Sunita Lyn Williams (born September 19, 1965), nicknamed Suni in the United States and Sončka in Slovenia, is an American astronaut, United States Navy officer, and former record holder for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and most spacewalk time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes). Williams was assigned to the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and Expedition 15. In 2012, she served as a flight engineer on Expedition 32 and then commander of Expedition 33.

Early life and education
Williams is a native of Needham, Massachusetts, was born in Euclid, Ohio, to Mumbai Indian-American neuroanatomist Deepak Pandya and Slovene-American Ursuline Bonnie (Zalokar) Pandya, who reside in Falmouth, Massachusetts. She was the youngest of three children. Her brother Jay Thomas is four years older and her sister Dina Annad is three years older. Williams' paternal family is from Jhulasan in the Mehsana district in Gujarat, India, whereas her maternal family is of Slovene descent. Williams has taken the Slovenian flag, a samosa and Carniolan sausage to space in celebration of her Indian and Slovenian heritage.

Williams graduated from Needham High School in 1983. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in physical science from the United States Naval Academy in 1987, and a Master of Science degree in engineering management from Florida Institute of Technology in 1995.

Military career
Williams was commissioned an ensign in the United States Navy in May 1987. After a six-month temporary assignment at the Naval Coastal System Command, she was designated a Basic Diving Officer. She next reported to the Naval Air Training Command, where she was designated a Naval Aviator in July 1989. She received initial H-46 Sea Knight training in Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 3 (HC-3), and was then assigned to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 8 (HC-8) in Norfolk, Virginia, with which she made overseas deployments to the Mediterranean, Red Sea and the Persian Gulf for Operation Desert Shield and Operation Provide Comfort. In September 1992, she was the Officer-in-Charge of an H-46 detachment sent to Miami, Florida, for Hurricane Andrew relief operations aboard . In January 1993, Williams began training at the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. She graduated in December, and was assigned to the Rotary Wing Aircraft Test Directorate as an H-46 Project Officer and V-22 chase pilot in the T-2. Later, she was assigned as the squadron Safety Officer and flew test flights in the SH-60B/F, UH-1, AH-1W, SH-2, VH-3, H-46, CH-53, and the H-57.

In December 1995, she went back to the Naval Test Pilot School as an instructor in the Rotary Wing Department and as the school's Safety Officer. There she flew the UH-60, OH-6, and the OH-58. She was then assigned to  as the Aircraft Handler and the Assistant Air Boss. Williams was deployed on Saipan in June 1998 when she was selected by NASA for the astronaut program. She has logged more than 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft types.

Career in NASA

Williams began her astronaut candidate training at the Johnson Space Center in August 1998.

STS-116

Williams was launched to the International Space Station (ISS) with STS-116, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery, on December 9, 2006, to join the Expedition 14 crew. In April 2007, the Russian members of the crew rotated, changing to Expedition 15 .

Expeditions 14 and 15

After launching Williams arranged to donate her pony tail to Locks of Love. Fellow astronaut Joan Higginbotham cut her hair aboard the International Space Station and the ponytail was brought back to Earth by the STS-116 crew. Williams performed her first extra-vehicular activity on the eighth day of the STS-116 mission. On January 31, February 4, and February 9, 2007, she completed three spacewalks from the ISS with Michael López-Alegría. During one of these walks, a camera became untethered, probably because the attaching device failed, and floated off to space before Williams could react.

On the third spacewalk, Williams was outside the station for 6 hours and 40 minutes to complete three spacewalks in nine days. She has logged 29 hours and 17 minutes in four spacewalks, eclipsing the record held by Kathryn C. Thornton for most spacewalk time by a woman. On December 18, 2007, during the fourth spacewalk of Expedition 16, Peggy Whitson surpassed Williams, with a cumulative EVA time of 32 hours, 36 minutes. In early March 2007, she received a tube of wasabi in a Progress spacecraft resupply mission in response to her request for more spicy food. When she opened the tube, which was packaged at one atmospheric pressure, the gel-like paste was forced out in the lower pressure of the ISS. In the free-fall environment, the spicy geyser was difficult to contain.

On April 26, 2007, NASA decided to bring Williams back to Earth on the STS-117 mission aboard Atlantis. Although she did not break the U.S. single spaceflight record that was recently broken by former crew member Commander Michael López-Alegría, she did break the record for longest single spaceflight by a woman. Williams served as a mission specialist and returned to Earth on June 22, 2007, at the end of the STS-117 mission. Poor weather at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral forced mission managers to skip three landing attempts there over a 24-hour period. They then diverted Atlantis to Edwards Air Force Base in California, where the shuttle touched down at 3:49 p.m. EDT, returning Williams home after a 192-day stay in space.

Marathon in space
On April 16, 2007, she ran the first marathon by any person in space. Williams was listed as an entrant for the 2007 Boston Marathon, and completed the distance in four hours and 24 minutes. The other crew members cheered her on and gave her oranges during the race. Williams' sister, Dina Pandya, and fellow astronaut Karen L. Nyberg ran the marathon on Earth, and Williams received updates on their progress from Mission Control. In 2008, Williams participated in the Boston Marathon again.

Expeditions 32 and 33

Williams was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 15, 2012, as part of Expedition 32/33. Her Russian spacecraft Soyuz TMA-05M docked with the ISS for a four-month stay at the orbiting outpost on July 17, 2012. The docking of the Soyuz spacecraft occurred at 4:51 GMT as the ISS flew over Kazakhstan at an altitude of 252 miles. The hatchway between the Soyuz spacecraft and the ISS was opened at 7:23 GMT and Williams floated into the ISS to begin her duties as a member of the Expedition 32 crew. On the Soyuz spacecraft, she was accompanied by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko. Williams served as the commander of the ISS during her stay onboard ISS Expedition 33, succeeding Gennady Padalka. She became the commander of the International Space Station on September 17, 2012, being only the second woman to achieve the feat. Also in September 2012, she became the first person to do a triathlon in space, which coincided with the Nautica Malibu Triathlon held in Southern California. She used the International Space Station's own treadmill and stationary bike, and for the swimming portion of the race, she used the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device (ARED) to do weightlifting and resistance exercises that approximate swimming in microgravity. After swimming half a mile (0.8 km), biking 18 miles (29 km), and running 4 miles (6.4 km), Williams finished with a time of one hour, 48 minutes and 33 seconds, as she reported.

She returned to Earth with fellow astronauts Yuri Malenchenko and Akihiko Hoshide on November 19, 2012, touching down in the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. Helicopters joined the search-and-recovery crew to assist them, as their capsule parachuted down some  from the planned touchdown site due to a procedural delay.

Commercial Crew program
In July 2015, NASA announced Williams as one of the first astronauts for U.S. Commercial spaceflights. Subsequently, she has started working with Boeing and SpaceX to train in their commercial crew vehicles, along with other chosen astronauts. In August 2018 she was assigned to the first mission flight, CTS-1, to the International Space Station of Boeing CST-100 Starliner. On April 18, 2022, NASA said that it has not finalized which of the cadre of Starliner astronauts, including Barry Wilmore, Michael Fincke, and Williams, will fly on the Crewed Flight Test mission or the first operational Starliner mission. On June 16, 2022, NASA confirmed that Starliner-CFT will be a two person flight test, consisting of Wilmore and Williams. Sunita Williams would become the first woman to fly on the maiden crewed flight of an orbital spacecraft.

Spacewalks
, Sunita Williams has made seven spacewalks totaling 50 hours and 40 minutes, at the time putting Williams fifth on the list of most experienced spacewalkers. On August 30, 2012, Williams and JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide ventured outside the ISS to conduct US EVA-18. They removed and replaced the failing Main Bus Switching Unit-1 (MBSU-1), and installed a thermal cover onto Pressurized Mating Adapter-2 (PMA-2).

Personal life

Williams is married to Michael J. Williams, a federal police officer in Texas. The two have been married for more than 20 years, and both flew helicopters in the early days of their careers. They reside together in suburban Houston, Texas. She had a pet Jack Russell terrier named Gorby who was featured with her on the Dog Whisperer television show on the National Geographic Channel on November 12, 2010. In 2012, Williams expressed a desire to adopt a girl from Ahmedabad.

Williams practices Hinduism. In December 2006, she took a copy of the Bhagavad Gita to the International Space Station. In July 2012, she took there a peaceful Om and a copy of the Upanishads. In September 2007, Williams visited the Sabarmati Ashram and her ancestral village of Jhulasan in Gujarat, India. She was awarded the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award by the World Gujarati Society, the first person of Indian descent who was not an Indian citizen to be presented the award. On October 4, 2007, Williams spoke at the American Embassy School, and then met Manmohan Singh, the then-Prime Minister of India.

Williams has also visited Slovenia several times. In 2009, the club Slovenian Astronaut () arranged a memorial room for her in Leše, Tržič, northwestern Slovenia. Leše was the birthplace of her great-grandmother Marija Bohinjec, born in 1891, who immigrated into the United States as an 11-year-old in 1900 or 1901. In May 2013, the former President of Slovenia Borut Pahor awarded Williams a medal of merit for her contribution to the popularisation of science and technology among the Slovenian youth. During her stay in October 2014 she paid a visit to the Astronomical Society Vega in Ljubljana. She visited Slovenia again in 2016.

In June 2017, the Needham Public Schools committee voted to name the town's new elementary school after Williams. In May 2020, Williams addressed more than 500,000 Indian and other international students in the United States in a virtual interview organized by the Student Hub at the Embassy of India, Washington, DC, during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.

Williams is a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots.

Organizations
Williams was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, Society of Flight Test Engineers, American Helicopter Association.

Honors and awards
 Navy Commendation Medal
 Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
 Humanitarian Service Medal
 NASA Spaceflight Medal
 Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration", Government of Russia (2011)
 Padma Bhushan, Government of India (2008)
 Honorary Doctorate, Gujarat Technological University (2013)
 Golden Order for Merits, Government of Slovenia (2013)
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Vishwa Pratibha Award

See also
 List of Asian American astronauts
 List of female spacefarers

References

External links

 NASA biography of Sunita Williams August 2018
 Take a tour in ISS with Sunita Williams November 2012
 Pics: Sunita Williams' journey home and beyond
 Sunita L. Williams' Memorial Room. Zavod Slovenski astronavt. June 2023.

