Lucid Group, Inc. is an American manufacturer of electric luxury sports cars and grand tourers headquartered in Newark, California. Lucid vehicles are designed in California and manufactured at Lucid's factory in Arizona. The company was founded in 2007.

The first Lucid vehicle, the Lucid Air, is offered in several trim levels, including the Lucid Air Pure. Other Lucid Air trim levels include the Lucid Air Touring and Grand Touring models, the latter available in Performance equipment level as well. The company's second model, the Lucid Gravity SUV EV is scheduled to launch in 2024.

Since April 2019, Lucid has been majority-owned by Public Investment Fund, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia.

History

Lucid was founded in 2007 under the name Atieva by former Tesla Motors Vice President Bernard Tse, co-founder of Astoria Networks Sam Weng, and inventor Sheaupyng Lin. The company was originally focused on building electric vehicle batteries and powertrains for other vehicle manufacturers.

Lucid's CEO and CTO, Peter Rawlinson, formerly served as vice president of engineering and chief engineer of the Model S at Tesla, Inc., and Vice President Derek Jenkins previously worked as head of design at Mazda North American Operations. The company has received investments from Tsing Capital, Mitsui, Venrock, JAFCO, and others.

Atieva was rebranded as Lucid Motors in October 2016 and officially announced its intent to develop an all-electric, high-performance luxury vehicle.

On November 29, 2016, state and company officials announced the planned construction of Lucid's US$700 million manufacturing plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, which was projected to employ up to 2,000 workers by the mid-2020s, initially building 20,000 cars and expanding to 130,000 cars per year. The factory was then to be redesigned to support a maximum capacity of 380,000 cars per year. , the company had planned to break ground in 2017, and have cars in production by early 2019. The first vehicles rolled off the assembly line on September 28, 2021.

On September 17, 2018, Lucid Motors announced talks with the Public Investment Fund, which is the Saudi Arabian sovereign investment fund, for funding valued at over US$1 billion. The investment was completed in April 2019. The investment will fund: the final engineering and testing of the Lucid Air model; the first-phase construction of its manufacturing plant in Casa Grande, Arizona; the commercial production of the Lucid Air; and Lucid's worldwide retail strategy, beginning in North America. Construction of the plant began in late 2019, and the first phase was completed in December 2020. The second phase construction is ongoing and will increase production capacity from 34,000 to 90,000 vehicles a year. The completed factory (four phases) will have a combined manufacturing capacity of about 400,000 cars per year.

In February 2021, Lucid Motors announced a deal valued at US$11.75 billion to merge with Churchill Capital Corp IV, a publicly traded special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Rawlinson announced Lucid's intention to produce its Project Gravity SUV by 2023, then offer a competitor to Tesla's Model 3 by 2024 or 2025.

In July 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that the Public Investment Fund will own over 60 percent of Lucid when the company goes public. The fund will record a profit of nearly US$20 billion from its 2018 investment.

Lucid began building its first all-electric Lucid Air sedans in Arizona in September 2021, with deliveries beginning in late October. Lucid produced 7,180 vehicles in 2022 after lowering its 2022 production outlook from 20,000 vehicles to 12,000–14,000 vehicles on February 28, 2022, citing supply chain issues, and again to 6,000–7,000 vehicles when it released its Q2 financial results on August 3, 2022

In June 2023, Aston Martin signed an agreement with Lucid to help supply electric motors, powertrains, and battery systems for Aston Martin's upcoming range of fully electric cars. In return, Aston Martin will make cash payments and issue a 3.7percent stake in its company to Lucid, worth $232million in total.

Vehicles

Lucid mainly developed battery technology in its early years, but began development of its first car in 2014.

Development prototype
The company initially used a Mercedes Metris van named "Edna", to develop the powertrain.

Lucid Air

A prototype of the Lucid Air fully electric car was unveiled in December 2016. Lucid Air production was expected to start in spring 2021. In November 2020, The Lucid Air Pure was announced with  of projected range and  and a starting price of US$77,400. The full range of models includes Lucid Air Touring, Grand Touring, and Dream Edition versions. The top spec cars have an output of over .

