the CBS network. Created by William J. Bell, she is currently portrayed by Amelia Heinle. Victoria was born onscreen in 1982 and was portrayed by child actress Ashley Nicole Millan for her first eight years. Having been rapidly aged to a teenager, Victoria returned to the soap opera and was portrayed by Heather Tom. Tom portrayed the character into her early adult years and remained in the role for thirteen years. Due to creative differences, Tom left the soap opera in 2003 and Heinle, who debuted as Victoria on March 21, 2005, was cast in the role. The daughter of businessman Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), Victoria was described as "the teenager from hell" during her early years, and as an adult she was written as a ruthless character. Her storylines have involved romances with older men, family conflicts, and difficult pregnancies. Victoria is the third member of the Newman family to appear in the program and was joined later by her younger siblings. Her early romances included long-standing relationships with Ryan McNeil (Scott Reeves) and Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck). Upon her second return to the show she had relationships with J.T. Hellstrom (Thad Luckinbill) and Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson). Victoria has three children: Reed Hellstrom (Tristan Lake Leabu) by J.T., Johnny Abbott, Billy's son whom she adopted as her own, and Katie Newman. Tom won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series twice for her portrayal of Victoria, and received nominations for eight other Emmy awards. Critics praised Tom's portrayal of the character, though her marriages at an early age were criticized. Heinle's portrayal later won her the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2014 and 2015. ## Casting Between 1982 and 1990, Victoria was portrayed by child actress Ashley Nicole Millan. After Millan left the series, Victoria was rapidly aged to become a teenager, and Heather Tom assumed the role on December 12, 1990. In 1997, Tom took a nearly eight-month leave of absence from the role, departing on February 21 and returning on October 2. During Tom's absence, Sarah Aldrich was cast as her temporary replacement, appearing from April 2 to July 17, 1997. In 1999, Carrie Genzel was in talks to replace Tom, who was experiencing "touch-and-go" contract negotiations. However, Tom signed another three-year deal with the soap opera and said she was "very excited" about her continuation. In September 2003, Tom's spokesman announced that she would leave the show because of "creative differences" with executive producer David Shaughnessy. Speaking of her departure, Shaughnessy said that it was "tough" to see her go and that "they would miss her tremendously". Tom made her final appearance as Victoria on December 17, 2003, and she later said that she left the role because "things weren't going in her best interests". The soap opera's producers intended Victoria to return in January 2004 but auditions failed to find a suitable replacement for Tom. Amelia Heinle was later cast in the role and made her first appearance on March 21, 2005. Rachel Kimsey also auditioned for the role and Heinle had auditioned for Mackenzie Browning; Kimsey was given Mackenzie and Heinle was given Victoria. Heinle has stated on many occasions that she had "serious doubts" about taking over Tom's role. In 2013, she recalled on what intimidated her about Tom, saying: "Heather is pure backbone, and that's probably what intimidated me about following in her footsteps because that's not me naturally." In 2008, she took maternity leave and was off-screen for weeks. In March 2011, Heinle announced that she had signed a new contract which would secure her in the role for an unspecified period. In November 2013, it was announced that Heinle had signed another contract to continue her portrayal of Victoria for an additional two years. ## Development ### Characterization and portrayal According to SoapNet, Victoria is "ruthless in the board room" and "nobody's damsel in distress". The soap opera's official website describes the character as having "displayed both her father's headstrong qualities and her mother's tendency to be impulsive". While the character was a teenager, Kelly O'Sullivan of the New York Daily News called her "the teen from hell". Heather Tom said that Victoria had Victor's strength and the manipulative skills of her former-alcoholic mother Nikki. Of the character's determination, Tom said that "Victoria knows disappointment, yet she gets her way most of the time" and "she goes after what she wants, and wins". During Victoria's divorce from Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck), The Orlando Sentinel said that Victoria's behavior was "pig-faced". ### Relationships Victoria has her first romance with Ryan McNeil, which ends when he leaves her for Nina Webster (Tricia Cast). The series' creator William J. Bell said that Victoria knew Nina still loved Ryan and suspected that the marriage would not last, and that "in Victoria's mind, the threat is still there". She is then married to Cole Howard for four years but they begin to have marital problems after Cole's affair with Ashley Abbott (Shari Shattuck). Tom said that being married on a soap opera is "short lived" and that she knew Cole and Victoria would eventually face difficulties, which she found challenging to act. While pregnant with Cole's child, Victoria has a relationship with Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John) and plans to raise the child with him, but her daughter Eve Howard dies shortly after birth and she and Neil separate. After being raped by an insane man, Victoria reunites with Ryan and they plan to marry before he is shot dead by his ex-wife, Tricia Dennison (Sabryn Genet). Victoria also has brief relationships with Diego Guittierez (Greg Vaughan) and Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc). A decade after her marriage to Cole, Victoria marries Brad Carlton (Don Diamont); their marriage ends after Brad has an affair. She then becomes pregnant with J.T. Hellstrom's (Thad Luckinbill) child and during her pregnancy becomes comatose. Heinle believed Victoria and J.T. would "stay together for a while before they wreck it". After it was announced that Luckinbill was leaving the soap opera, Victoria and J.T. drift apart and eventually divorce. Victoria next begins a relationship with Billy Abbott that their feuding families are against; Heinle described Billy as "the forbidden fruit" and compared their romance to Romeo and Juliet. They later marry in a 1950s-styled screen wedding; her wedding dress was inspired by a gown worn by Audrey Hepburn in the film Funny Face. Actress Elinor Donahue was cast to portray the judge that officiates their wedding, as former co-head writer Scott Hamner felt that Donahue could help them achieve the sense of a "retro-fantasy of better, simpler times". After their wedding, Billy illegally purchases a baby girl for Victoria. Heinle felt this plot was a good way to add conflict drama to the soap opera. The couple lose custody of the child, Billy leaves Genoa City and Victoria divorces him, but her father hides Billy from his family. The pair are later reunited in a New York airport bar. Hamner noted that Victoria would be "absolutely furious" at her father for what he had done: "[There is a] potential for a huge rift between father and daughter, and there will be some consequences for Victor with his relationship with Victoria in light of all that he's done to keep her apart from the man she loves." He also stated that the "impact of those secrets coming to light was going to be very serious in Billy and Victoria's ability to move forward together". ## Storylines In 1990, eight-year-old Victoria becomes upset that her mother Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) has married Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), even after he saves her from drowning in a swimming pool. When she continues to misbehave, her parents send her to boarding school in Switzerland. Later that year, Victoria returns as a moody teenager who is working in the mailroom at her father's company, Newman Enterprises, and becoming smitten with Ryan McNeil (Scott Reeves), who is older than her. Victor offers Ryan money to leave town but he and Victoria elope. Their marriage ends when Ryan leaves her for Nina Webster (Tricia Cast) in 1993. Victoria then falls in love with Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck) and they marry the following year, but their marriage is quickly annulled when it is believed by their parents that they are half-siblings, as Victor is believed to be Cole's father. When this is proved untrue they wed again; this marriage breaks down four years later when in 1998 Cole has sex with Ashley Abbott (Shari Shattuck/Eileen Davidson), her former stepmother. Victoria becomes pregnant with Cole's child and chooses to raise it with Neil Winters (Kristoff St. John). Her baby girl, Eve Howard, dies a few days after birth and Victoria ends her union with Neil. Victoria briefly tries and fails to win Cole back from Ashley. In 1999, Victoria meets Gary Dawson (Ricky Paull Goldin) and they begin dating, though she soon discovers that he is stalking her and ends the relationship. Enraged, Gary kidnaps Victoria in a tree house and she is raped. She takes months to recover. She and Ryan then reunite and plan to remarry, but on their wedding day in November 2001 Ryan's ex-wife Tricia Dennison shoots and kills him, leaving Victoria devastated. She then has a brief relationship with Diego Guittierez (Diego Serrano/Greg Vaughan) in 2002, and afterward dates Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc). The following year, some of Victor's crimes come to light and Victoria leaves town when these and other family problems overwhelm her. She moves to Florence, Italy, where she studies Art History. In 2005, Victoria returns to Genoa City after Jack makes her a job offer to run Jabot. She tries to resume her relationship with Michael, only to discover he has married Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman). She then begins dating her father's business rival Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) and in 2006 they marry, much to Victor's disapproval. Victoria becomes pregnant with Brad's child but miscarries. Their marriage ends in 2007 when Victoria discovers that Brad had an affair with Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), her former sister in law, before their wedding. During her marriage she forms a friendship with J.T. Hellstrom (Thad Luckinbill) and they have sex twice, resulting in a pregnancy of unknown paternity. J.T. is revealed as the father, and during her pregnancy Victoria is hit by falling rocks—caused by an explosion—which leaves her comatose. She recovers and gives birth to a son, Reed Hellstrom (Max Page), and she marries J.T. in February 2008. After J.T. kisses his ex-girlfriend Colleen the following year, Victoria has an affair with Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan), complicating their marriage, which ends in 2010 after J.T. becomes intimate with Mackenzie Browning (Clementine Ford). Victoria then begins a secret romance with Billy Abbott. She and Billy marry while intoxicated in Jamaica, but the marriage is declared invalid and they remarry. During the ceremony, Victor has Victoria arrested in an attempt to stop the wedding. J.T. gains full custody of Reed and moves to Washington, DC with his new wife Mackenzie for her job. Victoria and her siblings pursue a lawsuit against Victor to gain control of a cosmetics line. After Victoria miscarries a child with Billy, he illegally pays \$2,000,000 for a child, whom they name Lucy in January 2011. Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) gains custody of Lucy and Billy leaves town without disclosing his whereabouts to his wife. Victoria later pursues divorce proceedings in Billy's long absence. After their divorce, Victoria and Billy's mother, Jill Fenmore, try unsuccessfully to locate Billy whose daughter, Delia Abbott has Leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. The pair find each other in a New York airport bar, reunite, and remarry in December 2011. As they return home from their honeymoon, Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan) arrives, announcing she is pregnant with Billy's child. Chelsea barters with Billy demanding 3 million dollars. She later gives birth to a boy, Johnny, but gives Billy full custody of their son. Victoria decides to stay in her marriage to Billy and help him raise the child. Later, Victoria returns to Newman Enterprises to try and save it from Sharon's destruction. While on business in Miami in November 2012, she is kidnapped by Eddie G. (Blake Gibbons), who demands that Billy repay a gambling debt as a ransom. Eddie is shot and killed in front of her, and she is finally rescued by her brother Nick, and recovers. Billy later relapses in his gambling addiction, and the couple briefly separate. However, Victoria again decides to reconcile with Billy and continue their marriage. In October 2013, Billy's daughter Delia is struck and killed by Adam in a hit and run accident. Billy embarks on an affair with a woman in his grief support group, Kelly Andrews (Cady McClain). Meanwhile, Victoria grows close with Stitch Rayburn (Sean Carrigan). Victoria files for legal separation after Billy's affair is exposed, and she ends up sleeping with Stitch. Victoria then finds out she is pregnant but is unsure of the child's paternity. The child, named Katherine Rose after Victoria's late godmother Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper), later turned out to be Billy's, but Victoria decides to continue her relationship with Stitch regardless. However, Victoria and Stitch's relationship comes to an end soon thereafter when Stitch develops feelings for Victoria's half-sister, Abby (Melissa Ordway). Victoria and Billy end up reuniting again, much to Victor's chagrin. ## Reception Connie Passalacqua of the Herald Journal compared Victoria's scheme to reunite her parents in 1991 to the plot of the 1961 film The Parent Trap. She wrote, "[w]hat makes Victoria a true terror teen? We venture that it may be the supernatural soap aging by which she aged from 5 to 15 last fall." Fort Worth Star-Telegram criticized Victoria's early romances, saying: "[s]he's divorced, rich and hates sex. And now she wants her husband back. As soap operas go, Victoria Newman's plight ... is standard daytime fare. But Victoria has one characteristic that many of her counterparts don't—she is only 17." A syndicated article that appeared in The Fort Oglethorpe Press described Ryan McNeil's attempts to seduce Victoria as "a path that's fraught with peril and which forces the good-natured actor to search hard for inspiration". SoapNet said it was "no surprise" Victoria has a history of "messy relationships" given her parents' history. Lilana Novakovich of the Toronto Star said that Heather Tom made Victoria become "one of her favorite characters" on the soap upon her debut in 1991. The Austin American-Statesman said that Tom was "always a pleasure to watch". Dan J. Kroll of the website SoapCentral wrote that the process to find a replacement for Tom was an "exhaustive search". Amelia Heinle, who critics praised for her portrayal of Victoria, has been listed on the "Top 5 Actresses" poll of CBS Soaps in Depth for over eight consecutive weeks. Her relationship with Billy has garnered a significant fan following, allowing them to lead CBS Soaps in Depth's "Top 10 Couples" poll for over six consecutive weeks. Elinor Donahue, who portrayed the judge that marries Victoria and Billy, said she thought their "retro wedding" was "adorable" and "extremely well written and not overdone". Zap2it placed Victoria and Billy at number four of their "10 Best Soap Couples of 2011". Jamey Giddens of Zap2it said Victoria and Billy are "so scrumptious together", and that "it's so nice to have some reason to say something kind about The Young and the Restless for a change". Giddens also said that he "adores this pairing that he was so prepared to hate". Sara Bibel of Xfinity wrote of their relationship: "Billy (Billy Miller) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle), who have already had three weddings in the year and a half that they have been together, actually seem rational. They should change the wedding vows in the G.C. from "until death to us part," to "until one of us changes our mind." However, Bibel was later unfavorable of the couple attempting to have a child less than six months after marrying. In 2011, during a storyline that saw Victoria and her siblings sue their father for control of a cosmetics line, Bibel wrote: "Victoria, whose true motivation was to get her hands on Beauty of Nature so she could become its CEO, got a rude awakening when Nick told her in no uncertain terms that he had no interest in trading the settlement money for the company. I think the second stage of the battle will be the Newman siblings squabbling over the money a la King Lear, assuming the show actually allows Victor to lose for more than a few episodes." Soon after, Bibel said that Victoria had been "whiny" and found the character's mother Nikki's storyline "far more interesting". That same year, Giddens wrote that a blogger from The Washington Post compared Victoria to Rupert Murdoch, saying: "[a] partial nod must go to the soap opera The Young and the Restless, whose character Victoria Newman was arrested on her wedding day for allegedly bribing a foreign dignitary. Television and Murdoch and ’round-the-clock FCPA conjecture—it's a welcome publicity storm for the FCPA bar." In 2013, Bibel criticized the soap opera when Victoria "decided to give up a corporate career to become a children’s book author", writing: "From the time she was SORASED into a teen, Victoria’s ambition was to run Newman Enterprises. She was the child who inherited Victor’s (Eric Braeden) business acumen. He, being a male chauvinist, always viewed the more family oriented Nick as his heir apparent. Her struggle to get her father’s recognition is what fueled her." She also stated that while watching the series, there was "the sense that women could, if that was what interested them, be power players". Of Victoria's choice to leave Newman Enterprises, Bibel wrote: "For Victoria, it came across as giving up Peggy Olsen’s life for Betty Draper’s. I was also peeved by her telling her mother that she didn't have the first idea of how to become an author. She ran a major cosmetics company. She should have a hundred contacts in publishing, and the confidence and skills to figure out what she doesn't know. I got to thinking about all of the ways that, over the past few months, the women of Genoa City have been, to use the lingo of Leaning In, the most popular non-fiction book in the country right now, leaning out." Tommy Garrett of Highlight Hollywood blamed head writer Josh Griffith for turning the character into a "hard-nosed unforgiving socialite". Heather Tom won two Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal of Victoria in 1993 and 1999, and received eight other nominations for the same award. She also won a Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Leading Younger Actress in 1997, and was nominated for two other awards. In 2022, Charlie Mason from Soaps She Knows placed Victoria 23rd on his list of the best 25 characters from The Young and the Restless, saying "Passion's plaything. Daddy's girl. Boss lady. Whatever you choose to call Victoria, from Heather Tom to Amelia Heinle, she’s always been front and center, a lightning rod for electric storylines." ## References and notes [Female characters in television](Category:Female_characters_in_television "wikilink") [Fictional artists](Category:Fictional_artists "wikilink") [Fictional business executives](Category:Fictional_business_executives "wikilink") [Fictional female businesspeople](Category:Fictional_female_businesspeople "wikilink") [Fictional schoolteachers](Category:Fictional_schoolteachers "wikilink") [Fictional socialites](Category:Fictional_socialites "wikilink") [Fictional victims of domestic abuse](Category:Fictional_victims_of_domestic_abuse "wikilink") [Television characters introduced in 1982](Category:Television_characters_introduced_in_1982 "wikilink") [The Young and the Restless characters](Category:The_Young_and_the_Restless_characters "wikilink") [Fictional characters who awoke from a coma](Category:Fictional_characters_who_awoke_from_a_coma "wikilink") [Newman family](Category:Newman_family "wikilink")

Maryland Route 537

Highway in Maryland

Maryland Route 537 (MD 537) is a collection of unsigned state highways in the U.S. state of Maryland. These two existing highways and two former sections of state highway are segments of the old alignment of U.S. Route 213 (US 213), which is now MD 213, in Chesapeake City in southern Cecil County. Some of the roads that became segments of MD 537 were constructed in the mid-1910s as part of the original state road between Elkton and Cecilton. Other portions of MD 537 were part of the approach roads to a bridge across the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal that was built in the mid-1920s and destroyed in 1942. After the modern Chesapeake City Bridge and its approach roads were completed in 1949, US 213 was moved to the new bridge and approach roads and MD 537 was assigned to the bypassed sections of US 213. Much of MD 537 outside of Chesapeake City was transferred to county maintenance in the late 1950s. In 2015, the remaining section of MD 537 north of the canal was turned over to municipal maintenance. ## Route description There are two existing sections of MD 537 and two former sections of the highway. MD 537A and MD 537B were north of the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal, and MD 537C and MD 537D are south of the canal. This description runs north to south starting from the north end of the Chesapeake City area: - MD 537A ran 1.61 miles (2.59 km) between a pair of intersections with US 213 (Augustine Herman Highway), between which was a third intersection with the highway, north of Chesapeake City. The highway split from the U.S. Highway on a tangent along Knights Corner Road. MD 537A turned west onto Elk Forest Road, crossed to the west side of US 213, and turned south onto Spears Hill Road. The highway followed that road to its southern terminus at US 213 north of Long Creek. - MD 537B began at MD 285, which heads east along Biddle Street toward Delaware and north along Lock Street toward Elkton. The highway headed south along Lock Street for 0.06 miles (0.097 km) to Canal Road along the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal. The 0.01 miles (0.016 km) of MD 537B closest to the canal was maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers instead of the Maryland State Highway Administration beginning in 2014 after the discovery that the latter had quitclaimed the segment to the former in 1965. MD 537B originally followed Lock Street a further 0.57 miles (0.92 km) out of the town limits to MD 213 at the north end of the Chesapeake City Bridge along what is now MD 285. - MD 537C runs 0.49 miles (0.79 km) from the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal south to MD 213. The highway begins at a dead-end at the canal just north of 1st Street in the South Chesapeake City Historic District. MD 537C follows George Street through an intersection with the western end of MD 286 (2nd Street). The highway has an acute junction with the northern end of MD 342 (St. Augustine Road) and an orthogonal intersection with MD 537D. South of MD 537D, MD 537C reaches its southern terminus at right-in/right-out interchange ramps with northbound MD 213 at the south end of the Chesapeake City Bridge at the Chesapeake City town limit. - MD 537D, which has a length of 0.25 miles (0.40 km), begins at MD 342 and heads west as an unnamed road through an intersection with MD 537C. The highway passes under the Chesapeake City Bridge and curves south to an intersection with the right-in/right-out interchange ramps with southbound MD 213. MD 537D reaches its southern terminus 0.02 miles (0.032 km) south of the town limit of Chesapeake City. The roadway continues as county-maintained Basil Avenue. MD 537D formerly continued south 0.86 miles (1.38 km) along Basil Avenue to US 213 at Bohemia Manor High School. ## History The Cecilton–Elkton highway was one of the original state roads the Maryland State Roads Commission designated for improvement in 1909. The portion of the highway from Elkton to the north town limit of Chesapeake City was constructed as a 14-foot-wide (4.3 m) macadam road between 1911 and 1914. The highway through Chesapeake City and south toward Cecilton was completed as a 14-foot-wide (4.3 m) concrete road in 1915. At that time, the main highway from the north used Knights Corner Road, Elk Forest Road, and Spears Hill Road, entered Chesapeake City along Hemphill Street, crossed the Chesapeake & Delaware Canal on a one-lane bridge, turned west and crossed Back Creek on a wooden bridge, turned south onto Bohemia Street in South Chesapeake City, turned west onto Third Street, and turned south onto George Street to the south end of town, from which the highway followed Basil Avenue toward Cecilton. In the 1920s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers widened, straightened, and deepened the canal. As part of their work, the agency constructed a vertical lift bridge across the canal. Between 1924 and 1926, the Maryland State Roads Commission constructed approaches to the new bridge on both sides of the expanded canal, eliminating two narrow and dangerous bridges and four right-angle turns in Chesapeake City. The new route along George Street and Lock Street, which became part of US 213 in 1927 and is now MD 285 and MD 537, entirely bypassed what is now MD 284. After the tanker Franz Klasen' destroyed the vertical lift bridge on July 28, 1942, the Maryland State Roads Commission established a ferry service across the canal. Between 1946 and 1949, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the present tied arch Chesapeake City Bridge and new approach roads to the bridge. US 213 was moved to the new Chesapeake City Bridge, and MD 537 was assigned to the bypassed portions of highway approaching and within Chesapeake City. On May 8, 1958, the Maryland State Roads Commission and Cecil County signed a road transfer agreement to turn maintenance of the approach roads outside the town of Chesapeake City to county maintenance. These roads included all of MD 537A, most of MD 537D, and much of MD 537B. The portion of MD 537B from US 213 to the north town limit was returned to state maintenance through an August 22, 1961, road transfer agreement. All three segments of MD 537 were resurfaced with bituminous concrete in 1976. The intersection of MD 537B and MD 284 was transformed from a tangent intersection to the present orthogonal intersection in 1982. The following year, the portion of MD 537B between MD 213 and MD 285's then western terminus at the intersection of Biddle and Lock streets was renumbered as an extension of MD 285. The remainder of MD 537B not maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was transferred to Chesapeake City in 2015. ## Junction lists The route progression in these tables is south to north. ### MD 537C ### MD 537D ## See also

Nate Schierholtz

American baseball player (born 1984)

Nathan John "Nate" Schierholtz (born February 15, 1984) is an American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (2007–2012), Philadelphia Phillies (2012), Chicago Cubs (2013–2014), and Washington Nationals (2014). He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2015). Schierholtz was a second-round draft pick by the Giants out of Chabot College in 2003. He reached the major leagues in 2007, batting over .300 in limited playing time. He spent most of 2008 in the minor leagues but again hit over .300 when he was called up in September. Schierholtz also represented the United States of America at the Summer Olympics that year. In 2009, he spent the whole season with the Giants, appearing in over 100 games and getting starts in right field. Schierholtz was the Giants' starting right fielder for portions of 2010 but ended the year as a defensive substitution for Pat Burrell. He won his first World Series as the Giants defeated the Texas Rangers for their first World Series title in 56 years. In 2011, he was the Giants' starting right fielder for most of the year, until a broken foot sidelined him at the end of August. Though used as the starting right fielder some in 2012, Schierholtz said in an interview in July that Giants' manager Bruce Bochy did not think of him as an everyday player. Shortly afterwards, he was traded to the Phillies, with whom he finished the year. The Giants won the World Series again and gave him a World Series ring for his earlier contributions. In 2013, Schierholtz signed with the Cubs and received the most playing time of his career, hitting a career-high 21 home runs. He batted .192 with the Cubs the next season and was released mid-season. The Nationals picked him up soon after, and he reached the playoffs with them. In 2015, Schierholtz attempted to make the Rangers' roster out of spring training. Faced with a demotion to the minor leagues, he opted instead to spend a season in Japan with the Toyo Carp. He signed with the Detroit Tigers organization in 2016 and played some games in the minor leagues before getting released in May. Later in the season, Schierholtz failed a test for performance-enhancing drugs, resulting in an 80-game suspension by Major League Baseball. ## Early life Schierholtz was born February 15, 1984, in Reno, Nevada. His parents were Vai Sr., and Karen Schierholtz, and he was the oldest of four children (Cainan; Vai Jr.; and Sophia). He attended San Ramon Valley High School in Danville, California, the same high school as future San Francisco Giants teammate Randy Winn. At San Ramon Valley, he served as the team captain. ## College career Following high school, Schierholtz played for Chabot College, a community college located in Hayward, California. He spent the 2003 season with Chabot, starting at third base. In his lone season at Chabot, he was named an All-American. ## Professional career ### Draft and minor leagues Schierholtz was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2003 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. He began his minor league career that year as a third baseman with the rookie Arizona League Giants, batting .400 in 11 games before getting promoted to the Single-A short season Salem-Keizer Volcanoes of the Northwest League. In 35 games for Salem-Keizer, he hit .306 with 38 hits, three home runs, and 29 runs batted in (RBI). He began the 2004 season with the Single-A Hagerstown Suns of the South Atlantic League, earning All-star game honors for that league. He batted .296 with 53 RBI in 58 games and was leading the league in home runs (15) and extra-base hits (37) before getting promoted to the Single-A advanced San Jose Giants of the California League. At San Jose, though still receiving significant playing time as a third baseman, he began to play the outfield as well. In 62 games with San Jose, he batted .295 with three home runs and 31 RBI. He was second on the team with nine triples after not hitting any with Hagerstown. He was third among Giants' prospects with 18 home runs and ranked second with 84 RBI in 2004. In 2005, Schierholtz remained at San Jose, where he became an everyday right fielder. Over 128 games, he batted .319 (fifth in the California League) with 160 hits (tied with Chris Lubanski, Seth Smith, and Clay Timpner for fifth), 37 doubles (tied with Danny Putnam for eighth), eight triples (tied with Wladimir Balentien, Danny Richar, and Joe Gaetti for third behind Timpner's 12 and Anthony Webster's 11), 15 home runs, and 86 RBI. He batted .333 in the playoffs, helping San Jose win the California League championship. Schierholtz moved up to the Double-A Connecticut Defenders of the Eastern League in 2006. In 125 games, he batted .270 with 127 hits, 14 home runs, and 54 RBI. He led the Defenders in most major batting categories and finished sixth in the Eastern League with seven triples. Entering the 2007 season, Schierholtz was ranked the eighth-best prospect in the Giants' organization by Baseball America. That year, he was assigned to the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies of the Pacific Coast League. He spent most of the season with them. In 109 games, he had 137 hits, 31 doubles, 16 home runs, and 68 RBI. He finished third in the league in batting average (.333, behind Geovany Soto's .353 and Delwyn Young's .337) and triples (seven, tied with Scott Seabol behind Reggie Abercrombie's and Jeff Salazar's nine). Giants' manager Bruce Bochy considered calling up Schierholtz in May 2007 when Dave Roberts started suffering elbow problems, but an injury to Schierholtz prevented that. ### San Francisco Giants (2007–2012) #### 2007 On June 11, Schierholtz was called up to replace Dan Ortmeier and try to give the Giants some offensive help. He made his major league debut that day, against the Toronto Blue Jays as a defensive replacement. He got his first hit the next night, against A. J. Burnett in his first career at bat in a 3–2 victory over Toronto. During this stint, Schierholtz received most of the starts in right field. On June 23, at AT&T Park against the New York Yankees, he blooped an RBI single into center field against Scott Proctor in the bottom of the 13th inning to win the game 6–5 for the Giants. Despite a .325 batting average in 40 at bats, Schierholtz was sent down at the start of July to make room for Rich Aurilia, who was returning from the disabled list. He was recalled in September, and he received most of the starts in right field that month. In 39 games (112 at bats), he batted .304 with 34 hits, five doubles, three triples, 10 RBI, and two walks. In 2008, Baseball America ranked Schierholtz the fourth-best prospect in the Giants' system. He attended spring training with the Giants but started the season in Fresno. Schierholtz was batting .314 with fifteen home runs and 65 runs batted in for the Grizzlies when his minor league season ended as a result of his being selected for the 2008 USA Olympic Baseball Team. In the sixth inning of a preliminary round game against China, he collided with China backup catcher Yang Yang at the home plate on a sacrifice fly, a play that resulted in a near brawl between the teams and saw Chinese manager Jim Lefebvre ejected from the game. Schierholtz played nine games with the Americans, batting .216 with four doubles, one home run, and six RBI as the United States earned a bronze medal. Schierholtz was again called up in September 2008, as the Giants' roster expanded, and he was used as the Giants' starting right fielder for the remainder of the year. On September 3, he recorded four hits in a game for the first time in a 9–2 victory over the Colorado Rockies. Three days later, he hit his first career home run against Jesse Chavez in a 7–6 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. In 19 games (75 at bats) in 2008, Schierholtz hit .320 with 24 hits, eight doubles, one triple, one home run, and five RBI. #### 2009 Schierholtz started the 2009 season as a pinch hitter. In June, he saw his playing time increase as Randy Winn, the Giants' right fielder, began playing left field frequently in place of Fred Lewis. On June 14, he had an inside-the-park home run, only the fourth in AT&T Park history, in the third inning against Brett Anderson of the Oakland Athletics in a 7–1 victory. He had four hits on June 28 in a 7–0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. From July 28 through August 12, he was on the disabled list with a bruised left hip, which he suffered after running into a chain-link fence at Turner Field. He saw his playing time reduced in September as Winn moved back to right field to give Eugenio Vélez and John Bowker opportunities in left. In a career-high 116 games (285 at bats) in 2009, Schierholtz batted .267 with 76 hits, five home runs, and 29 RBI. He had the third-highest batting average for a pinch hitter in the majors (.371, behind Seth Smith's .472 and Hideki Matsui's .381). #### 2010 Schierholtz was expected to be the Giants' Opening Day right fielder in 2010, but Bowker won the position after hitting six home runs in spring training. Bowker, however, only held the job for 10 games before Schierholtz replaced him on April 17. In his first 16 games in the role, he batted .393, but over his next 19, he batted .154. When Buster Posey was called up in late May, Aubrey Huff moved from first base to right field, leaving Schierholtz on the bench. After Bengie Molina was traded, Posey switched from first base to catcher, but Travis Ishikawa began getting some starts at first base, creating a platoon between Schierholtz and Ishikawa, with Huff covering first base or right field depending on who was playing. When José Guillén was acquired on August 13, Schierholtz was relegated to the role of pinch-hitter and late-inning defensive substitution for the rest of the year. In 137 games (227 at bats), Schierholtz batted .242 with 55 hits, 13 doubles, three triples, three home runs, and 17 RBI. Schierholtz received regular playing time throughout the postseason as a defensive replacement for starting outfielder Pat Burrell. Whenever the Giants held a lead in the sixth inning or later, Bochy would remove Burrell from the game, shift Cody Ross from right field to left field, and place Schierholtz in right field. This strategy was meant to provide the Giants with the best possible defensive outfield and, thus, the best chance of holding the lead and winning the game. Schierholtz ultimately appeared in 11 of San Francisco's 15 playoff games, accumulating 13 plate appearances and recording an RBI in Game 1 of the 2010 World Series against the Texas Rangers. In Game 4, a night when Bochy chose to start several of his backups, he got his first start of the postseason, playing right field in the Giants' 4–0 victory. The Giants won the World Series in five games, their first World Series victory since 1954. #### 2011 Schierholtz hit a 467-foot home run at Coors Field on April 18, 2011, against Esmil Rogers in an 8–1 victory over the Rockies. At the start of May, Schierholtz took over the Giants' right field job, due to a slump by Burrell. He hit a game-tying, two-run pinch-hit home run against Grant Balfour on May 22 in an 11-inning, 5–4 victory over Oakland. Ten days later, he had a game-tying RBI single in the ninth inning against Fernando Salas and a game-winning RBI single in the 11th inning against Ryan Franklin in a 7–5 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals. On July 6, against the San Diego Padres, Schierholtz recorded his first multi-home run game. In the bottom of the 14th inning of that game, he hit a walk-off home run against Pat Neshek that secured a 6–5 victory for the Giants. Two days later, he had a splash hit home run against R. A. Dickey in a 5–2 loss to the New York Mets. Following the acquisition of Carlos Beltrán on July 28, Schierholtz began playing some left field for the first time in his career. He broke his right foot after hitting a foul ball off it against the Atlanta Braves on August 15. Schierholtz appeared in five more games after the injury, but it became too severe to play through, and he was placed on the disabled list on August 27 (retroactive to August 22), and, though initially expected to return, he missed the rest of the season. In 115 games (335 at bats), Schierholtz hit .278 with 93 hits, 22 doubles, nine home runs, and 41 RBI. He said of his 2011 season, "I was able to contribute to the team this year. That was a positive thing I can take from the season." #### 2012 In 2012, Schierholtz started the season as a bench player but soon became the Giants' everyday right fielder. On April 23 and 24, he had back-to-back three-hit games against the Mets. He batted .372 over his first 14 games but hit just .048 over his next seven. When May started, Bochy benched him in favor of Gregor Blanco. On July 18, in an interview with Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle, he said that Bochy had told him in May that he did not view him as an everyday player. He said that, while he did not ask for a trade, "I think whatever the best fit for the team and me is would be ideal. I can't really make those decisions. It's all up to them. Whether I'm here or not I'm going to give my best effort every day and bust my tail." That weekend, he started three games against the Philadelphia Phillies in right field, partly because Blanco and Ángel Pagán had been struggling. On July 22, Schierholtz hit two home runs against Joe Blanton, the second of which forced the game into extra innings. However, the Giants would lose 4–3 in 12 innings. In 77 games (175 at bats), Schierholtz hit .251 with 44 hits, four doubles, five triples, five home runs, and 16 RBI. ### Philadelphia Phillies (2012) At the trade deadline on July 31, Schierholtz was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies along with minor league catcher Tommy Joseph and minor league pitcher Seth Rosin for outfielder Hunter Pence. Upon Schierholtz's arrival in Philadelphia, manager Charlie Manuel said he wanted to give Schierholtz everyday playing time for the rest of the year, in order to assess him. In the transition, Schierholtz changed his number from 12 to 22. In his debut, Schierholtz homered against Edwin Jackson in a 3–2 victory against the Washington Nationals. However, Schierholtz was sent to the disabled list on August 13 after fouling a ball off his right big toe in a game against the Cardinals. He remained on the disabled list until September 1. On September 7, he delivered a game-ending RBI single against Will Harris, giving the Phillies a 3–2 win over Colorado. Schierholtz appeared in 33 games with the Phillies, batting .273 with 18 hits, four doubles, one home run, and five RBI. In 114 games (241 at bats) with Philadelphia and San Francisco, he batted .257 with 62 hits, eight doubles, five triples, six home runs, and 21 RBI. After the season, the Phillies non-tendered Schierholtz, making him a free agent. They chose to non-tender him because they were only projecting him as a fifth outfielder, and Schierholtz was due for a pay raise. Despite being traded to the Phillies, Schierholtz received his second World Series ring from the Giants due to his contributions during the first half of the 2012 season with the team. ### Chicago Cubs (2013–2014) On December 5, 2012, Schierholtz signed a \$2.25 million, one-year deal with the Chicago Cubs. He was the Cubs' starting right fielder for most of the 2013 season. From June 4 through 18, he set a career-high with a 10-game hitting streak. On June 14, he had two triples in a game for the first time in his career in a 14-inning, 6–5 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. On June 22, he set a career-high with his 10th home run of the season in a 4–3 loss to the Houston Astros. He batted .286 with 11 home runs through June 30 but saw his average sink to .218 for the rest of the season, although he would hit 10 home runs. On July 24, he had a career-high five RBI, including a game-winning RBI double against David Hernandez in the 12th inning of a 7–6 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Three days later, he hit a home run against Sergio Romo in a 1–0 victory over the Giants. Schierholtz reset his career-high in RBI with six on August 19, including home runs against Jordan Zimmermann and Fernando Abad in an 11–1 victory over the Washington Nationals. In 137 games (462 at bats), Schierholtz batted .251 with career-highs in hits (116), doubles (32), home runs (21), runs scored (56), and RBI (68). Defensively, he posted a .988 fielding percentage. On January 17, 2014, Schierholtz signed a \$5 million, one-year deal to remain with the Chicago Cubs. On June 3, he had a game-ending RBI single against Scott Rice, giving the Cubs a 2–1 victory over the Mets. He was designated for assignment by the Cubs on August 6, 2014. Chicago released the veteran on waivers after he had a .192 batting average and six home runs over 99 games. ### Washington Nationals (2014) On August 18, 2014, Schierholtz signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals, and was assigned to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs of the International League. The Nationals selected Schierholtz's contract on August 23 and used him as a reserve outfielder. On September 21, he tripled home a run against Nate Eovaldi, then scored on a double by Anthony Rendon in a 2–1 victory over the Miami Marlins. In 23 games (40 at bats) with the Nationals, Schierholtz batted .225 with one home run. His combined totals were a .195 average, 69 hits, seven home runs, and 37 RBI in 122 games with Chicago and Washington. Schierholtz reached the playoffs with Washington as they won the National League East. He appeared in all four games of the 2014 National League Division Series, getting a hit and three walks in four plate appearances for a 1.000 on-base percentage as the Nationals were defeated by the Giants. After the season, he became a free agent. ### Texas Rangers On February 6, 2015, Schierholtz signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers. He competed for an outfield spot but was released on March 28 before the season started. ### Hiroshima Toyo Carp (2015) After his release from Texas, Schierholtz went to Japan, signing a one-year deal with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). During the 2015 season, he hit .250 (58-for-232), with 10 home runs and 30 RBIs in 65 games. "It was definitely an interesting experience and I learned a lot. I enjoyed living with the Japanese culture and learning some of their ways and values. The fans are very kind to the American foreign players and it was a great experience," Schierholtz summarized his time in Japan. ### Detroit Tigers On December 23, 2015, Schierholtz signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers, and was invited to 2016 spring training. Failing to make the club, he played 31 games for the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens of the International League, batting .246 with 29 hits, three home runs, and 13 RBI before his release on May 22. On August 5, 2016, Schierholtz received an 80-game suspension from Major League Baseball for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. ## Personal life Schierholtz married Kate Eveland, a former guard on the San Diego State basketball team on December 3, 2011. Vai Jr., his youngest brother, attended the Air Force Academy and played baseball for the Falcons. His mother lives in Alamo, California; her house burned down in 2009 but was rebuilt. Schierholtz used to bat without batting gloves, one of the few Major Leaguers to do so, but since 2011 has used batting gloves.

Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg, BWV 149

Church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach

Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg (lit.: One sings with joy about victory), BWV 149, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach. He composed the work in Leipzig for Michaelmas and first performed it in 1728 or 1729. It is the last of his three extant cantatas for the feast. Picander wrote the cantata's libretto, and published it in a 1728/29 cycle of cantata texts. The libretto opens with two verses from Psalm 118 and closes with the third stanza of Martin Schalling's "Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr". The topic of the libretto aligns with the prescribed readings for the day from the Book of Revelation, Michael fighting the dragon. The closing Lutheran hymn stanza writes about a "sweet little angel", accompanying a soul in anticipation of the Last Judgment. The cantata has seven movements, and is scored festively with four vocal parts and a Baroque orchestra of three trumpets, timpani, three oboes, bassoon, strings and continuo. Bach derived the music of the opening chorus from his Hunting Cantata, composed already in 1713. ## History and text Bach composed the cantata in Leipzig for the feast of St. Michael (Michaelmas); it is his third and last of his extant cantatas for the feast, a feast celebrating the archangel and all angels. The prescribed readings for St. Michael's Day were from the Book of Revelation, Michael fighting the dragon (), and from the Gospel of Matthew, heaven belongs to the children and the angels see the face of God (). St. Michael, the archangel, has a prominent position in Lutheranism, as in Judaism. John Eliot Gardiner, who conducted all of Bach's church cantatas in 2000 on the Bach Cantata Pilgrimage, notes that the Sanctus, composed for Christmas 1724 in close relation to the text by Isaiah, and much later integrated to Bach's Mass in B minor, shows the relevance of angels for Bach's Lutheranism. The libretto was written by Christian Friedrich Henrici, better known as Picander, Bach began to work with him in 1725, and they collaborated notably on the major St Matthew Passion. Picander wrote his cantata texts, including this one, with Bach as the composer in mind. The poet included as the first movement two verses from a psalm () and as the closing chorale the third stanza of Martin Schalling's hymn "Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr". The Bach scholar Klaus Hofmann notes that battle scenes were often depicted in art and music. In the opening lines taken from a psalm, the battle of Michael against Satan is already won. Satan is mentioned only in the first movement. A focus of the later sequence of alternating arias and recitatives is on guardian angels seen as "holy watchmen". The libretto was published in the 1728/29 year of his collection Ernstschertzhaffte und satyrische Gedichte / Cantaten auf die Sonn- und Fest-Tage. They appeared in quarterly volumes to help the congregation following the text. Bach led the Thomanerchor in the first performance of the cantata in Leipzig on 29 September, either in 1728 or 1729. ## Scoring and structure Bach structured the cantata in seven movements and scored it for four vocal soloists (soprano (S), alto (A), tenor (T) and bass (B)), a four-part choir, and a Baroque orchestra of three trumpets (Tr), timpani (Ti), three oboes (Ob), two violins (Vl), violas (Va), bassoon (Fg), violone (Vo), and basso continuo (Bc). The title of the autograph score reads simply: "J.N.J. Festo Michaelis. / Man singet mit Freuden etc. di I.S.Bach." In the following table of the movements, the scoring and keys follow the Neue Bach-Ausgabe. The time signature is provided using the symbol for common time (4/4). The continuo, playing throughout, is not shown. . ## Music ### 1 Bach based the music of the opening chorus, "Man singet mit Freuden vom Sieg" (There are joyful songs of victory), on the final movement of his secular Hunting Cantata, which had been his first cantata using "modern" recitatives and arias in 1713. The polyphonic movement is described by Simon Crouch as being a "high-octane start". Gardiner notes that in comparison to earlier works for the same occasion, this movement is "festive rather than combative". Bach reworked the earlier movement considerably to adjust from the court music context to joyful songs of victory: he replaced two horns with three trumpets and timpani, transposed the music from F major to D major, and expanded it "on every level", as Hofmann notes. The beginning of a different setting of the text hints at the fact that the idea to use the early music as a base was not planned from the start. ### 2 The bass aria, "Kraft und Stärke sei gesungen" (Power and strength be sung), is accompanied by two low instrumental melodies. It examines the conflict between God and Satan, and includes a very active continuo to represent "the fury of the battle". The imagery of a "great voice", as mentioned in the Book of Revelation, is used, announcing the Lamb "that has defeated and banished Satan". ### 3 A short alto recitative, "Ich fürchte mich vor tausend Feinden nicht" (I don't fear thousand enemies), was described as "tonally unstable". ### 4 The soprano aria, "Gottes Engel weichen nie" (God's angels never yield), is lyrical and dancing. The string accompaniment uses parallel thirds and sixths. It is stylistically similar to a minuet, and is formally an adapted ternary structure. ### 5 The tenor recitative, "Ich danke dir" (I thank You), ends with an ascending phrase meant to represent an appeal to heaven. ### 6 The duet aria for alto and tenor, "Seid wachsam, ihr heiligen Wächter" (Be wakeful, you holy watchers), employs canon technique and a repeated interrupted cadence. Its introduction has been described as "the most athletic of bassoon lines". The tenor and alto voices repeat the opening bassoon figure in canon. ### 7 The work ends with a harmonically complex four-part setting of the chorale, "Ach, Herr, laß dein lieb Engelein" (Ah, Lord, let Your dear little angel). It is a prayer to be sent an angel to carry the soul in Abraham's Bosom, and a promise to praise God eternally. Bach's setting is remarkable for its final two bars: the trumpets and timpani create a "magnificent blaze of sound". Bach chose the same stanza of Schalling's chorale to end his St John Passion, in the work's first and last version. ## Publication The cantata was first published in 1884 in the Bach-Gesellschaft Ausgabe (BGA). ## Recordings The table is excerpted from the listing on the Bach Cantatas Website. Ensembles playing period instruments in historically informed performances are marked by green background. ## See also - BWV 149/1a, formerly BWV Anh. 198 – "Concerto", an abandoned sketch for an alternative setting of the Cantata's opening movement?

K-55 (Kansas highway)

State highway in Kansas

K-55 is a 12.049-mile-long (19.391 km) west–east state highway in the U.S. state of Kansas. The highway's western terminus is at U.S. Route 81 (US-81) roughly 11 miles (18 km) north of Wellington and the eastern terminus is at K-15 in Udall. It passes through the city of Belle Plaine. The road's westbound terminus is a triangle-type intersection. Just before the western terminus, the road passes under the Kansas Turnpike, although there is no intersection. Turnpike access is available at K-53 to the north and US-160 to the south near Wellington. Before state highways were numbered in Kansas there were auto trails. K-55's western terminus closely follows the Meridian Highway and the South West Trail. It was first designated a state highway by 1927, and at that time ran from US-81 in Belle Plaine southeast to K-12 in Oxford. A year later, it had been realigned to travel east from US-81 to K-15 west of Udall. By 1945, a new alignment of K-15 had been completed, at which time K-55 was extended east to the new alignment. The entire length of K-55 was paved by 1948. ## Route description K-55's western terminus is at US-81 north of Wellington. The highway travels east through flat rural farmland and after roughly 0.4 miles (0.64 km) passes under I-35, also known as the Kansas Turnpike, with no connection. K-55 continues east to an at-grade crossing with a BNSF Railway track as it enters the city of Belle Plaine. It continues through the city as 4th Avenue for about one mile (1.6 km) then exits the city. K-55 proceeds east to a crossing over Cowskin Creek, a tributary of the Arkansas River. It continues through flat farmland to a crossing over the Arkansas River, a tributary of the Mississippi River. K-55 continues east to a crossing over Antelope Creek before entering Cowley County. The roadway enters the city of Udall and has an at-grade crossing with a BNSF Railway track. K-55 reaches Clark Street where it turns north and reaches its eastern terminus at K-15. The Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) tracks the traffic levels on its highways, and in 2018, they determined that on average the traffic varied from 805 vehicles per day near the eastern terminus to 2,050 vehicles per day just east of Belle Plaine. K-55 connects to the National Highway System at its junction with K-15. ## History Before state highways were numbered in Kansas there were auto trails, which were an informal network of marked routes that existed in the United States and Canada in the early part of the 20th century. K-55's western terminus, US-81, closely follows the Meridian Highway and the South West Trail. K-55 was first designated as a state highway by the State Highway Commission of Kansas, now known as KDOT, by 1927. At that time it ran from US-81 west of Belle Plaine southeast to K-12 in Oxford. By 1928, it was realigned to travel east from US-81 to K-15 west of Udall. In November 1930, it was announced that work would begin spring of 1931, to reconstruct the road from Belle Plaine east to the Cowley County line. This included a bridge over Cowskin Creek and Arkansas River. K-55 was extended east along K-15 to US-77 south of Rock by 1931. By 1932, K-55 was truncated back to its pre-1931 terminus. In late-March 1932, a bid was approved for grading, culvert, and bridge projects on K-55 east of Belle Plaine. The bridge over the Arkansas River was finished in 1933. In a resolution passed on January 1, 1941, it was approved to realign K-15 from southeast of Mulvane to Udall, and to extend K-55 east to the new alignment in Udall. By October 1941, SHC engineers and surveyors were planning the new alignment of K-15 from Wichita to Winfield. The new alignment of K-15 and extension of K-55 was completed by 1945. By 1948, the entire length of K-55 was paved. In October of 2022 a complete over-haul and reconstruction of the bridge began after numerous delays. The rebuild is expected to be completed in November of 2023. ## Major intersections

Nancy Thompson (A Nightmare on Elm Street)

Main character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street series

Nancy Thompson is a fictional character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise. She first appears in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) as a teenager hunted in her dreams by enigmatic serial killer Freddy Krueger. In this film, she was portrayed by Heather Langenkamp—who reprises the role in the sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987). Langenkamp later portrayed a fictional version of herself who embodies the role of Nancy in Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994). A reimagined version of the character, Nancy Holbrook, is portrayed by Rooney Mara in the 2010 remake. Wes Craven conceptualized Nancy after a conversation with his daughter, Jessica. She questioned him over his clumsy-depiction of the heroine in Swamp Thing (1982)—particularly over the scene in which the heroine stereotypically trips and falls over nothing. He wanted Nancy to be a start to depicting a positive portrayal of women in his films. Being Freddy's archenemy, Nancy is the protagonist in the original film, and serves as a supporting character guide for other characters in the third film. The character also appears in spin-off works of the series such as the various novelizations and the canon comic book continuation Nightmares on Elm Street (Innovation Publishing) amongst supporting roles in other comics by different publishers. Nancy has been called a significant figure in the horror genre and American pop culture, with depictions in various video games, toy lines, and fan art, and is considered "one of the most progressive female representations in the teen horror genre." She is one of the original examples of the "final girl" theory by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 non-fiction book Men, Women, and Chainsaws. However, Clover's inclusion of the character in this trope has been agreed upon and challenged due to Nancy's characterization. ## Concept and creation ### Development The origins of Nancy began with a conversation that Wes Craven had with his daughter Jessica, which led to him reevaluating his 1982 film Swamp Thing and the way he had portrayed women up until that point. There is a scene in which the heroine Alice Cable (Adrienne Barbeau) is running, and she trips and falls. Upon watching, his daughter remarked, "You know, just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I'm clumsy. You don't have to have them falling down." He attests that this was a common trope in filmmaking and that he wanted Nancy to be a start of young heroines eliminating this concept. Nancy was a highly sought-after role, with many of the actresses having to sit on the floor due to there not being enough chairs. In the winter of 1983, newcomer actress Heather Langenkamp became aware of auditions. Her reading impressed casting director Annette Benson and Craven enough that she received a call back to read with another actress auditioning, Amanda Wyss. During this audition, she improvised a clawing motion with her fingers and a screeching sound. Her natural approach to the character ultimately caught Craven's attention, and she got hired for the part. He wrote Nancy as a "legitimate all-American, girl-next-door" and felt that Langenkamp embodied these qualities. Craven approached Langenkamp in 1986 to ask if he could include her Nancy character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors script that he was writing. In Craven's script, Nancy was closer to her personality in the first film. While the characteristics of the character change significantly in the final product, her death at the end remains the same. Some significant scenes involving Nancy in Dream Warriors were either cut from the film or never filmed; Langenkamp and co-star Craig Wasson both refer to a scene they filmed in which they kissed, with Wasson stating that "No, we didn't have sex, but there was this one real hot kiss that just about melted the camera lens. Too bad they cut it." Another significant scene that does not feature Nancy but mentions her is the cut penultimate scene (before the final scene with the model house lighting up while Neil sleeps) in the shooting script between survivors Kristen Parker and Neil Gordon in which Neil hint that she's visiting him in his dreams post-mortem, similarly to Freddy but benevolent; this was carried over from the original script but was not ultimately included in the film. With regard to A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, Heather Langenkamp stated her viewpoints about Nancy Thompson's characterization: "The connection with Nancy was there. I never felt that comfortable in the skin of that role because...I just felt like the dialogue that they gave Nancy was so stiff and there was no sense of humour at all. She had barely anything going in that department at all and then she’s supposed to be having this quasi-love affair with Craig Wasson’s character... None of it really seemed to have a dynamic energy behind it and as a result I felt I didn’t know what Nancy was anymore. I was struggling to make something of her because she didn’t have that big of a role in some way. She was like a facilitator, she was always showing things like 'let me show you how to do this', 'let’s do it together' but she was never really moving the plot forward herself that much and as a result I didn’t feel like I did a very good job in that role. Then when I saw the movie I thought 'oh it’s not as bad as I thought' because actually the relationship I had with the kids does come through and she is a kind of a reassuring presence in the movie rather than this fighting, battle warrior that she was in the first movie. So I just had to get used to this different role that Nancy played..." Rooney Mara was confirmed to portray a reimagined Nancy in 2011; Mara signed on for a sequel if it were to ever be made. Director Samuel Bayer describes this version of the character as "the loneliest girl in the world". Mara stated her portrayal is different than the original, performed by Langenkamp, and refers to her as "socially awkward and timid and really doesn't know how to connect with people". She stated to Vogue that she disliked the experience of portraying the character so much, that she contemplated quitting acting. ### Design Nancy's appearance is recognizable for her gray streak in her hair and her emblematic pajamas. The character's hair was supposed to be entirely gray and white, and Wes Craven had a wig made but was ultimately unsatisfied; deciding for Nancy to have a streak of gray—which would remain in both Dream Warriors and New Nightmare. For the 1984 film, costume designer Dana Lyman conceptualized Nancy's white pajamas that the character wore during her encounters with Freddy. Lyman described the outfit as "her armor as she went into battle." The details of her white top include blue trim and a pattern of roses. Jolene Richardson of Fangoria interprets these details as combining masculine and feminine traits of Nancy. ## Appearances ### Films The character made her cinematic debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street on November 9, 1984. In this film, Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is a middle-class teenage girl with divorced parents and is dating a boy named Glenn Lantz, who lives across the street from her. Nancy and her friends begin having the same realistic nightmares of a severely burnt man with a bladed glove trying to kill them. After her friend, Tina Gray has nightmares and her mother leaves town, Nancy and Glenn decide to have a sleepover in order to comfort her. After Tina is killed that very night, Nancy takes active steps to trace down the cause of the phenomena and finds the enigmatic figure in her dreams to be the vengeful ghost Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund), a child killer that was burned alive by local parents when she was a child. The lone survivor, Nancy realizes she can pull things out of the nightmare and devises a plan to pull him into the real world, where he is vulnerable. After Glenn is killed by Freddy, Nancy booby traps her house and manages to pull Freddy from the dream world and into the real world, causing him to run into the traps. However, Nancy's mother is killed by Krueger in the final confrontation and Nancy realizes her fear gives him his power, so she turns her back on him, defeating him as he disappears Nancy walks outside to find her mother and friends still alive. As she gets into the car with her friends to go to school, the car begins to lock them in and speeds off, just as Krueger reaches through the small window of the door and pulls Nancy's mother through it, revealing that it's a dream and that Freddy is still active in the dream world. Although Nancy does not appear in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge, she maintains a presence through her diary when a new family moves into the house where she battled Freddy. Teenager Jesse Walsh (Mark Patton), who inhabits Nancy's old room and his girlfriend Lisa (Kim Myers) discover Nancy's old diary, which chronicles the events of the first film. In A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), Nancy is a young adult studying psychology and is hired as a student intern at Westin Hills Mental Institution due to her groundbreaking research on pattern nightmares (nightmare disorder). Nancy realizes the teenagers inhabiting the hospital are the surviving children of the parents who killed Freddy when one of the patients, Kristen Parker (Patricia Arquette), pulls her into one of her nightmares. Nancy explains to them their pasts and begins to train them on how to use their "dream powers," superpowers that are unique to them in their dreams. In a last attempt effort to save one of the patients from Freddy, Nancy does a group hypnosis with them, and together they navigate the nightmare world. The film ends with Nancy dying after being stabbed by Krueger, but manages to stab him with his own glove, while Neil takes care of Freddy's corpse and doses it in holy water to fully destroy him. She is laid to rest in the cemetery, with Kristen and Neil in attendance. Wes Craven's New Nightmare (1994) takes a meta approach to the character. The film is set in the "real world," following a fictionalized version of Heather Langenkamp contemplating Wes Craven's offer of her reprising her role of Nancy in another A Nightmare on Elm Street film he is directing. Heather is hesitant as she has a stalker and is reluctant to do another horror film. After several nightmares of a disfigured man, Craven tells her she is the target of an ancient entity taking on a scarier form of Freddy. As Nancy is Freddy's original nemesis, this being must kill her to be set free. The film has Heather become one with Nancy when her son Dylan (Miko Hughes) is sedated, with her obtaining the white streak and wearing her pajamas inspired by the original film. Embodying Nancy, she enters the dream world and combats the entity, saving her son. In the 2010 remake, Nancy's last name is "Holbrook," portrayed by Rooney Mara. When people in Nancy's high school begin dying in their sleep, she joins Quentin Smith (Kyle Gallner) in an investigation into their shared nightmares. Nancy's mother (Connie Britton) admits to them that all the kids in the preschool were molested by a man named Fred Krueger, the school gardener. She claims that Freddy fled the area before they could turn him in and that their dreams of Freddy are just repressed memories. After Nancy realizes she can pull things out of her dreams and hallucinations, they plan to pull him into the real world and kill him. After killing him, they burn down the preschool with Freddy's corpse inside, and they escape. The film ends ambiguously with Freddy killing her mother. ### Literature The character appears in the 1991 short story collection The Nightmares on Elm Street: Freddy Krueger's Seven Sweetest Dreams. In the story "Asleep at the Wheel," Freddy and Nancy are long dead, and they are considered urban legends or the result of mass hysteria due to Springwood's infamous history. The pretentious band Nancy Thompson Grave Watch, which includes songwriter and guitarist Ian, rents the dilapidated house at 1428 Elm Street for musical inspiration. Nancy's spirit appears in Ian's dreams to warn him that Freddy is real. Nancy and the events of Dream Warriors are mentioned in the story "Le Morte De Freddy". Nancy returned in Nightmares on Elm Street, a canonical six-issue comic book series published by Innovation Comics from 1991 to 1992. In the story, Nancy teams up with several other characters from the film series, including Neil Gordon, Jacob Johnson, and Alice Johnson, to fight Freddy in his nightmare world. The events of this series were meant to fill in the period between A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child and Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare films, written by Andy Mangels. The first two issues of the story explain to the readers about Nancy's life in between the first and third films. After the events of the first film, Nancy is institutionalized. In college, she studied psychology and sleep disorders and made two friends in her roommates Cybil Houch and Priscilla Martin. After Nancy dies in Dream Warriors, Kristen had dreamed her soul into the Beautiful Dream, the good side of the dream world, where Nancy now acts as its agent as Freddy acts as an agent for the nightmare realm. The next four issues, titled Loose Ends, deals with the characters from previous Nightmare movies teaming up to defeat Freddy again. Nancy defeats Freddy and manages to stop his plan of using Jacob Johnson to break into the real world with help from Neil Gordon and Devonne, a psychotic former accomplice of Freddy's. Nancy makes an appearance in the final issue of the crossover comic series Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash: The Nightmare Warriors. In a battle against Freddy Krueger, Dream Master Jacob Johnson summons the spirits of Freddy's past victims, including Amanda Krueger and the Dream Warriors. Nancy also appears, reuniting with Neil Gordon to help him read the Necronomicons' passages needed to banish Freddy. With Freddy defeated, Nancy leaves Neil and returns to the afterlife with the other spirits. ## In popular culture Nancy is a playable character in the A Nightmare on Elm Street (1989) video game. Released by Monarch Software and Westwood Associates, Nancy and the Dream Warriors face Freddy Krueger once again. As each character has a dream power, Nancy can freeze enemies. Nancy has accumulated a large following in the gay community since her 1984 cinematic debut. Freddy Krueger actor Robert Englund recollects the popularity of the Nancy character within the community upon attending a costume party in 1985 and seeing numerous drag queens dressed as Nancy in full drag, wearing her pajamas with the embroidery, and the white streak. Englund interprets this large following as a result of Heather Langenkamp having a "Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz element to her", as well as the community identifying with the "strong" and "survivor" aspects of her. In the Bollywood adaption called Mahakaal (1994) by the Ramsay Brothers, Nancy's analogue is called Anita and is played by actress Archana Puran Singh. Much like the original Nancy, Anita is the daughter of a policeman who killed Shakaal (the placeholder for Freddy's character) for murdering his young daughter, Anita's sister, as deleted scenes from Wes Craven's film hinted. She and her friends are college students instead of attending high school like Nancy. Anita has been criticized for being overly passive and doing little more than running away and screaming. Nancy is featured in two figures by toy company Mezco Toyz. Jada Toys included Nancy alongside Freddy in the release of the die-cast model car of the 1958 Cadillac from the original film. Nancy is mentioned in Quentin Smith's biography in the video game Dead by Daylight. Additionally, a variety of Freddy's in-game power-ups are named after Nancy. Artist Matthew Therrien included Nancy alongside Freddy in his "Final Girls & Cinema Survivors" digital series. In 2019, as a part of a series of horror movie poster variant covers, visual artist Yasmine Putri created a piece for the DCeased \#2 that featured Poison Ivy as Nancy and Batman as Freddy in a homage to the original poster for A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). ## Characterization Nancy's characterization, along with Langenkamp's performance, has received praise. American literary critic John Kenneth Muir highlighted her intelligence and insightfulness for her original appearance. Muir describes her dysfunctional home life as attributing to her preparedness and courage to face the dark truth (Freddy Krueger). He attests her turning her back on him in the end counters against her character trait of facing things. In a 2011 thesis, writer Kyle Christensen wrote that Nancy is one of the more strong representations of feminism in cinema. He cites her interactions with several male characters, noting she is not submissive to any of them and is, therefore, self-reliant and in control of her sexuality, unlike many other popular heroines within the genre. Professor Carol J. Clover, the creator of the "final girl" theory, describes Nancy as the "grittiest of the Final Girls" in her 1992 non-fiction book Men, Women, and Chainsaws. Clover's inclusion of Nancy in this theory, however, has been both agreed with and challenged. Writer Shannon Keating states she surpasses the stereotypes of this trope coined by Clover and refers to Nancy as Freddy's equal in audience popularity. Similarly, writer Don Sumner dismisses Nancy's association to this trope, analyzing her as an antithesis to it despite following the chaste aspects of it. Sumner states the victimization of women in horror films does not apply to Nancy due to her proactive nature. Sumner states that because of this character trait, she broke the mold for horror heroines. Psychologist Kelly Bulkeley compares Nancy to Dorothy Gale in The Wizard of Oz in that they both find their inner strength within their dreams to conquer what's troubling them in the real world. Author Barbara Creed highlights the dysfunctional relationship that Nancy has with her parents and how her intense yearning for parental love leads to her demise in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. Film critic James Berardinelli writes that A Nightmare on Elm Street is Nancy's story rather than Freddy's and attests similarities to Sigourney Weaver as Ellen Ripley in Alien (1979) due to her resourcefulness.

