Gran Trak 10 is an arcade driving video game developed by Atari through its subsidiary Cyan Engineering, and released by Atari in May 1974. In the game, a single player drives a car along a race track, viewed from above, avoiding walls of pylons and trying to pass as many checkpoints as possible before time runs out. The game is controlled with a steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedals, and a gear stick, and the car crashes and spins if it hits a pylon.

Atari founder Nolan Bushnell had originally planned to develop a driving video game inspired by Chicago Coin's arcade electro-mechanical game Speedway (1969) when he founded the company, but cancelled it in favor of a simpler game, Pong (1972). Atari eventually began development on a driving video game, Gran Trak 10, in late 1973. It was initially designed by Larry Emmons of Cyan, with the mechanical design handled by Eigen Systems, though after several design and production problems were uncovered during an initial small production run in March 1974 the design was overhauled by Allan Alcorn, the designer of Pong, with wider distribution beginning in May. The game's circuits include possibly the first instance of integrated circuit-based read-only memory (ROM), which thereafter became the standard for arcade games, replacing diode-stored graphics.

Gran Trak 10 was developed during a time of several internal changes at Atari; as a result communication problems led Atari to not accurately track the expense of manufacturing the game. It was initially sold to distributors for a net loss of US$100 per cabinet; although this flaw was fixed it contributed to a total loss of $500,000 for the company that fiscal year, placing Atari in financial difficulties. The game itself was successful, and led to several versions of the game being produced in 1974 by Atari and its subsidiary Kee Games, including a smaller cabinet version titled Trak 10 and a two-player version titled Gran Trak 20, as well as numerous later racing games. Gran Trak 10 was the first arcade car driving video game, though Atari had released the spaceship racing game Space Race in 1973, and a simple racing game, Wipeout, was included with the 1972 Magnavox Odyssey console.

Gameplay
Gran Trak 10 is a single-player racing video game in which the player drives a race car along a race track, shown from above. The player controls the car with a steering wheel, accelerator and brake pedals, and gear stick, as in a real car. The gear shifting requires the player to shift between reverse, first, second, and third gears as needed, but the pedals are digital controls rather than analog, so the player cannot control his speed by applying differing levels of pressure. The steering wheel turns the car only while it is being turned, rather than having a neutral "straight" position. Braking does not stop the car instantly and turning while braking will cause the car to skid. The course is defined on the screen by walls of white dots representing pylons, which if hit stop the car and spin it. There is only a single track layout. The track contains one black path representing an oil slick, which prevents the player's car from turning. At the top of the screen are two numbers; the number on the right is the remaining time in the game, starting at 78 and counting down by 2s, while the number on the left is the number of checkpoints the player has passed, and counts up by 2s.

The time per game, though the counter always starts at 78, is by default 105 seconds and is adjustable by the game operator; changing the time adjusts both the speed of the counter and how long a player spends crashed after hitting a pylon. A switch on the internal circuit board can turn off crashes entirely, while another allows for two games to be played for a quarter rather than one. A placard on the front of the game gives suggested ratings for the score in a given game, from "License Revoked" for 10 or fewer points to "Real Pro" for greater than 40; the operator's manual suggests changing or removing this card if the time per game is adjusted.

Development

In 1972, Atari founder Nolan Bushnell considered creating a driving video game as one of the company's first games, inspired by Chicago Coin's first-person electro-mechanical game Speedway (1969). He decided not to pursue the idea, however, due to the perceived complexity. In late 1973, Atari revisited the idea of a driving video game, unrelated to any prior arcade game. The design was instead created by Cyan Engineering, which had recently become a semi-independent research and development subsidiary of Atari and had previously handled the prototype design of Gotcha. Larry Emmons developed the circuits to control the car itself in the game, creating the feel of braking, acceleration, and movement. Emmons also used integrated circuit-based memory—specifically, mask ROM (read-only memory)—in his circuit design to store graphical data such as the tracks, rather than the diode arrays that previous arcade games used. This is believed to be the first use of integrated circuit-based memory in an arcade game, and ROMs thereafter became the standard for arcade and console video games. The mechanical designs for the game, including the steering wheel, pedal, and gear shift controllers, were developed by Eigen Systems, located in the same building as Cyan and founded by ex-coworkers of the Cyan founders Emmons and Steven Mayer. At one point, the game's design included a small printer that would print high scores when achieved, but this was removed prior to the final design.

Allan Alcorn, the designer of Pong, took a leave of absence from the company beginning in September 1973, and around the same time Steve Bristow, who had previously worked with the founders of Atari on the first arcade video game Computer Space, left to co-found Kee Games. This in turn left Lloyd Warman, new to the company, as the head of engineering for Atari during Gran Traks development. Alcorn and Emmons have stated that they believed Warman was a good engineer but a poor project manager, which led to the Gran Trak project running behind schedule and having several design problems. This was exacerbated by a new short-lived Atari management team and product development structure, which led to several communication problems and cost overruns. When Atari began production in early 1974, it had difficulties getting enough circuits to build the cabinets from National Semiconductor, who cited a "hybrid" integrated circuit design by Emmons as non-standard, first refusing to sell them to Atari and then producing only small production runs. According to Alcorn, the non-standard design was a tactic to prevent competitors from copying the design, as other manufacturers would be unable to produce it at all.

A short run of Gran Trak systems was produced in March 1974 and revealed other design problems, such as the steering controls; in their prototype system, Eigen used a real car steering wheel and pedals, but the production run used different parts. Alcorn returned to Cyan that month and redesigned the game to fix the flaws and use more standard parts; the copying protection scheme was changed to use a custom-designed integrated circuit that was named the same as a standard Texas Instruments integrated circuit. Alcorn later stated in an interview that neither Warman nor Emmons understood the challenges in converting a prototype design to a product that could be manufactured. The game entered production soon after, and Atari announced it was shipping a full production run in May 1974. Although the design flaws were fixed, the communication problems during development led to one final problem with the game: Atari was unclear on the actual cost of producing the game. As a result, a single Gran Trak game ended up costing US$1,095 to manufacture, while Atari was selling them to distributors for only $995, losing $100 per sale. Atari soon corrected the problem, but ended the fiscal year with a large loss due in part to the financial failure of the game.

Reception and legacy
Atari reported a loss of $500,000 for the 1974 fiscal year, roughly as much as the previous year's profits, with Gran Trak as one of the major causes. This led Atari into deep financial problems, leaving part of Gran Traks legacy being "the game that nearly put Atari out of business". In September 1974, Atari merged with its subsidiary Kee Games; Kee's final game Tank, released that November, was a commercial success, however, and is credited with buoying the finances of the newly merged Atari at a critical time for the company. The Gran Trak 10 game itself, after its problems were resolved, was considered a success, and Atari released multiple versions of it: a clone version titled Formula K was released through Kee Games for different distributors around July 1974, and Atari produced a small cabinet version in late in the year titled Trak 10. According to Ralph H. Baer, Formula K sold 6,000 units. A two-player version titled Gran Trak 20 was released in August, along with its own clone version from Kee Games titled Twin Racer and its own small cabinet version, Trak 20. Baer estimates that Gran Trak 20 sold 4,500 units.

In March 1976, RePlay magazine published a survey of the top 20 arcade games in use, and listed Gran Trek 10 and 20 combined as the fifth highest-earning game in the prior year in the United States, below Tank, Wheels, Gun Fight and Indy 800. In Japan, it was among the top ten highest-earning arcade video games of 1977, and among the year's top seven racing video games (topped by Taito's Speed Race DX).

Atari produced numerous other racing arcade games in the same style as Gran Trak, including Le Mans (1976), Sprint 2 (1976), Super Sprint (1986), and Badlands (1989). Gran Trak 10 was the first arcade car racing video game and the first video game to use a steering wheel, for which it has been called the "grandfather" of car racing video games. Prior to Gran Trak 10, a simple racing game, Wipeout, had been released in 1972 for the Magnavox Odyssey home video game console and a spaceship racing arcade game, Space Race, had been released by Atari in 1973. Gran Trak 10 had an influence on Taito game designer Tomohiro Nishikado; while he did not enjoy the game due to its twisting tracks and complex controls, it inspired him to develop his own driving video game, by adapting two older electro-mechanical games, Kasco's Mini Drive (1958) and Taito's Super Road 7 (1970), into the video game Speed Race (1974).

References

Sources

External links

1974 video games
Arcade video games
Atari arcade games
Namco arcade games
Top-down racing video games
Video games developed in the United States
Single-player video games

Gran Trak 10


Sofia Elizabeth Mantega, also known as Wind Dancer and formerly known as Renascence, is a fictional character, a mutant appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. One of the student body in the Xavier Institute, she is a member of the New Mutants squad therein. Her first appearance was in New Mutants, vol. 2 #1. At the beginning of New Mutants vol. 2, she is 16 years old.

Fictional character biography

Early life
Sofia was born and lived most of her life in Caracas, Venezuela. While under the care of her uncle, Sofia's mother is killed in a riot. Her only Venezuelan adult relative, an uncle, is unable to support her in addition to his own children, so she is sent to her father, who had been previously unaware of her existence. The head of a major supermarket chain located in the United States, Walter Barrett is a cold, asocial man with no interest in a daughter. As such, he extracts from her a promise that she would learn English before school started, she would get good grades, and she would not use her mutant power, in exchange for which all her material wants would be provided for without question.

Over the next three weeks, she befriends her father's manservant Derek, learns English, and joins a local school, but despite her outgoing nature, she has difficulty fitting in and is unable to reconcile herself to her father's lack of affection for her. She ultimately acts out by skipping school and wrecking one of her father's stores with hurricane-force winds, making sure her actions are caught on a store security camera. Her father is incensed, less at the destruction of his store than by her exposing him as the father of a mutant, and considers leaving her in prison for 48 hours to punish her. Danielle Moonstar, having seen Sofía's vandalism on the news, steps in and offers her a place at the Xavier Institute.

Xavier Institute
Resident mischief maker Julian Keller (codenamed Hellion) finds himself instantly attracted to Mantega and begins courting her. She rejects him after he makes derogatory remarks about her roommate, the shy Laurie Collins (later known as Wallflower), but the attraction remains mutual, and despite herself Sofia later ends up flirting with Julian during a combat training exercise. Derek remains in touch, even quitting his job when her father objects to his seeing Sofia.

