title: Dearborn, Michigan

text: Dearborn has a mayor-council form of government. As of 2021, the Mayor of the City of Dearborn is Abdullah Hammoud. The City Clerk is George T. Darany. The City Council President is Michael T. Sareini.


title: Dearborn, Michigan

text: Built in 1922, the Dearborn City Hall Complex was in operation until 2014 when government operations moved


title: Dearborn, Michigan

text: to the new Dearborn Administrative Center. The former city hall was redeveloped by Artspace Projects to preserve affordable and sustainable space for artists and arts organizations.


title: Dearborn, Michigan

text: The "Dearborn & Dearborn Heights Press and Guide" publishes local news for Dearborn and the neighboring Dearborn Heights.


title: Noussair Mazraoui

text: Noussair Mazraoui (; born 14 November 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. Born in the Netherlands, he represents Morocco at international level.


title: Noussair Mazraoui

text: Mazraoui grew up in Alphen aan de Rijn and started playing for local club AVV Alphen at age 4. He moved to Alphense Boys three years later, where he only played for a year before being invited to play in the youth academy of Ajax. He made his professional debut with Jong Ajax on 12 August 2016 in an Eerste Divisie game against Almere City, replacing Richairo Živković after 86 minutes. On 25 October 2020, Mazraoui scored his first professional goal in a 3–1 victory against FC Midtjylland in the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League. He scored his first league goal in a 5–0 win against N.E.C.


title: Noussair Mazraoui

text: Mazraoui was a youth international for Morocco. He first played for the Moroccan national team in 2018.


title: Noussair Mazraoui

text: On 10 November 2021, Mazraoui revealed that the relations between him and Moroccan national team coach Vahid Halilhodžić fell. On 13 March 2022, Mazraoui and his Moroccan teammate, Hakim Ziyech, both rejected Halilhodžić's invitation to represent Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Third Round against DR Congo. He later accepted to join the national team and represented Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup after Halilhodžić was replaced by Walid Regragui.


title: Noussair Mazraoui

text: On 10 November 2022, he was named in Morocco's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He played a role in Morocco's charge to the semi-finals, helping them become the first African side to reach the final 4 stage at the World Cup.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: James Dalton Trumbo (December 9, 1905 – September 10, 1976) was an American screenwriter who scripted many award-winning films, including "Roman Holiday" (1953), "Exodus", "Spartacus" (both 1960), and "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" (1944). One of the Hollywood Ten, he refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in 1947 during the committee's investigation of alleged Communist influences in the motion picture industry.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Trumbo, the other members of the Hollywood Ten, and hundreds of other professionals in the industry were blacklisted by Hollywood. He continued working clandestinely on major films, writing under pseudonyms or other authors' names. His uncredited work won two Academy Awards for Best Story: for "Roman Holiday" (1953), which was presented to a front writer, and for "The Brave One" (1956), which was awarded to a pseudonym used by Trumbo. When he was given public screen credit for both "Exodus" and "Spartacus" in 1960, it marked the beginning of the end of the Hollywood Blacklist for Trumbo and other affected screenwriters. He finally was given full credit by the Writers' Guild for "Roman Holiday" in 2011, nearly 60 years after the fact.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Trumbo was born in Montrose, Colorado, the son of Orus Bonham Trumbo and Maud (née Tillery) Trumbo. His family moved to Grand Junction in 1908.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: His paternal immigrant ancestor, a Protestant of Swiss origin named Jacob Trumbo, had settled in the colony of Virginia in 1736, Orus Trumbo worked variously as a shoe clerk and collection agent, never earning enough to keep the family far from poverty.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Trumbo graduated from Grand Junction High School. While still in high school, he worked for Walter Walker as a cub reporter for the "Grand Junction Daily Sentinel," covering courts, the high school, the mortuary and civic organizations. He attended the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1924 and 1925, working as a reporter for the "Boulder Daily Camera" and contributing to the campus humor magazine, the yearbook, and the campus newspaper. He was a member of Delta Tau Delta International Fraternity.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: In 1924 Orus Trumbo moved the family to California. Shortly after, he fell ill and died, leaving Dalton to support his mother and siblings. For nine years after his father died, Trumbo worked the night shift wrapping bread at a Los Angeles bakery, and attended the University of California, Los Angeles (1926) and the University of Southern California (1928–1930). During this time, he wrote movie reviews, 88 short stories, and six novels, all of which were rejected for publication.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Trumbo began his professional writing career in the early 1930s, when several of his articles and stories were published in mainstream magazines, including "McCall's", "Vanity Fair", the "Hollywood Spectator" and "The Saturday Evening Post". Trumbo was hired as managing editor of the "Hollywood Spectator" in 1934. Later he left the magazine to become a reader in the story department at Warner Bros. studio.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: His first published novel, "Eclipse" (1935), was released during the Great Depression. Writing in the social realist style, Trumbo drew on his years in Grand Junction to portray a town and its people. The book was controversial in his hometown, where many people took issue with his fictional portrayal.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Trumbo started working in movies in 1937 but continued writing prose. His anti-war novel "Johnny Got His Gun" won one of the early National Book Awards: the Most Original Book of 1939. It was inspired by an article Trumbo had read several years earlier: an account of a hospital visit by the Prince of Wales to a Canadian soldier who had lost all his limbs in World War I.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: During the late 1930s and early 1940s, Trumbo became one of Hollywood's highest-paid screenwriters, at about $4,000 per week while on assignment, and earning as much as $80,000 in one year. He worked on such films as "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" (1944), "Our Vines Have Tender Grapes" (1945), and "Kitty Foyle" (1940), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Aligned with the Communist Party in the United States before the 1940s, Trumbo was an isolationist. He joined the Communist Party in 1943, and remained active until 1947. He reaffiliated himself with the party in 1954. His novel "The Remarkable Andrew" featured the ghost of President Andrew Jackson appearing to caution the United States against getting involved in World War II and in support of the Nazi-Soviet pact.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Shortly after Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Trumbo and his publisher decided to suspend reprinting "Johnny Got His Gun" until the end of the war. During the war, Trumbo received letters from individuals "denouncing Jews" and using "Johnny" to support their arguments for "an immediate negotiated peace" with Nazi Germany; Trumbo reported these correspondents to the FBI. Trumbo regretted this decision, which he called "foolish". After two FBI agents showed up at his home, he understood that "their interest lay not in the letters but in me".


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: In a 1946 article titled "The Russian Menace" published in Rob Wagner's "Script Magazine", Trumbo wrote from the perspective of a post-World War II Russian citizen. He argued that Russians were likely fearful of the mass of U.S. military power that surrounded them, at a time when any sympathetic view toward Communist countries was viewed with suspicion. He ended the article by stating, "If I were a Russian ... I would be alarmed, and I would petition my government to take measures at once against what would seem an almost certain blow aimed at my existence. This is how it must appear in Russia today". He argued that the U.S. was a "menace" to Russia, rather than the more popular American view of Russia as the "red menace". According to anti-Communist author Kenneth Billingsley, Trumbo had written in "The Daily Worker" that Communist influence in Hollywood had prevented films from being made from anti-Communist books, such as Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon" and "The Yogi and the Commissar".


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: William R. Wilkerson, publisher and founder of "The Hollywood Reporter", published a July 29, 1946, "TradeView" column entitled "A Vote For Joe Stalin". It named Trumbo and several others as Communist sympathizers, the first persons identified on what became known as "Billy's Blacklist". In October 1947, drawing upon these names, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) summoned Trumbo and nine others to testify for their investigation as to whether Communist agents and sympathizers had surreptitiously planted propaganda in U.S. films. The writers refused to give information about their own or any other person's involvement and were convicted for contempt of Congress. They appealed the conviction to the Supreme Court on First Amendment grounds and lost. Trumbo served eleven months in the federal penitentiary in Ashland, Kentucky, in 1950. In the 1976 documentary "Hollywood On Trial", Trumbo said: "As far as I was concerned, it was a completely just verdict. I had contempt for that Congress and have had contempt for it ever since. And on the basis of guilt or innocence, I could never really complain very much. That this was a crime or misdemeanor was the complaint, my complaint."


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: The MPAA issued a statement that Trumbo and his compatriots would not be permitted to work in the industry unless they disavowed Communism under oath. After completing his sentence, Trumbo sold his ranch and moved his family to Mexico City with Hugo Butler and his wife Jean Rouverol, who had also been blacklisted. In Mexico, Trumbo wrote 30 scripts (under pseudonyms) for B-movie studios such as King Brothers Productions. In the case of "Gun Crazy" (1950), adapted from a short story by MacKinlay Kantor, Kantor agreed to be the front for Trumbo's screenplay. Trumbo's role in the screenplay was not revealed until 1992.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: During this blacklist period, Trumbo also wrote "The Brave One" (1956) for the King Brothers. Like "Roman Holiday", it received an Academy Award for Best Story he could not claim. The script was credited to Robert Rich, a name borrowed from a nephew of the producers. Trumbo recalled earning an average fee of $1,750 per film for 18 screenplays written in two years and said, "None was very good".


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: He published "The Devil in the Book", an analysis of the conviction of 14 California Smith Act defendants, in 1956. The statute set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S. government and required all non-citizen adult residents to register with the government.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Gradually the blacklist weakened. With the support of director Otto Preminger, Trumbo was credited for the screenplay of the film "Exodus" (1960), adapted from the novel of the same name by Leon Uris. Shortly thereafter, actor Kirk Douglas announced Trumbo had written the screenplay for Stanley Kubrick's film "Spartacus" (also 1960), adapted from the novel by Howard Fast. With these actions, Preminger and Douglas helped end the power of the blacklist. Trumbo was reinstated into the Writers Guild of America, West and was credited on all subsequent scripts. The guild finally gave him full credit for the script of the 1953 film "Roman Holiday" in 2011. Trumbo directed the 1971 film adaptation of his novel "Johnny Got His Gun", starring Timothy Bottoms, Diane Varsi, Jason Robards and Donald Sutherland. One of the last films Trumbo wrote, "Executive Action" (1973), was based on the Kennedy assassination. The Academy officially recognized Trumbo as the winner of the Oscar for the 1956 film "The Brave One" in 1975, presenting him with a statuette.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: In 1938, Trumbo married Cleo Fincher, who was born in Fresno, California, on July 17, 1916, and had moved with her divorced mother and her brother and sister to Los Angeles. The Trumbos had three children: Nikola Trumbo (1939), who became a psychotherapist; Christopher Trumbo (1940), a filmmaker and screenwriter who became an expert on the Hollywood blacklist; and Melissa Trumbo (1945), known as Mitzi, a photographer. Mitzi Trumbo dated comedian Steve Martin when they were both in their early 20s, which is recounted in Martin's 2007 book "Born Standing Up". Martin wrote of her: "Mitzi became my official photographer, and she snapped dozens of rolls of film, all to find the perfect publicity photo."