Candyman (Christina Aguilera song)

2007 single by Christina Aguilera

"Candyman" is a song by American singer Christina Aguilera from the second disc of her fifth studio album, Back to Basics (2006). "Candyman" was planned to be released as the second single from Back to Basics; however, RCA Records decided to release "Hurt" instead. Subsequently, the track was released on November 19, 2006, as the third single from the album. "Candyman" is described as a pop and jazz song that imitates swing music whose lyrics are about sex. "Candyman" received praise for its musical style while some criticized the sexual references. Commercially, the single peaked within the top 10 in Australia, Canada, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Romania, as well as the top 20 in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for selling one million copies in the country. "Candyman" is also certified Gold in seven additional countries. A music video for the song was co-directed by Aguilera and Matthew Rolston. The video received an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Direction at the 2007 award ceremony. The single achieved a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2008 ceremony. The song was on the setlist of Aguilera's Back to Basics Tour (2006–2008) and has been covered by Alexandra Burke and the Glee cast. ## Music and lyrics "Candyman" was described as a pop song by Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly; Stylus Magazine's Thomas Inskeep opined that it imitated swing music, while Joan Anderman from The Boston Globe commented that Perry and Aguilera attempted to modernize early 20th century pop and blues "only to end up imitating the Andrews Sisters," and Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani characterized the song as standard jazz and blues. "Candyman" is composed on the key of E major. The song has a moderate tempo of 172 beats per minute. Aguilera's vocals on the song span two octaves from the low-note of G₃ to the high-note of G₅. The song opens and concludes with the lyrics, "Tarzan and Jane were swingin' on a vine / Sippin' from a bottle of vodka double-wine", which was credited as a sample used from "Tarzan & Jane Swingin' on a Vine" from the 1998 album Run To Cadence With U.S. Marines. Lyrically, "Candyman" talks about sex; Jenny Eliscu for Rolling Stone quoted the lyrics "He's a one-stop shop / Makes the panties drop" and deemed it "nasty". Sputnikmusic's Amanda Murray described its lyrics as "dumb and cheekily vulgar". Jim McMillen played the trombone, while Ray Herrmann and Glen Berger performed the saxophone, and Chris Tedesco played the trumpet. Perry also played the piano, mellotron, bass, and served as the musical director. Nathan Wetherington played the drums. According to Aguilera and Perry, the song was a tribute to the Andrews Sisters' song, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". ## Release "Candyman" was planned to be released as the second single from Back to Basics in late 2006. In July 2006, Aguilera told Seventeen that "Candyman" would be released as the follow-up single to "Ain't No Other Man". However, RCA Records chose "Hurt" to be released as the second single off the album; therefore, "Candyman" was released as the third. The song was sent to contemporary hit and urban contemporary radio stations in the United States on February 27, 2007. In Germany, the single was released for digital download on April 6, 2007. One day later, "Candyman" was released as a CD single in France and Germany. On April 10, the song was available as a CD in the United States. A digital EP was released via iTunes Stores in European countries consisting of Belgium, France, Germany, Spain, and Sweden. On the same day, the digital version of "Candyman" was released in France. It was also available as a maxi single there on September 1, 2007. In the United States, a remix EP was released digitally on May 1, 2007. ## Critical reception Billboard called the single "raunchy" and praised Aguilera's vocals, saying that "few popular vocalists could pull off such a laudable feat." Sputnikmusic's Amanda Murray deemed the song as "fun" and reminiscent of the Spice Girls' "The Lady Is a Vamp" from Spiceworld (1997). Sean Daly from Tampa Bay Times complimented Aguilera's vocals and its "X-rated lyrics". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Scott Mervis labelled it "the swingiest single since Brian Setzer jumped, jived and wailed," while Yahoo! Music critic Dan Gennoe called "Candyman" "a good-time 1940s big band romp", and Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly cited it as one of the few "pop-song highs" in Aguilera's career. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine selected "Candyman" as one of the two outstanding songs on the second disc of Back to Basics, alongside "Mercy on Me". Lucy Davis for BBC Music was negative towards the song, writing that it "successfully turns the volume and intensity down from 11 to somewhere like 5." Jenny Eliscu from Rolling Stone criticized "Candyman" as "a dead rip-off" of the Andrews Sisters' "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy". A reviewer from The Guardian disapproved of the "awful creation" and wrote that "the jollier she sounds, the more terrifying it becomes." "Candyman" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2008 Grammy Awards. ## Chart performance In the United States, "Candyman" debuted at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 20, 2007. It peaked at number 25 on the chart, becoming Aguilera's fourteenth top 40 single on the Hot 100. On the Pop Songs chart, the single peaked at number 23 and remained there for a total of seven weeks. "Candyman" also peaked at number 18 on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart and stayed there ten weeks. It has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling more than 1,000,000 units in the United States. As of August 2014, Nielsen SoundScan has reported that "Candyman" has sold in the United States 1,153,000 copies. In Canada, the single peaked at number nine on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified gold. In the United Kingdom, "Candyman" peaked at number 17 on the UK Singles Chart and remained within the top 75 for 20 weeks. Throughout Europe, the single attained the top 25 of most countries, peaking at number 11 in Belgium (Flanders) and Switzerland; number 12 in Denmark, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands; number 13 in Belgium (Wallonia); number 14 in Austria; and number 24 in Sweden. In Denmark, the single achieved gold certification by IFPI Denmark. "Candyman" was a commercial hit in Oceania. The single peaked at number two in both Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, the song remained in the top ten for 15 weeks and earned platinum certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). In New Zealand, the single also achieved gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). ## Music video The music video for "Candyman" was filmed on January 28, 2007, in an airport hangar in Southern California. It was co-directed by Aguilera and Matthew Rolston. The video is based on the 1940s World War II theme. In most of the music video, she dances and sings in three different hair colors: red, blonde and brown, as if she were in a singing trio, a tribute to The Andrews Sisters. The audience is mostly composed of men in military uniforms, many of whom are singing and dancing. In other shots she appears as the famous biceps-flexing factory worker from Westinghouse's "We Can Do It!" poster and as pin-up girls Judy Garland, Betty Grable and Rita Hayworth. The video also features product placement for Campari. Benji Schwimmer, 2006 winner of the American dancing competition So You Think You Can Dance, makes a cameo appearance as Aguilera's GI dance partner. Benji's sister Lacey Schwimmer also appears in the video as a jitterbugger. Aguilera asked Rolston to co-direct the video with her after he worked with her for a photo shoot for the cover of Rolling Stone. Shooting the sequences of Aguilera as a singing trio took the longest since they had to be shot for each hair color and camera angle, which was computer-controlled for precision. Choreography was carefully arranged so that none of the versions overlapped and the takes could be spliced together. The clip's color scheme is based on Technicolor films, focusing on primary colors and bright secondary colors. Sal Cinquemani for Slant Magazine praised it as the best video for a song from Back to Basics. John Montgomery for MTV News commented on Aguilera's "bad girl" image, writing "though Aguilera's mostly going for glam here, she's also plenty bad, too, swinging her way into some servicemen's heart, coyly sipping on a milkshake and shaking it so hard your even your grandpa had to notice." The video brought Aguilera and Rolston an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Direction at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Justin Timberlake's "What Goes Around... Comes Around". ## Live performances and covers Aguilera first performed "Candyman" during a concert held in front of 1,500 fans and invited guests in London on July 20, 2006. The 40-minute concert comprised songs from the then-upcoming Back to Basics and other songs, including "Lady Marmalade" (2001) and "Beautiful" (2002). MTV UK wrote, "The gig reflected the jazz club mood of Christina's new album, with a swinging brass-heavy backing band and fit dancers bounding sexily around the stage". On September 8, 2006, Aguilera performed "Candyman" at Fashion Rocks in a white sailor suit with cap. The performance included photos of jazz standard artists that appeared on the backdrop. She also performed "Candyman" on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on December 31, 2006, and at the halftime show of the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. The song was included on the setlist of Aguilera's worldwide Back to Basics Tour. The recording of the performance was included on the video release Back to Basics: Live and Down Under (2008). Aguilera performed "Candyman" again on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2013 in military-styled suits in efforts to honor the US troops. It was also performed by Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez) and Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce) in "Pot o' Gold", an episode on the third season of the American TV series Glee. The version was well received by critics, some of whom deemed it as the best song of the episode. The Glee version peaked at number 158 on the UK Singles Chart on November 12, 2011. ## Track listings and formats Digital download 1. "Candyman" – 3:14 CD single 1. "Candyman" – 3:14 2. "Hurt" (Snowflake Mix) – 4:05 France maxi single 1. "Candyman" – 3:14 2. "Hurt" (Snowflake Radio Mix) – 4:05 Digital download EP 1. "Candyman" – 3:13 2. "Candyman" (call-out hook) – 0:11 Digital remix EP 1. "Candyman" (Offer Nissim Club Mix) – 8:27 2. "Candyman" (Ultimix Mixshow) – 4:23 3. "Candyman" (RedOne Mix) – 3:19 ## Credits and personnel Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Back to Basics. Sampling credits - Contains a sample from "Tarzan & Jane Swingin' on a Vine" from Run To Cadence With U.S. Marines. Personnel - Christina Aguilera – vocals, background vocals, songwriting - Jim McMillen – trombone - Linda Perry – producing, songwriting, directing, piano, mellotron, bass - Chris Tedesco – trumpet, horn contractor - Ray Herrmann – saxophone - Glen Berger – saxophone - Nathan Wetherington – drums - Marc Jameson – programming ## Charts ### Weekly charts ### Year-end charts ## Certifications and sales ## Release history

The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher

Children's book by Beatrix Potter

The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher is a children's book, written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. It was published by Frederick Warne & Co. in July 1906. Jeremy's origin lies in a letter she wrote to a child in 1893. She revised it in 1906, and moved its setting from the River Tay to the English Lake District. The tale reflects her love for the Lake District and her admiration for children's illustrator Randolph Caldecott. Jeremy Fisher is a frog that lives in a "slippy-sloppy" house at the edge of a pond. During one rainy day, he collects worms for fishing and sets off across the pond on his lily-pad boat. He plans to invite his friends for dinner if he catches more than five minnows. He encounters all sorts of setbacks to his goal, and escapes a large trout who tries to swallow him. He swims for shore, decides he will not go fishing again, and hops home. Potter's tale pays homage to the leisurely summers her father and his companions passed sport fishing at rented country estates in Scotland. Following the tale's publication, a child fan wrote to Potter suggesting Jeremy find a wife. Potter responded with a series of miniature letters on the theme as if from Jeremy and his pals. After Potter's death in 1943, licences were issued to various firms to produce the Potter characters. Jeremy and his friends were released as porcelain figurines, plush toys, and other merchandise. ## Plot Jeremy Fisher is a frog that lives in a damp little house amongst the buttercups at the edge of a pond. His larder and back passage are "slippy-sloppy" with water, but he likes getting his feet wet; no one ever scolds and he never catches cold. One day, Jeremy finds it raining and decides to go fishing. Should he catch more than five minnows, he would invite his friends to dinner. He puts on a mackintosh and shiny galoshes, takes his rod and basket, and sets off with "enormous hops" to the place where he keeps his lily-pad boat. He poles to a place he knows is good for minnows. Once there, the frog sits cross-legged on his lily-pad and arranges his tackle. He has "the dearest little red float". His rod is a stalk of grass and his line a horsehair. An hour passes without a nibble. He takes a break and lunches on a butterfly sandwich. A water beetle tweaks his toe, causing him to withdraw his legs, and rats rustling about in the rushes force him to seek a safer location. He drops his line into the water and immediately has a bite. It is not a minnow but little Jack Sharp, a stickleback. Jeremy pricks his fingers on Jack's spines and Jack escapes. A shoal of little fishes come to the surface to laugh at Jeremy. Jeremy sucks his sore fingers. A large trout rises from the water and seizes him with a snap (Mr. Jeremy screams, "OW-OW-OW!!!"). The trout dives to the bottom, but finds the mackintosh disgusting and spits Jeremy out, swallowing only his galoshes. Jeremy bounces "up to the surface of the water, like a cork and the bubbles out of a soda water bottle", and swims to the pond's edge. He scrambles up the bank and hops home through the meadow, having lost his fishing equipment but quite sure he will never go fishing again. In the last few pages, Jeremy has put sticking plaster on his fingers and welcomes his friends, Sir Isaac Newton, a newt; and Alderman Ptolemy Tortoise, a tortoise that eats salad. Isaac wears a black and gold waistcoat and Ptolemy brings a salad in a string bag. Jeremy has prepared roasted grasshopper with ladybird sauce. The narrator describes the dish as a "frog treat", but thinks "it must have been nasty!" ## Background In addition to the pet frogs of Potter's youth, influences on Jeremy include Potter's sport fishing father Rupert William Potter and illustrator Randolph Caldecott. Margaret Lane, author of The Magic Years of Beatrix Potter, notes, "Mr. Potter was fond of taking his friends fishing and Beatrix ... from an early age had been familiar with [the] hazards and excitements of angling and dry-fly fishing ... as a girl [she] had often enough had to endure her father and his friends relating their fishing adventures, and the picture of Mr Jeremy Fisher retailing his mishap to Sir Isaac Newton is so rich in observation, both of amphibians and elderly gentlemen, that one is ever afterwards prone to confuse them in memory". Mr. Potter not only fished for sport but collected the works of Randolph Caldecott. In Jeremy Fisher, Potter tried to copy Caldecott but felt she had failed. "I did try to copy Caldecott," she stated, "but ... I did not achieve much resemblance." Biographer Linda Lear writes Potter declared, "I have the greatest admiration for his work – a jealous appreciation; for I think that others, whose names are commonly bracketed with his, are not on the same plane at all as artist-illustrators". Potter biographer Linda Lear and author of Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature writes: > [Potter] wanted to do a frog story for some time, because it was amusing and offered the opportunity for the naturalist illustrations she delighted in ... The story of a fisherman down on his luck reminded Beatrix of the 'fish stories' her father's friends had told in Scotland, as well as her brother's travails with rod and reel. She also recreated the gentlemen's club atmosphere absorbed from her father's reports of evenings spent at the Reform and the Athenaeum ... The text and illustrations for this story are some of the most balanced and compatible of all her writing. Nature is described and illustrated truthfully: beautifully tranquil as well as unpredictably aggressive ....Its carefully coloured botanical backgrounds of water plants, a frog with anatomically correct turned-out feet, a trout that any self-respecting fisherman would enjoy snagging, and a rather frighteningly rendered water-beetle who tweaks Jeremy's dainty toes, all made it a delight to look at as well as to read. ## Production The origin of The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher lies in a story letter Potter wrote to a child in September 1893 while summering on the River Tay. The following year, she created nine sketches called "A Frog he would a-fishing go" and sold them to publisher Ernest Nister. They were released with verses by Clifton Bingham in 1896. Energized by the success of The Tale of Peter Rabbit in 1902, Potter considered expanding the frog tale and bought back her drawings and the publisher's printer's blocks. She wrote her editor Norman Warne, "I should like to do Mr. Jeremy Fisher ... I think I can make something of him". The tale was set aside while Potter and Warne developed other projects, but in 1905 he approved the frog tale. As Potter biographer Daphne Kutzner writes of Potter's illustrations for Jeremy: "When she finally did the illustrations for the book, she changed the original background from the River Tay in Scotland to Eswaithe Water in the Lakes. The illustrations are indeed lovely, showing Potter's skill both as a naturalist and a fantasist". In August 1905, Norman Warne died, and his brother Harold became Potter's editor. She wrote to him indicating Norman had approved the frog project: "We had thought of doing ... "Mr. Jeremy Fisher" to carry on the series of little [books]. I know some people don't like frogs! but I think I had convinced Norman that I could make it a really pretty book with a good many flowers & water plants for backgrounds". Warne decided to put Jeremy Fisher into print. In July 1906, 20,000 copies of The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher were released in paper boards at a shilling and in decorated cloth at one shilling six pence in a small format. Another 5,000 copies were published in September 1906 and another 5,000 in September 1907. The book was dedicated to Stephanie Hyde Parker, the daughter of Potter's cousin Ethel, Lady Hyde Parker: "For Stephanie from Cousin B". Jeremy sold as profitably as other Potter productions. ## Themes and style M. Daphne Kutzer, Professor of English at State University of New York at Plattsburgh and author of Beatrix Potter: Writing in Code, observes that the social positions of Jeremy and his friends are established through the clothing they wear. Although Potter sharply critiqued the upper class elsewhere, Kutzer observes that in Jeremy Fisher her tone is more moderate. She suggests that Potter's relocation to Sawrey and Hill Top Farm may have produced in her a willingness "to accept the silliness of the aspiring middle class as well as the eccentricities of the upper classes". Ruth K. MacDonald, Professor of English at New Mexico State University and author of Beatrix Potter points out that although Potter regarded the lives of her father and his friends as comical and even beneath notice, yet she clearly respected and valued their outdoor pursuits from the bemused treatment she accorded them in Jeremy Fisher. She valued nature untouched by humans even more, MacDonald notes, as evidenced by the careful observation in the illustrations. Jeremy Fisher was written without the many revisions typical of Potter's other productions, and the pictures appear effortless in their execution. MacDonald writes, "Her ability to show human society without also implying its damaging effects on flora and fauna further underscores the book's felicitous composition and success". Literary scholar Humphrey Carpenter writes in Secret Gardens: The Golden Age of Children's Literature the basis for Potter's writing style can be found in the Authorized King James Version of the Bible. Jeremy Fisher reflects the characteristic cadence and "employs a psalm-like caesura in the middle of [a] sentence". Carpenter sees in Potter's work thematic shifts from the early work onward. In the first stage of her work, he sees in stories such as The Tale of Peter Rabbit a type of Jack-the-Giant-Killer theme, in which a small creature confronts a large creature that he believes culminates in The Tale of Jeremy Fisher. Potter places Jeremy Fisher in a dangerous world, according to Carpenter. The fishing experience is frightening: the bank-side creatures worry him, the stickleback threatens him directly, and the trout tries to swallow him. But Potter makes the point that all creatures are prey, ending the story with Jeremy Fisher himself eating a grasshopper smothered in lady-bird sauce. ## Miniature letters About 1907 Potter created miniature letters delivered to child fans in either a miniature mail bag or a miniature mail box. "Some of the letters were very funny," Potter wrote, "The defect was that inquiries and answers were all mixed up." Four Jeremy letters were written at about 1910 to Drew Fayle who thought Jeremy should marry. In one letter, Sir Isaac promises Master Fayle a piece of wedding cake should Jeremy marry and, in another letter, Ptolemy writes that Jeremy's parties "would be much more agreeable if there were a lady to preside at the table." Jeremy writes in the third letter: "When I bought my sprigged waistcoat & my maroon tail-coat I had hopes ... but I am alone ... if there were a 'Mrs. Jeremy Fisher' she might object to snails. It is some satisfaction to be able to have as much water & mud in the house as a person likes." Mrs. Tiggy-winkle, a hedgehog washerwoman in another Potter tale, writes Master Fayle in the fourth letter: > Dear Master Drew, > If you please Sir I am a widow; & I think it very wrong that there is not any Mrs. Fisher, but I would not marry Mr. Jeremy not for worlds, the way he does live in that house all slippy-sloppy; not any lady would stand it, & not a bit of good starching his cravats. ## Merchandise The characters from Jeremy Fisher have appeared as porcelain figurines, plush toys, and other merchandise. In 1950, Beswick Pottery issued a porcelain figurine of Jeremy and figurines of Isaac and Ptolemy in the 1970s. Other figurines of Jeremy have been produced over the years as well as a Jeremy mug. Jeremy was one of the first eight plush toys released by Eden Toys, Inc. of New York in 1973. The following year, he was released as a 37 inches (94 cm) "Giant" intended for store displays, and during the Beanie Baby era as a beanbag. Isaac Newton was on store shelves for two years. Jeremy Fisher was one of the first ten character music boxes released by Schmid & Co. in 1977. Ptolemy and Isaac boxes were released in the 1980s. Ceramic Christmas ornaments of Jeremy have been released by Schmid. Other merchandise includes a variety of Crummles enamelled boxes, an ANRI wood carving and ANRI Toriart figurines and ornaments, and Huntley & Palmer biscuit tins. ## Reprints and translations As of 2010, all 23 of Potter's small format books remain in print, and are available as complete sets in presentation boxes, and as a 400-page omnibus edition. The English language editions of the tales still bore the Frederick Warne imprint in 2010 though the company was bought by Penguin Books in 1983. Penguin remade the printing plates in 1985, and all 23 volumes were released in 1987 as The Original and Authorized Edition. Although sold to Penguin Books in 1984 as a subsidiary company, Frederick Warne continues to publish Potter's books. A 2002 Publishers Weekly article, written for the centennial of the publication of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, reported that Potter was considered one of the top most popular classic writers, that anniversary editions of her work were published in 1993 and 2002, and the artwork has been "re-scanned to make the illustrations look fresher and brighter". The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher was published in French in 1940 as Jérémie Pêche-à-la-Ligne, and in Dutch as Jeremais de Hengelaar in 1946. The tale was republished in Dutch in 1970 as Het Verhaal van Jeremais Hengelaar and was published in the Initial Teaching Alphabet in 1965. In 1984, the tale was again translated into French by M.A. James as L’histoire de Monsieur Jérémie Peche-a-la-Ligne. In 1986 MacDonald wrote that Potter's books had become a "traditional part of childhood in most only English-speaking countries and in many of the countries into whose languages Potter's books have been translated".

Tornado outbreak sequence of June 3–11, 2008

2008 tornado outbreak in the United States

The tornado outbreak sequence of June 3–11, 2008 was a series of tornado outbreaks affecting most of central and eastern North America from June 3–11, 2008. 192 tornadoes were confirmed, along with widespread straight–line wind wind damage. Seven people were killed from a direct result of tornadoes; four in Iowa, two in Kansas, and one in Indiana. Eleven additional people were killed across five states by other weather events including lightning, flash flooding, and straight-line winds. Severe flooding was also reported in much of Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa as a result of the same thunderstorms, while high heat and humidity affected much of eastern North America; particularly along the eastern seaboard of the United States from New York City to the Carolinas. ## Meteorological synopsis ### June 3 Several clusters of thunderstorms developed during the morning from eastern Nebraska across Iowa into Illinois, taking place along a warm front. The front remained over the same areas during the day, as daytime heating and southwesterly surface winds brought warm and unstable air northward, resulting in severe weather development. The presence of strong winds aloft aided in development of multiple clusters and lines of thunderstorms that produced damaging wind, hail and tornadoes across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana. A moderate risk of severe weather was issued by the Storm Prediction Center for parts of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Ohio and West Virginia on June 3, Two particular tornadoes, rated EF2 and EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, caused extensive damage across portions of central Indiana. The EF3 tornado damaged 34 structures in Rush County, of which 27 of them were in Middletown. Eight people were injured in Rush County, including a 67-year-old woman who was impaled in the chest by a large tree limb and later died as a result of her injury on August 17. A 19th century landmark covered bridge in Moscow was destroyed, as well as severe damage to dozens of homes, including some that were swept completely off the foundation. The EF2 tornado damaged 20 to 30 homes in Brown County, 40 buildings at Camp Atterbury in Johnson County and 59 buildings in Edinburgh. ### June 4 A moderate risk of severe weather was issued for northern Kansas into southern Nebraska and from eastern West Virginia through Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. An ongoing line of thunderstorms moved east across West Virginia as the atmosphere began to destabilize. The thunderstorms resulted in a threat for isolated tornadoes in eastern sections of West Virginia, Virginia, Delaware and Maryland. In the central Great Plains region, a warm front extended northeast in northeastern Kansas from a surface low in central sections of Kansas. Strong instability occurred in the vicinity of the area as a result of surface heating. An intensifying low-level jet stream broke the cap in the region and resulted in the development of thunderstorms. During the afternoon, numerous thunderstorms formed across the Mid-Atlantic States. An EF0 tornado was produced from one of the thunderstorms that impacted portions of Chesapeake Beach, tearing off sections of roof and siding from 10 to 20 single family homes. EF1 tornadoes were produced in Culpeper, Clarke and Stafford counties in Virginia. Several other EF0 and EF1 tornadoes formed throughout the Great Plains region. ### June 5 A strong jet stream moved northeast across the Great Plains region and a strong surface low in western Kansas strengthened as it moved to the Nebraska-South Dakota border. Ahead of the low, very warm and moist air spread throughout the South Central United States into Nebraska, eastern sections of South Dakota and the upper Mississippi Valley. The combination of strong winds and warm and moist air created conditions favorable for strong thunderstorms. On June 5, a high risk of severe weather was issued for six different states in the Midwestern United States, with a moderate risk area surrounding the high risk area. Forecasters had warned of a potentially historic outbreak, as computer forecasting models for June 5 resembled those on June 8, 1974, when 39 tornadoes struck the southern Great Plains and killed 22 people. Wichita State University canceled evening classes because of the weather predictions. Severe weather began developing across eastern Colorado and northwestern Kansas during the morning and into the early afternoon, producing several weak tornadoes in the process. An EF1 tornado impacted a campground near Kellogg, Iowa and injured two people. Despite extremely favorable conditions, severe weather for the day was limited and the tornadoes generally caused minimal damage. ### June 6 During the morning hours of June 6, two strong tornadoes caused damage throughout Wadena and Hubbard counties in Minnesota. The first tornado, rated EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, touched down south of Stocking Lake and downed several trees onto cabins, vehicles and storage sheds. It also toppled an irrigation system in a field north of the lake. The tornado moved to the north and expanded to its maximum width of 450 yards (410 m) and reached estimated peak winds of 130 miles per hour (210 km/h). Eight turkey barns were destroyed, killing an estimated 15 to 20 thousand turkeys. The tornado swept a home north of the area in Hubbard County off its foundation, as well as causing damage to several homes along with hundreds of acres of forest. One man working at a turkey barn was injured. The storm then produced an EF3 tornado, which eventually grew to a width of 400 yards (370 m) and reached wind speeds of 160 miles per hour (260 km/h). At Pickerel Lake, it nearly flattened every tree in the area, while destroying a trailer home, a camper, a garage and a house. At northern sections of Pickerel Lake, one home had its roof torn off and numerous trees were snapped onto other residences and farm buildings. The tornado began to lose its intensity but continued to topple trees, damage storage structures and toss debris before dissipating in Emmaville. ### June 7–8 A series of impulses moved from the central Rocky Mountains into the central Great Plains. Opulent moisture formed over the Missouri and Mississippi Valleys with dew points reaching near 70 °F (21 °C). Strong low level winds over the area created favorable wind shear for supercells. During the afternoon, a supercell developed in western portions of Illinois and moved northeast reaching Lake Michigan around the Illinois-Indiana border in the Chicago metropolitan area, during which it produced eight tornadoes along its path. At 4:21 pm (2121 UTC), an EF0 tornado occurred 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Cornell in Livingston County. The tornado occurred in an open field with no damage observed. At 4:31 pm CDT (2131 UTC), an EF1 tornado touched down southwest of Dwight in Livingston County, snapping power poles and damaging trees and roofs; this tornado lifted at 4:45 pm CDT (2145 UTC). From 5:18 pm CDT (2218 UTC) to 5:46 pm CDT (2246 UTC), an EF2 tornado traveled 13.6 miles (21.9 km) across southwestern Will County and extreme northwestern Kankakee County, near Wilmington, uprooting trees, damaging homes and destroying sheds. At 5:51 pm CDT (2251 UTC), an EF2 tornado likely EF2+ if more populated areas were impacted touched down for three minutes in central Will County near Wilton Center, destroying a garage and severely damaging a metal building. From 5:55 pm CDT (2255 UTC) to 6:08 pm CDT (2308 UTC), a high end EF2 tornado occurred west of Monee, leveling barns, garages, and outbuildings and damaging homes. An EF2 tornado re-formed at 6:13 pm CDT (2313 UTC) near the intersection of Ridgeland Avenue and Dralle Road, destroying two buildings, taking down four high voltage power poles, and injuring six people as it crossed Interstate 57. The tornado moved into University Park, Illinois destroying a warehouse, completely leveling a portion of the building. As the tornado moved into Richton Park, much of Southern Cook County, including parts of Chicago were under a tornado warning. The tornado produced extensive EF2 damage to homes and commercial properties in Richton Park, an apartment building had its roof completely torn off and a car wash was severely damaged. The tornado then skirted through Park Forest uprooting trees, before dissipating near the intersection of Lincoln Highway and Western Avenue at 6:30 pm CDT (2330 UTC). At approximately 6:32 pm CDT (2332 UTC), an EF1 tornado hit Chicago Heights, causing minor damage to several homes, with two homes sustaining significant damage. At 6:49 pm CDT (2349 UTC), an EF0 tornado touched down in Lansing, damaging tree limbs. In Wisconsin, five people suffered minor injuries after an EF2 tornado went through Columbia County. This tornado is the fifth widest in American history. Further west, a new complex of storms produced two tornadoes inside the Omaha metropolitan area during the early hours of June 8. A total of 539 homeowners reported damage from the tornadoes. Seven homes were destroyed and 21 others sustained major damage. The two tornadoes that hit the region were rated EF1 and EF2. The EF2 tornado was the strongest to strike the Omaha metropolitan area since 1975. ### June 11 A storm system moved to the northern and central Great Plains region during the day, as strong winds helped push a moist air mass northward ahead of the system. Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon ahead of a cold front from southeast South Dakota into central Kansas. Strong winds along with instability in the atmosphere created favorable conditions for supercell development with the potential to produce strong tornadoes. At approximately 6:35 pm CDT (2335 UTC) a tornado hit the Little Sioux Scout Ranch in Little Sioux, Iowa, killing four Boy Scouts after a chimney collapsed on them and injuring 48 others. The camp received a tornado warning 12 minutes before it struck. There were 93 campers and 25 staff members at the camp. The campers were between 13 and 18 years old and were attending a leadership training camp. The tornado was rated EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Tornadoes also caused major damage in Kansas. In Chapman, one person was killed and three others were critically injured after an EF3 tornado struck the town. About 80 percent of Chapman suffered serious damage, with minor damage occurring to the downtown area. 70 homes in Chapman were destroyed with 215 receiving damage. Two churches were demolished and the town's elementary, middle and high schools were severely damaged. Manhattan was also heavily impacted by a tornado that was rated EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. Forty-five residences in Manhattan were destroyed, as well as two mobile homes and three businesses. An additional 67 residences, three multi-family homes, one mobile home and 10 businesses suffered significant damage. Also, 75 single-family residences, three multi-family structures and 20 businesses sustained minor damage, and 637 residences, 93 multi-family structures, 20 mobile homes and 10 businesses were partially affected. An elementary school was also heavily damaged in Manhattan. There was also damage to Kansas State University, where the Wind Erosion Lab was damaged. Also suffering severe damage was the engineering complex, the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house, Waters, Call and Cardwell halls as well as Ward Hall, which houses the university's nuclear reactor. One person was also killed near the town of Soldier in Jackson County from an EF2 tornado. 32 homes were damaged in Jackson County. The southern outskirts of Salina near the junction of Interstate 135 was also hard hit by an EF3 tornado. Several homes, outbuildings, trees and power lines were damaged in the area. ## Confirmed tornadoes - Note: Four tornadoes in Canada were rated according to the Fujita scale, but are included in the table using their corresponding number rating. ### Little Sioux, Iowa In Nebraska, center pivot irrigation systems were flipped and trees sustained damage in the area. Fallen tree limbs damaged homes and blocked roads and some roof damage and broken windows were noted. The storm tracked northeast and crossed the Missouri River and Interstate 29 near mile marker 97, continuing into Harrison county Iowa. In Harrison county, the tornado flipped a tractor trailer. In Monona county the tornado entered the Little Sioux Scout Ranch, destroying the rangers home near the entrance of the park giving it a rating of EF3. A tornado warning was issued 12 minutes before the tornado struck the camp. It also destroyed their pickup truck sending it flying 100 yards (91 m). The storm then blew down trees and destroyed bunk houses at the camp. Four scouts: Sam Thomsen, Ben Pertzkilla, Josh Fennen and Aaron Eilerts, were killed in one bunk house when a brick chimney collapsed on them. In total 48 people were injured at the camp. The tornado continued to topple trees as it tracked into Preparation Canyon State Park. Just before it entered the park a farmstead sustained damage. The tornado hit another farmstead about 2.5 miles (4.0 km) southwest of Moorhead where trees were blown down and sheds damaged. The tornado then began to weaken and finally lifted about 2 miles (3.2 km) southwest of Moorhead. On September 8, 2008, the Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska, Rick Sheehy presented the first–ever Be Prepared Local Hero award to the Mid-America Council Pahuk Pride Class of 2008 because of their preparation for and taking care of each other during and after the tornado struck. On September 13, 2008, those who died in the storm were presented the Spirit of the Eagle Award, a posthumous award from the Boy Scouts of America. Also on September 13, 2008, the Boy Scouts of America's National Court of Honor awarded 121 medals for heroism to Scouts and Scout leaders for their actions during the tornado: 75 Medals of Merit, 30 Heroism awards, 7 Honor Medals, and 9 Honor Medals with Crossed Palm. After the tornado struck, a safe room was built. This was because it was proven that the welcome center did not provide enough tornado safety. ### Manhattan, Kansas The only EF4 tornado of this outbreak, this tornado touched down to the southwest of Manhattan on a farm, and first destroyed a large machine shed, and threw a grain cart into an adjacent field. The tornado then tracked to the northeast and destroyed several homes that were in the process of being built. 15 well-built homes were completely destroyed. Nearby in the Amherst residential area, approximately 30 homes were damaged. A local newspaper reported that 45 residences in Manhattan were destroyed, 142 were damaged, and 637 were affected by the tornado. 93 apartments or duplexes, 20 mobile homes, and 10 total businesses were impacted. Thereafter, the windows at the Little Apple Honda/Toyota car dealership were blown out, and several cars on the lots were tossed. A nearby hardware store and several self-storage units were demolished. Other nearby businesses were also damaged. The Lee Elementary School was then damaged. The tornado continued toward the Kansas State University campus. However, by this point, the tornado had weakened to EF1 intensity. There, the roof was blown off a fraternity house, windows were blown out of buildings, the USDA Wind Erosion Laboratory roof was damaged, and debris from damage to the southwest was blown across the campus. Damages from the tornado are estimated to be over \$66 million, with \$37 million occurring on the campus of the Kansas State University. Amazingly, no one was injured by the tornado. After the tornado, students from the university were expected to help clean up debris, and alumni from the college also helped clean up tornado debris. Around a year after the event, an event opened up called “Blown Away”, which was dedicated to the 2008 tornado. ## Non–tornadic events On June 3, the communications tower at a courthouse in Shelbyville, Missouri was struck by lightning, damaging computers for the 911 system and the sheriff's office, radio consoles, and various other electronic equipment. In Oklahoma, high winds in excess of 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) caused major damage to five to six barns in Cherokee and destroyed one barn in Ingersoll. Three people were injured in Frontenac, Kansas after a tree was blown down on a vehicle. The next day, the inclement weather moved into the Mid-Atlantic States. A 57-year-old man was killed in Annandale, Virginia after a large tree crushed his vehicle. More than 250,000 customers lost power in Virginia. Washington Monument State Park suffered extensive damage after thunderstorms knocked out phone, electricity, and water service. Fallen trees and branches blocked the main road and the hiking trail to the monument in several places. The museum and water treatment buildings were severely damaged, and as a result, the park was closed for two weeks. A total 70 severe thunderstorm, marine, and tornado warnings were issued in the Baltimore/Washington region. In Bloomington, Indiana, two people had lightning strikes near them and were taken to the hospital for lighting related injuries. The cell phone of another individual was struck while the person was talking on the phone and was also taken to the hospital for treatment. On June 5, a storm system caused damage throughout the Great Plains. The most substantial damage occurred in Altus, Oklahoma, where 179 homes sustained some form of damage, with two destroyed, five with major damage, 43 with minor damage and 129 affected. Seventeen businesses were damaged, with two destroyed, four with major damage and eight with minor damage. A school in Mulvane, Kansas had roof damage and there was significant roof damage to the terminal building at an airport near Winfield. In Lawrence, The Wakarusa Music and Camping Festival shut down while the storm passed through. On June 8, thunderstorms affected areas across the Great Lakes region. Two people were killed in Ottawa County, Michigan due to the straight-line winds that toppled trees; one onto a pedestrian and another onto a car. In Eaton County, a woman was killed by winds which blew a large trailer on to her. Over 300,000 people in Michigan were left without power due to the storm. On June 10, a powerful squall line of thunderstorms with embedded supercells developed across New York and moved northeast through parts of northern New England and Quebec. Particularly hard hit was the Montreal region and its southern suburbs including Longueuil, Châteauguay, Brossard and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu. Barns were reported damaged and other structures sustained roof and siding damage; particularly in the Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu area where one home was pushed from its foundation. In Sainte-Catherine, the roof of an office was blown into a nearby residence punching a large hole on the back wall. On Montreal's Champlain Bridge, eight tractor trailers were overturned forcing the closure of the entire bridge in both directions. In addition, a window washing platform tumbled from a high rise building in downtown Montreal. The workers were able to get inside. Severe thunderstorms also affected the Saint-Hyacinthe, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City where winds as strong as 68 miles per hour (109 km/h) were reported with locally higher gusts while hail from golf ball to baseball size were reported in Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Belœil breaking windows from homes and vehicles. The roof of a 65 unit apartment complex in Sainte-Foy was heavily damaged. The Quebec Bridge linking the city to the suburb of Levis was also temporarily shut down because of a collapsed scaffolding. About 300,000 Hydro-Québec customers across the province lost power, particularly in the Quebec City, Montérégie and Montreal regions with outages occurring in the Eastern Townships and Mauricie regions. Schools in some areas were closed on June 11 due to the power outages. The tractor trailer accidents resulted in two minor injuries during the storms. According to a report from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, insured damage amounts were estimated at \$56 million (2008 CAD), and up to 16,000 insurance claims were filed for damage to homes and automobiles. The severe weather extended south into the Eastern Seaboard of the United States where it ended a prolonged period of intense heat. Temperatures had reached the mid to upper 90s °F (mid 30s °C) for several days in a row, with some areas exceeding 100 °F (38 °C). About 150,000 customers in New Jersey, 140,000 in Pennsylvania and 50,000 in northern New York lost power. One person was killed in Lewis County, New York by fallen trees during the storm. ### Flooding The same series of systems contributed to a significant flooding event in many parts of the Midwest. Several counties in this region in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin were declared disaster areas. Over 10 inches (25 cm) fell in areas over the course of a week, and in Indiana some rivers approached levels similar to flooding in 1913 which killed 200 people. In Franklin, Indiana, water at one point reached the first level of the area hospital, and buildings at Franklin College were damaged. Flooding was reported also in Columbus, Helmsburg and Terre Haute, Indiana. US Coast Guard units were deployed in assistance for rescue efforts. Parts of Interstate 65 and U.S. Route 31 were temporarily shut down. Thirty thousand people in Indiana lost power during the storms, and several counties filed disaster declarations. Beginning on June 8, flooding also started occurring across parts of Iowa following several round of thunderstorms and heavy rains. In Parkersburg, Iowa, a levee burst, flooding three nearby highways. In New Hartford, which was also hit by the same tornado, water gushed over a levee forcing the evacuation of 650 people. The flood waters also damaged a water treatment plant leaving Mason City without drinking water. Up to 5 inches (13 cm) of rain fell in parts of the state. Mandatory evacuations were also made in Cedar Falls and Waterloo. Several entire blocks in Cedar Rapids were under water (which was at times as high as stop signs) after the Cedar River overflowed its banks. Flooding later affected the Iowa City area along the Iowa River where 20 buildings on the University of Iowa campus were affected. Many other towns across the state became flooded as well as the rising water levels slowly made their way into the Mississippi River across southeastern Iowa, western Illinois and northeastern Missouri. Flooding was also reported north of Mason City in southeastern Minnesota, where several inches of rain closed roads and forced evacuations. Gays Mills, Wisconsin was evacuated for the second time in ten months when the Kickapoo River flooded the town. These same areas were also affected by the 2007 Midwest flooding. From June 3 to June 11 eight people were killed due to flooding; three in Indiana, three in Michigan, and one in Illinois and Minnesota. ## See also - List of North American tornadoes and tornado outbreaks