Sofia and Laurie are assigned to the New Mutants squad, along with a runaway from Japan named Surge, Laurie's love interest and former Reaver Elixir, strait-laced David Alleyne (Prodigy), and dangerous but well-intentioned Wither. Sofia is generally well-liked and is voted as "Most Outgoing" in the school's yearbook.

Prodigy rejects the offer to lead the New Mutants, so the position falls to Sofia. She becomes isolated and irritable when the group loses their first training exercise, which she blames on her failure to lead. Her command decisions weaken further when Wither is arrested for the accidental death of his father, and she briefly sides with the Hellions, Julian's squad, to break him free. After the New Mutants fight the Hellions over the incident, Prodigy talks her into letting Wither go, and she tries to convince him to lead the New Mutants. He insists that Sofía's emotionalism has its advantage in a leadership role, but agrees to be co-leader, to better mesh their strengths.

Thereafter, Sofia's temper eases again until the school dance, where she catches Laurie manipulating Prodigy to make her ex-boyfriend Elixir jealous. Alarmed by the rapid disintegration of the squad, she finds herself kissing Julian, and he pushes her to end the in-fighting since she is the one who sees the good in everyone - even him. She tries to do so by forcing everyone to get together for a camp-out on the X-Mansion grounds. While bickering and even fist-fighting break out, Sofia is able to eventually reconcile her teammates.

Sofia loses her powers along with 98% of the mutant population when the Scarlet Witch produces a reality-bending spell in an attempt to solve the human/mutant problem. Along with most of the de-powered students, she moves out of the mansion, planning to return to Venezuela with Derek. She leaves the school abruptly without giving Julian notice after she catches him callously denouncing Prodigy after the latter lost his powers.

New Warriors
For as-yet-unknown reasons, Sofia moves to New York City, where she lives alone and works as a waitress. She feels directionless in her new "normal" life and has nightmares about losing her powers. During the dream, Sofia enjoyed the pleasures of winged flight.  Around this time, Sofia begins to receive strange messages from a group calling itself the New Warriors. The group sends a messenger whom Sofia recognizes as Barry, a young man she knew (and flirted with) from the restaurant she works in. Barry explains that he is a depowered mutant, and is actually her old friend from the Xavier Institute, Beak, whom she did not recognize because of his altered appearance post-M-Day. Beak transports Sofia into the secret base of the New Warriors, but she rejects their efforts to talk her into joining the group.

However, a battle between the New Warriors and a new Zodiac breaks out near the restaurant where Sofia works and she witnesses Cancer kill the New Warrior Longstrike. With the Warriors fighting a losing battle and a little boy caught in the crossfire, Sofia charges towards Cancer, providing enough distraction to give her friends the upper hand. While the superpowered individuals battle, Sofia tries to get the young boy to safety but is blasted from behind. At the hospital, doctors determine Sofia is suffering from burns, a concussion, and various other problems from the attack. During a comatose state, Sofia dreams she is meeting her mother in Heaven and once again bears angel-like wings.

Sofia makes headlines for her heroic deeds during the battle. She is expected to fully recover and has only lost her hair due to surgery. Upon her release from the hospital, Mantega reconsiders Night Thrasher's offer to join the team right as he is about to disband the group following the disastrous encounter with the Zodiac.

Renascence
Sofia's first mission as a New Warrior puts her and the team up against the Alphaclan, a villain team atop of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most wanted list. While Wondra says Sofia "held her own on her first mission", the team's efforts fall short until Night Thrasher intervenes.

Sofia takes on the codename Renascence while operating with the New Warriors. She continues to waitress at her job and lives off-base as to never be dependent on someone else ever again. After the New Warriors disband Sofia keeps the tech she had been given.

Krakoa
A long time later, Sofia somehow heard of the Mojoverse's new-found obsession with mutants and started live streaming and climbing the broadcasting charts. After making a poll with her followers, it was revealed the majority wanted to see her die, so she hired Adam X to execute her. Moments before her demise, she addressed the audience one last time: "Let's give the people what they want".

Upon seeing the proof of death, The Five proceeded with her resurrection, returning her powers in the process. After being reunited with Hellion and her other friends, she revealed to them that she had to let herself get killed in order to escape, but Spiral, Adam X and Shatterstar still needed rescuing.

Powers and abilities
As the mutant Wind Dancer, Sofia has the ability to control the movement of air, which included the ability to generate wind with intense force, lift and carry objects, fly and, more subtly, amplify small vibrations in the air - allowing her to hear faraway conversations.

She also uses her powers to create a "cutting" effect by refining the force of the wind. When at close range, she can also compress air into a person's ear to disrupt their middle ear's equilibrium thereby disturbing their balance.

As Renascence, she wore a suit equipped with six metal cybernetic tentacles that could discharge surges of electricity from its claws. She was also equipped with a personal force field that emits a golden aura.

Sofia has some athletic and martial arts skills due to her training as a New Mutant at Xavier's and the combat sessions with the New Warriors.

Other versions

House of M
Wind Dancer is a S.H.I.E.L.D. trainee in the House of M reality.  During the House of M crossover (which later led to Decimation), Wind Dancer was shown as a S.H.I.E.L.D trainee, in the Hellions Squad, under Dani Moonstar's supervision, and involved in a rather intimate relationship with Scion (Julian's counterpart).

In this reality, she battled control against Wallflower's pheromones that manipulated the New Mutant Leadership Institute's students into fighting with the S.H.I.E.L.D. trainees to the death.

After Wallflower was killed and her influence severed, the surviving young mutants teamed up to attack Emperor Sunfire, who headed Project: Genesis, a plan to mutate baseline humans. Sunfire ordered their death, but reality was reverted before anything further happened.

References

Comics characters introduced in 2003
Marvel Comics mutants
Fictional characters with air or wind abilities
Fictional Venezuelan people
Latin American superheroes
Marvel Comics female superheroes
Marvel Comics martial artists
New Mutants
Characters created by Nunzio DeFilippis
Characters created by Christina Weir

Wind Dancer


The Jidai Matsuri is a traditional Japanese festival held every year on October 22 in Kyoto, Japan. It is enjoyed by people of all ages, participating in its historic reenactment parade, dressed in historic costumes representing different periods of Japanese history.
This festival started when the Japanese capital of Kyoto moved to Tokyo in 1868. This involved the movement of the Emperor of Japan and his family.
The Jidai Matsuri begins early in the morning with small shrines brought out of the Kyoto Imperial Palace so people can pay their respects. The five-hour parade starts in the afternoon, with 2000 performers dressed as samurai, military figures, and common people from the Meiji era.

Festivals in Japan
October events

Jidai Matsuri


Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station, a National Historic Site of Canada found atop Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park, commemorates Canada's participation in the International Geophysical Year, during 1957 to 1958. Canada constructed nine sites to study cosmic rays, but this site in particular was the most important due to its higher elevation. The National Research Council constructed a laboratory at the site in the winter of 1956–57. The building was not visible from the Banff townsite as a condition of its construction.

The station was run by Dr. B. G. Wilson with the help of two assistants  and was equipped with a standard IGY neutron monitor. The national research council maintained its operation until 1960 when the University of Calgary took over its operations and Dr. Wilson found a permanent position there. An improved NM64 neutron monitor was installed in 1963 but the IGY monitor continued to operate until 1972. The station ceased operations in 1978 and the building was dismantled in 1981. In 1982 it was designated as a National Historic Site. A plaque now marks the spot of the station's location.

See also
 List of astronomical observatories

References

Banff National Park
Astronomical observatories in Canada
Research institutes in Canada
National Historic Sites in Alberta

Sulphur Mountain Cosmic Ray Station


Diagoras of Rhodes (; ) was an Ancient Greek boxer from the 5th century BC, who was celebrated for his own victories, as well as the victories of his sons and grandsons. He was a member of the Eratidea family at Ialysos in Rhodes.

Biography
Diagoras descended from Damagetus, king of Ialysus and, on his mother's side from Messenian hero and king Aristomenes. Diagoras was victor in boxing twice in the Olympic games, four times in the Isthmian, twice in the Nemean, and once at least in the Pythian Games. The fame of Diagoras and his descendants was celebrated by Pindar (Olympian Odes VII).  A local soccer club, Diagoras F.C., and the Rhodes International Airport, "Diagoras" are named after him.

His three sons were Olympic champions. The oldest son, Damagetos, won the pankration in 452 and 448 BC. Akousílaos, the second son, won the boxing in 448 BC. The two celebrated their victory by carrying their father around the stadion on their shoulders, cheered loudly by the spectators.  This was considered the peak of happiness that a human being could experience, achieving great glory and yet having this glory matched or even surpassed by one's own children.  Legend has it that during Diagoras' triumphant ovation on the shoulders of his sons, a spectator shouted: "Die, Diagoras; you will not ascend to Olympus besides", the meaning being that he has reached the highest honor possible for a man.

His youngest son, Dorieus, was even more successful than his brothers.

According to another legend revived by Pausanias, Diagoras' daughter Kallipáteira ("she of the beautiful father") was the only lay woman to enter the Olympic Games.  Excepting the priestess of Demeter, all women were banned from watching because athletes performed in the nude.  Kallipateira's son Peisírrhodos as well as her nephew Euklēs had both won in the Olympic Games, when she decided to sneak into the crowd disguised as a man.  She was discovered and brought before the Hellanodíkai (judges of the games) to be tried for sacrilege on pain of death; there she proclaimed that if any woman could ever be allowed to defy the ban, it was she, having had a father, three brothers, a son and a nephew achieve victory eight times.  The judges were awed and she was acquitted. However according to Pausanias a law was passed that future trainers should strip before entering the arena.

Similarly, Chilon of Sparta also supposedly died of joy the day when his son gained the prize for boxing at the Olympic games.

Fireless Sacrifices: Pindar's Olympian 7
In his seventh ode, Pindar writes of the glorious Olympic victories of Diagoras. This poem carries itself in a very Diagoras like fashion, telling the mythical tale of his home island of Rhodes. This further entrenches Diagoras' legacy not just in his personal victories, but also in his homeland and with the people he wished to carry that legacy. Pindar acknowledges his numerous boxing victories in Olympian 7 writing: "Diagoras has had himself crowned twice, and at the renowned Isthmus four times, in his good fortune, and again and again at Nemea and in rocky Athens". Pindar also then incorporated greek mythology into his work in honoring Diagoras in Olympian 7 saying: "Father Zeus, you who rule over the ridges of Atabyrium, grant honor to the hymn ordained in praise of an Olympian victor, and to the man who has found excellence as a boxer, and grant to him honored grace in the eyes of both citizens and strangers. For he walks a straight course on a road that hates arrogance, knowing clearly the sound prophetic wisdom of his good ancestors.". There is a pattern of Diagoras being connected in writings such as Olympian 7 to his land and his people. This connection is modeled through his boxings victories and the mythology surrounding Rhodes, creating a vessel in which his legacy has been carried.