On September 16, 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rated the range of the Lucid Air to be  on a single charge.

Lucid has agreed with Mobileye to use their EyeQ4 chips and eight cameras for driver assist features, and will make the car "autonomous ready". The 4-door sedan is able to reach a software-limited top speed of . In July 2017, while running on the high-speed track at the Transportation Research Center in Ohio, a special version of the car (with the speed limiter disabled via software and other modifications) hit .

Lucid is collaborating with Amazon to include Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, allowing drivers to use the voice assistant for navigation, phone calls, media streaming, smart home control, and other activities while driving.

The infotainment system is based on Android Automotive.

A Lucid Air is used by the character of Samantha Margolis in several episodes of season four of the Amazon Studios TV series Goliath.

In September 2021, Lucid released the EPA estimated range for both the Dream Edition Air and Air Grand Touring; the Dream Air had a range of 520 miles on a single charge while the Grand Touring offered 516 miles, making the Dream the longest range of any EV rated by the EPA and the Grand Touring the first to top 400 miles in a test drive.

Lucid Motors unveiled its 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring model in November 2021. This version of the Air Grand Touring is powered by two electric motors that have a combined  and  of torque.

On May 5, 2022, Lucid announced that it was raising prices of the variants of its luxury Air sedan, beginning June 1, 2022. The price hikes were expected to push the base price of the Air sedan up as much as 13%.

Lucid Air was named Motor Trend's 2022 Car of the Year, being the first time a brand new car model won the award.

In April 2023, the company began delivering a blacked-out or dark-trimmed 'Stealth' Air to customers, following its introduction in August. Also in April 2023, Lucid Air won the 2023 World Luxury Car of the Year award.

Project Gravity

Lucid teased an electric SUV concept in September 2020 called Project Gravity with only a brief image and short video segment. Additional details were found in the patents that Lucid filed for the Gravity. The patents show that the Gravity features sleek headlamps similar to those of the Lucid Air as well as a visibly short hood and a large windscreen. In addition, the patents show that the side of the vehicle has a horizontal beltline as well as a sleek, wide windows, and quarter glass panels.

Batteries
The Lucid Air will debut with a 900V+ electrical architecture, and custom lithium-ion battery cells. Lucid's car uses the 2170 standard for its lithium-ion battery cells, and supply agreements have been signed with both Samsung SDI and LG Chem.

Lucid designs, develops, manufactures, and supplies battery packs for gen2 Formula E race teams beginning in the 2018-2019 season through the 2021-2022 racing season, in collaboration with McLaren Applied Technologies and Sony. The Formula E specification calls for a battery weight of , 54 kWh energy, and peak power of up to 250 kW.

Charging
Lucid Motors partnered with Electrify America to use their nationwide charging network as an option for recharging Lucid's electric vehicles on the road. The Lucid Air will be able to add  in 20 minutes when using the station's 350 kW charging capability.

Manufacturing facilities
In December 2019, Lucid broke ground on a factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, the first greenfield facility for EV manufacturing in the United States. On December 1, 2020, Lucid completed factory construction, dubbed AMP-1, and "aims to ramp up to 400,000 electric cars per year."

The US$700 million facility was expected to begin producing the Lucid Air by spring 2021. The initial phase includes an initial . Phase 2 of construction was expected to begin in early 2021. The land upon which this facility is built is owned by Pinal County, Arizona, who leases the  plot to Lucid. The land was bought by Pinal County for $29.94 million, which was financed by issuing bonds.

On February 28, 2022, Lucid announced a long-term plan to build a new manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia with the capability of producing 150,000 vehicles per year. Lucid has partnered with the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA), The Saudi Industrial Development Fund (SIDF), and the King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC).

Saudi Arabia investment
The Saudi Arabian government announced on April 27, 2022, that it plans to buy at least 50,000 and possibly up to 100,000 electric vehicles from Lucid Motors over the course of a decade. The purchase is part of the government's effort to reduce its reliance on oil and make its fleet more environmentally friendly. The government selected Lucid Motors because the company is building its first international manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia, with a goal of producing 150,000 cars annually.