Japanese cruiser Naniwa

Lead ship of the Naniwa class of Japanese cruisers

Naniwa (浪速) was the lead ship of her class of two protected cruisers built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the 1880s. As Japan lacked the industrial capacity to construct such vessels, the ship was designed and built in the United Kingdom. She participated in the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, playing a major role in the Battle of the Yalu River and lesser roles in the Battles of Port Arthur, Weihaiwei, the Pescadores Campaign and the invasion of Taiwan. Naniwa played a minor role in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 where she participated in the Battle of Chemulpo Bay, briefly helped to blockade Port Arthur at the beginning of the war, helped to sink a Russian armored cruiser during Battle off Ulsan and participated in the climactic defeat of the Imperial Russian Navy in the Battle of Tsushima. After the war the ship was relegated to auxiliary roles and served as a survey and fisheries protection ship. Naniwa ran aground in the Kurile Islands north of the Japanese Home Islands in 1912 and could not be refloated before she was permanently wrecked a month later. Salvage rights to the wreck were sold a year later. ## Design and description The Naniwa-class cruisers were designed by Armstrong Mitchell's chief naval architect, William White, as improved versions of the pioneering Chilean protected cruiser Esmeralda (later purchased by the IJN and renamed Izumi) and the Royal Navy's equivalent Mersey-class ships. When completed, Naniwa and her sister ship, Takachiho, were considered the most advanced and most powerful cruisers in the world. The cruisers displaced 3,727 long tons (3,787 t) at normal load. The ships had a length between perpendiculars of 300 feet (91.4 m) and an overall length of 320 feet (97.5 m), a beam of 46 feet (14 m) and a draft of 20 feet 3 inches (6.2 m) at deep load. The cruisers were fitted with a plough-shaped naval ram of mild steel below the waterline and had a partial double bottom extending between the forward and aft magazines. They were powered by a pair of horizontal, two-cylinder double-expansion steam engines, each driving one shaft using steam produced by six cylindrical boilers. The engines were designed to produce a total of 7,500 indicated horsepower (5,600 kW) with forced draught to give the ships a maximum speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph). During her speed trials, Naniwa reached a speed of 18.72 knots (34.67 km/h; 21.54 mph) from 7,235 ihp (5,395 kW). The Naniwa-class cruisers carried enough coal to gave them a range of about 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at a speed of 13 knots (24 km/h; 15 mph). The ship's crew consisted of 338 officers and men. The main armament of the Naniwa-class ships initially consisted of two single 26-centimeter (10.2 in) Krupp cannon on pivot mounts in barbettes fore and aft of the superstructure. Each barbette was fitted with a fixed loading station in its rear and the guns had to return to this position to reload. The secondary armament was initially six 15-centimeter (5.9 in) Krupp cannon on pivot mounts in semi-circular sponsons on the main deck, three guns on each broadside. All of these guns were protected against the weather by gun shields. Defense against torpedo boats was provided by two quick-firing (QF) 6-pounder (57-millimeter (2.2 in)) Nordenfelt guns on the forward bridge, ten quadruple 1-inch (25 mm) Nordenfelt guns positioned the length of the superstructure and four 10-barrel, 11-millimeter (0.43 in) Nordenfelt organ guns mounted in the fighting tops of the military masts. In addition, there were four 356-millimeter (14 in) above-water tubes in the hull for Schwartzkopff torpedoes, two on each broadside. Naniwa's armament frequently changed over her career and the first such was the replacement of her slow-firing 15-centimeter guns with Armstrong's QF 6-inch (152 mm) guns in 1896 after the First Sino-Japanese War. At the same time four of the 1-inch Nordenfelt guns were replaced by four 3-pounders. The fighting tops and the 10-barrel organ guns were removed in 1898 and the main guns were replaced by a pair of Armstrong 6-inch guns in 1900. At the same time the 6-pounders and the remaining Nordenfelt guns were exchanged for more 3-pounders, giving the ship a total of ten 3-pounders and a pair of lighter Yamauchi QF 2.5-pounder (47-millimeter) guns. The protection of the Esmeralda had been much criticized by the British Admiralty and White raised the height of the two-inch (51 mm) steel protective deck to a foot (30.5 centimeters) above the waterline. The three-inch (76 mm) sloped portion of the deck extended to a depth of four feet (1.2 m) below the waterline. Amidships, the highly-subdivided compartments formed by the sloped portion of the protective deck were filled with coal and the fore and aft areas were fitted with cofferdams to limit any flooding. The walls of the conning tower were three inches thick and the loading station was protected by two inches of steel armor. ## Construction and career Naniwa was ordered from Armstrong Mitchell on 22 March 1884 as Japan lacked the ability to build the Naniwa-class ships itself. The ship was laid down at the company's Low Walker shipyard in Newcastle upon Tyne on 27 March as yard number 475 and launched on 18 March 1885. She was completed on 15 February 1886 and departed for Japan on 28 March with a Japanese crew under the command of Captain Itō Sukeyuki, the first warship purchased overseas to be brought to Japan with an entirely Japanese crew. Naniwa arrived at Shinagawa, Tokyo, on 26 June and was assigned to the Standing Fleet in July as a second-class warship. The ship and her sister Takachiho hosted Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shōken, on 26 November as the ships conducted torpedo-firing exercises. Naniwa transported Prime Minister Itō Hirobumi, the Army Minister, Major General Ōyama Iwao, the Navy Minister, Lieutenant General Saigō Jūdō, and the Justice Minister from Yokohama to Kobe on 1 December and then to Pusan, Kingdom of Korea, before returning to Yokohama on 13 December. In early 1887 the sisters transported the Emperor and Empress from Yokohama to Kyoto and back again and then participated in the fleet maneuvers from 22 August to 5 September. Two months later they circumnavigated the Home Islands together with four other ships. On 17 June 1888 Naniwa became the flagship of the Standing Fleet and the sisters cruised to Okinawa, Taiwan, Wonsan, Korea, and Chifu, China later that year. The cruiser hosted the Emperor as he observed the launching of the protected cruiser Takao in the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal on 15 October. By 1889, Naniwa was assigned to the Yokosuka Naval District. Together with her sister, she visited ports in the Russian Far East, Korea and China while also participating in fleet maneuvers in the last half of the year. After taking part in the April 1890 Great Maneuvers with the Imperial Japanese Army, the cruiser was reviewed by the Emperor and then cruised off the eastern coast of Korea and visited Vladivostok in the Russian Far East during June and July. On 23 August Naniwa and Takachiho were reclassified as first-class warships. Naniwa spent the following year patrolling in home waters. On 2 February 1892, the sisters departed Shinagawa to cruise to Hong Kong before participating in the annual Great Maneuvers later that year. Naniwa steamed to Honolulu, Hawaii, in early 1893 to protect Japanese citizens and interests during the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy by American marines and colonists and returned home in May. The cruiser arrived back in Honolulu in December. Marines from Naniwa and the Royal Navy's cruiser HMS Champion were asked to land to defend their respective citizens during the "Black Week" hysteria of December 1893–January 1894, when the Provisional Government of Hawaii feared invasion by the United States to restore the legitimate government. During the confusion created by the revolution, a Japanese who had been convicted of murder escaped from prison in Honolulu, and sought refuge on Naniwa. Captain (later Fleet Admiral) Tōgō Heihachirō's refusal to hand the convict over to authorities from the Provisional Government nearly caused a diplomatic incident between Japan and the United States. Naniwa arrived back in Japan on 15 April and became the flagship of Rear Admiral Tsuboi Kōzō, commander of the First Flying Squadron, on 19 July. ### First Sino-Japanese War During the Donghak Peasant Revolution, advancing rebel forces caused the Korean government request assistance from Qing China in May 1894 who began shipping troops to Asan the following month. The Japanese government, unwilling to let Korea fall under Chinese control, began to ship troops of their own to Chemulpo (modern Incheon) that same month and occupied Chemelpo and Seoul, the Korean capital. The subsequent arrival of more Chinese troops at the mouth of the Taedong River on 16 July angered the Japanese who issued an ultimatum threatening war if any further troops arrived in Korea. The Viceroy of Zhili, Li Hongzhang, believed that the Japanese were bluffing and ordered 2,500 more troops to be transported to Asan. In response, the Japanese ordered the Combined Fleet to Kunsan, Korea, in preparation for war on the 23rd and forced King Gojong of Korea to renounce Korea's tributary relationship with China that day. Two ships carrying some of the soldiers arrived on the night of 23/24 July with the third and last contingent scheduled to arrive on the morning of 25 July. After the Japanese ships arrived at Kunsan, Tsuboi's First Flying Squadron with Naniwa, and the protected cruisers Akitsushima and Yoshino, was detached from the Combined Fleet to rendezvous at Pungdo Island at the entrance to the Bay of Asan with the three Japanese warships from Chemulpo before blockading the west coast of Korea to prevent any reinforcements for Asan. The telegraph line to Chemulpo had been severed by the rebels and the Japanese ships there remained in port. #### Battle of Pungdo On the morning of 25 July, the protected cruiser Jiyuan and the torpedo gunboat Kwang-yi of the Imperial Chinese Beiyang Fleet sortied from Asan, possibly to rendezvous with the chartered British steamer, SS Kowshing, carrying the last of the Chinese troops. Jiyuan may have tried to pass too closely to Naniwa and Tōgō, fearing a torpedo attack, fired the first shots of the war. The Chinese cruiser was badly damaged, with her forward gun disabled, but managed to reach Weihaiwei (modern Weihai) despite being pursued by Yoshino. Naniwa and Akitsushima crippled the gunboat with heavy loss of life, which had to be beached to prevent her sinking. At about 08:30 Jiyuan passed Kowshing, but the Chinese cruiser did not inform Kowshing of the battle and Kowshing's crew misidentified the cruiser as a Japanese vesel. Tōgō ordered the British ship to heave to at 09:15 and Captain Galsworthy complied. He also consented to a search of his ship. Tōgō declared the ship seized as it was ferrying Chinese troops and ordered the crew and passengers to abandon ship. The Chinese troops took control of the ship and refused to comply with his orders. An attempt to negotiate a peaceful settlement by a German officer in Chinese service failed and Tōgō opened fire at 13:10 for fear of Chinese reinforcements. A torpedo launched at a range of 160 yd (150 m) went underneath the steamer's keel, but Naniwa's guns did not, disabling the British ship's boiler room, possibly causing one boiler to explode, and hitting her below the waterline. This caused a panic aboard the Kowshing as the crew and passengers attempted to abandon ship. Naniwa's heavy guns continued to fire at the sinking ship, while her light guns targeted the swimmers in the water. After the steamer sank at 13:47, the Japanese launched boats in an attempt to rescue the ship's European crew, ignoring the Chinese in the water, but only found Galsworthy and two other Europeans. Naniwa was hit once early in the battle, but the shell failed to detonate and it inflicted neither damage nor casualties. The cruiser only fired 36 shells from its heavy guns during the battle and 1,331 rounds from its light guns. Two days after the battle, Naniwa and the gunboat Maya returned to the wreck of the Kwang-yi to prevent any attempt to salvage the ship. The ship exploded when fired upon, probably as a result of the torpedo warheads detonating, which destroyed the gunboat. The IJN spent the next several weeks escorting troop convoys to Kunsan. On 9 August, Vice Admiral Itō, now commanding the Combined Fleet, took his ships to Weihaiwei, China, in search of the Beiyang Fleet and conducted a desultory bombardment of the port's coastal defenses when he did not find the Chinese ships. No damage was inflicted on either side and the Combined Fleet returned to Kunsan. For the rest of the month, the Flying Squadron escorted troop convoys to Kunsan. Itō sent Naniwa and Yoshino back to Weihahiwei on 14–15 September to find the Chinese ships, but they were unsuccessful, although their appearance convinced Admiral Ding Ruchang, commander of the Beiyang Fleet, that his ships were needed to defend the Chinese troop convoys to the mouth of the Yalu River. Their failure convinced Itō that the Beiyang Fleet was further north. #### Battle of the Yalu River The Flying Squadron led the rest of the Combined Fleet northwest on 16 September to investigate the anchorage at Haiyang Island. Finding it empty the following morning, Itō ordered his ships to head northeast and search the area around the Yalu River estuary. At 11:23 lookouts aboard Yoshino spotted the Chinese ships some 21.5 nmi (39.8 km; 24.7 mi) away. Knowing that his ships were faster than the Chinese ones, Itō intended to cross the T of the Beiyang Fleet and then concentrate his fire on the weakly protected ships of the Chinese right wing. Ding's ships had been caught by surprise, but were able to weigh anchor and assume Ding's preferred line abreast formation while the Combined Fleet was still out of range. The Chinese ships opened fire at long range and were unable to hit any of the Japanese ships as they passed in front. The Flying Squadron's ships opened fire as the range closed to 3,000 yards (2,700 m) and soon set the unprotected cruisers Yangwei and Chaoyong on fire. The battle quickly devolved into a melee at close range, and the protected cruiser Zhiyuan and the armored cruiser Jingyuan were sunk as the Flying Squadron's ships concentrated on the Chinese cruisers. During the battle Naniwa was slightly damaged by nine hits that only wounded two men. She fired 33 shells from her main guns, 154 from her secondary armament and several thousand from her smaller guns. #### Subsequent activities Ding's surviving ships were able to disengage in the growing darkness and they steered to Port Arthur for repairs. Itō believed that the Chinese ships would head for Weihaiwei and briefly searched that area the following morning before returning to the Yalu where the wreck of the Yangwei was destroyed. The Combined Fleet then returned to Kunsan to recoal. Itō sent Naniwa and Akitsushima on a reconnaissance mission to Port Arthur (modern Lüshunkou) on 22 September and they were able to confirm that the Beiyang Fleet was present. The cruisers encountered the corvette Kwan Chia on their return voyage. It had been damaged during the Battle of the Yalu and beached to prevent it from sinking. As the Japanese ships approached the corvette was blown up by her own crew to prevent its capture. After the battle, the Combined Fleet escorted troop convoys through the Korea Bay to Chinese territory at the base of the Liaodong Peninsula and supported the IJA's advance down the length of the peninsula towards Port Arthur. This allowed the Beiyang Fleet to sail from Port Arthur to Weihei in early November without being detected. Itō sent Takachiho and Yoshino to see if the Chinese ships were still at Port Arthur on 8 November and only located them at Weihaiwei a week later. The Combined Fleet cruised off the Chinese port on 16–17 November, but Ding was under orders to refuse battle, and the Japanese ships departed to begin the blockade of Port Arthur in support of the IJA's impending successful assault on the port. The Japanese landed troops near Weihaiwei in January 1895 and gradually encircled the city. Itō was unwilling to commit his lightly armored ships to attacks on the formidable fortifications defending the port as he had to be prepared to defeat the Chinese ships if they attempted to break through the blockade. Successful night attacks by his torpedo boats in early February sank or damaged the larger ships and the morale of the Chinese crews continued to decline. Ding failed to make his own nocturnal torpedo attacks against the blockaders, but the Chinese torpedo boats sortied on the morning of 7 February and unsuccessfully attempted to escape by steaming west along the coast towards Zhifu. Pursued by the First Flying Squadron, all of them were either destroyed or captured. It is unclear whether Ding ordered them to breakout or if they deserted before the Chinese surrender on 12 February. Tōgō was promoted to rear admiral and became commander of the First Flying Squadron four days later and Captain Kataoka Shichirō replaced him as the captain of Naniwa. The Japanese wanted to take the Pescadores Islands between the Chinese coast and Taiwan as a base from which to mount their invasion of Taiwan. Their expedition arrived there on 20 March and Naniwa and Yoshino scouted for a good landing site. The IJA's troops were scheduled to land on Wangan Island the following day, but that had to be delayed when Yoshino ran aground. Tōgō transferred his flag to Naniwa after the cruiser was refloated that evening. Bad weather delayed the landing until 23 March as Naniwa and the Flying Squadron bombarded the fort defending the island. The Chinese forces defending the islands surrendered or abandoned their positions and all of the islands were under Japanese control three days later. Preparations to conquer Taiwan took several months to organize and the IJA only made its first landing on the island on 1 June. Two days later, Naniwa and Takachiho were among the ships bombarding the forts defending the port of Keelung as the IJA successfully attacked it. On 7 June the sisters briefly blockaded the port of Tamsui near the island's capital of Taipei. Naniwa returned to Japan on 20 October and was reduced to reserve on 10 November. She received a lengthy refit and modernization in 1896. The ship made a training cruiser to the new Republic of Hawaii from 20 April – 26 September 1897. Naniwa was reclassified as a second-class cruiser on 21 March 1898 and saluted Rear Admiral Prince Heinrich of Prussia, commander of the German East Asia Squadron on 29 June 1899 in Yokohama. During the Boxer Rebellion, the cruiser was being rearmed in early 1900 and then patrolled the Yellow Sea from December 1900 to May 1901. ### Russo-Japanese War On 28 December 1903, Naniwa and Takachiho were assigned to the Fourth Division of Vice Admiral Kamimura Hikonojō's Second Fleet. Vice Admiral Tōgō, commander of the Combined Fleet, intended that the Fourth Division, under the command of Rear Admiral Uryū Sotokichi aboard Naniwa, reinforced by the armored cruiser Asama, would escort troop ships to Chemulpo (modern Incheon) and destroy any Russian forces there to clear the way for the IJA units to land. The cruiser Chiyoda was present at Chemulpo monitoring the situation there and would coordinate with Uryū. Chiyoda rendezvoused with Uryū's ships on the morning of 8 February and reported that the Russian protected cruiser Varyag and the elderly gunboat Korietz were anchored in the neutral port of Chemulpo, together with British, French, Italian and American warships. It was against the laws of war to attack enemy ships in a neutral ports, so Uryū decided to send his transports to unload their troops in the port as the Russians would be unlikely to initiate hostilities in neutral territory amidst the Western ships. Just in case, he ordered three of his cruisers to escort the troop ships into harbor with the two first cruisers to later rejoin the rest of the Fourth Division blockading the port. The following morning Uryū announced that a state of war existed between the Russian and Japanese Empires and the Russian commander decided to attempt to break through the blockade even though he was heavily outnumbered. His ships sortied later that morning and Naniwa was among the ships that badly damaged Varyag and forced the Russian ships to return to Chemulpo where Varyag was scuttled and Korietz was blown up later that afternoon. After the battle, the Fourth Division was tasked to protect the Korean coast between Chemulpo and Asan and to cover the movement of IJA reinforcements through the former port. On 10 March the division ineffectually bombarded what the Japanese believed to be a naval mine control station on an island near Port Arthur. The following month, raids by the Russian cruisers based in Vladivostok under the command of Rear Admiral Karl Jessen caused Tōgō to task Kamimura with the defense of the Sea of Japan and the Tsushima Strait, for which task he was reinforced with the Fourth Division. At the end of April Kamimura took his ships to lay minefields off Vladivostok. Uryū attempted to intercept the Russian cruiser squadron after it sank three transports on 15 June, but could not locate them in stormy weather. During another raid by the Russians at the end of the month, Kamimura's ships spotted the enemy ships, but lost contact with them after nightfall. #### Battle off Ulsan The Russian Pacific Squadron was supposed to break through the Japanese blockade of Port Arthur and rendezvous with the Vladivostok cruiser squadron near the Strait of Tsushima on 10 August, but Admiral Wilgelm Vitgeft, commander of the Pacific Squadron, failed to coordinate with Jessen and the latter's ships were unprepared to immediately sortie when Jessen was surprised to receive a telegram from Port Arthur stating that Vitgeft's ships were at sea on the afternoon of 11 August. Jessen's ships were only able to depart late the following morning and were out of radio range before they could be told that the Pacific Squadron had been defeated and returned to port. Kamimura had kept the four armored cruisers of the 2nd Division together under his direct command and was patrolling the southern Part of the Sea of Japan when each side spotted the other around 05:00. Kamimura was between Jessen's ships and Vladivostok and he radioed nearby ships that he had the enemy in sight. Uryū's ships were deployed further south with Naniwa and Takachiho the closest. Naniwa arrived around 06:00 and Takachiho an hour after that, but Uryū kept his lightly armored ships away from the more heavily armored Russian cruisers until Jessen had abandoned the badly damaged armored cruiser Rurik around 08:30. The sisters opened fire at 08:42 at a range of 7,100 yards (6,500 m) and continued until 10:05 when Uryū ordered them to cease fire after they had expended over 650 six-inch shells between them. The senior surviving Russian officer ordered Rurik scuttled shortly afterwards and the Japanese ships began rescuing survivors. Each of the sisters had been hit once during the battle and Naniwa's crew had lost two dead and four injured crewmen. #### Battle of Tsushima On 21 May 1905 Naniwa was still the flagship of Uryū's Fourth Division. Tōgō tasked the division with attacking the Russian cruisers and other smaller ships trailing the battleships once the battle began. Accordingly Uryū opened fire on the protected cruisers Oleg and Aurora and the elderly armored cruisers Vladimir Monomakh and Dmitrii Donskoi around 14:45 on 27 May at ranges between 6,600–7,100 yards (6,000–6,500 m) in poor visibility. About 17:00 Naniwa was struck by a large shell that caused some flooding which forced her out of formation to make repairs. She was able to rejoin the Fourth Division later that day and ceased firing at 18:50. The following morning the Combined Fleet was widely dispersed with the Fourth Division trailing Tōgō's main body by 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi). At 05:20 the Fifth Division, some 60 nmi (110 km; 69 mi) south of Tōgō, reported spotting the bulk of the Russian survivors and Uryū was ordered was ordered to maintain contact with them at 06:00, although he had just relayed the Fifth Division's report. The Fourth Division then turned east-southeast on what Uryū estimated to be an interception course. About an hour later, Uryū's ships encountered the crippled protected cruiser Svetlana and he detached his two weakest ships to deal with the cruiser. Shortly after 08:00 the Fourth Division, now consisting of Naniwa, Takachiho and Tsushima, found the main body of Rear Admiral Nikolai Nebogatov's Third Pacific Squadron of damaged and obsolete battleships and coast-defense ships. Uryū's ships kept their distance and Tōgō's battleships and armored cruisers opened fire about 10:15. Nebogatov surrendered less than two hours later. Uryū took the Fourth Division to search for more missing Russian ships around 17:00 and spotted Dmitrii Donskoi less than an hour later. The Russian ship attempted to disengage, but she was forced into battle when two more Japanese cruisers appeared ahead of her. The ship's captain then altered course and increased speed in an attempt to run her aground on the island of Ulleungdo, but the northern group of ships opened fire at about 19:00 and the Fourth Division joined them a half-hour later. Uryū's ships closed the range down to 4,400 yd (4,000 m) before he attempted to cut ahead of the armored cuiser to prevent her from reaching her destination before dark. As Naniwa made her turn around 20:00, she was struck by a six-inch shell from Dmitrii Donskoi that caused so much flooding that the ship had a 7° list several minutes later and was forced to disengage. Combined with the gathering darkness, the damage caused Uryū to withdraw and let the destroyers handle the fight as they were better suited to close-range action in the dark than his ships. Several days after the battle, Naniwa and Takachiho, together with the armored cruiser Tokiwa, were detached to monitor the internment of some Russian colliers that had entered Chinese ports before the battle. Uryū was relieved of command on 12 June and Naniwa steamed for home that same day. Two days later Tōgō reorganized the fleet and Rear Admiral Ogura had hoisted his flag aboard the cruiser. ### Final years and loss Naniwa was assigned to the Second Fleet in March–November 1906 and cruised off the coasts of China and Korea. The ship was transferred to the South China Fleet in May 1907 and was relieved of that assignment on 23 June 1908. The sisters participated in that year's Grand Maneuvers in October and Naniwa was reduced to reserve the following year. The cruiser served as a survey and fisheries protection ship in the North Pacific in March–October 1911. She resumed those duties on 1 April 1912, but struck a reef off the coast of Urup in the Kurile Islands at on 26 June. The ship broke up on 18 July and the wreck was stricken from the navy list on 5 August. It was sold for scrap on 26 June 1913.

SMS Tegetthoff (1912)

Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleship

SMS Tegetthoff (His Majesty's Ship Tegetthoff) was the second of four Tegetthoff-class dreadnought battleships built for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. Tegetthoff was named for the 19th-century Austrian Admiral Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, most notable for defeating the Italian Regia Marina at the Battle of Lissa in 1866. The ship was armed with a main battery of twelve 30.5 cm (12.0 in) guns in four triple turrets. Constructed shortly before World War I, she was built at the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino shipyard in Trieste, where she was laid down in September 1910 and launched in March 1912. Tegetthoff was a member of the 1st Battleship Division of the Austro-Hungarian Navy at the beginning of the war alongside the other ships of her class, and was stationed out of the Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola. First saw action during the Bombardment of Ancona following Italy's declaration of war on Austria-Hungary in May 1915, but saw little combat for the rest of the war due to the Otranto Barrage, which prohibited the Austro-Hungarian Navy from leaving the Adriatic Sea. In June 1918, in an bid to earn safer passage for German and Austro-Hungarian U-boats through the Strait of Otranto, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to break the Barrage with a major attack on the strait, but it was abandoned after Tegetthoff and her sister ship, Szent István were attacked by Italian motor torpedo boats on the morning of 10 June. Tegetthoff was unharmed during the attack, but Szent István was sunk by torpedoes launched from MAS-15. After the sinking of Szent István, Tegetthoff and the remaining two ships of her class returned to port in Pola where they remained for the rest of the war. When Austria-Hungary was facing defeat in the war in October 1918, the Austrian government decided to transfer the bulk of her navy to the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in order to avoid having to hand the ship over to the Allies. This transfer however was not recognized by the Armistice of Villa Giusti, signed between Austria-Hungary and the Allies in November 1918. Under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Tegetthoff was handed over to Italy. She was subsequently moved to Venice before being shown as a war trophy by the Italians. During that time period she starred in the movie Eroi di nostri mari ("Heroes of our seas"), which depicted the sinking of Szent István. Following the adoption of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, she was broken up at La Spezia between 1924 and 1925. ## Background Before the construction of Tegetthoff and her namesake class, most of Austria-Hungary's previous battleships had been designed for the defense of the Empire's coastline. During the 19th-century, sea power had not been a priority in Austrian foreign policy. As a result, the Austro-Hungarian Navy had little public interest or support. However, the appointment of Archduke Franz Ferdinand – heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne and a prominent and influential supporter of naval expansion – to the position of admiral in September 1902 greatly increased the importance of the navy in the eyes of both the general public and the Austrian and Hungarian Parliaments. Franz Ferdinand's interest in naval affairs were largely motivated from his belief that a strong navy would be necessary to compete with Italy, which he viewed as Austria-Hungary's greatest regional threat. In 1904, the Austro-Hungarian Navy began an expansion program intended to equal that of the other Great Powers of Europe. This naval expansion program coincided with the establishment of the Austrian Naval League in September 1904 and the appointment of Vice-Admiral Rudolf Montecuccoli to the posts of Commander-in-Chief of the Navy (German: Marinekommandant) and Chief of the Naval Section of the War Ministry (German: Chef der Marinesektion) in October that same year. After Montecuccoli's appointment, the Admiral worked to pursued the efforts championed by his predecessor, Admiral Hermann von Spaun, and pushed for a greatly expanded and modernized navy. The origins of Tegetthoff and her namesake class can also be found in developments in the first decade of the 20th century which greatly increased the importance of sea power to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Between 1906 and 1907, railroads linking Trieste and the Dalmatian coastline to the interior of the Empire had been constructed through Austria's Alpine passes. Additionally, lower tariffs on the port of Trieste allowed for a rapid expansion of the city and a similar growth in Austria-Hungary's merchant marine. As Austria-Hungary became more connected to naval affairs than in past decades, a new line of battleships would be necessary to match the Empire's growing naval interests. Tegetthoff was first envisioned in the middle of a heated naval arms race between Austria-Hungary and its nominal ally, Italy. Since the Battle of Lissa in 1866, Italy's Regia Marina was considered the most-important naval power in the region which Austria-Hungary measured itself against, often unfavorably. The disparity between the Austro-Hungarian and Italian navies had existed since the unification of Italy; in the late 1880s Italy had the third-largest fleet in the world, behind the French Republic's Navy and the British Royal Navy. While the disparity between Italian and Austro-Hungarian naval strength had been somewhat equalized with the Russian Imperial Navy and the German Kaiserliche Marine surpassing the Italian Navy in 1893 and in 1894, Italy had once again regained the initiative by the turn of the century. In 1903, the year before Montecuccoli's appointment, Italy had 18 battleships in commission or under construction compared to 6 Austro-Hungarian battleships. Following the construction of the final two Regina Elena-class battleships in 1903, the Italian Navy elected to construct a series of large cruisers rather than additional battleships. Furthermore, a major scandal involving the Terni steel works' armor contracts led to a government investigation that postponed several naval construction programs for three years. These delays meant that the Italian Navy would not initiate construction on another battleship until 1909, and provided the Austro-Hungarian Navy an attempt to even the disparity between the two fleets. The construction of Tegetthoff can thus be viewed in the context of the naval rivalry between Austria-Hungary and Italy, with the ship playing a role in a larger attempt by Austria-Hungary to compete with Italy's naval power. ### Austro-Italian naval arms race The revolution in naval technology created by the launch of the British HMS Dreadnought in 1906 and the Anglo-German naval arms race that followed had a tremendous impact on the development of future battleships around the world, including Tegetthoff. Dreadnought, armed with ten large-caliber guns, was the first of a revolutionary new standard of "all-big-gun" battleships that rendered pre-dreadnought battleships obsolete. As a result, the value of older battleships declined rapidly in the years after 1906. This development gave Austria-Hungary the opportunity to make up for neglecting its navy in past years. Furthermore, Austria-Hungary's improved financial situation following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 were beginning to reflect in the form of larger budgets being allocated to the Empire's armed forces. Political will also existed to construct Austria-Hungary's own dreadnought battleship, as both Archduke Ferdinand and Admiral Montecuccoli were supportive of constructing a new class of modern battleships. As a result, by 1908 the stage was set for the creation of Tegetthoff and her namesake class. Shortly after assuming command as Chief of the Navy, Montecuccoli drafted his first proposal for a modern Austrian fleet in the spring of 1905. While these plans were ambitious and included 12 battleships, none of the ships approached the eventual size of Tegetthoff. Additional proposals came from outside the Naval Section of the War Ministry. Two proposals from Slovenian politician Ivan Šusteršič, and the Austrian Naval League in 1905 and 1909 included battleships which approached the size of Tegetthoff. While Šusteršič's plan lacked the large-caliber guns that would later be found on Tegetthoff, the plans submitted by the Austrian Naval League three dreadnoughts of 19,000 tonnes (18,700 long tons), similar to Tegetthoff's eventual displacement of 20,000 t (19,684 long tons). These plans were justified by the League by pointing out that newer battleships were necessary to protect Austria-Hungary's growing merchant marine, and that Italian naval spending was twice that of Austria-Hungary's. Following the construction of Austria-Hungary's last class of pre-dreadnought battleships, the Radetzky class, Montecuccoli submitted a proposal which would include the first design for Tegetthoff. With the threat of war with Italy from the Bosnian Crisis in 1908 fresh in the minds of the Austro-Hungarian military, Montecuccoli delivered a memorandum to Emperor Franz Joseph I in January 1909 proposing an enlarged Austro-Hungarian Navy consisting of 16 battleships, 12 cruisers, 24 destroyers, 72 seagoing torpedo boats, and 12 submarines. The most notable change in this memorandum compared to Monteccucoli's previous draft from 1905 was the inclusion of four additional dreadnought battleships with a displacement of 20,000 tonnes (19,684 long tons) at load. One of these ships would eventually become Tegetthoff. ## Plans and budget Montecuccoli's memorandum would eventually be leaked to Italian newspapers just three months after obtaining approval from Emperor Franz Joseph I. The Italian reaction to the Austro-Hungarian plans was swift, and in June 1909, the Italian dreadnought battleship Dante Alighieri was laid down at the naval shipyard in Castellammare di Stabia. While Dante Alighieri was being worked on in Italy, Austria-Hungary's own plans for Tegetthoff and the other ships of her class remained on paper. Funding necessary to begin construction was not to be had either, due to the collapse of Sándor Wekerle's government in Budapest. This left the Hungarian Diet without a prime minister for nearly a year. With no government in Budapest to pass a budget, the money necessary to pay for Tegetthoff could not be obtained. As a result, the largest shipbuilding enterprises in Austria-Hungary, the Witkowitz Ironworks and the Škoda Works, offered to begin construction on Tegetthoff and two other dreadnoughts at their own financial risk, in return for assurances that the Austro-Hungarian government would purchase the battleships as soon as funds were available. After negotiations which involved the Austro-Hungarian joint ministries of foreign affairs, war and finance, the offer was agreed to by Montecuccoli, but the number of dreadnoughts constructed under this arrangement was reduced to just Tegetthoff and Viribus Unitis. In his memoirs, former Austrian Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff Conrad von Hötzendorf wrote that due to his belief that a war with Italy in the near future was likely, construction on the battleships should begin as soon as possible. He also worked to secure agreements to sell both Tegetthoff and Viribus Unitis to, in his words, a "reliable ally" (which only Germany could claim to be) should the budget crisis in Budapest fail to be settled quickly. ### Outline Although smaller than the contemporary dreadnought and super-dreadnought battleships of the German Kaiserliche Marine and the British Royal Navy, Tegetthoff was part of the first class of its type in the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas. Tegetthoff and her sister ships were described by former Austro-Hungarian naval officer Anthony Sokol in his book The Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Navy as "excellent ships", and she was knowledged as one of the most powerful battleships in the region. The design of the battleship also signaled a change in Austro-Hungarian naval policy, as she was capable of far more than coastal defense or patrolling the Adriatic Sea. Indeed, Tegetthoff and her sister ships were so well received that when the time came to plan for the replacement of Austria-Hungary's old Monarch-class coastal defense ships, the navy elected to simply take the layout of her class and enlarge them to have a slightly greater tonnage and larger main guns. ### Funding The cost to construct Tegetthoff was enormous by the standards of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. While the Habsburg-class, Erzherzog Karl-class, and the Radetzky-class battleships cost the navy roughly 18, 26, and 40 million krone per ship, Tegetthoff was projected to cost over 60 million krone. Under the previous budgets for 1907 and 1908, the navy had been allocated some 63.4 and 73.4 million krone, which at the time was considered an inflated budget due to the construction of two Radetzkys. Montecuccoli worried that the general public and the legislatures in Vienna and Budapest would reject the need for a ship as expensive as Tegetthoff, especially so soon after the political crisis in Budapest. The dramatic increase in spending meant that in 1909 the navy spent some 100.4 million krone, a huge sum at the time. This was done in order to rush the completion of the Radetzky-class battleships, though the looming construction of three other dreadnoughts in addition to Tegetthoff meant the Austro-Hungarian Navy would likely have to ask the government for a yearly budget much higher than 100 million krone. In order to guarantee funding for the ship from the Rothschild family in Austria, who owned the Witkowitz Ironworks, the Creditanstalt Bank, and had significant assets in both the Škoda Works and the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino, Archduke Franz Ferdinand personally courted Albert Salomon Anselm von Rothschild to obtain his family's monetary support until the government could buy the battleship. Facing potential backlash over constitutional concerns that the construction of Tegetthoff committed Austria-Hungary to spend roughly 60 million Kronen without prior approval by either the Austrian Reichsrat or the Diet of Hungary, the deal remained secret. In the event of the agreement being leaked to the press prior to the passage of a new naval budget, Montecuccoli drafted several explanations to justify construction of the battleship and the necessity to keep its existence a secret. These included the navy's urgent need to counter Italy's naval build up and desire to negotiate a lower price with their builders. By the time the agreement was leaked to the public in April 1910 by the Arbeiter-Zeitung, the newspaper of Austria's Social Democratic Party, the plans had already been finalized and construction on Tegetthoff was about to begin. ## General characteristics Designed by naval architect Siegfried Popper, Tegetthoff had an overall length of 152 metres (498 ft 8 in), with a beam of 27.90 metres (91 ft 6 in) and a draught of 8.70 metres (28 ft 7 in) at deep load. She was designed to displace 20,000 tonnes (19,684 long tons; 22,046 short tons) at load, but at full combat load she displaced 21,689 tonnes (21,346 long tons; 23,908 short tons). Tegetthoff's hull was built with a double bottom, 1.22 metres (4 ft 0 in) deep, with a reinforced inner bottom that consisted of two layers of 25-millimetre (1 in) plates. The hull design was intended by Popper to protect the battleship from naval mines, though it ultimately failed Tegetthoff's sister ships, Szent István and Viribus Unitis, when the former was sunk by a torpedo in June 1918 and the latter by a mine in November of that same year. Tegetthoff also featured two 2.74-metre (9 ft 0 in) Barr and Stroud optical rangefinder posts on both the starboard and port sides for the secondary guns of the battleship. These rangefinders were equipped with an armored cupola. Tegetthoff was equipped with torpedo nets, though they were removed in June 1917. ### Propulsion Tegetthoff possessed four shafts and four Parsons steam turbines, which were housed in a separate engine-room and powered by twelve Babcock & Wilcox boilers. They were designed to produce a total of 26,400 or 27,000 shaft horsepower (19,686 or 20,134 kW), which was theoretically enough to attain a maximum designed speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). It was reported during her speed trials that she attained a top speed of 19.75 knots (36.58 km/h; 22.73 mph), though her actual top speed is unknown as the official sea trial data and records for all ships of the Tegetthoff class were lost after the war. Tegetthoff also carried 1,844.5 tonnes (1,815.4 long tons; 2,033.2 short tons) of coal, and an additional 267.2 tonnes (263.0 long tons; 294.5 short tons) of fuel oil that was to be sprayed on the coal to increase its burn rate. At full capacity, Tegetthoff could steam for 4,200 nautical miles (7,800 km; 4,800 mi) at a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph). ### Armament Constructed at the Škoda Works in Plzeň, Bohemia, Tegetthoff's main battery consisted of twelve 45-calibre 30.5-centimetre (12 in) Škoda K10 guns mounted in four triple turrets. Two turrets each were mounted forward and aft of the ship's main superstructure in a superfiring pair. The implementation of triple turrets aboard Tegetthoff came about for two reasons: the need to ensure the ship had a more-compact design and smaller displacement to conform to Austro-Hungarian naval doctrine and budget constraints, and to counter the implementation of triple turrets on the Italian Dante Alighieri. Having three guns on each turret rather than two made it possible to deliver a heavier broadside than other dreadnoughts of a similar size and meant a shorter citadel and better weight distribution. The choice of implementing triple turrets also assisted in the construction speed of Tegetthoff as well. The guns for the battleship were available at short notice because Škoda had already been working on a triple-turret design ordered by the Imperial Russian Navy when their initial order for Tegetthoff's armament arrived. Tegetthoff carried a secondary armament which consisted of a dozen 50-calibre 15-centimetre (5.9 in) Škoda K10 guns mounted in casemates amidships. Additionally, eighteen 50-calibre 7-centimetre (2.8 in) Škoda K10 guns were mounted on open pivot mounts on the upper deck, above the casemates. Three more 7-centimetre (2.8 in) Škoda K10 guns were mounted on the upper turrets for anti-aircraft duties. Two additional 8-millimetre (0.31 in) Schwarzlose M.07/12 anti-aircraft machine guns were mounted atop the armored cupolas of her rangefinders. Tegetthoff was also equipped with two 7-centimetre (2.8 in) Škoda G. L/18 landing guns, and two 47-millimetre (1.9 in) Škoda SFK L/44 S guns for use against small and fast vessels such as torpedo boats and submarines. Furthermore, she also fitted with four 533-millimetre (21.0 in) submerged torpedo tubes, one each in the bow, the stern, and each side. Complementing these torpedo tubes, Tegetthoff usually carried twelve torpedoes. ### Armor Tegetthoff was protected at the waterline with an armor belt which measured 280 millimetres (11 in) thick in the central citadel, where the most-important parts of the ship were located. This armor belt was located between the midpoints of the fore and aft barbettes, and thinned to 150 millimetres (5.9 in) further towards the bow and stern, but did not reach either. It was continued to the bow by a small patch of 110–130-millimetre (4–5 in) armor. The upper armor belt had a maximum thickness of 180 millimetres (7.1 in), but it thinned to 110 millimetres (4.3 in) from the forward barbette all the way to the bow. The casemate armor was also 180 millimetres (7.1 in) thick. The sides of the main gun turrets, barbettes, and main conning tower were protected by 280 millimetres (11 in) of armor, except for the turret and conning tower roofs which were 60 to 150 millimetres (2 to 6 in) thick. The thickness of the decks ranged from 30 to 48 millimetres (1 to 2 in) in two layers. The underwater protection system consisted of the extension of the double-bottom upwards to the lower edge of the waterline armor belt, with a thin 10-millimetre (0.4 in) plate acting as the outermost bulkhead. It was backed by a torpedo bulkhead that consisted of two 25-millimetre plates. The total thickness of this system was only 1.60 metres (5 ft 3 in) which made Tegetthoff incapable of containing a torpedo warhead detonation or mine explosion without rupturing. This design flaw would ultimately prove to be fatal to her sister ships Szent István and Viribus Unitis. ## Construction Montecuccoli's plans for the construction of Tegetthoff and her sister ships earned the approval of Emperor Franz Joseph I in January 1909, and by April plans for the design, construction, and financing for Tegetthoff was laid out. For a full year, the Austro-Hungarian Navy attempted to keep the looming construction of Tegetthoff and Viribus Unitis a state secret. This did not prevent rumors from circulating across Europe of two dreadnought battleships being constructed in Austria-Hungary. The French Naval Attaché in Vienna complained to Paris in 1910 of extensive secrecy within the Austro-Hungarian Navy, which manifested itself in several ways. Among these were a ban on photography in the Pola, future home port of Tegetthoff, and near-constant observation by the Austro-Hungarian police. The British Admiralty considered the rumored construction of Tegetthoff and Viribus Unitis "as a concealed addition to the German fleet", and interpreted the ships as Austria-Hungary's way of repaying Germany for her diplomatic support during the former's annexation of Bosnia in 1908. During the spring and summer of 1909, the United Kingdom was locked in a heated naval arms race with Germany which led the Royal Navy to look upon the battleship as a ploy by German Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz to outpace British naval construction, rather than the latest development in Austria-Hungary's own naval arms race with Italy. The Admiralty's concerns regarding the true purpose of Tegetthoff was so great that a British spy was dispatched to Berlin when Montecuccoli sent an officer from the Naval Section of the War Ministry to obtain recommendations from Tirpitz regarding the design and layout of the battleship. These concerns continued to grow and in April 1909, British Ambassador Fairfax Leighton Cartwright asked Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal about the rumored battleships. Aehrenthal denied the construction of the Tegetthoff and Viribus Unitis, but admitted that plans to construct a class of dreadnoughts were being considered. In an attempt to assure Cartwright that Austria-Hungary was not constructing any ships for the German Navy, Aehrenthal justified any naval expansion as being necessary to secure Austria-Hungary's strategic interests in the Mediterranean. At the time, the potential that Austria-Hungary was constructing a class of dreadnought battleships was widely regarded among the British press, public, and politicians as a provocation on the part of Germany. Neither the Admiralty's suspicions, nor those of some politicians, managed to convince Parliament that the German government was attempting to use Tegetthoff and Viribus Unitis to escalate Germany and Britain's already contentious naval arms race however. When Winston Churchill was appointed First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911, he rejected any potential Austro-German collusion regarding the battleship. Roughly a year after Tegetthoff's plans were drafted, Arbeiter-Zeitung, the Austrian Social Democratic Party newspaper, reported the details of the battleship to the general public. The Christian Social Party, supportive of the construction of Tegetthoff and her sister ships, and operating on the advice of the navy, published in its own newspaper, Reichspost, that the secret project to construct the battleship and the related financial agreements to fund it were true. The Reichspost lobbied in support of the project, citing Austria-Hungary's national security concerns with an Italian dreadnought already under construction. When the story broke, Archduke Ferdinand also worked to build public support for the construction of Tegetthoff, and the Austrian Naval League did the same. ### Assembly and commissioning Tegetthoff, the title ship of her class, was laid down in Trieste by Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino on 24 September 1910, once it became clear that Vienna and Budapest would pass the necessary budget to fund the construction of the entire class. The budgets were approved after two meetings of the Austrian Reichsrat and the Diet of Hungary in October and November 1910, opposition being rejected as the Italian Navy had laid down another three battleships during the summer. The final package of the budget agreement which funded Tegetthoff included provisions which ensured that while the armor and guns of the battleship were to be constructed within Austria, the electrical wiring and equipment aboard Tegetthoff was to be assembled in Hungary. Additionally, half of all ammunition and shells for the guns of the ship would be purchased in Austria, while the other half was to be bought in Hungary. Aside from a brief strike in Trieste in May 1911, construction on Tegetthoff continued at a fast pace. Less than a year after being laid down, Tegetthoff was launched on 21 March after delays due to poor weather around Trieste. Originally referred to as "Battleship V", discussion began over what to name the battleship while it was under construction in Trieste. The Naval Section of the War Ministry initially proposed naming the battleship Don Juan. Newspapers within Austria reported during construction that one of the ships was to be named Kaiser Franz Joseph I were unfounded as the Austro-Hungarian Navy had no intentions of renaming the cruiser which already bore the Emperor's name. Emperor Franz Joseph I ultimately decided the names of all four dreadnoughts, selecting to name the first ship after his own personal motto, Viribus Unitis (Latin: "With United Forces"), while the second ship would be named Tegetthoff, after Wilhelm von Tegetthoff, a 19th-century Austrian naval admiral known for his victory over Italy at the Battle of Lissa in 1866. Tegetthoff was commissioned into the Austro-Hungarian Navy on 14 July 1913. During her gunnery trials, a discharge from one of the ship's main guns damaged the staterooms of the ship's officers. ## Service history ### Pre-war Prior to World War I, Tegetthoff and her sister ship Viribus Unitis served as the pride of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, conducting several missions across the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas as members of the First Battle Division under the command of Vice-Admiral Maximilian Njegovan. In the spring of 1914 both ships, together with the pre-dreadnought battleship Zrínyi and the coastal defense ship Monarch, traveled the eastern Mediterranean and the Levant, visiting the ports of Smyrna, Beirut, Alexandria, and Malta. Meanwhile, Tegetthoff and Viribus Unitis arrived at Malta on 22 May, before leaving for Pola on 28 May, exactly one month before Archduke Franz Ferdinand's assassination and two months before the start of the war. Upon hearing of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie on 28 June in Sarajevo, Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Anton Haus sailed south from Trieste with an escort fleet composed of Tegetthoff, the cruiser Admiral Spaun, and several torpedo boats. Two days after their murders, Ferdinand and Sophia's bodies were transferred aboard Viribus Unitis, which had been anchored off Bosnia waiting to receive the Archduke for his return. Tegetthoff and the other ships in Haus' fleet then escorted Viribus Unitis back to Trieste. During the voyage, the fleet moved slowly along the Dalmatian coast and usually within sight of land. Coastal towns and villages rang church bells when the ships passed while spectators watched the fleet from the shoreline. The Archduke's death triggered the July Crisis, culminating in Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on the Kingdom of Serbia on 28 July 1914. ### World War I #### Outbreak of war Events unfolded rapidly in the ensuing days. On 30 July 1914 Russia declared full mobilization in response to Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Serbia. Austria-Hungary declared full mobilization the next day. On 1 August both Germany and France ordered full mobilization and Germany declared war on Russia in support of Austria-Hungary. While relations between Austria-Hungary and Italy had improved greatly in the two years following the 1912 renewal of the Triple Alliance, increased Austro-Hungarian naval spending, political disputes over influence in Albania, and Italian concerns over the potential annexation of land in the Montenegro caused the relationship between the two allies to falter in the months leading up to the war. Italy's declaration of neutrality in the war on 1 August dashed Austro-Hungarian hopes to use Tegetthoff in major combat operations in the Mediterranean, as the navy had been relying upon coal stored in Italian ports to operate in conjunction with the Regia Marina. By 4 August, Germany had already occupied Luxembourg and invaded Belgium after declaring war on France, and the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany in support of Belgian neutrality. The assistance of the Austro-Hungarian fleet was called upon by the German Mediterranean Division, which consisted of the battlecruiser SMS Goeben and light cruiser SMS Breslau. The German ships were attempting to break out of Messina, where they had been taking on coal prior to the outbreak of war. By the first week of August, British ships had begun to assemble off Messina in an attempt to trap the Germans. While Austria-Hungary had not yet fully mobilized its fleet, a force was assembled to assist the German ships. This consisted of Tegetthoff, Viribus Unitis, and Prinz Eugen, as well as three Radetzkys, the armoured cruiser Sankt Georg, the scout cruiser Admiral Spaun, six destroyers, and 13 torpedo boats. The Austro-Hungarian high command, wary of instigating war with Great Britain, ordered the fleet to avoid the British ships and to only support the Germans openly while they were in Austro-Hungarian waters. On 7 August, when the Germans broke out of Messina, the Austro-Hungarian fleet had begun to sail for Brindisi to link up with the Germans and escort their ships to a friendly port in Austria-Hungary. However, the German movement toward the mouth of the Adriatic had been a diversion to throw the British and French off their pursuit, and the German ships instead rounded the southern tip of Greece and made their way to the Dardanelles, where they would eventually be sold to the Ottoman Empire. Rather than follow the German ships towards the Black Sea, the Austrian fleet returned to Pola. #### 1914–1915 Following France and Britain's declarations of war on Austria-Hungary on 11 and 12 August respectively, the French Admiral Augustin Boué de Lapeyrère was issued orders to close off Austro-Hungarian shipping at the entrance to the Adriatic Sea and to engage any Austro-Hungarian ships his Anglo-French fleet came across. Lapeyrère chose to attack the Austro-Hungarian ships blockading Montenegro. The ensuing Battle of Antivari ended Austria-Hungary's blockade, and effectively placed the entrance of the Adriatic Sea firmly in the hands of Britain and France. After the breakout of Goeben and Breslau, Tegetthoff saw very little action, spending much of her time in port at Pola. The ship's lack of time spent at sea was part of a greater general inactivity among nearly all ships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy. This was partly caused by a fear of mines in the Adriatic, though other factors contributed to the lack of naval activity. Haus was fearful that direct confrontation with the French Navy, even if it should be successful, would weaken the Austro-Hungarian Navy to the point that Italy would have a free hand in the Adriatic. This concern was so great to Haus that he wrote in September 1914, "So long as the possibility exists that Italy will declare war against us, I consider it my first duty to keep our fleet intact." Haus' decision to use the Austro-Hungarian Navy as a fleet in being earned sharp criticism from the Austro-Hungarian Army, the German Navy, and the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Ministry, but it also led to a far greater number of Entente naval forces being devoted to the Mediterranean and the Strait of Otranto. These could have been used elsewhere, such as against the Ottoman Empire during the Gallipoli Campaign. The most-important factor contributing to Tegetthoff spending most of her time at port may have been the lack of coal. Prior to the war, the United Kingdom had served as Austria-Hungary's primary source for coal. In the years before the war an increasing percentage of coal had come from mines in Germany, Virginia, and from domestic sources, but 75% of the coal purchased for the Austro-Hungarian Navy came from Britain. The outbreak of war meant that these sources, as well as those from Virginia, would no longer be available. Significant quantities of coal had been stockpiled before the war however, ensuring the navy was capable of sailing out of port if need be. Even so, the necessity of ensuring that Tegetthoff had the coal she needed in the event of an Italian or French attack or a major offensive operation resulted in her and other battleships remaining at port unless circumstances necessitated their deployment at sea. In early 1915 Germany suggested that Tegetthoff and the other battleships of the Austro-Hungarian Navy conduct an attack on the Otranto Barrage in order to relieve pressure on the Ottoman Empire at the height of the Gallipoli Campaign. Haus, still weary of taking Austria-Hungary's battleships out of port, rejected the proposal. He countered that the French had pulled back their blockade to the southernmost end of the Adriatic Sea, and that none of the Anglo-French ships assigned to blockading the strait had been diverted to the Dardanelles. Haus also advocated strongly in favor of keeping his battleships, in particular all four ships of the Tegetthoff class, in reserve in the event of Italy's entry into the war on the side of the Entente. Haus believed that Italy would inevitably break her alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany, and that by keeping battleships such as Tegetthoff safe, they could rapidly be employed against Italy. This strategy enabled Austria-Hungary to engage the Italians shortly after Italy's declaration of war in May 1915. #### Bombardment of Ancona After failed negotiations with Germany and Austria-Hungary over Italy joining the war as a member of the Central Powers, the Italians negotiated with the Triple Entente for Italy's eventual entry into the war on their side in the Treaty of London, signed on 26 April 1915. On 4 May Italy formally renounced her alliance to Germany and Austria-Hungary, giving the Austro-Hungarians advanced warning that Italy was preparing to go to war against them. Haus made preparations for Tegetthoff and her sister ships to sortie out into the Adriatic in a massive strike against the Italians the moment war was declared. On 23 May 1915, between two and four hours after the Italian declaration of war reached the main Austro-Hungarian naval base at Pola, the Austro-Hungarian fleet, including Tegetthoff, departed to bombard the Italian coast. While several ships bombarded secondary targets and others were deployed to the south to screen for Italian ships that could be steaming north from Taranto, the core of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, spearheaded by Tegetthoff and her sister ships, made their way to Ancona. The bombardment across the province of Ancona was a major success for the Austro-Hungarian Navy. In the port of Ancona, an Italian steamer was destroyed and three others damaged. The infrastructure of the port of Ancona and the surrounding towns was severely damaged. The railroad yard and port facilities in the city were damaged or destroyed, while local shore batteries defending them were knocked out. Multiple wharves, warehouses, oil tanks, radio stations, and coal and oil stores were set on fire by the bombardment, and the city's electricity, gas, and telephone lines were severed. Within the city itself, Ancona's police headquarters, army barracks, military hospital, sugar refinery, and Bank of Italy offices all saw damage. 30 Italian soldiers and 38 civilians were killed, while an additional 150 were wounded in the attack. The Austro-Hungarian Navy would later move on to bombard the coast of Montenegro, without opposition; by the time Italian ships arrived on the scene, the Austro-Hungarians were safely back in Pola. The objective of the bombardment of Ancona was to delay the Italian Army from deploying its forces along the border with Austria-Hungary by destroying critical transportation systems. The surprise attack on Ancona succeeded in delaying the Italian deployment to the Alps for two weeks. This delay gave Austria-Hungary valuable time to strengthen its Italian border and re-deploy some of its troops from the Eastern and Balkan fronts. The bombardment also delivered a severe blow to Italian military and public morale. #### 1916–1917 Largely unable to engage in major offensive combat operations after the Bombardment of Ancona due to the Otranto Barrage, Tegetthoff mostly relegated to defending Austria-Hungary's 1,130-nautical-mile (2,090 km; 1,300 mi) coastline and 2,172.4 nmi (4,023.3 km; 2,500.0 mi) of island seaboard for the next three years. The lack of combat engagements, or even instances where Tegetthoff left port, is exemplified by the career of her sister ship, Szent István. The ship was unable to join her sisters in the Bombardment of Ancona and rarely left the safety of the port except for gunnery practice in the nearby Fažana Strait. She only spent 54 days at sea during her 937 days in service and made only a single two-day trip to Pag Island. In total, only 5.7% of her life was spent at sea; and for the rest of the time she swung at anchor in Pola Harbour. Despite Haus' death from pneumonia on 8 February 1917, his strategy of keeping the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and particularly dreadnoughts like Tegetthoff, in port continued. By keeping Tegetthoff and her sister ships as a fleet in being, the Austro-Hungarian Navy would be able to continue to defend its lengthy coastline from naval bombardment or invasion by sea. The major ports of Trieste and Fiume would also remain protected. Furthermore, Italian ships stationed in Venice were effectively trapped by the positioning of the Austro-Hungarian fleet, preventing them from sailing south to join the bulk of the Entente forces at the Otranto Barrage. Maximilian Njegovan was promoted to admiral and appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Navy to replace Haus. With Njegovan appointed to higher office, command of the First Battle Division, which included that of Tegetthoff and her sister ships, fell to Vice-Admiral Anton Willenik. Njegovan had previously voiced frustration watching the dreadnoughts he had commanded under Haus sit idle at port, and upon taking command he had some 400,000 tons of coal at his disposal. However, he chose to continue the strategy of his predecessor, ensuring Tegetthoff would continue to see little to no combat. Having hardly ever ventured out to port except to conduct gunnery practice for the past two years, the most-significant moments Tegetthoff experienced while moored in Pola were inspections by dignitaries. The first such visit was conducted by Emperor Karl I on 15 December 1916. During this brief visit the Emperor inspected Pola's naval establishments and Szent István, but he did not board Tegetthoff. Karl I returned to Pola in June 1917 in the first formal imperial review of the Austro-Hungarian Navy since 1902. The third dignitary visit came during Kaiser Wilhelm II's inspection of Pola's German submarine base on 12 December 1917. Aside from these visits, the only action the port of Pola and Tegetthoff was subject to between the Bombardment of Ancona and the summer of 1918 were the more than eighty air raids conducted by the newly formed Italian Air Force. #### 1918 Following the Cattaro Mutiny in February 1918, Admiral Njegovan was fired as Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya, commander of Tegetthoff's sister ship Prinz Eugen, was promoted to rear admiral and named Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet. Horthy used his appointment to take the Austro-Hungarian fleet out of port for maneuvers and gunnery practice on a regular basis. The size of these operations were the largest Tegetthoff had seen since the outbreak of the war. These gunnery and maneuver practices were conducted not only to restore order in the wake of several failed mutinies, but also to prepare the fleet for a major offensive operation. Horthy's strategic thinking differed from his two predecessors, and shortly after assuming command of the navy he resolved to undertake a major fleet action in order to address low morale and boredom, and make it easier for Austro-Hungarian and German U-Boats to break out of the Adriatic into the Mediterranean. After several months of practice, Horthy concluded the fleet was ready for a major offensive at the beginning of June 1918. #### Otranto Raid Horthy was determined to use the fleet to attack the Otranto Barrage. Planning to repeat his successful raid on the blockade in May 1917, Horthy envisioned a massive attack on the Allied forces with Tegetthoff and her three sister ships providing the largest component of the assault. They would be accompanied by the three ships of the Erzherzog Karl-class pre-dreadnoughts, the three Novara-class cruisers, the cruiser Admiral Spaun, four Tátra-class destroyers, and four torpedo boats. Submarines and aircraft would also be employed in the operation to hunt down enemy ships on the flanks of the fleet. On 8 June 1918 Horthy took his flagship, Viribus Unitis, and Prinz Eugen south with the lead elements of his fleet. On the evening of 9 June, Szent István and Tegetthoff followed along with their own escort ships. Horthy's plan called for Novara and Helgoland to engage the Barrage with the support of the Tátra-class destroyers. Meanwhile, Admiral Spaun and Saida would be escorted by the fleet's four torpedo boats to Otranto to bombard Italian air and naval stations. The German and Austro-Hungarian submarines would be sent to Valona and Brindisi to ambush Italian, French, British, and American warships that sailed out to engage the Austro-Hungarian fleet, while seaplanes from Cattaro would provide air support and screen the ships' advance. The battleships, and in particular the dreadnoughts such as Tegetthoff, would use their firepower to destroy the Barrage and engage any Allied warships they ran across. Horthy hoped that the inclusion of these ships would prove to be critical in securing a decisive victory. En route to the harbour at Islana, north of Ragusa, to rendezvous with Viribus Unitis and Prinz Eugen for the coordinated attack on the Otranto Barrage, Szent István and Tegetthoff attempted to make maximum speed in order to catch up to the rest of the fleet. In doing so, Szent István's turbines started to overheat, and the speed of the two ships had to be reduced. When an attempt was made to raise more steam in order to increase their speed, Szent István produced an excess of smoke. At about 3:15 am on 10 June, two Italian MAS boats, MAS 15 and MAS 21, spotted the smoke from the Austrian ships while returning from an uneventful patrol off the Dalmatian coast. The MAS platoon was commanded by Capitano di corvetta Luigi Rizzo. The individual boats were commanded by Capo timoniere Armando Gori and Guardiamarina di complemento Giuseppe Aonzo respectively. Both boats successfully penetrated the escort screen and split to engage each of the dreadnoughts. MAS 21 attacked Tegetthoff, but her torpedoes failed to hit the ship. MAS 15 fired her two torpedoes successfully at 3:25 am at Szent István. Both boats evaded any pursuit although MAS 15 had to discourage the Austro-Hungarian torpedo boat Tb 76 T by dropping depth charges in her wake. Tegetthoff, thinking that the torpedoes were fired by submarines, pulled out of the formation and started to zigzag to throw off any further attacks. She repeatedly fired on suspected submarine periscopes. Meanwhile, Szent István was hit by two 45-centimetre (18 in) torpedoes abreast her boiler rooms. Efforts to plug the holes in the ship failed. Upon returning to the formation at 4:45 am, Tegetthoff attempted to take Szent István in tow, which failed. After it became clear Szent István would sink, the crew of Tegetthoff emerged onto her decks to salute the sinking ship. At 6:12 am, with the pumps unequal to the task, Szent István capsized off Premuda. Film footage and photographs of Szent István's last half-hour were taken by Linienschiffsleutnant Meusburger of Tegetthoff with his own camera and by an official film crew. These films were later spliced together and exhibited in the United States after the war, where the proceeds were eventually used to feed children in Austria following the ending of the war. Fearing further attacks by torpedo boats or destroyers from the Italian navy, and possible Allied dreadnoughts responding to the scene, Horthy believed the element of surprise had been lost and called off the attack. Tegetthoff and the rest of the fleet returned to the base at Pola where it would remain for the rest of the war. #### End of the war On 17 July 1918, Pola was struck by the largest aid raid the city would see during the war. 66 Allied planes dropped over 200 bombs, though Tegetthoff was unharmed in the attack. By October 1918 it had become clear that Austria-Hungary was facing defeat in the war. With various attempts to quell nationalist sentiments failing, Emperor Karl I decided to sever Austria-Hungary's alliance with Germany and appeal to the Allied Powers in an attempt to preserve the empire from complete collapse. On 26 October Austria-Hungary informed Germany that their alliance was over. In Pola the Austro-Hungarian Navy was in the process of tearing itself apart along ethnic and nationalist lines. Horthy was informed on the morning of 28 October that an armistice was imminent, and used this news to maintain order and prevent a mutiny among the fleet. While a mutiny was spared, tensions remained high and morale was at an all-time low. On 29 October the National Council in Zagreb announced Croatia's dynastic ties to Hungary had come to a formal conclusion. This new provisional government, while throwing off Hungarian rule, had not yet declared independence from Austria-Hungary. Thus Emperor Karl I's government in Vienna asked the newly formed State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs for help maintaining the fleet stationed at Pola and keeping order among the navy. Emperor Karl I, attempting to save the Empire from collapse, agreed to transfer all of Austria-Hungary's ships to the National Council, provided that the other "nations" which made up Austria-Hungary would be able to claim their fair share of the value of the fleet at a later time. The Austro-Hungarian government thus decided to hand over the bulk of its fleet to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs without a shot being fired. This was considered preferential to handing the fleet to the Allies, as the new state had declared its neutrality. Furthermore, the newly formed state had also not yet publicly dethroned Emperor Karl I, keeping the possibility of reforming the Empire into a triple monarchy alive. The transfer to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs began on the morning of 31 October, with Horthy meeting representatives from the South Slav nationalities aboard his flagship, Viribus Unitis. After "short and cool" negotiations, the arrangements were settled and the handover was completed that afternoon. The Austro-Hungarian Naval Ensign was struck from Viribus Unitis, and was followed by the remaining ships in the harbor. The head of the newly-established navy for the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, fell to Captain Janko Vuković, who was raised to the rank of admiral and took over Horthy's old responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet. He selected Tegetthoff's sister ship Viribus Unitis as his flagship. On 1 November 1918, Viribus Unitis was destroyed when two men of the Regia Marina, Raffaele Paolucci and Raffaele Rossetti, rode a primitive manned torpedo (nicknamed Mignatta or "leech") into the naval base at Pola and attacked her using limpet mines. When the mines exploded at 6:44 am, the battleship sank in 15 minutes; Vuković and 300–400 of the crew went down with her. Tegetthoff was unharmed in the attack. ### Post-war The Armistice of Villa Giusti, signed between Italy and Austria-Hungary on 3 November 1918, refused to recognize the transfer of Austria-Hungary's warships to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. As a result, on 4 November 1918, Italian ships sailed into the ports of Trieste, Pola, and Fiume. On 5 November, Italian troops occupied the naval installations at Pola. While the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs attempted to hold onto their ships, they lacked the men and officers to do so as most sailors who were not South Slavs had already gone home. The National Council did not order any men to resist the Italians, but they also condemned Italy's actions as illegitimate. On 9 November, all remaining ships in Pola harbor had the Italian flag raised. At a conference at Corfu, the Allied Powers agreed the transfer of Austria-Hungary's Navy to the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs could not be accepted, despite sympathy from the United Kingdom. Faced with the prospect of being given an ultimatum to surrender the former Austro-Hungarian warships, the National Council agreed to hand over the ships beginning on 10 November 1918. In March 1919, Tegetthoff and Erzherzog Franz Ferdinand, both flying the Italian flag, were escorted into Venice where they were shown as a war trophies by the Italians. It would not be until 1920 when the final distribution of the ships was settled among the Allied powers under the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, with Tegetthoff being formally ceded to Italy. During that time period, she starred in the movie Eroi di nostri mari ("Heroes of our seas") which depicted the sinking of Szent István. Following the adoption of the Washington Naval Treaty in 1922, she was broken up at La Spezia between 1924 and 1925. After the Tegetthoff was dismantled, one of her anchors was placed on display at the Monument to Italian Sailors at Brindisi, where it can still be found. Following Nazi Germany's incorporation of Austria via the Anschluss of March 1938, Adolf Hitler used Austria-Hungary's naval history to appeal to the Austrian public and obtain their support. Hitler lived in Vienna during the development of much of the Austro-Hungarian Navy, and thus decided upon an "Austrian" sounding name for a German cruiser which was under construction at Kiel in 1938. The cruiser was originally to be named Tegetthoff by the Kriegsmarine, after Wilhelm von Tegetthoff. However, concerns over the possible insult to Italy and Benito Mussolini of naming the cruiser after the Austrian victor of the Battle of Lissa, led Hitler to adopt Prinz Eugen as the ship's namesake, after the Austrian general Prince Eugene of Savoy. Prinz Eugen was launched on 22 August 1938, in a ceremony attended by Hitler and the Governor (German: Reichsstatthalter) of Ostmark, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, who made the christening speech. Also present at the launch was Regent of Hungary, Admiral Miklós Horthy. Horthy had previously commanded Tegetthoff's sister ship Prinz Eugen from 24 November 1917 to 1 March 1918 and had commanded the Austro-Hungarian Navy in the final months of World War I. Horthy wife's, Magdolna Purgly, performed the christening. In reference to her originally planned name and in homage to the Austro-Hungarian Navy, the bell from Tegetthoff was presented to the German cruiser Prinz Eugen on 22 November 1942 by the Regia Marina. After World War II, the bell from Tegetthoff was placed on display in Graz, Austria, where it can still be viewed.