Victory and fatherless
Diagoras of Rhodes was unique in his sporting conquests due to way he embedded his family into the legacy of his victories. The great boxer went to new lengths to make his victories in sporting and the future of his family synonymous. It seems that there were two reasons for the unique manner in which Diagoras honored his family through statues and oral tradition.

The first was his affection for his family, especially his children. But to understand that as the only function of this tight association would not paint the whole picture. The second reason for this close association was as a personal angle. Diagoras likely rejected the altering of the legacy of mortal men in oral tales into immortal heroes due to their actions. Nigel Nicholson argues that Diagoras may have wanted to avoid being passed down through moral tradition and replaced with some kind of god or hero that would take the credit for his achievements. He wanted to lead his own legacy and get the credit for his athletic accomplishments. By embedding his children into his legacy, he could leave a personal footprint that emphasized his connections to his family and the areas of Greece in which he left his legacy. His legacy could be carried out through his children when they eventually spread around through the surrounding area, creating a sort of Diagoras diaspora. Those children would then always be anchored to Diagoras, the man who shared his victories with his children, thus cementing the boxer as a mortal athletic champion and not allowing a god-like figure to replace him in oral tradition.

Tomb

In 2018, articles in the Turkish press claimed the tomb of Diagoras had been discovered. A pyramid-shaped structure on a hill near Turgut village north of Marmaris, regarded by locals as the grave of a saint, was identified by unnamed archaeologists as his mausoleum. Many Turkish young men would take a handful of dirt from the area around the tomb as good luck ahead of joining the army to complete their military service. The Greek inscription, in letters of the Hellenistic period, refers to a Diagoras, slain in battle. They also mention his wife Aristomacha, a woman outstanding for her offspring and her moderation. Known for decades, the inscription was not associated by previous scholars with the famous 5th century Rhodian, given its distance from the island of Rhodes and the post-Classical lettering of the text. Turkish newspaper, Milliyet, reported that  an inscription in the tomb, stating "I will be vigilant at the very top so as to ensure that no coward can come and destroy this grave," was transcribed by experts.

See also
Ancient Greek boxing

Notes

Sources

Smith, William. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Diagoras.

Odes. Pindar. Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990.

Staff, N. (2018, May 22). Shrine in Turkey uncovered as tomb of ancient Greek boxer. Retrieved December 7, 2020, from https://neoskosmos.com/en/115755/shrine-in-turkey-uncovered-as-tomb-of-ancient-greek-boxer/

External links
Diagoras of Rhodes Athletes' Stories by Perseus Project
The Extant Odes of Pindar By Pindar Page 48   ;   Pindar's epinikion to Diagoras

Ancient Rhodian athletes
Ancient Olympic competitors
Ancient Greek boxers
5th-century BC Greek people
Greek male boxers

Diagoras of Rhodes


Azra was a Croatian and Yugoslav rock band that was one of the most popular acts of the Yugoslav new wave music of the 1980s. Azra was formed in 1977 by its frontman Branimir "Johnny" Štulić. The other two members of the original line-up were Mišo Hrnjak (bass) and Boris Leiner (drums). The band is named after a verse  from "Der Asra" by Heinrich Heine. They are considered to be one of the most influential bands from the Yugoslav new wave rock era and the Yugoslav rock scene in general.

They released their first single in 1979 with songs "Balkan" and "A šta da radim" design by Mirko Ilic. The first album named Azra was published in 1980 and achieved commercial success and popularized Azra in Yugoslavia. Their second album was released in 1981. Azra recorded its last studio album Između krajnosti (Between the Extremes) in 1987. In 1988 the band recorded 4LP live album under the name Zadovoljština (Satisfaction), after which Štulić disbanded the band. Štulić recorded three more solo albums since moving to the Netherlands, where he lives in seclusion. A 2003 rock documentary, Sretno dijete depicts Azra as the focus of the rock scene in Yugoslavia during the 1980s, along with Bijelo dugme. Even today, Azra remains very popular among youth in the countries of the former Yugoslavia.

In 1998, the music critics compiled a list of 100 best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music. Five Azra albums were included, three of them in top 10. On the Radio B92's list of 100 greatest songs of former Yugoslavia, four Azra songs were included, all of them in top 20.

Members
Branimir "Johnny" Štulić – vocals, guitar
Branko Matun – bass (1977)
Paolo Sfeci – drums (1977)
Mladen Jurčić – guitar (1977–1978)
Branko Hromatko – drums (1977–1978)
Marino Pelajić – bass (1977–1978)
Jura Stublić – vocals (1978)
Boris Leiner (ex Kanibali) – drums, vocals (from 1979)
Mišo Hrnjak – bass (1979–1982)
Jurica Pađen – guitars (1983–1984, from 1987)
Stephen Kipp – bass (from 1986)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums
Azra (Jugoton, 1980)
Sunčana strana ulice (Jugoton, 1981)
Filigranski pločnici (Jugoton, 1982)
Kad fazani lete (Jugoton, 1983)
Krivo srastanje (Jugoton, 1984)
It Ain't Like In The Movies At All (Diskoton, 1986)
Između krajnosti (Jugoton, 1987)

Live albums
 Ravno do dna (Jugoton, 1982)
 Zadovoljština (Jugoton, 1988)

Compilation albums
 Singl ploče 1979-1982  (Jugoton, 1982)
 Kao i jučer – singl ploče 1983-1986  (Jugoton, 1986)
 Nikom nije lepše (Hi-Fi Centar, 1998)
 The Ultimate Collection (Croatia Records, 2007)

Singles
 "Balkan" (The Balkans) / "A šta da radim" (And What Should I Do?) – (suzy 1979)
 "Lijepe žene prolaze kroz grad" (Pretty Women Passing Through Town), "Poziv na ples" (An Invitation to Dance) / "Suzy F". – (Jugoton, 1980)
 "Đoni, budi dobar" (Johnny Be Good) / "Teško vrijeme" (Hard Time) – (Jugoton 1982)
 "E, pa što" (So What) / "Sloboda" (Freedom) / "Gluperde lutaju daleko" (Jerks Wander Far) – (Jugoton 1982)
 "Nemir i strast" (Restlessness and Passion) / "Doviđenja na Vlaškom drumu" (Farewell on the Valachian Road) – (Jugoton 1983)
 Klinček stoji pod oblokom (A Carnation Grows Under the Window ) / Flash (Jugoton 1983.) from the album "Krivo srastanje"
 Mon ami / Duboko u tebi (My Love/Deep Inside You) (Jugoton 1984.) from the album "Krivo srastanje"
 "The Balkans" / "Pretty Women Passing Through Town" / "Vondel Park"  (Marginal Face Production 1985)

Videography
 Zadovoljština (Zagreb, live concert, 1988)
 Klincek stoji pod oblokom (Video compilation, 1990)
 Das Ist Johnny (Sarajevo, live film, 1991)

References

External links
  – Azra YouTube Channel

Croatian rock music groups
Croatian new wave musical groups
Yugoslav rock music groups
Musical groups established in 1977
Musical groups disestablished in 1990
Musicians from Zagreb

Azra


The frog-mouth helm (or  meaning "jousting helmet" in German) was a type of great helm, appearing from around 1400 and lasting into the first quarter of the 16th century. The helmet was primarily used by mounted knights for tournaments (jousting) rather than on the battlefield due to the restrictive field of vision.

The frog-mouth analogy was drawn from the way the ocularium (the slit through which the wearer of the helm could see) resembles the open mouth of a frog. During jousting tournaments, the helmet offered a better degree of protection from lances that would splinter after impact with the rival's body armour. Early examples of the stechhelm were made from a single piece of metal, while later dated helmets had hinged constructions that could be disassembled.

History

Appearing in the 15th and 16th century in Germany, the helmet became popular for jousting due to the improved protection of the eyes it offered. Early one-piece examples were later improved with hinged varieties. By the late 15th century, it had become customary for this type of helmet to be mounted with screws or rivets onto the wearer's cuirass, though this only allowed the wearer to look forward, rendering helmets worn that way only suitable for jousting charges.

Later versions had hinges and could be opened in the front for ventilation, while also "folding" around the wearer's head to put on and "unfolding" to be removed. The helm had vents allowing the wearer to breathe more easily whilst using it, as well as allowing otherwise muted noise to reach its ears, thus improving listening of the environment and awareness in general. Underneath the helm, the wearer traditionally had a leather cowl to protect from concussive impacts. The cowl was attached with leather straps and cords fastened to the helmet, so that a certain degree of head movement was guaranteed. A popular jousting technique was, at the last second, to pull the head up. This completely obscured the vision for the wearer, but it protected the eyes from the splinters of the lance as it broke on his armour or shield, with the most probable scenario being the lance shattering anywhere below the neck.

References

Medieval helmets
Western plate armour

Frog-mouth helm


Yinxu (modern ; ) is the site of one of the ancient and major historical capitals of China. It is the source of the archeological discovery of oracle bones and oracle bone script, which resulted in the identification of the earliest known Chinese writing. The archeological remnants (or ruins) known as Yinxu represent the ancient city of Yin, the last capital of China's Shang dynasty which existed through eight generations for 255 years, and through the reign of 12 kings. Yinxu was discovered, or rediscovered, in 1899. It is now one of China's oldest and largest archeological sites, and was selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. Yinxu is located in northernmost Henan province near the modern city of Anyang, and near the Hebei and Shanxi province borders. Public access to the site is permitted.

Traditional history
According to the 2nd century Shuowen Jiezi dictionary (說文解字), the Chinese character "" (yīn) originally referred to "vibrant music-making". Although frequently used throughout written history to refer to both the Shang dynasty and its final capital, the name Yīn () appears to have not been used in this way until the succeeding Zhou dynasty. In particular, the name does not appear in the oracle bones, which refer to the state as Shāng (), and its final capital as Dàyì Shāng (大邑商 "Great Settlement Shang").