See also
 List of automobile manufacturers of the United States
 List of production battery electric vehicles
 Plug-in electric vehicles in the United States

References

External links

2007 establishments in California
Battery electric vehicle manufacturers
Car brands
Car manufacturers of the United States
Companies based in Newark, California
Electric vehicle manufacturers of the United States
Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers
Manufacturing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
Motor vehicle manufacturers based in California
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 2007
Special-purpose acquisition companies
Public Investment Fund
American companies established in 2007

Lucid Motors


Tyson Colby Brummett (August 15, 1984July 3, 2020) was an American baseball player. He was born in Columbus, Mississippi. In 2012, he played as a pitcher in one Major League Baseball (MLB) game for the Philadelphia Phillies. He batted and threw right-handed and was mainly a starting pitcher.

Brummett was drafted by the Phillies in 2007. He played for five of their minor league affiliates until 2012, when the organization promoted him to the major leagues. He later signed for the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Dodgers.

On July 3, 2020, Brummett was piloting an airplane that crashed in the mountains north of Alpine, Utah. He died along with three passengers. He was 35.

References

Other websites

1984 births
2020 deaths
Accidental deaths in the United States
Aviation deaths in the United States
American baseball players
Los Angeles Dodgers players
Philadelphia Phillies players
Toronto Blue Jays players

Tyson Brummett


Hard science is science that uses systematic observation, experiments and sometimes mathematics to get knowledge. In hard science, experiments have to be reproducible (if the experiment is done a second time, it will have to produce the same results as the first time). Also, in hard sciences there is usually good agreement as to what is known for sure. This is not true of soft sciences. Also, in hard science there is a world-view or theory which is widely agreed.

Hard science subjects include the natural sciences, which are about the natural world. These include physics, chemistry, biology, geology, astronomy, and botany. Soft science is any of the social sciences, including history, sociology, and political science. Those sciences are soft because something could be done more than once, and produce a very different result each time. Also, there are radical disagreements between various schools of thought. Some aspects of psychology are hard science, especially relating to perception.

References

Science

Hard science


The Monster Squad is a 1987 American horror comedy film directed by Fred Dekker, and written by Dekker and Shane Black. Peter Hyams and Rob Cohen served as executive producers. It was released by TriStar Pictures on August 14, 1987. The film features pastiches of the Universal Monsters, led by Count Dracula. They are confronted by a group of savvy kids out to keep them from controlling the world. While being financially unsuccessful during its theatrical run and receiving mixed reviews from critics, the film has gained a positive reception from audiences and has become a cult classic in the years since its release.

Plot
The Monster Squad is a club of pre-teens who idolize the Universal classic monster movies and their non-human stars. Club leader Sean Crenshaw, whose younger sister, Phoebe, desperately wants to join the club, is given the diary of legendary monster hunter Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, but his excitement abates when he finds it is written in German. Sean and the rest of the Monster Squadhis best friend and second in command Patrick Rhodes, clumsy Horace, tough older kid Rudy and little Eugenego to visit an elderly man known as the "Scary German Guy", actually a kind gentleman and a former concentration camp prisoner, to translate the diary.

The diary describes an amulet that is composed of concentrated good. One day out of every century, as the forces of good and evil reach a balance, the otherwise-indestructible amulet becomes vulnerable. With the next day of balance happening within a few days at the stroke of midnight, the kids realize they must gain possession of the amulet and use itwith an incantation from Van Helsing's diaryto open a wormhole in the universe and cast the monsters into Limbo. As shown in the film's prelude, Van Helsing had unsuccessfully attempted this one hundred years ago to defeat his old adversary Count Dracula; his apprentices then emigrated to the United States to hide the amulet out of Dracula's reach.

Nevertheless, Dracula seeks to obtain the amulet so that he can take over the world. To this end, he assembles several monstrous allies: The Mummy, the Gill-man, The Wolf Man, and three school girls whom the Count transforms into his vampiric consorts. Dracula then steals a crate from a B-25 Mitchell in flight, containing Frankenstein's monster, thus completing his army. However, Frankenstein's monster is reluctant to aid Dracula, and wanders into the forest where he encounters Phoebe. Rather than being afraid, she shows him the kindness he has always sought, and they become friends. After Phoebe proves to the Monster Squad that Frankenstein's monster is not evil, he chooses to help the boys instead of Dracula.