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Cleo Trumbo died of natural causes at the age of 93 on October 9, 2009, at the home she shared with Mitzi Trumbo in Los Altos, California.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: Trumbo died in Los Angeles of a heart attack at the age of 70. He donated his body to scientific research.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: In 1993, Trumbo was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for writing "Roman Holiday" (1953). The screen credit and award were previously given to Ian McLellan Hunter, who had been a front for Trumbo. A new statue was made for this award because Hunter's son refused to hand over the one his father had received.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: In 2003, Christopher Trumbo mounted an Off-Broadway play based on his father's letters, called "Trumbo: Red, White and Blacklisted", in which a wide variety of actors played his father during the run, including Nathan Lane, Tim Robbins, Brian Dennehy, Ed Harris, Chris Cooper and Gore Vidal. He adapted it as the documentary "Trumbo" (2007), which added archival footage and new interviews.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: A dramatization of Trumbo's life, also called "Trumbo", was released in November 2015. It starred Bryan Cranston in the title role and was directed by Jay Roach. For his portrayal of Trumbo, Cranston was nominated for Best Actor at the 88th Academy Awards.


title: Dalton Trumbo

text: The moving image collection of Trumbo is held at the Academy Film Archive and consists primarily of extensive 35 mm production materials relating to the 1971 anti-war film "Johnny Got His Gun". More than a hundred years after his birth, Trumbo was honored by the installation of a statue of him in front of the Avalon Theater on Main Street in Grand Junction, Colorado, his home town. He was depicted writing a screenplay in a bathtub.


title: French toast

text: French toast is a dish of sliced bread soaked in beaten eggs and often milk or cream, then pan fried. Alternative names and variants include "eggy bread", "Bombay toast", "gypsy toast", and "poor knights" (of Windsor).


title: French toast

text: When French toast is served as a sweet dish, sugar, vanilla, or cinnamon are also commonly added before pan-frying, and then it may be topped with sugar (often powdered sugar), butter, fruit, or syrup. When it is a savory dish, it is generally fried with a pinch of salt or pepper, and it can then be served with a sauce such as ketchup or mayonnaise.


title: French toast

text: The earliest known reference to French toast is in the "Apicius", a collection of Latin recipes dating to the 1st century CE, where it is described as simply "aliter dulcia" 'another sweet dish'. The recipe says to "Break [slice] fine white bread, crust removed, into rather large pieces which soak in milk [and beaten eggs] fry in oil, cover with honey and serve".


title: French toast

text: A 14th-century German recipe uses the name "Arme Ritter" 'poor knights', a name also used in English and the Nordic languages. Also in the 14th-century, Taillevent presented a recipe for "tostées dorées". Italian 15th-century culinary expert Martino da Como offers a recipe.


title: French toast

text: The usual French name is pain perdu ( 'lost bread', reflecting its use of stale or otherwise "lost" bread. It may also be called "pain doré" 'golden bread' in Canada. There are fifteenth-century English recipes for "pain perdu".


title: French toast

text: An Austrian and Bavarian term is "pafese" or "pofese", from "zuppa pavese", referring to Pavia, Italy. The word "soup" in the dish's name refers to bread soaked in a liquid, a sop. In Hungary, it is commonly called "bundáskenyér" (lit. "coated bread").


title: French toast

text: Slices of bread are soaked or dipped in a mixture of beaten eggs, often whisked with milk or cream. Already sliced or artisan loaves cut to 3/4 to 1" thick are frequently used as the bread of choice. Sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla may be variously added to the mixture. The bread is then fried in butter or olive oil until browned and cooked through. Day-old bread is often used, both for its thrift and because it will soak up more egg mixture without falling apart.


title: French toast

text: The cooked slices may be served with sugar or sweet toppings such as caramel, ice cream, jam, honey, fruit, and/or maple syrup.


title: French toast

text: There are many variations. The dipping mixture might not include eggs; and the bread may be soaked in wine, rosewater, or orange juice, either before or after cooking.


title: French toast

text: In Southern Slavic countries such as Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Bulgaria it is called "Prženice". It is eaten sweet or savory and it paired with ajvar, jam, cheese, proscuitto, as well as sausage.


title: French toast

text: In both Portugal and Brazil, "rabanadas" are a traditional Christmas dessert. Many recipes often use Tinto or Port wine.


title: French toast

text: In Denmark, "Arme Riddere" (Poor Knights) is a sweet breakfast dish, that can also be eaten as an afternoon treat or evening dessert. The Danish version of this dish uses sugar with cinnamon, instead of plain sugar.


title: French toast

text: In Georgia it is known as "kikliko" (). It is a popular dish eaten for brunch or breakfast and is almost always served as a savory dish. Sometimes different kinds of cheese are also combined.


title: French toast

text: In Germany, "Arme Ritter" (Poor Knights) or "Pofesen" are at least known since the 14th century (mentioned in Deutsches Wörterbuch (The German Dictionary) by the Brothers Grimm).


title: French toast

text: Hong Kong-style French toast () is typically prepared by combining multiple slices of bread with peanut butter or fruit jam filling, then dipping in beaten egg and deep frying. It is served with butter, and topped with golden syrup or honey. It is a typical offering in "cha chaan teng" (Hong Kong-style diners or teahouses). Other types of filling that can be found are meat floss, kaya jam, ham, or beef satay.


title: French toast

text: In India, "Bombay toast" is a dish sold on the "streets of Mumbai" by hawkers and vendors, Bombay toast is also called "Sweet French Bread".


title: French toast

text: In Norway, "Arme Riddere" (Poor Knights). Once only a dessert dish, it is now eaten for brunch or breakfast. Most common spices are cinnamon and cardamom.


title: French toast

text: In Romania it is known as "frigănele" and, almost always, served as a savory dish, and, often enough, without milk, although milk can be requested at most dinners.


title: French toast

text: French toast is a familiar menu item in the hawker centres of Singapore, where it is often part of a breakfast set with soft boiled eggs or coconut jam ("kaya").


title: French toast

text: "Torrija" is a similar recipe traditionally prepared in Spain for Lent and Holy Week. It is usually made by soaking stale bread in milk or wine with honey and spices. It is dipped in beaten egg and fried with olive oil. This cooking technique breaks down the fibres of the bread and results in a pastry with a crispy outside and smooth inside. It is often sprinkled with cinnamon as a final touch.


title: French toast

text: "Torrijas" or "torrejas" were first mentioned by the Spanish composer, poet and playwright Juan del Encina (1468–1533) in his "Cancionero", published in 1496. "Anda acá pastor" has the verse "En cantares nuevos/ gocen sus orejas,/ miel y muchos huevos/ para hacer "torrejas",/ aunque sin dolor/ parió al Redentor".


title: French toast

text: In The Netherlands French Toast is called "wentelteefjes", "verloren brood" (lost bread) or "gewonnen brood" (reclaimed bread). It is a sweet breakfast dish, that can also be eaten as an afternoon treat or evening dessert. The Dutch version of this dish often uses sugar with cinnamon, instead of plain sugar. Wentelteefjes are often associated with childhood where a grandmother provides her grandchildren with a luxury special sweet breakfast on special occasions.


title: French toast

text: In the UK, it is commonly known as French toast, and sometimes "eggy bread" or "Gypsy toast", and is served as both a sweet and as a savory dish.


title: French toast

text: French toast was popularly served in railroad dining cars of the early and mid-20th century. The Santa Fe was especially known for its French toast, and most of the railroads provided recipes of these and other dining car offerings to the public as a promotional feature.


title: French toast

text: In New Orleans Louisiana Creole cuisine, French toast is known as "pain perdu" and is most commonly served as a breakfast dish. The recipe calls for New Orleans-style French bread; the batter is an egg-based custard that may include spirits. Common toppings include cane syrup, strongly flavored honey, or fruit syrups; a dusting of powdered sugar is also traditional.


title: Selma (film)

text: Selma is a 2014 historical drama film directed by Ava DuVernay and written by Paul Webb. It is based on the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches initiated and directed by James Bevel and led by Martin Luther King Jr., Hosea Williams, and John Lewis. The film stars actors David Oyelowo as King, Tom Wilkinson as President Lyndon B. Johnson, Tim Roth as George Wallace, Carmen Ejogo as Coretta Scott King, and Common as Bevel.


title: Selma (film)

text: "Selma" premiered at the American Film Institute Festival on November 11, 2014, began a limited US release on December 25, and expanded into wide theatrical release on January 9, 2015, two months before the 50th anniversary of the march. The film was re-released on March 20, 2015 in honor of the 50th anniversary of the historical march.


title: Selma (film)

text: The film was nominated for Best Picture and won Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards. It also received four Golden Globe Award nominations, including Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Actor, and won for Best Original Song.


title: Selma (film)

text: In 1964, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) accepts his Nobel Peace Prize. Four black girls walking down stairs in the Birmingham, Alabama 16th Street Baptist Church are killed by a bomb set by the Ku Klux Klan. Annie Lee Cooper attempts to register to vote in Selma, Alabama, but is prevented by the white registrar. King meets with Lyndon B. Johnson and asks for federal legislation to allow black citizens to register to vote unencumbered, but the president responds that, although he understands Dr. King's concerns, he has more important projects. King travels to Selma with Ralph Abernathy, Andrew Young, James Orange, and Diane Nash. James Bevel greets them, and other SCLC activists appear. FBI director J. Edgar Hoover tells Johnson that King is a problem, and suggests they disrupt his marriage. Coretta Scott King has concerns about her husband's upcoming work in Selma. King calls singer Mahalia Jackson to inspire him with a song.