Among surviving ancient Chinese historical documents, Yin is described as the final capital of the Shang dynasty. There is some disagreement, though, as to when the move to Yin took place. Both the Book of Documents, (specifically, the "Pan Geng" chapter, which is believed to date from the late Spring and Autumn period), and the Bamboo Annals state that Shang king Pan Geng moved the Shang capital to Yin. The Bamboo Annals state, more specifically, that during his reign Pan Geng moved the capital from Yān (奄; present-day Qufu, in present-day Shandong Province), to a site called Běimĕng (), where it was then renamed to Yīn (). (Conversely, according to the Records of the Grand Historian of Sima Qian, Pan Geng moved the Shang capital from a location north of the Yellow River to Bo , the capital of Shang dynasty founder Tang, on the south side of the river—a location inconsistent with the location of Yin.)

Regardless, Yin was clearly established as the Shang capital by the time of Shang king Wu Ding. Wu Ding launched numerous military campaigns from this base against surrounding tribes, thus securing Shang rule and raising the dynasty to its historical zenith.

According to the traditional accounts, later rulers became pleasure-seekers who took no interest in state affairs. King Zhòu, the last of the Shang dynasty kings, is particularly remembered for his ruthlessness and debauchery. His increasingly autocratic laws alienated the nobility until King Wu of the Zhou dynasty was able to gain the support to rise up and overthrow the Shang.

The Zhou dynasty established their capital at Fenghao near modern-day Xi'an, and Yīn was abandoned to fall into ruin. These ruins were mentioned by Sima Qian in his Records of the Grand Historian, more precisely in the Battle of Julu, and described in some detail by Li Daoyuan in his Commentary to the River Classic, published during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (420-589 CE). Thereafter, the once-great city of Yīn was relegated to legend along with its founding dynasty until its rediscovery in the final years of the Qing dynasty.

Archaeological discoveries

Yinxu is well known for its oracle bones, which were first recognized as containing ancient Chinese writing in 1899 by Wang Yirong, director of the Imperial Academy. One account of Wang's discovery was that he was suffering from malaria at the time and was prescribed Longgu (龍骨) (dragon bones) at a traditional Chinese pharmacy. He noticed strange carvings on these bones and concluded that these could be samples of an ancient form of Chinese writing.

News of the discovery of the oracle bones created a market for them among antiques collectors, and led to multiple waves of illegal digs over several decades, with tens of thousands of pieces taken. The source of the "dragon bones" was eventually traced to the small village of Xiaotun, just outside Anyang. In 1910, noted scholar Luo Zhenyu affirmed that the area was the site of the last Shang dynasty capital. Canadian missionary and oracle bone analyst James Menzies also independently identified Anyang as the capital in 1910. In 1917, Wang Guowei deciphered the oracle bone inscriptions of the names of the Shang kings and constructed a complete Shang genealogy. This closely matched that in the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian, confirming the historical authenticity of the legendary Shang dynasty and the archaeological importance of Yinxu.
However, the oracle bone inscriptions record the name of the state as Dàyìshāng () or Shāngyì ().

The first official archeological excavations at Yinxu were led by the archeologist Li Ji of the Institute of History and Philosophy from 1928-37. They uncovered the remains of a royal palace, several royal tombs, and more than 100,000 oracle bones that show the Shang had a well-structured script with a complete system of written signs.

Since 1950 ongoing excavations by the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences have uncovered evidence of stratification at the Hougang site, remains of palaces and temples, royal cemeteries, oracle bone inscriptions, bronze and bone workshops and the discovery of the Huanbei site on the north bank of the Huan River. One of the largest and oldest sites of Chinese archaeology, excavations here have laid the foundation for work across the country.

Four periods are recognized at the site.
They correlate approximately with oracle bone periods assigned by Dong Zuobin, royal reigns and dates assigned by the Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project as follows:

Excavation sites
At 30 km² this is the largest archaeological site in China and excavations have uncovered over 80 rammed-earth foundation sites including palaces, shrines, tombs and workshops. From these remains archaeologists have been able to confirm that this was the spiritual and cultural center of the Shang dynasty.

The best preserved of the Shang dynasty royal tombs unearthed at Yinxu is the Tomb of Fu Hao. The extraordinary Lady Hao was a military leader and the wife of Shang King Wu Ding. The tomb was discovered in 1976 by Zheng Zhenxiang and has been dated to 1250 BCE. It was completely undisturbed, having escaped the looting that had damaged the other tombs on the site, and in addition to the remains of the Queen the tomb was discovered to contain 6 dog skeletons, 16 human slave skeletons, and numerous grave goods of huge archaeological value. The tomb was thoroughly excavated and extensively restored and is now open to the public.

Also located on site is the Exhibition Hall of Chariot Pits where the earliest samples of animal-driven carts discovered by Chinese archaeology are on display. These artifacts were excavated by the Anyang Working Station of the Archaeological Institute of the Chinese Social Science Academy and the Historical Relics Working Team of Anyang Municipality in the northern and southern lands of Liujiazhuang village and the eastern land of Xiaomintun village and put on display within the hall. The six pits each contain the remains of a carriage and two horses. Five of the pits were also found to contain the remains of a human sacrifice (four adult males and one child). Also on display are the remains of an 8.35 meter wide Shang dynasty road discovered at Anyang Aero Sports School in 2000.

Historical value

The Yinxu, as the capital site of the Shang Dynasty discovered in China with exact written records, are of great value to the study of the history of the Shang Dynasty. Before the excavation of Yinxu, the history of Chinese written records began in the first year of the Western Zhou Dynasty, but with the discovery of oracle bone inscriptions at Yinxu and the excavation of Yinxu, the existence of the Shang Dynasty in China was confirmed, and the framework of early ancient Chinese history was reconstructed, making it possible to assess the credibility of traditional documents used to record the history of the Shang Dynasty.

Among the 150,000 oracle bones unearthed at the Yinxu, the earliest evidence of the current Chinese writing system was found. Yinxu cultural relics represented by bronze ware and jade ware and Yinxu funeral customs represented by human sacrifice, human sacrifice, chariot and horse sacrifice, animal sacrifice, etc., provide unique evidence for the cultural tradition of the late Shang Dynasty.

As the ruins of the late Shang capital city, Yinxu have discovered a large number of handicraft workshops and a large number of handicrafts. The patterns on all kinds of utensils show the high artistic level of the Shang Dynasty, especially the patterns on the bronze ware, from the animal face pattern to the whorl pattern to the Taotie(饕餮) pattern, all show an artistic style at that time, it provides important materials for us to understand the artistic development and aesthetic status of the Shang Dynasty. The large-scale bronze wares excavated at the site, such as the Simuwu Ding, etc., cast by section-mold process in an elaborate manner, have great significance in Chinese history of metallurgy.

The oracle bone inscriptions and bronze wares unearthed in Yinxu prove that Anyang was a Bronze Age society. This society has both writing and metallurgy, which are the two most obvious indicators of a civilization.

In terms of urban layout and architecture, the ring-shaped and open urban layout of Yin Ruins has a great impact on the later capital buildings; it also uses rivers for flood control, and uses beams to support bricks and woods in architecture. Architecture and the formation of traditional Chinese architecture bring a lot of inspiration.

Genetic studies
A study of mitochondrial DNA (inherited in the maternal line) from Yinxu graves showed similarity with modern northern Han Chinese, but significant differences from southern Han Chinese.

See also
 Historical capitals of China
 Huanbei

References
Citations

Works cited

External links
 UNESCO World Heritage Center - Yinxu Listing

Ancient Chinese capitals
Archaeological museums in China
Chinese architectural history
Cities in Henan
Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Henan
Museums in Henan
National archaeological parks of China
Ruins in China
Shang dynasty
World Heritage Sites in China
Yinxu

Yinxu


Herbert W. Marsh is an educational psychologist who has published influential research on self-concept, motivation and university students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness. The website of Oxford University, where he is currently a faculty member, notes the following.
Professor Marsh was recognised as the most productive educational psychologist in the world, one of the top 10 international researchers in Higher Education and in Social Psychology, and the 11th most productive researcher in the world across all disciplines of psychology. He is a highly cited researcher on ISI's list of the "world's most cited and influential scientific authors over a sustained period according to a common standard that covers all countries and all scientific disciplines," one of only 8 social science researchers from the UK to achieve this recognition.

Marsh completed undergraduate and master's degrees at Indiana University before earning a PhD in at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1974. He was Head of Evaluation Research Services at the University of Southern California before moving to Australia in 1980 to take a faculty position at Sydney University. He joined the University of Western Sydney where he established the Self-concept Enhancement and Learning Facilitation (SELF) Research Centre. In 2006, Marsh became a Professor at the University of Oxford. In 2014, Marsh joined the Australian Catholic University in the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education.

See also
Big-fish-little-pond effect

External links

 Professor Herb Marsh (Australian Catholic University Staff Page)
 Emeritus Professor Herbert Marsh (Oxford University Staff Page)

Educational psychologists
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Academic staff of Western Sydney University
Indiana University alumni
University of Southern California people
University of California, Los Angeles alumni

Herbert W. Marsh


Anton Menger von Wolfensgrün (12 September 1841, Maniów, Galicia – 6 February 1906, Rome), was an Austrian juridical expert and social theorist who aside from his collegiate works predominantly dedicated himself to propagating socialist literature on juridical grounds. He is the author of "The Right to the Whole Produce of Labor", "The Civil Law and the Poor" among others. He was the brother of Austrian economist Carl Menger.

Life and works

Menger was a university professor for the law of civil process in Vienna from 1874 until 1899, where he was also the Vice Chancellor from 1895 to 1896. Carl Menger was his brother.

Menger's theses and arguments stem from a changed social structure, that was shaped by the economic crisis (1873) and social questions that sought answers from liberal politics ("invisible hand" Adam Smith) in the pursuit of social justice. His juridical interests are assumed to be different than Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in dealing with all theoretical legal issues.

In Menger's juridical theory, he dismissed the basis of positive law from natural law. Rather, he argued that the backbone of law was merely a gauge of societal power relations.

His name is also famous in connection with the collection of original socialist literature in Vienna. Menger collected everything that he could procure and began a book tour through Paris, London and Berlin, where his special socialist collection was unique in the world for the time. Mengers private library was acquired by the Sozialwissenschaftlichen Studienbibliothek der Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien in the 1920s.

Friedrich Engels and Karl Kautsky tried to grapple with Menger's (1886) attacks on Marx's Das Kapital as well as his fundamental project to ground socialism in legal theory in "Juridical Socialism" ("Die Neue Zeit", 2, Jg. 1887; abgedr. MEW 21, 491 ff.): "The evidence shows that Marx was a plagiarist, and this is proof that the concept of surplus value was already brought about in another sense before Marx!"