1965 births
Living people
American people of Slovenian descent
Aquanauts
Women astronauts
United States Navy astronauts
Crew members of the International Space Station
Commanders of the International Space Station
American people of Gujarati descent
American Hindus
People from Euclid, Ohio
People from Needham, Massachusetts
United States Naval Academy alumni
Florida Institute of Technology alumni
United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni
United States Navy captains
American test pilots
Aviators from Ohio
American women engineers
Recipients of the Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration"
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in other fields
American people of Indian descent
American women aviators
Women United States Naval Aviators
Space Shuttle program astronauts
American aviators of Asian descent
Spacewalkers
21st-century American women
Military personnel from Massachusetts

Sunita Williams


Gurban Bakhshali oglu Pirimov (Primov) () (October 1880 in Abdal Gulabli near Shusha, Karabakh, Azerbaijan  – 29 August 1965 in Baku, Azerbaijan) was an Azerbaijani folk musician and tar-player.

Life and career
Gurban Bakhshali oglu Pirimov was born in Karabakh, in mountainous village of Abdal-Gülablı near Shusha, Azerbaijan then in the Russian Empire. The Primov family had had long lasting musical traditions: Gurban's great-grandfather Valeh was a famous Karabakhi ashik; and his older brother Aghalar was a saz-player. Deeply in love with folk music, Gurban Primov dropped out of school at age 13 to move to Shusha, then one of the important cultural centres of the Caucasus. He was introduced to the celebrated musician of the time and the designer of the Azerbaijani tar, Sadigjan, whose apprentice he later became. By 1895 Pirimov was already widely known in Karabakh as a talented musician who worked with some of the most renowned khanandas of the time. In 1905 he met Jabbar Garyagdioglu and Sasha Ohanezashvili on a wedding in Ganja, and for the next 20 years they were performing as a trio. The ensembled successfully toured the Caucasus, Central Asia, and some of the Middle Eastern cities. He accompanied Garyagdioglu on the tar during the recording of mughamats on vinyl in Riga and Warsaw in 1912, and also performed some pieces solo. Together they appeared in the 1916 Azeri film Neft va milyonlar saltanatinda ("In the Realm of Oil and Millions"). Pirimov's outstanding skills were mentioned by singer Seyid Shushinski who personally witnessed Pirimov's indefatigable playing during Garyagdioglu's five-hour performance of one mughamat.

Later in life Pirimov was also a music consultant to prominent composers such as Muslim Magomayev, Reinhold Glière, Fikrat Amirov, and Gara Garayev. In 1931, Primov was awarded the honorary title of People's Artiste of Azerbaijan.

Gurban Primov married to Nabat khanum Aghalar gizi and issued four children: Asgar, Sara, Tamara, Adela.

He continued to perform until his death at age 84. His last concert took place at the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic Hall on 10 August 1965, followed by his death 19 days later. Pimirov died on 29 August and  was buried at the Alley of Honor in Baku.

See also
 List of People's Artistes of the Azerbaijan SSR

References

External links
 Prominent Artist by Afrasiyab Badalbeyli. Adabiyyat va injasanat. 30 October 1955. Retrieved 1 December 2007

1880 births
1965 deaths
Azerbaijani folk musicians
Soviet Azerbaijani people
Mugham musicians
People's Artistes of the Azerbaijan SSR

Gurban Pirimov


Philip Edward Hartman (; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including Poco and America. In 1975, he joined the comedy group the Groundlings, where he helped Paul Reubens develop his character, Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens's show Pee-wee's Playhouse.

In 1986, Hartman joined the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a cast member, and stayed for eight seasons until 1994. Nicknamed "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. He also starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom NewsRadio, voiced Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on The Simpsons, and appeared in supporting roles in the films Houseguest, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers.

After two divorces, Hartman married Brynn Omdahl in 1987, with whom he had two children. However, their marriage was troubled due to Phil's busy work schedule on SNL and Brynn's  drug and alcohol abuse. In 1998, while Phil was sleeping in his bed, Brynn shot and killed him, and later killed herself. In the weeks following his murder, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper ... a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". He was posthumously inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame in 2012 and 2014.

Early life

Hartman was born Philip Edward Hartmann (later dropping one "n") on September 24, 1948, in Brantford, Ontario. He was the fourth of eight children of Doris Marguerite (née Wardell; July 17, 1919 – April 15, 2001) and Rupert Loebig Hartmann (November 8, 1914 – April 30, 1998), who sold building materials. The family was Catholic. As a child, Hartman found affection hard to earn: "I suppose I didn't get what I wanted out of my family life, so I started seeking love and attention elsewhere."

Hartman was 10 when his family moved to the United States. They first lived in Lewiston, Maine, then Meriden, Connecticut, and then on the West Coast, where he attended Westchester High School and frequently acted as the class clown. After graduating, he studied art at Santa Monica City College, dropping out in 1969 to become a roadie with a rock band. He returned to school in 1972 to study graphic arts at California State University, Northridge. He developed and operated his own graphic art business, creating more than 40 album covers for bands including Poco and America, as well as advertising and the logo for Crosby, Stills & Nash. In the late 1970s, he made his first television appearance on an episode of The Dating Game, where he won.

Career

The Groundlings and Pee-Wee Herman (1975–1985)
Working alone as a graphic artist, Hartman frequently amused himself with "flights of voice fantasies". In 1975, seeking a more social outlet for his talents, he began attending evening comedy classes by the California-based improvisational comedy group The Groundlings. While watching one of their performances, he impulsively decided to climb on stage and join the cast. His first onscreen appearance was in 1978's Stunt Rock, an Australian film directed in Los Angeles by Brian Trenchard-Smith. After several years of training, paying his way by redesigning the group's logo and merchandise, Hartman formally joined The Groundlings and by 1979 was one of the show's stars.

There Hartman befriended Paul Reubens, with whom he often collaborated on comedic material. Together they created the character Pee-wee Herman and developed The Pee-wee Herman Show, a live stage show that subsequently aired on HBO in 1981. Hartman played Captain Carl in the show, and reprised the role for the children's TV show Pee-wee's Playhouse. Reubens and Hartman made cameos in the 1980 film Cheech and Chong's Next Movie. Hartman co-wrote the script of the 1985 feature film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and had a cameo role as a reporter. He had considered quitting acting at the age of 36 due to the challenges of finding work; but the success of Pee-wee's Big Adventure changed his mind. After a creative disagreement with Reubens, he left the Pee-Wee Herman project to pursue other roles.

Hartman took more small roles in 1986 films such as Jumpin' Jack Flash and Three Amigos. He also worked as a voice actor in animated television programs, including The Smurfs, Challenge of the GoBots, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, and in Dennis the Menace as characters Henry Mitchell and George Wilson. He developed a strong persona providing voice-overs for advertisements.

Saturday Night Live (1986–1994)
Hartman successfully auditioned to join NBC's variety show Saturday Night Live (SNL) in its 12th season, which began on October 11, 1986. He had been recommended for the show by fellow Groundlings and SNL cast members Jon Lovitz, and Laraine Newman as well as Jumpin' Jack Flash director Penny Marshall. He told the Los Angeles Times, "I wanted to do [SNL] because I wanted to get the exposure that would give me box-office credibility so I can write movies for myself." In his eight seasons with the show Hartman became known for his impressions, and performed as over 70 different characters. Hartman's original SNL characters include Eugene, the Anal Retentive Chef and Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. His impressions include Frank Sinatra, Ronald Reagan, Ed McMahon, Barbara Bush, Charlton Heston, Kelsey Grammer, Michael Caine, Oliver Stone, Phil Donahue, Telly Savalas, Barry Humphries, Kirk Douglas and Bill Clintonthe latter considered his best-known impression.

Hartman first performed his Clinton impression on an episode of The Tonight Show. When he met Clinton in 1993, Hartman remarked, "I guess I owe you a few apologies", adding later that he "sometimes [felt] a twinge of guilt about [his Clinton impression]". Clinton showed good humor and sent Hartman a signed photo with the text: "You're not the president, but you play one on TV. And you're OK, mostly." Hartman copied the president's "post-nasal drip" and the "slight scratchiness" in his voice, as well as his open, "less intimidating" hand gestures. Hartman opted against wearing a larger prosthetic nose when portraying Clinton, as he thought it would be distracting. He instead wore a wig, dyed his eyebrows brighter, and used makeup to highlight his nose. In one of Hartman's sketches as Clinton, the president visits a McDonald's restaurant and explains his economic policies in the metaphor of eating other customers' food. The writers told him that he was not eating enough during rehearsals for the sketch – by the end of the live performance, Hartman had eaten so much he could barely speak.

At SNL, Hartman's nickname of "Glue" was coined by Adam Sandler according to Jay Mohr's book Gasping for Airtime. However, according to You Might Remember Me: The Life and Times of Phil Hartman by Mike Thomas, author and staff writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, the nickname was created by SNL cast member and Hartman's frequent on-screen collaborator Jan Hooks. Hartman was very helpful to other cast members. For example, he aided Hooks in overcoming her stage fright. SNL creator Lorne Michaels explained the name: "He kind of held the show together. He gave to everybody and demanded very little. He was very low-maintenance." Michaels also added that Hartman was "the least appreciated" cast member by commentators outside the show, and praised his ability "to do five or six parts in a show where you're playing support or you're doing remarkable character work". Hartman won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program for SNL in 1989, sharing the award with the show's other writers. He was nominated in the same category in 1987, and individually in 1994 for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.

By 1993, almost every cast member who was there during Hartman's first year on SNL had left the show, including Jon Lovitz, Jan Hooks and Dana Carvey. Hartman said he felt "like an athlete who's watched all his World Series teammates get traded off into other directions ... It was hard to watch them leave because I sort of felt we were all part of the team that saved the show." This cast turnover contributed to his leaving the show in 1994. Hartman said he thought it was time to leave because the show was "getting less sophisticated" and his style of humor did not fit with the less intellectual comedy of newer cast members like Adam Sandler. Hartman had originally planned to leave the show in 1991, but Michaels persuaded him to stay to raise his profile; his portrayal of Clinton contributed to this goal. Jay Leno offered him the role of his sidekick on The Tonight Show but Hartman opted to stay on SNL. NBC persuaded him to stay on SNL by promising him his own comedy–variety show The Phil Show. He planned to "reinvent the variety form" with "a hybrid, very fast-paced, high energy [show] with sketches, impersonations, pet acts, and performers showcasing their talents". Hartman was to be the show's executive producer and head writer. Before production began, however, the network decided that variety shows were too unpopular and canceled the series. In a 1996 interview, Hartman noted he was glad, as he "would've been sweatin' blood each week trying to make it work". In 1998, he admitted he missed working on SNL, but had enjoyed the move from New York City to Southern California.