title: Selma (film)

text: King, other SCLC leaders, and black Selma residents march to the registration office to register. After a confrontation in front of the courthouse, a shoving match occurs as the police go into the crowd. Cooper fights back, knocking Sheriff Jim Clark to the ground, leading to the arrest of Cooper, King, and others.


title: Selma (film)

text: Alabama Governor George Wallace speaks out against the movement. Coretta meets with Malcolm X, who says he will drive whites to ally with King by advocating a more extreme position. Wallace and Al Lingo decide to use force at an upcoming night march in Marion, Alabama, using state troopers to assault the marchers. A group of protesters runs into a restaurant to hide, but troopers rush in and beat and shoot Jimmie Lee Jackson. King and Bevel meet with Cager Lee, Jackson's grandfather, at the morgue. King speaks to ask people to continue to fight for their rights. Harassing phone calls with a recording of sexual activity implied to be King and another woman lead to an argument with Coretta; she knows it is a fabrication, but the strain of constant death threats has taken its toll on her. King is criticized by members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).


title: Selma (film)

text: As the Selma-to-Montgomery march is about to begin, King talks to Young about delaying it for a day so he can spend some time with his family, but Young convinces King to let the march begin as scheduled without him, saying he can join later. The marchers, including John Lewis of SNCC, Hosea Williams of SCLC, and Selma activist Amelia Boynton, cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge and approach a line of state troopers who put on gas masks. The troopers order the marchers to turn back and, when the marchers hold their ground, the troopers attack with clubs, horses, tear gas, and other weapons. Lewis and Boynton are among those badly injured. The attack is shown on national television and the wounded are treated at Brown Chapel, the movement's headquarter church.


title: Selma (film)

text: Movement attorney Fred Gray asks federal Judge Frank Minis Johnson to let another attempt at the march go forward. President Johnson demands that King and Wallace cease their activities and sends Assistant Attorney General John Doar to convince King to postpone the next march. Numerous white Americans, including Viola Liuzzo and James Reeb, arrive to join the second march. Marchers cross the bridge again and see the state troopers lined up, but the troopers turn aside to let them pass. King, after praying, turns around and leads the group away, which again draws sharp criticism from SNCC activists. That evening, Reeb is beaten to death by an angry white mob on a street in Selma.


title: Selma (film)

text: After a hearing, Judge Johnson approves the march. President Johnson speaks before a Joint Session of Congress to ask for quick passage of a bill to eliminate restrictions on voting, praising the courage of the activists. The march on the highway to Montgomery takes place, and, when the marchers reach Montgomery, King delivers a speech on the steps of the State Capitol.


title: Selma (film)

text: On June 18, 2008, "Variety" reported that screenwriter Paul Webb had written an original story about Martin Luther King Jr. and Lyndon B. Johnson for Celador's Christian Colson, which would be co-produced with Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment. In 2009, Lee Daniels was reportedly in early talks to direct the film, with financing by Pathé. Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner of Plan B joined as co-producers along with participation of Cloud Eight Films. In 2010, reports indicated that The Weinstein Company would join Pathe and Plan B to finance the $22 million film, but by the next month Daniels had signed on with Sony to re-write and direct "The Butler". In an interview in August 2010, Daniels said that financing was there for the "Selma" project, but he had to choose between "The Butler" and "Selma", and chose "The Butler".


title: Selma (film)

text: In July 2013, it was said that Ava DuVernay had signed on to direct the film for Pathé UK and Plan B, and that she was revising the script with the original screenwriter, Paul Webb. DuVernay estimated that she re-wrote 90 percent of Webb's original script. Those revisions included rewriting King's speeches, because, in 2009, King's estate licensed them to DreamWorks and Warner Bros. for an untitled project to be produced by Steven Spielberg. Subsequent negotiations between those companies and "Selma"'s producers did not lead to an agreement. DuVernay drafted alternative speeches that evoke the historic ones without violating the copyright. She recalled spending hours listening to King's words while hiking the canyons of Los Angeles. While she did not think she would "get anywhere close to just the beauty and that nuance of his speech patterns", she did identify some of King's basic structure, such as a tendency to speak in triplets (saying one thing in three different ways). DuVernay did not receive a screenwriting credit on the finished film due to a stipulation within Webb's original contract that entitled him to the sole credit.


title: Selma (film)

text: In early 2014, Oprah Winfrey came on board as a producer along with Pitt, and by February 25 Paramount Pictures was in final negotiations for the US and Canadian distribution rights.


title: Selma (film)

text: On April 4, 2014, it was announced that Bradford Young would be the director of photography of the film.


title: Selma (film)

text: In 2010, Daniels (who was the attached director at the time) confirmed that the lead role of King would be played by British actor David Oyelowo. King was one of four main roles played by British actors (the others roles being those of King's wife, President Johnson, and Alabama Governor Wallace). Actors who had confirmed in 2010 but who did not appear in the 2014 production include Robert De Niro, Hugh Jackman, Cedric the Entertainer, Lenny Kravitz, and Liam Neeson.


title: Selma (film)

text: On March 26, 2014, British actor Tom Wilkinson was added to the cast to play US President Lyndon B. Johnson. On April 7, it was announced that British actress Carmen Ejogo would play Dr. King's wife, Coretta Scott King. On April 15, actor and rapper Lakeith Stanfield had reportedly joined the cast to play civil rights protester Jimmie Lee Jackson, who was shot and killed on a nighttime march and whose death led James Bevel to initiate the Selma to Montgomery marches. On April 22, Lorraine Toussaint joined the cast to portray Amelia Boynton Robinson, who was very active in the Selma movement before SCLC arrived and was the first African-American woman in Alabama to run for Congress. On April 25, it was announced that R&B singer Ledisi had been added to the cast to play Mahalia Jackson, a singer and friend of King. On May 7, Andre Holland joined the cast to play politician and civil rights activist Andrew Young. On May 8, Tessa Thompson was cast to play the role of Diane Nash, a civil rights activist and founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. On May 9, Deadline confirmed that rapper and actor Common had been cast in the role of James Bevel, the Director of Direct Action and Director of Nonviolent Education of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who was married to Diane Nash during the events of the film. On May 16, Trai Byers was added to the cast to play James Forman, a civil rights leader active in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. On June 20, Deadline reported that Colman Domingo had been cast to play SCLC activist Ralph Abernathy.


title: Selma (film)

text: On May 28, Stephan James was confirmed to be portraying the role of SNCC activist John Lewis in the film. On May 29, Wendell Pierce joined the film to play civil rights leader Hosea Williams. On May 30, Cuba Gooding Jr. was set to play civil rights attorney and activist Fred Gray. On June 3, British actor Tim Roth signed on to play Alabama governor George Wallace. On June 4, Niecy Nash joined the cast to play Richie Jean Jackson, a childhood friend of Coretta Scott King and the wife of Dr. Sullivan Jackson (played by Kent Faulcon), while John Lavelle joined to play Roy Reed, a reporter covering the march for "The New York Times". On June 10, it was announced that the film's producer, Oprah Winfrey, would portray Annie Lee Cooper, a 54-year-old woman who tried to register to vote and was denied by Sheriff Clark—whom she then punched in the jaw and knocked down. Jeremy Strong joined the cast to play James Reeb, a white Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston who was murdered in Selma after the second attempt at the march. On June 12, it was reported that Giovanni Ribisi joined the cast to play Lee C. White, an adviser to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson on strategies regarding the Civil Rights Movement. Alessandro Nivola also joined to play John Doar, a civil rights activist and attorney general for civil rights for the Department of Justice in the 1960s. Dylan Baker was added to the cast on July 17 to play FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who carried out extensive investigations of King and his associates.


title: Selma (film)

text: Principal photography began May 20, 2014, around Atlanta, Georgia. Filming took place around Marietta Square and Rockdale County Courthouse in Conyers. The Conyers scene involved a portrayal of federal judge Frank Minis Johnson, who ruled that the third and final march could go forward. In Newton County, Georgia, filming took place at Flat Road, Airport Road, Gregory Road, Conyers, Brown, Ivy and Emory Streets, exteriors on Lee Street, outside shots of the old Newton County Courthouse, shots of the Covington Square, and an interior night shoot at the Townhouse Café on Washington St. In Alabama, scenes were shot in Selma, centering on the Bloody Sunday march to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and in Montgomery, Alabama, where, in 1965, King led civil rights demonstrators down Dexter Avenue toward the Alabama State Capitol at the conclusion of the third march from Selma.


title: Selma (film)

text: Jason Moran composed the music for the film, marking his debut in the field. Common (who plays James Bevel) and John Legend released the accompanying track "Glory" in December 2014, ahead of the film's theatrical release. A protest anthem, "Glory" refers to the 2014 Ferguson protests and earned both the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song and the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The soundtrack album "" was released digitally on December 23, 2014 and physically on January 13, 2015.


title: Selma (film)

text: "Selma" premiered in Los Angeles at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre during AFI Fest on November 11, 2014, after which it received a standing ovation. It opened in limited release in the United States on December 25, 2014, including in Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta, before its wide opening on January 9, 2015.


title: Selma (film)

text: The film was screened in the Berlinale Special Galas section of the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2015. It was released by Pathé and their distribution partner 20th Century Fox on February 6, 2015, in the United Kingdom. Paramount Pictures gave the film a limited re-release in the US on March 20, 2015, to honor the historical march's 50th anniversary, and another re-release in January 2021 to celebrate Black History Month. "Selma" was released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 14, 2015.


title: Selma (film)

text: "Selma" received critical acclaim, with particular praise given to DuVernay's direction and Oyelowo's performance, though it was met with some criticism for its historical inaccuracies, which largely centered on the perceived vilification of Johnson and the omission of several prominent Jewish civil rights leaders. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 99% based on 314 reviews, with an average rating of 8.50/10; the site's critical consensus reads: "Fueled by a gripping performance from David Oyelowo, "Selma" draws inspiration and dramatic power from the life and death of Martin Luther King Jr. – but doesn't ignore how far we remain from the ideals his work embodied." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 80 out of 100, based on 52 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Selma (film)

text: Richard Roeper of "The Chicago Sun Times" praised the film as "an important history lesson that never feels like a lecture. Once school is back in session, every junior high school class in America should take a field trip to see this movie." Joe Morgenstern, writing for "The Wall Street Journal", wrote: "At its best, Ava DuVernay's biographical film honors Dr. King's legacy by dramatizing the racist brutality that spurred him and his colleagues to action." A. O. Scott of "The New York Times" praised the acting, directing, writing, and cinematography, and wrote: "Even if you think you know what's coming, "Selma" hums with suspense and surprise. Packed with incident and overflowing with fascinating characters, it is a triumph of efficient, emphatic cinematic storytelling."