The Mengergasse in Floridsdorf (21. Bezirk) was named after him in 1919.

Publications

 Die Zulässigkeit neuen thatsächlichen Vorbringens in den höheren Instanzen. Eine civilprocessualische Abhandlung. 1873.
 Das Recht auf den vollen Arbeitsertrag in geschichtlicher Darstellung. Cotta, Stuttgart 1886.
 Gutachten über die Vorschläge zur Errichtung einer eidgenössischen Hochschule für Rechts- und Staatswissenschaft. Zürich, J. J. Schabelitz. 1889
 Das Bürgerliche Recht und die besitzlosen Volksklassen. Eine Kritik des Entwurfs eines Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuches für das Deutsche Reich. 1890.
 Die sozialen Aufgaben der Rechtswissenschaft. ( Antrittsrede bei Übernahme des Rektorates der Universität Wien ). 1896 ( 2. Auflage Wien, Braumüller 1905 )
 Neue Staatslehre. 1903.
 Neue Sittenlehre. Jena, G. Fischer, 1905.

 Literature

 Gerhard Oberkofler: Anton Menger (1841-1906)''. In: Bewahren Verbreiten Aufklären. Hrsg. Günter Benser und Michael Schneider. Bonn-Bad Godesberg 2009 , S. 196-201 online (pdf)

External links

1841 births
1906 deaths
People from Sanok County
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Austrian untitled nobility
Austrian jurists

Anton Menger


Cape Arkona () is a cape on the island o Rügen in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Cape Arkona is the tip o the Wittow peninsula, juist a few kilometres north o the Jasmund National Park.

The temple fortress o Arkona, the day cried Jaromarsburg, wis the releegious centre o the Slavic Rani in the Early Middle Ages. The temple wis dedicatit tae the deity Svantevit, who wis depictit wi fower heids. The temple hoosed an important horse oracle in Slavic times, whaur the behaviour o a white stallion coud decide peace or war (horse oracles hae a lang history in this region, being awready attestit in the writins o Tacitus).

The day, anerlie aboot a quarter o the auld fortress is left, as the chalk-promontory it wis built on is slowly erodit bi the Baltic. Rescue excavations are in progress.

The fortress at Arkona wis destroyed in 1168 bi Dens invaders (see Absalon). The sanctuary o Slavic god Svantevit wis an aa destroyed. This event precedit the forced Christianisation o the region's inhabitants.

There are twa auld lichthooses at the cape, ane constructed in 1827, the ither ane in 1902. The umwhile is ane o the auldest still existin lichthooses o the Baltic Sea. It wis constructit bi the famous architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel.

In 1927, the cape's name wis gien tae a German liner, the SS Cap Arcona.

Prior tae the German reunification, Arkona wis aften conseedert the maist northren point in the German Democratic Republic. Housomeivver, the site Gellort is locatit aboot ane kilometre northwast.

See an aw
Pomeranie durin the Early Middle Ages
Pomeranie durin the Late Middle Ages
Conversion o Pomeranie
Rani (Slavic tribe)
Principality o Rügen

Viking Age populatit places
Arkona
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Cape Arkona


Charles Gordon Howell III (born June 20, 1979) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on LIV Golf and formerly on the PGA Tour. He has been featured in the top 15 of the Official World Golf Ranking and ranked 9th on the PGA Tour money list in 2002. Known as one of the most consistent players on tour, he has garnered over 90 top-ten finishes in his career, earning about $42 million and has three PGA Tour victories, his most recent in 2018.

Early years and amateur career
Howell was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia, the home town of the Masters Tournament. He was introduced to golf at age 7 by next-door neighbor, Graham Hill, with whom he is still friends. He was a member of Augusta Country Club, which is adjacent to Amen Corner at Augusta National Golf Club. Howell graduated from Westminster Schools of Augusta, and soon after attended Oklahoma State University, where he majored in Business Management. In 2000, he was a member of Oklahoma State's winning team and also the individual winner at the NCAA Division I Golf Championship with a record-setting 23-under-par performance. Also in 2000, he won the Haskins Award honoring the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the United States.

Howell played in three professional events as an amateur. At the age of 17, Howell participated in his first PGA Tour event. He entered the Buick Challenge but missed the cut. The next year he missed the cut at the Canon Greater Hartford Open.

Professional career

2000
Howell turned professional in 2000. He played in his first tournament as a professional at the Canon Greater Hartford Open on July 2. He finished tied in 32nd place. Howell finished in 3rd at the John Deere Classic in only his third event. Howell played in 13 events in 2000 and made 7 cuts. He earned $263,533 but did not have an official money list rank because he was not a full PGA Tour member. He had his first career runner-up finishes on the Buy.com Tour at the Greensboro Open.

2001
Howell placed in the top-10 in two of his first four events of the 2001 season. In July at the Greater Milwaukee Open he lost to Shigeki Maruyama in a playoff. Howell also placed in 4th at the Reno-Tahoe Open and he finished in a tie for 3rd at the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill. Howell entered 24 events in 2001 and he made 20 cuts. Howell earned $1,520,632 and recorded five top-10 finishes. Just like in 2000, Howell did not have an official money list rank because he was not a full PGA Tour member. Due to his successful year, Howell won the PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award.

Also, in February Howell played in two European Tour events in Australia. He finished in a tie for 67th at the Heineken Classic and in a tie for 39th at the Greg Norman Holden International.

2002
Howell became a full PGA Tour member for the 2002 season. He had a strong start to the season by placing in the top-10 in three of his first five events. Howell won his first PGA Tour tournament at the Michelob Championship at Kingsmill in October. Four weeks later he finished in second at The Tour Championship. He finished 2 strokes behind champion Vijay Singh. Howell entered 32 events in 2002 and made 27 cuts. He recorded seven top-10 finishes. Howell earned $2,702,747 and finished 9th on the money list.

2003
Early in the 2003 season, Howell lost in a playoff to Mike Weir at the Nissan Open. Howell recorded his best finish in a major at the PGA Championship in August. He finished tied for 10th place. Howell finished as the runner-up at The Tour Championship for the second year in a row. This time he finished 3 strokes behind Chad Campbell. Two weeks later Howell represented the United States in the Presidents Cup. The competition ended in a draw. Howell was paired with Tiger Woods for the foursomes and four-ball matches. His overall record at the competition was 3-2 including a match play victory over fellow young golfer Adam Scott. Howell defeated Scott by the score of 5&4. Howell entered 31 tournaments and made 29 cuts. He recorded six top-10s and earned $2,568,955. Howell finished in 14th on the money list.

2004
Howell's 2004 season did not go as well as previous ones. His best finished was a solo 2nd at the Booz Allen Classic in June. He finished 4 strokes behind Adam Scott. Howell shot a 61 (-10) in the 1st round which still stands as his lowest round in a PGA Tour tournament. Howell entered 30 tournaments and made 22 cuts. He recorded five top-10 finishes. He earned $1,703,485 and finished 33rd on the money list.

2005
Howell started off 2005 strong with top three finishes in consecutive weeks. He finished in a tie for 3rd at the Sony Open in Hawaii and in a tie for second at the Buick Invitational. Howell was not able to pick up a victory in 2005 but he recorded six top-10 finishes including five top 5 finishes. Howell entered 29 tournaments and made 21 cuts. He earned $2,074,329 and finished 29th on the money list.

2006
Howell did not have a very successful season in 2006. His only success was a tie for second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and a solo second at the 84 Lumber Classic. Howell entered 30 tournaments and made 20 cuts. He recorded three top-10 finishes and only five top 25 finishes. He earned $1,553,105 and finished in 52nd on the money list.

2007
Howell bounced back from his disappointing 2006 season with a successful 2007 season. He recorded two runner-up finishes in his first three tournaments. He finished in a tie for 2nd at the Sony Open in Hawaii and in solo second at the Buick Invitational. On February 18, 2007 Howell won his second PGA Tour event. He won the Nissan Open by defeating Phil Mickelson in a playoff. The next week Howell made it to the round of 16 at the 2007 WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Two weeks later he finished in a tie for 6th at the PODS Championship. Howell did not enjoy much success after that. His best finish after the PODS Championship in March was at the WGC-CA Championship where he finished in a tie for 16th place. Howell entered the 2007 FedEx Cup Playoffs in 8th place in the points standings. He played in all 4 playoff tournaments. His best finish came at the BMW Championship where he finished in a tie for 18th place. Howell went on to finish in 18th place in the final FedEx Cup points standings. Howell has earned $2,832,091 in 2007 and is currently in 18th place on the money list. He has entered 26 tournaments, making 19 cuts. He has recorded five top-10 finishes. Howell also participated in the Presidents Cup in September. The United States won the competition and Howell was 2–2 in his matches. He won his singles match against Stuart Appleby by the score of 2&1.

2008
Howell recorded his worst finish on the money list in his career in 2008, finishing in 69th with $1,449,232. He finished tied for 8th in the first tournament of the year at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. His next top-10 finish came at the AT&T Classic in May where he finished tied for 8th. He led the tournament going into the final round but shot a 74 (+2) to lose the lead. Howell shared the lead going into the final round of the Turning Stone Resort Championship in October but ended up finishing tied for 3rd after shooting a 73 (+1). Howell made 22 of 31 cuts on the year while recording four top-10s, 12 top 25s and finishing 95th in the FedEx Cup standings.

2009
Howell started the 2009 season strong in January with a 4th-place finish in the Sony Open in Hawaii; three behind winner Zach Johnson. In March, Howell finished with a respectable T21 at the Puerto Rico Open. The next week, Howell had his best finish of the season by finishing T2 in the Transitions Championship. Howell was in position to win the tournament after the 14th hole, but subsequently bogeyed two of the last four holes to finish one stroke behind winner Retief Goosen. The week after the Transitions Championship, Howell finished T22 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. At the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Howell was again in position to win the tournament before bogeying two of the last four holes to finish two behind winner Jerry Kelly. Howell missed 6 cuts in 8 events from May to July. Howell recently made an instructional switch from David Leadbetter to Todd Anderson of the Sea Island Golf Club.

2010
Howell started the 2010 season strong posting top-10s in three of his first six tournaments, most notably a T-5 at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Howell had six top-10 finishes in 2010, while missing only 5 of 28 cuts. His best finish in 2010 was T-4 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He made $1,482,211.

2011
2011 was another consistent year for Howell. Howell's best finish of the year was a T-3, which happened twice in back to back weeks at the FedEx St. Jude Classic and the AT&T National tournaments. Howell had seven top-10 finishes in 2011 and qualified for the Tour Championship. He made $2,509,223.