Nova Southeastern University

Private university in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, U.S.

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a private research university with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, United States, in the Miami metropolitan area. The university consists of 14 total colleges, offering over 150 programs of study. The university offers professional degrees in the social sciences, law, business, osteopathic medicine (DO), allopathic medicine (MD), health sciences, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, physical therapy, education, occupational therapy, and nursing. As of 2019, 20,576 students were enrolled at Nova Southeastern University, with more than 210,000 alumni. With a main campus located on 314 acres in Davie, Florida, NSU operates additional campuses in Dania Beach, North Miami Beach, Tampa Bay-Clearwater and campuses throughout the state of Florida. There are also campuses in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Denver, Colorado. The university was founded in 1964 as the Nova University of Advanced Technology on a former naval outlying landing field built during World War II and first offered graduate degrees in the physical and social sciences. In 1994, the university merged with the Southeastern University of the Health Sciences and assumed its current name. NSU is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity"; it also classified as a "community engaged" university by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and also has numerous additional specialized accreditations for its colleges and programs, including A.A.C.S.B. Nova Southeastern University's intercollegiate athletic teams are collectively known as the Nova Southeastern Sharks and compete in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The Sharks have won nine NCAA national championships, including clinching the 2023 Men's Basketball NCAA Division II Championship. ## History ### 1960s The university, originally named Nova University of Advanced Technology, was chartered by the state of Florida on December 4, 1964. The name comes from the site where the Nova Education Experiment was conducted, a project funded in part by the Ford Foundation and the federal government with the goal of creating a series of schools spanning elementary to university-level education. With an inaugural class of 17 students, the university opened as a graduate school for the social and physical sciences. The university was originally located on a campus in downtown Fort Lauderdale but later moved to its current campus in Davie, Florida. A portion of the site of this campus was once a naval training airfield during World War II, called the "Naval Outlying Landing Field Forman". The remnants of the taxiway surrounding the airfield are still present in the form of roads used on the campus. After World War II, the federal government made a commitment to the Forman family, from whom the land was purchased, that the land would only be used for educational purposes. This led the land to be used for the creation of the South Florida Education Center, which includes Nova Southeastern University, as well as Broward College, McFatter Technical College, and satellite campuses of Florida Atlantic University and the University of Florida. ### 1970s On June 23, 1970, the board of trustees voted to enter into a federation with the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT). The president of NYIT, Alexander Schure, PhD, became chancellor of Nova University, and Abraham S. Fischler became the president of the university. The university charter was amended and "of Advanced Technology" was dropped from its corporate name. In 1971, Nova University received accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). In 1972, the university introduced its first off-campus course of study in education. In 1974, NSU opened a law school, with an inaugural class of 175 students. The law school was named after one of the university's founders, Shepard Broad. The same year, the university began offering evening courses on campus for undergraduates, and changed its name to Nova University. The following year, in 1975, the law school received approval from the American Bar Association. ### 1980s In the early 1980s, the university received a \$16 million gift from the Leo Goodwin Sr. Trust. In 1985, NSU ended its collaboration with NYIT and began offering its first online classes. In 1989, enrollment reached 8,000 students, with nearly 25,000 alumni. In 1981, outside of Nova University, a group of osteopathic physicians, wanting to enhance medical education in the region, established the Southeastern College of Osteopathic Medicine in North Miami Beach. This was the first osteopathic medical school established in the southeastern United States. Rapid expansion over the course of the decade also resulted in the addition of several new programs at Southeastern College. Pharmacy and optometry, amongst other programs, were added to the school. The school then renamed itself into the Southeastern University of the Health Sciences. ### 1990s During the 1990s, both Nova University and Southeastern University expanded, adding a dentistry program and increasing distance education programs. In 1994, Nova University merged with Southeastern University of the Health Sciences to form Nova Southeastern University (NSU), adding the colleges of osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, optometry and allied health to the university. Following the merger, many of the health programs relocated to their current location on the Davie campus. In 1993, the Miami Dolphins opened a training center on campus. ### 2000s The William and Norma Horvitz Administration Building, a two-story 62,000-square-foot (5,800 m²) postmodern structure, was built at a cost of \$3 million, which houses the office of the president and numerous other administration departments. In 2001, the Alvin Sherman Library for Research and Information Technology Center was completed and also serves as the largest public library facility in the state of Florida. In 2004, the Carl DeSantis Building opened at a cost of \$33 million, which houses the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship. The building is a 261,000-square-foot (24,200 m²), five-story facility, and cost about \$33 million. In 2006, the 344,600-square-foot (32,010 m²) University Center opened, which includes a 5,400-seat arena, a fitness center, a performance theater, art gallery, a food court, and a student lounge. Five residence halls on the main campus serve undergraduate, graduate, health professions, and law students, with a capacity for housing 720 students in approximately 207,000 square feet (19,200 m²) of living space. In 2007, a 501-bed residence hall called "The Commons" opened. The university attracted negative attention in 2006 when it ended a contract with subcontractor UNICCO after more than 350 of its employees, almost all of them minorities, opted to unionize with SEIU; the university's action contrasted with the reactions of the administrations of other south Florida universities to the organization of their janitorial staff. In 2008, NSU, in partnership with the National Coral Reef Institute and the International Coral Reef Symposium, held the largest coral reef symposium in the world, which included representation from 75 countries in attendance. In 2008, the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale joined the university. Originally founded in 1986 and located in Fort Lauderdale, the museum focuses on contemporary art work, particularly of the cultures of South Florida and Latin America. The NSU Art Museum is based in a 83,000 square-foot building, with a 256-seat auditorium and permanent collection of more than 7,000 works. ### 2010s In 2014, NSU opened a new campus in Puerto Rico, with master and doctoral programs. In April 2015, NSU announced a significant restructuring of its schools and colleges, adopting an all-college framework, to take effect the following July. Two new colleges were established: the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine and the Farquhar Honors College. The inaugural class of the medical school consisted of 53 students, with courses commencing on July 30, 2018. The college became South Florida's fourth traditional (allopathic) medical school. In January 2018, the university opened the NSU Write from the Start Writing and Communication Center in the Alvin Sherman Library on the main campus in Davie. The center offers writing and communication assistance to all NSU students as part of the university's Quality Enhancement Plan, which is part of reaccreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Following a \$50 million donation from the Kiran C Patel Foundation, NSU's Tampa Bay campus was relocated to Clearwater. It now houses the second DO degree program, which accepted its first class in fall 2019, along with several additional allied health programs. George L. Hanbury II is the sixth and current president of Nova Southeastern University, and assumed the position of president in January 2010. ### 2020s In 2020, NSU announced the establishment of the Alan B. Levan NSU Broward Center of Innovation, scheduled to open in July 2021. The \$20 million center will occupy the 54,000 sq ft (5,000 m²) on the fifth floor of NSU's Alvin Sherman Library. In March 2020, NSU received criticism for hosting 150 visitors on campus during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite known cases of confirmed COVID-19 on campus at the time. Two weeks prior, six cases were identified in individuals who traveled to Ireland as part of a school-affiliated trip. In July 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs found more than 80 women were subject to pay disparities compared with male colleagues; the university agreed to pay \$900,000 in back pay. ## Campuses Nova Southeastern University has a main campus located in Davie, Florida, with several branch campuses throughout the state, and one in Puerto Rico. ### Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus The main campus consists of 314 acres and is located in Davie, Florida. The main campus includes administrative offices, classroom facilities, library facilities (including the Alvin Sherman Library), health clinics, mental health clinics, Don Taft University Center, residence halls, cafeterias, computer labs, the bookstore, athletic facilities, and parking facilities. The Alvin Sherman Library, Research, and Information Technology Center was opened to the public in December 2001, and offers workshops on a variety of topics each semester online and at NSU campuses. The Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography operates at both the main campus and an additional campus at the entrance to Port Everglades. The campus is home to both the College of Osteopathic Medicine, which confers the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) degree, and the College of Allopathic Medicine, which confers the Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree. This makes Nova Southeastern the first institution in the Southeast to grant both M.D. and D.O. medical degrees. In 2016, the Collaborative Research opened in a 215,000 square foot facility. In 2018, construction began on a 500-600 unit undergraduate residence with an additional parkade structure on campus. The College of Psychology and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences are based in the Maltz building on the Davie campus. In 2021, HCA Florida University Hospital, along with a new medical office building and a new parking structure, opened adjacent to the main campus. #### NSU University School The main campus hosts the NSU University School. The University School is a fully accredited, independent, college preparatory school that serves grades pre-kindergarten through grade 12, and is located on the Davie campus. This school, often referred to as just the "University School", is organized into three academic sections: lower, middle, and upper schools. These represent, respectively, elementary, middle and high school divisions within the school. ### Dania Beach Oceanographic campus The Dania Beach campus is located on 10 acres in the Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park and houses the Oceanographic Center. The Dania Beach campus includes the Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research. Completed in 2012 at a cost of US\$50 million, the center is the largest research facility dedicated to studying coral reefs in the United States. ### North Miami Beach campus The North Miami Beach campus, also known as the Southern campus, is located on 18 acres (7.3 ha) and serves as the main location for the Abraham S. Fischler College of Education. The College of Education is named after Abraham S. Fischler, who served as the second president of Nova University (prior to merging with Southeastern University). The Special Needs Dentistry Clinic moved to the North Miami Beach campus in 2013. ### Tampa Bay regional campus The Tampa Bay regional campus is a newly constructed 27-acre, 325,000 square foot campus located in Clearwater, Florida. Construction began in March 2018 and was completed in August 2019. The Drs. Kiran and Pallavi Patel Family Foundation committed to a \$200 million donation to support the development of the campus. The former Tampa Bay regional campus was previously located in Brandon, Florida. Approximately 1,200 students will be registered for classes during the Fall 2019 semester. The university expressed plans to offer additional programs at the Tampa Bay campus, including osteopathic medicine, anesthesiologist assistant, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and nursing. ### Student education centers Nova Southeastern operates student education centers and satellite campuses in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miramar, Miami-Kendall Orlando, Palm Beach-Palm Beach Gardens, Tampa Bay-Clearwater, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. These centers provide computer labs, videoconferencing equipment, and other resources for distance students, who are not located near the main campus. ## Academics Through its 15 colleges, the university awards associate, bachelor's, master's, doctoral, and professional degrees. The university offers 33 degrees at the doctoral level and master's degrees are offered in 52 subjects. About 175 programs of study are offered, with more than 250 majors. Additional programs of study include engineering and computing, arts, humanities and social sciences. Several degrees are offered online (distance education). NSU maintains a Health Professions Division, currently composed of eight colleges, including two accredited medical schools. The College of Osteopathic Medicine operates the Center for Bioterrorism and All-Hazards Preparedness (CBAP), which is one of six training centers in the US funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration. Through the respective colleges, residency training is offered in medicine, dentistry and optometry. ### Institutes and centers In addition to its colleges, NSU has various other centers and institutes. NSU offers programs for families on parenting, preschool, primary education, and secondary education, which are provided through the Mailman Segal Institute for Early Childhood Studies. The Institute for Neuro Immune Medicine is located on both the main campus in Ft. Lauderdale and on the Kendall campus. This center aims to advance the science of treatment for individuals with neuro-inflammatory diseases via integration of education, research, and patient care. ### Accreditation The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and also has numerous additional specialized accreditations for its colleges and programs. The Center for Psychological Studies is accredited by the American Psychological Association and recognized by the Florida Department of Education. The NSU University School is accredited by AdvancED and recognized by the Florida Kindergarten Council and the Florida Council of Independent Schools. The College of Allopathic Medicine received Preliminary Accreditation by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) on October 10, 2017, becoming the eighth M.D. degree granting medical school in Florida, with full accreditation on February 22, 2023. The business school is accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. ### Rankings NSU is ranked by the Washington Monthly as the 391st best national university. In 2015, NSU was ranked by The Economist at 290 of 1,275 colleges based on income of graduate, compared to expected income. In 2015, NSU was ranked 9th for diversity by U.S. News & World Report. In 2016, NSU was selected as one of 20 global universities by the Times Higher Education and World University that could challenge the elite and become a world renowned university by 2030. In 2019, NSU ranked 22nd in number of professional doctoral degrees awarded to minorities in the US. In 2000 and in 2014, Nova Southeastern University was ranked 3rd for highest total debt burden amongst its students. ## Student life In Fall 2019, 20,576 students were attending Nova Southeastern University, including undergraduates, graduate students, and professional programs. About 71% of undergraduate students are female, and 29% are male. The average student age is 22 years, and 25% are from out-of-state, while the remaining 75% of students are from Florida. About 36% of students are Hispanic/Latino, 27% are White/non-Hispanic, 14% are black/African American, 11% are Asian, 3% identify as two or more races/ethnicities, and 4% of students are of unknown ethnicity. About 49% of students attend classes at the Davie Campus, whereas 30% attend class at other campuses and 21% take courses online. The North Miami Beach Campus accounts for about 5% of the student population. The university is a designated Hispanic-serving institution, a federal grant program for institutions whose student body is at least 25% Hispanic/Latino. ### Organizations There are over 100 clubs and organizations on campus for students. There are a total of 20 student government associations that form PanSGA with the addition of the College of Allopathic Medicine. The Nova Southeastern's Undergraduate Student Government Association is the primary organization for the government of the undergraduate student body. About 9-10% of students participate in the Greek Life system through a fraternity or sorority. There are a total of five fraternities on the campus and six sororities on the campus. The school's student-run newspaper, The Current, is published weekly. There is also a school-sponsored, student-run radio station called "WNSU Radio X", which broadcasts in the evenings and weekends on 88.5 FM WKPX, a station owned by Broward County Public Schools. Radio X is a student-run radio station which was established in 1990 and began broadcasting over WKPX in 1998. Sharks United Television (SUTV) is a student-run media outlet at NSU. ### Housing About 26% of students at NSU live in university owned or operated housing. The newest residence hall is the Rolling Hills Apartments, which opened in 2008. Rolling Hills Apartments is a renovated residence hall that was originally the "Best Western Rolling Hills Resort." This residence hall is for graduate and doctoral students. The oldest dorms, Farquhar, Founders, and Vettel, each house 55 students and were named in 1975 for founders of Nova University. Opened in August 2019, Mako Hall holds apartment style living accommodations with individual kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom on campus. ### Student series Several projects have been established that allow students to voluntarily listen to speakers brought in from outside the campus. The Farquhar Honors College hosts the Distinguished Speakers Series, which brings experts and notable persons from diverse fields to the campus. Past speakers have included Salman Rushdie, Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Spike Lee, Maziar Bahari, Bob Woodward, Elie Wiesel, Paul Bremer, Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Desmond Tutu, and Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama. The Life 101 series brings leaders from business, entertainment, politics and athletics to Nova Southeastern University to share their life accomplishments and "life lessons" learned. Past speakers have included Dwayne Johnson, Wayne Huizenga, Vanessa L. Williams, Dan Abrams, Jason Taylor, Michael Phelps, James Earl Jones, and Alyssa Milano. ## Athletics The Nova Southeastern (NSU) athletic teams are called the Sharks. The university is a member of the NCAA Division II ranks, primarily competing in the Sunshine State Conference (SSC) since the 2002–03 academic year. The Sharks previously competed in the Florida Sun Conference (FSC; now currently known as the Sun Conference since the 2008–09 school year) of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) from 1990–91 to 2001–02. NSU competes in 16 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, swimming & diving and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field and volleyball. Former sports included women's rowing until after the 2019–20 school year. ### Accomplishments Since joining the NCAA in 2002, the NSU Sharks have produced several NCAA All-Region selections and NCAA All-Americans, and have been nationally ranked in numerous sports. The NSU Sharks have won four straight championships in women's golf from 2009 to 2012. In 2016, for the first time in school history, the NSU baseball team won the Division II National Championship. ### Nickname Many athletic events at NSU take place at University Center Arena. In 2005, students voted for a new school mascot, and the student body selected the Sharks. NSU's athletic teams had previously been known as the Knights. ## Notable alumni NSU has produced over 170,000 alumni, who live in all 50 US states and over 116 countries worldwide. Alumni work in various fields, including academia, government, research, and professional sports. Prominent alumni include Major League Baseball player J.D. Martinez of the Boston Red Sox, Isabel Saint Malo, the former Vice President of Panama, Marilyn Mailman Segal, prominent child psychologist, Ivy Dumont, first female Governor-General of the Bahamas, Tyler Cymet, internist, Cathy Areu, author and journalist, Somy Ali, former Bollywood actress and activist, Geisha Williams, former CEO of PG&E, Kristine Lefebvre, lawyer and contestant on The Apprentice, Scott W. Rothstein, lawyer, Syra Madad, epidemiologist and infectious disease control expert and, and Dr. Will Kirby, a dermatologist and television personality. ## Research Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". One notable area of NSU's research looks at the impact of sharks on the health of the ocean. NSU also has its research on other various fields such as biotechnology, life sciences, environment and social sciences. NSU faculty are funded by extramural grants of over \$107 million for various projects to advance research works, academics. Their projects include basic, applied and clinical research projects on drug discoveries, mental health disorders oceanic studies. ## Gallery ## See also - Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida - Workers Unionization Strike & Controversy

The Backrooms

Internet urban legend

The Backrooms are an online urban legend originating from a creepypasta posted on a 2019 4chan thread. One of the most well-known examples of the Internet aesthetic of liminal spaces, which depicts usually busy locations as unnaturally empty, the Backrooms was first described as a maze of empty office rooms that can only be entered by "noclipping out of reality". As its popularity grew, internet users expanded upon the original concept by creating different levels and entities which inhabit the Backrooms. Fan-made video games, collaborative fiction wikis and YouTube videos have also been created: a series of horror shorts created by YouTuber Kane Parsons in 2022 is credited with popularizing Backrooms content on the mainstream internet, and he is slated to direct a film adaptation of his Backrooms videos. ## Original creepypasta On May 12, 2019, an anonymous user started a thread on /x/, 4chan's paranormal-themed board, asking users to "post disquieting images that just feel 'off'". One of the posts was the original photo of the Backrooms: a picture of a large carpeted, open room with yellow wallpaper and fluorescent lighting on a Dutch angle. It is not known where the photo was taken, but it appeared in an earlier thread on April 21, 2018. Another user replied to this post with the first description of the Backrooms: > If you're not careful and you noclip out of reality in the wrong areas, you'll end up in the Backrooms, where it's nothing but the stink of old moist carpet, the madness of mono-yellow, the endless background noise of fluorescent lights at maximum hum-buzz, and approximately six hundred million square miles of randomly segmented empty rooms to be trapped in > God save you if you hear something wandering around nearby, because it sure as hell has heard you ## Growth and fandom Days after the original creepypasta, users began to share stories about the Backrooms on subreddits such as r/creepypasta and later r/backrooms. A fandom began to develop around the Backrooms and creators expanded upon the original iteration of the creepypasta by creating additional floors or "levels" and entities which populate them. Happy Mag noted in particular two other levels: Level 1, a level with industrial architecture, and Level 2, a darkly lit level with long service tunnels, with the original version named Level 0. As new levels were devised in r/backrooms, a faction of fans who preferred the original Backrooms split off from the fandom. A Reddit user named Litbeep created another subreddit called r/TrueBackrooms focusing only on the original version. ABC News said that unlike fandoms surrounding existing properties, the lack of a canonical Backrooms made "drawing a line between authentic storytelling and jokes" difficult. By March 2022, r/backrooms had over 157,000 members. The fandom steadily expanded onto other platforms with the upload of videos on Twitter and TikTok. Wikis hosted on Fandom and Wikidot dedicated to the Backrooms lore were established. Dan Erickson, creator of the television series Severance (2022), named the Backrooms as one of his many influences while working on the series. ## Reception Some sources believe the Backrooms to have been the origin of the internet aesthetic of liminal spaces, which depict usually busy locations as unnaturally empty. The \#liminalspaces hashtag has amassed nearly 100 million views on TikTok. A TikTok trend of videos that zoom in on Google Earth to reveal an entrance to the Backrooms have grown popular. PC Gamer compared the Backrooms' various levels to H. P. Lovecraft's R'lyeh and The City in the manga Blame!, describing it as "an uncanny valley of place". ABC News and Le Monde grouped the Backrooms into an "emerging genre of collaborative online horror" which also includes the SCP Foundation. Kotaku said that this collaborative aspect, as well as the lack of overt horror or threat, made the Backrooms stand out from other creepypastas. Both Kotaku and Tama Leaver, professor of internet studies at Curtin University, felt that the Backrooms was scary "because [it invites] you to interpret what's not shown". While Leaver believed that the "eerie feeling of familiarity" helped draw fans together, Kotaku said that the horror was in part derived from the subtle "wrongness" present in liminal spaces. ## Adaptations ### YouTube In January 2022, a short horror film titled The Backrooms (Found Footage) was uploaded to YouTube. Created by then-16-year-old Kane Parsons of Northern California, known online as Kane Pixels, it is presented as a VHS tape recorded by a filmmaker who accidentally enters the Backrooms in the 1990s and is pursued by a monster. Parsons used the software Blender and Adobe After Effects to create the environment of the Backrooms, and it took him a month to complete it. He described the Backrooms as a manifestation of a poorly remembered recollection of the late 90s and early 2000s. The video has over 51 million views as of August 2023. The short was praised by the fandom and received positive reviews from critics. WPST called it "the scariest video on the Internet". Otaku USA categorized it as analog horror, while Dread Central and Nerdist compared it favorably to the 2019 video game Control. Kotaku praised the series for exercising restraint in its horror and mystery. Boing Boing's Rob Beschizza predicted that the Backrooms, like the creepypasta Slender Man and its panned 2018 film adaptation, would eventually be adapted into a "slick but dismal 2-hour Hollywood movie." Expanding his videos into a series of eighteen shorts, Parsons introduced plot aspects such as ASYNC, an organization which opened a portal into the Backrooms in the 1980s and conducted research within it. The series has collectively garnered over 100 million views. It is also credited with lifting the Backrooms from obscurity into the mainstream internet and causing a surge in Backrooms content, particularly on YouTube. For his shorts, Parsons received a Creator Honors at the 2022 Streamy Awards from The Game Theorists. ### Film adaptation On February 6, 2023, A24 announced that they are working on a film adaptation of the Backrooms based on Parsons' videos, with Parsons directing. Roberto Patino is set to write the screenplay, while James Wan, Michael Clear from Atomic Monster, Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, and Dan Levine of 21 Laps are set to produce. ### Video games The Backrooms have been adapted into numerous video games, including on the platforms Steam and Roblox. An indie game was released by Pie on a Plate Productions two months after the original creepypasta, and was positively reviewed for its atmosphere but received criticism for its short length. Many others, such as Enter the Backrooms, Noclipped and The Backrooms Project, were released in the following years. Co-op multiplayer Escape the Backrooms by Fancy Games was praised by Bloody Disgusting for its depiction of the extended lore, while The Backrooms 1998 (both 2022), a psychological survival horror game independently released by one-person developer Steelkrill Studio, was noted by reviewers for its found footage visuals and limited save system. ## See also - List of creepypastas

The Boat Race 1864

The 21st Boat Race, an annual side-by-side rowing race between crews from the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge along the River Thames, took place on 14 March 1864. Umpired by Joseph William Chitty, Oxford won by nine lengths in a time of 21 minutes 4 seconds, the fastest winning time since the event was held on The Championship Course in 1845. The race, whose start was moved in order to avoid interruptions from river traffic, was witnessed by the Prince of Wales. ## Background The Boat Race is a side-by-side rowing competition between the University of Oxford (sometimes referred to as the "Dark Blues") and the University of Cambridge (sometimes referred to as the "Light Blues"). The race was first held in 1829, and since 1845 has taken place on the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Championship Course on the River Thames in southwest London. The rivalry is a major point of honour between the two universities and followed throughout the United Kingdom and worldwide. Oxford went into the race as reigning champions, having won the 1863 race by ten lengths, with the overall record tied on ten victories each. The location of the start of the race was moved to approximately 400 feet (122 m) upstream of Putney Bridge in order to reduce interruptions to the race from steamers. Indeed, both boat club presidents had issued a caution to the steamer captains, indicating that the race would be conducted on the ebb tide should any interruption take place which would risk the steamers becoming grounded at Mortlake. The finish was moved the corresponding distance upstream to maintain the traditional length of the race. Oxford rowed in the same boat as the previous race, which was constructed by J. and S. Salter while Cambridge utilised a new vessel built for them by Taylor of Newcastle. Oxford were coached by George Morrison who had rowed in the 1859, 1860 and 1861 races and was non-rowing president for the 1862 race. The race was umpired by Joseph William Chitty who had rowed for Oxford twice in 1849 (in the March and December races) and the 1852 race, while the starter was Edward Searle. ## Crews The Cambridge crew weighed an average of 11 st 11.5 lb (74.9 kg), 4 pounds (1.8 kg) per rower more than their Dark Blue opposition. Cambridge's crew, however, was tall, averaging over per rower. Oxford's crew contained three rowers from the previous years race in William Awdry, F. H. Kelly and W. B. R. Jacobson. The Cambridge boat also saw three participants from the 1863 race: bow John Hawkshaw, number five Robert Kinglake and cox Francis Archer (who had also coxed the Light Blues in the 1862 race) returned. ## Race The weather on the day of the race was sunny with a mild breeze. The Prince of Wales, future King of the United Kingdom Edward VII was in attendance; as a result, the start time was moved forward to enable the Prince to leave for another engagement. Oxford were pre-race favourites, and won the toss, electing to start from the Middlesex station, handing the Surrey side of the river to Cambridge. The Cantabrigians made the better start, and soon led by a third of a length. However, by Finch's field, Oxford had recovered to draw level and started to leave the Light Blues behind. Half a mile into the course, the Dark Blues held a half-length lead which they extended to a length by Craven Cottage. With a clear water advantage, they crossed in front of Cambridge and were three lengths ahead by the Crab Tree pub, extending to "four or five lengths" by Hammersmith Bridge. They were so far ahead at Barnes Bridge their advantage in lengths was impossible "to be accurately counted". Misinterpreting the position of the finish line, the Oxford crew stopped rowing early, but once aware of their mistake, rowed on to the finish, winning by nine lengths in a time of 21 minutes 4 seconds. It was their fourth consecutive victory and was, at the time, the fastest winning time in the history of the event.

Body Count (band)

American heavy metal band

Body Count is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1990. The group is fronted by Ice-T, who first established himself as a rapper but co-founded the group with lead guitarist Ernie C out of their interest in heavy metal music. Ice-T took on the role of vocalist and writing the lyrics for most of Body Count's songs, while Ernie C has been responsible for writing the group's music. Body Count's self-titled debut album was released on Sire Records in 1992, and garnered much attention due to a controversy around the song "Cop Killer". Their label, Sire Records, and their parent company, Warner Bros. Records, defended the song; however Ice-T chose to remove it from the album because he felt that the controversy had eclipsed the music itself. The group left Sire the following year, and they have since released six more albums. Three out of the band's original seven members are deceased: D-Roc died from lymphoma, Beatmaster V from leukemia, and Mooseman in a drive-by shooting. Body Count's current lineup includes vocalist Ice-T, guitarists Ernie C and Juan Garcia, bassist Vincent Price, drummer Will "Ill Will" Dorsey Jr., and backing vocalists Sean E Sean and Little Ice (Ice-T's son). The band received their second Grammy nomination and later won the award at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in 2021 for Best Metal Performance with their song "Bum Rush" from the album Carnivore. ## History ### Pre-formation (1990–1991) Ice-T's interest in heavy metal stemmed from sharing a room with his cousin Earl, who was a fan of rock music and only listened to the local rock stations. Ice-T particularly enjoyed heavy metal, citing Edgar Winter, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath as his favorite bands. Ice-T attended Crenshaw High School, where a few classmates shared his interest in the genre, including musicians Ernie C, D-Roc the Executioner, Beatmaster V, and Mooseman. Ice-T began a solo career as a rapper, and later decided to form Body Count with these friends. The earliest formation of Body Count was in 1989 when Ice-T had Ernie C, Mooseman, and Beatmaster V participated in live instrumentation on Ice-T's album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say!. They did live instrumentation on the tracks The Girl Tried To Kill Me, Hit The Deck, and What Ya Wanna Do? Ice-T co-wrote the band's music and lyrics with lead guitarist Ernie C, and took on the duties of lead vocalist, even though he felt that he did not have a great singing voice. The original line-up consisted of D-Roc on rhythm guitar, Beatmaster V on drums and Mooseman on bass. ### Touring and debut album (1991–1992) Ice-T introduced the band at Lollapalooza in 1991, devoting half of his set to his hip hop songs, and half to Body Count songs, increasing his appeal with both alternative music fans and middle-class teenagers. Some considered the Body Count performances to be the highlight of the tour. The group made its first album appearance on Ice-T's 1991 solo album O.G. Original Gangster. The song, "Body Count", was preceded by a spoken introduction in which Ice-T responds to allegations that he had "sold out" by incorporating rock elements into his rap albums by pointing out that rock music originated with African-American artists such as Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley and Little Richard, in addition to stating that "as far as I'm concerned, music is music. I don't look at it as rock, R&B, or all that kind of stuff. I just look at it as music. [...] I do what I like and I happen to like rock 'n' roll, and I feel sorry for anybody who only listens to one form of music". Body Count's self-titled debut album was released on Sire/Warner Bros. Records on March 31, 1992. On the strength of the album, Body Count toured internationally, developing a strong following. When the group performed in Milan, Italy, some of the punks in the crowd began spitting at Ernie C. Ice-T attempted to calm the situation by telling the crowd not to spit, but the spitting continued. As the band prepared to play "Cop Killer", Ice-T identified an audience member who spit in his direction; Ice-T responded by rushing into the crowd and punching the spitter. As the band began to play, some of the audience began fighting with Ice-T. Body Count escaped the crowd mid-song, and the promoter immediately shut the concert down. Outside the venue, angry audience members trashed the band's tour bus. The band hailed a taxicab, but its driver abandoned the cab when the mob surrounded the taxi and shot at it, leading the promoter, representing Body Count, to steal the taxi in order to escape, abandoning it and their tour coats a mile away from the venue. The promoters representant was Rolf Stahlhofen, who later became the singer of the German multiplatinum selling band Söhne Mannheims. They hailed another cab, and the driver attempted to take them back to the venue until the band screamed at the driver to take them to the hotel. The incident was the subject of much controversy and coverage on Italian television. The band appeared on a Milan radio station, where the disc jockey told his audience, "Some clowns tried to ruin his concert. We should be angry at them. Ice-T is a guest in our country, we invited him to do all these sold-out shows, and we love him!" Several Italian fans apologized for the behavior of the Milan audience. ### Controversy over the song Cop Killer (1992) The song "Cop Killer", intended to criticize corrupt police officers, encountered controversy, as it was seen as an attack against the entire police force. According to Ice-T, "I thought I was safe. I thought within the world of rock'n'roll, you could be free to write what you want. Hell, I was listening to Talking Heads singin' 'Psycho Killer'. Fuck it, I'll make 'Cop Killer'! But, that was the cross of metal with something that was real. Now we're not just killing your family, we're killing somebody so real that everybody just went, 'oh shit'". The Dallas Police Association and the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas launched a campaign to force Warner Bros. Records to withdraw the album. Within a week, they were joined by police organizations across the United States. Some critics argued that the song could cause crime and violence. Many defended the song on the basis of the group's right to freedom of speech. In The Ice Opinion: Who Gives a Fuck, Ice-T wrote that "The people who did have a platform were way off backing me on the First Amendment. That's not where all the anger should have been directed. The anger should have been generated back at the police. [...] Because people jumped on the wrong issue they were able to drive this thing totally through Warner Brothers." Over the next month, controversy against the band grew. Vice President Dan Quayle branded "Cop Killer" as being "obscene", and President George H.W. Bush publicly denounced any record company that would release such a product. At a Time-Warner shareholders' meeting, actor Charlton Heston stood and read lyrics from the song "KKK Bitch" to an astonished audience and demanded that the company take action. The criticism escalated to the point where death threats were sent to Time-Warner executives, and shareholders threatened to pull out of the company. Finally, Ice-T decided to remove "Cop Killer" from the album of his own volition. In an interview, Ice-T stated that "I didn't want my band to get pigeon-holed as that's the only reason that record sold. It just got outta hand and I was just tired of hearing it. I said, 'fuck it,' I mean they're saying we did it for money, and we didn't. I'd gave the record away, ya know, let's move on, let's get back to real issues, not a record but the cops that are out there killing people." "Cop Killer" was replaced by a new version of "Freedom of Speech", a song from Ice-T's 1989 solo album The Iceberg/Freedom of Speech... Just Watch What You Say!. The song was re-edited and remixed to give it a more rock-oriented sound. Ice-T left Warner Bros. Records the following year because of disputes over the Ice-T solo album Home Invasion, taking Body Count with him. Despite the controversy, the album received some praise, including A− reviews from Entertainment Weekly and The Village Voice, who later ranked the album among their list of The 40 Best Albums of 1992. Variety reported that the album had sold 480,000 copies by January 29, 1993. ### Continued albums: Born Dead, Violent Demise and Murder 4 Hire (1993–2008) In 1993, Body Count recorded a cover of "Hey Joe" for the Jimi Hendrix tribute album Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. The band released their second album, Born Dead in 1994 on Virgin Records. Prior to the recording of Body Count's third album Violent Demise: The Last Days (1997), bassist Mooseman left the group and was replaced by Griz. Drummer Beatmaster V died of leukemia soon after the album was completed, and a new drummer named O.T. filled in the position. Bassist Griz left the band later on, and in the meanwhile, former bassist Mooseman was shot in a drive-by shooting in February 2001 after recording an album and preparing for another tour with Iggy Pop in his band the Trolls. In late 2004, rhythm guitarist D-Roc died due to complications from lymphoma, leaving only Ice-T and Ernie C from the original line-up. Ice-T has stated that "For me, honestly, after something like that, you can either come to a dead stop or you can go on. [...] It was so emotional. We were in the middle of making a new record together and he goes and dies? It was like, 'damn!' Soon enough, though, everybody was like, 'c'mon c'mon you gotta do it.' It was make-or-break. The key essence of Body Count is it's a band made up of friends. It's not about going out and hiring the best drummer or the best guitarist. If we don't know you, you can't be in the band." In July 2006, Body Count released their fourth album, Murder 4 Hire on the indie record label Escapi Music. Its album cover, featuring Uncle Sam holding a cardboard sign reading "Will Kill for Money", compares the United States military to contract killers. The then-line-up included drummer O.T., bassist Vincent Price and rhythm guitarist Bendrix. The band then took an extended hiatus for a couple of years; in regards to the future of Body Count, Ernie C stated, "We will carry on the band. I don't know if it will be Body Count, but in some form, Ice and I will always play together." ### Hiatus, Gears of War 3 soundtrack (2009–2012) The band's presence between after 2009 was sporadic: On September 6, 2009, Body Count made an appearance at the Vans Warped Tour 15th-anniversary party at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. The group played a 20-minute set, covered Slayer, and closed with their controversial classic "Cop Killer". Also on the bill were NOFX, Katy Perry, Pennywise, Bad Religion and Rise Against. Mike Sullivan of ExploreMusic caught up with Ernie C at the 2010 edition of the Vans Warped Tour. While briefly chatting, Ernie C divulged that the band was recording its fifth studio album. Body Count wrote an exclusive song, "The Gears of War", for the video game Gears of War 3, and performed it at a party promoting the game. ### Resurgence: Manslaughter, Bloodlust, Carnivore and Merciless (2013–present) On December 9, 2012, Ice-T announced on Twitter that Body Count would begin production on a fifth studio album in January 2013. The following day, Ice-T revealed that Body Count has signed with Sumerian Records. Ice-T suggested that the album was going to be titled Rise! or Manslaughter. On May 10, 2013, Ice-T announced that work on the fifth studio album had begun and that it would be titled Manslaughter. The album was released on June 10, 2014. On May 13, 2014, Ice-T played the song "Talk Shit, Get Shot" as a teaser for the new album. Their sixth album, titled Bloodlust, was released in March 2017 via Century Media Records. On December 28, 2016, Ice-T posted a preview of the first single "No Lives Matter" to Twitter. Guest musicians confirmed to appear on the album are Max Cavalera, Randy Blythe and Dave Mustaine. Upon the release of Bloodlust, it was confirmed that Ice T's son Tracy Marrow Jr, aka Little Ice, is now a part of the band, performing backing vocals. In May 2018, Ice-T revealed to Loudwire that Body Count would enter the studio around September to start recording tracks for their seventh studio album Carnivore. On the meaning of the album title, the rapper said, "It's basically: 'Fuck vegans.' We figure, anything carnivorous pretty much kicks ass. We're carnivorous! I'm not [really] saying 'Fuck vegans.' Everyone's so pussy right now, [so] we're carnivores". The recording sessions began in April 2019. The title track was released as the first single on December 13. The album was released on March 6, 2020. On June 22, 2021, Body Count announced on their Facebook page that they had started work on their eighth studio album Merciless. ## Style ### Lyrics Ice-T's lyrics focus on reality-based themes, including gang life, because he felt it would be scarier than the fantasy-based horror themes of most heavy metal bands. The band's third album, Violent Demise: The Last Days, featured album cover art depicting the hand signs of these gangs. According to Ice-T, "We named the group Body Count because every Sunday night in L.A., I'd watch the news, and the newscasters would tally up the youths killed in gang homicides that week and then just segue to sports. 'Is that all I am,' I thought, 'a body count?'" When the band's debut album was released, Ice-T defined it as being "a rock album with a rap mentality". Like Ice-T's hip hop albums, the group's material focused on various social and political issues, with songs focusing on topics ranging from police brutality to drug abuse. Ernie C has stated that "We were just a band that played the songs that we knew how to write. Everybody writes about whatever they learned growing up, and we were no exception. Like the Beach Boys sing about the beach, we sing about the way we grew up." While a good portion of Body Count's lyrics are current issues, Ice-T notes that he also considers Body Count "grindhouse", and that some of the songs are humorous exaggerations of violence; he also expects fans to be able to tell the difference. ### Music Body Count's musical style derives from the dark, ominous tones of traditional heavy metal bands such as Black Sabbath and thrash metal bands such as Slayer, as well as hardcore punk's aggressiveness. According to Ernie C, "We wanted to be a big punk band [...] Our first record is almost a punk record." The presence of a rapper in a heavy metal band has been credited for paving the way for the rise of rap metal and nu metal, even though Ice-T does not rap in most Body Count songs and considers it to solely be a rock band. According to Ernie C, "A lot of rappers want to be in a rock band, but it has to be done sincerely. You can't just get anybody on guitar and expect it to work. [...] Ice and I, on the other hand, really loved the music we were doing, and it showed." ## Members Current - Ice-T – lead vocals (1990–present) - Ernie C – lead guitar, backing vocals (1990–present) - Sean E Sean – turntables, sampler, keyboards, backing vocals (1990–2001, 2008–present) - Vincent Price – bass guitar, vocals (2001–present) - Ill Will – drums (2008–present) - Juan of the Dead – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2013–present) - Little Ice – hype man, backing vocals (2016–present) Former - Beatmaster V – drums (1990–1996; died 1996) - Mooseman – bass, backing vocals (1990–1996; died 2001) - Sean E. Mac – hype man, backing vocals (1990–2001) - D-Roc the Executioner – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (1990–2004; died 2004) - Jonathon "the Kidd" James – drums (1996) - Griz – bass, backing vocals (1996–2001) - O. T. – drums (1996–2008) - Bendrix – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2004–2013) ### Timeline ## Discography ### Studio albums ### Singles ## Videos DVD - Murder 4 Hire (2004) - Live in L.A. (2005) - Smoke Out Festival Presents: Body Count (2005) Music videos - The Winner Loses (1992) - There Goes the Neighborhood (1992) - Body Count's in the House (1992) - Hey Joe (1993) - Born Dead (1994) - Necessary Evil (1994) - Medley: Masters of Revenge/Killin' Floor/Drive By/Street Lobotomy (1994) - I Used to Love Her (1997) - Relationships (2006) - Talk Shit, Get Shot (2014) - Institutionalized 2014 (2015) - No Lives Matter (2017) - Black Hoodie (2017) - Here I Go Again (2017) - Raining in Blood / Postmortem 2017 (2017) - The Ski Mask Way (2017) - This Is Why We Ride (2017) - All Love Is Lost (2018) - Bum-Rush (2020) - Point the Finger (2020) - Thee Critical Beatdown (2020) - The Hate Is Real (Version 1) (2021) - The Hate Is Real (Version 2) (2021) ## Awards and nominations ### Grammy Awards

Shalmaneser IV

Shalmaneser IV (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: Salmānu-ašarēd, meaning "Salmānu is foremost") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 783 BC to his death in 773 BC. Shalmaneser was the son and successor of his predecessor, Adad-nirari III, and ruled during a period of Assyrian decline from which few sources survive. As such his reign, other than broad political developments, is poorly known. Shalmaneser's time was marked both by an increase in the power held by Assyrian officials relative to that of the king and Assyria's enemies growing increasingly powerful. Most of Shalmaneser's military efforts were spent warring against the Kingdom of Urartu in the north, which during this time was reaching the peak of its power. ## Biography Shalmaneser IV was the son and successor of Adad-nirari III (r. 811–783 BC), inheriting the throne upon his father's death in 783 BC. The accession of Shalmaneser IV marks the beginning of an obscure period in Assyrian history, from which little information survives. This period also extends throughout the reigns of his two immediate successors, his brothers Ashur-dan III (r. 773–755 BC) and Ashur-nirari V (r. 755–745/744 BC). By the end of Adad-nirari III's reign, the Neo-Assyrian Empire was declining. In particular, the power of the king himself was being threatened due to the emergence of extraordinarily powerful officials, whom while they accepted the authority of the Assyrian monarch in practice acted with supreme authority themselves and began to issue their own inscriptions, similar to those of the kings. This arrangement continued during the reign of Shalmaneser and his immediate successors, a time from which inscriptions from such officials are more common than inscriptions by the kings themselves. At the same time, the enemies of Assyria grew stronger and more serious. This period of Assyrian decline for instance coincided with the peak of the northern Kingdom of Urartu. Only a small number of texts are known from Shalmaneser. No building projects are known from his time, though he is thought to have done some construction work in Assur, the first capital of Assyria. One inscription found near the city Marash in Turkey from 773 BC describes a border confirmation with Ušpilulume, king of Kummuh, made at some point after the conclusion of a campaign against Damascus. The inscription credits the influential general Shamshi-ilu with victory against Damascus and is ambiguous concerning whether it was Shamshu-ilu or Shalmaneser who negotiated with Ušpilulume. At Tell Abta, an archaeological site by Lake Tharthar, a stele has been found, written by the palace herald Bel-harran-beli-usur which describes the foundation of a new city in the desert. The stele unusually gives Bel-harran-beli-usur's name before the name of the incumbent king and also credits the foundation of the new city to him, not to Shalmaneser, indicating great autonomy. Even more curiously, the inscription of the stele, which named the incumbent king as Shalmaneser, was at some point changed to instead refer to the later Tiglath-Pileser III (r. 745–727 BC). Shalmaneser's queen was named Hama. They were married already during the reign of Adad-nirari, as an inscription by Adad-nirari identifies her as his daughter-in-law. Hama's tomb was identified in 2017 by Tracy L. Spurrier at Nimrud, the capital in Shalmaneser's time. Her skeleton indicates that she died very young, aged only 18–20, at some point during Shalmaneser's reign, though the cause of death could not be determined. Buried alongside her were various treasures, including a golden crown, jewelry, gems, gold bowls, bracelets, rings, brooches, pots, stamps, caps, leaves, cups and cylinder seals. Inscriptions from after Shalmaneser's reign that mention him include the Assyrian King List (from which the length of his reign is known), a later royal decree, and a later list of eponyms (year names) that include the eponyms of Shalmaneser's reign. From the list of eponyms, it is known that Shalmaneser campaigned against Urartu from 781 to 776 BC. It is possible that a letter written to the god of Assyria, Ashur, from a king in the obscure time initiated by Shalmaneser IV refers to this campaign but it might alternatively have been written in the reign of his successor. Other campaigns of Shalmaneser recorded in the eponyms include a campaign against Ituʾa, probably a Babylonian city, in 776 BC, a 775 BC campaign to "the cedar mountain", a 774 BC campaign to Namri (in Urartu), and a final 774 BC campaign to Damascus. Though it appears that Shalmaneser's wars against Urartu were not decisive, his western campaigns, such as those against Damascus and presumably the cedar mountain, as well as the border confirmation with Ušpilulume illustrate some success in the west. It is probable that some, or perhaps even all, of the campaigns were actually led by Shamshi-ilu, rather than the king. Shalmaneser died in 773 BC and was succeeded by his brother, Ashur-dan III. ## Titles In the inscription from Marash, Shalmaneser is accorded the following titulature: > Shalmaneser, strong king, king of Assyria, son of Adad-nirari, strong king, king of the Universe, king of Assyria, son of Shamshi-Adad, king of the Four Quarters.