title: Selma (film)

text: Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone" wrote: "DuVernay's look at Martin Luther King's 1965 voting-rights march against racial injustice stings with relevance to the here and now. Oyelowo's stirring, soulful performance as King deserves superlatives." David Denby, writing for "The New Yorker", wrote: "This is cinema, more rhetorical, spectacular, and stirring than cable-TV drama." Ann Hornaday of "The Washington Post" gave the film four out of five stars, and wrote: "With "Selma", director Ava DuVernay has created a stirring, often thrilling, uncannily timely drama that works on several levels at once ... she presents [Martin Luther King Jr.] as a dynamic figure of human-scale contradictions, flaws and supremely shrewd political skills."


title: Selma (film)

text: Praise was not unanimous; writing about why "Selma" was not nominated for more Academy Awards, Adolph Reed Jr., political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, opined that "now it's the black (haute) bourgeoisie that suffers injustice on behalf of the black masses."


title: Selma (film)

text: The film won and was nominated for several awards in 2014–15. In addition, "Selma" was listed on many critics' top ten lists.


title: Selma (film)

text: The historical accuracy of "Selma"s story has been the subject of controversy about the degree to which artistic license should be used in historical fiction. The film was criticized by some for its omission of various individuals and groups historically associated with the Selma marches, while others challenged how particular historical figures in the script were represented.


title: Selma (film)

text: Most controversy in the media centered on the film's portrayal of President Johnson and his relationship with King. According to people such as LBJ Presidential Library director Mark Updegrove and Joseph A. Califano Jr., Johnson was a champion of civil rights legislation and a proactive partner of King, and they accused the film of falsely depicting Johnson as a reluctant, obstructionist political actor who had the FBI monitor and harass King. Having served as Johnson's top domestic policy assistant (including on issues of civil rights) and as U.S. Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, Califano questioned whether the writer and director felt "free to fill the screen with falsehoods, immune from any responsibility to the dead, just because they thought it made for a better story". Historian David E. Kaiser complained that the film's depiction of Johnson as obstructing Dr. King's civil rights efforts—when, in fact, he helped get important legislation passed—advances a false narrative that American whites are "hopelessly infected by racism and that black people could and should depend only on themselves".


title: Selma (film)

text: Andrew Young—SCLC activist and official, and later U.S. congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, and mayor of Atlanta—told "The Washington Post" that the depiction of the relationship between Johnson and King "was the only thing I would question in the movie. Everything else, they got 100 percent right". According to Young, the two were always mutually respectful, and King respected Johnson's political problems. On television, Young pointed out that it was US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy who had signed the order that allowed the FBI to monitor King and other SCLC members and that it happened before Johnson took office.


title: Selma (film)

text: Some Jews who marched with King at Selma wrote that the film omits any mention of the Jews who contributed significantly to the civil rights movement, effectively “airbrushing” Jews out of the film, particularly Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, who appeared in news photos at the front of the march with King. However, several men with kippahs can be seen in the scenes of the second march, in the front row and in the second row, near to King.


title: Selma (film)

text: Director DuVernay and US Representative John Lewis, who is portrayed in the film marching with King during the civil rights movement, responded separately that the film "Selma" is a work of art about the people of Selma, not a documentary. DuVernay said in an interview that she did not see herself as "a custodian of anyone's legacy". In response to criticisms that she rewrote history to portray her own agenda, DuVernay said that the movie is "not a documentary. I'm not a historian. I'm a storyteller." Lewis wrote in an op-ed for "The Los Angeles Times": "We do not demand completeness of other historical dramas, so why is it required of this film?"


title: Selma (film)

text: In a scene-by-scene analysis of 18 films based on true stories, the visual blog "Information is Beautiful" gave "Selma" a score of 100%, indicating that every scene was evaluated as "True" or "True-ish", noting: "This movie painstakingly recreates events as they happened, and takes care to include everybody who was involved".


title: Baron Samedi

text: Baron Samedi (), also written Baron Samdi, Bawon Samedi or Bawon Sanmdi, is one of the lwa of Haitian Vodou. He is a lwa of the dead, along with Baron's numerous other incarnations Baron Cimetière, Baron La Croix and Baron Criminel.


title: Baron Samedi

text: He is the head of the Gede family of lwa; his brothers are Azagon Lacroix and Baron Piquant and he is the husband of Maman Brigitte. Together, they are the guardians of the past, of history, and of heritage.


title: Baron Samedi

text: Baron Samedi is usually depicted with a top hat, black tail coat, dark glasses, and cotton plugs in the nostrils, as if to resemble a corpse dressed and prepared for burial in the Haitian style. He is frequently depicted as a skeleton (but sometimes as a black man that merely has his face painted as a skull), and speaks in a nasal voice. The former President-for-Life of Haiti, François Duvalier, known as Papa Doc, modeled his cult of personality on Baron Samedi; he was often seen speaking in a deep nasal tone and wearing dark glasses.


title: Baron Samedi

text: He is noted for disruption, obscenity, debauchery, and having a particular fondness for tobacco and rum. Additionally, he is the lwa of resurrection, and in the latter capacity he is often called upon for healing by those near or approaching death, as it is only the Baron that can accept an individual into the realm of the dead.


title: Baron Samedi

text: Due to affiliation with François Duvalier, Baron Samedi is linked to secret societies in the Haitian government and includes them in his domain.


title: Baron Samedi

text: Baron Samedi spends most of his time in the invisible realm of vodou spirits. He is notorious for his outrageous behavior, swearing continuously and making filthy jokes to the other spirits. He is married to another powerful spirit known as Maman Brigitte, but often chases after mortal women. He loves smoking and drinking and is rarely seen without a cigar in his mouth or a glass of rum in his bony fingers. Baron Samedi can usually be found at the crossroads between the worlds of death and the living. When someone dies, he digs their grave and greets their soul after they have been buried, leading them to the underworld.


title: Baron Samedi

text: Baron Samedi is the leader of the Gede, lwa with particular links to magic, ancestor worship and death. These lesser spirits are dressed like The Baron and are as rude and crude but not nearly as charming as their master. They help carry the dead to the underworld.


title: Baron Samedi

text: As well as being the master of the dead, Baron Samedi is also a giver of life. He can cure mortals of any disease or wound, so long as he thinks it is worthwhile. His powers are especially great when it comes to Vodou curses and black magic. Even if somebody has been afflicted by a hex that brings them to the verge of death, they will not die if The Baron refuses to dig their grave. So long as The Baron keeps them out of the ground, they are safe.


title: Baron Samedi

text: In many Haitian cemeteries, the longest standing grave of male is designated as the grave of Baron Samedi. A cross (the "kwa Bawon", meaning "Baron's cross") is placed at a crossroads in the cemetery to represent the point where the mortal and spiritual world cross. Often, a black top hat is placed on top of this cross.


title: Baron Samedi

text: He also ensures that all corpses rot in the ground to stop any soul from being brought back as a zombie. What he demands in return depends on his mood. Sometimes he is content with his followers wearing black, white or purple clothes or using sacred objects; he may simply ask for a small gift of cigars, rum, black coffee, grilled peanuts, or bread. But sometimes The Baron requires a Vodou ceremony to help him cross over into this world.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Cubic zirconia (CZ) is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZrO). The synthesized material is hard and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors. It should not be confused with zircon, which is a zirconium silicate (ZrSiO). It is sometimes erroneously called "cubic zirconium".


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Because of its low cost, durability, and close visual likeness to diamond, synthetic cubic zirconia has remained the most gemologically and economically important competitor for diamonds since commercial production began in 1976. Its main competitor as a synthetic gemstone is a more recently cultivated material, synthetic moissanite.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Cubic zirconia is crystallographically isometric, an important attribute of a would-be diamond simulant. During synthesis zirconium oxide naturally forms monoclinic crystals, which are stable form under normal atmospheric conditions. A stabilizer is required for cubic crystals (taking on the fluorite structure) to form, and remain stable at ordinary temperatures; typically this is either yttrium or calcium oxide, the amount of stabilizer used depending on the many recipes of individual manufacturers. Therefore, the physical and optical properties of synthesized CZ vary, all values being ranges.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: It is a dense substance, with a density between 5.6 and 6.0 g/cm—about 1.65 times that of diamond. Cubic zirconia is relatively hard, 8–8.5 on the Mohs scale—slightly harder than most semi-precious natural gems. Its refractive index is high at 2.15–2.18 (compared to 2.42 for diamonds) and its luster is vitreous. Its dispersion is very high at 0.058–0.066, exceeding that of diamond (0.044). Cubic zirconia has no cleavage and exhibits a conchoidal fracture. Because of its high hardness, it is generally considered brittle.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Under shortwave UV cubic zirconia typically fluoresces a yellow, greenish yellow or "beige". Under longwave UV the effect is greatly diminished, with a whitish glow sometimes being seen. Colored stones may show a strong, complex rare earth absorption spectrum.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Discovered in 1892, the yellowish monoclinic mineral baddeleyite is a natural form of zirconium oxide.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: The high melting point of zirconia (2750 °C or 4976 °F) hinders controlled growth of single crystals. However, stabilization of cubic zirconium oxide had been realized early on, with the synthetic product "stabilized zirconia" introduced in 1929. Although cubic, it was in the form of a polycrystalline ceramic: it was used as a refractory material, highly resistant to chemical and thermal attack (up to 2540 °C or 4604 °F).


title: Cubic zirconia

text: In 1937, German mineralogists M. V. Stackelberg and K. Chudoba discovered naturally occurring cubic zirconia in the form of microscopic grains included in metamict zircon. This was thought to be a byproduct of the metamictization process, but the two scientists did not think the mineral important enough to give it a formal name. The discovery was confirmed through X-ray diffraction, proving the existence of a natural counterpart to the synthetic product.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: As with the majority of grown diamond substitutes, the idea of producing single-crystal cubic zirconia arose in the minds of scientists seeking a new and versatile material for use in lasers and other optical applications. Its production eventually exceeded that of earlier synthetics, such as synthetic strontium titanate, synthetic rutile, YAG (yttrium aluminium garnet) and GGG (gadolinium gallium garnet).