2012
Howell only had two top-10 finishes in 2012: T2 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and T7 at the McGladrey Classic.

He changed coaches before the fall series to Gary Gilchrist.

2013
Howell had five top-10 finishes in 2013: T-3 at the Sony Open in Hawaii, playoff loss (T-2) at the Humana Challenge, T-9 at the Farmers Insurance Open, T-10 at the Shell Houston Open and T-10 at the Wells Fargo Championship. He finished 38th on the money list and 35th in the FedEx Cup.

2014
Howell had a good season in 2014 having six top-10 finishes and made 24 cuts. He finished T3 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, T5 at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, T6 at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, T7 at the CIMB Classic, and T8 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

2015
Howell had another good season in 2015 having three top-10 finishes out of 23 cuts. He finished T5 at the Shell Houston Open, T5 at the Farmers Insurance Open, and T10 at the Valspar Championship. He finished T65 at the PGA Championship where he hadn't made the cut since 2011. He finished the end of 2015 being 77th on the money list and 79th on the FedEx Cup rankings.

2016
Howell had five top-10 finishes and earned $1,974,962 in the 2015–16 PGA Tour season. He made 21 cuts in 25 events. His best finish was T4 at the AT&T Byron Nelson. He finished 52nd in the FedEx Cup.

2017
Howell was the runner-up in the Farmers Insurance Open losing by three strokes to Jon Rahm. In July, he was a runner-up again, this time at the Quicken Loans National, losing in a playoff to Kyle Stanley. This took his tally of PGA Tour runner-up finishes to 16, and including one in the 2000 Buy.com Tour season, his career total is now 17. Howell finished 2017 with Tour earnings of $2,606,383, which was his highest in the last decade. The last time he earned at least that much was 2007, when he racked up $2,832,091, and it coincidentally was the year he won his last Tour title. Howell has now won at least $1,000,000 each season since his rookie year of 2001 (17 consecutive seasons), which is the second longest active streak on Tour, trailing only Phil Mickelson whose current streak started in 1996.

2018

Howell played in 28 events on the PGA Tour in the 2017–18 PGA Tour Season and made the cut in 24 of them. His best finish was a T4 in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba. He earned $2,179,725 and finished 53rd in the season-long FedEx Cup.

On November 18, 2018, Howell recorded his first win since 2007, defeating Patrick Rodgers on the second hole of a sudden-death playoff at the RSM Classic, and putting him at the top of the FedEx Cup standings going into the 2019 calendar year. This win gave him an exemption into the 2019 Masters Tournament in his hometown of Augusta, Georgia. He has not played in the Masters since 2012. This tournament was part of the 2018–19 PGA Tour season.

2019
Howell played in 27 events on the PGA Tour in the 2018–19 PGA Tour season and made the cut in 21 of them. His best finish was his win at the RSM Classic. He had 12 top-25 finishes. He earned $3,039,049 and finished 28th in the season-long FedEx Cup.

2020
In 2020, Howell made 14 of 20 cuts and had three top 10 finishes. He made the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the 14th consecutive year. He finished at No. 69 in the 2020 FedEx Cup.

2021
In 2021, Howell made 14 of 21 cuts but finished 139 in the 2021 FedEx Cup. He failed to make the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the first time in its 15 year existence. However, Howell retained his PGA Tour card because of his win in the 2018 RSM Classic.

2022
In 2022, Howell made 11 of 16 cuts on the PGA Tour with a best finish of T4 at the Valero Texas Open. In July 2022, Howell joined LIV Golf.

2023
In February, Howell won the LIV Golf Mayakoba event for his first individual title on the LIV Golf League.

Personal
Howell lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife, Heather (formerly Heather Myers), and their two children. Politically, Howell is a Republican albeit a "fanatically moderate" one.

Amateur wins
2000 NCAA Division I Championship

Professional wins (4)

PGA Tour wins (3)

PGA Tour playoff record (2–4)

LIV Golf League wins (1)

1Co-sanctioned by the MENA Tour

Results in major championships
Results not in chronological order in 2020.

CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" = tied
NT = No tournament due to COVID-19 pandemic

Summary

Most consecutive cuts made – 12 (2001 PGA – 2004 PGA)
Longest streak of top-10s – 1

Results in The Players Championship

CUT = missed the halfway cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
C = Canceled after the first round due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Results in World Golf Championships
Results not in chronological order prior to 2015.

1Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic

QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
NT = no tournament
"T" = tied
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

PGA Tour career summary

* As of the 2022 season
**Howell III was removed from the PGA Tour Career Earnings list once he joined LIV Golf in 2022. As of September 2022, he would be in the top 20 all-time.

U.S. national team appearances
Amateur
Palmer Cup: 1998 (tie)

Professional
Presidents Cup: 2003 (tie), 2007 (winners)

References

External links

American male golfers
Oklahoma State Cowboys golfers
PGA Tour golfers
LIV Golf players
Golfers from Augusta, Georgia
Golfers from Orlando, Florida
American people of Welsh descent
1979 births
Living people

Charles Howell III


St. George's Parish Church in Piran () is a Roman Catholic church located on the hill above Piran, a port town on the coast of the Adriatic Sea in southwestern Slovenia. It was built in the Venetian Renaissance architectural style and has been dedicated to Saint George. It was the life work of the stonemason Bonfante Torre from Venice.

History

Early history

The first church on top of the hill was already built in the 12th century.

Renaissance building
In 1592 a construction of a new church began on the same location, replacing the old one. The construction of the new one was finished in 1614. The new free-standing bell tower, which was a separate building and was a faithful replica of St. Mark's Campanile in Venice, was finished a year later. The interior furnishings and decorations were finished by 1637, when the church was consecrated. The Renaissance front facade of the church was built in 1608, based on the early 16th-century church facades by Andrea Palladio. It features a pediment, four pilasters and a later-added Baroque pedestal, which was intended to host a statue of St. George. As the last and separate building built on the site was a baptistery, completed as an octagonal Baroque structure in 1650. Because of unstable foundations and the whole hill, enhancement walls were built in the 17th century. Additional barriers were made from the 17th to the 19th centuries on north and south sides of the hill to prevent any damage to the building. Several restorations were made afterwards.

Present
A general restoration has been launched in 1990 because of overall bad condition of the structures. Between 2002 and 2005, the main building was closed because of restorations of the frescos and statues inside. The hill was further enhanced and stabilised to prevent the structures to deform or even fall off the cliff.

The church is now a major tourist attraction and one of the most important town landmarks, as it is seen from Tartini Square as well as from many other parts of town. The bell tower is accessible for €2 via stairwell, and the church interior is accessible anytime from 7:00 to 22:00, although the inner hall can be entered only during mass. In front of the church portal is a large lawn which used to be a graveyard, and is now a spot for tourists to see the whole Bay of Trieste, as well as the town and nearby coastal settlements.

Gallery
Exterior

Interior

See also
 List of churches under the patronage of Saint George

References

External links

Piran
Roman Catholic churches in the Slovene Littoral
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1614
17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Slovenia
Cultural monuments of Slovenia
Renaissance architecture in Slovenia

St. George's Parish Church (Piran)


Sivaji: The Boss is a 2007 Indian Tamil-language action drama film directed by S. Shankar and produced by AVM Productions. The film stars Rajinikanth and Shriya Saran in the lead roles, with Vivek, Suman, Sathyan, Manivannan and Raghuvaran playing pivotal roles. In the film, Sivaji is a software systems architect, who returns to India in order to provide free medical treatment and education, but has to face hurdles from the system and Aathisheshan, an influential political leader.

A. R. Rahman composed the soundtrack and background score (in his 100th milestone composition), while Thota Tharani and K. V. Anand were the film's art director and cinematographer respectively. With a budget of , the film was the most expensive Indian film at the time of its release. Rajinikanth also became the highest-paid Indian actor with this film, earning a fees of around . Principal photography of the film commenced in November 2005 and lasted till February 2007. Filming took place in various locations across Hyderabad, Spain, Italy, New York City, Pune and Chennai and also became the first Indian film to use Dolby Atmos surround sound technology.

Released on 15 June 2007, Sivaji: The Boss received positive reviews from critics and became a commercial success by grossing ₹100—160 crore worldwide. It emerged as the highest-grossing Tamil film at the time of its release and went on to win a National Film Award, three Filmfare Awards and two Vijay Awards. The film was converted into 3D and released on 12 December 2012 as Sivaji 3D. The runtime of the 3D version was shorter than the original, cut to 155 minutes.

It marked the final film of K. V. Anand as a cinematographer.

Plot

Sivaji Arumugam is an Indian software engineer, who returns to India after working for 10 years in the United States. He aims to establish a non-profit trust called Sivaji Foundation, which is meant to include a network of quality hospitals and educational institutions that serve the poor free of charge. A highly influential politician and industrialist, Aathiseshan, who runs profit-making educational institutions and hospitals sees Sivaji as a deadly competitor.

In the process of establishing the Sivaji Foundation, Sivaji is forced by Aathiseshan to pay bribes to several government officials and ministers to get basic approvals and sanctions done, and, having run out of money, is eventually forced to mortgage his property and sell his belongings when the bribes demanded become very high. Meanwhile, Sivaji falls in love with Tamizhselvi, a demure and traditional girl who works as a saleswoman at a music instruments shop. Initially, Tamizhselvi and her family are scared of Sivaji's advances, but Sivaji soon manages to win Tamizhselvi's heart and her family's approval. However, when an astrologer checks Sivaji's and Tamizhselvi's horoscopes, he warns that their engagement will result in heavy financial ruin and further, their union will result in Sivaji's death. Tamizhselvi initially refuses the proposal due to her concern for Sivaji, but he calms her fears and convinces her to marry him.

Sivaji is dragged by the State Government under the political influence of Aathiseshan to the court when he starts sabotaging the Sivaji Foundation through his political influence, and at the court, he is forced to admit that he paid numerous bribes. The judge declares the verdict in favour of Aathiseshan and shuts down Sivaji Foundation. Sivaji, reduced to utter poverty, decides to play the game his own way. With the help of his uncle Arivu, Sivaji acquires evidence of 2 billion worth of illegal earnings in Aathiseshan's possession and uses the documents to blackmail Aathiseshan into giving him half the money. Aathiseshan traps Sivaji with 50 goons, but Sivaji thrashes them and leaves with both the money and documents. Using the amount, Sivaji further obtains similar details on people who have illegal earnings across Tamil Nadu and blackmails them to give him half of their illegal wealth, including the officers whom he bribed. He then transfers the money to New York, where he has it transferred to the bank accounts of his friends around the world by hawala forgery. They then deposit the money as donations to the Sivaji Foundation, making the money usable and legitimate. Sivaji informs the Income Tax Investigation and Vigilance Department about the details of the illegal money held by the tax evaders (including Aathiseshan) and gets them arrested on the same day.