The amulet is buried in a stone room beneath a house that Dracula and the other monsters now occupy and where Van Helsing's diary was found. The room is littered with wards which prevent the monsters from taking it. The Monster Squad break into the house and acquire the amulet and narrowly escape Dracula's grasp. They confer with Scary German Guy who informs them that the incantation must be read by a female virgin. As midnight approaches, the Squad makes their way to a local cathedral to make their last stand. The doors to the cathedral are locked, so the incantation must be read on the stoop, leaving the Squad vulnerable. They enlist Patrick's elder sister Lisa to help them, as she is the only virgin they know. However, the incantation fails since Lisa is actually not a virgin anymore. As the monsters close in, the Squad deduces that Phoebe must complete the task of opening the portal, and Scary German Guy attempts to help her read the incantation as the rest of the Squad fends off the monsters.

In the ensuing battle, Dracula's consorts, the Mummy, the Gill-man and the Wolfman are defeated. Dracula arrives to destroy the amulet when Frankenstein's monster intervenes, impaling him on a wrought-iron cross. Phoebe finishes the incantation, opening the portal which begins to consume the bodies of the monsters. Dracula, still alive, attempts to drag Sean in with him. Sean impales Dracula with a wooden stake as Patrick grabs Sean before he can be sucked into the portal. Having briefly escaped from Limbo, Van Helsing appears, gives a thumbs up to Sean, and pulls Dracula to his doom. As Frankenstein's monster is drawn into the portal, Phoebe holds onto him and pleads for him to stay. Knowing he doesn't belong on Earth, Frankenstein's monster lets go of Phoebe's hand, but accepts her gift of a stuffed animal to remember her by. The portal then closes, ensuring the world's safety.

The United States Army arrives on the scene, having received a letter from Eugene earlier asking for their help against the monsters. When the confused general fails to make sense of the situation, Sean steps forward and presents the man with his business card, identifying himself and his friends as "The Monster Squad".

Cast

 Andre Gower as Sean Crenshaw
 Robby Kiger as Patrick Rhodes
 Stephen Macht as Detective Del Crenshaw
 Duncan Regehr as Count Dracula
 Tom Noonan as Frankenstein's monster
 Brent Chalem as Horace
 Ryan Lambert as Rudy Holloran
 Ashley Bank as Phoebe Crenshaw
 Michael Faustino as Eugene
 Jonathan Gries as Desperate Man / The Wolf Man
 Mary Ellen Trainor as Emily Crenshaw
 Leonardo Cimino as Scary German Guy
 Stan Shaw as Detective Rich Sapir
 Lisa Fuller as Lisa Rhodes
 Carl Thibault as The Wolf Man
 Tom Woodruff Jr. as Gill-man
 Michael Reid MacKay as Mummy
 Jack Gwillim as Abraham Van Helsing
 Adam Carl as Derek
 Jason Hervey as E.J.
 David Proval as Pilot
 Daryl Anderson as Co-Pilot
 Mary Albee as Vampire Bride #1
 Brynn Baron as Vampire Bride #2
 Julie Merrill as Vampire Bride #3

Production

Development and writing
The film had a relatively quick development, being first discussed in 1985 and shot the following year. Dekker was toying with the idea of rebooting some classic series, such as The Little Rascals and the Universal Monsters. Upon watching Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, he thought about doing a crossover of the two. While Dekker was putting the finishing touches to his debut Night of the Creeps, he offered Shane Black, his friend and roommate at a West L.A. filmmakers residence nicknamed the "Pad O'Guys", to turn that pitch into a screenplay. Black's first draft, which included several epic scenes that would have sent the picture overbudget, clocked in at 150 to 160 pages, depending on recollections. It was trimmed down in two passes by Dekker, to about 100 pages. The story was originally set in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, although the city was not mentioned in the finished film.