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Some of the earliest research into controlled single-crystal growth of cubic zirconia occurred in 1960s France, much work being done by Y. Roulin and R. Collongues. This technique involved molten zirconia being contained within a thin shell of still-solid zirconia, with crystal growth from the melt. The process was named "cold crucible", an allusion to the system of water cooling used. Though promising, these attempts yielded only small crystals.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Later, Soviet scientists under V. V. Osiko in the Laser Equipment Laboratory at the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow perfected the technique, which was then named "skull crucible" (an allusion either to the shape of the water-cooled container or to the form of crystals sometimes grown). They named the jewel "Fianit" after the institute's name FIAN (Physical Institute of the Academy of Science), but the name was not used outside of the USSR. This was known at the time as the Institute of Physics at the Russian Academy of Science. Their breakthrough was published in 1973, and commercial production began in 1976. In 1977 cubic zirconia began to be mass-produced in the jewelry marketplace by the Ceres Corporation with crystals stabilized with 94% yttria. Other major producers as of 1993 include Taiwan Crystal Company Ltd, Swarovski and ICT inc. By 1980 annual global production had reached 60 million carats (12 tonnes) and continued to increase with production reaching around 400 tonnes per year in 1998.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Because the natural form of cubic zirconia is so rare, all cubic zirconia used in jewelry has been synthesized, or created by humans.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Currently the primary method of cubic zirconia synthesis employed by producers remains to be through the skull-melting method. This method was patented by Josep F. Wenckus and coworkers in 1997. This is largely due to the process allowing for temperatures of over 3000 degrees to be achieved, lack of contact between crucible and material as well as the freedom to choose any gas atmosphere. Primary downsides to this method include the inability to predict the size of the crystals produced and it is impossible to control the crystallization process through temperature changes.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: The apparatus used in this process consists of a cup-shaped crucible surrounded by radio-frequency (RF) activated copper coils and a water-cooling system.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Zirconium dioxide thoroughly mixed with a stabilizer (normally 10% yttrium oxide) is fed into a cold crucible. Metallic chips of either zirconium or the stabilizer are introduced into the powder mix in a compact pile manner. The RF generator is switched on and the metallic chips quickly start heating up and readily oxidize into more zirconia. Consequently, the surrounding powder heats up by thermal conduction and begins melting, which in turn becomes electroconductive and thus it begins to heat up via the RF generator as well. This continues until the entire product is molten. Due to the cooling system surrounding the crucible, a thin shell of sintered solid material is formed. This causes the molten zirconia to remain contained within its own powder which prevents it from contamination from the crucible and reduces heat loss. The melt is left at high temperatures for some hours to ensure homogeneity and ensure all impurities have evaporated. Finally, the entire crucible is slowly removed from the RF coils to reduce the heating and let it slowly cool down (from bottom to top). The rate at which the crucible is removed from the RF coils is chosen as a function of the stability of crystallization dictated by the phase transition diagram. This provokes the crystallization process to begin and useful crystals begin to form. Once the crucible has been completely cooled to room temperature, the resulting crystals are multiple elongated-crystalline blocks.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: The reason behind this shape is dictated by a concept known as crystal degeneration according to Tiller. The size and diameter of the obtained crystals is a function of the cross-sectional area of the crucible, volume of the melt and composition of the melt. The diameter of the crystals is heavily influenced by the concentration of YO stabilizer.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: When observing the phase diagram the cubic phase will crystallize first as the solution is cooled down no matter the concentration of YO. If the concentration of YO is not high enough the cubic structure will start to break down into the tetragonal state which will then break down into a monoclinic phase. If the concentration of YO is between 2.5-5% the resulting product will be PSZ (partially stabilized zirconia) while monophasic cubic crystals will form from around 8-40%. Below 14% at low growth rates tend to be opaque indicating partial phase separation in the solid solution (likely due to diffusion in the crystals remaining in the high temperature region for a longer time). Above this threshold crystals tend to remain clear at reasonable growth rates and maintains good annealing conditions.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Because of cubic zirconia's isomorphic capacity it can be doped with several elements to change the color of the crystal. A list of specific dopants and colors produced by their addition can be seen below.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: The vast majority of YCZ (yttrium bearing cubic zirconia) crystals clear with high optical perfection and with gradients of the refractive index lower than formula_1. However some samples contain defects with the most characteristic and common ones listed below.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Due to its optical properties yttrium cubic zirconia (YCZ) has been used for windows, lenses, prisms, filters and laser elements. Particularly in the chemical industry it is used as window material for the monitoring of corrosive liquids due to its chemical stability and mechanical toughness. YCZ has also been used as a substrate for semiconductor and superconductor films in similar industries.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Mechanical properties of partially stabilized zirconia (high hardness and shock resistance, low friction coefficient, high chemical and thermal resistance as well as high wear and tear resistance) allow it to be used as a very particular building material, especially in the bio-engineering industry: It has been used to make reliable super-sharp medical scalpels for doctors that are compatible with bio-tissues and contain an edge much smoother than one made of steel.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: In recent years manufacturers have sought ways of distinguishing their product by supposedly "improving" cubic zirconia. Coating finished cubic zirconia with a film of diamond-like carbon (DLC) is one such innovation, a process using chemical vapor deposition. The resulting material is purportedly harder, more lustrous and more like diamond overall. The coating is thought to quench the excess fire of cubic zirconia, while improving its refractive index, thus making it appear more like diamond. Additionally, because of the high percentage of diamond bonds in the amorphous diamond coating, the finished simulant will show a positive diamond signature in Raman spectra.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Another technique first applied to quartz and topaz has also been adapted to cubic zirconia: An iridescent effect created by vacuum-sputtering onto finished stones an extremely thin layer of a precious metal (typically gold), or certain metal oxides, metal nitrides, or other coatings. This material is marketed as "mystic" by many dealers. Unlike diamond-like carbon and other hard synthetic ceramic coatings, the iridescent effect made with precious metal coatings is not durable, due to their extremely low hardness and poor abrasion wear properties, compared to the remarkably durable cubic zirconia substrate.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Cubic zirconia, as a diamond simulant and jewel competitor, can potentially reduce demand for conflict diamonds, and impact the controversy surrounding the rarity and value of diamonds.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: Regarding value, the paradigm that diamonds are costly due to their rarity and visual beauty has been replaced by an artificial rarity attributed to price-fixing practices of De Beers Company which held a monopoly on the market from the 1870s to early 2000s. The company pleaded guilty to these charges in an Ohio court in 13 July 2004. However, while De Beers has less market power, the price of diamonds continues to increase due to the demand in emerging markets such as India and China. The emergence of artificial stones such as cubic zirconia with optic properties similar to diamonds, could be an alternative for jewelry buyers given their lower price and noncontroversial history.


title: Cubic zirconia

text: An issue closely related to monopoly is the emergence of conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process (KP) was established to deter the illicit trade of diamonds that fund civil wars in Angola and Sierra Leone. However, the KP is not as effective in decreasing the number of conflict diamonds reaching the European and American markets. Its definition does not include forced labor conditions or human right violations. A 2015 study from the Enough Project, showed that groups in the Central African Republic have reaped between US$3 million and US$6 million annually from conflict diamonds. UN reports show that more than US$24 million in conflict diamonds have been smuggled since the establishment of the KP. Diamond simulants have become an alternative to boycott the funding of unethical practices. Terms such as “Eco-friendly Jewelry” define them as conflict free origin and environmentally sustainable. However, concerns from mining countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo are that a boycott in purchases of diamonds would only worsen their economy. According to the Ministry of Mines in Congo, 10% of its population relies on the income from diamonds. Therefore, cubic zirconia are a short term alternative to reduce conflict but a long term solution would be to establish a more rigorous system of identifying the origin of these stones.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Lotus Elise is a two-seat, rear-wheel drive, mid-engined roadster conceived in early 1994 and released in September 1996 by the British manufacturer Lotus Cars. The Elise has a fibreglass body shell atop its bonded extruded aluminium chassis that provides a rigid platform for the suspension, while keeping weight and production costs to a minimum. It is capable of speeds up to . The Elise was named after Elisa Artioli, the granddaughter of Romano Artioli who was chairman of Lotus and Bugatti at the time of the car's launch.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The 1996 Lotus Elise weighed . Because of this low weight, it was able to accelerate 0- in 5.8 seconds despite its relatively low power output of . Braking and fuel consumption are also improved by the car's reduced weight. Cornering is helped by a low center of gravity height of 470 mm (18½").


title: Lotus Elise

text: Series 1 was designed by Julian Thomson, then head of design at Lotus, and Richard Rackham, Lotus's chief engineer.


title: Lotus Elise

text: Besides the standard higher-performance variants listed below, Lotus also released some limited edition models such as Sport 135 (1998/9) with approx , Sport 160 (2000) with , and Sport 190 (). These were more competent on track with sports suspension, wheels and tyres, seats according to model. There were other special editions such as the 50th Anniversary Edition (green/gold) celebrating 50 years of Lotus cars, the Type 49 ("Gold Leaf" red and white two-tone), and Type 79 ("JPS" black/gold) which refers to its successful Grand Prix car type numbers.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Series 1 Lotus Elise was assembled from kits on a dedicated assembly line at Proton's Shah Alam factory between 1997 and 2003. The drivetrain was imported complete and initially the bodywork was painted in the UK at Hethel prior to export. The Malaysian-assembled Elise sold for double the price of its British-built counterpart due to local vehicle taxes. The Malaysian-assembled Elise was also exported to regional markets, including Japan, Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand. The Malaysian spec Elises came with a factory hard top, carpets and air con as standard though the air con was unreliable and ineffective. All cars had MMC brakes as that was what was current when the kits were imported in the late 1990s. The Proton-assembled Elises were assigned the code 'B' in the eleventh VIN position, while the original Hethel-built units were stamped with the code 'H'.