NewsRadio (1995–1998)
Hartman became one of the stars of the NBC sitcom NewsRadio in 1995, portraying radio news anchor Bill McNeal. He signed up after being attracted by the show's writing and use of an ensemble cast, and joked that he based McNeal on himself with "any ethics and character" removed. Hartman made roughly  per episode of NewsRadio. Although the show was critically acclaimed, it was never a ratings hit and cancellation was a regular threat. After the completion of the fourth season, Hartman commented, "We seem to have limited appeal. We're on the edge here, not sure we're going to be picked up or not", but added he was "99 percent sure" the series would be renewed for a fifth season. Hartman had publicly lambasted NBC's decision to repeatedly move NewsRadio into different timeslots, but later regretted his comments, saying, "this is a sitcom, for crying out loud, not brain surgery". He also stated that if the sitcom were cancelled "it just will open up other opportunities for me". Although the show was renewed for a fifth season, Hartman was killed before production began. Ken Tucker praised Hartman's performance as McNeal: "A lesser performer ... would have played him as a variation on The Mary Tyler Moore Shows Ted Baxter, because that's what Bill was, on paper. But Hartman gave infinite variety to Bill's self-centeredness, turning him devious, cowardly, squeamish, and foolishly bold from week to week." Hartman was posthumously nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series in 1998 for his work on NewsRadio, but lost to David Hyde Pierce.

The Simpsons (1991–1998)
Hartman provided the voices for numerous characters on the Fox animated series The Simpsons, appearing in 52 episodes. He made his first appearance in the second season episode "Bart Gets Hit by a Car". Although he was originally brought in for a one-time appearance, Hartman enjoyed working on The Simpsons and the staff wrote additional parts for him. He voiced the recurring characters Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure, as well as several background characters. His favorite part was that of McClure, and he often used this voice to entertain the audience between takes while taping episodes of NewsRadio. He remarked, "My favorite fans are Troy McClure fans." He added "It's the one thing that I do in my life that's almost an avocation. I do it for the pure love of it."

Hartman was popular among the staff of The Simpsons. Showrunners Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein said they enjoyed his work, and used him as much as possible when working on the show. To give Hartman a larger role, they developed the episode "A Fish Called Selma", which focuses on Troy McClure and expands the character's backstory. The Simpsons creator Matt Groening said that he "took [Hartman] for granted because he nailed the joke every time", and that his voice acting could produce "the maximum amount of humor" with any line he was given. Before his death, Hartman had expressed an interest in making a live action film about Troy McClure. Many of The Simpsons production staff expressed enthusiasm for the project and offered to help. Hartman said he was "looking forward to [McClure's] live-action movie, publicizing his Betty Ford appearances", and "would love nothing more" than making a film and was prepared to buy the film rights himself in order to make it happen.

Other work

Hartman's first starring film role came in 1995's Houseguest, alongside Sinbad. Other films include Greedy, Coneheads, Sgt. Bilko, So I Married an Axe Murderer, CB4, Jingle All the Way, the English Disney/GKIDS dub of Kiki's Delivery Service, and Small Soldiers, the latter of which is his final theatrically released film. At the same time, he preferred working on television. His other television roles include appearances on episodes of The John Larroquette Show, The Dana Carvey Show, 3rd Rock from the Sun, and the HBO TV film The Second Civil War as the President of the United States. He made a considerable amount of money from television advertising, earning $300,000 for a series of four commercials for the soft drink Slice. He also appeared in advertisements for McDonald's (as Hugh McAttack) and 1-800-Collect (as Max Jerome).

Hartman wrote a number of screenplays that were never produced. In 1986, he began writing a screenplay for a film titled Mr. Fix-It, and completed the final draft in 1991. Robert Zemeckis was signed to produce the film, with Gil Bettman hired to direct. Hartman called it "a sort of a merger of horror and comedy, like Beetlejuice and Throw Momma From the Train", adding, "It's an American nightmare about a family torn asunder. They live next to a toxic dump site, their water supply is poisoned, the mother and son go insane and try to murder each other, the father's face is torn off in a terrible disfiguring accident in the first act. It's heavy stuff, but it's got a good message and a positive, upbeat ending." Zemeckis could not secure studio backing, however, and the project collapsed. Another film idea involving Hartman's Groundlings character Chick Hazard, Private Eye was also canceled. Hartman appeared on David Letterman's Late Night and Late Show 13 times between 1989 and 1996, where he can be seen speaking German fluently.

Style

In contrast to his real-life personality, which was described as "a regular guy and, by all accounts, one of show business's most low-key, decent people", Hartman often played seedy, vain or unpleasant characters as well as comedic villains. He described his standard character repertoire as the "jerky guy" and "the weasel parade", citing Lionel Hutz, Bill McNeal, Troy McClure, and Ted Maltin from Jingle All the Way as examples. Hartman enjoyed playing such roles because he "just want[ed] to be funny, and villains tend to be funny because their foibles are all there to see".

He often played supporting roles, rather than the lead part. He said: "[T]hroughout my career, I've never been a huge star, but I've made steady progress and that's the way I like it" and "It's fun coming in as the second or third lead. If the movie or TV show bombs, you aren't to blame." Hartman was considered a "utility player" on SNL with a "kind of Everyman quality" which enabled him to appear in the majority of sketches, often in very distinct roles. Jan Hooks stated of his work on SNL: "Phil never had an ounce of competition. He was a team player. It was a privilege for him, I believe, to play support and do it very well. He was never insulted, no matter how small the role may have been." He was disciplined in his performances, studying the scripts beforehand. Hooks added: "Phil knew how to listen. And he knew how to look you in the eye, and he knew the power of being able to lay back and let somebody else be funny, and then do the reactions. I think Phil was more of an actor than a comedian." Film critic Pauline Kael declared that "Phil Hartman and Jan Hooks on Saturday Night Live are two of the best comic actors I've ever seen."

Writer and acting coach Paul Ryan noted Hartman's work ethic with his impressions. He assembled a collection of video footage of the figure he was preparing to impersonate and watched this continually until he "completely embodied the person". Ryan concluded that "what made [Hartman's impressions] so funny and spot on was Phil's ability to add that perfect touch that only comes from trial and error and practicing in front of audiences and fellow actors." Hartman described this process as "technical". Journalist Lyle V. Harris said Hartman showed a "rare talent for morphing into... anybody he wanted to be".

Ken Tucker summarized Hartman's comedic style: "He could momentarily fool audiences into thinking he was the straight man, but then he'd cock an eyebrow and give his voice an ironic lilt that delivered a punchline like a fast slider—you barely saw it coming until you started laughing." Hartman claimed that he borrowed his style from actor Bill Murray: "He's been a great influence on me – when he did that smarmy thing in Ghostbusters, then the same sort of thing in Groundhog Day. I tried to imitate it. I couldn't. I wasn't good enough. But I discovered an element of something else, so in a sick kind of way I made myself a career by doing a bad imitation of another comic."

Personal life
Hartman married Gretchen Lewis in 1970 and they divorced in September 1972. He married real estate agent Lisa Strain in 1982, and their marriage lasted three years. Strain told People magazine that Hartman was reclusive off screen and "would disappear emotionally ... he'd be in his own world. That passivity made you crazy." In 1987, Hartman married former model and aspiring actress Brynn Omdahl (born Vicki Jo Omdahl, April 11, 1958 – May 28, 1998), having met her on a blind date the previous year. They had two children, Sean and Birgen Hartman. The marriage had difficulties; she was reportedly intimidated by his success and was frustrated that she could not find any on her own, although neither party wanted a divorce. She was reported to have been jealous and often verbally and/or physically abusive, even sending a letter to his ex-wife, threatening to "rip [Strain's] eyes out" if she spoke to him again. Hartman considered retiring to save the marriage.

Hartman tried to get Brynn acting roles, but she became progressively reliant on alcohol and narcotics, entering rehab several times. On multiple occasions, he removed their children from the household to stay with friends or family because of her drug- and alcohol-fueled outbursts. Because of his close friendship with SNL associate Jan Hooks, Brynn "joked" on occasion Hooks and Hartman were married "on some other level". Brynn had written threatening letters addressed to Hooks, warning her to not get close to her husband, but they appeared to have never even been sent, being discovered in her belongings following her death.

Stephen Root, Hartman's NewsRadio co-star, said few people knew "the real Phil Hartman", as he was "one of those people who never seemed to come out of character," but he nevertheless gave the impression of a family man who cared deeply for his children. Hartman befriended Joe Rogan during his time on NewsRadio and confided his marital problems to him. Rogan said that he encouraged Hartman to divorce Brynn five times, but "[Hartman] loved his kids and didn't want to leave".

Hartman stated in 1997 that, though a non-practicing Catholic, he displayed a sense of religiousness. In his spare time, he enjoyed driving, flying, sailing, marksmanship, and playing the guitar.

Death
On May 27, 1998, Hartman's wife, Brynn, visited the Italian restaurant Buca di Beppo in Encino, California, with producer and writer Christine Zander, who said she was "in a good frame of mind"; they had drinks. After returning home, Brynn and Hartman had a "heated" argument, after which he went to bed. She entered his bedroom some time before  PDT on May 28, 1998, and, as he slept, she fatally shot him once between the eyes, once in the throat, and once in the upper chest with a  .38 caliber handgun. Hartman was 49 years old. Brynn was taking Zoloft, had been drinking alcohol, and had recently used cocaine.