As it drew inspiration from their catalogue, the project was first offered to Universal, but one executive proved particularly dismissive and they passed on it. However, they later accepted to handle international distribution. Dekker asked one of his favorite directors, Peter Hyams, for guidance. The veteran helmer sent the script to Taft/Barish, who quickly expressed interest, and he agreed to serve as executive producer to help the film move forward. Hyams ended up having a sizeable influence on the venture, and his lean filmmaking approach sometimes conflicted with that of the less methodical Dekker, with the latter calling him "a very stern taskmaster". Hyams also brought in important crew members, such as editor James Mitchell, production designer Albert Brenner and cinematographer Bradford May, all former collaborators of his. On the other hand, composer Bruce Broughton was Dekker's choice, and Hyams would retain his services for his next three directorial efforts, starting with 1988's The Presidio.

Casting and creature design
Duncan Regehr narrowly beat a then little known Liam Neeson for the role of Dracula. Neeson was still supposed to appear as a human disguise conjured by Dracula to conceal his identity, but that scene was not shot. Following his breakthrough performance as a serial killer in Manhunter, Tom Noonan became sought after for similar, unsettling roles. He chose this film over Near Dark as his next project due to its more lighthearted nature, but Kathryn Bigelow was persistent and showed up on set to work out an early release with the producers in hope that he could do both. She was turned down.

The special effects were contributed by a Stan Winston Studio team headed by Tom Woodruff Jr., who worked from Winston's concept arts. The characters were given subtle modifications, as their most famous designs—or in the case of the Creature from the Black Lagoon, the creature itself—were Universal intellectual properties.
Woodruff was assigned to work on Frankenstein's monster, Shane Mahan was given the Mummy, John Rosengrant got the Wolfman, and Alec Gillis took care of Dracula's bat transformation. However, it's the Gillman suit, made by Matt Rose and studio newcomer Steve Wang, that came to be viewed as a milestone in the development of creature costumes. Based on their Monster Squad work, Rose and Wang were entrusted with building a similar suit on short notice for Predator, which helped the struggling production move forward.

Filming and post-production
Principal photography kicked off on October 13, 1986. Exteriors were shot at Warner Bros. Studios and the Warner/Columbia Ranch in Burbank, California, Universal Studios in Universal City, and on location throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Many interiors were shot at Culver Studios in Culver City. Due to most of the film taking place at night and regulations regarding how late young actors could work, the children filmed their scenes first for about three hours in the early evening, while the rest of the crew remained on set for much of the night. Filming went a week over schedule, and lasted 50 days. About 10 nights were devoted to the finale.

There were tensions between Hyams, a proponent of traditional filming methods based on master shots, and the self-taught Dekker. Hyams even considered firing Dekker at the end of the first week of shooting, but producer Rob Cohen helped smooth out their differences, and the young man agreed to conform to industry standard practices after that. Hyams also directed some second unit material for the film, including the werewolf's phone booth scene. Night of the Creeps employed a 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but Hyams chose to shoot this one in 2.39:1.

While the majority of the effects were done in camera, including the bat transformation and some background lightning, the film still included a number of visual effects, such as the vortex. They were supervised by Richard Edlund and Boss Films of Ghostbusters fame. The film was cut by 13 minutes by the producers, who did not want it to run more than 90 minutes. According to Dekker, the film's brevety was largely due to Hyams, who felt that trimming subplots like Sean's parents' marital issues would make the film more tonally consistent, although he disagreed with that assessment. Post-release budget estimates varied between $12.5 and 14 million.

Release
The Monster Squad was marketed through a series of posters designed to look like "Wanted" police placards, although the model used for Dracula was not Duncan Regehr. The main poster featured the Ghostbusters-inspired slogan "You know who to call when you have ghosts. But who do you call when you have monsters?". The film held its premiere party at the Hard Rock Café in Hollywood, California. Kiefer Sutherland, the star of The Lost Boys, was among those who showed up to support the film.

Box office
The film opened in the U.S. on August 14, 1987, generating $2.9 million in revenue in its first week, good only for 12th place. By its second weekend, the film was averaging a dismal $696 per screen and was pulled from theaters with a poor domestic tally of $3,769,990.