title: Lotus Elise

text: A faster edition called the 111S, named after the Lotus type-number of the Elise (Type 111), was introduced in early 1999 and had the 1.8 Rover K-series engine also used in the Rover MGF. It featured a VVC system providing continuously variable lift and duration on the intake valves only. This technology produced a flatter torque curve from lower down the rev range and a declared , a small but useful improvement over the standard 16 valve Rover 1.8 L K-series inline-four unit. Fitted with a closer ratio manual gearbox and lower ratio final drive, the acceleration was improved. Minor changes include more padding in the seats, headlamp covers, rear spoiler, cross drilled brake discs, alloy window winders and six-spoke wheels. The rear wheels being slightly wider than before necessitated the fitting of "spats" on the back of the rear wheel arches to comply with EU regulations. The 111S was also fitted with a "chipcutter" front grille.


title: Lotus Elise

text: In 2000, the 340R limited edition model, based on a Series 1 Elise was introduced. This roofless car was a special edition, limited to only 340 cars being built. The name 340 originally referred to the 340 bhp/tonne (254 kW/tonne) power-to-weight ratio of the original prototype which had while weighing just . However, in production models the 340 refers to the number of cars built. The final production versions weighed and had a power-to-weight ratio of /tonne. A "Track Pack" was created that upped power to and weighed only , thus fulfilling its original power-to-weight ratio promise.


title: Lotus Elise

text: In 2000, Lotus introduced the Exige — a hardtop version of the Elise with the engine from the 340R; as well as different front and rear body "clamshells", larger wheels, and a rear wing. Many models received an upgrade to with better driveability due to changes to ECU and cam timing.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Series 1 could not be produced beyond the 2000 model production year due to new European crash sustainability regulations, so Lotus needed a development partner to meet the investment requirement for a Series 2 car. General Motors offered to fund the project, in return for a badged and GM-engined version of the car for their European brands, Opel and Vauxhall.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Series 2 Elise, announced on 9 October 2000, was a redesigned Series 1 using a slightly modified version of the Series 1 chassis to meet the new regulations, and the same K-series engine with a brand new Lotus-developed ECU. The design of the body paid homage to the earlier M250 concept, and was the first Lotus to be designed on a computer.


title: Lotus Elise

text: Both the Series 2 Elise and the Opel Speedster/Vauxhall VX220 were built on the same production line, in a new facility at Hethel. Both cars shared many parts, including the chassis, although they had different drive-trains and power-plants. The VX220 carried the Lotus internal model identification "Lotus 116," with the code name "Skipton" for the launch 2.2N/A version and "Tornado" for the 2004 introduced 2.0 L Turbo. Fitted with 17 inch over the Elise's 16 inch front wheels, the Vauxhall/Opel version ceased production in late 2005 and was replaced by the Opel GT for February 2007, with no RHD version for the United Kingdom.


title: Lotus Elise

text: Basic S2 models had a naturally aspirated Rover K-series engine without VVC rated at at 5600 rpm and at 3500 rpm of torque.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Series 2 was also available as a 111S model, with the VVC engine Rover technology producing . The 111S Type 25 was built to commemorate the revolutionary race car driven by Jim Clark in F1, painted in Lotus Racing Green with twin metallic yellow stripes running front to back. Unique black Lotus styled six-spoke wheels. The interior includes perforated Ruby red leather seats, door panels and steering wheel centre (echoing the original), and red laurels embroidered onto the headrest of each seat. A Heritage Type 25 ID plate confirms its limited edition status as only 50 of these cars were produced. The UK market was to get 45 and Australia 5. During boat loading one of the 5 was damaged and only 4 sent to Australia. It's presumed the damaged car was later sold in the UK. The car is also supplied with hard top maintaining the twin stripes. The 111S models were discontinued in 2005 in favour of the Toyota powerplant.


title: Lotus Elise

text: In 2003 the Type 23 or Heritage Type 23 was built to commemorate the Colin Chapman designed race car which ran from 1962–1963. Like the Type 25 the car was based on the 111S and powered by the Rover K Series engine. It was limited to a production run of 50 cars, all of which were fitted with the heritage type 23 ID plate indicating the build number. Externally the car was painted in heritage white with twin parallel Lotus racing Green stripes. Heritage laurels and Union jacks were fitted to each wing, all of which set the car apart. Internally the car was fitted with perforated green leather seats, door panels and steering wheel centre, and green laurels are embroidered onto the headrest of each seat. The car was supplied with a green soft top and hard top maintaining the green stripes.


title: Lotus Elise

text: It is believed that the switch to a Toyota engine was due to federalising issues with the Rover powerplant in the USA, however this has been largely unproven with little information released from Lotus as to the exact reasons. As of the time of the switch the Rover engine would still have met the standards required of it for use in America.


title: Lotus Elise

text: Two more track-focused models, the 135R and Sport 190, were available with and respectively. These also came with associated handling upgrades such as Lotus Sport Suspension and wider wheels with Yokohama Advan A048 tyres. In certain markets, the 135R was replaced by the "Sport 111", which was similar, apart from sporting the VVC engine in place of the tuned K-series.


title: Lotus Elise

text: This Series 2 Elise model comes in a European 111R version or a version sold in North America, referred to as the Federal Elise. It is powered by the all-aluminium alloy DOHC Toyota 2ZZ-GE with a Yamaha designed twin-cam head offering variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust valvetrain and a Toyota C64 6-speed manual transmission. Although the engine was borrowed from Toyota, its tune for the Elise was done in-house by Lotus. Many tests show performance of in approximately 4.9 seconds, or 4.7 seconds with the Sport Package.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The 2005 Lotus Elise was the first to be sold commercially in the United States, in the summer of 2004. Approval for the Elise, however, required intervention by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) which provided a three-year exemption for the car, as it had failed to meet US bumper and headlight regulations. The first-year model suffered from a few flaws, most notably a design flaw in the headlamps that magnified the sun’s light, allowing the inside of the lamp housings to be melted by the sun.


title: Lotus Elise

text: This model was followed up by the 2006 Model Year Elise 111R and Sports Racer models. Lotus made a limited production (50 in the US) called the Lotus Sport Elise. 2006 models differ from the 2005 models in a few aspects. ProBax seats.


title: Lotus Elise

text: For the 2007 model year Lotus several minor changes were made. The LOTUS decals on the rear of the vehicle, previously flat stickers, were replaced by raised lettering. The headlamp units were sealed. Also, in order to comply with US Federally mandated bumper restrictions, the frontal crash structure was slightly changed and rear bumperettes were added next to the licence plate mount. Approximately 100 2007 model year "launch" cars were shipped to the US without these bumper changes. Also in 2007, the Elise S was released and the 111R renamed Elise R. All Lotus Elise cars manufactured after 1 January 2007 include the new headlights and bumpers, although they are hidden in the front.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Elise S is the new base model with a Toyota sourced engine replacing the previous models K series Rover engine. The 2ZZ-GE engine produces at 6,200 rpm (a considerable increase over the of the Rover engine). The inclusion of airbags, ABS brakes, electric windows, and carpet in addition to the new heavier engine has increased the base weight to (approximately higher than the previous S model).


title: Lotus Elise

text: For 2008, there were several additions to the Lotus line-up. There are three versions of the Elise. Lotus continued to provide a naturally aspirated Elise producing . The second version is the Elise SC sporting a non-intercooled supercharger producing . 0– is reduced from 4.9 for the base Elise or 4.7 seconds for the Elise with Sport package to 4.3 seconds for the Elise SC. The NA Elise styling is similar to the prior model years. The Elise SC, however, is distinguishable from the NA version by a rear spoiler identical to the Type 72-D edition spoiler and new wheels. Weight remained a Lotus-claimed ; just more than the previous year. Prior to the release of the 2008 Elise SC, the limited production "California Edition" arrived at dealerships. A total of fifty "California Edition" Elises were produced; 25 in Saffron Yellow and 25 in Ardent Red. The interiors of the "Cali"<nowiki></nowiki>s were produced in a light two-tone leather (Biscuit) and the exterior modifications included a silver front grille (a nod to vintage-Ferrari), body-coloured shutter grills on the side inlets and engine cover, enhanced 16-spoke wheels, and a large spoiler that covers the upper-rear deck (72-D style). The "Cali"<nowiki></nowiki>s were intended to appeal to "the lifestyle market."


title: Lotus Elise

text: In Europe, there are three models available; the Elise S with a , 1.8L Toyota 1ZZ-FE engine and 5 speed manual gearbox (0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.8 seconds, top speed ); the Elise R with a , 1.8 L Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine and 6-speed manual gearbox (0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.9 seconds, top speed ); and the Elise SC with a supercharged non-intercooler 1.8L Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine rated at at 8000 rpm and at 5000 rpm of torque, 6 speed manual gearbox and a spoiler (0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.3 seconds, top speed ).


title: Lotus Elise

text: Several new colour options for 2008 were brought to the marketplace. These include new metallic colours (additional $590) Persian Blue and Liquid Blue; new Lifestyle colour (additional $1200) Isotope Green; new Limited Colour Level (additional $3,300) Candy Red, Ice White, and Burnt Orange; and the new Exclusive Colour Level (additional $5,100) Prism Green and Moonstone Silver. The following colours were discontinued for 2008: Nightfall Blue, Aubergine Purple, Magnetic Blue, Polar Blue, Autumn Gold, Chili Red, and Krypton Green.


title: Lotus Elise

text: In February 2010, Lotus unveiled a facelifted version of the second generation Elise. The new headlights are now single units; triangular in shape they are somewhat larger than the earlier lights. The cheapest version in Europe had a 1.6 litre engine to comply with Euro 5 emissions, with the same power output as the earlier 1.8 . The 1.8 litre Elise comes standard with a Magnuson R900 supercharger making . The 1.6 litre version was discontinued in 2018.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The 2011 model was the last offered for street legal sale in the United States when the waiver from the United States Government's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for Lotus to build and sell cars in the US without smart airbags expired in August 2011. It was also the only Elise to use the Toyota 2ZZ-GE engine in the 2011 model year.