Brynn then drove to the home of her friend Ron Douglas and confessed to the killing, but he did not believe her. They drove back to the house in separate cars, and she called another friend and confessed a second time. On seeing Hartman's body, Douglas called 9-1-1 at  Police arrived and escorted Douglas and the Hartmans' two children from the premises, by which time Brynn had locked herself in the bedroom. Shortly afterward, she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The police stated Hartman's death was caused by "domestic discord" between the couple. A friend said Brynn "had trouble controlling her anger.... She got attention by losing her temper." A neighbor of the Hartmans told a CNN reporter that the couple had marital problems. Yet actor Steve Guttenberg said they had been "a very happy couple, and they always had the appearance of being well-balanced".

Brynn's brother, Gregory Omdahl, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 1999 against both Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zoloft, and her child's psychiatrist, Arthur Sorosky, who had provided samples of the antidepressant to Brynn. Pfizer later settled the lawsuit without an admission of any wrongdoing. Phil Hartman's friend and former SNL colleague Jon Lovitz has accused Hartman's NewsRadio co-star Andy Dick of reintroducing Brynn to cocaine, causing her to relapse and suffer a nervous breakdown. Dick claimed to have known nothing of her condition. Lovitz later said he no longer blamed Dick for Hartman's murder, but in 2006, Lovitz claimed Dick had approached him at a restaurant and said, "I put the Phil Hartman hex on you. You're the next one to die." Lovitz then had him ejected from the restaurant. The following year at the Laugh Factory comedy club in Los Angeles, Lovitz and Dick had another argument, with Lovitz slamming Dick's head into the bar. Dick asserted he was not at fault in relation to Hartman's death.

Brynn's sister Katharine Omdahl and brother-in-law Mike Wright raised the two Hartman children. Hartman's will stipulated each child would inherit money over several years after turning 25. The total value of Hartman's estate was estimated at . In accordance with their wishes, both Hartman's and Brynn's bodies were cremated by Forest Lawn Memorial Park and Mortuary, Glendale, California, and their ashes were scattered over Santa Catalina Island's Emerald Bay. Hartman has a headstone in Thief River Falls, Minnesota, with wife Brynn.

Response and legacy
NBC executive Don Ohlmeyer stated that Hartman "was blessed with a tremendous gift for creating characters that made people laugh. Everyone who had the pleasure of working with Phil knows that he was a man of tremendous warmth, a true professional and a loyal friend." Guttenberg expressed shock at Hartman's death and Steve Martin said he was "a deeply funny and very happy person". Matt Groening called him "a master" and director Joe Dante said "He was one of those guys who was a dream to work with. I don't know anybody who didn't like him." Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly concluded that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper" and "a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". In 2007, Entertainment Weekly ranked Hartman the 87th greatest television icon of all time, and Maxim named him the top Saturday Night Live performer of all time.

On the day of Hartman's death, rehearsals for The Simpsons and that night's performance by The Groundlings were canceled. The season five premiere episode of NewsRadio, "Bill Moves On" (aired September 23, the day before what would have been his 50th birthday) finds Hartman's character, Bill McNeal, has died of a heart attack, while the other characters reminisce about his life. Lovitz joined the show, in his place, beginning with the next episode. A special episode of Saturday Night Live commemorating Hartman's work on the show aired on June 13, 1998. Rather than substituting another voice actor, the writers of The Simpsons retired Hartman's characters. His final appearance in the tenth season episode "Bart the Mother" is dedicated to him, as is his final film Small Soldiers.

Hartman was preparing to voice Zapp Brannigan, a character written specifically for him on Groening's second animated series Futurama, at the time of his death. Even though the role was specifically made for him, Hartman still insisted on trying out for the role. About a week before his death, he auditioned for Groening and Futurama executive producer David X. Cohen. Groening wrote that Hartman "blew us away with his performances." After Hartman's death, Billy West took over the role. Though Cohen credits West with using his own take on the character, West later said that he purposely tweaked Zapp's voice to better match Hartman's intended portrayal. Hartman was planning to appear with Lovitz in the indie film The Day of Swine and Roses, scheduled to begin production in August 1998.

In 2002, Laugh.com and Hartman's brother John published the album Flat TV, a selection of comedy sketches recorded by Hartman in the 1970s, which had been kept in storage. John Hartmann commented: "I'm putting this out there because I'm dedicating my life to fulfilling his dreams. This [album] is my brother doing what he loved." Flat TV was optioned for an animated adaptation by Michael "Ffish" Hemschoot's animation company Worker Studio in 2013. The deal came about after Michael T. Scott, a partner in the company, posted online a handwritten letter he had received from Hartman in 1997, leading to a correspondence between Scott and Paul Hartmann.

A campaign was started on Facebook by Alex Stevens in 2007, and endorsed by Hartman's brother Paul, to have Phil inducted to Canada's Walk of Fame. Among the campaign's numerous publicity events, Ben Miner of the Sirius XM Radio channel Laugh Attack dedicated the month of April 2012 to Hartman. The campaign ended in success and Hartman was inducted on September 22, 2012, to the Walk of Fame, with Paul accepting the award on his late brother's behalf. Hartman was also awarded the Cineplex Legends Award. In June 2013, it was announced that Hartman would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which was unveiled on August 26, 2014. Additionally, a special prize at the Canadian Comedy Awards was named for Hartman. Beginning with the 13th Canadian Comedy Awards in 2012, the Phil Hartman Award was awarded to "an individual who helps to better the Canadian comedy community". In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Hartman as one of the ten greatest Saturday Night Live cast members throughout the show's forty-year history, coming in seventh on its list of all 141 members.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theatre

Theme park attractions

Discography

The following is a list of albums for which Hartman designed the covers.

1974
 Poco, Seven
1975
 America, History: America's Greatest Hits
1977
 America, Harbor
 Poco, Legend
1979
 America, Silent Letter
1980
 Firesign Theatre, Fighting Clowns

References

Book sources

External links

 Phil Hartman at Yahoo! Movies
 Phil Hartman at The New York Times
 Hartman's autopsy and death certificate
 Phil Hartman's final night: The tragic death of a "Saturday Night Live" genius, Mike Thomas, Salon, September 21, 2014

1948 births
1998 deaths
1998 murders in the United States
20th-century American male actors
20th-century Canadian male actors
Album-cover and concert-poster artists
American male comedians
American male film actors
American graphic designers
American impressionists (entertainers)
American male screenwriters
American male television actors
American television writers
American male voice actors
American sketch comedians
Burials at sea
California State University, Northridge alumni
Canadian male comedians
Canadian emigrants to the United States
Canadian male voice actors
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Canadian sketch comedians
Deaths by firearm in California
Male actors from Los Angeles
American male television writers
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Naturalized citizens of the United States
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Primetime Emmy Award winners
Santa Monica College alumni
Comedians from California
Westchester High School (Los Angeles) alumni
Screenwriters from California
20th-century Canadian comedians
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
Comedians from Ontario
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Phil Hartman


The kiss cam is a social pastime that takes place during arena, stadium and court sporting events in the United States and Canada. A 'kiss cam' camera scans the crowd, and selects a couple, their images being shown on the jumbotron screens in the arena.

The kiss cam tradition originated in California in the early 1980s, as a way to fill in the gaps in play in professional baseball games, taking advantage of the possibilities of the then-new giant video screens.

When the kiss cam is in action, the audience may be alerted by a known 'kiss-related' song being played, and/or an announcer warning the crowd. The crowd attending then pay attention to the marked 'kiss cam' video screen. Normally, several consecutive couples are selected, and appear on the screen. As each pair appear onscreen, they are then expected to kiss. Additionally, sporting event staff may appear as couples who reject kisses or proposals in order to entertain or surprise the attending audience.

A kiss is traditionally rewarded by applause, clapping, cheers and whistles, whereas a refusal to kiss is booed.  It is intended as a light-hearted diversion to the main event during a timeout, television timeout, or similar downtime.

The couple focused on by the camera may not be in a romantic relationship. They may in fact be relatives, friends, or strangers. A platonic, perhaps awkward kiss often then results. Sometimes a refusal can generate a humorous twist for those watching.

The kiss cam screen often appears on television if the event is televised. The couple focused on may not wish their attendance together at the event to be widely publicized.

Some couples, although not wishing to kiss, feel intimidated by the crowd reaction, and feel forced to do so. Other instances may find the couple not noticing themselves on the screen, and the resulting inaction can be humorous or embarrassing.

In the case of particularly original or sensational shots, it can be assumed that the situation is staged.

In popular culture
On The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, O'Brien parodied the Kiss Cam in comedy sketches, focusing on unlikely couples, such as a hunter and a bear.

The Canadian group, the Arkells released a song titled "Kiss Cam".

The Great Khali once hosted a weekly segment in his wrestling appearances called 'Khali Kiss Cam', in which he would kiss a female supposed audience member. He was preceded in this by the late wrestler Rick Rude, who would kiss a woman selected from the crowd after his victories.

In Family Portrait, the finale of the first season of the US television comedy Modern Family, Phil is caught on a kiss cam, and feigning reluctance kisses Gloria, his step-mother-in-law.

References

1980s establishments in California
Kissing games
North American society
Sports culture

Kiss cam


Sourdough bread is made by the fermentation of dough using naturally occurring lactobacilli and yeast. It uses biological leavening rather than cultivated baker's yeast. The lactic acid produced by the lactobacilli gives it a more sour taste and improved keeping qualities.

History
In the Encyclopedia of Food Microbiology, Michael Gaenzle writes: "The origins of bread-making are so ancient that everything said about them must be pure speculation. One of the oldest sourdough breads dates from 3700 BCE and was excavated in Switzerland, but the origin of sourdough fermentation likely relates to the origin of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent several thousand years earlier ... Bread production relied on the use of sourdough as a leavening agent for most of human history; the use of baker's yeast as a leavening agent dates back less than 150 years."

Pliny the Elder described the sourdough method in his Natural History:

Sourdough remained the usual form of leavening down into the European Middle Ages. In modern times,  barm from the beer brewing process replaced it, at first. Later, there was specially grown yeast.