Dekker wished that a company with better affinity for marketing feel good movies, such as Disney's Touchstone Pictures, had picked up the film. The Monster Squads PG-13 rating may have prevented it from reaching the audience most likely to identify with its characters, while older teenagers were more interested in the R-rated The Lost Boys, which opened just two weeks prior. Some thought that the film's slogan made it look like a B-movie knockoff, and the film suffered from further comparisons with The Goonies, although Dekker says he had not seen it at that point.

Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 56% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "A fun 80's adventure with a slightly scary twist, The Monster Squad offers tween-friendly horror with just enough of a kick". On Metacritic it has a score of 61% based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.

Contemporary reviews were mixed. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it is "fun for the kid in all of us". British magazine Starburst wrote that "[t]reading almost the same route as The Lost Boys, The Monster Squad succeeds where that film failed because Dekker knows his stuff and doesn't see trendy video technique as a replacement for mood and style." However, it predicted that its 15 BBFC certificate would likely prevent it from reaching its intended audience in the country.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times called it "a feature-length commercial for a joke store that sells not-great, rubber monster masks". Dave Kehr of the Chicago Tribune found the film's juxtaposition of child heroes and intense visuals to be distasteful, writing "[p]art E.T. and part Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, Fred Dekker`s The Monster Squad is crass but imponderable, bizarrely mixing glowingly back-lit sentimentality with stomach-churning violence and juvenile sex jokes. Its target audience appears to be practiced sadists in the 12- to 14-year-old age group".

Retrospective reviews have typically been kinder to the film. Francis Rizzo III of DVDTalk wrote that "there's much more than nostalgia going for it, as the story of a band of horror film fans battling the classic movie monsters is a fun piece of filmmaking [...] and an exciting action flick." Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club stated that "Squad gleeful monster mash anticipates bloated CGI orgies like Van Helsing, which likely cost a hundred times as much, yet boasts a hundredth of Squad scrappy, ramshackle charm." Keith Phipps of The Verge deemed it "a devoted homage to the films [Dekker] grew up loving", playing "like highly polished fan fiction from a creator who clearly never let his Famous Monsters of Filmland subscription lapse." Jason Clark of Entertainment Weekly was more measured, calling it "the ultimate '80s movie", albeit "far from perfect".

Accolades
The Monster Squad won a Silver Raven (special jury prize) at the 1988 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
In its July 2006 list of "The 100 Greatest Vilains Ever", Wizard placed Dracula at number 30, and chose Regehr's portrayal from The Monster Squad as the definitive version of the character.

Post-release
Home video
The Monster Squad was first issued by Vestron Video in February 10, 1988 on VHS and Betamax, with the LaserDisc released shortly after by Image Entertainment. It was the film's only domestic release for nearly two decades.

Following the 2006 reunion (see Theatrical revival section below), a fan campaign led to a 20th Anniversary Edition two-disc DVD being released by Lionsgate on July 24, 2007. It contains a variety of bonus features, including a five-part retrospective documentary titled Monster Squad Forever, two audio commentaries, deleted scenes, trailers, TV spots, and animated storyboards. It won the 2008 Saturn Award for Best Classic Film DVD Release.

Lionsgate issued a region-free Blu-ray on November 24, 2009, containing the same extras as the DVD. This edition is now out of print. The Monster Squad became available for streaming on Hulu on September 1, 2017, and on July 1, 2018 on Amazon Prime Video.

Theatrical revival
On April 16, 2006, Ain't It Cool News writer Eric Vespe organized two screenings of The Monster Squad at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, Texas. The event, which was attended by Dekker, Gower, Banks and Lambert, was a sellout and marked a turning point in the film's revival. It led to many more screenings and a letter-writing campaign for the film's home video re-release.

For its 30th anniversary, Gower and Lambert took the film on a tour of 17 American cities in association with Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas, bookended by an additional screening at London's Prince Charles Cinema.

Legacy
On the heels of The Monster Squad, Dekker re-signed with Taft/Barrish for his dream project, a feature adaptation of the 1960s TV series Jonny Quest, but the box office failure of the former put the film in limbo.