title: Lotus Elise

text: At the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, Lotus revealed a high performance version of the Elise called the Cup 220. The Cup 220 is a more track-focused and hardcore version of the standard Elise. It has the following specifications according to a 2015 Top Gear road test:


title: Lotus Elise

text: Revealed in November 2015, The Lotus Elise Sport and Sport 220 are set to join the two-seater sports car's line-up, with the two models replacing the outgoing Elise and Elise S. The models mark a return for the ‘Sport’ name to a Lotus, with the badge last appearing on the Lotus Esprit. The two cars get a weight reduction of 10 kg, with the Elise Sport now down to 866 kg and the Sport 220 now 914 kg. The reduced weight doesn’t improve performance but it does bring a marginal boost in claimed economy, with the Sport now managing 45.0 mpg the Sport 220 improving to 37.5 mpg. The changes are marginal enough that the CO emissions remain unchanged.


title: Lotus Elise

text: Both cars also come with lightweight sports seats, which are available with optional tartan trim that harks back to the 1970s Esprit S1. Other visual upgrades and options include lightweight silver or black cast wheels, which are 16 inch at the front and 17 inch at the rear. Optional lightweight wheels can reduce another 5 kg from the car’s weight. A black rear diffuser is standard, along with a choice of 10 colours. Other options include a hard roof, air conditioning, cruise control and an upgraded Clarion stereo system.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The engines remain unchanged. The Sport comes with a 1.6-litre petrol engine with and of torque. It can go 0-62 mph in 6.5 seconds, and has a top speed of 127mph. The Sport 220’s 1.8-litre engine can develop and of torque. It can go 0-62 mph in 4.6 seconds and has a 145 mph of top speed. Both come with a six-speed manual transmission.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The pricing has also been trimmed, with the Elise Sport model starting at £29,900 and the Elise Sport 220 priced at £36,500. Both cars will go on sale from December 2015 in Europe and the rest of the world from January 2016.


title: Lotus Elise

text: At the 2016 Geneva Motor Show, Lotus revealed the high performance version of the Elise called the Cup 250. The Cup 250 is a more track focused and hardcore version of the standard Elise. It has the following specifications according to Lotus:


title: Lotus Elise

text: In October 2017, Lotus unveiled a hardcore version of the Elise called the Elise Cup 260. It is inspired by the two hardcore variants of the Evora and Exige line up, the Sport 380 and the GT430 respectively. It features the double taillight units and rear wing from the Exige Sport 380 and the Lotus 3-Eleven respectively. Power has also been uprated and is now thanks to a revised supercharger. Other changes include increased top speed, acceleration, low weight and high downforce due to added aero elements. The Elise Cup 260 has the following specifications according to Lotus:


title: Lotus Elise

text: In March 2017, Lotus announced the special edition 'Sprint' models of the Elise. For the Elise Sprint, Lotus used several weight-saving techniques to cut the car's weight down to . To achieve the weight saving, some body parts are made in carbon, as well as the seats. The backlight glass is made of polycarbonate, and the lightweight battery is a Lithium-ion model. Wheels are the usual size, but forged instead of cast alloy. The Sprint can be had with either a 1.6-litre naturally aspirated engine, or a 1.8-litre supercharged engine, available for the Sprint 220 version. The former has a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) time of 5.9 seconds, while the Sprint 220 can accelerate from 0–60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.1 seconds. Dampers are uprated, as on the Elise Cup models.


title: Lotus Elise

text: Opening the range is the Elise Sport 240 Final Edition, which sees the existing Sport 220's 1.8-litre supercharged four-cylinder engine uprated to develop and , permitting a zero to 100km/h time of 4.5 seconds. When fully specified with weight-saving options – namely carbon-fibre sill and engine covers, a lithium-ion starter battery and a polycarbonate rear window – the Sport 240 is the lightest car on offer, tipping the scales in at just 898kg. A set of 10-spoke forged alloy wheels fill the arches, measuring 16 inches in diameter up front and 17 inches at the rear, wrapped in Yokohama Y105 tyres. Lotus claims the new wheels are 0.5kg lighter than the examples fitted to the outgoing Sport 220.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Elise Cup 250 Final Edition features a variant of the Sport 240's 1.8-litre four-cylinder, now tuned to produce and . Lotus claims a 4.3-second 0-100km/h sprint time. This model gets an optimised aerodynamic package allowing for 155kg of downforce at its top speed of 248km/h, along with 10-spoke M Sport forged alloy wheels, Yokohama A052 tyres, Bilstein dampers and adjustable anti-roll bars. A lightweight lithium-ion battery and polycarbonate rear window are also fitted as standard for increased weight saving, and, in top spec layout, the car weighs 931kg.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The last Elise built was a Sport 240, painted gold; it was delivered to Elisa Artioli, the car's namesake.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The series 3 Lotus Elise first appeared as a design study alongside the Lotus Esprit concept at the 2010 Paris Motor Show as the "Lotus Elise Concept" in the autumn of that year, and was set to be launched within the next couple of years. The car was heavier than the production model of that time, and had a considerably more powerful 2.0-litre inline-4 engine. The production model was then unveiled with many changes, including the downsizing of the engine to 1.6 litre and 1.8 litre (supercharged) and a different design with little cues taken from the concept.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Series 2 Exige comes with the same high revving Toyota 1.8L engine and six speed gearbox as the Elise 111R, replacing the Rover K-series engine of the previous Exige.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Series 2 Exige has been followed by the limited-edition Lotus Sport Exige 240R, incorporating a Lotus-developed supercharger atop the Lotus engine. The US Federalised version with the supercharger fitted is known as the Exige S 240.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Zytek Lotus Elise is an electric sports car that was jointly produced by Lotus and Zytek from 1998 until 2003.


title: Lotus Elise

text: Its extruded aluminium space frame and lightweight composite body shell are factors in its low kerb weight of . 250 nickel-cadmium batteries provide 300 volts (at full charge) to two Zytek oil-cooled brushless DC motors, which deliver a total power of and torque of . These motors are each mated to a single-speed, fixed ratio transmission with an aluminium gear. Its acceleration time from is 5 seconds, and from 0 to is 11.2 seconds. The car is governor-limited to to conserve charge. The range per charge is typically and the car can be re-charged within an hour.


title: Lotus Elise

text: The Elise has received critical acclaim for its performance and driving experience, including Best Driver's Car 2001 (Autocar), Car of the Year 2003 (UK Horizons TV), Best Sportscar 2004 (BBC Top Gear Magazine), and Icon of Icons at the Autocar Awards 2019 (Autocar).


title: Folarin Balogun

text: Folarin Jerry Balogun (born 3 July 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Ligue 1 club Reims, on loan from club Arsenal. Born in the United States, he represents England at youth international level.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: Balogun was born in New York City and emigrated to England when he was two years old, growing up in London. His parents were born in Nigeria. Balogun is often referred to by his nickname of 'Flo', coined to him in his years at Arsenal's Hale End academy.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: Balogun joined Arsenal at the age of eight after being scouted while playing for his previous Sunday League side, Aldersbrook. Before trialling with Arsenal, he had trialled with North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur and nearly signed for them.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: In July 2020, after failing to agree a new contract with Arsenal, he was linked with a transfer away from the club, including a proposed £8 million sale to Brentford.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: He made his senior debut in the Europa League on 29 October 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 74th minute in a group stage match against Dundalk.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: He scored his first senior goal on 26 November 2020, in a Europa League group stage match against Molde.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: Balogun made his Premier League debut in a 2–0 loss against newly promoted Brentford on 13 August 2021.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: On 12 January 2022, he joined EFL Championship club Middlesbrough on a loan deal until the end of the season.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: Born in the United States to Nigerian parents and raised in England, Balogun is eligible to represent all three nations at international level. After playing for England at the under-17 level and appearing in the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, he accepted a call up from the United States under-18 national team in August 2018 for a training camp and a tournament in the Czech Republic. He played in all four of the United States' games in the Václav Ježek Youth Tournament and scored twice. He has also expressed interest in playing for Nigeria, although he has stated that he enjoys England's "style of play" which is "similar to Arsenal's".


title: Folarin Balogun

text: In 2019 he appeared and scored for the England under-18 national team in a tournament in Dubai. In October 2020 he made an appearance for the England under-20 against Wales.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: On 27 August 2021, Balogun received his first call up to the England under-21 team. On 7 September 2021, he made his England U21 debut as a substitute during the 2–0 2023 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification win over Kosovo under-21s at Stadium MK.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: Balogun is known for his pace, technique, and being two-footed. Martin Keown has compared Balogun to Arsenal's legendary striker Ian Wright, due to his speed and intelligent movement. In his first interview for Middlesbrough, Balogun said he takes inspiration from Edinson Cavani and Robert Lewandowski.


title: Folarin Balogun

text: Balogun was involved in the Amazon Original sports docuseries "", which documented the club by spending time with the coaching staff and players behind the scenes both on and off the field throughout their 2021–22 season.


title: Swans (band)

text: Swans is an American experimental rock band formed in 1982 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. One of the few acts to emerge from the New York City-based no wave scene and stay intact into the next decade, Swans have become recognized for an ever-changing sound, exploring genres such as noise rock, post-punk, industrial and post-rock. Initially, their music was known for its sonic brutality and misanthropic lyrics. Following the addition of singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to incorporate melody and intricacy into their music. Jarboe remained the band's only constant member except Gira and semi-constant guitarist Norman Westberg until their dissolution in 1997.


title: Swans (band)

text: In 2010, Gira re-formed the band without Jarboe, establishing a stable lineup of musicians which has toured worldwide and released four albums to critical acclaim. This iteration of the group performed its last shows in November 2017, ending the tour in support of its final album "The Glowing Man". Since 2019, Gira has been touring and recording with Swans as "a revolving cast of contributors". The band's latest album, "Leaving Meaning", was released on October 25, 2019. Since 1990, all Swans records have been released through Gira's own label, Young God Records.


title: Swans (band)

text: Michael Gira has repeatedly stated he took the moniker Swans as it described the sound he wanted best. Gira's summation of the name follows along the lines of: "Swans are majestic, beautiful looking creatures. With really ugly temperaments."