Sivaji blackmails the chief minister (who was under Aathiseshan's payroll), and legally reopens the foundation and soon is able to provide free services -  good quality education, infrastructure, and employment to people in every district of Tamil Nadu. Led by Aathiseshan, the blackmailed officials exploit Tamizhselvi's innocence to silence him. Fearing for Sivaji's life, she hands over Sivaji's laptop to the CBI and Income Tax officers hired by Aathiseshan with all the information regarding the illegal money transactions. With presentable evidence, Sivaji is arrested. Aathiseshan and the police order Sivaji to unlock his laptop through the voice-detection program, which only opens on a particular command spoken in Sivaji's voice.

When Sivaji refuses, Aathiseshan tortures him so badly that he is almost killed. To cover this up, Aathiseshan and the police organise for mercenaries to shoot at the police van that carries Sivaji's body, making it look like a murder by a third party. However, Sivaji fakes his death as he was informed of the plans to kill him by a sympathetic police constable prior to the interrogation. Left alone in the room, he electrifies himself and loses consciousness. Sivaji's friend Dr Chezhian, Tamizhselvi and Arivu intercept the police van after being informed by Sivaji through a MMS and replace Sivaji's body with a dummy before the mercenaries open fire. While everyone thinks that Sivaji is dead, Chezhian revives him using a defibrillator.

Following Sivaji's "death", Aathiseshan and the CBI still try to open Sivaji's laptop by trying to fool the voice-detection program; they fail and all the data in the laptop is erased. A few days later, while everyone wonders about the future of the Sivaji Foundation, the revived Sivaji returns to take control of the foundation in the guise of an NRI friend, M.G. Ravichandran. Though Aathiseshan immediately realises that Ravichandran is actually Sivaji, he is unable to prove this to the police due to the proof of Sivaji's "death" and Ravichandran's identity.

Later, Sivaji confronts Aathiseshan and the two fight atop the terrace of Adhiseshan's medical college. During the fight, Aathiseshan inadvertently strikes the campus's terrace roof causing money hidden in it to fly around the campus. The students spot the money and go after it, causing a stampede in which Aathiseshan is trampled to death. Sivaji Foundation soon becomes a frontier for India's economic and industrial rise. The end credits state that Sivaji serves a short jail sentence for money laundering and that India becomes a superpower by 2030.

Cast

Production

Development
In 1996, following the release of his Indian, Shankar approached and pitched three storylines to Rajinikanth to consider for his next venture. This included scripts which would later become Sivaji (2007), Enthiran (2010) and I (2015). Rajinikanth was skeptical and refused all three scripts at the time.

In August 2005, Rajinikanth signed up for his next film which was to be produced by Chennai's oldest operative studio, AVM Productions, which was run by M. S. Guhan and M. Saravanan. This time Shankar was confirmed to be the film's director. After consulting Sivaji Ganesan's family to avoid any issues with the film's name, the project was subsequently announced on 24 August 2005. The film was titled Sivaji, after Rajinikanth's name at birth – Sivaji Rao Gaekwad. A tagline, The Boss, which stands for "Bachelor of Social Service", was suffixed to the title.

In addition to being AVM Productions' 168th film, Sivaji was also Rajinikanth's 154th film, his 100th Tamil film and his ninth film with AVM Productions. According to Rajinikanth's biographer Naman Ramachandran, the film was also made to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of the production company's founder, A. V. Meiyappan. Sivaji was also noted for its change in the traditional yellow coloured Rajinikanth introductory text which made its debut with Annaamalai (1992). Instead the text is displayed in Chrome.

Cast and crew
The first choice for the role of the female lead was Aishwarya Rai. However, in October 2005, Shankar and Rajinikanth announced that actress Shriya Saran would play the female lead role. Saran's voice was dubbed by actress Kanika, who was selected after a successful voice test, thereby collaborating for the second time with Shankar. Actor Vivek was signed up for the role of Sivaji's maternal uncle, Arivu, in November 2005. Actress Sunaina made her acting debut through this film in a special appearance; the scene however was later removed from the final cut. Nayanthara, who had earlier worked with Rajinikanth in Chandramukhi, was signed up to perform alongside Rajinikanth in the song "Baleilakka".

Suman was confirmed in March 2006 to play the role of Adiseshan after Amitabh Bachchan, Mohanlal and Prakash Raj were considered. Sathyaraj, who acted with Rajinikanth in Mr. Bharath (1986), said he declined the role because, "After a film of the calibre of Mr. Bharath with Rajnikanth, I couldn't settle for anything less". Mohanlal said he declined as he could not commit to the project for an entire year without missing out on other projects. For his role, Suman removed his moustache and used dentures to make his smile visible. Shankar instructed one of the costume designers to give the character a spotless white dhoti, shirt, shoes, a Rolex watch and Ray-Ban sunglasses. Prior to this, Suman had acted with Rajinikanth in Thee (1981). Subbu Panchu dubbed for Suman. Debate speakers Solomon Pappaiah and Pattimandram Raja were selected to play supporting roles, with the latter making his cinematic acting debut. Vadivukkarasi and Manivannan were selected to play Sivaji's parents. Raghuvaran appeared in a small role as Dr. Chezhian.

Shankar, who also wrote the film's story and screenplay, was paid a then record salary of 100 million (Indian rupees) for the project. A. R. Rahman, who was selected to compose the film's soundtrack and background score, was also paid 30 million. Sujatha was assigned to write the dialogues for Sivaji. Tha. Prabhu Raja Cholan, who would later direct the film Karuppampatti (2013), worked as an assistant director in this film. Rajinikanth's daughter Soundarya worked as a graphics designer, creating the title for this film; she had earlier worked in the same position on two of her father's films – Baba (2002) and Chandramukhi (2005). K. V. Anand was hired as the cinematographer in August 2005. Manish Malhotra was responsible for designing the film's costumes, while Anthony and Thota Tharani were the editor and art director respectively. Additional make-up for Rajinikanth was done by make-up artist Banu.

Filming
Principal photography commenced on 28 November 2005 with a puja at AVM Productions. The film's launch was a secret event, with only pivotal members of the cast and crew being called for the event's attendance. The first schedule of Sivaji began on 14 December 2005 with the song "Vaaji Vaaji" featuring Rajinikanth and Saran being shot at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. The idea of shooting at Ramoji Film City was suggested to Shankar by Tharani who felt that the place offered a lot of scope for him to utilise his skills and experience as an art director. "Vaaji Vaaji" was picturised with an intention to showcase a Babylonian palace setting when Shankar requested Tharani to show "a palace with lots of colour". Tharani created a four-storey Babylonian palace to accommodate 80 dancers and 100 junior artists for the number. Shooting of the number, which according to K. V. Anand was filmed in Super 35 motion picture film format, was completed in eight days. G. Dhananjayan mentions in his book The Best of Tamil Cinema that 35 million was spent on the song's making.

Tharani described the set designing for the song "Sahana", which was also shot at Ramoji Film City, as "extremely challenging". After listening to the lyrics of the song which speaks of the four traditional calendar seasons, Tharani thought of using a concept titled Living in Seasons, which he used at a symposium held in Japan. For the set's design which depicted the four seasons, Tharani proposed three concepts – a traditional Japanese house, a contemporary house and a futuristic house. Shankar chose the futuristic house concept, which consisted of three domes in the shapes of a square, a circle and a pyramid adjacent to one another. The circular dome had a pathway around it and water falling from a 50 feet high rock, which would seep under the set. Tharani made use of acrylic glass and normal glass with the former being implemented on the floor to make the dance movements more easier to perform. Construction of the set for the number was completed in 30 days.

In addition to these two songs, Tharani contributed to similar creations for the music store where Tamizhselvi works as a saleswoman, the street surrounding the music store, the warehouse behind the music store, the interior portions of Thamizhselvi's house and Adiseshan's office room. The music shop was designed in the Victorian architecture style, while the warehouse was constructed at AVM Productions with the fight sequence being filmed there as well. Filming of another action sequence in an open-air theatre, which was also designed by Tharani, took place for approximately 15–20 days. K. V. Anand used balloon lights brought from a French company Airstar Space Lighting for the sequence. The interior portions of Thamizhselvi's house was designed using clippings of flats constructed by the Tamil Nadu Housing Board.

The "Style" segment was filmed in May 2006 at the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, as well as the City of Arts and Sciences of Valencia and the Kursaal in San Sebastian.
The fair look of Rajinikanth's character in the segment was created using computer-generated imagery, which was performed by V. Srinivas Mohan, the head of the Chennai-based firm Indian Artists. K. V. Anand re-shot every single movement of Rajinikanth with a British woman named Jacky, who was also one of the song's background dancers. All the shots featuring Rajinikanth in the song and those featuring Jacky were scanned in 4K resolution to enhance their clarity after which Jacky's skin colour was digitally implemented onto Rajinikanth's skin. French hair-stylist Sandrin Veriar Seth designed two distinct hair-styles for the entire film and 13 hair-styles for the segment alone. To avoid disruptions that could occur at the shooting spot due to Rajinikanth's fan following in Tamil Nadu, Brinda choreographed "Balleilakka", Rajinikanth's introduction song sequence in Wai, a hill station near Pune with 500 people for eight days. To add more colour to the sequence, a 50-member team of Puli Kali artists from Thrissur were employed by Shankar as background dancers.

In November 2006, sequences featuring Rajinkanth, Saran and Vivek were shot at the Pune Junction railway station. Filming of a key portion involving Rajinikanth and Vivek took place in the Victoria Public Hall building in Chennai. A fight sequence and the song "Athiradi" were filmed at Binny Mills. The sets for the song were made bearing resemblance to the city of Venice. For the climax scenes, which were filmed at the Magarpatta city SEZ towers, Rajinikanth tonsured his head. The scenes where Sivaji gets the money he transferred to his friends by forgery were filmed in New York City. The completion of those scenes in February 2007 marked the end of the principal photography. The climactic fight between Sivaji and Adiseshan was filmed at Vels University. K. V. Anand told Shobha Warrier of Rediff.com that the portions other than the songs and action sequences were completed in 65 days.