Bread made from 100% rye flour is popular in the northern half of Europe. It  is usually leavened with sourdough. Baker's yeast is not useful as a leavening agent for rye bread, because rye does not contain enough gluten. The structure of rye bread is based primarily on the starch in the flour, as well as other carbohydrates known as pentosans. however, rye amylase is active at much higher temperatures than wheat amylase, causing the structure of the bread to disintegrate as the starches are broken down during cooking. The lowered pH of a sourdough starter, therefore, inactivates the amylases when heat cannot, allowing the carbohydrates in the bread to gel and set properly. In the southern part of Europe, where panettone was originally made with sourdough, sourdough has become less common in recent times.  It has been replaced by the faster-growing baker's yeast. Sometimes  longer fermentation rests  are used to allow for some bacterial activity to build flavor.

In English-speaking countries,  wheat-based breads are more common.  Sourdough is no longer the standard method for bread leavening. It was gradually replaced, first by the use of barm from beer making, then, after the confirmation of germ theory by Louis Pasteur, by cultured yeasts. Although sourdough bread was superseded in commercial bakeries in the 20th century, it has undergone a revival among artisan bakers.

Manufacturers of non-sourdough breads make up for the lack of yeast and bacterial culture by introducing into their dough an artificially-made mix known as bread improver or flour improver.

Preparation

Starter
The preparation of sourdough begins with a pre-ferment (the "starter" or "leaven", also known as the "chief", "chef", "head", "mother" or "sponge"), a fermented mixture of flour and water, containing a colony of microorganisms including wild yeast and lactobacilli. The purpose of the starter is to produce a vigorous leaven and to develop the flavour of the bread. In practice there are several kinds of starters.

Flour already contains different kinds of yeast and bacteria spores. When flour comes in contact with water, the enzyme amylase breaks down the starch into different sugars. The yeast which is part of sourdough, can use these sugars. The mixture will develop into a stable bacteria culture, which will use fermentation. The yeast will produce carbon dioxide as a by-product of fermentation, which will leaven the dough.

Obtaining a satisfactory rise from sourdough takes longer than a dough leavened with baker's yeast because the yeast in a sourdough is less vigorous. In the presence of lactic acid bacteria, however, some sourdough yeasts have been observed to produce twice the gas of baker's yeast. The acidic conditions in sourdough, along with the bacteria also producing enzymes that break down proteins, result in weaker gluten and may produce a denser finished product.

Refreshment of the starter

As it ferments, sometimes for several days, the volume of the starter is increased by periodic additions of flour and water, called "refreshments". As long as this starter culture is fed flour and water regularly it will remain active.

The ratio of fermented starter to fresh flour and water is critical in the development and maintenance of a starter. This ratio is called the refreshment ratio. Higher refreshment ratios are associated with greater microbial stability in the sourdough. In San Francisco sourdough, the ratio is 40% of the total weight, which is roughly equivalent to 67% of the new-dough's weight. A high refreshment ratio keeps acidity of the refreshed dough relatively low. Acidity levels of below pH 4.0 inhibit lactobacilli and favour acid-tolerant yeasts.

A starter prepared from scratch with a salted wheat-rye dough takes about 54 hours at  to stabilise at a pH between 4.4 and 4.6. 4% salt inhibits L. sanfranciscensis, while C. milleri can withstand 8%.

A drier and cooler starter has less bacterial activity and more yeast growth, which results in the bacterial production of more acetic acid relative to lactic acid. Conversely, a wetter and warmer starter has more bacterial activity and less yeast growth, with more lactic acid relative to acetic acid. The yeasts produce mainly CO2 and ethanol. High amounts of lactic acid are desired in rye and mixed-rye fermentations, while relatively higher amounts of acetic acid are desired in wheat fermentations. A dry, cool starter produces a sourer loaf than a wet, warm one. Firm starters (such as the Flemish Desem starter, which may be buried in a large container of flour to prevent drying out) tend to be more resource-intensive than wet ones.

Intervals between refreshments
A stable culture in which L. sanfranciscensis is the dominant bacterium requires a temperature between  and refreshments every 24 hours for about two weeks. Refreshment intervals of longer than three days acidify the dough and may change the microbial ecosystem.

The intervals between refreshments of the starter may be reduced in order to increase the rate of gas (CO2) production, a process described as "acceleration." In this process, the ratio of yeasts to lactobacilli may be altered. Generally, if once-daily refreshment-intervals have not been reduced to several hours, the percentage amount of starter in the final dough should be reduced to obtain a satisfactory rise during proof.

Faster starter processes, requiring fewer refreshments, have been devised, sometimes using commercial sourdough starters as inoculants. These starters generally fall into two types. One is made from traditionally maintained and stable starter doughs, often dried, in which the ratios of microorganisms are uncertain. Another is made from microorganisms carefully isolated from Petri dishes, grown into large, homogeneous populations in fermentors, and processed into combined baker's products with numerically defined ratios and known quantities of microorganisms well suited to particular bread styles.

Baking
The starter must be fed 4 to 12 hours prior to being added to dough, by mixing flour and water to the starter. This creates an active leaven, which should grow in size and is ready to use when it is bubbly and floats in water. The leaven is mixed with flour and water to make a final dough of the desired consistency. The starter weight is usually 13% to 25% of the total flour weight, though formulas may vary. The dough is shaped into loaves, left to rise, and then baked. A number of 'no knead' methods are available for sourdough bread. Due to the length of time sourdough bread takes to proof, many bakers may refrigerate their loaves prior to baking. This process is known as 'retardation' to slow down the proofing process. This process has the added benefit of developing a richer flavoured bread.

Because the rise time of most sourdough starters is longer than that of breads made with baker's yeasts, sourdough starters are generally unsuitable for use in a bread machine. However, sourdough that has been proved over many hours, using a sourdough starter or mother dough, can then be transferred to the machine, utilizing only the baking segment of the bread-making program, bypassing timed mechanical kneading by the machine's paddle. This may be convenient for single loaf production, but the complex blistered and slashed crust characteristics of oven-baked sourdough bread cannot be achieved in a bread making machine, as this usually requires the use of a baking stone in the oven and misting of the dough to produce steam. Furthermore, ideal crust development requires loaves of shapes not achievable in a machine's loaf tin.

References

Other websites

Doughs
Pages with unreviewed translations

Sourdough


Mártir de Cuilapán    is one of the 81 municipalities of Guerrero, in south-western Mexico. The municipal seat lies at Apango.  The municipality covers an area of 499.8 km2.

Before the Spanish conquistadors arrived, the area was known as Coixcas.

As of 2005, the municipality had a total population of 15,272.

References

Municipalities of Guerrero

Mártir de Cuilapán


The Chagodoshcha (, also known as Chagoda, ) is a river in Boksitogorsky District of Leningrad Oblast and in  Chagodoshchensky, Babayevsky, and Ustyuzhensky Districts of Vologda Oblast in Russia. It is a left tributary of the Mologa. It is  long, and the area of its basin . The principal tributaries are the Lid (left), the Pes (right), and the Vnina (left).

The source of Chagodoshcha lies in the southeast of Leningrad Oblast, south of the town of Pikalyovo. The river flows in the general direction southeast and enters Vologda Oblast, where it accepts the Goryun from the left. In Vologda Oblast, the Chagodoshcha turns east and accepts the Lid from the left, and, right upstream from the settlement of Chagoda, the Pes from the right. The urban-type settlement of Chagoda is located on both banks of the Chagodoshcha. The river crosses Chagodoshchensky District from the west to the east, and subsequently runs at the border between Babayevsky (north) and Ustyuzhensky (south) Districts, turns northeast and enters Babayevsky District where it accepts the Vnina from the left. It then turns southeast and enters Ustyuzhensky District. The mouth of the Chagodoshcha is in the settlement of Imeni Zhelyabova.

The river basin of the Chagodoshcha comprises the eastern part of Boksitogorsky District of Leningrad Oblast, the northeastern part of Khvoyninsky District of Novgorod Oblast, as well as the whole area of Chagodoshchensky District, the south of Babayevsky District, and minor areas in Ustyuzhensky District, all of Vologda Oblast.

Both Chagodoshchensky District and its center, the urban-type settlement of Chagoda, are named after the river.

A big portion of the lower course of the Chagodoshcha, downstream of the mouth of the Goryun River, belongs to Tikhvinskaya water system, one of the waterways constructed in the early 19th century to connect the river basins of the Volga and the Neva. Currently, it is not used for any commercial navigation.

References

External links

Rivers of Vologda Oblast
Rivers of Leningrad Oblast

Chagodoshcha


Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator, often known as ConfMEPS or simply Conflict, is a turn-based government simulation game designed by David J. Eastman and published by Virgin Mastertronic in 1990 for DOS, Atari ST and Amiga (with extended graphics). The game is available for free download at abandonware sites.

The game is set in 1997. The Prime Minister of Israel has just been assassinated, leaving the player to run the country as the new Prime Minister. The player's objective is to cause the defeat of the neighbouring four states, either by invasion (not necessarily by Israel, as the other states can and do invade each other) or political destabilisation.

Gameplay

Each game turn represents one month in real time. On each turn, the player decides what diplomatic, espionage and military actions to take with regard to the other countries in the game, and then ends the turn. The game engine then runs and the results of the turn occur (each turn begins with some information about what has occurred in the previous turn being presented as a screen of newspaper headlines).

The actions available to the player are broken up into two phases: Diplomatic/Espionage and Military.

Diplomacy
Each country in the game has a diplomatic relationship with every other country, with that relationship varying from Military Pact (best) to War (worst), through a number of stages.

In addition, there is a special relation mode, called "Attack means disaster", which seems to accrue when all nations with the ability of holding nuclear weapons, possess such. Under such mode, all other relation forms become obsolete.

With each turn, the player directly sets Israeli diplomatic policy with regard to the other countries in the game. Diplomatic policy is very simple: Israel is either trying to improve the diplomatic relationship, keep it as it is, or make it worse. The action change in the relationship for a turn depends upon Israeli policy set against that of the other country; if both are trying to improve, the relationship will improve by one step. If either tries to make the relationship worse, it will deteriorate by one level. Otherwise, it remains steady. Roughly US$100 million is taken out of the monthly defense budget when diplomatic relations are being improved beyond Favourable.

If the country's diplomats are acting aggressively toward Israel, relations will usually not budge, even if the player attempts to improve relations. Bordering states, however, will gradually deteriorate relations with Israel upon showing signs of aggression until war is declared. Relations will not improve if Israel has troops stationed at the border. Some countries will stop acting aggressively toward Israel if the player stations a brigade at the border, but this rarely occurs during gameplay. If Israel successfully bombs Egypt or Syria's nuclear facilities, relations will drop one level on the next turn.