title: Swans (band)

text: The earliest known lineup of Swans comprised Gira on bass guitar and vocals, Jonathan Kane on drums, Sue Hanel on guitar, Mojo on percussion and tape loops and Thurston Moore, Dan Braun or Jonathan Tessler on the second bass guitar. Jon Tessler also played metal percussion and tape loops in another variation of the line-up with Gira on bass, Moore on guitar, and Kane on Drums. Hanel's only recordings with the group are on the compilation "Body to Body, Job to Job", but the ambiguous personnel credits do not make it clear on which songs she performed. Kane stated that "Sue was the most fearsome guitarist we'd ever heard in New York. She was unbelievable."


title: Swans (band)

text: Hanel did not stay long in the group, and by the time of their recording debut she had been replaced by Bob Pezzola. This lineup of the group also featured saxophonist Daniel Galli-Duani, who had previously played with Kane as the avant-garde duo Transmission. The debut EP, "Swans", released on Labor, is markedly different from anything they would do later. However, the minimal chord structures owe more to blues, while the jazz instrumentation and awkward time signatures are evidence of Swans' roots in the no wave scene of the late 1970s, which had more or less collapsed by the release of 1984's "Cop".


title: Swans (band)

text: Kane compares Swans to blues icon Chester Burnett, a.k.a. Howlin' Wolf. Some similarities worth noting—the music of early Swans was often based on a single riff, played repeatedly to hypnotic effect. Some of Burnett's songs—especially the songs penned by Burnett himself—have a similar structure and quality. Their early music was typified by slow and grinding guitar noise, and pounding drums, punctuated by Gira's morbid and violent lyrics (inspired by Jean Genet and Marquis de Sade), usually barked or shouted. Critics have described Swans' early recordings as "aggressive beyond words".


title: Swans (band)

text: Their first full-length release, "Filth" (1983), featured driving, choppy rhythms and abrasive drums. The whole is reminiscent of earlier no wave bands, such as Mars, and the work of Swans' contemporaries, like Sonic Youth's "Confusion Is Sex" and "Kill Yr Idols"; but critic Ned Raggett contends that "early Swans really is like little else on the planet before or since". "Filth" was the first album to feature guitarist Norman Westberg, who would play a vital role in much of Swans' music and would feature on every subsequent studio album apart from "Love of Life".


title: Swans (band)

text: "Cop" (1984) and the originally untitled "Young God" EP were both released in 1984 and re-released together on CD in 1992. "Young God" has been known by several names, usually by one of its two A-sides, such as "I Crawled" or, notoriously, as "Raping a Slave". This release is often confused with their self-titled debut. The music continues in the same vein as "Filth", and is again vaguely reminiscent of heavy metal music played in extreme slow motion. Swans were, in this era, Gira on vocals, Westberg on guitar, Harry Crosby on bass guitar and Roli Mosimann on drums. Gira's vocals had changed slightly, becoming slowly more melodic, although the snarl still remained. Some of the songs on the EP, particularly "Young God" and "I Crawled", have an actual vocal melody, if rudimentary, hinting at the sounds of future releases.


title: Swans (band)

text: One of the trademarks of Swans' early period was playing at painfully loud volumes during concerts, sometimes leading to police stopping shows. Gira was also notably confrontational with the audience, such as stepping on people's fingers resting on the stage, pulling people's hair and, notably, physically assaulting anyone caught in the crowd headbanging, something Gira detested. This lent a reputation to the name Swans which was one of the contributing factors in Gira's retirement of the band in 1997.


title: Swans (band)

text: Since Swans' re-formation, Gira has made a point of maintaining the intensity of their live show, stating that it is at once "soul-uplifting and body-destroying". He has also sometimes turned off the air conditioning before Swans performed and compared the experience to a Native American sweat lodge.


title: Swans (band)

text: 1986's "Greed" saw a new addition to the group with vocalist/keyboardist Jarboe joining the band. Her presence began a slow thawing in the overt brutality and energy of Swans' early work.


title: Swans (band)

text: "Greed" also marked the introduction of bassist Algis Kizys as a long-time, near-constant member. The album is not as brutal or noisy as their previous releases but is still an extremely ominous and dark record. This was followed by its "twin" album, "Holy Money", the first to feature Jarboe on lead vocals - she had joined the band in 1985. "Holy Money" was also the first album by Swans to incorporate acoustic elements, in particular, the eight-minute dirge "Another You", which starts with a bluesy harmonica introduction. It also marks the introduction of religious themes in Swans records with the sacrificial ode "A Hanging", complete with gospel-like backing vocals from Jarboe.


title: Swans (band)

text: "Children of God" (1987) further expanded Jarboe's role, acting as a foil to Michael Gira's tales of suffering, torture and humiliation. The stories portrayed here, however, are ever the more unusual, given their juxtaposition—and admixture—with religious imagery. The intention was neither to mock nor embrace religion, but experiment with the power inherent in its messages and the hypocrisy of many of its leaders.


title: Swans (band)

text: Some songs, such as "Beautiful Child", retain the vocal style of earlier days, but many are quite tame. The almost baroque "In My Garden", for example, added an extra dimension with piano (used before on "Fool" and "Sealed in Skin" to far grimmer effect) and acoustic guitar. In between the two poles, there are pieces like "Sex, God, Sex" (heavy metal-like bass riffs with blues and gospel-inspired singing), "Blood and Honey" (a murder ballad with early post-rock tendencies) and "Blind Love" (a lengthy song, alternating between intoned vocals and violent instrumental passages). Gira considers this to be the band's major turning point.


title: Swans (band)

text: After the "Children of God" album, Gira professed himself tired with the band's fearsome reputation for noise, feeling that their audience now had expectations that he had no intention of fulfilling. He made a conscious decision to tone down the band's sound, introducing more acoustic elements and increasingly emphasizing Jarboe as a singer. The first results of this shift in direction were the two records recorded by Gira and Jarboe under the names Skin (in Europe) and World of Skin (in the US). The first, "Blood, Women, Roses", featured Jarboe on lead vocals, and the second, "Shame, Humility, Revenge", featured Gira on lead vocals. Both were recorded together in 1987, although "Shame, Humility, Revenge" was not released until 1988. These albums are full of slow, ethereal, melancholy, dirge-like songs, sounding like stripped down acoustic versions of the "Children of God" songs.


title: Swans (band)

text: The band continued this transformation with an unexpected cover of Joy Division's "Love Will Tear Us Apart", which was released as a single in 1988 on Product Inc. in a confusing array of 7" and 12" inch formats. Both Gira and Jarboe sang lead vocals on different versions of the song. In later years Gira dismissed this release as a mistake, and for a long time refused to reissue his own vocal version, although Jarboe's version was re-released much sooner. However their version of the song was a hit on US college radio in 1988, which led to the group being offered a major label deal at Uni/MCA. "I'd worked so hard all my life", said Gira. "At 15, I was digging ditches in the desert in Israel, and I put myself through college painting houses. I never saw any money from any of our records. So by the time I finally got that carrot dangled in front of me, it was like, 'at last, I can make a living at what I love to do.'"


title: Swans (band)

text: This single was followed by "The Burning World" (1989), Swans' first and only major label album. Released on Uni/MCA Records, the record was produced by Bill Laswell and expanded the acoustic palette introduced on "Greed" and "Children of God". For this album, the core line-up of Michael Gira, Jarboe and Westberg was augmented by session musicians, and the distinctive heavy guitar element of their earlier work was toned down significantly in favor of folk and world music elements. Though Swans would later explore more acoustic music with similar moods, Gira has stated that, while he admires much of Laswell's work, his efforts with Swans were simply a mismatch. The album reportedly sold 5000 copies in the UK, one of the lowest numbers in the history of MCA Records, and was soon deleted from MCA's catalogue.


title: Swans (band)

text: "The Burning World" was the first Swans album to feature more conventional pop melodies. Gira's lyrics still favored themes of depression, death, greed and despair, but were actually sung, rather than the chanting or shouting typical of earlier material. They even covered Steve Winwood's popular Blind Faith hit "Can't Find My Way Home", one of two singles from the LP.


title: Swans (band)

text: In 1990, Gira and Jarboe released the third and final World of Skin album, "Ten Songs for Another World". It was less successful than the previous two Skin albums.


title: Swans (band)

text: Gira's disillusionment with their Uni/MCA exploits led to "White Light from the Mouth of Infinity" (1991), a successful blending of earlier hard rock and later pop styles. Produced by Gira, the album blended acoustic rock, blues and hypnotic guitar noise successfully, resulting in an album more complex than anything they had released in the past. This album was followed by "Love of Life" (recorded by Martin Bisi in 1992), the EP single "Love of Life/Amnesia", taking the group even farther into experimentation, and then "The Great Annihilator" (1995), considered to be one of the band's most accessible releases, possibly through being their most straightforward. The songwriting style and musical approach, however, would take a more unusual turn the following year.


title: Swans (band)

text: With other projects occupying his time, Gira decided to end the group with one last studio album and a world tour. "Soundtracks for the Blind" (1996) was a two-disc album featuring Jarboe-supplied field recordings, experimental music, dark ambient soundscapes, post-industrial epics, post rock suites and acoustic guitar. In 1998, "Swans Are Dead" was released, consisting of live recordings from their 1995 and 1997 tours. In an interview, Gira revealed that there is more live material that may be released in the future. He described these unreleased recordings as "fairly spectacular".


title: Swans (band)

text: After dissolving Swans, Gira formed Angels of Light, continued his work with Young God Records and Jarboe continued her solo work.


title: Swans (band)

text: In January 2010, Swans' re-formation was heralded with a new song posted on the Young God Records' MySpace, and officially confirmed by a post on the Young God Records Facebook and MySpace accounts. Gira decided to bring back Swans during an Angels of Light show five years prior. In the middle of performing the song "The Provider" onstage utilizing "large chords that were very sustained and swaying, in this sort of slave-ship rhythm," he felt "a nascent urge right then to re-form or reinvigorate Swans because I remembered how elevating and intense that experience was". To help raise money for the upcoming new Swans album, Gira released a new solo album, "I Am Not Insane", via his Young God Records website. "LAS Magazine" posted an article entitled "Kickstart My Art" on alternative financing in "a cash-strapped music industry, unable to rely on record label financing, [that] is positioning its own quid pro quo: fan dollars to fund projects in exchange for exclusive material and a sense of involvement" that cites Swans selling out of the 1,000 signed and numbered copies of "I Am Not Insane" as an example of reverse financing where proceeds from one project are rolled over to finance the next.