Givors canal

Canal in France

The Givors canal (French: Canal de Givors) was built between 1761 and 1781 to carry coal, other goods and passengers from Rive-de-Gier to Givors on the Rhône, running beside the river Gier. The canal was approved in 1760 and after many problems opened in 1780. The canal was originally 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) long. Goods were loaded on flat barges that could carry several tons. It took about 18 hours for two or three men to pull a barge through the canal. The Givors canal played an important role in the early industrialization of Givors and the Gier valley, and became highly profitable. At its peak, in 1827, the canal transported 332,000 tons. The canal became obsolete when the Saint-Étienne–Lyon railway, the first passenger railway in France, was built in 1828–33 along the same route. In an attempt to compete, in 1839 the canal was extended to 20 kilometres (12 mi) long, with 42 locks to raise or lower boats moving between the sections of level water. Despite the extension, traffic volumes slumped, although the canal was kept open until the start of the 20th century. Little now remains of the canal, which has mostly been covered by the A47 autoroute between Givors and Saint-Étienne. ## Plans The original plan conceived by Alléon de Valcourt in 1749 was to build a canal that would link the upper Loire to the Rhone. The route would run through the Gier basin from Givors on the Rhone most of the way to Saint-Étienne, then through the Saint-Étienne basin to Saint-Just on the Loire. It was sometimes called the Canal des Deux-Mers (Two-Seas Canal) since it would link the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. A more immediate need for a canal covering the section between Givors and Rive-de-Gier emerged in the 1750s, when a cheaper method than pack mules was needed to carry coal to heat houses in Lyon and to fuel the glass works that had been opened in Givors in 1749. In 1751, there were 1,200 mules engaged in carrying the coal from Rive-de-Gier to Givors, from where it was taken by water north to Lyon and south to the towns of the Midi. Lyon was consuming 36,000 tons annually. The coal sold for 5 francs a ton at the mine head and 21.70 francs per ton at the Lyon docks. The watchmaker and engineer François Zacharie proposed to connect the Loire to the Rhone by a navigable canal 56.2 kilometres (34.9 mi) long that would mount the Gier and its tributary the Janon, cross the watershed at Saint-Etienne and descend the Furan to exit on the Loire near Andrézieux. He filed his proposal early in 1758, and had to wait in Paris until 28 July 1760 for a favorable report from the Conseil du Roi. Letters patent were issued to François and Guillaume Zacharie on 6 September 1761 giving them the right to build and then use the canal for forty years, after which it would revert to the crown. They would be responsible for building bridges for the roads cut by the canal and for paying for the lands taken. The letters-patent were not registered in Parliament until 6 June 1768. Zacharie was only authorized to open the channel from Givors as far as Rive-de-Gier, a rise of 80 metres (260 ft). ## Construction Work began on the canal in 1763. When water was let into the first section of the canal in 1764 the side walls of a lock chamber collapsed. Zacharie had to borrow money to continue. In 1766, to satisfy his creditors, he prematurely opened the canal. The water broke the banks and the participants in the ceremony had to scramble to escape. Work was halted with the canal reaching only to Saint-Romain-en-Gier. In 1768, Zacharie died penniless of a heart attack. Zacharie's death threatened to disrupt the project, but King Louis XVI of France was personally interested, and Zacharie's oldest son, Guillaume, was allowed to resume the work. On 14 December 1771, new letters patent were given to Guillaume and his partners, replacing the earlier ones. Under the new terms, all the land needed could be expropriated including two toises, or 3.6 metres (12 ft), of land on either side for tow paths. The builder could take materials wherever they could be found. The king appointed an engineer to oversee construction, and an inspector of roads and bridges, to be paid by the concessionary. The concessionary and his heirs, successors and assigns would enjoy the canal for sixty years before transferring it to the king. He could deploy as many boats as he chose, being paid defined fees for the weight and distance of goods carried, and for passage of empty boats through each lock. Passenger fees were also defined. He could deploy armed guards to enforce regulations. The project continued to run into difficulties with malfunctions, financial problems and threats of work stoppages. New letters patent were issued on 12 August 1779 that doubled the rates and extended the term to ninety-nine years. The concessionary could now also expropriate land for shops, warehouses and housing for employees. The work was complete in May 1780 and was finally opened for navigation from Givors to Rive-de-Gier the following December. The concessionaries reported that they had spent six million francs, but the canal probably cost much more. The canal from Givors to Rive-de-Gier had nine aqueducts and 16 bridges. At Tartaras a tunnel 100 metres (330 ft) long and 5 metres (16 ft) wide had been broken through solid rock. The canal was 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) in length, and had 26 locks, several of them double. It was 1.8 metres (5 ft 11 in) deep, and could accommodate vessels 2.8 metres (9 ft 2 in) high. The maximum length of vessels was 22.5 metres (74 ft) and maximum width 4.65 metres (15.3 ft). ## Operation The canal had to contend with initial opposition from the carters, who used force to prevent coal being taken from the pits to the loading points. However, the canal provided a greatly superior method of transporting coal and was an immediate success. In 1782 it earned 114,000 livres. The Compagnie du canal de Givors was established in December 1788 to take over operations. In letters-patent of December 1788, registered on 5 September 1789, the concession was declared to be permanent. Goods were carried on sicelandes, flat wooden boats about 20 to 22 metres (66 to 72 ft) long that could carry several tons. They were hauled by two or three margoulins, men who walked on the towpaths pulling the barge with a harness over their shoulder. It took about 18 hours to pull a barge through the canal. A marinier stood on the front of the barge steering it with a wooden pole. Lock-keepers operated the locks and helped manoeuver the barges using a boat hook. Porters loaded and unloaded the barges. They were called crocheteurs after the iron hooks that they used to move bales of goods. The combination of the glass works and the canal transformed the sleepy rural village of Givors into an industrial town. The canal and the river both helped Givors distribute its manufactures. By the time the French Revolution began in 1789 Givors had 2,800 inhabitants. Its nodal position, later reinforced by construction of various railways, explains the development of the glass works and later of iron and steel manufacture. In December 1788, King Louis XVI approved construction of a reservoir to supply water to the canal in dry periods. François Zacharie had proposed a site for the reservoir high up near Saint-Etienne, but the chosen site was low down on the river Couzon near to Rive-de-Gier. This short-sighted decision ruled out the plan to continue the canal up to Saint-Etienne and then down to the Loire. The French Revolution (1789–1799) delayed the work, but the Barrage de Couzon (Couzon Dam) was completed in 1809, capable of containing 1,000,000 cubic metres (35,000,000 cu ft) of water. It was modeled on the dam built at Saint-Ferriol for the Midi canal. In 1821, revenue was 816,444 francs, and the company paid a dividend of 555,500 francs. The company was able to raise its rates without reducing traffic. In 1822, the canal earned almost a million francs from carrying 243,200 tons of coal and 96,000 tons of other merchandise. The concession holders had repaid most of the debts they had incurred to build the canal, including many improvements since it was opened, and were able to pay healthy dividends. By 1824, the canal was giving annual revenues of 850,000 francs. An 1824 account described a superb water station at Givors on the right bank of the Rhone, an excellent basin at Rive-de-Gier for loading, fine buildings for administration of the canal and spacious shops and warehouses. In 1827, at its peak, the canal transported 332,000 tons. The main purpose of the canal was still to transport coal to Givors, from where it could be taken to other towns on the river Rhône. On the return trip, boats carried some of the merchandise of the Midi including iron, oak wood and other things needed by the factories of the Loire department. By 1831, the population of Givors had risen to 9,210. There were many factories making window panes, bottles and glasses, and the port had a busy trade in coal shipment. Ten large glass works had been established at Rive-de-Gier that also transported their products by the canal. ## Railway competition The canal's high tariffs and excellent profits attracted interest in building a competing railway. This was a bold venture. Planning for the Saint-Etienne railway preceded the Liverpool and Manchester Railway, opened in 1830, which was used as the prototype by other pioneering railways, so many new technical problems had to be solved. In fact the steep section from Rive-de-Gier to Saint-Etienne was beyond the power of steam traction engines of the day. Construction of the Saint-Étienne–Lyon railway began in September 1826 under the direction of Marc Seguin. The section between Givors and Rive-de-Gier was open for freight traffic on 28 June 1830. The wagons were drawn up the slope by horses. One horse could pull five or six empty wagons at about 3 kilometres per hour (1.9 mph). On the downhill return journey, the horses were placed in wagons, and the 22 kilometres (14 mi) distance could be covered in an hour. In early 1831 the steam locomotive Seguin came into operation, able to tow seven cars loaded with 21 tons or up to 28 empty cars from Givors to Rive-de-Gier in an hour and a half. The full line from Saint-Étienne to Lyon was open for goods and passengers on 4 April 1833. The population was hostile to the railway since it threatened many trades. Trains were derailed and wagons set on fire. In 1835 the poet Guillaume Roquille published his Franco-Provençal language collection Ballon d’essai d’un jeune poète forézien (Trial balloon of a young Forézien poet). He violently attacked the arrival of the Saint-Étienne–Lyon railway, which would ruin the canal on which his father worked as a porter. The canal company responded to competition by lowering rates but still lost business. They had steam boats built in England that could tow barges from Givors to Lyon, avoided the expense of transferring the coal to river boats. On 3 December 1831 a royal ordinance allowed the company to extend the canal west to La Grand-Croix. Work began at once and was completed in 1839. The 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) extension brought the length to 20 kilometres (12 mi) and the number of locks to 42. However, economics were on the side of the railway. An 1836 report noted that coal had never been carried directly from Saint Etienne to Lyon using the canal. It would first have to be carried by land for 18 to 20 kilometres (11 to 12 mi), then for 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) by the canal, and then up the Rhone for 20 to 22 kilometres (12 to 14 mi). With the opening of the railway, all the coal could be carried non-stop by the much cheaper land route. Only the mines of Rive-de-Gier had use for the canal, and for those mines the charges were excessive. ## Obsolescence The canal was leased to the Compagnie des Mines de la Loire on 1 January 1846. Tonnage had fallen from 246,000 tons in 1830 to 172,000 tons in 1840. It rose to 238,000 tons in 1850, then resumed its decline: 146,000 tons in 1860, 82,000 tons in 1870 and 24,000 tons in 1878. Until the end of the 19th century the municipality of Givors held that the canal was essential to development of the town, and that barge traffic was still a viable industry, fighting against closure of the canal and demanding that it remain navigable for its entire length despite mounting evidence that it was obsolete. However, by 1881, it was clear that the canal was in poor shape. The natural shores were eroded and the sides of locks 1–32 needed to be completely rebuilt. From locks 32 to 35 the canal was mostly silted up and in some places had disappeared completely, taken over by vegetable gardens. The industrial development of the Gier valley had its negative aspects. An 1884 writer described the region of Échalas and Saint-Romain-en-Gier, where the country was furrowed by the river, the canal, the railway and the national road. He described the people as the most miserable in the canton of Givors. He said that everything showed this misery: agriculture, roads, houses, church. Work in the mines was the only choice for the poor villagers. An 1885 travel guide mentions the station of Givors-canal on the railway south from Lyon, where the Nîmes line separated from the line to Saint Etienne. The canal then was mainly used by coal barges. The route from Givors-Canal to St. Etienne passed coal mines, large smelting works and iron foundries. The canal company went bankrupt and was bought by the state in 1886. This briefly gave it a new lease of life, but the canal had an obsolete gauge. By the start of the 20th century it was almost abandoned. The canal was neglected and parts were filled in. In the 1970s the A47 autoroute between Givors and Saint-Étienne covered almost all the sections that remained, apart from the site at Tartaras where the double lock and tunnel have been preserved as a heritage site.

Myco-heterotrophy

Symbiotism between certain parasitic plants and fungi

Myco-heterotrophy (from Greek μύκης mykes, "fungus", ἕτερος heteros, "another", "different" and τροφή trophe, "nutrition") is a symbiotic relationship between certain kinds of plants and fungi, in which the plant gets all or part of its food from parasitism upon fungi rather than from photosynthesis. A myco-heterotroph is the parasitic plant partner in this relationship. Myco-heterotrophy is considered a kind of cheating relationship and myco-heterotrophs are sometimes informally referred to as "mycorrhizal cheaters". This relationship is sometimes referred to as mycotrophy, though this term is also used for plants that engage in mutualistic mycorrhizal relationships. ## Relationship between myco-heterotrophs and host fungi Full (or obligate) myco-heterotrophy exists when a non-photosynthetic plant (a plant largely lacking in chlorophyll or otherwise lacking a functional photosystem) gets all of its food from the fungi that it parasitizes. Partial (or facultative) myco-heterotrophy exists when a plant is capable of photosynthesis, but parasitizes fungi as a supplementary food supply. There are also plants, such as some orchid species, that are non-photosynthetic and obligately myco-heterotrophic for part of their life cycle, and photosynthetic and facultatively myco-heterotrophic or non-myco-heterotrophic for the rest of their life cycle. Not all non-photosynthetic or "achlorophyllous" plants are myco-heterotrophic – some non-photosynthetic plants like dodder directly parasitize the vascular tissue of other plants. The partial or full loss of photosynthesis is reflected by extreme physical and functional reductions of plastid genomes in mycoheterophic plants, an ongoing evolutionary process. In the past, non-photosynthetic plants were mistakenly thought to get food by breaking down organic matter in a manner similar to saprotrophic fungi. Such plants were therefore called "saprophytes". It is now known that these plants are not physiologically capable of directly breaking down organic matter and that in order to get food, non-photosynthetic plants must engage in parasitism, either through myco-heterotrophy or direct parasitism of other plants. The interface between the plant and fungal partners in this association is between the roots of the plant and the mycelium of the fungus. Myco-heterotrophy therefore closely resembles mycorrhiza (and indeed is thought to have evolved from mycorrhiza), except that in myco-heterotrophy, the flow of carbon is from the fungus to the plant, rather than vice versa. Most myco-heterotrophs can therefore be seen as ultimately being epiparasites, since they take energy from fungi that in turn get their energy from vascular plants. Indeed, much myco-heterotrophy takes place in the context of common mycorrhizal networks, in which plants use mycorrhizal fungi to exchange carbon and nutrients with other plants. In these systems, myco-heterotrophs play the role of "mycorrhizal cheaters", taking carbon from the common network, with no known reward. A special form of mycoheterotrophic association, which appears to be a chimera between the haustorial parasitism of a parasitic plant and mycoheterotrophy, is observed in Parasitaxus usta, the only mycoheterotrophic gymnosperm. In congruence with older reports, it has been recently shown that some myco-heterotrophic orchids can be supported by saprotrophic fungi, exploiting litter- or wood-decaying fungi. In addition, several green plants (evolutionarily close to myco-heterotrophic species) have been shown to engage in partial myco-heterotrophy, that is, they are able to take carbon from mycorrhizal fungi, in addition to their photosynthetic intake. ## Species diversity of myco-heterotrophs and host fungi Myco-heterotrophs are found among several plant groups, mainly flowering plants. All monotropes and non-photosynthetic orchids are full myco-heterotrophs, as is the non-photosynthetic liverwort Cryptothallus. Partial myco-heterotrophy is common in the Gentian family, with a few genera such as Voyria being fully myco-heterotrophic; in photosynthetic orchids; and in a number of other plant groups. Some ferns and clubmosses have myco-heterotrophic gametophyte stages. The fungi that are parasitized by myco-heterotrophs are typically fungi with large energy reserves to draw on, usually mycorrhizal fungi, though there is some evidence that they may also parasitize parasitic fungi that form extensive mycelial networks, such as Armillaria. Examples of fungi parasitized by myco-heterotrophic plants can be found among the ectomycorrhizal, arbuscular mycorrhizal, and orchid mycorrhizal fungi. The great diversity in unrelated plant families with myco-heterotrophic members, as well as the diversity of fungi targeted by myco-heterotrophs, suggests multiple parallel evolutions of myco-heterotrophs from mycorrhizal ancestors.

Batman: Arkham Knight

2015 video game

Batman: Arkham Knight is a 2015 action-adventure game developed by Rocksteady Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is the successor to the 2013 video game Batman: Arkham Origins, a direct sequel to Batman: Arkham City (2011) and the fourth main installment in the Batman: Arkham series. Written by Sefton Hill, Ian Ball and Martin Lancaster, Arkham Knight is inspired by the long-running comic book mythos. Set nine months after the events of Arkham City, the game's main storyline follows Batman as he confronts Scarecrow, who has launched an attack on Gotham City and caused a citywide evacuation. Scarecrow, with the help of the mysterious Arkham Knight, plots to unite all of Gotham's criminals in an attempt to finally destroy Batman. The game is presented from a third-person perspective, with a primary focus on Batman's melee combat, stealth abilities, detective skills, and gadgets. Batman can freely move around the open world of Gotham City, interacting with characters and undertaking missions, and unlocking new areas by progressing through the main story or obtaining new equipment. The player is able to complete side missions away from the main story to unlock additional content and collectible items. Combat focuses on chaining attacks together against numerous foes while avoiding damage, while stealth allows Batman to conceal himself around an area, using gadgets and the environment to silently eliminate enemies. Arkham Knight introduces the Batmobile as a playable vehicle, which is used for transportation, puzzle solving and combat. Development on Arkham Knight began in 2011 after completion of Arkham City and took place over four years. Rocksteady opted to use its own writers for the main story with collaboration by comic book writer Geoff Johns, choosing to replace Paul Dini who had worked on Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. The introduction of the Batmobile required a change in the team's design methodology, as the previous games' city designs were too narrow and confined to allow smooth travel for the vehicle. Arkham Knight was released worldwide on June 23, 2015 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. The console versions of the game received generally favorable reviews, and was considered to be an improvement over its predecessors but inferior to Arkham city and considered a satisfying conclusion to the franchise. Praise directed at its visuals, gameplay, combat, the cast performances (particularly Conroy’s, Hamil’s and Noble’s) and character and world design, with the most criticism directed at the overuse of the Batmobile and the portrayal of the Arkham Knight character. The Windows version was subject to scathing criticism for technical and performance issues that rendered it unplayable for some users, prompting Warner Bros. to temporarily withdraw it from sale. At release, the game was the fastest-selling game of 2015, and the fastest-selling game in the Arkham series, reaching over 5 million units sold globally by October 2015. The game also received several accolades, including Best Game and Best Action-Adventure Game. It was also featured in many lists of the best video games of 2015 and of the 2010s. A variety of post-release content was released for the game, including story-based missions, challenge maps, and skins for Batman and his allies, different historical Batmobile designs, and racetracks. A continuation of the series, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, is set to release on February 2, 2024, and will serve as Kevin Conroy's final voice performance as Batman following his death in November 2022. ## Gameplay Batman: Arkham Knight is an action-adventure game set within an open world Gotham City, which can be explored freely by the player from the beginning of the game, allowing them to travel seamlessly anywhere within its boundaries. Many of the gadgets and the gameplay elements from the previous Arkham games return, including the grapnel gun, line launcher, batarangs, the countering system, Detective Vision, and the Remote Hacking Device. The Disruptor receives upgrades from previous games, becoming a rifle that can be used to disable or detonate enemy weapons and drone turrets, boobytrap weapon crates to shock enemies who attempt to arm themselves, and tag vehicles for Batman to track. The remote controlled batarang is upgraded as well to include a scanner that can be thrown out to gain additional information on the surrounding area. New gadgets include the Voice Synthesizer, which can be used to imitate other characters' voices such as Harley Quinn and the Arkham Knight to manipulate thugs into traps. The player can fly Batman throughout the city using his cape, with gliding now allowing for faster, longer sustained flights, steeper dives, and higher climbs. Batman can use some gadgets while gliding, such as batarangs or the line-launcher. The grapnel gun can now be used to instantly switch directions during a glide, as well as being fired twice while in the air to chain grappling moves together. The game's "FreeFlow" combat system allows for basic attacks, including strikes, counters, and dodging, which can be combined to keep Batman attacking while moving between enemies, and avoiding being attacked himself. Basic enemies include enemies armed with shields and shock batons, while others are armed with guns, which significantly damage Batman. These enemies can perform a charge and tackle attack only used by larger enemies in previous games; precision-timed dodging, and a batarang can instantly defeat some charging enemies. The system adds the ability to combine attacks on prone enemies without interrupting a combo streak. Batman can counter enemy attacks, and throw them into other enemies for increased damage. Batman is also capable of disarming enemies wielding items like baseball bats, and using the acquired weapon on several foes before it breaks. Arkham Knight introduces "Dual Play," in which players can seamlessly switch control of Batman to one of his allies during certain events of the game: Robin, Nightwing, or Catwoman while in FreeFlow Combat, which the player enters when they have accumulated an uninterrupted combat-streak. Each successful, uninterrupted attack adds to the player's combat score, which carries over between each controlled character, and unlocks double-team takedowns on opponents at higher scores. Arkham Knight introduces enemy medics who can shield enemies in electrified fields and revive unconscious ones, sword-wielding enemies, and brutes who are resistant to damage and must be stunned before they can be attacked; brutes wielding Gatling guns, tasers, and blades require additional steps to defeat. Enemies are capable of employing tactics to counter Batman's various skills, including deploying landmines, controlling hovering drones, disabling vents if Batman is found using them, and detecting his location if Batman uses Detective Vision for too long. Throughout the city, Batman encounters enemy watchtowers, guard posts, aerial drones, and explosive mines embedded in the city streets. Some drones can be hacked and turned against their allies by using the Remote Hacking Device. Arkham Knight introduces the "Fear Takedown," where Batman can subdue up to five enemies simultaneously as long as he remains undetected; time is slowed after each takedown, allowing the player to target the next enemy. Hazardous items such as power generators can be used in combat for environmental attacks. Combat is rewarded with experience points (dubbed "WayneTech points" in game), which are used to unlock gadget abilities, combat moves, and health upgrades. Batman can now access grates from afar, allowing him to roll forward and immediately get under the grate if in range, instead of having to be right on top of them, while also initiating multiple takedowns from within them. Some enemies carry devices capable of blocking Batman's Detective Vision. Arkham Knight features side missions, known as "Most Wanted" missions, which can be attempted at any time and feature prominent characters from the Batman universe. One such character, the Riddler, provides 243 optional "Riddler challenges" to solve. These challenges consist of collecting trophies hidden throughout the city, through the use of gadgets or Batman's car, the Batmobile, to disable traps and barriers, and completing timed races. The player can mark Riddler trophies on the in-game map once found if they do not initially have the necessary equipment to complete the puzzle, and learn of additional locations for collectables by interrogating the Riddler's henchmen. Batman can investigate crimes such as murders, using his Detective Vision to reconstruct the crimes to locate clues and identify the perpetrators, or use his Tissue Scanner to investigate a victim's skin, muscle, and bones for clues. Completing the story mode unlocks a New Game Plus mode, enabling the player to replay the game with all of the gadgets, experience, abilities, and Riddler collectibles that they have obtained. The completion of some tasks is reflected in the Gotham City Police Department, with thugs and supervillains becoming incarcerated, and criminal memorabilia from missions and previous games being collected in the evidence room. ### Batmobile The game introduces the Batmobile as a drivable vehicle. The bulletproof Batmobile can be summoned to the player's location while on foot or, if the player is airborne, summoned to meet Batman as he lands. The vehicle features the ability to perform jumps, speed boosts, rotate on the spot, smash through objects like barricades and trees, and fire missiles that can immobilize enemy vehicles. Batman can eject from the Batmobile and immediately begin gliding around Gotham City. Most enemies will flee at the sight of the vehicle, eliminating the need for Batman to fight them, and enemies attacking the car can be subdued by its automated taser defenses. Like Batman, the Batmobile can be upgraded with new abilities. Riddler challenges also feature objectives requiring the Batmobile, such as timed races in tunnels beneath Gotham City, where the environmental obstacles change during each lap, and invisible question marks that must be revealed using the Batmobile's scanner. The Batmobile has two modes, which can be switched at any time: Pursuit and Battle. Pursuit is for moving from area to area and completing specific driving challenges. In Battle mode, the Batmobile transforms into a tank, allowing a full 360-degree range of movement, including strafing in any direction, while revealing the multiple weapon systems on board, including a Vulcan rotary cannon for quick damage, a 60mm hypervelocity cannon for fire support, anti-tank guided missiles for wide-ranging damage against multiple targets, and a non-lethal riot suppressor. Additional upgrades to the vehicle include increasing the number of anti-tank missiles up to 10, an EMP device, which releases an electric pulse used to temporarily stun enemy drones; and the "drone virus," which allows the player to override the weapon systems of enemy vehicles and cause them to attack each other. The Batmobile can also be controlled remotely, driven within indoor locations, and used in solving the game's puzzles, such as lowering an inaccessible elevator with its attached winch or obtaining a Riddler trophy. The Batwing is used in conjunction with the Batmobile to deliver upgrades. ## Synopsis ### Characters Arkham Knight features a large ensemble cast of characters from the history of Batman comics. The main character is Batman (Kevin Conroy)—a superhero trained to the peak of human physical and mental perfection and an expert in martial arts. He is supported by his allies, Robin (Matthew Mercer), Nightwing (Scott Porter), Catwoman (Grey DeLisle), Barbara Gordon (Ashley Greene)—who assists Batman covertly as the hacker Oracle—and her father police commissioner James Gordon (Jonathan Banks). Batman's loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth (Martin Jarvis) and Wayne Enterprises colleague Lucius Fox (Dave Fennoy) provide Batman with tactical support, and the holy warrior Azrael (Khary Payton) aims to replace Batman as Gotham's protector. Throughout the city, Batman is faced with several supervillains: he must overcome Scarecrow's (John Noble) plot to threaten Gotham City, dismantle the Penguin's (Nolan North) weapon dealing operation, put an end to Two-Face's (Troy Baker) bank heists, conquer the Riddler's (Wally Wingert) challenges, capture the plant-controlling Poison Ivy (Tasia Valenza), and subdue Harley Quinn (Tara Strong), who wants revenge against Batman for the death of the Joker (Mark Hamill), Batman's psychopathic nemesis. The game introduces the Arkham Knight (also voiced by Baker), a new villain created by Rocksteady, DC Comics CCO and comic-book writer Geoff Johns, and DC co-publisher and comic artist Jim Lee. The Arkham Knight is a militarized version of Batman, with the "A" logo of the Arkham Asylum facility worn as an emblem on his chest. Other villains include the pyromaniac Firefly (Crispin Freeman), the beastly Man-Bat (Loren Lester), the assassin mercenary Deathstroke (Mark Rolston), the serial killer Professor Pyg (Dwight Schultz), the religious fanatic Deacon Blackfire (Mark Worden), and Hush (also voiced by Conroy), who is impersonating Batman's alter-ego as Bruce Wayne. Arkham Knight also features appearances and voice cameos by various characters drawn from the history of Batman comics and the previous Arkham games, including pharmaceutical businessman Simon Stagg (Philip Proctor), reporters Vicki Vale (also voiced by DeLisle) and Jack Ryder (James Horan), police officer Aaron Cash (Duane Shepard), corporate businessman Lex Luthor (Keith Silverstein), crimefighter Kate Kane, serial killer Calendar Man, and mutated gangster Killer Croc (Steve Blum), while the game's downloadable content features appearances by Mad Hatter (Peter MacNicol), Black Mask (Brian Bloom), Mr. Freeze (Maurice LaMarche), Ra's al Ghul (Dee Bradley Baker), Nyssa Raatko (Jennifer Hale), and Nora Fries (Cissy Jones). The game also makes references to many characters from the history of Batman and DC Comics. ### Setting Nine months after the death of the Joker during the events of Arkham City, Batman is struggling to come to terms with the absence of his nemesis and the uncomfortable feeling that the pair shared a bond deeper than either could admit. Without the Joker's chaotic presence, Gotham's citizens have never felt safer, and crime in the city has dramatically declined. However, this gives Batman's enemies, including Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, and Harley Quinn, a chance to unite with the singular goal of killing Batman. Having anticipated a new threat, Batman has continued to develop crime-fighting technology and maintain a vigil over the city. On Halloween night, Scarecrow threatens the city with his newly created strain of fear toxin and bombs planted throughout Gotham, forcing the evacuation of the city's six million civilians. Only criminals remain in the city, leaving Commissioner Gordon and the Gotham City Police Department outnumbered. Arkham Knight's Gotham City is approximately five times the scale of the open-air Arkham City prison in Arkham City. The game takes place in the center of the city, which is split into three islands: Bleake, Founders, and Miagani, with various districts such as the neon-tinged Chinatown, and the industrial shipping yard. Bleake Island features shorter buildings, disheveled areas, and abandoned docks, while Founders Island is a modern development of skyscrapers built on the ruins of Gotham slums, and Miagani Island is an older metropolis with Wayne Tower at its center. Oracle has set up her communications headquarters in the Gotham clock tower, which also houses a makeshift Batcave. ### Plot On Halloween, Scarecrow forces the civilian evacuation of Gotham City after threatening to unleash his potent new fear toxin. Batman tracks Scarecrow to a hideout where he rescues the imprisoned Poison Ivy, who had refused to join Batman's other rogues in Scarecrow's plot. Oracle identifies Ace Chemicals as the source of Scarecrow's toxin. Batman investigates the facility and discovers a large militia force being dispatched to occupy Gotham, led by the mysterious "Arkham Knight". Batman locates Scarecrow, who has transformed the entire building into a toxin bomb. Scarecrow reveals that he has kidnapped Oracle before escaping. Exposing himself to the toxin, Batman inhibits the bomb's blast radius before he is confronted by the Joker. A flashback reveals that before the Joker died, his infected blood was used in blood transfusions, infecting five people, including Batman. Concealing his infection, Batman imprisoned the four other patients, who were physically and mentally transforming into the Joker. The Joker, existing as a mental projection produced by the infected blood and fear toxin, frequently appears to taunt Batman and twist his perception of reality. After Batman escapes the exploding Ace Chemicals, he alerts Gordon to his daughter's kidnapping, revealing that she aids his vigilantism. Gordon, feeling betrayed, leaves to find Scarecrow on his own. Batman learns that Scarecrow recruited businessman Simon Stagg to build the "Cloudburst", a mass dispersal device for the fear toxin. Aboard Stagg's airship, Batman finds Scarecrow, but a dose of fear toxin allows the Joker's persona to temporarily assume control of Batman while the Arkham Knight extracts the Cloudburst. Recovering, Batman locates Oracle in Scarecrow's hideout, where he watches her shoot herself in terror after being exposed to the fear toxin. Harley Quinn seizes Batman's makeshift base inside the Panessa film studio to rescue the "Joker-ized" patients. Batman and Robin capture Harley and the infected, but one of the patients, Henry Adams, kills the others before committing suicide, believing that Batman will become the perfect "Joker". Realizing that Batman is infected, Robin attempts to imprison him, but is instead locked in a cell by Batman for his own safety. The Arkham Knight activates the Cloudburst, flooding the city with fear toxin. Batman destroys the tank carrying the Cloudburst and convinces Ivy to empower an ancient tree that can neutralize the toxin; she succeeds and saves Gotham, but the exertion kills her, while Batman's exposure to the toxin strengthens Joker's control over him. Batman pursues the Arkham Knight to a construction site to rescue Gordon. The Knight reveals himself as Jason Todd, the previous Robin, who was tortured and seemingly murdered by the Joker, and has since been left traumatized. Todd blames Batman for abandoning him, and escapes after refusing Batman's offer to help him recover. Batman and Gordon confront Scarecrow on the building's roof, where Oracle is revealed to be alive, her suicide having been a hallucination. Batman rescues Oracle and returns her to the Gotham City Police Department (GCPD), but Scarecrow escapes with Gordon as a hostage. Using the remaining militia, Scarecrow assaults the GCPD to eliminate Batman's allies. Batman and Oracle neutralize the militia, but Scarecrow uses the distraction to kidnap Robin. To save Robin and Gordon, Batman surrenders to Scarecrow and is taken to the ruins of Arkham Asylum. Scarecrow unmasks Batman as Bruce Wayne to the world on television, before repeatedly injecting Batman with the fear toxin to break him before the public. Batman and the Joker battle for control inside Batman's mind; Joker attempts to weaken Batman by recounting the people who have suffered and died because of Batman's crusade, but Batman triumphs and locks the pleading Joker away in his mind forever to be forgotten—the Joker's only fear. Todd saves Batman, who subdues Scarecrow with his own fear toxin. After Batman ensures that Gotham is safe, Gordon dispatches the police to reclaim the streets, and Batman activates the "Knightfall Protocol" to protect his loved ones. Surrounded by reporters, Batman returns home to Wayne Manor where he is greeted by Alfred. As the pair enter the manor, it explodes, seemingly killing them both. Sometime later, Gordon, now Mayor of Gotham, prepares to attend Oracle and Robin's wedding. Elsewhere, two muggers attack a family in an alley but are confronted by a nightmarish figure resembling Batman. ## Development In August 2012, Paul Dini, writer of the first two games in the Arkham series, said he would not be involved in writing a sequel to Arkham City. He did not write that game's story-based "Harley Quinn's Revenge" downloadable content, and said that Warner Bros. and Rocksteady suggested he accept other work if offered. Rocksteady opted to use its own team of writers, headed by game director Sefton Hill and designer Ian Ball, with script elements by Martin Lancaster; Geoff Johns served as a consultant on the plot. Development of Arkham Knight began in 2011 after completion of work on Arkham City, and took four years to finish. It was publicly revealed in March 2014, following leaked marketing material at the end of February, with series creators Rocksteady Studios returning to develop the game, following the development of 2013's Batman: Arkham Origins by WB Games Montréal. Arkham Knight is described as the concluding chapter of the Arkham series from Rocksteady; they had a finale for the series in mind since the development of Arkham City. Kevin Conroy returns as the voice of Batman, having done so in Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, after stating at the 2013 Dallas Comic Con that he had been working on "the next Arkham". This statement led to speculation that he would reprise his role as Batman in Arkham Origins, the only Arkham game known to be in development at the time, which was not the case, as Batman would be voiced by Roger Craig Smith in that title. Rocksteady decided early on in development to make Arkham Knight only for the then-upcoming next-generation of consoles, which was considered to allow them to focus on using the system resources to their fullest without reining in their ideas to accommodate the older generation systems. The game allows for up to five times the number of on-screen enemies as were possible in Arkham City, and riots can feature up to fifty on-screen enemies interacting with the environment to smash items, and spray graffiti. The technical changes also allowed for cutscenes to be rendered in real time in the game engine, where previous installments had used pre-rendered videos to compensate. Describing the scale of difference between Arkham Knight and earlier games, lead character artist Albert Feliu said that a single character model in Arkham Knight could contain the same amount of polygons used to render the entirety of Arkham Asylum's environment. Arkham Knight is the first in the series to use the Apex physics simulation engine to have items like cloth, such as Batman's cape, react realistically to movement or wind. Warner Bros. supported Rocksteady's concept for the game, but both parties felt that three years was too long to wait between games, so WB Games Montréal was tasked with creating the prequel, Arkham Origins, to fill the gap. Unlike Arkham Origins, the game does not feature a multiplayer component. As Hill explained, the development team knew the single-player game would take the team's full effort, with their "focus on making the best single-player experience we can. We [did not] feel that it [needed] a multiplayer element. Warner Bros. backed that up right at the start." ### Design Batman's Batmobile was an aspect of the character that Rocksteady had wanted to include in its other Arkham games, but were limited by technical constraints. The designers, who worked in conjunction with DC, chose to look at their earlier design from Arkham Asylum, instead of models from the history of Batman comics and media, and evolve that to meet the necessary gameplay requirements. The vehicle was designed to integrate with Batman's on-foot traversal without being a burden; Hill stated, "We didn't want it to be like, 'Okay, the Batmobile is so good I'll just stay in that all the time.' or 'Batman is so powerful gliding around I won't be using the Batmobile.' There's a definite need to use both of those." The world's challenges were set out on the vertical and horizontal plane of the map to discourage players from using only one form of movement, with the Batmobile providing a faster method for moving large distances over gliding. Unlike Arkham Origins, Arkham Knight does not feature a fast travel system as the designers considered traversal to be part of the game, and allowing players to skip that would detract from the experience. Buildings hit by the vehicle suffer cosmetic damage without slowing the car, as it was considered that being impeded by a collision while turning a corner would diminish the fantasy of driving the Batmobile. During early development, Rocksteady placed a prototype Batmobile in the existing Arkham City map, and learned that the claustrophobic city designed for Batman to glide and grapple did not work well for driving a vehicle. Gotham City was thus redesigned with wider streets to allow space for the Batmobile and other street traffic to drive without colliding into walls, and buildings were made taller to accommodate the vehicle's ejection ability. To redesign Gotham City, the designers attempted to build on the previous games' gothic architecture while making a more believable and dense city. Alongside minor elements like neon lights, billboard advertising, and American-style cars, the team developed ideas for shops that could be found in the city, while retaining a grimy, dystopian theme. Describing the design, Hego said: "every kind of element we've added in there ... makes the entire experience feel a little out of time. You couldn't pinpoint whether it's twenty years ago, now or in ten years time." The designers valued making an open world that was "rich, vibrant, dense...and full of interesting things to do" over it just being large. In writing for Batman, Hill considered that a fundamental aspect of the character was how he interacts with his villains, allies, and the city around him. Hill said: "You know, what does it mean to be Batman? ...How does it affect Batman when things happen to him? What is his psychological make up? Those are the influences behind the game... you actually delve into the psyche of what makes him what he is, which is where I think so much of the interest in Batman is." Batman's armor was redesigned to match that of the Batmobile to make them appear visually similar—featuring the same shapes and material textures—and appear functionally compatible with the high-speed methods in which the character enters and exits the vehicle. The design also added armor over Batman's shoulders, covering the previously exposed cape, to make it appear more feasible that it could hold Batman's weight without failing during gliding. For other returning characters, art director David Hego said that the designs were conceived to keep them interesting after players had seen them several times before in previous games, while the game's autumnal setting also necessitated a change in character clothing over the winter setting of Arkham City. The Penguin lost his long coat, and was made to look dirtier, his clothing showing signs of sweat and food stains, and his head was shaved. For Two-Face, the designers felt the character did not require changing significantly, and instead emphasized existing character traits, particularly his disfigured flesh, using references of burnt flesh as inspiration. Similarly, they wanted to retain the typical Riddler characterizations like green shirts emblazoned with question marks, but instead had the character design evolve throughout the game, modifying his own costume in response to the events of the plot. The game's titular villain is created specifically for the game, with input from comic-book writer Geoff Johns and comic artist Jim Lee. Hill noted that Rocksteady wanted to introduce an antagonist who could challenge Batman on equal terms. Feliu stated that the Arkham Knight's design reflects his role in the game as well as his knowledge of Batman's tactics and fighting style. The Arkham Knight wears a high-tech, militarized version of the Batsuit with short antennas that resemble bat ears to mock Batman. His angular chest plate acts as a means of deflecting the batclaw; his utility belt, in contrast to Batman's, is low-slung; and his gauntlets, boots and armor are influenced by the lightweight design of a fighter aircraft: "highly resistant, unreflective and totally intimidating". The Arkham Knight's holographic helmet conceals his identity with a robotic voice synthesizer, giving the impression of a ghostly figure, and his visor provides him with a heads-up display to monitor his militia forces. His suit has a distinct camouflage pattern of "dark greys interspersed with dashes of red [that] enable him to remain concealed between the gloomy shadows and garish neons of Gotham's alleyways and rooftops". ### Music Arkham Asylum and Arkham City composer Nick Arundel returned to score Arkham Knight, while his partner on those games, Ron Fish, was replaced by composer David Buckley. On his continued involvement in the series, Arundel said, "One of the good things about doing a sequel, is you get the opportunity to redo [things you wished you changed], to revisit things... We have a set of material that we want to keep consistent, like the Batman theme ... We wanted to keep [that] theme and tailor it more to the story for this game. How can we get the Scarecrow element out of that one theme." Arundel added that Buckley was willing to work within the music he had already created, as opposed to wanting to add his own personal touch to it. Buckley received Arundel's work from Arkham Asylum to help create new variations on the chords and melody from the original theme. Volume 1 of the official soundtrack was released from WaterTower Music alongside the game on June 23, 2015, and a limited edition vinyl record featuring fifteen songs from the soundtrack chosen by Arundel. Singer and record producer Trent Reznor served as a music consultant on Arkham Knight's "Be the Batman" trailer. However, the game also features three songs, including: I've Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra, Mercy by Muse, and The Wretched by Nine Inch Nails. ## Release Batman: Arkham Knight was released on PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on June 23, 2015. The game was originally scheduled to be released on October 14, 2014. It was delayed to June 2, 2015 and then delayed again to June 23, 2015. On the first delay, Rocksteady marketing game manager Guy Perkins stated, "If we didn't give the team more time to do it, then we would be releasing something that we weren't happy with. We want to make sure we're absolutely nailing it 100%." A quality assurance tester for the game added, "Getting [the game] to work on consoles was impossible for months. That's part of why the game got delayed so many times, [Rocksteady was] totally unprepared for how hard it was on next-gen consoles." In the UK, the Windows version is only available as a digital release. Additionally, an Linux and OS X version of the game developed by Feral Interactive was scheduled for release in early 2016 after originally being scheduled to release in late 2015; it was canceled in February 2016. Feral stated the original delay was to "ensure good performance and wide-ranging support" for the two platforms. Two Collector's Edition editions were also announced: the Limited edition contains the game in a Steelbook case, an 80-page concept art book, an Arkham Knight issue \#0 comic book, alternate costumes for Batman, Robin and Nightwing based on DC Comics' The New 52, and a statue of Batman. The Batmobile edition contains the Limited edition items, but replaces the Batman statue with a transformable Batmobile statue. However, on June 17, consumers who purchased the "Batmobile Collector's Edition" were notified that the edition had been canceled due to a quality issue with the Batmobile statue from designer Project Triforce. Consumers were able to receive a refund or have their purchase transferred to another collector's edition. Two days later, it was revealed that the Limited edition was delayed for release in Europe until mid-July 2015 due to a packaging quality issue. In addition, a Serious Edition Comic Bundle was released, exclusively on Amazon.com. The edition featured the game, the "First Appearance" skin (based on Batman's first appearance in Detective Comics \#27), and a limited edition 25th anniversary version of Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth, the graphic novel for which the Batman: Arkham series is loosely based. A limited edition PlayStation 4 was also released, featuring a "Steel Gray" console and controller with a custom Batman faceplate. In February 2015, it was revealed that Arkham Knight had received a "Mature" rating from the ESRB, rather than the "Teen" ratings previous installments in the franchise held. Sefton Hill and the Rocksteady team were caught off guard by the rating; Hill explained that they did not create the game with a specific rating in mind, but that "It's unavoidable that some bad stuff is going to happen. But that doesn't mean we changed our approach. We're not including gratuitous blood or swearing. We want to deliver a true end with no compromises, and it takes us to some dark places." Although he did not elaborate which content in particular triggered the "M" rating, Hill did note that a "ratings analysis" by Warner Bros. indicated that the content of certain "key" scenes in the game could affect its rating. The team decided to maintain the offending content so that it would not "jeopardize" their vision for the game and its thematics. In an in-depth explanation of the game's content, the ESRB revealed the existence of scenes where players can "shoot unarmed characters and a hostage", and torture scenes taking place on a "bloody operating table" as well as using a vehicle's wheel. Free updates to the game were released to provide fixes and updates to the game, some based on community feedback. These included a Big Head mode, which makes all characters in the game have disproportionate heads; a photo mode, which allows players to edit photos taken during gameplay; the ability to use the original voice cast, with localized subtitles; and updates to the game's AR challenges. These included the ability to select all playable characters from the game and its downloadable content (DLC) to be used in all combat and predator challenge maps. Previously, each map had predefined character selection; the addition of a harder difficulty setting on combat challenges; more round-based challenges as well as interior map locations; and the removal of the blue wall around the challenges, which players found distracting. ### Additional content #### Story Harley Quinn is a playable character via downloadable content (DLC) in a story-driven mission, that follows the character as she infiltrates the city of Blüdhaven to assault the police station and rescue her partner-in-crime Poison Ivy. Jason Todd as Red Hood is also a playable character via DLC in a story-driven mission, in which Red Hood goes up against Black Mask. The "WayneTech Booster Pack" provides the player with four upgrades for Batman and the Batmobile on the onset, as opposed to earning them by progressing through the game. The "Scarecrow Nightmare" DLC, exclusive to the PlayStation 4, depicts a Gotham City that has succumbed to the Scarecrow's fear gas transforming it into a twisted nightmare image of itself, overseen by a towering Scarecrow and his undead army. Additional content was made available via the game's season pass, which includes story-driven missions; challenge maps for Batman and his allies; new Batmobiles from Batman's history and custom racetracks for them; skins for Batman and his allies; and all pre-order retailer content once their timed exclusivity expired in August and September 2015. The story-driven missions include "The Season of Infamy", new "Most Wanted" missions played through the main game, where the player as Batman goes up against "legendary super-villains invading Gotham City, with new story arcs, missions and gameplay features", and "Arkham Episodes", where players control Batman's allies in short story missions that take place before and after the events of Arkham Knight to further expand their narratives. "Batgirl: A Matter of Family", which was developed by WB Games Montréal, is an "Arkham Episode" featuring Barbara Gordon as Batgirl set before the events of Arkham Asylum. Set in the Seagate Amusement Park, a nautical theme park built atop an oil rig, Batgirl and Robin team up to save her father, Commissioner Gordon, from the Joker and Harley. The content carries over the Dual Play function and hacking ability, which allows Batgirl to take down enemies, control objects, and solve puzzles. Design producer Justin Vazquez said, "Hacking is really what separates her from the other characters... Our intention was that Batgirl should be less powerful than Batman, but that Batgirl plus hacking could give her opportunities to do things that not even Batman can pull off." The content was released on July 14, 2015, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with the Windows release on October 28, 2015. Other "Arkham Episodes" include "GCPD Lockdown", set after the events of Arkham Knight, in which Nightwing must stop the Penguin from breaking out of the GCPD, which was released in September 2015; "Catwoman's Revenge", set after the events of the main game, in which Catwoman gets her revenge on the Riddler which was released in November 2015; and "A Flip of a Coin", set after the events of the main game, in which Robin hunts down Two-Face, which was released in November 2015. The Harley Quinn and Red Hood story packs which were pre-order bonuses were also considered "Arkham Episodes". December 2015 saw the release of four "Season of Infamy" missions, which see Mad Hatter playing sinister mind-games with Batman, with members of the GCPD caught in the middle; Killer Croc escaping from his maximum security cell and wreaking havoc on a crashed airship; the League of Assassins returning to Gotham City in order to restore Ra's al Ghul's health; and Mister Freeze returning to Gotham City, where the Arkham Knight's militia kidnaps Freeze's wife Nora in exchange for his help capturing Batman. The "Season of Infamy" missions add new areas to the main game, including a new wing at the GCPD and the interior of Elliot General Hospital, new enemies such as assassins from the League of Assassins, and new gameplay mechanics. #### Other Additional content released in August 2015 included the "1989 Movie Batmobile" pack, which includes a skin based on the suit worn by Michael Keaton from Batman, the Batmobile from the film, and two racetracks based on the film and its sequel, Batman Returns; the "Bat-family Skins" pack, which includes six character skins based on alternate timelines; and content previously released as pre-order bonuses. For September 2015, Rocksteady released two "Crime Fighter Challenge Packs", featuring 11 AR combat and predator challenges for all playable characters and one for the Batmobile; the "2008 Tumbler Batmobile" pack, which included the Tumbler Batmobile and two racetracks based on The Dark Knight; and the Arkham Asylum skin for Batman. For October 2015, the additional content included a third "Crime Fighter Challenge Pack", featuring 6 AR combat and predator challenges for all playable characters and the Batmobile; the "Batman Classic TV Series Batmobile" pack, which includes the 1960s TV series Batmobile, skins for Catwoman and Robin based on the series, and two racetracks inspired by the series; and a 1970s Batman-themed Batmobile skin. For November 2015, Rocksteady released the "2016 Batman v Superman Batmobile" pack, which included a skin based on the suit worn by Ben Affleck in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the Batmobile from the film; and the "Wayne Tech" pack, with two Batmobile racetracks. The pack also included two challenge maps; challenge maps for "GCPD Lockdown"; the original Tim Drake skin for Robin, and a Robin-themed and Riddler-themed Batmobile skins; and a fourth "Crime Fighter Challenge Pack", featuring 6 AR combat and predator challenges for all playable characters. The final month of additional content release, December 2015, saw the release of the Christian Bale Batsuit from The Dark Knight, due to a multitude of fan requests since it was not featured in the Tumbler pack in September 2015; the original Arkham Asylum Batmobile; a fifth "Crime Fighter Challenge Pack", featuring 6 AR combat and predator challenges for all playable characters; a skin for Harley Quinn based on her classic look and the Arkham Knight skin for Red Hood; a Rocksteady-themed Batmobile skin; and a Batman: Noël skin. In January 2016, Rocksteady released a sixth "Crime Fighter Challenge Pack", originally named the "Community Challenge Pack" in response to players' help in providing feedback to get the Windows version fixed and for submitting requests for the challenge maps in the pack. Included in the pack were five challenge maps from previous Arkham games, a combat map for "Crime Alley" from Arkham Knight and an "endless wave" predator map, "Endless Knight". The returning predator maps include "Wayne Manor Main Hall" and "Batcave" from Arkham City and "Sanatorium, Medical Facility" from Arkham Asylum, while the combat maps include "Iceberg Lounge" and "Monarch Theatre" from Arkham City. The pack was released on Windows a week before coming to consoles. A skin based on Batman Incorporated was also released in the month. A number of alternate appearances were made available for various playable characters. Batman's skins include designs worn in the 1960s TV series; Justice League 3000; Batman Beyond; The Dark Knight Returns; the "First Appearance" design; The New 52; Flashpoint; Batman: Gotham Knight (Anime Batman); Earth 2; Arkham Origins; "Iconic Grey and Black"; 1970s Batman; the 1989 film; Zur-En-Arrh; Arkham Asylum; The Dark Knight film; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice; Batman: Noël; and Batman Incorporated. Robin's skins include designs based on The New 52; One Year Later; the 1960s TV series; and the original Tim Drake design. Nightwing's skins include designs based on The New 52; and Arkham City. Catwoman's skins include designs based on the 1990s Catwoman, and the 1960s TV series. Harley and Red Hood have skins based on her classic look and the Arkham Knight uniform, respectively. Alternate designs for the standard Batmobile include ones based on the 1960s TV series; a prototype version; 1970s Batman-themed; Robin-themed; Riddler-themed; and Rocksteady-themed. All-new, drivable Batmobiles include the 1989 film, Tumbler, 1960s TV series, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and the original Arkham Asylum Batmobiles. These Batmobiles do not feature a tank mode and can only be used in the main game after all tanks have been eliminated or on specific Batmobile challenge maps. In terms of design, the 1989 film and 1960 TV series ones are longer and narrower with better handling than the standard Arkham Knight Batmobile. Racetracks for the Batmobile include two based on Batman and Batman Returns; two based on The Dark Knight; two based on the 1960s TV series; and two WayneTech tracks. ### Literature In December 2014, a prequel digital-first comic was announced, written by Peter J. Tomasi, with art by Viktor Bogdanovic and Art Thibert, and covers by Dan Panosian. The comic picks up after the events of Arkham City and was released digitally in February 2015, with the first print release featuring a collection of the digital issues in March 2015. Tomasi said the comic has "contained arcs, but there's an over-arcing story that [goes] right to the launch of the game and beyond." A novelization of the game, written by comic book writer Marv Wolfman, was released alongside the game. A 320-page prequel novel written by Alex Irvine, titled Batman: Arkham Knight – The Riddler's Gambit, was released shortly after, focusing on Batman's conflict with the Riddler as he attempts to take control of Gotham City's criminal underworld in the aftermath of the Joker's demise. In April 2015, a second comic, Batman: Arkham Knight – Genesis, was announced centered around the origin of the Arkham Knight. The six-issue monthly miniseries, written once again by Tomasi with art by Alisson Borges, was released starting in August 2015. ### Marketing The game was originally scheduled to be released during Batman's 75th Anniversary celebration in 2014, and as a result, DC presented the "Cape/Cowl/Create" art exhibit in London in June 2014, and at San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2014. The exhibit featured contemporary artists painting on a cape and cowl designed by Asher Levine and based on the batsuit from the game. In May 2015, a life-size replica of the Batmobile from the game, designed by West Coast Customs, was on display at MCM London Comic Con. Starting on May 8, 2015, until the release of the game, Rocksteady released weekly behind-the-scenes videos called "Arkham Insider", featuring Rocksteady staff describing various aspects of Arkham Knight's gameplay as well as answering fan questions. "Arkham Insider" returned in August 2015 to highlight the monthly DLC releases, with the series running until December 2015 over a total of 11 episodes. Various products were developed based on the game including clothing, hats, calendars, posters, and headphones. When asked if the Arkham Knight was an entirely new character or simply new to the Batman: Arkham series, marketing producer Dax Ginn claimed that he is "completely original" in terms of his design and role, and a character whom Batman has not encountered before. Ginn described the opportunity to create an original character in the Batman universe as "terrifying", but noted that the developers at Rocksteady relished the chance to make a mark on the Batman property that would last beyond the games themselves. ## Reception Batman: Arkham Knight received "generally favorable" reviews from critics for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of the game, while the PC version received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Dan Stapleton of IGN rated the game a score of 9.2 out of 10, praising the graphics, gameplay variety, detail of the open world, the voice acting performances (particularly of Kevin Conroy as Batman and John Noble as Scarecrow) and the overall improvement in the combat and predator systems. He criticized the Batmobile's Battle Mode as "weird" and "about as un-Batman an activity as [he could] imagine," as well as the difficulty of managing the vehicle's default controls, though praised the tank battles as "good fun". Polygon's Justin McElroy, giving the game a 10 out of 10, stated that the game "ticks all the boxes for the fourth entry in a AAA franchise." He lauded the ingenuity of the game's puzzles, noting how they make the players think on a significantly higher level than past entries in the series, calling the game "nothing short of revolutionary" and "the best game of this console generation." Steve Tilley of The Toronto Sun deemed the game "fantastic, if a little formulaic". He felt it a satisfying and appropriately large-scale conclusion to Rocksteady's Arkham games, praising the surprises in the plot, as well as the graphics, combat, and the Batmobile's range of abilities. Andrew Reiner of Game Informer awarded Arkham Knight a 9.5 out of 10, calling it a "narrative juggernaut" with "the mother of all plot twists." He described the game's Gotham City as "a beautifully realized playground for Batman", highlighting the distinctive boroughs and added that the Batmobile "packs a satisfying punch" with its cannon, with additional praise to the Riddler racetracks and game variety. He felt though, that the combat was somewhat easier than previous games. Simon Miller, writing for VideoGamer.com, gave the game a 10 out 10 score and called it "the best Batman game ever made and a classic in its own right;" a "masterpiece". Despite the perfect score, Miller did name the Batmobile as one of the game's faults, though lauded the "rush of adrenaline" invoked while driving the car through the streets of the city. Eurogamer's Dan Whitehead recommended the game, giving high praise to the detail of the open world and the characterization of Batman, but again criticizing the Batmobile's Battle Mode feature as one of the weaker aspects of the game. GamesTM gave Arkham Knight a 9 out of 10, praising the game for functioning without the presence of the Joker, and praising the story for its intimacy and inviting, epic-scale nature. The Batmobile gameplay was described as "thrilling", though the "least immersive" part of the game. The "Dual Play" elements were also hailed as the best aspect of the game in addition to their involvement with the Riddler challenges. Chris Carter of Destructoid, conversely was heavily critical of the Riddler challenges and their requirement for the game's full ending, finding many to be "tedious" while others lacked any resemblance of actual riddles, such as the breakable objects. He felt that the puzzles driven by intuition were the better elements of the mission. Kevin VanOrd, writing for GameSpot, awarded the game a 7 out of 10, praising the game's "terrific" amount of variety, its improvement of past games' elements, the cleverness of the game's puzzles, and the "Dual Play" mechanics. VanOrd reacted positively to the segments involving the Batmobile's Battle Mode, calling it a "delight", and called the vehicle's driving "slick and satisfying". However, VanOrd found fault with some of the game's logic, particularly the clash between Batman's no-kill rule and the Batmobile's significant propensity for destruction. He also noted how the story's thematic elements and repeated metaphors became exhaustingly redundant, mentioning its "ham-fisted storytelling" and describing the game overall as "only as good as the world allows it to be." Sam Roberts from GamesRadar noted the game's satisfying cinematic value, particularly moments in which it felt like Batman: The Animated Series. However, Roberts did reserve some criticisms, calling some of the Batmobile's additions a "misfire" and deemed it a "mixed affair"; the campaign was described as full of "generally wonky storytelling, sometimes hammy dialogue and unconvincing duo of primary villains." Roberts praised the "gorgeous" open world and its side missions as "almost universally fantastic", finding fault with the Firefly missions among others. The Riddler's Batmobile racetracks were considered "beyond silly," though he still commended the character for his increased involvement in the story. The reveal of the Arkham Knight's identity in Batman: Arkham Knight was met with a mixed reception from critics. Stapleton and Sam Roberts from GamesRadar both took issue with Rocksteady's marketing of the Arkham Knight as an original character, as the character behind the moniker is not. Stapleton felt the problem was that the marketing for the character indicated it was a "big mystery" to his identity, but any "moderately knowledgeable Batman fan could reasonably" deduce the identity: "We all already knew who the Arkham Knight was; we were just hoping it wasn't true because we wanted the original story we'd been promised." GamesRadar noted that the torture flashback scenes and the Red Hood DLC made the twist very predictable. Other outlets, including Andrew Reiner Game Informer and Sam Miller from Videogamer.com, found the mystery surrounding the character and the eventual revelation of his identity as Todd to be satisfactory. ### Additional content Carter was critical of the Harley Quinn and Red Hood story packs, both originally pre-order bonuses before being released as purchasable DLC. Carter called both "painfully" and "disgustingly" short, respectively, with the Harley pack lasting around 30 minutes, and the Red Hood around 10 minutes. He added that he expected more from the downloadable content, hoping additional "Arkham Stories" would feature more content. For the "Batgirl: A Matter of Family" story pack, Stapleton offered a mixed reaction, giving the DLC a 6.3 out of 10, praising the unique design and atmosphere of the theme park setting, and also commenting positively on the story, the variation in combat, Batgirl's character design, and Mark Hamill's performance as the Joker. A prominent concern, however, was the short length of the campaign and lack of replay value aside from the rather simple collectables found around the map. He added, "worse, there's no new AR challenge map where you can play as Batgirl, which means her great-looking character model is trapped in this single piece of story content. Considering Arkham Knight is fairly stingy in the challenge map department, that's another big missed opportunity." Reiner felt the pack would only be of value to players who enjoy the Arkham story, stating, "Developer WB Montreal can be commended for creating a wonderfully realized version of Batgirl, who is resourceful and capable of striking fear into Joker's henchmen, but the mission she embarks on lacks creativity and ranks among the Arkham series' worst." He did, however, praise the side story involving Edward Burke, the person who built the amusement park where the story takes place, calling it "twisted and dark" and shedding "new light on one of the series' mainstays." Aoife Wilson of Eurogamer was critical of Batgirl's characterization, calling it a "bland, no-frills reading of the character, to be frank, which focuses on her familial connections rather than her youthful exuberance." Wilson also lamented that the emphasis on Batgirl's hacking abilities proved to be no more than a simple extension of Arkham Knight's remote hacking environmental puzzles. She offered words similar to Stapleton's on how the lack of additional challenge maps confines the Batgirl character model to only the DLC. Wilson was skeptical as to whether the future season pass DLC would be worth purchasing unless there was an increase in production value and a real introduction to new gadgets and gameplay variety. Carter gave the DLC a 6.5 out of 10, reacting positively to the confinement to the "good bits" of Arkham Knight, more specifically the lack of the Batmobile and an emphasis on puzzle-solving – he also compared it favorably to the Harley Quinn and Red Hood story packs towards which he previously gave negative reviews. In contrast to Stapleton, Carter felt that not many of the environments were particularly memorable, and also felt the length was sufficient compared to the game's previous story packs. Carter pointed out that a benefit to the game would be a free-roaming option involving the downloadable characters. Meanwhile, Erik Kain of Forbes felt that the DLC should have been provided free of charge, remarking on the campaign's shortness and calling it "straightforward" and "lackluster". He also criticized Warner Bros. for their marketing campaign with Arkham Knight and its DLC, commenting on their sacrificing quality over quantity to continuously charge customers for rather mediocre content. Carter awarded the "Season of Infamy" content a 7.5 out of 10. He felt that the Mad Hatter mission was "the weakest link in the chain," calling it "a neat concept but it's so fleeting that I barely had time to digest it." For Killer Croc's, Carter said the mission was "a predictable storyline" since Killer Croc is generally portrayed as a "one-dimensional" foe, though "[i]t works better than Mad Hatter's portion... because most of it isn't comprised of re-used environments, and there is a nice brief reunion with Nightwing." Speaking of the Mister Freeze mission, Carter called the exploration of Freeze's relationship with his wife Nora "compelling" and enjoyed the fact it was the only "Season of Infamy" mission to feature a predator challenge. Additionally, he added that the Batmobile sequence had "more of a reason to exist than most of the ones in the campaign." Finally, Carter called the Ra's al Ghul mission "the other highlight of the pack" and felt the choice the mission gave players at the end was "pretty interesting". He also added the setting of Elliot General Hospital was a good way to highlight Hush's family legacy since his "part in [the main game] was extremely disappointing". ### Technical issues on Windows version The Windows version of the game had a more mixed reception, with criticism aimed mostly at the technical issues present at the time of the game's release, ultimately leading to sales being suspended. On June 23, 2015, the launch day for Arkham Knight, thousands of users reported major technical flaws and performance problems with the Windows version of the game, with some saying it seemed like the optimization phase of the game's development was skipped. Steam users immediately wrote scathing reviews of the game's performance, including reports of frame rate being capped at 30 frames per second (which could be raised, though with potential side effects) and dropping as low as 10 frames per second while gliding or using the Batmobile. Even high-end graphics cards at the time such as Nvidia's GeForce GTX 970 were unable to handle the game well, with users reporting frequent frame rate dips and stutters. Nvidia and AMD released new device drivers optimized for the game in an attempt to address the performance issues, with Steam "strongly recommending" their download. The developer, Rocksteady, issued a statement saying they were aware of the issues and were "working closely with [their] external PC development partner", Iron Galaxy Studios, to resolve them. On June 24, 2015, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced that it would suspend sales of the Windows version of Arkham Knight to work on addressing the performance issues to satisfy the company's quality standards. They also offered refunds for anyone who already purchased the game. Three days later, a patch was released which fixed some crash-causing problems. Rocksteady noted that they were continuing to focus on the frame rate problem, the low-resolution textures, and overall performance problems, among other issues needing fixes. In early July 2015, Kotaku reported that Warner Bros. were aware of the issues on the Windows version, with their sources stating they chose to ship the game as it was, "not to maniacally screw over customers—but because they believed it was good enough." Kotaku Australia additionally reported that the issues would not be fixed until at least September 2015, and that all stock retail versions were being recalled. By the middle of July, Warner Bros. announced they were "targeting an interim patch update for existing players to be released in August." On August 21, 2015, Warner Bros. revealed the first interim patch was being tested, with a hope "to issue the patch in the next few weeks." The patch addresses frame rate hitches, optimization for graphics cards, the ability to change the max frames per second to 30, 60, and 90, additional granular settings for motion blur, film grain, and chromatic aberration, more texture options, and other settings, and a problem with the game running on mechanical hard drives versus solid state. Lesser priorities intended to be covered include the photo mode and downloadable content. The patch was released on September 4, 2015. Rocksteady and Warner Bros. announced that the game would be available for sale again on October 28, 2015, along with a patch updating the game to include all previously released DLC and content updates, except console exclusives. After the game was made available again, it was still criticized for lingering technical issues, resulting in Warner Bros. offering full refunds for the game as well as the game's season pass until the end of 2015, regardless of how long the game was owned. Warner Bros. also stated they would continue to address issues with the Windows version for those who chose to keep the game. PC Gamer, while placing the PC launch among the most problematic ones in recent years, noticed that there was an improvement after the patches. ### Sales Batman: Arkham Knight was the highest-selling game for June 2015 and became the fastest-selling game of 2015, beating the record previously held by The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It also was the second-best-selling game of 2015 behind Mortal Kombat X and the fastest-selling game of the Arkham franchise. The PlayStation 4 sales were the highest for a single SKU across any Batman game since the NPD Group began tracking the industry. By October 2015, the game sold over 5 million units worldwide. ### Accolades Batman: Arkham Knight received Game Informer's award for Best Action Game seen at E3 2014 in June 2014. It also received IGN's Best Xbox One Game for their E3 2014 awards, while becoming runner-up for Game of Show and Best PlayStation 4 Game. The 2014 Game Critics Awards awarded Arkham Knight as Best Action/Adventure Game, while nominating it for Best of Show and Best Console Game. At the 2014 Golden Joystick Awards, Arkham Knight was nominated for Most Wanted game. In December 2014, the UK publication MCV reported that Arkham Knight was the most anticipated title for the region's retailers, ahead of Halo 5: Guardians, Evolve, The Order: 1886, and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. The game also won in the category Trailer of the Year at the Play Legit's Best of 2014 Awards. PlayStation LifeStyle also labeled the game as Best of E3 winner. The game appeared on several best video games of 2015 lists, including: Video Gamer (first); Slant Magazine (third); Empire and Mashable (fourth); Gameranx (fifth); Daily Mirror, CNET, and Gamereactor (sixth); GamesRadar+ and Screen Rant (eighth); and Eurogamer (ninth). Batman: Arkham Knight also appeared on unranked lists from Time, The Verge, Forbes, The Daily Telegraph, Game Informer, and TechRadar. IGN put the game among "The Best-Reviewed Games of 2015". Several international video game websites and magazines labeled Arkham Knight as their favorite Game of the Year and as their favorite Action/Adventure Game. In 2015, the game received five nominations for Golden Joystick Awards, including Best Storytelling, Best Visual Design, Best Audio, Best Gaming Moment for the return of the Joker, and Game of the Year. Mark Hamill also received a nomination for Performance of the Year for voicing the Joker. The game also received two nominations for The Game Awards 2015, including Best Art Direction and Best Action/Adventure Game, while Hamill received a nomination for Best Performance for voicing the Joker. The Daily Telegraph Game Awards 2015 made Mark Hamill's performance runner-up in the category Best Performance. CGMagazine's 2015 Game of the Year awards awarded the game as Action Game of the Year. GameSpot's 2015 Special Achievement Awards awarded the game as Best Multiplatform Game That's Actually Better on Consoles. At the Webby Awards the game was awarded in the category 2015 Honoree (General Website Games-Related). The game also gained four nominations (Game of the Year, Studio of the Year, Best Graphics, Best Action-Adventure Game) at the Cody Awards 2015. In 2016, the 12th British Academy Games Awards awarded Batman: Arkham Knight as Best British Game and it was also nominated in the categories Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Music and Performer (Mark Hamill). IGN Middle East Editor's choice Game of the Year Awards 2015 and People's Choice – Game of the Year Awards 2015 both awarded the game as Best Action-Adventure. At the IGN's Best of 2015 Awards the game won as People's Choice Best Action-Adventure Game and it was nominated in the categories Xbox One Game of the Year, Technical Excellence and Best Performances. The game also became runner-up in the category Best Storytelling at the IGN AU Select Awards. The 21st Empire Awards awarded Batman: Arkham Knight as Best Game. At the Official Xbox Magazine Game of the Year Awards 2015 the game won in the categories Best Art Design and Best Moment, while becoming runner-up in the category Best Sound Design. Game Informer's 2015 Action Game of the Year Awards awarded the game in the category Best Story. The 15th National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers nominated the game in nine categories, including Game of the Year, and awarded Mark Hamill's performance as the Joker in the category Performance in a Drama, Supporting. The Straits Times Digital Awards awarded the game in the category Action Adventure Game. Play Legit awarded the game in the categories Best Action Adventure, Best Graphics and Best Actor (Kevin Conroy). The game also won in the category Excellence in Convergence at the 2016 SXSW Gaming Awards and in the category Audio Design at the TIGA Awards. At the Italian Video Game Awards the game was also awarded as Best Action-Adventure Game. At the 2016 Develop Awards Rocksteady Studios won in the category In-House Studio. Gaming Debugged's Game Awards labeled the game as Best Use of a Licence. XGN, Millenium, PressFire and IMGMR, on their gaming awards, also labeled the game as Best Action/Adventure Game. The game also gained three nominations (Adventure Game of the Year, Outstanding Achievement in Animation, Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition) at the 19th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards. In 2017, Edge placed the game 66th on its list of top 100 greatest games of all time. Mashable, Forbes and BuzzFeed put the game among the best video games of the decade 2010–2019. In 2020, The Ringer placed the game 19th on its list of the 25 best games of the PS4/Xbox One generation. In 2022, USA Today placed the game 85th on its list of the 100 best video games of all time. ## Future In August 2020, Rocksteady Studios announced they were developing Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which will be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S in 2024. The game is set 5 years after the events of Arkham Knight, and is the first in the series to not feature Batman as the title character, instead focusing on the titular antihero team as they battle Brainiac and mind-controlled members of the Justice League (including Batman) in Metropolis.