Some countries will not improve relations with Israel if they are unhappy that the player has at least a Favourable relation with an enemy state or one they do not agree with. For example, if Egypt and Libya are at war, either country will not allow the player to improve relations if both are Favourable with Israel. Another example would be if Iran and Iraq are at war, and Egypt is unhappy that Israel is friendly with Iraq. In both cases, the only solution is for Israel to reduce relations with either country.

When a relationship is Indifferent and Israel decides to reduce the relationship in the diplomatic phase, or if the relationship is at Lamentable, Deplorable or Non-Existent, Israel can declare war and invade the country. The only exceptions are Iran, Iraq and Libya - whose diplomatic relations do not go below Indifferent as they do not border Israel.

Some countries at war with another will be quick to form an alliance with Israel if their relations are within Favourable. As a result, the relation will jump to Profitable (skipping Beneficial) on the next turn.

When a relationship is at Profitable, the player can choose to request a military pact. If this is given, then if Israel goes to war with a country which also has a border with the allied country, that country will, in turn, reduce its relationship to Lamentable and then declare war. (Note, however there is no such obligation placed upon the player, who can simply ignore wars their ally enters into).

When an allied country conquers an enemy state, it will often sever its pact with Israel and progressively reduce relations with an aggressive stance (with the neighbouring countries doing this until war is declared on Israel). If the country's relationship with Israel is Favourable at an aggressive stance, but its stability rate is below Good, it will attempt to keep that relationship level due to its unstable leadership, even if the player attempts to reduce relations. Ordering a successful airstrike on Egypt or Syria's nuclear installations will reduce relations at a much faster rate at this point and lead to war (unless their governments collapse first).

During a war, the player may attempt to offer a ceasefire with the enemy state, or vice versa. Once a ceasefire is signed between the warring states, diplomatic relations will be restored to Satisfactory, but often with the opposing country's diplomats acting aggressively toward Israel. This will once again plunge both countries into war within the next couple of turns.

Espionage
Each country's government has a stability rating. If that rating falls to the lowest value, the government collapses and the country is out of the game. Within each turn, for each country in the game, Israel can choose to work to reduce the stability of the Government, keep it as it is, or increase the stability of the government.

Also, each country has a level of insurgency, which represents how well-organized the insurgent forces are.

When a country conquers an enemy state, its stability rating is upgraded to Very Solid, making it more difficult to destabilize. When a ceasefire between two countries is signed at the next UN Summit, the country that had the advantage on the last turn has its stability upgraded to Very Solid, while the other is downgraded to Good or below.

If a country's stability rating is Weak or below or if the insurgency in the country is at Guerilla Force or better, Israel can opt to consider extreme measures, which are to attempt assassination of the country's leader or start a coup. If this attempt succeeds, the country collapses and is out of the game.

There are two ways an assassination attempt can fail. If the failure results in the assassins being arrested, Israel is detected and relations with that country and the West sour. The failure can also result from the country's leader actually surviving the assassination attempt; the next step would be to stage a coup attempt while that leader is recovering at a hospital. If an attempted coup fails, the insurgent forces are usually destroyed. A coup is very unlikely to succeed unless the insurgents are very strong and the government is Very Weak, so a premature coup which destroys the insurgency can be a useful strategy for helping a government (often much more effective than disrupting a fast-growing insurgency).

Once diplomatic and espionage policy is set, the player moves on to the military actions. It is not possible to return to diplomacy and espionage once the player has moved to military actions.

Israel has two ways of becoming unstable: the Palestinian problem - which can be increased by hostile nations, and insecurity of the Israeli public - which occurs if the player does not win a war within two or more years. If this instability is not resolved, the player faces the risk of being impeached or assassinated.

Military
The player has two tasks to perform: the first is to spend the defense budget; the second is to set military actions with regard to the other countries in the game.

Defense budget
On each turn, the player receives a budget to spend on weaponry. The size of the budget depends on the level of hostility in the surrounding countries; if Israel is at war, or if another country is in the process of reducing diplomatic relations to declare war, the budget is large (US$300 million plus, per turn). If the level of hostility is low, and life is peaceful, the budget is small (US$100 million). As such, the defense budget awarded by the game is an indicator of the policy intent of neighbouring countries. If they are peaceful, the budget will be small; if one or more countries is bent on war, the budget will be large.

Weapons are purchased from the USA, UK, France or a private arms dealer. (Each country sells weapons that it itself produces, except the private dealer, who is a South African providing access to Soviet weaponry.) Each source offers a different range of weapons with different prices and most countries will only offer better weapons once a reasonable number of purchases have already been made (which establishes that a relationship has been built).  Not all countries offer all the same weapons; for example, anti-SAM helicopters are only available from the US and the private dealer.

The weapon systems available for normal combat are:

 Main battle tanks
 M1A1 (USA)
 Chieftain (UK)
 T-62 (Private Dealer)
 Medium tanks (count as main battle tanks)
 AMX-30 (France)
 Light tanks
 Scorpion (UK)
 AMX-13 (France)
 Anti-tank helicopters
 500MD (USA)
 SAM launchers
 M48A1 Chaparral (USA)
 SA-8B Gecko (Private Dealer)
 Fighter aircraft
 F-15E Strike Eagle (USA)
 Mirage IIIE (France)
 Mikoyan MiG-27 (Private Dealer)
 Bomber aircraft
 F-111 (USA)
 MRCA Tornado (UK)
 Tu-16 (Private Dealer)

Specialised-function weapon systems available are:

 AWACS aircraft
 E3 AWACS (USA)
 NIMROD (UK)
 Anti-SAM helicopters
 AH-64A Apache (USA)
 Mi-24 Hind (Private Dealer)

Weapon types are identical as far as war is concerned, regardless of their price: so the US$2M T-62 Main Battle Tank from the private dealer is exactly the same as the US$2M M1A1 Main Battle Tank from the USA. Price differences can be significant over a few turns; for example, fighters from the USA are US$39M each but French fighters are only US$35M each. Also, the French Medium Tank functions exactly the same as the other dealers' Heavy Tanks.

Weapons purchased will usually be available by the next turn, except from the private dealer, which usually takes 1-2 turns to ship. The private dealer's advantage is the ability to sell arms to the player if an arms embargo is imposed on Israel.

Nuclear weapon research
Another factor in the game is the development of nuclear weapons. Each country (except Jordan and Lebanon) can begin and maintain a nuclear weapon development program. One of the main ways to lose the game is for WMDs to be used, which often sets off a global nuclear holocaust. This can present a problem to players, since it can be other countries that use WMDs in their own conflicts against countries other than Israel. It is possible to reduce this possibility by destroying nuclear installations as they arise.

On each turn, the player decides whether to fund nuclear development for that month (it only costs US$20M and so is usually done). Once the player has nuclear weapons ready, they are able to fire them during war at their discretion. Depending on the situation of the war, the player's use of WMDs will either result in an instant victory or a nuclear holocaust, which ends the game in a loss. Consequently, if the player wins a war using a nuclear strike, the UN will impose an arms embargo on Israel, forcing the player to buy arms from the private dealer until the next UN summit.

Annual defense budget review
Each year, Israel can choose to increase or decrease the GDP percentage of the defense budget (it starts at 35%) by 2%, and to increase the size of the Army by two units (which apparently harms the relationship with the USA).

US budget aid
Every year, the United States provides economic and military aid to Israel. This varies between nothing and four billion dollars, depending on how good Israel's relationship is with the US. (To put that into context, a large monthly defense budget, such as would be granted during an active war, is about 350 million dollars).

Palestinian problem
The game also models the problems caused by the Palestinian situation. The "Palestinian problem" is Israel's internal insurgency, just as the other countries have their insurgency and concomitant government stability problem. Other countries presumably can choose to act to stoke Palestinian discontent, and as the player becomes unsuccessful and increasingly unpopular, the Palestinian situation worsens - eventually, this will cause the player to be deposed and thus lose the game.

The player can choose to deploy a brigade to police the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which is supposed to help reduce discontent. Once a brigade has been deployed, the player can choose "soft" or "hard" tactics. Hard tactics presumably are more effective, but cause international outcry, presumably reducing relations with the US and so affecting their annual military grant.

During the annual UN summit, an offer can be made to form a Palestinian homeland, which permanently removes this problem and improves relations with the USA. The only disadvantage seems to be that if the player goes to war with the bordering country that offered the homeland territory, Israel finds itself at a territorial loss, usually two bars on the war progress meter.

Military actions
Prior to war, Israel can launch precision air strikes against bordering countries. These strikes can be performed on military, civilian, industrial, or nuclear targets. Military, industrial, and civilian targets can only be attacked if the diplomatic relationship with a country is very bad. Military strikes may destroy a very few army units (five main battle tanks, for example). Civilian and industrial strikes are done particularly to reduce diplomatic relationships.

Nuclear targets can be attacked at any time, and doing so retards or even eliminates the development of that country's nuclear program (which then continues as before, but from its reduced development level). However, if the country has a mushroom cloud icon in place of a nuclear installation icon, this means that the country has successfully tested their warheads and the player can no longer cripple their nuclear development. This can happen if the player's order for a nuclear installation airstrike fails in two consecutive turns.

If the diplomatic relationship with a country is bad enough, and there are Israeli troops deployed on the border, Israel can invade, or be invaded. This triggers war.

War
A country can only invade countries with a shared border. The four states neighbouring Israel in Conflict are Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Libya, Iraq, and Iran are also present in the game, and can invade the countries which neighbour them, but they have no common border with Israel and so cannot be invaded by the player (and do not have to be defeated to win the game).

When a war occurs, certain unit types attack certain other unit types in the opposing army. So, for example, anti-tank helicopters destroy enemy tanks, while losing a certain number of their own numbers in the process (which may relate to the number of SAM units).

States
Each country is unique and has its own diplomatic agenda, government stability and military capability. The biggest threats to the player are Syria and Egypt, as they have larger armies and are capable of developing nuclear weapons. Iran, Iraq, and Libya can also carry nuclear arms and are capable of ending the game with them, with the exception of Libya - which often does not get a chance to use them during a war with Egypt.