Actor Brent Challem did not get to witness the film's popular resurgence, having met an untimely death from pneumonia in 1997, at the age of 22.

Gower went on to direct and co-produce Wolfman's Got Nards, a feature-length account of The Monster Squad'''s cult status. Primarily shot during the original film's 30th anniversary revival tour, the documentary was previewed in abridged form at various horror film events, before premiering on April 7, 2018 at the Chattanooga Film Festival. It was also part of the official selection for the 2018 Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival. It received extremely positive reviews, although they primarily emanated from genre film outlets rather than mainstream media. In October 2019, the film embarked on a tour of 20 Alamo Drafthouse locations.

Cancelled remake
In 2008, producer Rob Cohen said that the film rights were back with Paramount and there were plans to remake the film; however, he had no desire to direct.

In 2010, it was announced that Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes had officially signed on to produce, with Cohen to direct and Mark and Brian Gunn writing the screenplay. However in 2014, Platinum Dunes producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form confirmed that the remake was no longer in development.

SoundtrackThe Monster Squads score was composed and produced by Bruce Broughton. Film Score Monthly called it "one of the most full-blooded and enjoyable scores of the late 1980s", rating it four stars out of four.

Singer and producer Michael Sembello also contributed two original songs, "Rock Until You Drop" and "The Monster Squad Rap", the latter of which humorously credits the titular Monster Squad as performers. The original version of the rap includes a direct reference to the Creature from the Black Lagoon, although it was edited from the 1988 home video.

The film's soundtrack was released on CD for the first time in 2007 via Intrada Records. La-La Land Records reissued it in 2015. The new CD contained alternate versions, diegetic tracks and the two Sembello songs, which where absent from the Intrada pressing.
The soundtrack debuted in vinyl from Mondo in 2016. This version retains the Sembello songs but omits the alternate and diegetic tracks. Mondo has also released the two Sembello songs in 7-inch single format.

See also
 List of films featuring Frankenstein's monster
 List of monster movies
 Vampire film

References

External links

 The Monster Squad at I-Mockery (also includes Monster Squad'' Commodore 64 game)
 Q&A with cast and crew
 The Monster Squad at Comic Con 2007 at Dread Central

1987 films
1987 comedy horror films
American comedy horror films
1980s English-language films
1980s children's fantasy films
Crossover films
Horror crossover films
Dracula films
Frankenstein films
Mummy films
American werewolf films
TriStar Pictures films
Films directed by Fred Dekker
Films with screenplays by Shane Black
Films scored by Bruce Broughton
HBO Films films
1980s monster movies
Taft Entertainment Pictures films
Films about children
American vampire films
1980s American films

The Monster Squad


John Neares Carter (September 22, 1922 – August 13, 2018) was an American film editor. He rose to the ranks at CBS on the Ed Sullivan Show, becoming the first African-American film editor to be employed by network television in New York. For the last four of his twelve years with CBS, he was the supervising film editor for the award-winning documentary unit, Eye On New York. John left CBS to form his own company John Carter Associates, Inc.

Personal life
John was born in Newark, New Jersey to William and Marie Carter on September 22, 1922. He was the third of four children. His family moved to Asbury Park, New Jersey in 1927. He was an athlete on the basketball, football and track teams at Asbury Park High School, and an avid swimmer during the summer months along the Jersey shore.  He was a member of Mt. Pisgah Baptist Temple, where he acted in religious plays directed by his father. In 1943 he was drafted into the U.S. Army.  He served in Europe during WWII as a staff sergeant earning the Soldier's Medal of Valor, American Service Medal, World War II Victory Medal, European African Middle Eastern Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal.

After his honorable discharge in 1946 John trained at the New York Institute of Photography and the Brooklyn Institute of Motion Picture Production. Upon graduating, he went into an apprenticeship program at the Signal Corps Pictorial Center for film editing. During this time, he met the love of his life Carole at a dance in Harlem at the Hotel Theresa on the top floor in the Skyline Ballroom. They were married on August 22, 1954, in Idlewild, Michigan. They had 3 children, and 6 grandsons.

He died at his White Plains, New York home on August 13, 2018, aged 95.