T48 Gun Motor Carriage

The T48 57 mm Gun Motor Carriage was a self-propelled anti-tank gun produced by the Diamond T company in 1943 for the United States. The design incorporated a 57 mm gun M1, a US production of the British Ordnance QF 6 pounder, mounted on an M3 Half-track. A total of 962 vehicles were produced from 1942 to 1943. It had originally been planned that Britain would receive all of the examples produced through Lend-Lease, intending to use them in the Western Desert, but by the time they arrived the campaign was over. Additionally, the purpose-built M10 tank destroyer, armed with a 3-inch gun (and later a 17-pounder gun in British service) had begun to enter production. As a result, the British transferred 650 half-tracks to the Soviet Union under the Soviet Aid Program. Britain retained 30 and the remainder were taken by the US; except for one kept by the U.S. Army, these British and American vehicles were converted back to standard M3 Half-tracks. The Soviets called it the SU-57 (Samokhodnaya ustanovka 57); under this designation it served in Operation Bagration and other fighting on the Eastern Front during World War II. ## Specifications The T48 Gun Motor Carriage was 21 ft (6.4 m) long, 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) wide, and 7 ft (2.1 m) high. It had a wheelbase of 135.5 in (3.44 m), and weighed 9.45 tons (20,800 lb). The suspension consisted of a leaf spring for the wheels, while the front tread had vertical volute springs. The vehicle had a maximum speed of 45 mph (72 km/h). With a fuel capacity of 60 US gallons (230 L), it had a range of 150 miles (240 km), and was powered by a 128 hp (95 kW) White 160AX, 386 in³ (6,330 cc), 6-cylinder gasoline engine with a compression ratio of 6:3:1. The power-to-weight ratio was 15.8 hp/ton. It also had 6–12 mm of armor, and was armed with a single 57 mm Gun M1 with 99 rounds of ammunition. It had a crew of five (commander, gunner, driver, loader, and radio operator). ## Development The T48 originated from an Anglo-American requirement for a self-propelled 6-pounder anti-tank gun. The requirement was met by emplacing a 57 mm gun M1 – the U.S. production version of the British Ordnance QF 6-pounder – in the rear of an M3 Half-track. The first production batch was ordered in April 1942. The Americans dropped their requirements because of the design of another tank destroyer, the M10. Afterwards, it was intended solely to be supplied overseas under the terms of the Lend-Lease Program; the T48 was never officially type-classified. ### Pilot model The pilot model was built at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in May 1942. The 57 mm Gun M1 was mounted in the M12 recoil mechanism and installed on a tubular pedestal. The tubular pedestal was soon replaced with a conical structure that was designated the "57 mm gun mount T5". The gun on the pilot model had a traverse of 27.5 degrees either side of the centerline (total of 55 degrees), while having an elevation of +15 to -5 degrees. The short-barrelled (43 caliber) British Mark III 6-pounder gun was installed in the pilot, but the longer-barrelled (50 caliber) 57 mm Gun M1 was specified for the production models. The original travel lock – to hold the gun in a fixed position when the vehicle was moving – proved to be unsatisfactory, and was replaced by a travel lock on the front hood. The original design used a gun shield taken from the T44 57 mm Gun Motor Carriage, but after the first tests were complete, a new shield was designed with face-hardened steel 5/8 inch thick on the front and 1/4 inch thick on the sides and top. The shield extended over the crew with a relatively low silhouette of only 90 in (2.3 m). Experience with the M3 Gun Motor Carriage in the Philippines Campaign, resulted in demountable headlights being used. The T48 was accepted for production in 1942. ## Service history Deliveries of the T48 were made in 1942 and 1943, with 50 arriving in 1942 followed by a further 912 in 1943. The British ordered all of the T48s that were produced, intending to use them in the Western Desert Campaign. By the time the vehicles arrived in the theater in the summer of 1943, the British had already won the war in the Western Desert. Meanwhile, the 57 mm gun was superseded by the 75 mm gun from the U.S., and later the availability of the Ordnance QF 17-pounder gun, meant that the T48 became surplus to British requirements. As a result, the vehicles were almost immediately shipped to the Soviet Union under the terms of the Soviet Aid Program. Through this, the Soviets received 650 vehicles, which they designated the "SU-57" (Samokhodnaya ustanovka 57). A small number were later passed to the Polish People's Army. Of the remainder, Britain accepted 30, all of which were converted back into carriers, and the US took 282 vehicles. Of those retained by the US, all but one were converted back to M3A1 standard carriers in 1944. The conversion took place at the Chester Tank Depot. The Wehrmacht also operated a number of T48s as carriers, having captured several from Britain and the Soviet Union. The Soviets employed the T48 along the Eastern Front, mainly in Operation Bagration. The Soviet 16th Separate Tank Destroyer Brigade used a large number of T48s in 1943 during the offensive across the Dnieper River, and with the 19th Brigade during the Baranow bridgehead battle in August 1944. The T48 also served with the Soviet 22nd Self-Propelled Artillery Brigade. Some of these units also took part in the Berlin and Prague offensives. The Polish People's Army used T48s assigned to the 7th Self-Propelled Artillery Battery to support Soviet attacks into Germany and Poland. In Soviet service, the vehicles were allocated to brigades at a scale of 60 per brigade. During the attack, the vehicles were used to provide mobile fire support, being placed behind the infantry, usually in a hull-down position behind a ridge or a hill, to fire across a broad front to take advantage of the long range of the 57 mm gun. ## Operators - British Army accepted 30 vehicles, later rebuilt as carriers. - Polish Army in the East received 15 vehicles operated previously by the Red Army. - Red Army operated T48 GMC under the designation SU-57. - U.S. Army used T48s rebuilt as M3A1 Half-tracks, in 1944. Most rebuilt by the Chester Tank Depot. One T48 was integrated into the U.S. Army. - Wehrmacht units operated a small number of T48s captured from UK and the Soviet Union. ## See also - Deacon (artillery) – a British 6-pdr gun on an armored truck - List of U.S. military vehicles by supply catalog designation

Pensacola Dam

Dam in Mayes County, Oklahoma

The Pensacola Dam, also known as the Grand River Dam, is a multiple-arch buttress dam located between the towns of Disney and Langley on the Grand River in Mayes County, Oklahoma. The dam is operated by the Grand River Dam Authority and creates Grand Lake o' the Cherokees. After decades of vision and planning, it was constructed between 1938 and 1940 for the purposes of hydroelectric power generation, flood control and recreation. It is Oklahoma's first hydroelectric power plant and is referred to as the longest multiple-arch dam in the world. ## Background The idea to construct a dam on the Grand River originated in the late 1800s with Henry C. Holderman, a Cherokee Nation citizen, who wanted to provide electric power to the Cherokee Nation. Holderman and a few colleagues soon conducted the first survey of the river in 1895 on their own handmade houseboat. Holderman later left the United States at the age of 16 and worked on dam projects in India and Africa before returning to Oklahoma. He sold his land holdings and borrowed money from friends in order to purchase rights to the dam sites he had prospected. Over several decades, Holderman and a group known as the "Rainbow Chasers" tried to secure funding to construct the dam; making several trips to Washington DC. The dam was almost built in 1914 by British capitalists but plans were halted due to World War I. In 1920, Holderman refused an offer given by Chicago businessmen and in 1929, the Wall Street Crash ended the hopes of Canadian engineers and investors building the dam for Holderman. In DC, supporters of the dam, which later included state and federal officials, argued for the dam as a source of hydroelectric power and that it could stimulate the state's economy but local energy providers opposed the possibility of a state-run electric utility. The onset of the Great Depression would revive and accelerate plans to construct the dam. Just prior in 1928, Oklahoma Representative Everette B. Howard secured \$5,000 in funding for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to survey the Grand River. The results of the study concluded that it would cost over \$6.2 million to construct a dam at the "Pensacola site" for flood control. The name "Pensacola" was derived from the only available means of identifying the site at the time: an old store on a Cherokee plantation. Because of limited state funding and a limited water supply on the Grand River, the project was not proposed at first for federal funding under the scope of hydroelectric power but instead for flood control. Oklahoma set up the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) on January 10, 1935. Eventually, on September 18, 1937, with the help of Oklahoma Representative Wesley E. Disney, Senator Elmer Thomas and engineer W. R. Holway, President Franklin D. Roosevelt approved \$20 million in funding through the New Deal's Public Works Administration for the dam. The higher cost for the dam was attributed to a project that was approved for additional purposes, including hydroelectric power generation and recreation. Additional costs for the dam were covered by the state government and by GRDA municipal bond auctions which appropriated or raised \$11 million. Disney had pushed much of the legislation for the dam, comparing the higher electric utility rates in Oklahoma compared to other states. Senator Thomas helped appropriate additional state and public funding for the dam while also being instrumental in its legislation. Once approved and funded, Holway, the main engineer on the project and previous engineer of the nearby Spavinaw Dam, began survey and engineering work on October 25, 1937. The multiple-arch buttress design was adopted because materials were expensive at the time of the Great Depression and the limestone and chert foundation was considered "ideal" for the design. John Duncan Forsyth served as the architect for the dam and applied an Art Deco-style to it and the power house. Massman Construction Company out of Kansas City, Missouri was selected to construct the major superstructures, including the dam and power plant. Thousands of workers moved to the area to work on the dam before construction began and 3,000 eventually did, earning about \$16 a week. ## Construction Initial construction began in February 1938 and included the excavation of over 1,600,000 cu yd (1,200,000 m³) of earth and rock. Workers also constructed the first cofferdam on the east side of the river and left it in place until the arches were above the normal water level. Once this was achieved, workers removed the east cofferdam and constructed another on the west side of the river to divert water from the location of the future power plant. On December 30, 1938, Massman began the first concrete pour. Pouring was conducted 24-hours a day for 20 months, totaling 510,000 cu yd (390,000 m³). A total of 23.9 million pounds of steel and iron were placed into the dam's structure to reinforce it. Major works on the dam were complete on March 21, 1940 and the lake was filled by the end of that year's summer. The dam's power plant, with four original hydroelectric generators, began commercial operation in 1941. The dam was finished in 26 months, ahead of schedule. Much of this was attributed to eastern Oklahoma having its 18 driest months on record during construction which alleviated obstacles from flooding. The federal government took control of the dam in November 1941 to aid in the World War II effort and returned it to the GRDA in 1946. ### Effect on Native Americans The construction of the Pensacola Dam resulted in the loss of 1,285 acres (520 ha) of Cherokee land and 802 acres (325 ha) of the Quapaw Indian Agency, most of which belonged to the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe. This land was condemned and later flooded by the reservoir in 1940. Half of the Seneca-Cayuga Elk River ceremonial area was flooded as well. Although losing significant portions of land, some tribe members were forced to find work on the dam project. ### Power plant upgrades In the 1950s, two additional generators were added to the power station, bringing the total to six. Between 1995 and 2003, the dam's six hydroelectric generators were upgraded, bringing the installed capacity of the power plant from 92 MW to 120 MW and increasing its generation 20%. Each autumn, a generator was taken out of service, upgraded and returned to service by spring of the next year. The sixth and final generator upgrade was completed in May 2003. Among the components principally upgraded were the turbine shafts and runners. ## Design Pensacola Dam is a multiple-arch buttress type consisting of 51 arches and one main spillway, two auxiliary. It has a maximum height of 150 ft (46 m) above the river bed. The total length of the dam and its sections is 6,565 ft (2,001 m) while the multiple-arch section is 4,284 ft (1,306 m) long and its combination with the spillway sections measure 5,145 ft (1,568 m). Each arch in the dam has a clear span of 60 ft (18 m) and each buttress is 24 ft (7.3 m) wide. The thickness of the buttress sidewalls ranges from 5 ft (1.5 m) at the base to 2.2 ft (0.67 m) at the crest. Inside of each buttress are 18 in (460 mm) thick transverse walls that act as "stiffeners". The buttresses were the widest of their type prior to 1938 and are designed to withstand 500 lbf/in² (3,400 kPa; 35 kgf/cm²). The main spillway, part of the eastern end of the dam, is a 861 ft (262 m) long Ogee-type and utilizes twenty-one 25 ft (7.6 m) tall and 36 ft (11 m) wide tainter gates that are operated by two 60-ton hoists. The auxiliary spillways are located about 1 mi (1.6 km) northeast of the dam and are controlled by another twenty-one 37 ft (11 m) wide and 15 ft (4.6 m) high tainter gates stretched over their combined 860 ft (260 m) length. The lip of the spillways lie at an elevation of 730 ft (220 m) above sea level while the tops of the gates are 755 ft (230 m). All three spillways have a combined maximum discharge of 525,000 cu ft/s (14,900 m³/s). The two-lane State Highway 28 crosses over the top of the dam and a bridge that stretches over the main spillway. It is accessible by cars and trucks within weight. The dam's reservoir, Grand Lake o' the Cherokees (Grand Lake over the Cherokees), has a storage capacity of 1,672,000 acre⋅ft (2.062×10⁹ m³) of which 540,000 acre⋅ft (670,000,000 m³) is flood storage. The reservoir's surface area is 46,500 acres (188 km²) and it extends 66 mi (106 km) upstream, creating 1,300 mi (2,100 km) of shoreline. Normal surface elevation is 742 ft (226 m) above sea level. The dam's power station is located at the base of the dam's western end and its building is 279 ft (85 m) long, 72 ft (22 m) wide and 60 ft (18 m) tall. The building houses six 20 MW Francis turbine generators that generate 335 million kWh annually and are each fed with their own individual penstock. The power plant is designed to accommodate four additional generators. It operates at its highest generation levels during the summer and lowest during the winter. Just west of the power station is its substation and an observation house. ## Regulation The power station is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), under the Federal Power Act, with the current license issued in 1992 and set to expire in 2022. The first license was granted by the FERC's predecessor, the Federal Power Commission in 1939. When the reservoir's elevation exceeds 745 ft (227 m), control of the dam's discharges are transferred to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) who manage flood control in the larger basin. By federal regulation, the GRDA and the Corps of Engineers often coordinate discharges and reservoir levels. ### Impact FERC and USACE regulated releases downstream from the dam have been the center of controversy in recent years. Since the dam is a multi-purpose project, there are conflicting interests between flood control, environmental conservation, recreation and hydroelectric power production. The USACE may request minimal releases to prevent flooding in areas downstream and in hot mid-summer periods, releases can be minimal. This reduces dissolved oxygen (DO) levels in the river downstream. Such reductions resulted in the death of at least 5,000 fish downstream in July 2007. Significant releases from the dam have drawn opposition from people such as Oklahoma State Representative Doug Cox. He argues that the large releases effect the state's economy as an off-road recreational rock park is flooded downstream. Inconsistent releases are blamed for the overall problem and a better regulation of releases has been proposed while the GRDA is contemplating the installation of aeration devices and conducting studies along with other measures. The 1992 FERC license had addressed problematic DO levels and required the GRDA to plan methods to monitor and improve DO levels to a consistency with state water quality standards. In 2019-2020, residents of the town of Miami and neighboring Native American groups have objected to proposals to increase high water levels at Pensacola Dam and Grand Lake, on the grounds that when water backs up downstream, it can increase Miami's flooding problems. ## Tourism Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the GRDA offers free tours of the dam. In 2010, there were over 9,000 visitors; a number which has been steadily growing in recent years. Additionally in 2010, the Ecosystems and Education Center was completed and has become part of the tour. The center serves as a water and fish monitoring research lab while offering visitors information about hydropower and water/electrical safety.

Battle of the Rice Boats

Part of the American Revolutionary War in Georgia (1776)

The Battle of the Rice Boats, also called the Battle of Yamacraw Bluff, was a land and naval battle of the American Revolutionary War that took place in and around the Savannah River on the border between the Province of Georgia and the Province of South Carolina on March 2 and 3, 1776. The battle pitted the Patriot militia from Georgia and South Carolina against a small fleet of the Royal Navy. In December 1775, the British Army was besieged in Boston. In need of provisions, a Royal Navy fleet was sent to Georgia to purchase rice and other supplies. The arrival of this fleet prompted the colonial rebels who controlled the Georgia government to arrest the British Royal Governor, James Wright, and to resist the British seizure and removal of supply ships anchored at Savannah. Some of the supply ships were burned to prevent their seizure, some were recaptured, but most were successfully taken by the British. Governor Wright escaped from his confinement and safely reached one of the fleet's ships. His departure marked the end of British control over Georgia, although it was briefly restored when Savannah was retaken by the British in 1778. Wright again ruled from 1779 to 1782, when British troops were finally withdrawn during the closing days of the war. ## Background In April 1775, tensions over British colonial policies in the Thirteen Colonies boiled over into war with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Following those events, Patriot colonists surrounded the city of Boston, placing it under siege, although the encirclement was incomplete: the city could be resupplied by sea. News of this action and the June Battle of Bunker Hill fanned the flames of independence throughout the colonies. Although the Province of Georgia had managed to remain relatively neutral before these events, radicals in the Georgia provincial congress came into power during the summer of 1775 and progressively stripped Georgia's Royal Governor, James Wright, of his powers. While Wright had requested a naval presence near Savannah, the colony's capital, Patriots in Charleston, South Carolina had intercepted his request and substituted for it a dispatch indicating he did not need such support. The dispute in Georgia reached a crisis point when British men-of-war began arriving at Tybee Island in January 1776. On January 12, three ships were seen at anchor off Tybee Island; by January 18 the fleet consisted of HMS Cherokee, HMS Siren, HMS Raven, HMS Tamar, and a number of smaller vessels. Wright's opinion, expressed to Joseph Clay and others, was that the fleet had been sent to punish the local rebels. In fact, these ships were the beginnings of a fleet assembled to acquire provisions in Savannah for the beleaguered British troops in Boston. In December 1775 General William Howe had ordered an expedition to purchase rice and other provisions in Georgia. By early February the entire fleet had assembled off Tybee Island. It was under the overall command of Captain Andrew Barclay (or Barkley) on HMS Scarborough, and included HMS Hinchinbrook and two transports, HMS Whitby and HMS Symmetry, carrying about 200 British army regulars from the 40th Foot under the command of Major James Grant. The arrival of the first ships in January prompted the Georgia Committee of Safety to order the arrest of Wright and other provincial representatives of the Crown on January 18. Joseph Habersham, a major in the Georgia militia, placed Governor Wright under house arrest, and extracted a promise from the governor that he would not attempt to communicate with the British ships. Wright, who continued to be harassed in spite of his confinement, feared for his life, and escaped the mansion on the night of February 11. He made his way to the plantation of a Loyalist supporter and was taken from there to Scarborough. In the meantime, Georgia's provincial assembly had met, elected representatives to the Second Continental Congress, and begun the process of raising regiments for the Continental Army. After Governor Wright arrived aboard Scarborough he wrote a letter to the remaining members of his council, in which he expressed frustration over getting assurances of safety and access to the desired supplies from the Patriot authorities. Georgia had, along with the other twelve colonies, in 1774 adopted the terms of the Continental Association created by the First Continental Congress banning trade with Great Britain. With negotiations effectively failed, Barclay ordered his fleet into action on February 29. His objective was a number of merchant vessels docked at Savannah, whose owners were desirous of moving their goods, something that became possible on March 1 when the previous constraints expired. ## Battle On March 1, Scarborough, Tamar, Cherokee, and Hinchinbrook sailed up the Savannah River to Five-Fathom Hole, accompanying transports carrying two to three hundred men under Grant's command. Hinchinbrook and one of the transports then sailed up the Back River. The transport anchored opposite the port area, while Hinchinbrook, in an attempt to take a position above the town, grounded on a sandbank in the river. Gunfire from Joseph Habersham's militia cleared Hinchinbrook's decks, but without suitable boats, Habersham was unable to attempt the taking of the vessel, which floated free on the next high tide. Late on the evening of March 2, Grant's men were landed on Hutchinson Island. They made their way across the island, and, at 4:00 am on March 3, took over a number of the rice boats anchored near the island. Due to their success at remaining quiet, and possibly with the collusion of the ship captains, the alarm was not raised in Savannah until 9:00 am. The arrival of the ships on March 1 prompted the Committee of Safety to issue calls for the defense of the town and the ships, which were forwarded along with a request for assistance to South Carolina's Committee of Safety the next day. When the alarm was raised, Colonel McIntosh took 300 militiamen and set up three 4-pound cannons on Yamacraw Bluff. He then sent Lieutenant Daniel Roberts and Major Raymond Demeré II under a parley flag to one of the occupied ships; they were promptly arrested. When a second, larger, parley arrived to discuss the release of the two captives and the ships, the situation turned nasty when Captain Rogers, leader of the party, was insulted. After he fired at someone on the occupied ship, the British responded in kind, wounding one and very nearly sinking the parley group's boat. Following that boat's retreat, McIntosh opened fire with the cannons on the bluff, beginning a gunbattle that lasted for four hours. The Committee of Safety, when it met to discuss the situation, decided that the supply ships should be burned, and a company of militia was assembled to accomplish this task. One supply ship, Inverness, was torched and set adrift toward the occupied vessels, causing a scramble as the British troops hurried to abandon them in the face of the arriving fire ship. During the confusion, the Patriot militia and battery were active, raking the scurrying British crews with musket fire and grape shot. Two of the occupied vessels managed to get away downstream, and two more escaped the flames by going upstream, but were forced to dock, and their crews were taken prisoner. Three ships succumbed to the flames, which burned well into the night. The action was assisted by the timely arrival of 500 South Carolina militia sent in response to the earlier appeal. ## Aftermath Colonel McIntosh sent a parley to Captain Barclay the next day, offering a prisoner exchange. When Barclay refused the exchange, the Committee of Safety ordered the arrest of the remaining members of Wright's council. This move proved successful; the British-held prisoners were released in exchange for promises of protection of those councillors. In spite of the action, the British successfully sailed most of the merchant ships down the Back River, although some of the ships needed to dump a portion of their cargo in order to make it down the shallow channel. Once they reached Tybee Island, the desired provisions, amounting to 1,600 barrels of rice, were loaded onto the two British transport ships. The fleet remained anchored off Tybee Island while negotiations went on over the exchange of prisoners. During this time the fleet detained several arriving vessels, which were later disposed of as prizes. On March 25, a band of militia from Savannah burned all the houses on the island to deny their use to Wright and the ships' officers. Barclay weighed anchor on March 30 and sailed north, leading the convoy of merchant ships and transports. As the British had abandoned Boston earlier in March, he first put into Newport, Rhode Island, where the local Patriots denied him any assistance and fired at his ships using field artillery. He eventually rejoined the British forces at Halifax, Nova Scotia in May. The battle and Wright's departure marked the end of British control over Georgia until Savannah was recaptured by British forces in December 1778. Governor Wright returned, and Savannah then remained in British hands until 1782.

Chippendales Audition

Saturday Night Live sketch

"Chippendales Audition" is a comedy sketch which aired on October 27, 1990, during the 16th season of Saturday Night Live. It stars Chris Farley and guest host Patrick Swayze as dancers auditioning for the male burlesque troupe Chippendales. The sketch's humor largely stems from the incongruity of the overweight Farley performing energetic and erotic dance moves, with his body, which the judges later describe as "fat and flabby", contrasting with the trim, muscular body of Swayze. Heightening the absurdity, the panel judging the men considers them to be closely matched, repeatedly emphasizing the difficulty of choosing between them. "Chippendales Audition" was well-received by SNL's audience and has been remembered as one of the show's most iconic sketches. Occurring on Farley's fourth episode as a cast member, the sketch was instrumental in his rise to stardom. Contemporary SNL cast and writers are sharply divided in their assessments of the sketch, with some strongly criticizing it as lazy and mean-spirited humor at the expense of Farley's weight, and others praising it as one of the funniest sketches of all time. ## Summary The sketch opens on an establishing shot of the exterior of a Chippendales nightclub, dissolving to a panel of three judges played by Jan Hooks, Kevin Nealon, and Mike Myers. They have a discussion establishing that this is the final step of a long audition process, after which they must make the difficult decision of selecting one of two final candidates to hire as a Chippendales dancer. A young woman (Victoria Jackson) ushers two dancers ("Barney", played by Chris Farley, and "Adrian", played by Patrick Swayze) on stage in front of the judges. The dancers are dressed in black trousers, sleeveless tuxedo shirts, bow ties, and wrist cuffs. The song "Working for the Weekend" by Loverboy begins to play, and the two begin dancing. Early in the routine, Swayze rips off his shirt, eliciting cheers from the audience. Farley then does the same thing, revealing his large belly, to laughter. Throughout the routine, the two men perform a number of high-energy moves, including leaps, spins, and sensual hip thrusting. At one point, Farley does "the worm" from a standing jump. After the song ends, the two men exit the stage, and praise one another's performances backstage. They return to the stage, wearing robes, to receive the judges' decision. The judges state that they have chosen Adrian (Swayze). Nealon explains that, while Barney's dancing was excellent, Adrian's body is "much, much better" than Barney's, which is "fat and flabby". Adrian affirms that Barney is a more skilled and sexy dancer, and that, if the judges chose him over Barney, it could only be because Barney's body is "so bad". As the judges continue to explain their decision, the camera slowly zooms in on Swayze's face, and the audio fades out and is replaced by a voiceover, with Swayze's character seeming to reflect retrospectively on his memory of this moment, and the impact that Barney had on him. ## Production The sketch was written by SNL writer Jim Downey. Downey stated that the sketch was mostly inspired by guest host Patrick Swayze, who was known for his attractive physique and dancing skill (as demonstrated, for example, in his breakout role in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing). Downey emphasized to Farley that, for the latter half of the sketch to succeed, his character needed to be unfazed by the criticism given by Nealon's character. He remembered his advice to Farley as being: > You're not at all embarrassed here. They're telling you, "Our audience tends to prefer a more sculpted, lean physique as opposed to a fat, flabby one," but your feelings are never hurt. You're processing that like it's good information. Like you're going to learn from this and take it to your next audition. In the 2015 documentary I Am Chris Farley, comedian Tom Arnold recalled that, in the days leading up to the Swayze show, Farley had confided that he had reservations about doing the sketch, fearing the embarrassment of playing "the fat guy". The version of the sketch shown in rebroadcasts is similar to the version which aired on the live broadcast, but the dancing sequence is taken from the filmed dress rehearsal. ## Impact "Chippendales Audition" was the first SNL sketch to feature Farley in a starring role, and the episode in which it aired was only Farley's fourth as a cast member. Other cast members have identified the sketch as a pivotal moment in Farley's career on SNL, with its extremely positive audience reception establishing him as a standout cast member, and leading to his being frequently cast in prominent roles in future sketches that season. According to Farley's agent, Doug Robinson, a video of the Chippendales sketch was what led to him being signed by the talent agency CAA. ## Criticism and analysis SNL writers and cast members have expressed sharply divided opinions about the Chippendales sketch. Critics of the sketch have taken issue with its exploitation of Farley's obesity for humor, and the effect that such jokes had on Farley's mental health. Farley often used his weight for comedic effect – for example, the Washington Post's obituary for Farley noted his propensity for playing "comically sweaty, tightly wound characters who worked themselves and their girth into a frenzy". But friends and biographers have stated that, privately, Farley was insecure about his weight, and ambivalent about what he termed the "Fatty falls down" trope. Some contend that this fed into the addictions that would ultimately lead to his early death. In interviews for the 2008 Farley biography The Chris Farley Show, writer Bob Odenkirk and cast member Chris Rock both stated that they "hate" the Chippendales sketch. Odenkirk described it as "fucking lame, weak bullshit", and expressed regret at it being Farley's breakout role, a view which he later reiterated in his 2022 memoir. Rock described the sketch as "mean", and complained that, after getting laughs from Farley's shirtless dancing, the sketch lacks any further "comic twist". In an interview with Howard Stern, Rock suggested that an ending in which the casting director selected Farley over Swayze would have maintained the sketch's humor without hurting Farley's feelings. The author of the sketch, Jim Downey, and writers Robert Smigel and Al Franken have all defended it against such criticisms, with Smigel and Franken ranking it as one of the funniest sketches in the show's history. Downey and Smigel argue that the sketch goes beyond the mere "cheap" gag of laughing at Farley's shirtless dancing, by having all the characters consider Farley as a serious contender, with the judges earnestly taking down notes during the performance, and Nealon's judge stating multiple times how difficult it is to choose between Farley and Swayze's characters. The sketch's proponents also point to Farley's nimble, skillful dancing as an element which renders the sketch "empowering" rather than degrading. Kevin Nealon, who played a judge in the sketch, cited it as the most memorable sketch of his career, praising Farley's commitment, and noting his own difficulty in keeping a straight face.

Mary Alice Young

Fictional character from the television series Desperate Housewives

Mary Alice Young (previously Angela Forrest) is a fictional character from the ABC television series Desperate Housewives. The character was created by television producer and screenwriter Marc Cherry and is portrayed by Brenda Strong, who also serves as the narrator of the series from beyond the grave; the character's suicide in the pilot episode served as the catalyst of the series. The narration provided by Mary Alice is essential to the tale of Wisteria Lane, as the series revolves around her sharing the secrets of her friends and neighbors. Her narration technique is akin in style to Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (1915). Mary Alice is considered the most mysterious of the housewives as only parts of her story are originally known. A loving, doting wife and mother who was generous to her family and neighbors, she was the last person any of them expected to commit suicide. In death, Mary Alice sees things she would not have seen when she was alive: her friends' vulnerabilities, lies, and secrets. She does not judge them so much as love them more because of their foibles, pitying them for the ways they manipulate and hurt those they care about most. Although deceased since the pilot episode, Mary Alice continued to have a leading storyline throughout the first and second seasons of the series, with the story being led by her husband Paul Young (Mark Moses) and son Zach (Cody Kasch). Thereafter, Strong continued to make sporadic appearances as Mary Alice in flashbacks, dreams and as a ghost to other characters while narrating almost every episode of the series. Strong was the subject of acclaim for both her portrayal and narration as the character, with some critics describing her voice as one of the most recognizable on television at the end of the series. She was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance for her narration as Mary Alice and received two Screen Actors Guild Awards as a cast member of Desperate Housewives. ## Casting and development In Marc Cherry's first script for the pilot of Desperate Housewives, the character was originally named Mary Alice Scott, but he was later forced to change the character's surname when the series was picked up by ABC. In the book Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors, a companion to the first season of the series, he explained: "We changed Mary Alice Scott to Mary Alice Young because we couldn't get the name cleared with our lawyers. If over three people in the country have that name you're fine but with anything less than that, they make you use a different name. Apparently there was one Mary Alice Scott in the country." The role of Mary Alice was originally given to Sheryl Lee, who portrayed the character in the original pilot that was filmed for ABC, but Lee was soon replaced by Strong after Cherry and the producers decided that Lee was not right for the part. Marcia Cross, who would later be cast as Bree Van de Kamp, also expressed interest in Mary Alice, but after reading for the part Cherry insisted that she read for Bree instead. Strong explained in Desperate Housewives: Behind Closed Doors that she believed there to be a "conceptual shift" after the filming of the original pilot with Lee, and "they realized they needed something different", stating: "There certainly wasn't something wrong with what [Lee] did. It was just that instead of vanilla they wanted chocolate, and I happened to be chocolate. When I walked in to audition, Marc Cherry was so sweet. He said, 'I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to close my eyes, because I really want to hear how you sound.' When I was done with the audition, he opened his eyes and this angelic smile crept across his face, and I thought, 'Oh, good. Something went right.'" The actress also explained that she watched the pilot filmed with Lee and while that was helpful for her own portrayal, she saw that what she had to offer for the role was different, saying: "It's a little strange when you watch someone else in a role you're auditioning for because his or her performance lives in your mind. It can be hard to distinguish yourself sometimes, but I had fun with it." Scenes featuring Lee were refilmed with Strong as her replacement. Strong stated years later that her role and narration as Mary Alice led to her voice becoming significantly recognizable, explaining in a 2012 interview with Entertainment Weekly that fans of the series would recognize her in coffee shops solely by her voice. The actress served as the narrator of almost every episode of the series, with the exceptions of the third season episode "My Husband, the Pig" (in which Steven Culp narrates the episode as the deceased Rex Van de Kamp) and the fifth season episode "Look Into Their Eyes and You See What They Know" (in which Nicollette Sheridan narrates the episode as the deceased Edie Britt). The mystery surrounding Mary Alice and her family was the main storyline in the first season of the series, and it is resolved in the first-season finale. Cherry had wanted there to be a "definite end" to the mystery, hoping to avoid similar viewer fatigue that Twin Peaks suffered after drawing out its central mystery past its first season. ABC executives initially protested the writers' decision to have Mary Alice purposefully kill Deirdre Taylor (Jolie Jenkins), the woman whose child she had illegally purchased, prompting the writers to make Deirdre violent in order to justify Mary Alice's actions. Although Mary Alice and her family do not have much of a leading storyline thereafter, the mystery surrounding the character's suicide in the inaugural season is said to have informed and influenced every other season of the series. In 2006, when asked during an interview what viewers could expect from Mary Alice for the series' third season, Strong said that the character was "going to be back with an attitude", stating: "She will be a little less surreal, ethereal and a little more sassy, which means the show is going to be sassier." During the series' final season in 2011, the actress appears as Mary Alice's ghost to her suicidal friend Bree (Marcia Cross). Strong enjoyed filming that particular scene, as it was the only scene during the entire series that featured solely Mary Alice and Bree. She described the scene as one of her personal favorites and called it an "extraordinary opportunity", saying: "In a way, Mary Alice becomes [Bree's] conscience and her guide and her muse in knowing what to do with her life. And it was an exquisitely written scene and it was really, I think in my experience on the show, one of my favorite scenes I have ever shot." ## Storylines ### First season In the pilot episode, Mary Alice introduces herself as the stereotypical American housewife to husband Paul Young (Mark Moses) and son Zach (Cody Kasch). On one Thursday, she proceeds to go to her hall closet to retrieve a revolver, and shoot herself in the head with it. Paul asks Mary Alice’s neighbors and friends, Susan (Teri Hatcher), Lynette (Felicity Huffman), Bree (Marcia Cross) and Gabrielle (Eva Longoria), to go through her clothes and other belongings and then pack them up, as he thinks it will be too hard for him. The women end up finding a letter addressed to Mary Alice, a blackmail note reading, "I know what you did, it makes me sick, I’m going to tell." Thereafter, the women make a series of discoveries concerning Mary Alice’s past and her possible motives for ending her life; she was being treated by Dr. Albert Goldfine (Sam Lloyd) where she revealed that she once went by the name Angela, and she may have had something to do with a baby that went missing. Paul soon discovers who sent Mary Alice the note, their next-door neighbor struggling with financial difficulty, Martha Huber (Christine Estabrook), whom he ends up strangling to death out of pure rage and burying her body in the nearby forest. Meanwhile, her son Zach begins having flashbacks and is under the impression he killed a baby named Dana, who he believed to be his younger sister and reveals this to Julie Mayer (Andrea Bowen), Susan’s daughter. Paul worries over what Susan is spreading about their family, so he tells Susan in private that Zach accidentally killed his younger sister, Dana, and that he and Mary Alice covered it up to protect him. However, it becomes evident that this is not the case when Paul tells Zach that Dana is still very much alive. Felicia Tilman (Harriet Sansom Harris), Martha’s sister, soon arrives on Wisteria Lane to find out what happened to her sister. While inside Paul and Mary Alice’s house, she recognizes a picture of Mary Alice and claims her to be Angela, a nurse she worked with years prior in Utah, but Paul is adamant that she is mistaken. Felicia, however, knows that Mary Alice was in fact Angela and later tells Zach that she knew him when he was a baby, and that his original name was so lovely: Dana. In the first-season finale, the mystery behind Mary Alice’s suicide is revealed in full. In March 1990, Todd and Angela Forrest could not conceive and one night a woman named Deirdre Taylor (Jolie Jenkins), a heroin addict whom Angela had treated at the rehabilitation hospital where she worked as a nurse, came to their house looking for money and offered to sell her son to them, to which they eventually agreed. When Deirdre returned to the hospital as a patient soon after and suspicion arose as to where her child was, Angela knew they had to leave town. They moved to Fairview and bought a house on Wisteria Lane, changing their names to Paul, Mary Alice and Zach Young. In 1993, however, Deirdre came to their home, seemingly sober, demanding that she reclaim her son. After a verbal fight, Deirdre went to take her child, when Mary Alice stabbed and killed her. Zach woke up and saw the body, which led to years of his parents brushing off his memories of that night as nothing. Paul and Mary Alice dismembered Deirdre’s body, put it in a toy chest and buried it under their pool. Years later, Martha recognized Mary Alice in a group photo in Felicia’s house, leading to Felicia to tell Martha about how Angela and Todd possibly disappeared with Deirdre’s child and hopefully gave Dana a proper home. Martha then blackmailed Mary Alice and she, in desperation, committed suicide. ### Later seasons Mary Alice appears in flashbacks and dream sequences in the remainder of the series, during which several previously unknown details about the day she committed suicide are revealed. In season two, Mary Alice was the first of the housewives to move onto Wisteria Lane, to which she recounts how she met each of them and how they all became friends. In season three, Lynette has a recurring nightmare of the last time she spoke to Mary Alice; while she was reading her blackmail note for the first time on her front lawn, the day she committed suicide. Lynette asks if she is okay, to which Mary Alice says she is and while Lynette knew otherwise, she had groceries that needed refrigeration, so she simply told Mary Alice she would see her later. After a hostage situation at the local grocery store, Lynette has one final dream in which she speaks to Mary Alice and asks how she can help her; she tells her that we can’t prevent what we can’t predict, and to enjoy the beautiful day, as we get so few of them. Afterward, Mary Alice states that this was the last time Lynette would ever dream of her, and for her sake, she is grateful. In season four, Mary Alice appears in two separate flashbacks to when Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany) was first living on Wisteria Lane; in "Now You Know", she and Susan knock on Katherine’s door wondering why there is a moving truck outside her house, to which a rattled Katherine says she got a new job in Chicago. In "Free", Mary Alice is shown to have been babysitting Katherine's daughter Dylan (Hailee Denham) on the night that Dylan's father Wayne (Gary Cole) returned, to which Katherine looks immediately panicked and Mary Alice apologizes for any wrongdoing. In season five, Mary Alice appears in multiple flashbacks in "The Best Thing That Ever Could Have Happened", including when handyman Eli Scruggs (Beau Bridges) was first starting out and approached Mary Alice on the street, asking her if she had any work for him. After initially declining, she notices a hole in his shoe and asks if he can fix a broken vase. Years later, on the day Mary Alice committed suicide, Eli was at her house dropping something off. He asks if she is all right, to which she says she is, and just as he is about to leave she picks up the vase he glued for her and says she wants him to have it. Eli asks again if she is all right, and she politely asks him to leave. Later that day, after Mary Alice had shot herself, Eli watches emergency workers and neighbors gossiping from afar, regretting that he did nothing to save her. He then makes a vow to God to not only fix people's belongings but their lives as much as he can as well. In season six, Mary Alice again appears in a flashback in "Epiphany", when she notices four-year-old Eddie Orlofsky (Davin Ransom) witnessing his father leave their family. Mary Alice continues to check on Eddie and his mother Barbara (Diane Farr), bringing them a hot meal and later to bring a teddy bear for Eddie, where she finds the young child left home alone. Mary Alice finds Barbara in a bar, brings her home and scolds her for her poor parenting skills. In season eight, Mary Alice appears in several flashbacks and as a ghost. In "Making the Connection", it is revealed that she contemplated calling her friends for advice and support after receiving the blackmail note, but ultimately chose not to and then committed suicide. In "Putting It Together", Mary Alice appears as a ghost to a suicidal Bree, who asks her if she remembers how happy their lives were on Wisteria Lane when she was alive and if she is happy now, to which Mary Alice says she is not unhappy. The series finale opens with the day Mary Alice arrived on Wisteria Lane. Martha is the first to greet her, and when Mary Alice seems unwilling to talk about where she is from, Martha guesses she has a secret and makes it her mission from that day forward to figure out what it is. At the end of the episode, Mary Alice's spirit is seen with the ghosts of those who have died over the years on Wisteria Lane, explaining her presence all this time has been in the hopes that they can give a message to those left behind that while their lives may be desperate, they are still worth living. ## Reception Both the character and her role as narrator were generally well received by critics throughout the series, and for which Strong received nominations for multiple accolades. In his review of the pilot, Tom Shales of The Washington Post complimented Mary Alice character's narrations, writing: "Even though narration has become the most overused technique in prime-time television (needed, perhaps, to help move the narrative along quickly now that hour-length shows have shrunk to as little as 41 minutes plus commercials), the producers of Desperate Housewives use it well, and Strong's uncomplaining perkiness adds yet another layer of irony to the enterprise." Peter Schorn of IGN commended Strong's narrations as well as the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's suicide, calling the character's "dark secret" the "McGuffin that powers this first season". Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe described Mary Alice's suicide scene as "mysterious and somber but mostly funny", pointing out that the soundtrack music remains "light and happy" throughout and likened the character's narration to that of Glenn Close in Reversal of Fortune (1990). Celia Wren, also writing for The Washington Post, confirmed that the "idyllic small-town" setting of Desperate Housewives as well as Mary Alice's narration style as a deceased and omniscient narrator were influenced by Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (1915), for which she complimented the series, writing: "There's a lot of material to work with: Masters's poetic portrait gallery from 1915 gets its oomph from blowtorching the concept of idyllic small-town America. Its largely embittered personalities speak from beyond the grave of murders, seductions, suicides, hypocrisies, political corruption—enough scandalous behavior to make Desperate Housewives look like Little Women." While reviewing the first-season finale, Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly praised the resolution to the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's death, calling it "both shocking and satisfying." On the other hand, Ann Hodgman of Entertainment Weekly was negative in her review and criticized the writers' decision to devoting too much of the episode to the Mary Alice storyline rather than focusing on the other characters. Tanner Stransky, also writing for the magazine, wrote that the producers "artfully blended" the mystery surrounding Mary Alice's suicide with "hot-button and often titillating plotlines" throughout the series' first season. In an article celebrating the tenth anniversary of the airing of the series' pilot episode, Matthew Jacobs of The Huffington Post complimented the "many layers of Mary Alice and her family's mystery" and likened it as "just as captivating" as the first season of Lost. In 2009, Stransky was favorable of both Strong's narration and performance in the fifth season episode "The Best Thing That Could Have Ever Happened", describing Mary Alice's role in the episode as "heartbreaking" and writing: "I know we hear Brenda Strong nearly every week in her voiceovers, but it was so nice to see her on screen again! That lady can act." Matt Richenthal of TV Fanatic was bored by Mary Alice's flashback scenes in the sixth season episode "Epiphany", believing them to be unrealistic. Daniel Goldberg of Slant Magazine praised Mary Alice's narration in the series finale in 2012, writing: "There was one resolution that truly resonated. When the ladies all move out of [Wisteria] Lane and politely promise to keep in touch and visit, Mary Alice (Brenda Strong) takes the opportunity to unearth one last lie. With one of her most somber voiceovers ever, she lets us in on a secret that the housewives already know: They won’t keep in touch, and they won’t visit. The moment is far more unsettling and existential than the overblown sequence of the desperately deceased gathering to wave Susan goodbye. Deep friendships and passing acquaintances can never be replicated, and these are the endings we experience every day, even as we try to deny their finality." Writing for Backstage magazine in 2012, Jeffery Self wrote that Strong's narration as Mary Alice led to her voice becoming "one of the most familiar on television". As a result of her popularity as the series' narrator, Anna Silman of Vulture magazine described Strong as "everybody's favorite deceased housewife/omniscient narrator" in 2014. For her narration as Mary Alice, Strong was twice nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in 2011 and 2012. Additionally, as a cast member of Desperate Housewives, she twice received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, among five consecutive nominations for the award between 2005 and 2009.