Themes and influences
Many critics stated that the theme of Sivaji has been inspired from Shankar's previous films Gentleman (1993) and Mudhalvan (1999). The film deals with the concept of corruption and money laundering and how the film's protagonist employs methods to get rid of those elements. Gopinath Rajendran of The New Indian Express compared the film's title character to Robin Hood for being a hero "who takes from the rich and passes it on to the poor".

Sivaji, who is a software engineer is frustrated with the corruption in India which is shown in the scene where he watches the pitiable condition of poor people stating that: "The rich get richer, the poor get poorer". Sivaji's love for his country is also illustrated in a scene where he is advised by his uncle to go back to abroad but he says "Where else will I go? This is home."

Music

After some re-recording of the background score in Paraguay, A.R. Rahman had been to London for additional re-recording.

A month and a half prior to the film's official soundtrack release, three songs from the soundtrack were leaked into the Internet. The songs, however, were only unofficial with low quality, where the official versions were composed slightly different and sung by different artists.

Release
The television rights of the film were sold to Kalaignar TV for 4 crore. The film's distribution rights, as distributed by AVM Productions to various companies are  for the selling of rights to Kerala,  for Andhra Pradesh and  for the rights to Ayngaran, an international Tamil film distributor. The trailer was released by CNN-IBN on 30 May 2007 lasting for three minutes. The official trailer was released by AVM to Galatta.com, the official online sponsor and Ayngaran International. The film was supposed to be released on the Tamil New Year's day, 14 April 2007, but due to post-production delays, the film was released worldwide on 15 June 2007. On 15 July 2007, AVM Productions, the producers of the film, announced their decision to dub the film into Hindi. That version was released on 8 January 2010.

M. Satyamoorthy, on 9 July 2007, sought to stop the film being screened, claiming that it defamed the Indian National Congress, a political party, as well as its president, Sonia Gandhi, and the then Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. Satyamoorthy cited a scene in which portraits of Gandhi and Singh are visible behind Adiseshan's chair, implying that Adiseshan was a member of the Indian National Congress. Satyamoorthy also claimed  in damages from the film's producer, director and lead actor to be paid to the Tamil Nadu section of the party. Jaya Rajadevan, one of the film's assistant directors, sought an injunction in civil court to stop screening of the film for alleged plagiarism. Rajadevan claimed that he had written the film's story and had discussed it with Shankar's manager in 2005. Although the court sent notices to Shankar, among others, the screening of the film was not stopped.

Special screenings
Rajinikanth used his political affiliations to screen the film for several politicians. He went to Hyderabad to showcase the film for the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Chandrababu Naidu, on 14 June 2007. At the screening, Rajinikanth told the media that he would invite the Chief Minister, Rajasekhara Reddy, for a special viewing as well. Rajinikanth said that he had screened the film to current and former Tamil Nadu Chief Ministers, Dr. Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha, respectively, and that India's Finance Minister, P Chidambaram, was also keen to watch the film. A private screening was also shown to Amitabh Bachchan. Mammootty saw a special preview of the film at Shenoys theatre in Ernakulam. After the screening he says, "It is a very good commercial film. Rajnikant has a halo around him; the man is amazing, simple and straight forward with no starry airs."

3D re-release
A 2012 re-release, also known as Sivaji 3D, was created by re-mastering the original to Dolby Atmos and post-converting to 3D format and cutting half an hour of running time. Sivaji 3D is the first Indian film to be launched with the new Dolby Atmos platform. The trailer of 3D version was launched on 13 August 2012 at Prasad Labs along with Rajinikanth. The 3D version released on 12 December 2012, coinciding with Rajinikanth's birthday. The runtime of 3D version was shorter than original, cut to two hours and thirty-five minutes.

Box office
The theatrical rights of the film were sold for  in Kerala and  in Andhra Pradesh. Worldwide, the film was estimated to have been released in about 750 screens. The film opened to virtually full cinemas. Sivaji was released in 303 screens in Tamil Nadu, 300 screens in Andhra Pradesh; 12 screens in North India and 145 screens across the rest of the world. It was released in 16 screens in Chennai and grossed  within the first four days, at that point a new record for Tamil cinema. The film also debuted well in Kerala and in Bangalore. Despite protests from pro-Kannada groups, the film debuted in 13 screens. In the national capital, New Delhi, the film debuted on 4 screens in PVR Cinemas. Based on what the distributors claim, there was "overwhelming response to the film", with the number of screens increasing to 12 by the second week. The film made a good debut in the nation's other metros as well such as Mumbai and Kolkata, as well as in other non-traditional markets for Tamil films such as Pune and Baroda. The film grossed  4.07 crore in two weeks;  8.5 crore in five weeks, and  10 crore in seven weeks in Chennai.

Sivaji was also successful in international markets. The film had a wide release with over 145 prints and in 200 theatres (Tamil Version alone) in over 20 countries across South East Asia, Europe, North America, GCC and Australia and others, one of the widest release for an Indian film in the international markets. Internationally, Sivaji had good screenings in Malaysia. grossing over US$2 million in Malaysia, Sivaji made a debut with 150 shows in Singapore. In Sri Lanka, the film debuted across 70 screens with all 700 shows virtually sold out. In the Persian Gulf that contains a sizeably large Indian diaspora, the film opened to a good response. The film has collected over $8.5 Million from the overseas markets.

In Canada, the film released in 10 screens in 3 major cities along with special screenings for the Tamil diaspora in the smaller cities. In United Kingdom, the film debuted on the box-office list at No.9 with earnings of about £14,000 per screen and was the first Tamil film to enter UK Top 10. In United States, Sivaji was released in 24 screens with subsequent additions of 19 screens for the Tamil version. The producers of the film claimed that the film was going to be dubbed in Chinese and Japanese by Ayngaran International, the holder of international rights of the film. The response in Cape Town was disappointing, while the box-office collections in Johannesburg and Durban allowed it to become the first Tamil film to feature in the South African box-office top 10. Singapore Airlines bought a 3-month exclusive in-flight screening rights to the film, a first for the airline for any Tamil film.

In the UK, 13 seconds of the film was cut. The original film showed Rajinikanth throwing a firecracker into his mouth, lighting it and then spitting it out at Pattimanram Raja, which was removed to give the film a 12A rating, The Ayngaran UK DVD release was uncut and given an 18 rating by the BBFC. It was also the first Tamil film to be officially released on a 1080p High Definition Blu-ray disc.

The worldwide box office collection of Sivaji was ₹100—160 crore. The overseas distributor Ayngaran International reported collections as follows: US$2,000,000, Canada $500,000, UK$750,000, Europe and Gulf $750,000, Malaysia $2,000,000, Singapore $750,000, Sri Lanka $1,250,000, Australia, New Zealand & Thailand $250,000. Sivaji was released in South Africa in late July 2007 after six weeks of its release by the leading South African distributor Ster Kinekor with four prints and released in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.

Reception

Critical response
Malathi Rangarajan of The Hindu, in a review about the story, said that the lead character carrying out a rebellion against corruption was something "not be true to life". She concluded by saying that "the story sags towards the end". She, however, appreciated the performances of the prominent actors, the soundtrack, art direction, photography and the animation. Ananth Krishnan, another review from The Hindu, a month after the film's release, said that the film "... presents an effective diagnosis of entrenched corruption but the rather disturbing remedy it offers is, good old vigilantism." It concluded by saying that, though the film did well at the box-office, the message of rejecting the corrupt system instead of reforming it was troubling. T. S. V. Hari of Hindustan Times said that the director, Shankar, was not creative enough for the film and added this by saying "Sivaji turns out to be a rehash of all his previous jingoistic claptrap efforts". It appreciated the other technical departments and suggested a good response at the box office. The Times of India had a similar review about the story saying that "it had nothing new to offer" but promised it to be entertaining and gave it four stars.

R G Vijayasarathy of Rediff.com summed the film by saying, "No logic, only Rajni's magic". About the story, he said, "Unfortunately, (the) message is lost in the maze of illogical and sometimes absurd sequences". The review, however, praised the performances of Rajinikanth, Shriya and Vivek and the technical crew. Sify wrote: "There is only one hero here, [..] – Rajni himself. Such is the overpowering screen presence of his cinematic charisma in every frame of the film. The film works big time as Shankar has made the film on a grand scale, [..] which is a visual treat with superbly choreographed action scenes. All this comes with top-of-the-line techno-finesse, perhaps the best ever in Tamil cinema" and also wrote that "Technically, [..] a revelation [..] there are stunning visuals, which is paisa vasool. K.V.Anand's cinematography is top class. Art director Thotta Tharani work is enticing, especially the sets in songs". Ananda Vikatan rated the film 41 out of 100.

Accolades
2007 National Film Awards
 Won – Silver Lotus Award for Best Special Effects – M.S. Indian Artists, Chennai

2008 Filmfare Awards South
 Won – Filmfare Award for Best Music Director – A.R. Rahman
 Won – Filmfare Award for Best Cinematographer – K. V. Anand
 Won – Filmfare Best Art Director Award – Thotta Tharani
 Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Rajinikanth
 Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Film – Sivaji
 Nominated – Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer Female – Chinmayi

2007 Vijay Awards
 Won – Vijay Award for Favourite Hero – Rajinikanth
 Nominated – Vijay Award for Favourite Heroine – Shriya Saran
 Won – Vijay Award for Best Music Director – A.R. Rahman
 Nominated – Best Playback Singer Female – Chinmayi
 Nominated – Best Playback Singer Male – Udit Narayan

2007 Tamil Nadu State Film Awards
 Won- Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Film – First Prize

Legacy
Sunil, M. S. Bhaskar, and Komal spoofed the character M. G. Ravichandran in  Kantri (2008), Maasilamani (2009), and Thipparalli Tharlegalu (2010), respectively.

Notes

References

Sources

External links

2007 action films
2000s Tamil-language films
2007 films
Films scored by A. R. Rahman
Films about corruption in India
Films directed by S. Shankar
Films set in Chennai
Films shot in Andhra Pradesh
Films shot in Maharashtra
Films shot in New York City
Films shot in Spain
AVM Productions films
Indian 3D films
Indian vigilante films
2000s masala films
Films set in New York City
Films shot in Chennai
Indian political films
Indian action films
Films involved in plagiarism controversies
Films that won the Best Special Effects National Film Award
2000s political films
Film controversies in India
Works subject to a lawsuit
Indian intellectual property law

Sivaji: The Boss