Egypt
Egypt shares borders with Libya and Israel and is very stable diplomatically. It takes many turns of destabilisation to topple the government. Egypt also has the largest army in the game and in a one-on-one war, it will generally defeat Israel badly. Israel can defeat Egypt, but it requires either a perfectly executed surprise attack, a very strong Israeli army, Libya attacking Egypt simultaneously, or a nuclear attack. If Egypt has a nuclear installation present, it is advisable for the player to launch an airstrike on the installation to prevent the country from using nuclear weapons later on in a war.

When the game begins, Egypt is usually securely at peace with Israel, but very occasionally, Egypt is about to go to war with Israel (relations are already Lamentable). Egypt's starting diplomacy with Israel often has a substantial impact on how a given game is likely to play out. The country's diplomatic relations with Libya also play a key factor in its survival in the game, as they almost always declare war on each other.

Iran
Iran does not share a border with Israel. The country is hostile to Iraq and the two almost always end up at war with each other. The main issue is in ensuring that Iran does not trigger a global nuclear war. Generally, it is best to destabilise Iran into collapsing, since this permits Iraq to threaten some of the countries which share a border with Israel.

Iraq
Iraq is a relatively stable country with a moderate military. While the country does not share a border with Israel, it is bordered by Jordan, Syria, and Iran. In almost every game, Iraq will end up at war with Iran. In other situations, however, Syria and Jordan become targeted first. An Iraqi war with Jordan is usually over in less than a turn, with Iraq conquering Jordan (unless Iraq is preoccupied with another war with Iran or Syria). In a match-up with Syria, Iraq tends to even out, leading to multiple turns of both nations at war. Against Iran, the same situation happens leading to multiple turns of war, usually ending in an Iranian victory unless Iraq orders a nuclear attack. Due to Iraq's position neighbouring two of Israel's border nations, Iraq can be a useful ally in defeating Syria and Jordan if used correctly. However, the player must take measures to topple the Iraqi government if the country has a nuclear installation present, as Iraq may trigger a nuclear holocaust during war and end the game.

Jordan
Jordan is bordered by Israel, Syria, and Iraq. It is diplomatically stable and takes a considerable number of turns of destabilisation to topple. Militarily, Jordan is a pushover, having a very small army, although exceptionally with a very large air force. Jordan very occasionally attacks Israel if the latter is already committed to a long war with another country (which is to say, Egypt or Syria, since no other neighbour can maintain a long war). It can also conquer Israel if the player has only one brigade deployed in a war with it. Apart from that, Jordan is passive and is usually subsumed by Syria or Iraq.

Lebanon
Lebanon, which borders Israel and Syria, is highly unstable and will collapse on its own accord if another country does not invade it first; in fact, Lebanon will collapse by itself even if the player is always trying to disrupt the insurgency and support the government. Rarely declaring war on bordering countries, Lebanon is also militarily the weakest country; Israel can conquer it using a single brigade. Lebanon, however, is sometimes capable of conquering Israel or Syria if those countries are preoccupied in other wars or do not properly station brigades within their borders.

Libya
Libya is stable, but militarily weak. Bordered only by Egypt, Libya almost always declares war on Egypt in the game (and vice versa). Egypt always wins immediately, unless already at war with Israel, in which case Libya always wins (although Egypt very occasionally survives one turn). If Egypt is not actually at war with Israel, but Israel has fully mobilized on the Egyptian border and so Egypt has likewise done so, the Libyan/Egyptian conflict can be quite prolonged, but Egypt usually still wins (and has not taken too many losses, since it only has one brigade in combat). Libya is capable of setting up a nuclear installation, but almost never uses nuclear warheads when at war with Egypt.

Syria
Syria is a relatively politically stable country, bordered by Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Following Egypt, it is the country with the second-largest army. Trying to destabilise Syria politically would take many turns and generally will not be effective unless it is at war. When the game starts, relations between Israel and Syria vary from Favourable to Indifferent; in some cases, diplomatic aggression is displayed on Syria's part. Israel can usually defeat Syria, but it is a rather well-balanced match-up that can go either way. Like Egypt, Syria is capable of developing nuclear arms and will often use them at war; thus, the player should launch an airstrike to destroy the nuclear installation - even if relations are friendly.

Leadership analysis
At the end of the game, the player is given an analysis score based on their performance. The analysis page indicates the player's duration as Prime Minister, the number of states under Israeli control, the amount of violence committed by the player, the level of relations with the US, the player's prestige level and leadership style.

Reception
Alan Emrich reviewed the game for Computer Gaming World, and stated that "Conflict is not striving to be a realistic simulation. It is meant to be an amusing exercise in cold war politics set in a futuristic Middle East environment. It is fast playing, easy to learn, entertaining and not to be taken too seriously."

In a 1994 survey of war games, Computer Gaming World gave Conflict three stars out of five, stating that it was "Quick and fun to play" but not compatible with faster computers. (It can be run today using DOSBox.)

References

External links
 Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator at the Internet Archive
 Conflict: Middle East Political Simulator - site from the designer
 Remake (for MS Windows) by Marco Fera with David Eastman's permission. Version 1.2 published on 2009-02-12.

1990 video games
Amiga games
Atari ST games
DOS games
Government simulation video games
Video games set in 1997
Video games set in the Middle East
Virgin Interactive games
Computer wargames
Video games developed in the United Kingdom


Yarudora Series Vol. 3 Sampaguita is the third one in the Yarudora series originally released for PlayStation and later released for the PlayStation Portable console. It was released October 15, 1998 with PlayStation and July 28, 2005 with PlayStation Portable in Japan.

Gameplay
While walking home in the rain from a party one night, the protagonist finds a girl sitting in the street. Homing in closer for a look, she has a cut on her head and is bleeding. Chivalry isn't dead when the player props the girl on his back and brings her home. Her name is Maria but she remembers nothing else about herself and why she was in the gutter.

Features in the game include a graphics gallery, a replay function, and the ability to view various endings once they are achieved during a normal game.

The game features 28 different endings (20 bad endings, 5 normal endings and 3 good endings) depending of the player choices during the game.

Description
 Manufacturer's description:

All stories will be told in the video! Play time is about an hour and a half hours average once. In the meantime, all of the story is told in only go video and audio. Smooth deployment, such as that seen OVA though.

Cold rain-swept night, the hero has found a woman crouched in a narrow alley. The name of the unique woman came Maria, from the Philippines. . . . And a cassette tape of the book, photos of Itcho handgun, a piece of Maria was in the back. Flowing leisurely moments with Maria, the mystery man of the Philippines · break it out.

What I find a past hero of Maria?

 Features:

 First person perspective.
 2D graphics
 Cartoon graphics
 Mystery, dating & Anime themes.

PlayStation games
PlayStation Portable games
2005 video games
1998 video games

Yarudora Series Vol. 3: Sampaguita


Bernard Gordon (October 29, 1918 – May 11, 2007) was an American writer and producer.   For much of his 27-year career he was prevented from taking screen credit by the Hollywood Blacklist. Among his best-known works are screenplays for Flesh and Fury (1952), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956), and 55 Days at Peking (1963).

Biography

Early life
Gordon was born in New Britain, Connecticut, to Kitty and William Gordon, Jewish immigrants from Russia. His father managed a hardware store and Gordon grew up in New York City, where he attended the City College.

Professional work
Beginning as a writer for print, Gordon moved to California and got a production job as a script reader, providing written "coverage" of screenplays submitted to studios. A political activist and, briefly in the 1940s, a member of the Communist Party, Gordon helped found the Screen Readers Guild. He married fellow activist Jean Lewin in 1946, one of the organizers of the Hollywood Canteen during the war.

His first produced screenplay was Flesh and Fury, a gritty boxing picture starring an up-and-coming actor named Tony Curtis. A western with Rock Hudson (The Lawless Breed) followed, but Gordon was subpoenaed to testify to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigating communist influence in Hollywood. Although subpoenaed, Gordon was never called to testify, and thus remained in a legal limbo. His producer, William Alland, had named Gordon in his own testimony to HUAC. A former left-wing sympathizer himself, Alland regularly informed the government about the political leanings of writers with whom he dealt at Universal Pictures.

Pseudonymous work
In 1954, Gordon received an under-the-table assignment from producer Charles Schneer, who worked with Columbia Pictures' low-budget maven Sam Katzman. Gordon adapted a play written by two friends, which became the film The Law vs. Billy the Kid. Schneer employed Gordon many times during the 1950s, memorably as screenwriter of Earth vs. the Flying Saucers, a low-budget alien-invasion film with special effects by Ray Harryhausen. Gordon worked under the pen name Raymond T. Marcus, a friend who was not in the film business. These low-paying assignments were generally B-level potboilers. Notably, one of the Schneer films was the only feature film to co-star Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Davis, Hellcats of the Navy. Reagan's political views were diametrically opposed to the then-blacklisted Gordon, though after Reagan was elected president he denied blacklisting had occurred despite evidence proving this inaccuracy. Gordon took ironic satisfaction in having written an introduction for the esteemed Admiral Chester Nimitz and having Reagan give voice to his words on film that was broadcast on television during his two terms as president. Another film for which Gordon wrote pseudonymously due to the Black List was Zombies of Mora Tau (1957).

Success in exile
Through his friendship with writer/entrepreneur Philip Yordan, Gordon found regular work as a writer and producer in Madrid for the Samuel Bronston Productions. At first, however, he was still denied screen credit, with Yordan frequently listing himself as sole author of films like Circus World, Battle of the Bulge, Custer of the West and The Day of the Triffids. Gordon did receive on-screen credit for 55 Days at Peking, and the first screen adaptation of The Thin Red Line. As a producer, he made a number of westerns in Spain and the well-received sci-fi thriller Horror Express, co-starring Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. Another film he wrote, Cry of Battle, was playing at the theater in which Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested by Dallas police on 22 November 1963.