Home Soil

"Home Soil" is the eighteenth episode of the American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. It first aired in broadcast syndication on February 22, 1988. Robert Sabaroff, Karl Geurs and Ralph Sanchez developed the story, with Sabaroff producing the teleplay. "Home Soil" is one of five episodes of the series directed by Corey Allen. Set in the 24th century, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet crew of the Federation starship Enterprise-D. In the episode, the crew of the Enterprise investigates the murder of a crewman on a terraforming colony and discover a crystalline life form possessing intelligence. The production team encountered problems with the sets, casting, and scheduling. Due to issues with the script, it was delivered to Allen just one day before shooting. Nine million viewers watched the episode, the second lowest number of viewers for the first season of The Next Generation. Critical reception was mixed, with one reviewer noting that unlike the original Star Trek series, "Home Soil" explored the realm of hard science fiction. Critics compared the appearance of inorganic life forms in the story to the plot of the original Star Trek series episode, "The Devil in the Dark". ## Plot Diverted from exploring the Pleiades, the Enterprise arrives at the terraforming colony on Velara III, as the project is behind schedule. The director, Kurt Mandl (Walter Gotell), insists they are on time but Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) orders an away team to the surface after Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) senses that Mandl is hiding something. After they arrive, one of Mandl's team is killed by a malfunctioning laser drill. During Lt. Commander Data's (Brent Spiner) inspection of the tool, it begins to fire at him, but his quick android reflexes allow him to dodge the shot and render the drill harmless. He finds the programming of the laser was rewritten to fire upon the staff. Nearby, a crystal is discovered giving off irregular light and radiation patterns. The crystal is brought aboard the Enterprise to study and Picard orders a halt to the terraforming. Dr. Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Data discover the crystal may be alive. When the crystal attempts to interact with the Enterprise's computers, it is placed into a containment force field. The crystal begins to grow and gains access to the computer's translation program and attempts to communicate with the crew, treating the humans as an enemy, derisively calling them "ugly bags of mostly water". Picard discovers that Mandl and his team previously encountered the crystals; at the time, they had considered the possibility that the crystals were alive, but Mandl insisted on continuing to terraform. The terraformers used a drilling process responsible for removing the saline water layer from the water table of Velara III. This saline layer acted as a conductor, allowing many separate crystals to function as one life form. In a defensive response to the drilling, the crystal life form rewrote the laser's software and attacked the terraformers. Data hypothesizes that a single crystal is not intelligent, but when linked to other crystals, their intelligence is formidable. As the crystalline life form accesses higher-level functions of the Enterprise's computer, Picard and the crew try to transport it to the surface but the crystal blocks all attempts to transport it off the ship. Data and Lt. Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) discover the presence of cadmium in the crystal and suspect it has photoelectric properties. They disable the lights in the medical lab and the crystal immediately begs for life. Picard peacefully negotiates to return the crystal life form to the surface of the planet where Starfleet will institute a quarantine, leaving the life form to live in peace. ## Production Re-writes on "Home Soil" continued throughout shooting, with Corey Allen receiving pages on the day before filming, something that Allen described as a "struggle". Of the story in general, The Next Generation writer and producer Maurice Hurley said it was "An interesting idea, but the execution fell apart." He felt that in addition to the script, there were issues with casting, sets and the time in which to shoot. The story bears similarities to the Space: 1999 episode "All That Glisters", which also featured intelligent water-ingesting rocks that communicated with humanoids. Andrew Probert created a matte painting of the outside of the terraforming station which never made it into the show. The guest stars in "Home Soil" included Walter Gotell, who was better known for appearing in the James Bond film franchise as General Gogol. The crystalline life form's description for humanoids in the episode spawned the phrase, "ugly bags of mostly water", which has been used as the title of a documentary about Star Trek fans, and as the name of a song by the band Streetnix, as well as being referenced by Dream Warriors in the lyrics of My Definition of a Boombastic Jazz Theme. ## Reception The episode first aired on February 22, 1988. It received Nielsen ratings of 9 million on the first broadcast, which was a decrease of over a million from the previous episode "When the Bough Breaks", which received ratings of 10.2 during the previous week. The next new episode was broadcast three weeks later, when "Coming of Age" gained ratings of 10.1 million. "Home Soil" was the second lowest viewed episode of the first season, with "The Last Outpost" viewed by 100,000 fewer viewers. Several reviewers re-watched the episode after the end of the series. Keith DeCandido reviewed the episode for Tor.com, saying that "while this episode has its flaws, it's a wonderful example of science fiction, one that doesn't skimp on suspense, action, and Trek's trademark compassion." He didn't like the film direction by Allen, saying that the director had a "bizarre insistence on unnatural, stage-y blocking and positioning and obsession with extreme closeups". DeCandido also thought that the plot suffered "amnesia regarding the Horta" from The Original Series episode "The Devil in the Dark". He gave "Home Soil" an overall score of seven out of ten. Michelle Erica Green, in her review for TrekNation, thought that the episode was "less interesting" than the "Horta attacks and mind-melds" of "The Devil in the Dark". She also felt "Home Soil" was too similar "in the science fiction and in the storytelling" to the previous episode, "When the Bough Breaks". Zack Handlen, who watched the episode for The A.V. Club, thought that the "hard sci-fi" worked well as it was an area that The Original Series never went near. He thought that the story was different enough from "The Devil in the Dark"—although the Horta was silicon based, it was at least easily recognisable as an alien creature. "This makes it less exciting as a creature, but more intriguing as an idea," Handlen argues. While he felt that the episode was a "winner", he conceded that it was "a bit on the dry side". James Hunt, writing for the website Den of Geek, noted that the Enterprise fought a space-bound crystalline entity several episodes earlier in "Datalore", which he considered "a lot more impressive than these crystal microbrains...Okay, it wouldn't talk to them, but nor did it die the moment someone switched the frickin' lights off." He felt that "Home Soil" was a generic Star Trek episode and thought that it was similar to The Original Series in tone. ## Home media release "Home Soil" was first released on VHS cassette in the United States and Canada on August 26, 1992. The episode was later included on the Star Trek: The Next Generation season one DVD box set, released in March 2002. The season one Blu-ray set was released on July 24, 2012.

USS Tucker (DD-374)

Mahan-class destroyer

USS Tucker (DD-374) was one of 18 Mahan-class destroyers built for the United States Navy and was commissioned in 1936. Tucker's main battery consisted of five dual-purpose 38 caliber 5-inch (127 mm) guns. First assigned to the United States Battle Fleet in San Diego, California, Tucker operated along the West Coast and in the Hawaiian Islands. After participating in naval exercises in the Caribbean Sea, she returned to duty in Hawaii. She then went on a goodwill tour to New Zealand, returning to Hawaii and docking at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Tucker was undergoing an overhaul and was not attacked. Soon afterward, she began escorting convoys between the West Coast and Hawaii. Tucker was then tasked with escort duty to islands in the South Pacific. Tucker steamed out of port on 1 August 1942, escorting a cargo ship to Espiritu Santo. They entered its harbor three days later, where the destroyer unknowingly entered a defensive minefield laid by the US Navy. Tucker struck at least one mine that tore her almost in two, sinking her and killing three sailors; the rest of the crew survived. ## Design ### General characteristics The Mahan-class destroyers were improved versions of the preceding Farragut class. The Mahans' standard displacement was 1,500 long tons (1,524 t) larger, and they were equipped with a more efficient steam propulsion system and designed to carry 12 torpedo tubes, an increase of four over the Farragut-class. Tucker displaced 1,500 long tons (1,524 t) at standard load and 1,725 long tons (1,753 t) at deep load. The ship's overall length was 341 feet (103.9 m), her beam was 35 feet 6 inches (10.8 m), and her draft was 10 feet 7 inches (3.2 m). Her peace-time complement consisted of 158 officers and enlisted men. She had a tripod foremast and a pole mainmast. To improve the antiaircraft field of fire, her tripod foremast was constructed without nautical rigging. The destroyer was fitted with emergency diesel generators, replacing the storage batteries of earlier destroyers. Gun crew shelters were also built fore and aft for the superimposed guns. A third set of quadruple torpedo tubes was added, with one mounted on the centerline and two in the side positions. ### Machinery Tucker was fitted with four water-tube boilers built by either Babcock & Wilcox or Foster Wheeler. They generated the steam that propelled the two General Electric geared steam turbines, developing 46,000 shp (34,000 kW) for a maximum speed of 37 knots (69 km/h; 43 mph). Tucker carried a maximum of 523 long tons (531 t) of fuel oil, with a trial range of 7,300 nautical miles (13,500 km; 8,400 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph). The ship's wartime ranges were 6,940 nautical miles (12,850 km; 7,990 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph) and 4,360 nautical miles (8,070 km; 5,020 mi) at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph). The ship's design incorporated a new generation of propulsion machinery. The boilers were capable of reaching 650–700 °F (340–370 °C), powering the high-pressure turbines with double-reduction gears that enabled the turbines to run faster and more efficiently than in previous destroyer designs. ### Armament Tucker's main battery consisted of five dual-purpose 38 caliber 5-inch (127 mm) guns, equipped with the MK 33 gun fire-control system. The ship's antiaircraft battery had four water-cooled .50 caliber machine guns (12.7 mm). The ship was fitted with three quadruple torpedo-tube mounts for twelve 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes, guided by the Mark 27 torpedo fire-control system. Those on the port and starboard sides could only fire to their side, but the centerline mount could fire to both sides. She was rigged for two depth charge roll-off racks and for depth charge projectors (K-guns). In early 1942, the Navy began to refit the Mahan-class destroyers with new antiaircraft armament, although most of the class was not refitted until sometime in 1944. (The source, Hodges and Friedman, do not indicate if Tucker was refitted). ## Construction and service history Tucker was the second vessel to be named for Samuel Tucker, who had been an officer in the Continental Navy and the United States Navy. Tucker's keel was laid down on 15 August 1934. She was launched on 26 February 1936 and christened by a third cousin of Tucker. The ship was commissioned in the United States Navy on 23 July. After her shakedown cruise, she joined destroyer forces attached to the United States Battle Fleet in San Diego, California. She operated with them along the West Coast and in the Hawaiian islands as part of Destroyer Squadron 3 of the Destroyer Division. In February 1939, she took part in Fleet Problem XX, a naval exercise held in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean and observed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As tensions with Japan increased, the fleet was ordered to return to Hawaiian waters. In June 1940, Tucker steamed from Hawaii to a location east of Wake Island for fleet exercises. In United States Navy Destroyers of World War II, John Reilly, Jr. described the uncommon method used to power the vessel on its return to Hawaii: > ... Tucker stretched her fuel supply by rigging Sails. Her homemade foresail and mainsail moved Tucker at an estimated 3.4 knots, letting her maintain steerageway as she loitered on station several days. Tucker continued operating between Hawaii and the West Coast into February 1941. She then set course for New Zealand on a goodwill tour, arriving in Auckland on 17 March. Returning to Pearl Harbor, she took part in routine exercises at sea before returning to her homeport of San Diego on 19 September. After a short stay, Tucker steamed to Hawaii in November as part of Task Force 19, operating again in the Hawaiian Islands. Shortly afterward, she put into Pearl Harbor for an overhaul by a destroyer tender. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Tucker was one of five destroyers moored at berth X–9, East Loch, alongside the destroyer tender Whitney. Even before Tucker's general quarters alarm could be sounded, one of her on-deck sailors began firing a 50-caliber machine gun at the first wave of Japanese aircraft. When the second wave attacked, every ship that could opened fire. Tucker's gunners scored hits on at least two aircraft: one crashed in a cane field, another in flames disappeared over a mountaintop. Still undergoing overhaul, much of Tucker’s machinery had been torn down for repairs. Despite the crew's efforts, she was unable to get underway until that evening. After her overhaul, Tucker patrolled off Pearl Harbor and spent several months escorting convoys between Hawaii and the West Coast. With new orders, she steamed to the South Pacific for convoy duty. Tucker then escorted the seaplane tender Wright to Tutuila, American Samoa, as part of the drive to fortify outposts. She then escorted her charge to Suva, Fiji, and proceeded to Noumea, New Caledonia. Steaming on for Australia, she arrived at Sydney on 27 April. After taking on fuel, she visited Melbourne, Perth, and Fremantle before steaming back to Sydney. Tucker and Wright returned to Suva, arriving on 3 June 1942. For the remainder of June and into the first week of July, Tucker operated out of Suva before relieving the cruiser Boise of convoy escort duties on 10 July. On 30 July, the ship arrived at Auckland and the following day started back for Suva. ## Fate On 1 August 1942 Tucker left Suva, escorting the cargo ship SS Nira Luckenbach to Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides. On 4 August Tucker led the cargo ship into the harbor at Espiritu Santo, as she headed into the western entrance, she struck at least one mine. The explosion tore her hull nearly in two at the No. 1 stack, killing all three crew members on watch in the forward fire room. The rest of the ship's company survived. Nira Luckenbach and other vessels rescued sailors from their sinking ship. Tucker's stern sank the following morning; a diving party scuttled and sank her bow. The ship had steamed into the Segond Channel unaware that the minelayers Gamble, Breese, and Tracy had laid mines at its western entrance. An investigation revealed that Tucker's captain had not been informed of the minefield. She was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on 2 December 1944. Tucker's loss was a setback to the Pacific Fleet, which was trying to assemble every available ship for the Battle of Guadalcanal. Three days after Tucker sank, the seagoing tugboat Navajo arrived on site with divers, salvaging her guns, turbines, anchors and chains. During the remainder of the war, the Navy used the wreckage site for diver training; they did not undertake further salvaging. Settling in just 60 feet (18 m) of water, the ship was easily accessible to private salvors, who harvested anything of value, ransacking and further scattering Tucker's remains. Sport divers also had a destructive effect on the site, which by 1997 resembled an "underwater junkyard". Mike Gerken, an underwater photojournalist, dove the Tucker wreckage site several times; in 2013 he eulogized Tucker and other sunken ships: > To see a ship with a distinguished record as the Tucker in such a poor state gave me pause for thought. I pondered that wrecks, like the Tucker, will gradually disappear and to be saddened by this inevitable fact would be pointless. What is important is that the memory of these ships be kept alive by telling their stories. Tucker and SS President Coolidge, a troopship, suffered similar fates less than three months apart; both were sunk in different locations of the same U.S. Navy minefield, and both later became diving sites. ## Honors Tucker received one battle star for her World War II service.

Interstate 780

Interstate Highway in California

Interstate 780 (I-780) is an east–west auxiliary Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It runs from Curtola Parkway and Lemon Street in Vallejo to I-680 just north of the Benicia–Martinez Bridge in Benicia. It closely parallels the Carquinez Strait for its entire route. Originally, this segment was part of I-680 before that Interstate was extended and rerouted to Fairfield. The city-maintained Curtola Parkway continues west from I-80 to State Route 29 (SR 29) in Vallejo. ## Route description The I-780 state-maintained freeway begins at Lemon Street and Curtola Parkway, quickly crossing underneath I-80 at a cloverleaf interchange. The freeway passes through parts of unincorporated Solano County, then heads southeast along the Benicia State Recreation Area (a marsh). It then bypasses downtown Benicia through the hills to the north. I-780 ends at I-680 at the north end of the Benicia–Martinez Bridge, with I-680 heading south through the East Bay to San Jose. I-780 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and, as with every Interstate Highway, is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). ## History By 1914, a paved county road connected Vallejo and Benicia north of the Carquinez Strait, following the present Maine Street, Benicia Road, Columbus Parkway, and K Street. Although state highways were designated to Benicia in 1910 (Legislative Route (LRN) 7, now I-680) and Vallejo in 1931 (LRN 74, now SR 29), this connection was not added until 1935, when LRN 74 (an unsigned designation) was extended east from Vallejo to Benicia and north along former LRN 7 to Fairfield. (A short spur connecting Vallejo to the Carquinez Bridge was added to LRN 74 in 1937.) LRN 74 initially entered Benicia on K Street and left on East 5th Street, making several turns in between. Two realignments were built in the 1940s, reducing the number of turns to one, at the corner of L and East 2nd streets. On September 15, 1955, the Bureau of Public Roads approved the Interstate Highway System spurs and connections in urban areas. Among these was a loop around the San Francisco Bay, soon numbered I-280 and I-680. The east half (I-680) incorporated a number of existing legislative routes, including LRN 69, LRN 108, LRN 107, LRN 75, and LRN 74, crossing the Carquinez Strait on the proposed Benicia–Martinez Bridge and ending at I-80 near downtown Vallejo. The first piece of this freeway north of the Carquinez Strait was at the I-80 cloverleaf interchange, built in the late 1950s when I-80 was upgraded through Vallejo. This was an extremely short roadway, beginning at Lemon Street, crossing under I-80 and Laurel Street and ending at Reis Avenue and Cedar Street. In about 1960, it was extended east to the old highway (Columbus Parkway) between the cities and was completed to the new bridge in about 1962, the year the bridge opened. In the 1964 state highway renumbering, the legislative designation of the completed Vallejo–Benicia freeway was changed from LRN 74 to LRN 680, reflecting its Interstate designation. The short piece of nonfreeway in Vallejo, extending west from I-80 to SR 29, became State Route 141 (SR 141). This route followed Benicia Road and Maine Street, the same alignment the state highway had always taken; it initially connected with I-780 via Lemon Street but later followed Benicia Road from I-80 north of I-780. In 1975, a proposed (and never constructed) extension west and north to SR 37 east of the Napa River was added to LRN 141. The route was to be the Waterfront Freeway, scaled down to a boulevard in 1974. The FHWA approved a relocation of I-680 onto the SR 21 freeway between Benicia and Fairfield in July 1973. To keep the route to Vallejo in the Interstate system, it was renumbered I-780; the corresponding legislative changes were made in 1976. As part of the project to construct a new northbound Benicia–Martinez Bridge, the I-680/I-780 interchange was rebuilt; the new span opened in August 2007. LRN 141 was deleted from the state highway system in 1988, soon after the city of Vallejo constructed Curtola Parkway over (replacing Maryland Street) just to the south, directly connecting I-780 with a surface road to SR 29. ## Exit list Mileage was measured from east-to-west based on the alignment of LRN 680 as it existed at that time. Exit numbers were still assigned the conventional west-to-east ascension. ## See also

New York State Route 23

State highway in the eastern portion of New York, USA

New York State Route 23 (NY 23) is an east–west state highway in the eastern portion of New York in the United States. It extends for 156.15 miles (251.30 km) from an intersection with NY 26 in the Central New York town of Cincinnatus in Cortland County to the Massachusetts state line in the Berkshire Mountains, where it continues east as that state's Route 23. Along the way, it passes through many communities, including the cities of Norwich and Oneonta. Outside of the communities, the route serves largely rural areas of the state and traverses the Catskill Mountains in the state's Central New York Region. NY 23 crosses the Hudson River at Catskill via the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Sections of what is now NY 23 were part of unsigned legislative routes as early as 1908; however, NY 23 itself was not assigned until 1924. At the time, the route extended from Oneonta to Massachusetts and followed a slightly different alignment from Cairo to Claverack via Hudson that took the route along modern County Route 23B (CR 23B) in eastern Greene County. NY 23 was extended west to Norwich in the mid-1920s and to NY 26 in northwestern Chenango County in 1930. The route was gradually moved onto its current alignment between Cairo and Claverack in the 1950s and 1960s, and realigned on its western end in 1984 to serve Cortland County. ## Route description NY 23 has three distinct sections: its western third in Central New York and the Central New York Region (formerly Leatherstocking), the middle in the Catskills, and east of the Hudson River. Most of the route is maintained by the New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT); however, some sections are either locally maintained or owned by other agencies. In the city of Norwich, NY 23 is entirely city-owned and maintained. Farther east in the city of Oneonta, the route is city-maintained from the western city line to James F. Lettis Highway. Finally, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and its approaches are maintained by the New York State Bridge Authority (NYSBA). ### Central New York The highway begins at a junction with NY 26 in Cincinnatus, a town in eastern Cortland County. It heads east across the Otselic River and through the hamlet of Lower Cincinnatus before curving to the northeast and crossing into Chenango County very soon afterward. Across the county line, it continues northeast through a lightly developed valley surrounding Brakel Creek to the Pharsalia State Wildlife Management Area, where it connects with CR 42, a highway that was once part of NY 23. From here, the route heads southeastward along another valley, this one surrounding Canasawacta Creek, to the city of Norwich, the county seat of Chenango County. It heads east–west across the city on Pleasant and Rexford streets, passing through mostly residential areas and intersecting with NY 12 at Broad Street. On the eastern fringe of Norwich, NY 23 passes over the Chenango River and leaves the valley holding the river and the city, utilizing a gap in the valley wall formed by Ransford Creek. The waterway ends shortly afterward; however, the route continues on, winding its way eastward into the town of New Berlin and the small hamlet of South New Berlin, situated in another valley surrounding the Unadilla River. Here, it connects to NY 8, another major north–south route. The route crosses the river just east of South New Berlin, putting it into the equally hilly and rural Otsego County. After 6.5 miles (10.5 km) of isolated areas, NY 23 encounters the village of Morris, the first of several villages along the route. In the village center, it briefly joins NY 51 along Morris' main street. Beyond Morris, the route continues in an easterly direction with a generally southern trend through rolling farmland until its turns south again at the Laurens hamlet of West Laurens. A brief easterly turn 5 miles (8 km) later at West Oneonta takes it across Otego Creek to a junction with NY 205 on the eastern side of the creek's valley. NY 23 joins NY 205 here, and the two highways enter the western outskirts of the nearby city of Oneonta. At Chestnut Street, the first intersection that the route has in the city's vicinity, NY 23 leaves NY 205 to follow Chestnut Street. While NY 205 continues south toward the National Soccer Hall of Fame, NY 23 heads east toward downtown Oneonta. Just one block later, however, it meets NY 7, which comes in from the southwest on Oneida Street. NY 7 turns east at this point to follow NY 23 into the city limits. The two routes serve as Oneonta's main street, following Chestnut and Main streets across the city's western and central areas. Along the way, NY 7 and NY 23 pass Hartwick College and serve Oneonta's central business district. NY 23 breaks from NY 7 just northeast of downtown to follow James F. Lettis Highway, a four-lane divided highway, south into the southern half of the city. As it heads south on the arterial, it connects to Interstate 88 (I-88) at an interchange on the northern bank of the Susquehanna River. NY 28—which overlaps with I-88 from Oneonta to exit 17 northeast of the city—leaves the freeway here, following NY 23 across the river to a large commercial district on the south bank. NY 28 leaves NY 23 here to proceed to the southwest while NY 23 goes eastward past several large strip malls and big-box retailers on its way out of both Oneonta and Otsego County. ### Catskills In the adjacent Delaware County, NY 23 initially follows a generally easterly routing through the Charlotte Creek valley. Here, the land gets more forested and the number of houses decrease as it crosses the county. After Davenport, a hamlet 8 miles (13 km) east of Oneonta, the road begins to climb onto the Catskill Plateau. By the time it intersects NY 10 at the village of Stamford, it has already reached an elevation of 1,820 feet (555 m) above sea level. Not far to the east of the NY 10 junction, it crosses the West Branch of the Delaware River, by this point a small brook as the river's source is located just 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north. It maintains this elevation during a brief, 2.5-mile (4.0 km) foray into Schoharie County that leads the route around a pair of 3,000-foot (914 m) mountains situated south of the county line. Elevation drops slightly upon reaching the hamlet of Grand Gorge within the town of Roxbury, located just above a small pond alongside NY 30 that gives rise to the Delaware's East Branch. NY 23 intersects NY 30 in the hamlet's center before making a sharp bend to the south as it approaches the Schoharie Reservoir, located 3 miles (5 km) southeast of Grand Gorge. The route passes by the reservoir's southern tip before it enters Greene County and the town of Prattsville. Just inside the county, a bridge carries the highway over Schoharie Creek and into the next community, the hamlet of Prattsville. Pratt Rock, a series of rock carvings depicting the life of Zadock Pratt—the tanner and politician who lent his name to the town—is located just east of the hamlet. Southeast of Prattsville hamlet, NY 23A splits off from NY 23 to continue along Schoharie Creek while the latter climbs in elevation again along Batavia Kill. Shortly past Red Falls, all crossings of the creek come to mark the Blue Line that delineates the Catskill Park. The route remains to the north of the creek even as it passes the Windham Mountain ski area and NY 296 comes in from the south. However, it crosses it several times and is within the park as it reaches its highest point, 1,940 feet (591 m) at the pass next to Windham High Peak where the Long Path crosses the road. From here, NY 23 begins a long descent down the Catskill Escarpment, losing most of the elevation it had gained since leaving Oneonta. As it does so, the route provides sweeping, panoramic views of the Capital District and points north, east and west. Along this stretch is Five State Lookout, a vista providing views of five states and four mountain ranges, including the Adirondack foothills and Green Mountains in Vermont. Having reached the floor of the Hudson Valley, NY 23 assumes a southeast-trending route through the town of Cairo. It comes close to the hamlet of Cairo, but bypasses it on a four-lane divided highway that takes it around the northern fringe of the community. As it runs around Cairo, the route connects to NY 145 and briefly overlaps NY 32, the major north–south state route on the west side of the Hudson River. NY 23 continues as a divided highway through mostly forested areas to the town of Catskill, where it crosses Catskill Creek and has an indirect intersection with the New York State Thruway (I-87). Not far to the southeast is the village of Catskill, the county seat of Greene County. NY 23 bypasses this community as well, connecting to U.S. Route 9W (US 9W) and NY 385 at junctions in lightly populated areas north of the village prior to crossing the Hudson River on the Rip Van Winkle Bridge. ### East of the Hudson Once across the bridge and into Columbia County, the highway encounters NY 9G near the Olana State Historic Site in western Greenport. The two highways briefly overlap until NY 9G continues north with NY 23B to follow NY 23's old course into and through the city of Hudson. NY 23 continues to the southeast, bypassing Hudson well to the south and serving Columbia–Greene Community College, located in an otherwise forested area of Greenport. After 2 miles (3.2 km), the route meets US 9 at an isolated junction due south of Hudson. US 9 and NY 23 overlap for 2.5 miles (4.0 km) across more open but still largely undeveloped areas to a small, unnamed community on the western edge of Bell Pond, a small waterbody in the northeast corner of the town of Livingston. In the center of the hamlet, US 9 and NY 23 encounter a complex intersection that features a total of four routes. At the junction, US 9 continues to the southwest while NY 82 continues southeast along NY 23's course. NY 23, meanwhile, picks up US 9's routing, overlapping with NY 9H in a northerly direction that takes both highways across Taghkanic Creek and into the equally rural town of Claverack. The routes remain overlapped into the hamlet of Claverack, where NY 23B comes in from the west and finishes its alternate loop of NY 23. At the same junction, NY 23 leaves the north–south NY 9H to resume an east–west alignment toward the Massachusetts state line. Shortly after the NY 9H junction, NY 217 splits off to the northeast toward Philmont. The road continues southeastward from NY 217, crossing over Claverack Creek and leaving the built-up hamlet of Claverack for countryside more open and less rugged than that in the Catskills. It proceeds generally easterly across mostly undeveloped fields to Martindale, a small community at the interchange linking NY 23 to the Taconic State Parkway. From here, NY 23 follows a creek valley southeast and east into Hillsdale, where the route connects to NY 22, a north–south highway that closely parallels New York's eastern state line for most of its length. Almost 3 miles (5 km) to the east, NY 23 reaches the state line, where it becomes Massachusetts Route 23 as it serves the bi-state Catamount Ski Area. ## History ### Origins and designation NY 23 was once made up of several privately owned turnpikes that stretched throughout New York. Two stretches of the highway, one from Catskill to Cairo and one from a few miles east of Stamford to West Harpersville, were also once part of the Susquehannah Turnpike. Created in April 1800, the Susquehannah Turnpike began in Catskill and ended in Unadilla. The Susquehannah Turnpike aided the growth of Greene County, which until then had depended on steamboats on the Susquehanna River and Catskill Creek. The turnpike attracted business from the New England states, made shipping easier for the county's farmers, and improved shipping from New York City. The turnpike was no longer maintained by a private company after 1899 and the highway remained intact for over 75 years. In 1974, part of the turnpike was added to the National Register of Historic Places. From Cairo to Stamford, the Susquehanna took a more northerly alignment, while NY 23 follows the turnpike of the Schoharie Kill Bridge Company, chartered in 1801. West of West Harpersville, the road superseded the Charlotte Turnpike to Oneonta, and part of the Butternuts and Sherburne Turnpike to Morris, which was in operation from 1836 to 1877. In 1908, the New York State Legislature created Route 5, an unsigned legislative route that extended from Kingston in the south to Mohawk in the north. From Oneonta to Grand Gorge, Route 5 utilized modern NY 23. The portion of what is now NY 23 from Grand Gorge to Prattsville was designated as part of Route 38 in 1909 while the segment between the Delaware–Greene County line and Catskill (via modern CR 23B) became Route 5-a in 1911. On March 1, 1921, Route 38 was realigned to enter Grand Gorge from the northeast on modern NY 30 while Route 5-a was renumbered to Route 47 and extended northwest to Grand Gorge over the former routing of Route 38. When the first set of posted routes in New York were assigned in 1924, the Oneonta–Grand Gorge segment of legislative Route 5 and all of Route 47 became part of NY 23, which continued east from Catskill to the Massachusetts state line southwest of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It initially overlapped with NY 10 (later US 9W) northward along modern NY 385 to Athens, where it crossed the Hudson River via a ferry to Hudson. It continued east from Hudson on what is now NY 23B to Claverack, where it joined its modern alignment to Massachusetts. NY 23 was extended westward to NY 12 in Norwich in the mid-1920s. In the 1930 renumbering of state highways in New York, NY 23 was extended west along a previously unnumbered roadway to NY 26 in northwest Chenango County. From Norwich to North Pharsalia, NY 23 followed its modern alignment; between North Pharsalia and NY 26, NY 23 was routed on modern CR 42. ### Realignments On July 2, 1935, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge over the Hudson River between Catskill and Greenport was opened to traffic. It became part of a realigned NY 23 after the Athens–Hudson ferry shut down in the late 1940s. NY 23 utilized modern NY 23B between the bridge and Hudson. Plans were made in the early 1950s to construct a southern bypass of the city of Hudson between the Rip Van Winkle Bridge and NY 23 midway between Claverack and Hollowville. Construction on the portion of the highway between the bridge and US 9 south of Hudson began in the mid-1950s and was completed in the late 1950s as a realignment of NY 23. Ultimately, this was the only section that was built; as a result, NY 23 overlapped with US 9 and NY 9H to reach its former alignment in Claverack. NY 145 was extended eastward along NY 23 from Cairo to Catskill c. 1940. Both routes were realigned in the 1960s to follow a new arterial between Cairo and the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Catskill. The first segment of the highway, a northerly bypass of the hamlet of Cairo, opened c. 1961. The remainder of the arterial was completed in the mid-1960s. NY 145 was truncated back to Cairo on January 1, 1970. Much of NY 23's former routing between Cairo and the Catskill village line is now CR 23B; however, a 0.63-mile (1.01 km) segment in Jefferson Heights between exit 21 of the New York State Thruway and a town road named Austin Acres is state-maintained as NY 911V, an unsigned reference route. In Oneonta prior to the construction of the James F. Lettis Highway and I-88, NY 23 crossed the Susquehanna River concurrent with NY 28 along current NY 992D. In July 1984, NY 23 was realigned west of North Pharsalia to follow a new highway between NY 26 in Cincinnatus and North Pharsalia. The length of the Chenango County portion of the new alignment was 8.40 miles (13.52 km), roughly double that of NY 23's old routing (4.39 miles or 7.07 kilometres). The 8.5 miles (13.7 km) of state highway mileage for the new road in Chenango County came from NY 23's former routing and NY 319 near Norwich, both of which were transferred to Chenango County after the new highway was completed. ## Suffixed routes - NY 23A (34.56 miles or 55.62 kilometres) is an alternate route of NY 23 through Greene County. The route separates from NY 23 near Prattsville, passes through the northern portion of Catskill State Park, and ends at US 9W in Catskill south of where US 9W meets NY 23. It was assigned in the mid-1920s. - NY 23B (6.71 miles or 10.80 kilometres) is an alternate route of NY 23 in western Columbia County. The route separates from NY 23 south of Hudson and rejoins its parent east of the village in Claverack. It was assigned in the late 1950s. ## Major intersections ## See also - New York State Bicycle Route 23

Akodon caenosus

Species of rodent

Akodon caenosus is a rodent in the genus Akodon found in northwestern Argentina and south-central Bolivia. Since its description in 1918, it has been alternatively classified as a separate species or a subspecies of Akodon lutescens (formerly Akodon puer). The species Akodon aliquantulus, described from some very small Argentine specimens in 1999, is now recognized as a synonym of A. caenosus. Akodon caenosus is very small, averaging 19.3 g (0.68 oz) in weight, and variable in coloration, but generally brown. The underparts are sharply different in color from the upperparts. The skull has a short rostrum (front part), broad interorbital region (between the eyes), and narrow braincase. The karyotype includes 34 chromosomes. A. caenosus mostly occurs in Yungas vegetation and breeds mainly during the winter. It shares its range with many other sigmodontine rodents, including three other species of Akodon. ## Taxonomy E. Budin collected the first specimen of the species on August 21, 1917, in Jujuy Province, northwestern Argentina, and the next year Oldfield Thomas used the animal as the holotype of a new subspecies of Akodon puer, a Bolivian species. He described the new subspecies Akodon puer cænosus as darker and duller in color than the Bolivian form, but otherwise identical. In 1920, Thomas recognized additional differences between the two after examining more specimens and classified the Argentine form as a separate species, Akodon cænosus. Most subsequent authors followed this arrangement, but since the 1980s some have placed the form (now spelled caenosus) in A. puer again. In 1990, Philip Myers and others reviewed the Akodon boliviensis group, which includes A. puer and A. caenosus, and again considered caenosus as a subspecies of puer. They retained caenosus as a separate subspecific name for the Argentine populations of puer because of its small size, dark fur, and distinctive karyotype. Myers and colleagues had included the name lutescens J.A. Allen, 1901, as a subspecies of Akodon puer Thomas, 1902, and in 1997 Sydney Anderson noted that the older name lutescens should instead be used for the species because of the Principle of Priority; therefore, he utilized the combination Akodon lutescens caenosus for the Argentine subspecies. Through the 1990s and 2000s, authors continued to differ on the classification of caenosus as either a full species or a subspecies or puer (=lutescens). Two small Akodon collected in 1993 in Tucumán Province, northwestern Argentina, were given the name Akodon diminutus in 1994, but that name is a nomen nudum and therefore not available for use under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. In 1999, Mónica Díaz and others described these animals more fully as a new species, Akodon aliquantulus, which they considered closely related to A. puer caenosus. The specific name means "how little" or "how few" in Latin and refers to the small size of the species and the small sample Díaz and colleagues could use. In the 2005 third edition of Mammal Species of the World, Guy Musser and Michael Carleton termed the differentiation between A. aliquantulus and A. lutescens (=puer) "unimpressive" and recommended further taxonomic research. Common names proposed for A. aliquantulus include "Diminutive Akodont" and "Tucumán Grass Mouse". In 2010, Pablo Jayat and colleagues reviewed the members of the Akodon boliviensis group in Argentina. On the basis of sequences from the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene, they found A. caenosus to be closest to A. lutescens and A. subfuscus, forming a clade that was the sister group to a clade of the remaining species in the A. boliviensis group—A. boliviensis, A. spegazzinii, A. sylvanus, and A. polopi. They classified A. caenosus as a species separate from A. lutescens because the two forms did not form a single clade (A. caenosus was instead closer to A. subfuscus), and because the difference between the cytochrome b sequences of A. lutescens and A. caenosus was relatively high at 3.5%. A. aliquantulus was reduced to a synonym of A. caenosus, because they found no substantial morphometrical differentiation between the two and could not replicate the characters Díaz and colleagues had noted as diagnostic for A. aliquantulus. ## Description Akodon caenosus is the smallest of the Argentine members of the A. boliviensis group–indeed, among the smallest of all species of Akodon. The upperparts are uniformly colored, but their tone is variable: generally ochraceous brown, but approaching yellow, red, or olivaceous in some individuals. Reddish tones occur mostly in lactating females. High-altitude animals are generally lighter, but there is also conspicuous variation within populations. The ears are similar to the upperparts, but some individuals have the sides more rich and clear in color. The underparts are clearly different in color, varying from light gray to yellowish or reddish. There are yellowish rings around the eyes, which are more highly developed in high-altitude populations. There are white to yellowish hairs on the fore- and hindfeet. The tail is variably covered with hair and is dark brown above and white to buffy below. In the skull, the rostrum (front part) is short, the interorbital region (between the eyes) is broad and hourglass-shaped, and the braincase is small. The zygomatic plate, the flattened front part of the zygomatic arch, is narrow, with poorly developed zygomatic notches at their front, but there is considerable variation in the features of the plate. The incisive foramina (openings in the front part of the palate) extend back to between the first molars. The mesopterygoid fossa, the openings behind the bony palate, is very narrow. In the mandible (lower jaw), the masseteric ridges, which anchor some of the chewing muscles, extend to near the front margin of the first molar. The capsular process, raising in the back part of the mandibular bone that accommodates the root of the incisor, is poorly developed. The upper incisors are orthodont (with the chewing edge in the horizontal plane) to slightly opisthodont (with the chewing edge inclined backward). The molars show some accessory crests and other features, such as the anteroloph on the first upper molar and the mesoloph on the first and second upper molar. In twelve adult Argentine A. caenosus, total length is 124 to 169 mm (4.9 to 6.7 in), averaging 151 mm (5.9 in); tail length is 46 to 75 mm (1.8 to 3.0 in), averaging 62 mm (2.4 in); hindfoot length is 20 to 26 mm (0.79 to 1.02 in), averaging 21 mm (0.83 in); ear length is 12 to 15 mm (0.47 to 0.59 in), averaging 13 mm (0.51 in); and weight is 10.5 to 27.5 g (0.37 to 0.97 oz), averaging 19.3 g (0.68 oz). The karyotype includes 34 chromosomes with a fundamental number of 40 major arms (2n = 34, FN = 40). The autosomes includes three large and one very small pairs of metacentrics, with two long arms, and twelve small to medium-sized acrocentric pairs, which have a long and a very short arm. The X chromosome is medium-sized and subtelocentric, with a long and a short arm, and the Y chromosome is very small and is acrocentric in Jujuy specimens, but metacentric in those from Tucumán. The karyotype is separated from that of A. lutescens by three Robertsonian translocations. Members of the Akodon boliviensis group, including A. caenosus, are generally similar and difficult to separate, but they differ in relative cranial measurements and some other characters. A. spegazzinii is larger than A. caenosus; A. sylvanus is darker and has less contrast between the upper- and underparts and less well-developed eye-rings; A. polopi has a squared interorbital region and more well-developed ridges on its skull; and A. boliviensis is paler and has more densely furred ears. ## Distribution and ecology Akodon caenosus is found from northwestern Argentina into south-central Bolivia. In Bolivia, it occurs in Tarija and Chuquisaca Departments. Its Argentine distribution extends from far northern Salta to southern Catamarca at altitudes ranging from 400 to 3,100 m (1,300 to 10,200 ft). It is mostly found in Yungas, but also in the highest levels of the Chaco and the lowest of the Andean mountain grasslands. It occurs together with A. boliviensis, A. sylvanus, A. simulator, and species of Oxymycterus, Calomys, Phyllotis, Oligoryzomys, Necromys, Andinomys, Graomys, and Abrothrix. Breeding occurs throughout the year, but mostly from November to January, during the summer. Molting occurs mostly during the winter and autumn. The oestrid fly Cuterebra apicalis and the flea Hectopsylla gracilis have been recorded from A. caenosus. The mites Androlaelaps fahrenholzi, Androlaelaps rotundus, and Eulaelaps stabularis have been found on A. aliquantulus. ## Conservation status The IUCN currently assesses A. aliquantulus as "Data Deficient" because so little is known about it, but notes that ranching and fire may threaten it. Akodon lutescens, including A. caenosus, is assessed as "Least Concern" because of its wide distribution, large population, and ability to persist in disturbed habitats. However, habitat loss may threaten Yungas populations.

Hatem Ben Arfa

French association football player

Hatem Ben Arfa (Arabic: حاتم بن عرفة, ; born 7 March 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger and attacking midfielder. Known for his flair and dribbling ability, he is regarded as a fan favorite with a cult following. He was once described as "one of the best-rated talents in France" but has been criticised by the media and players alike for lacking discipline. Ben Arfa's career started in the Île-de-France region, where he trained at Boulogne-Billancourt and Versailles. In 1999, he was selected to attend the Clairefontaine academy. He spent three years there before leaving for Lyon, where he won four Ligue 1 titles. In his early career at Lyon, he played as a centre forward but moved into a striker role during the 2007–08 season. In the summer of 2008, Ben Arfa signed with rivals Marseille for €11 million in a move that required the intervention of the Ligue de Football Professionnel. With Marseille, he won the 2009–10 league title, his fifth overall, as well as the Coupe de la Ligue in 2010. After two years at Marseille, Ben Arfa joined English club Newcastle United on loan for the 2010–11 season. The deal was made permanent later in the season. Ben Arfa spent four years at Newcastle, with a loan spell at Hull City in his final season at the club. He signed for Nice in January 2015 but was unable to make his debut until August, having already represented Newcastle United Reserves and Hull City the previous season. He scored 17 goals in 32 league appearances for Nice, attracting the interest of several European clubs, and signed for Paris Saint-Germain on 1 July 2016. After failing to make a competitive appearance in the 2017–18 season, Ben Arfa signed for Rennes, where he won the Coupe de France over Paris Saint-Germain. He then went on to play for Valladolid and Bordeaux before joining Lille in 2022. Ben Arfa is a former French youth international and has played at all levels for France. At the under-17 level, he was a part of the team that won the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship. He was called up to the senior team for the first time in October 2007 for a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying match against the Faroe Islands. He has made 15 appearances for France, scoring twice. ## Early career Ben Arfa was born into a family with a football history. His father was the former Tunisian international footballer Kamel Ben Arfa. Ben Arfa began his career in France at ASV Châtenay-Malabry. After two years at the club, he moved a few miles north to Montrouge CF 92. In 1998, Ben Arfa joined sporting club AC Boulogne-Billancourt. The following year, he was selected to attend the INF Clairefontaine academy. He was the youngest player in his class, and the only one born in 1987. While at Clairefontaine, he was a part of A la Clairefontaine, a documentary series which chronicled the lives of some of France's top young footballers during their time at the academy. During the series, an episode showed Ben Arfa getting into an argument with Abou Diaby. While training at Clairefontaine during the weekdays, he played for FC Versailles 78 on the weekends. ## Club career ### Lyon Already labeled a prodigy at the age of 15, Ben Arfa joined Lyon, a club that had just won its first ever Ligue 1 championship. In August 2004, after spending two years in the youth divisions of the Lyon academy, he signed his first professional contract, agreeing to a three-year deal despite late interest from English club Chelsea and Dutch outfit Ajax. Along with fellow youth player Karim Benzema, he was promoted to the senior squad and was assigned the number 34 shirt. Ben Arfa made his professional debut on the opening day of the 2004–05 season against Nice. Lyon won the match 1–0 with a goal from Giovane Élber, a few minutes after Ben Arfa had come on. After making a few substitute appearances, he made his first start on 11 September 2004 in a 2–1 victory over Rennes playing 56 minutes. Ben Arfa scored his first professional goal two months later on 10 November in a Coupe de la Ligue match against Lille, converting from the penalty spot in extra time to give Lyon a 2–1 lead, though Lille scored two late goals, beating Lyon 3–2. He made his UEFA Champions League debut in a group stage match against Manchester United coming on as a substitute for Sidney Govou. The following season, Ben Arfa switched to the first team number 18 shirt, but his substitute-to-start ratio was still high as seven of his 12 appearances were as a substitute. He scored as Lyon won the 2005 Trophée des Champions. He made his first Champions League start in a 2–1 victory over Norwegian club Rosenborg, providing the assist on the game-winning goal scored by Fred in the last minutes of the match. Ben Arfa scored his first league goal during the 2006–07 season against Sedan just before half-time. The goal proved to be the winner as Lyon won the match 1–0. After the departure of wingers Florent Malouda and Sylvain Wiltord, new manager Alain Perrin preferred the more modern 4–3–3 formation, and moved Ben Arfa to left wing for the 2007–08 season. Ben Arfa quickly adapted to the position and scored his first goal in a 5–1 demolition of Metz on 15 September, though his performance was overshadowed by a Benzema hat trick. Arguably his best performances in a Lyon shirt came in a period of 12 days, during which he played a league match on 28 October against Paris Saint-Germain and a Champions League game against German club VfB Stuttgart on 7 November. He scored two goals in each match with both results being in favor of Lyon. Following the season, he was named the National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) Young Player of the Year. Despite rumors of a rift between himself and Benzema, Ben Arfa signed a contract extension with Lyon in March 2008 until 2010. However, his career at Lyon reached an impasse after he got into a training session scuffle with Sébastien Squillaci. ### Marseille Despite reported interest from English clubs Everton, Manchester United, Arsenal, and Spanish club Real Madrid, rumors of a move to rivals Marseille began to surface. On 28 June 2008, Lyon confirmed that a proposed transfer to Marseille had been cancelled for the time being. However, Ben Arfa confirmed to the local La Provence newspaper on 29 June that he had signed for the southern coast club and would not return to Lyon for pre-season training the following day. La Provence later reported that Ben Arfa had in fact missed training in Lyon on 30 June, confirming his intentions. Ben Arfa officially joined Marseille on 1 July 2008 for €12 million, with future incentives to be included later, after an agreement was reached between Marseille and Lyon in a meeting organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. As a result of the disagreement over the transfer, in December 2008, Ben Arfa told the local Lyon newspaper Le Progrès that his former team lacked class and was not a great team. Ben Arfa was presented to the media and had his first training session with the club the same day. He was given the number 20 shirt. On 16 July, Ben Arfa was involved in another training session bust-up, this time with striker and France international player Djibril Cissé. Cissé later joined English club Sunderland on loan. Ben Arfa made his league debut on the opening day of the season in a 4–4 draw with Rennes. He scored his first goal for Les Marseillais in that match. He continued in form scoring six times in his first 11 matches. However, his reputation for controversy continued to haunt him when he was involved in another dispute, this time with the Cameroon international player Modeste M'bami during a warm up session ahead of the club's UEFA Champions League match against Liverpool. The two had to be separated by Ronald Zubar. Controversy arose again following Marseille's 4–2 loss to Le Classique rivals Paris-Saint Germain. He drew the ire of manager Eric Gerets after his refusal to leave the bench to warm up. Ben Arfa later said he was injured much to the chagrin of Gerets, but later apologized for the incident to the media and Gerets himself. Upon his return to the squad, Ben Arfa responded by scoring a goal and providing the assists on both the other goals in a 3–1 victory over Saint-Étienne. Ben Arfa switched to the number 10 shirt for the 2009–10 season and made his debut on the opening match day of the season in a 2–0 away victory over Grenoble appearing as a substitute in the 68th minute. The following week, he earned his first start of the season against Lille and assisted the winning goal scored by Brandão. Controversy surfaced again, however, when, on 8 October 2009, Ben Arfa was fined €10,000 by the club for missing a training session. Ben Arfa blamed the absence on airport delays as he was in Tunisia visiting family members during the international break. A month later, on 18 November, he got into a heated argument with manager Didier Deschamps during a training session, for which Ben Arfa later apologized. Under Deschamps in the first half of the season, Ben Arfa appeared in 15 of the club's 20 league matches and only played the full 90 minutes in two matches, a 2–1 defeat against Monaco and a 2–0 defeat to Auxerre. Ben Arfa's play during the 2010 portion of the season earned praise from both Deschamps and sporting director José Anigo. On 10 January 2010, Ben Arfa scored his first goal of the season against amateur club Trélissac in the Coupe de France. A month later, he was instrumental in Marseille's 5–1 victory over Valenciennes assisting on the opening goal scored by Lucho González. Later that month, Ben Arfa scored an away goal in the first leg of the club's UEFA Europa League tie against Danish club Copenhagen. In the return leg in Marseille, Ben Arfa struck again, scoring the opening goal in the 43rd minute. Marseille won the match 3–1 and the tie 6–2 on aggregate. On 27 February, he scored his first league goal of the season in a 3–0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain. Ben Arfa's play in the month of February was validated when he was named the UNFP Player of the Month. Marseille won all four of the league matches the team contested with Ben Arfa starting all of them. On 7 April, Ben Arfa converted a penalty in a 3–0 win over Sochaux. The victory placed the club at the top of the table, and they remained there for the rest of the season and clinched the title on 5 May with a 3–1 win over Rennes. Ben Arfa appeared as a substitute in the match. On 22 July 2010, reports surfaced suggesting that English club Newcastle United were looking to sign Ben Arfa. After being questioned, Newcastle's manager Chris Hughton denied the reports. Five days later, Ben Arfa's agent declared that Newcastle were indeed interested in the player, along with German clubs Hoffenheim and Werder Bremen, Turkish club Galatasaray, and Italian club AC Milan. On 9 August, a season-long loan with an option to make the move permanent was being negotiated between the two clubs; however, a loan-fee for the deal could not be reached with Newcastle offering £650,000; £350,000 short of what Marseille wanted. On 12 August, Marseille president Jean-Claude Dassier announced that Ben Arfa would not be moving to Newcastle and even went as far as to say that an offer from the club had not even existed. Similar to his actions in leaving Lyon, Ben Arfa responded to the statement by telling the French sports newspaper L'Équipe that he would not be returning to La Commanderie, Marseille's training facility, and would not play with the team for the remainder of the season. He also stated that his relationship with Deschamps had turned sour and was beyond repair. Ben Arfa confirmed his intentions by travelling to Newcastle upon Tyne, without authorization, with hopes that Newcastle and Marseille would come to an agreement. After returning to Marseille, he missed several training sessions with his parent club and was, subsequently, left off the match day squad for two league matches against Valenciennes and Lorient. Ben Arfa's number 10 was later given to new signing André-Pierre Gignac, which signaled a transfer was imminent. On 19 August, a proposed move to Werder Bremen failed to come to fruition after the club's sporting director Klaus Allofs declared that the club was not interested in Ben Arfa, despite reports of Werder Bremen offering Marseille a transfer fee of €8 million. On 27 August, Dassier confirmed that the club had reached an agreement on a loan fee with Newcastle for the transfer of Ben Arfa with personal terms being the only stumbling block in the deal. Marseille agreed to a £2 million loan fee. Newcastle had been set to pay Marseille another £5 million if Ben Arfa had made 25 club appearances in the 2010–11 season, which would have made the transfer permanent. ### Newcastle United On 27 August 2010, Ben Arfa agreed to personal terms with Newcastle and, the following day, the club confirmed that it had signed Ben Arfa on a season-long loan. He made his debut on 11 September 2010, appearing as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat at home to Blackpool. He scored his first goal for Newcastle on his full debut on 18 September in the 1–0 victory against Everton. On 3 October, Ben Arfa suffered a broken tibia and fibula in his left leg while playing in a league match against Manchester City. The injury came as a result of a tackle by opposing midfielder Nigel de Jong. On 5 January 2011, Marseille and Newcastle both confirmed on their websites that they had reached an agreement for the permanent transfer of Ben Arfa to Newcastle with the player agreeing to a four and a half year contract. The transfer fee was undisclosed. Ben Arfa spent most of his rehabilitation in his home city of Paris recuperating at the Clairefontaine academy. On 23 February, Newcastle manager Alan Pardew confirmed that Ben Arfa was running and could return to the team in April. However, days later, Pardew revealed that he was not prepared to rush the player's rehabilitation process and that Ben Arfa probably would not be available until May, stating "I am going to protect him. I can't just throw him in". Ben Arfa returned to training with Newcastle on 5 April. He participated fully in warm-ups with the first-team, but spent the majority of the training session doing light training and fitness work. Ben Arfa ultimately failed to make any more appearances with the team in the 2010–11 season. After continuing his rehabilitation during the summer, ahead of the 2011–12 season, Ben Arfa began participating in friendly matches with the senior team. He made his return to the team on 15 July 2011 in a match against Conference National club Darlington. Five days later, in the team's pre-season tour of the United States, he sustained an ankle injury in a match against Sporting Kansas City. Ben Arfa ventured back to his home country to rehab the injury and returned to Newcastle on 18 September. He was, subsequently, named to the first-team to participate in the team's Football League Cup tie against Nottingham Forest on 21 September. Ben Arfa made his season debut in the match against Nottingham Forest appearing as a substitute. Three days later, he made his Premier League return, coming on as a substitute in a 3–1 win over Blackburn Rovers. On 26 December 2011, after going the majority of the autumn campaign without scoring a goal, Ben Arfa scored his first goal of the season in a 2–0 away win over Bolton. On 7 January 2012, Ben Arfa scored Newcastle's opening goal in its FA Cup third round tie against Blackburn Rovers. The goal, described by BBC Sport as "magical", drew the match 1–1 and Newcastle later went on to win the tie 2–1. On 22 January 2012, Ben Arfa scored in Newcastle's 5–2 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage. Two months later, Ben Arfa scored the opener in Newcastle's away league match against Arsenal. The hosts, however, won the match 2–1. On 25 March, he scored one goal and provided the assists on the other two goals in a 3–1 victory against West Brom. Two weeks later, on Easter Monday, Ben Arfa scored again against Bolton Wanderers. The goal, described as "a moment of genius" by British publication The Independent, as he was passed the ball just inside his own half, he proceeded to turn and speed past 4 Bolton players, showing incredible control in doing so, and slotted it past Bolton goalkeeper Ádám Bogdán, the goal was the opener and Newcastle went on to win the match 2–0. Despite having a disrupted pre-season due to his participation in Euro 2012, Ben Arfa enjoyed a good start to the new Premier League season. On the opening weekend of the season he won and converted a penalty that gave Newcastle a 2–1 victory over Tottenham. Two weeks later, he scored with a spectacular 25-yard drive, on his weaker right foot, to earn Newcastle a point in a 1–1 draw against Aston Villa. He injured his hamstring in a Europa League match against Marítimo, returning in a 2–1 loss to Fulham, in which he scored Newcastle's only goal. However, he aggravated the injury during the match, and did not make an appearance until 7 March 2013 (his 26th birthday), in a Europa League Round of 16 match against Anzhi Makhachkala. Once again, he injured his hamstring which kept him out of the team until the second leg of the Europa League quarter final against Benfica on 11 April, when he came on as a second-half substitute. On 12 May, Ben Arfa scored the equaliser in a 2–1 away win at Loftus Road from the penalty spot as Newcastle confirmed their Premier League status for the next season. Ben Arfa started the 2013–14 season in a rich vein of form, securing Newcastle's first win of the season by scoring an individual goal against Fulham, and scoring and making an assist in the following game against Aston Villa. Ben Arfa's third goal of the season came when the Frenchman converted a late penalty away at Crystal Palace to help Newcastle ease to 3–0 victory. #### Loan to Hull City On 2 September 2014, Ben Arfa signed for Hull City on a season-long loan. He made his debut on 15 September, replacing fellow debutant Abel Hernández for the final 11 minutes of a 2–2 home draw against West Ham United. In December 2014, however, Ben Arfa unexpectedly left England, with Hull manager Steve Bruce later admitting he did not know where the player was and that his career with Hull appeared to be over. On 4 January 2015, Ben Arfa was released from his Newcastle United contract. ### Nice On 5 January 2015, Ben Arfa signed a deal with Ligue 1 side Nice, stating that "Even if Real Madrid had called at that moment, my mind was made up." He said that he had returned to France because "There are people here who trust me, who do not judge me as some people want to judge me through the press." Ben Arfa would be ineligible to play for the club, due to a rule that a player can only play for two clubs in a single season, having already played for both Newcastle United Reserves and Hull City. On 3 February, Ben Arfa told a press conference his deal with Nice had been terminated, however, on 9 June, Nice would re-sign Ben Arfa at the start of the 2015–16 Ligue 1 season. Ben Arfa made his debut for Nice against Monaco in Nice's opening Ligue 1 match of the season on 8 August 2015 at the Allianz Riviera. Seven days later, he scored his first goal for his new club against Troyes from the penalty spot in Nice's second Ligue 1 match of the season, which ended 3–3. In Nice's next Ligue 1 match on 22 August, Ben Arfa scored a solo goal in the 2–1 win against Caen. ### Paris Saint-Germain On 1 July 2016, amidst reported interest from all over Europe after a season in which he scored 18 goals in 37 matches for Nice, Ben Arfa signed for Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal, after his contract ran out at Nice. On 6 August 2016, Ben Arfa scored on his PSG debut, scoring in the 34th minute in a 4–1 victory over his former club Lyon in the 2016 Trophée des Champions. On 1 February 2017, Ben Arfa scored a goal while assisting another two goals in a 4–0 away victory against Rennes in the round of 32 of the 2016–17 Coupe de France. On 5 April, Ben Arfa was handed a rare start (just his ninth of the season) and he scored two goals and provided an assist for Javier Pastore in a 4–0 away victory against Avranches in the quarter-finals of the Coupe de France; that was Ben Arfa's last PSG competitive match of the 2016–17 season. After failing to make a single competitive appearance for PSG in the 2017–18 season, he left the club upon the expiration of his contract in June 2018. ### Rennes On 2 September 2018, Ben Arfa signed for Rennes on a two-year deal. On 20 September, Ben Arfa made his competitive debut for Rennes in the Europa League Group K 2–1 home win over Jablonec by coming on as a second-half substitute; playing his first competitive match since 5 April 2017, he scored the final goal from a penalty in the 91st minute. On 7 October, Ben Arfa scored the final goal in the 77th minute (his first career Ligue 1 goal for Rennes) after his 14th minute corner had assisted Damien Da Silva's goal in a 2–1 away win over Monaco. On 8 December, Ben Arfa scored the final goal in the 89th minute after he had set up Benjamin Bourigeaud's goal in a 2–0 Ligue 1 home win over Dijon. On 27 April 2019, Ben Arfa won the Coupe de France as Rennes defeated his former club Paris Saint-Germain in the final on penalties. ### Real Valladolid On 28 January 2020, Ben Arfa signed with La Liga club Real Valladolid on a six-month contract. He chose the number 3 jersey, an uncommon shirt number for an attacker, and explained his choice by stating that "on the shirt, it looks pretty". However, his performances failed to convince, and after a mere five appearances, he left the club as a free agent. ### Bordeaux On 7 October 2020, Ben Arfa joined Ligue 1 side Bordeaux on a one-year contract. He scored his first goal for the club on 20 November against his former club Rennes. Ben Arfa enjoyed a "good start to the season", scoring two goals and providing five assists in 2020 with Bordeaux. However, he endured a difficult second half of the season, which was marred by injuries and problems in the locker room with several teammates, notably with captain Laurent Koscielny. He also had a deteriorating relationship with manager Jean-Louis Gasset. On 26 May 2021, sporting director Alain Roche confirmed that Ben Arfa would be leaving the club at the end of his contract. He stated that the option for a further year included in Ben Arfa's deal was "conditioned upon sporting criteria" that were not met. ### Lille On 19 January 2022, Ben Arfa joined reigning Ligue 1 champions Lille on a six-month contract. He made his debut as a substitute in a 2–0 defeat to Brest three days later. On his first start for Les Dogues on 6 February, Ben Arfa went on to provide an assist for Sven Botman's goal in a 5–1 defeat to PSG. In early April, Ben Arfa was suspended from the Lille squad after a heated altercation with manager Jocelyn Gourvennec following a 0–0 draw to Bordeaux. Ben Arfa had reportedly criticised the way the team was set up, and told Gourvennec that "this isn't Guingamp", a team he formerly coached. He later insulted Gourvennec and Lille president Olivier Létang [fr] in an Instagram story, calling them "twisted", a word used by Gourvennec earlier in the day. Gourvennec admitted in a press conference that he had "never seen that in all [of his] career", referring to Ben Arfa's inappropriate behavior in the dressing room following the match. ## International career ### Youth Ben Arfa has earned caps with all of France's youth teams. With the under-16 team, he made ten appearances scoring seven goals. Ben Arfa made his debut with the team at the 2003 edition of the Aegean Cup in Turkey. He scored his first goal in the tournament on 12 January in a 3–2 win over Belgium. The victory assured France a third-place finish. At the Montaigu Tournament, Ben Arfa scored a team-leading six goals. He scored two goals in the team's 8–0 win over Gabon in the opening match. In the following match, Ben Arfa scored the final goal in the team's 3–0 win over Russia and, in the final group stage match, bagged another double in a 3–1 victory over England. He capped the tournament by scoring a goal in the final against Italy, though France lost the match 5–1. Ben Arfa made his debut with the under-17 team in the opening match of the season against Sweden converting a first-half hat-trick in a 5–2 victory. In the Tournio de Val-de-Marne, Ben Arfa scored two goals as France were crowned champions without conceding a goal. At the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, Ben Arfa, alongside teammates Samir Nasri, Benzema, and Jérémy Menez contributed to the team winning the competition. Ben Arfa appeared in all five matches and scored goals against Northern Ireland, Turkey and Portugal. In total with the under-17s, he made 17 appearances and scored a team-high 11 goals. Because of his increased playing time with Lyon, Ben Arfa missed a significant portion of playing time with the under-18 team. He made his debut on 15 March 2005, playing in a 3–3 draw with Germany. Ben Arfa appeared in the final three matches of the season for the team to bring his appearance total to four. He scored no goals. The foursome of Ben Arfa, Nasri, Benzema, and Menez returned to international play together for under-19 duty. The four were joined by Issiar Dia, Blaise Matuidi, and Serge Gakpé with the objective of winning the 2006 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In the first round of qualification for the tournament, Ben Arfa scored his lone goal in the opening match against Wales as France advanced through the round undefeated. Due to injury, Ben Arfa was absent from the final round of qualification for the tournament and, despite going undefeated in the round, France were eliminated after being beaten on points by Scotland. Ben Arfa made only one competitive appearance with the under-21 team, appearing in a 2009 UEFA Under-21 Championship qualification match against Romania. ### Senior Before representing France, Ben Arfa was eligible to represent Tunisia and was offered a place in the 2006 World Cup, held in Germany. Like Sami Khedira he turned down the opportunity, preferring to continue his career with the France national team. Ben Arfa was called up to the senior team for the first time on 10 October 2007 by Raymond Domenech to replace the injured Louis Saha and played in the Euro 2008 qualifying matches against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. This move stunned critics of Domenech as they expected striker David Trezeguet to get the call-up. Ben Arfa made his debut on 13 October when he came on for Franck Ribéry in the 64th minute and scored the last goal in France's 6–0 victory over the Faroe Islands. Ben Arfa was, however, omitted from Domenech's final 23-man Euro 2008 squad on 28 May. On 25 February 2010, after a long period without a call-up, Ben Arfa returned to the team, alongside teammates Steve Mandanda and Benoît Cheyrou, after being called up for France's friendly match with Spain on 3 March. On 11 May, he was named to the 30-man preliminary list by Domenech to play in the 2010 World Cup, but failed to make the final 23. After going nearly two years without representing France internationally, on 5 August 2010, Ben Arfa was called up to the senior team by new manager Laurent Blanc for the team's friendly match against Norway on 11 August 2010. Ben Arfa made his return to the team in the match appearing as a half-time substitute for Moussa Sissoko. He scored the opening goal of the match in a 2–1 defeat. On 29 May 2012 Ben Arfa was included in France's 23 man squad for UEFA Euro 2012, making his first start in the final game of Group D, losing 2–0 to Sweden. On 12 May 2016, Ben Arfa was named on the standby list for France's UEFA Euro 2016 squad. ## Personal life Ben Arfa was born in the Paris suburb of Clamart and was raised in Châtenay-Malabry. His father, Kamel Ben Arfa, a former Tunisian international footballer, arrived in France in 1973, settling in Saint-Michel, Aisne to work in a foundry. He later starred for a local club in the commune. Ben Arfa describes himself as a moderately practising Muslim. ## Career statistics ### Club ### International Source: #### International goals Scores and results list France's goal tally first. ## Honours Lyon - Ligue 1: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 - Coupe de France: 2007–08 - Trophée des Champions: 2005, 2006, 2007 Marseille - Ligue 1: 2009–10 - Coupe de la Ligue: 2009–10 - Trophée des Champions: 2010 Paris Saint-Germain - Coupe de France: 2016–17 - Coupe de la Ligue: 2016–17 - Trophée des Champions: 2016 Rennes - Coupe de France: 2018–19 France U17 - UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2004 Individual - UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year: 2007–08 - UNFP Ligue 1 Player of the Month: February 2010 - UNFP Ligue 1 Team of the Year: 2015–16

North Carolina Council of State

Collective decision-making body of the state

The North Carolina Council of State is the collective body of ten elective executive offices in the state government of North Carolina, all of which are established by the state constitution. The Council of State includes the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Auditor, Treasurer, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Attorney General, Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Labor, and Commissioner of Insurance. Together with the North Carolina Cabinet and several independent agencies, the Council of State offices constitute the executive branch of North Carolina's state government. The body has its origin in the colonial government of the Province of North Carolina. Under North Carolina's first constitution as a state of the United States, the Council of State comprised seven persons elected by the North Carolina General Assembly to advise the governor. The 1868 constitution redefined the Council of State as the secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, superintendent of public works, and superintendent of public instruction. The superintendent of public works was soon abolished, additional elective offices were later added, and the governor was made a formal member of the council. The Council of State usually meets monthly and is responsible for approving various transactions concerning state real property and finances. ## History As a British colony, the Province of North Carolina was under the leadership of a royal governor. A Governor's Council was created to advise the governor, and it comprised residents of the colony appointed by the lords proprietors and eventually the British Crown. The body also served as the upper house of the colonial legislature when it was in session. One member served as president of the council, and could take charge of the colony if the governor or their deputy were unable to exercise their duties. The president, in their legislative capacity, also signed all laws passed by the legislature. Vacancies on the council were filled by the governor's interim appointment until the lords or the Crown made a new appointment. In practice, many councilors held other government offices and often competed with the governor and the lower house of the legislature for authority. As a body, the council held great influence over the content of executive decrees, the dispensation of patronage, and the awarding of land grants. North Carolina declared independence from Great Britain in 1776. Its first constitution, ratified in December, provided for a Council of State to "advise the Governor in the execution of his office". The council consisted of seven persons selected by both houses of the North Carolina General Assembly in a joint vote for a one-year term. The councilors were barred from holding legislative office. Vacancies on the council could only be filled by the General Assembly. In practice, the Council of State limited the governor's executive authority, as sometimes the governor was required to get their approval before taking a course of action. The council itself could not take action without the governor. The first council was elected by the constitutional convention in December 1776 and took office the following year, serving until they were replaced by the General Assembly's choices. A new constitution was adopted in 1868, and provided that the Council of State should consist of six popularly-elected executive officials serving ex officio: the secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, superintendent of public works, and superintendent of public instruction. Under the constitution, the governor called and presided over the council's meetings and the attorney general served as its legal advisor, but neither were formally members of it. The office of superintendent of public works was abolished via constitutional amendment in 1873. The popularly-elected offices of the commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of labor, and commissioner of insurance were elevated to constitutional status in 1944 and added to the council. Constitutional revisions which took effect in 1971 made the governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general all ex officio members of the council. The revisions also eliminated the responsibility of the council to "advise the Governor in the execution of his office". In 1987, Governor James G. Martin sued the other members of the Council of State during a dispute over securing a leasing agreement for government office space. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the Council of State could block decisions of the governor, but it could not take positive action on its own accord. Most Council of State members have historically been white men. Ralph Campbell Jr., who assumed the office of state auditor in 1993, was the first black person to serve on the Council of State. Janice H. Faulkner was the first woman to serve on the council, having been appointed secretary of state to fill a vacancy in 1996. Elaine Marshall, who assumed the secretariat of state in 1997, was the first woman elected to a Council of State office. ## Structure The Council of State comprises the holders of the ten offices established by Article III of the Constitution of North Carolina: governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state auditor, state treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, attorney general, commissioner of agriculture, commissioner of labor, and commissioner of insurance. All serve as the chief executive of their respective departments. They are elected to four-year terms and, aside from the governor and lieutenant governor, without term limits. Contested elections for any of these offices are resolved by a majority vote of the General Assembly. In the event of a vacancy in any of the offices aside from that of the governor and lieutenant governor, the governor can appoint an interim official until the next biennial state election. The office of governor is subject to its own line of succession. Council of State officers can be impeached and removed from office for malfeasance by the General Assembly. The officers' salaries are fixed by the General Assembly and cannot be reduced during their terms of office. Together with the North Carolina Cabinet and several independent agencies, the Council of State offices constitute the executive branch of North Carolina's state government. The governor serves as the chairman of the Council of State. The body routinely meets the first or second Tuesday of every month in sessions subject to the state's open meeting law which the public can attend. The governor also sometimes consults the rest of the council over email during emergencies or otherwise unanticipated situations. The council retains a staff, which records the minutes of each meeting and supplies them to the council members. The secretary of state maintains the schedule and agenda of council meetings. The 2022 state budget includes plans for the construction of a permanent meeting place for the council to begin in 2023. ## Powers and duties The Constitution of North Carolina assigns minimal duties to the Council of State; per Article III, Section 3, it may call the General Assembly into an extraordinary session to consider the governor's mental capacity, and, per Article III, Section 5, the governor must consult it before they call the assembly into an extraordinary session. The council's most significant responsibilities have been assigned by statute, most dealing with real property and financial transactions. This includes approving the governor's acquisitions and disposals of state property, approving property allocations, authorizing taking on debt in anticipation of tax revenue, authorizing the state treasurer to borrow money in times of crisis, creating emergency funds, approving bond issues, and advising the governor and treasurer on assurance investments, approving of banks in which state funds can be deposition, and approving securities in which state funds may be invested. If the governor exercises a power or authority which requires the concurrence of the council, they are required by law to secure the body's approval within 48 hours of exercising said power. ## Incumbent Council of State members ## See also - North Carolina Council of State elections: 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020.

Carlton Hill station

Railroad station for the Erie Railroad in East Rutherford

Carlton Hill station was a railroad station for the Erie Railroad in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Carlton Hill station was the second station along the Erie's main line and the first station after Rutherford Junction, where the Erie's main line forked from the Bergen County Railroad. The station provided service for passengers in Rutherford and East Rutherford's Carlton Hill district and freight billing for the Royce Chemical Company, producer of Royox household cleaner, epoxies and dyes. After Carlton Hill, the main line continued westward to Passaic Park and eastward to Rutherford–East Rutherford and Pavonia Terminal. Carlton Hill Station opened in 1888 on Jackson Avenue and namesake Erie Avenue in Rutherford. The station was served by the main line until 1963, when the Passaic Plan was undertaken, removing tracks at Passaic Park, Passaic, Clifton, and Lake View stations. At that point, the nearby drawbridge was permanently swung open and later removed, leaving a branch to Carlton Hill. For the next few years, Carlton Hill received deadhead trains and a rare Carlton Hill – Rutherford – Hoboken Terminal train schedule. In 1966, when several underused branches, including the Carlton Hill, lost service, the old main line alignment to Carlton Hill was abandoned. The tracks remain, though the building is gone, having been demolished in October 1967. ## Station layout and services Carlton Hill station was situated at the intersection with Jackson Avenue in Rutherford, where the Erie Railroad's main line crossed, 10.75 miles (17.30 km) away from New York City's Chambers Street Ferry Terminal. The main line crossed through Carlton Hill on two tracks, separated by inter-track fencing. There was one main line platform, next to the station depot, which was located on the eastbound side of the tracks. During the morning commuter rush, Carlton Hill was full of commuters heading for New York City. After the commuter rush, a station agent's work was to inspect the yard and complete freight billing for the Royce Chemical Company. The yard commonly had boxcars, empty and loaded waiting for pick-up. Although the station no longer gets use, the former site is accessible via New Jersey Transit's buses \#160 and \#190 along with a walk down to Jackson Avenue. The former station site and trackage are owned by Norfolk Southern Railway. ## History ### Opening Carlton Hill station was first constructed in 1888 as a 57-by-16-foot (17.4 m × 4.9 m) wooden structure at Jackson Avenue in Rutherford. The wooden station was the common design for station depots used by the Erie Railroad, designated Type IV. In 1889, upon opening of the station, formerly called West Rutherford, the station received eighteen trains from New York City and Jersey City daily, seventeen to New York City daily, and ten fewer trips on weekend each. The fare to get to Carlton Hill from Jersey City was \$0.35 for one-way tickets, and \$0.50 for round trips. The Erie's "Family Commutation Service", which was 50 trips, cost the rider \$8.75. The station was popular with holiday-goers heading to the resorts along the Passaic River, and the Rutherford Railway, a horsecar rail line existed for a few years On September 6, 1911, a woman named Elizabeth King was struck and killed by an Erie Railroad passenger train at Carlton Hill. The woman, heading to Passaic to visit her daughter in the local hospital for an operation, was of poor eyesight and was unable to see the train. At the time, the Erie had not implemented intertrack fencing, but the intersection with Jackson Avenue had been given flashing lights and bells to signify the oncoming train. After the incident, the New Jersey State Legislature got involved with the case and gave the Erie suggestions to add intertrack fencing at Carlton Hill to prevent another such incident. ### 1945 gas release incident Commuters on a westbound train passing through Carlton Hill on August 17, 1945 were overcome by a sudden release of noxious sulfur dioxide fumes. During the draining of the sulfur dioxide from a tank car to Royce Chemical's storage tanks, a hose split in half and the workers failed to close the valve on the tank car, resulting in the fumes spreading throughout the Carlton Hill area. When the passenger train stopped at Carlton Hill, the locomotive was adjacent to the leaking tank car. The sulfur dioxide fumes were drawn into the passenger cars, causing an immediate panic among the riders, who rushed for the exits. W.S. Osborne, an off-duty engineer for the Erie, was in one of the passenger cars and ran to the locomotive to find out what was going on. In the cab, he found the crew lying unconscious on the floor. In response, Osborne took control of the throttle and immediately reversed the train out of the area of the tank car, reducing the exposure to the fumes. As fumes from the tank car continued to spread, workers at the nearby Standard Bleachery began to feel the effects of the sulfur dioxide. There, another immediate panicked rush for the exits occurred as emergency response began to arrive. Several passengers were treated by Dr. Howard Cooper, a local police surgeon in Rutherford. Four people were brought to St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, Morris Burlinger, a passenger on the train and Jessie Thomson, a local resident overcome by fumes, along with two members of the unconscious train crew: Martin Hein, the engineer, and the conductor, S.A. Smith. The fireman, R. Rensch, was treated and released at the scene. The spread of the sulfur dioxide also caused property damage in the Carlton Hill area. Residents of Rutherford and East Rutherford, demanding answers from the Royce Chemical Company and the Erie Railroad, noted that the fumes had killed numerous trees in the area and had decimated multiple gardens. Mayor John Petrie of Rutherford brought up a letter he had sent in 1942 to the State Board of Health demanding Royce Chemical clean up its area in Carlton Hill. A local policeman from East Rutherford noted that there had been previous incidents of gas fumes, but nothing as severe as the August 17 incident. Albert Royce Jr., President of Royce Chemical, denied that sulfur dioxide was poisonous, stating it was only a rotten egg odor rather than anything serious, despite the reports of nine incapacitated by the noxious fumes. However, by August 22, it was reported that three more people had been injured by the noxious fumes. Ernest Ericson, a resident of Passaic, also had to be taken to Beth Israel Hospital in Passaic on August 19, diagnosed with double pneumonia caused by exposure to the fumes. Ericson had been driving down Carlton Avenue in the area on the day of the gas attack. His wife, Ann, reported her husband's condition on August 21 to the police in Rutherford. James Petosa and Leonard Di Fouggia, residents of Newark also reported their health issues to Rutherford police. Petosa and Di Fouggia, who both had to be treated by doctors, were passing by Carlton Hill station on August 17 when they inhaled the fumes, bringing the total of victims to 12. ### Passaic Plan and closing During the 1950s and 1960s, several different priorities from different agencies around the cities of Paterson and Passaic were beginning to form. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, a competing railroad with the Erie with a nearby parallel route from the Hudson waterfront to Paterson, wanted to combine services and share trackage with the Erie because of financial troubles. Secondly, the city officials in Passaic had proposed to the Erie to remove the main line tracks through the city's downtown Main Street shopping district, since traffic jams would occur every time a train stopped at the Passaic station. This, however, was not implemented during the 1950s, as proposed. Instead, the Erie reconstructed the stations at Passaic and Clifton. Third, the New Jersey State Highway Department needed rights-of-way for Interstate 80 through Paterson and State Route 21 through Passaic (right where Passaic Park station and BE Drawbridge were located). After the Erie and Lackawanna merged on October 17, 1960, the city officials in Passaic reiterated their Main Street track-removal request. This time, the newly formed Erie–Lackawanna went forward with it, beginning the process to move its main line onto the former Boonton Branch through Lyndhurst, Passaic and Clifton. The main line was abandoned past Carlton Hill, and BE Drawbridge was swung in the open position. The bridge was soon put up for sale price of \$0.00 in 1964 by the mayor of Passaic. After the abandonment of the Erie Railroad's main line through the city of Passaic, the two-tracked stub from Rutherford and Bergen Junction westward through Carlton Hill remained in service as the Carlton Hill Branch. This alignment received most of the deadhead trains, but there was a limited set of Carlton Hill – Rutherford – Hoboken trains, making only those two stops. In October 1966, along with the Newark Branch and the spur of the New York & Greenwood Lake to Wanaque, the Carlton Hill Branch service were discontinued and the station no longer received passenger trains. The station building was later demolished, and only the tracks and asphalt platform remain to this date at Jackson Avenue. The station depot was razed in October 1967, a year after service ended after falling into a state of disrepair and complaints from local residents.

Frederick Hinde Zimmerman

American businessman

Frederick Hinde Zimmerman (October 17, 1864 – September 21, 1924) was an American banker, farmer, real estate entrepreneur, businessman, and hotel owner. Due to his large land holdings and expertise in farming, Zimmerman became a notable farmer, breeder, and real estate entrepreneur. Zimmerman's farm, originally purchased by his grandfather Thomas S. Hinde from the federal government in 1815, included the Grand Rapids Dam, Hanging Rock, and Buttercrust. His first experience running a business was in 1883 when he ran a grocery store in Fort Smith, Arkansas with his cousin Harry Hinde. Many of his businesses centered on his family farm, but in later years Zimmerman achieved success through his ownership and investment in mines, banks, and real estate. He also owned or invested in the Hanging Rock and Grand Rapids Dam Farm Company, the Grand Rapids Hotel Park Company, and the Wabash Bull-Frog Mines Company. Zimmerman was among the fourth generation of the Hinde family in the United States that was begun by his great-grandfather Dr. Thomas Hinde. His grandfather Thomas S. Hinde was a prominent politician and Methodist minister who contributed to the development of Illinois, Indiana, and the spread of the Methodist faith. His father Jacob Zimmerman held various political offices in the state of Illinois and in his early years owned several prominent Democratic newspapers in Ohio and Illinois right before the Civil War. At the age of one, Zimmerman's mother died and he was sent to live with family in Ohio and did not see his father again until he was fourteen. Towards the end of his life, Zimmerman was elected to various positions of leadership in the Knights of Pythias and Illinois Farmers Institute. He was elected secretary of the Illinois Farmers Institute for multiple terms. During Zimmerman's life he managed banks, his family farm in Mount Carmel Precinct, Wabash County, Illinois, the Grand Rapids Hotel near the Grand Rapids Dam, and invested in numerous business ventures. The Grand Rapids Hotel was one of his most notable accomplishments and soon after opening in 1922 attracted tourists from across the nation. The hotel was one of the largest resorts in the Wabash Valley and at one time had fishing, trap shoots, baseball, golf, boating, swimming, a restaurant, and other recreational activities. The hotel promoted the growth of the region by increasing the number of tourists and by hosting large-scale meetings and public events like celebrations at Hallowe'en, Christmas, and the Fourth of July. He died from complications of a broken hip that he suffered near the Grand Rapids Hotel in 1924 after falling out of his Model T automobile. Five years after Zimmerman died, the hotel was burned to the ground – in 1929 the hotel's manager, Glenn Goodart, caused a fire by dropping a blowtorch in the basement. The hotel was not rebuilt due to a lack of funds and the onset of the Great Depression. ## Early years Frederick Hinde Zimmerman was born on his family farm in the Mount Carmel Precinct, Wabash County, Illinois on October 17, 1864. He was the second child of the Honorable Jacob Zimmerman, an Illinois congressman and politician from a wealthy family, and Belinda Hinde, a member of the prominent Hinde family and the daughter of Rev. Thomas S. Hinde, the founder of Mount Carmel. His parents met and were married in Marshall, Illinois while his father ran a newspaper and his mother lived with her sister Martha Hinde and her husband Judge Charles H. Constable. During the Civil War, Zimmerman's father and uncles grew tobacco and operated mills on their family's farm, a portion of which was located on the Wabash River and included Hanging Rock, Buttercrust (a natural sandbar on the Wabash River), and the Grand Rapids Dam. His mother's family were large landowners in Mount Carmel and Wabash County, and the majority of the land had been purchased by Thomas S. Hinde in 1815 from the federal government. Originally, the family farm had belonged to Zimmerman's mother and her siblings, but his father purchased their interests. Zimmerman's father was able to purchase the Hinde farm because he had become wealthy through his ownership of various newspapers in the preceding years. His father lived on the farm near the Grand Rapids Dam from 1860 until moving to a 160-acre farm in the southwestern part of Friendsville, Illinois in 1903. When Zimmerman was one year old, his mother died and his father sent him to live with family in Ohio. His father owned newspapers in Marshall, Illinois, and in Mount Carmel, Illinois, but by the time Zimmerman was born, he had retired from the newspaper business to focus on running the Hinde family farm and on politics. Based on an entry in Edmund C. Hinde's diaries, Zimmerman's uncle, judge Charles H. Constable, and then his mother died from morphine overdoses that may have resulted from an addiction to the drug developed during the Civil War. Shortly after the death of his mother Belinda, Zimmerman's older brother Charles died at the age of four in Wabash County, Illinois. Zimmerman stayed with his father's sisters in Ohio on a farm that his grandfather Henry Zimmerman had purchased from the Wyandot Indians in the 1840s, until his father remarried (to Emma Harris) in 1875. His father was elected to the Illinois House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1878 and served two full terms until 1882. In 1879 Frederick returned to the family farm in Wabash County, Illinois to live with his father and stepmother. Zimmerman graduated from high school in Mount Carmel, Illinois, and then worked on the family farm near the Grand Rapids Dam until 1883, where he oversaw the farming operations and raised livestock. During his youth, Zimmerman was commonly called "Freddie" or "Freddie boy" by his family and close friends. In 1883, at age nineteen, Zimmerman and his cousin Harry Hinde were invited by Zimmerman's uncle Edmund C. Hinde to move to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where Hinde lived following his return from the California Gold Rush. After moving to Fort Smith, they owned and operated a grocery store from 1883 to 1886. Judge Isaac Parker at this time was in the process of eradicating the brothels, saloons, and outlaws that had taken over Fort Smith through increased public hangings and stiffer criminal penalties and this general lawless environment made operation of the grocery store difficult. This period in the history of Fort Smith has been memorialized in the novel True Grit, and the two movies it inspired, True Grit (1969) and True Grit (2010). The grocery store was unsuccessful, and they sold the business. Zimmerman returned to Mount Carmel, Illinois, but he remained close to his cousin, who later was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives, operated several businesses, and speculated in real estate. In later years, along with their uncle Charles T. Hinde, they invested in real estate and mines in New Mexico. The New Mexico properties only returned modest profits but were kept in the family until the 1950s. ## Family and farming After closing the grocery store in Arkansas in 1886, Zimmerman returned to the family farm and became a gentleman farmer. After Zimmerman returned, his father gave a small acreage of the Hinde farm to Zimmerman's half brother John H. Zimmerman, who raised pigs and farmed the acreage until he sold the property to Zimmerman several years later. Zimmerman was given title to the Hinde family farm by his father on July 13, 1902, after he married Agnes Oldendorf (1872–1922). Agnes was the daughter of Peter and Mary S. Oldendorf who ran a music business and were retail liquor dealers in Mount Carmel. The brother of Zimmerman's wife, Charles Oldendorf, who served as mayor of Mount Carmel, Illinois during the late 1890s, encouraged Zimmerman to join the fraternal organization the Knights of Pythias. In 1906, Zimmerman became chancellor commander of the Knights of Pythias lodge in Wabash County, Illinois and was a captain in the uniform rank of the order. After receiving title to the Hinde family farm in 1902, Zimmerman built a house near the Grand Rapids Dam. Once construction of the new home was completed, Zimmerman used two horse teams and numerous men to lift his father's old home near the river and move it to higher ground closer to his new house. The couple had two children, Rebecca Zimmerman in 1901 and Peter Jacob Hinde Zimmerman in 1903. Zimmerman and his wife raised their children in the Methodist faith and they attended school in Mount Carmel. From his son's early years Zimmerman trained him to operate the farm and livestock. His son won many awards in livestock shows. Following Zimmerman's death in 1924, ownership of the Grand Rapids Hotel was divided equally between his children. They owned the hotel until it burned in 1929. In 1901, Zimmerman was elected secretary of the Illinois Farmers' Institute, a position he held for three years. His father also held leadership positions with the Illinois Farmers' Institute and frequently gave speeches on good farming practices, the origin of soils, the road system, and climatic influence on plants. Meetings during his tenure as secretary averaged 350 participating members and a yearlong membership in 1901 cost \$71.99. The district director stated that during the tenure of Zimmerman and the other officers they made the institute, "...look very attractive after they fixed it up with flags and bunting." At this time the institute members and Zimmerman were followers of the Grangers Movement, which put emphasis on families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and agriculture. Zimmerman was known for raising some of the finest trotting horses in Southern Illinois, and many of his horses were noted for their dressage ability. Zimmerman also operated a successful livestock operation that focused on raising specialty hogs and cattle. He was noted nationally as a breeder and owner of Holstein-Friesian cows by the Holstein-Friesian Association of America. Three of his Holstein cows (Netherland Gem Segis, Kosa Beat Segis, and Vickery de Kol Korndyke) were listed among the best known of the breed in herd and pedigree listings. For a short time Zimmerman and his father raised registered Shropshire sheep primarily for meat, at the family farm near the Grand Rapids Dam. Some of their Shropshire sheep were listed on the American Shropshire Registry, which was a national register for the highest quality sheep of the breed. Zimmerman's son lived on the family farm his entire life and in later years was elected to various public offices in Wabash County Illinois. Like his father, he continued the tradition of raising specialty hogs and cattle. Both men continually expanded the family land holdings and diversified the farming operations. ## Later business ventures In the early 1900s Zimmerman began to invest in other business ventures and strengthen his relationship with his uncle Captain Charles T. Hinde who at that time was living in Coronado, California, and was vice president of the Speckels Brothers Commercial Company in San Diego. Some of Zimmerman's more notable businesses were a coal mine in Indiana, a few mines in the western United States, and a company he co-owned, the Wabash Bull-Frog Mines Company in Nevada and Arizona, which he began investing in from August 1905. Zimmerman's father owned many coal mines in Illinois and Indiana, so in his later years, Zimmerman also invested in some of them. Zimmerman also served on the board of directors of multiple banks in the Midwest, and owned a substantial interest in The First National Bank in Mount Carmel, Illinois. Zimmerman's primary business at this time was his management of the Grand Rapids Dam and Hanging Rock Farms Company, which was organized to manage the farming operations of the family farm and the increasing number of tourists visiting its Grand Rapids Dam and Hanging Rock sections. The Grand Rapids Dam created favorable fishing conditions, which attracted large numbers of people. Zimmerman also opened a small shop near the dam that sold goods and fishing equipment to tourists, rented boats, and conducted tours. Nick Garrett, originally a hired hand on the Zimmerman farm, managed the store for the Zimmerman family. ## Grand Rapids Hotel Zimmerman's uncle Captain Charles T. Hinde, a shipping magnate who played an important role in the development of Southern California through his various investments with John D. Spreckels and E. S. Babcock, mentored Zimmerman in business strategies. Specifically, Zimmerman and Hinde discussed the Hotel del Coronado investment, which Hinde had contributed to in the late 1880s. Over the years Zimmerman often traveled to Coronado, California to visit Hinde. When Charles T. Hinde died in 1915, he left Zimmerman and Harry Hinde a substantial portion of his estate. Adjusting for inflation, Zimmerman inherited millions from the estate. After the estate was settled in 1917, Zimmerman decided to use his portion of the money to establish a hotel and resort on the Hinde family farm next to the Grand Rapids Dam; before he could start, he had to wait for the conclusion of World War I. Construction of the hotel likely began sometime in 1919 or 1920 and continued until the hotel was completed on August 7, 1922. A few months after the opening of the hotel, Zimmerman's wife, Agnes, died. The hotel, which was easy to access due to the railroad and Wabash River, was an immediate success and attracted people from across the country. It was advertised in many of the leading national newspapers, and eventually expanded into a full resort with golf, baseball, trap shoots, boating, and many other activities. Zimmerman chose O.L. Rapson, who had worked at the family farm and lived in a small house next to his, as The Grand Rapids Hotel's first manager. He was fired in 1924 after the sudden death of Zimmerman and replaced by Rapson's friend Glenn Goodart at the request of Zimmerman's children. In 1929, Goodart burned the hotel to the ground by dropping a blowtorch in its basement shop; it was not rebuilt due to the onset of the Great Depression and a lack of available funds. ## Death A few weeks before Zimmerman's death in 1924, he suffered a stroke. He died after an eventful day at the annual fair in Mount Carmel as he was returning to his farm at the Grand Rapids Dam on September 21, 1924. Before returning to his residence, Zimmerman, with his children, stopped by the Grand Rapids Hotel to check on the daily business. As he exited the car driven by his son, he fell and broke his hip. Even though he was treated for his injuries by Dr. G.S. Couch, Zimmerman died the next day. According to his obituary, Zimmerman died of "hardening of the arteries." In his will, he left about seventy-five percent of his estate to his son and about twenty-five percent to his daughter. Some of the stock in The First National Bank in Mount Carmel that Zimmerman left to his daughter caused her financial hardships due to the bank's failure during the Great Depression. ### Burial site Zimmerman is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Mount Carmel, Illinois, next to his father Jacob Zimmerman, his wife Agnes Zimmerman, and his longtime friend and farm hand Nick Garrett.

Acid Tongue

Acid Tongue is the debut solo album, second overall by American singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis, released in September 2008 through Warner Bros. and Rough Trade Records. Inspired by jam sessions, the album was recorded December 2007-March 2008 in Van Nuys, California with the intent of capturing a more live feeling than 2006's Rabbit Fur Coat. Lewis worked with a number of guest musicians and wrote the album with boyfriend Johnathan Rice. Lewis, Rice, Jason Lader, and Dave Scher produced the album. Acid Tongue features musical styles ranging from indie rock to alternative country and Americana. Acid Tongue was released to generally favorable reviews from contemporary music critics, receiving praise for Lewis' lyrics and vocals. However, some reviewers criticized the numerous collaborations and felt the sound overwhelmed Lewis. The album charted at number twenty-two in the United States and number fifty-five in the United Kingdom. ## Influences and recording Lewis first began work on Acid Tongue after writing the title track on her Rabbit Fur Coat tour. She attempted to work out an arrangement for Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight. It didn't work, so Lewis recorded it for a second solo album. According to the Los Angeles Times, Lewis was inspired by house parties at Jonathan Wilson's Laurel Canyon home. "We'd go to these jams in the canyon. They're fantastic. Jonathan invites older session musicians from the real Laurel Canyon era, and younger people who are just starting their bands who happen to live in the canyon, and we all get together and sing Grateful Dead covers and J. J. Cale songs." Lewis herself has said that it "rocks a little harder," in contrast to Rabbit Fur Coats folk rock influences. Lewis also used Rilo Kiley's Under the Blacklight, which was notably polished compared to the band's earlier work, "as a reference point to go in the complete opposite direction". She explained that every song she writes is "a response to the thing that I've written before". "It's even as simple as, 'OK, I've written a ballad, now I want to push myself to write something that's up tempo.' If I'm writing about myself, well, that subject can be tiresome, so then I focus on character-driven songs. So I'm always doing this back-and-forth just to keep myself interested." The album was recorded in just three weeks at Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, California. The album was co-produced by Lewis's boyfriend Johnathan Rice, former Beachwood Sparks and All Night Radio member Dave Scher, and Under the Blacklight producer Jason Lader. Lewis attempted to record as many of the songs live as possible. "We did it in the studio for my 32nd birthday," according to Lewis, "and we had a great time, collaborating with a bunch of friends. It was definitely a lot less focused than Rabbit Fur Coat. With that record I had a very specific vision, [...] but with this record it was really more about the vibe, the songs and the collaborations". A source quoted by Entertainment Weekly said that the album "all sounds super natural, nice, and simple. Like it doesn't belong in any decade. It's just timeless." The album was inspired by a variety of musical styles, including alternative country, Americana, indie rock, and soul. Talking to Nashville Scene, Lewis said that the songs "weren't written off-the-cuff, but they were definitely recorded, not carelessly, but with a real effort to capture a live feeling, particularly with the vocals". Lewis continued, "To me, it's a big step in a different direction...and to be able to sink into the vocal take while the band was playing was a very liberating experience for me." Lewis told The A.V. Club, "We played them on the road 100 times, so we knew that we could walk into the studio and record them the same way. [...] It wasn't really a studio record, but more of a live record in some ways. It was about getting the band together and creating an atmosphere that lent itself to good chemistry between the band members and trying to capture as much of the record live as we could." As "a child of digital generation", Lewis had generally worked with Pro Tools, but wanted to capture the "not-perfect sound" of some of her favorite records. The musicians were split into two separate bands. The Band A setup (Jason Boesel, Davey Faragher, Johnathan Rice, and Blake Mills) would generally play the more rock and roll songs, while Band B would play the ballads. ## Composition The album's title track was described by Lewis as her "thinly veiled way of getting out of writing a strictly 'confessional' song," Lewis told Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune. "I may be a liar, or I may not be one." The song also referenced a childhood experience of Lewis', in which she experienced LSD at the age of 14. "The Next Messiah", a nine-minute "ode to Barbra Streisand and the devil," was "tracked completely live, with all the transitions, and it's the most exciting thing I've ever been involved with in the studio. I wish the rest of the record had been more like that." The song is "actually three different songs that Johnathan Rice and myself wrote together," according to Lewis. "I happen to be a Barbra Streisand fan, and Barbra Streisand fancies a medley, so we discussed stringing the three songs together." The album features a duet with Elvis Costello, "Carpetbaggers". The song was written by Lewis' boyfriend, Johnathan Rice, to be performed on the Rabbit Fur Coat tour, because they were lacking uptempo songs. Lewis wanted to "make it less country and a little more pop. So I emailed Elvis. He mentioned he had two new songs and would we be open to recording them." These songs became part of Costello's Momofuku. She & Him's Zooey Deschanel provides backing vocals on a number of songs, while her bandmate M. Ward plays "a moody guitar part" on "Pretty Bird". Ward said that Acid Tongue is "the greatest record Jenny has ever made." There are a number of other collaborations on Acid Tongue; fellow Rilo Kiley member Jason Boesel, Davey Faragher of Costello's band The Imposters, Benji Hughes, Ana and Paz Lenchantin, Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, and Jonathan Wilson all make contributions. The album features production credits from Lewis' boyfriend Johnathan Rice, Farmer Dave Scher, and Rilo Kiley producer Jason Lader. Lewis's sister Leslie Lewis provides backing vocals on two tracks, while her father Eddie Gordon plays the bass harp and harmonica. "He was ill last year, so we started speaking to one another," Lewis told The Independent. "There were no hard feelings. He just wasn't around. Every couple of years I'd get a postcard from the road – a picture of him standing next to a giant ice-sculpture of a crab, in Alaska. He was a very mysterious character. But I thought this was the right time to bring him in." "The Next Messiah" was influenced by her father. "When someone isn't around you create what you imagine your father might be – 'a race-car driver, a four-leaf clover'," Lewis explained. Lewis has said that a lot of her inspiration, for both Acid Tongue and previous work, comes from her parents. Lewis also told The Independent, "I just don't know them very well. And I'm still trying to understand what happened [with the divorce] and why. It's this blank slate, I can't even remember what happened. But for some reason, these two people are so incredibly strange and funny and beautiful and messed up, that I want to keep writing about them... and maybe figure out who I am in the process." ## Release Entertainment Weekly reported that Lewis had been working on the album in February 2008. Prior to Acid Tongue'''s release, Lewis allowed listeners to hear the title track by calling the toll-free telephone number 1-888-717-ACID. The song was later replaced by a recording announcing two "secret" performances in September, including a password and website to obtain tickets. Additionally, several videos were put up on Lewis' official YouTube page. The videos show Lewis (or band mates) at home being visited by Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service, who has arrived with balloons to listen to the new album. Ben is told that the album isn't out yet, but Lewis agrees to let him hear "just one song". This is followed by a recording of the title track "Acid Tongue." On September 9, the entire album was made available in streaming format on Lewis' official MySpace page. Though not technically downloadable, it was quickly accessed through other means and made available through file sharing. The album was released in both CD and LP formats in a number of territories throughout late September. Select independent record stores also gave away a 7" single of "The Next Messiah", split between the two sides of the record. Lewis toured in support of the album's release, including an appearance at the Austin City Limits Festival and opening for Conor Oberst. ## Critical reception Acid Tongue has received generally favorable reviews, scoring a 75 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic. Creative Loafing said that while Rabbit Fur Coat "glided through an Appalachian dream world", Lewis "stomps her boots while exploring similar terrain" on Acid Tongue. The review continued that while the album "includes plenty of quirky meditations on lost love that recall her previous adventures, [...] well-placed jolts give Acid Tongue greater balance, a component that's lacking on Rabbit Fur Coat." According to The Sunday Times, "the results are magnificent, [...] but occasionally they are a shaky misstep." Chicago Sun-Times writer Jim DeRogatis called Acid Tongue "sensual and entrancing." The Daily Trojan labeled the tracks as "psychedelic, occasionally sexy, but always timeless", although noting that the album "lacks a thematic focus that can be found on every other album Lewis has released". Filter referred to the album's title track as "simply beautiful, causing goosebumps to the arms of even the toughest man. [...] It's rather deep, despite its simplicity, a difficult task to say the least." It has also been called "a prime example of Lewis' simplistic genius." The Times said "the verses in the title track tickle and tease so that you are practically salivating for the chorus." It was also noted that Lewis' "delicately seductive vocals are more versatile", with the Detroit Free Press stating that her voice "smoothly mixes classic country with pop and indie-rock, Lewis is as adept on the ballads as she is on the rave-ups." The Times considered Lewis' songwriting "leagues ahead of anything that she has done in the past" and her vocals sound "as though she means it". DeRogatis pointed out that "Lewis' impressive strength as both a singer and a songwriter is that she makes every listener feel as if her music was crafted just for them." However, Angela Zimmerman of Crawdaddy! felt that Lewis often used a "pervasive soprano that she can't quite execute" on tracks like "Black Sand", "Pretty Bird", "Trying My Best to Love You", and "Jack Killed Mom". Pitchfork said that while Acid Tongue is "immediately pleasurable," the album's downfall is that "Lewis does such a good job of nailing choice sounds and styles from pop's past that you can't help getting reeled in right away; only upon later reflection do you realize that much of her success lies in evoking something else great rather than achieving a greatness more uniquely her own." The review continued, "In these straitjacketed settings, Lewis' considerable strengths as a lyricist and performer just aren't given sufficient room to fully emerge." Time noted that Acid Tongue "sprawl with misplaced ambition" and that only the title track sticks. Another review observed, "Lewis seems to be [...] on her way to a more definitive musical existence [...] but she doesn’t quite seem to know yet." Acid Tongue was also slated for its "hip-hop-like roster of unnecessary cameos. Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward of She and Him make sense, but Elvis Costello sounds intrusive during his duet on "Carpetbaggers," while the black Crowes' Chris Robinson is just superfluous." Crawdaddy!s Zimmerman said that while "these appearances help flavor the record, [...] I miss the Watson Twins." The album was made number 14 in Blender's 33 Best Albums of 2008 list, and number 46 in Q's 50 Best Albums of the Year 2008. It was also voted number 18 in Rolling Stone's Readers' Top 30 Albums of 2008 list. "Acid Tongue" was number 66 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. ## Track listing ## Charts and certifications Acid Tongue entered the Billboard'' 200 at number 24 with approximately 21,000 copies sold. It also reached number fifty-five on the UK Albums Chart. ## Release history ## Personnel - Production – Farmer Dave Scher, Jason Lader, Jenny Lewis, Johnathan Rice - Artwork design – Jenny Lewis, Pierre De Reeder - Photography — Autumn de Wilde 1. Black Sand - Jenny Lewis – main vocals, piano, vibraphone - Barbara Gruska – drums - Jason Lader – bass - Ana Lenchantin — cello - Paz Lenchantin — violin - Wes Precourt – violin 2. Pretty Bird - Jenny Lewis – main vocals - Barbara Gruska – drums - Johnathan Rice — background vocals - Farmer Dave Scher – background vocals - M. Ward — background vocals, guitar (acoustic and electric) - Jonathan Wilson — background vocals, bass 3. The Next Messiah - Jenny Lewis – main vocals - Jason Boesel — drums - Vanesa Corbala — background vocals - Zooey Deschanel — background vocals - Davey Faragher — bass - Blake Mills – electric guitar - Morgan Nagler — whispered vocals - Johnathan Rice – background vocals, acoustic guitar - Chris Robinson — background vocals - Farmer Dave Scher – background vocals - Jonathan Wilson – background vocals 4. Bad Man's World - Jenny Lewis – main vocals, piano - Barbara Gruska – drums - Jason Lader – bass - Ana Lenchantin – cello - Paz Lenchantin – violin - Wes Precourt – violin - Farmer Dave Scher – organ 5. Acid Tongue - Jenny Lewis – main vocals, acoustic guitar - Johnathan Rice – background vocals - Chris Robinson – background vocals - Farmer Dave Scher – background vocals - Jonathan Wilson – background vocals 6. See Fernando - Jenny Lewis – main vocals - Jason Boesel – drums - Vanesa Corbala – background vocals - Davey Faragher – bass - Leslie Lewis – background vocals - Johnathan Rice – acoustic and electric guitar - Farmer Dave Scher – steel guitar 1. Godspeed - Jenny Lewis – main vocals, piano - Barbara Gruska – drums - Ana Lenchantin – cello - Paz Lenchantin – violin - Wes Precourt – violin - Jonathan Wilson – bass 2. Carpetbaggers - Jenny Lewis – main vocals - Jason Boesel – drums - Vanesa Corbala – background vocals - Elvis Costello — vocals - Zooey Deschanel – background vocals - Davey Faragher – bass - Blake Mills – electric guitar - Johnathan Rice – acoustic guitar 3. Trying My Best to Love You - Jenny Lewis – main vocals, piano - Vanesa Corbala – background vocals - Zooey Deschanel – background vocals - Ana Lenchantin – cello - Leslie Lewis – background vocals - Paz Lenchantin – violin - Wes Precourt – violin 4. Jack Killed Mom - Jenny Lewis – main vocals, piano - Jason Boesel – drums, tambourine - Vanesa Corbala – background vocals - Zooey Deschanel – background vocals - Davey Faragher – bass - Eddie Gordon – harmonica - Benji Hughes – spoken word vocals - Blake Mills – background vocals - Farmer Dave Scher – omnichord - Tod Adrian Wisenbaker — electric guitar 5. Sing a Song For Them - Jenny Lewis – main vocals, piano, triangle - Barbara Gruska – drums - Jason Lader – bass - Ana Lenchantin – cello - Paz Lenchantin – violin - Blake Mills – electric guitar - Wes Precourt – violin - Johnathan Rice – acoustic guitar - Jenny's Birthday Party Patrons – group vocals

Mississippi Highway 510

Highway in Mississippi

Mississippi Highway 510 (MS 510) is a state highway in eastern Mississippi. The route starts at MS 145 near Shubuta and travels eastward. The road turns southward near Matherville, and the route ends southeast of the unincorporated area. The road was constructed around 1957, and majority of the road was paved by 1967. A portion of the route east of Matherville was removed from the state highway system in 1999. ## Route description The route is located in northern Wayne and southern Clarke counties. MS 510 is legally defined in Mississippi Code § 65-3-3, and all of it is maintained by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), as part of the Mississippi State Highway System. MS 510 starts at a three-way junction with MS 145 south of Shubuta in Wayne County, and it travels northward towards the Wayne–Clarke county line. The road crosses the county line, and it turns east at County Road 612 (CO 612). The route enters a large area of farmland, and it crosses Carson Sand Creek. It curves northward until it reaches the Choctaw Base Line, where it begins travelling eastward again. Past CO 611, MS 510 crosses Dry Creek and Shiloh Creek. The road intersects CO 617, which leads to Langsdale. At CO 610, the route turns south towards the county line. MS 510 crosses the county line past CO 6101. The route turns southeast near L.B. Odom Drive in Matherville, and state maintenance ends southeast of the unincorporated area. The road continues as Matherville–Frost Bridge Road, which ends at U.S. Route 84 (US 84). ## History Around 1957, a gravel road was constructed from US 45 near Shubuta to US 84 near Waynesboro, and it was designated as MS 510. The eastern terminus was rerouted closer to the Mississippi–Alabama state line by 1962. In January 1965, a project to grade and add culverts to the road began, costing \$386,157.67 (). By 1967, the majority of the route was paved, with a small section remaining in gravel near US 84. A section of the route from the beginning of the gravel section to US 84 became locally maintained by 1998, and it was removed from the state highway system by 1999. By 2001, US 45 was rerouted to a new bypass around Shubuta, with MS 510 still connected to US 45's old alignment. ## Major intersections