55 Days at Peking contains the first known occurrence of the phrase "Let China sleep. For when she wakes, the world will tremble", which are often mistakenly attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte. There, the actress Elizabeth Sellars asks David Niven (who plays the British ambassador in China during the Boxer Rebellion (1900)) if he remembers what Napoleon said about China. Niven then quotes the now-famous phrase that when China rouses from its slumber, all hell will break loose. The quotation is specific to the screenplay by principal scriptwriter, Bernard Gordon, since the remark and attribution do not appear in either the English or French versions of the 1963 book by Noel Gerson (written under the pseudonym Samuel Edwards). It is likely that Bernard Gordon invented the phrase "Let China sleep. For when she wakes, the world will tremble".

Resurfacing and Retroactive Credits
Returning to the US, Gordon had trouble finding work until his former production secretary in Madrid, Lisa Doty, found him a job in Canada adapting Margaret Atwood's novel Surfacing for producer Beryl Fox. Director Claude Jutra made it into a film in 1981.

Gordon's blacklist-era work remained relatively anonymous until journalist Ted Newsom happened upon the man behind the assumed name Raymond T. Marcus (a name under which Gordon wrote or co-wrote). When the Writers Guild of America took up the task of correctly crediting pseudonymous screenwriters from the 1950s and 1960s, awarding retroactive screen credits to them, Gordon received more after-the-fact credits than any other blacklisted writer. His first film to receive posthumous credit was The Day of the Triffids.

Gordon subsequently wrote two autobiographical books detailing the 20-year surveillance of him by the FBI, and often spoke publicly about his experiences. He helped lead the unsuccessful fight against the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Lifetime Achievement Award to Elia Kazan, who cooperated with HUAC during the blacklist era.

Gordon died on May 11, 2007, in Hollywood, California.

Books
Hollywood Exile, or How I Learned to Love the Blacklist (University of Texas Press, 1999)
The Gordon File: A Screenwriter Recalls Twenty Years of FBI Surveillance (University of Texas Press, 2004)

References

External links

1918 births
2007 deaths
Hollywood blacklist
Jewish American writers
Writers from New Britain, Connecticut
American male screenwriters
Screenwriters from Connecticut
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American screenwriters
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
20th-century pseudonymous writers
20th-century American Jews
21st-century American Jews

Bernard Gordon (writer)


She Must Be Obeyed is a 2023 mini-series premiered by Amazon Prime Video and released on Friday September 29, 2023. The five-part series features Funke Akindele, Nancy Isime, Lateef Adedimeji, Akah Nnani, Patience Ozokwor, Mike Ezuronye, Ex BBNaija star, Veeiye, Waje and other Nollywood stars. The mini-series was produced and directed by Funke Akindele and her estranged husband JJC Skillz under the Scene one Productions.

Synopsis
She Must Be Obeyed is about the lives of three successful music stars; SHE, Tito and X-cite (played by Funke Akindele, Veeiye and Waje respectively). Siyanbola Adewale, known as SHE (played by Funke Akindele), portrays a character determined to remain at the top, not minding who she tramples on to get there. A group gathers and forms to expose SHE's true nature, leading to revenge and deception in the music industry. The film spotlights into the competition in the music industry.

Cast

 Funke Akindele as Siyanbola Adewale
 Nancy Isime as Victoria
 Veeiye as Tito
 Waje as X-cite
 Shaffy Bello as Iya Siyanbola
 Chiwetalu Agu as Uncle Mba
 Akah Nnani as Sisqo
 Lateef Adedimeji as Bayo, Siyanbola's brother
 Rachael Okonkwo as Adaeze
 IK Ogbonna as Pedro
 Blossom Chukwujekwu as PR Manager
 Adunni Ade as PR Officer 1
 Patience Ozokwor as Mama Cruise

Production and release
The mini-series which was released on 29th, September 2023 had her premiere at the Filmhouse IMAX in Lagos, the premiere had Nollywood stars in attendance, including but not restricted to Toyin Abraham, Mo Abudu, Iyabo Ojo, Dakore Egbuson-Akande, Femi Adebayo, JJC Skillz, and the cast of the series. BBNaija Star, Veeiye who acted the role Tito has also expressed her gratitude to Funke Akindele who gave her the movie role to boost her confidence, Vee has explained how she had to send a direct message to her hinting on her interest in the movie industry and to her surprise Akindele responded and she got the role in the movie.

References

Nigerian drama television series
Television shows set in Lagos
2023 Nigerian television series debuts
2023 Nigerian television series endings

She Must Be Obeyed


The Hopkins Manuscript is a social-political dystopian novel published by R. C. Sherriff in 1939. Originally titled An Ordinary Man, the novel was published with its present title by Victor Gollancz, then republished as a Pan paperback in 1958 under the title The Cataclysm. The book was further published by The Macmillan Company in 1963 and by Persephone Books in 2002.

The story is set in England, where the main character, Edgar Hopkins, writes a narrative about a catastrophe in which the Moon collides with Earth, and his life afterward. The foreword has the perspective of an academic society 1,000 years in the future finding the manuscript as an historical document.

References

1939 British novels
1939 science fiction novels
Dystopian novels
British political novels
British science fiction novels
Novels set in London
Novels about impact events
Works about the Moon
Novels by R. C. Sherriff

The Hopkins Manuscript


Allahina is a small town and rural commune in the Cercle of Nara in the Koulikoro Region of south-western Mali. The town lies 31 km south of the Mauritanian border and 156 km west of Nara, the administrative centre of the cercle. The commune, which includes the town and seven of the surrounding villages, had a population of 11,683 in the 2009 census.

References

External links
.

Communes of Koulikoro Region

Allahina


Equipment service management and rental (ESM&R) refers to equipment services management throughout the heavy equipment life cycle. Increased competition and slim margins in heavy equipment sales and rental place a heavy burden on manufacturers, dealers, rental companies and service businesses to improve their service performance. Improving service in these conditions is critical to maintaining margins and growing profitability.

The ESM&R approach provides an integrated view of the heavy equipment business. Thus manufacturers, dealers, suppliers, rental and services business can improve the value their customers derive from their equipment and subsequently improve their own profitability and reduce cost at the same time. Collaboration is a critical factor in the equipment supply chain.

Equipment companies must have two fundamentals in place of operational control of service operations on the one hand and equipment intelligence on the other. (1) This enables companies to move to proactive service approaches and make better business decisions. To instill these two fundamentals, service organizations are adopting equipment service management processes and tools.

Heavy equipment life-cycle
The ESM&R approach directly links to the concept of the equipment life-cycle which demands continuous control and a historical record – from the initial forecasting and sale of the equipment, through to shipping, renting, servicing, overhaul and final disposal. Thus heavy equipment, just like any product life-cycle has its own life-cycle. The main stages of the heavy equipment life-cycle are:

Notes

References
"Asset Management Excellence: Optimizing Equipment Life-cycle Decisions" by Normand Champigny, Andrew K.S. Jardine, John D. Campbell, Taylor & Francis USA, 2008,

Industrial equipment
Supply chain management
Management cybernetics

Equipment service management and rental


Golenkinia is a genus of green algae first described in 1894 by Robert Chodat. The genus is named for the Russian phycologist Mikhail Iljitsch Golenkin. Golenkinia species live in fresh water (including bodies of black water such as Winyah Bay) and are found around the world.

Description
Members of Golenkinia are spherical unicellular organisms with numerous radiating spines. Their cell walls are notably thick, which distinguishes them from members of the genus Golenkinopsis. They contain a single walled cup-shaped chloroplast, which in turn contains a pyrenoid in its base. The pyrenoid is typically sheathed in starch.

Species of Golenkinia are typically solitary and do not form colonies or coenobia except under laboratory conditions. Their slender spines may become entangled, creating the false impression that the algae have formed a colony.

Taxonomic status
The precise taxonomic status of Golenkinia is somewhat unclear due to the large number of revisions it has undergone. It has traditionally been classed with other round, spine-bearing green algae, many of which are now assigned to the class Trebouxiophyceae.

In 1982, Hanuš Ettl and Jiří Komárek placed Golenkinia with Chlorotetraedron and Polyedriopsis in the family Neochloridaceae, under the order Sphaeropleales. In 1983, Komárek and Bohuslav Fott created the family Golenkiniaceae to contain unicellular algae with round cells that had spines on the cell wall. The genera Golenkinia and Polyedriopsis were placed within it.

Subsequent analysis of 18S rDNA in 2003 has found that Golenkinia and Polyedriopsis are not in fact closely related. The same research assigned Golenkinia to the order Chlamydomonadales.

Further analysis in 2015 found that Golenkinia was loosely related to Jenufa and Treubaria, all together possibly representing a branch in Chlamydomonadales that would be a sister clade to order Sphaeropleales. This proposed clade remains unnamed, and its taxonomy is still not completely clear, despite further rDNA analysis performed in 2017.

Because of the frequent changes to its classification, some databases still show Golenkinia belonging to Golenkiniaceae.

References

External links

Chlamydomonadales
Chlamydomonadales genera

Golenkinia


Stephen Higgins is a British conductor, accompanist, arranger, and presenter.

Higgins attended the University of Oxford, where he played with the Oxford University Jazz Orchestra. He then studies the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, and the National Opera Studio, also in London. He is a conductor and pianist, working with opera houses in the United Kingdom, including English National Opera (ENO), Glyndebourne, the Royal Opera House (ROH), and Scottish Opera. Higgins is a member of the music staff at ENO. He has conducted the Magic Flute for ENO and created a new commission, The Duchess of Malfi.

Stephen Higgins has worked for the Musica nel Chiostro Opera Festival in Batignano, Tuscany, Italy, as music director. In addition, he was music director of Opera Faber in northern Portugal, conducting performances of Don Giovanni and L'elisir d'amore with the Orquesta da Norte and the Orquesta Nacional de Porto. He also conducted the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Philharmonia orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall in London, in the production of Carmen Jones by Jude Kelly. As well as live performances, Stephen Higgins has worked for film and television companies as music supervisor, including films and documentaries for BBC Two, Channel 4, and Film4. For example, he appeared on BBC Two's Maestro at the Opera with actress and comedian Josie Lawrence in 2012.

References

External links
 Stephen Higgins website

Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Alumni of the University of Oxford
Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
21st-century British conductors (music)
English conductors (music)
British male conductors (music)
English classical pianists
Accompanists
British television presenters
Music directors
British music arrangers
21st-century classical pianists
21st-century British male musicians

Stephen Higgins (conductor)