Career
In 1956 John left the Signal Corps and was hired by CBS-TV, becoming the first African-American film editor to be employed by network television in New York. For the last four of his twelve years with CBS, he was the supervising film editor for the award-winning documentary unit, Eye On New York. In 1968, John left CBS to form his own company John Carter Associates, Inc. His first film was "Paper Lion," about George Plimpton and starring Alan Alda. He then went on to work on many other films including the documentary "King: A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis," in 1970 that was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. He was also the editor for the original film "Solomon Northup's Odyssey", directed by Gordon Parks which was later made into a film called "12 years a Slave". John has mentored many young film makers and has worked with many prominent directors including Tyler Perry, Tim Story, Bill Duke, John G. Avildsen, Elaine May and George Tillman Jr. to name just a few. In 1984, he made his sole directorial effort, Zombie Island Massacre, a slasher film set on a Caribbean island.

Carter was the first African-American to join the American Cinema Editors society.

In 1972, he received a BAFTA Award nomination for best editing for Miloš Forman's Taking Off.

He was a member of: American Cinema Editors (the first Black ACE member), Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and Motion Picture Editors Guild and the Westchester Clubmen. At the age of 85, John retired after editing more than 50 feature films.

Filmography

 Paper Lion (1968)
 Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)
 King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970)
 Taking Off (1971)
 The Heartbreak Kid (1972 film) (1972)
 I Could Never Have Sex with Any Man Who Has So Little Regard for My Husband (1973)
 Mikey and Nicky (1976)
 Between the Lines (1977)
 The Formula (1980)
 Cold River (1982)
 Zombie Island Massacre (1984)
 Solomon Northup's Odyssey (1984)
 The Killing Floor (1985)
 Moments Without Proper Names (1987)
 Lean on Me (1989)
 The Karate Kid Part III (1989)
 The Five Heartbeats (1991)
 Boomerang (1992)
 The Cemetery Club (1993)
 Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit (1993)
 Friday (1995)
 A Thin Line Between Love and Hate (1996)
 Set It Off (1996)
 Soul Food (1997)
 The Wood (1999)
 3 Strikes (2000)
 Men of Honor (2000)
 Barbershop (2002)
 Johnson Family Vacation (2004)
 Madea's Family Reunion (2006)
 Shortcut to Happiness (2007)

References

External links

1922 births
2018 deaths
American Cinema Editors
New York Institute of Photography alumni
People from Newark, New Jersey
People from White Plains, New York
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Army non-commissioned officers
African Americans in World War II
21st-century African-American people
African-American United States Army personnel

John Carter (film editor)


Microfiber (microfibre in British English) is synthetic fiber finer than one denier or decitex/thread, having a diameter of less than ten micrometers.

The most common types of microfiber are made variously of polyesters; polyamides (e.g., nylon, Kevlar, Nomex); and combinations of polyester, polyamide, and polypropylene. Microfiber is used to make mats, knits, and weaves, for apparel, upholstery, industrial filters, and cleaning products. The shape, size, and combinations of synthetic fibers are chosen for specific characteristics, including softness, toughness, absorption, water repellence, electrostatics, and filtering ability.

History
Production of ultra-fine fibers (finer than 0.7 denier) dates to the late 1950s, using melt-blown spinning and flash spinning techniques. Initially, only fine staples of random length could be manufactured and very few applications were found. Then came experiments to produce ultra-fine fibers of a continuous filament type: the most promising experiments were made in Japan in the 1960s, by Miyoshi Okamoto, a scientist at Toray Industries. Okamoto's discoveries and those of Toyohiko Hikota led to many industrial applications, including Ultrasuede, one of the first successful synthetic microfibers, which entered the market in the 1970s. Microfiber's use in the textile industry then expanded. Microfibers were first publicized in the early 1990s, in Sweden, and saw success as a product in Europe over the course of the decade.

Apparel

Clothing
Microfiber fabrics are man-made and frequently used for athletic wear, such as cycling jerseys, because the microfiber material wicks moisture (perspiration) away from the body; subsequent evaporation cools the wearer.

Microfiber can be used to make tough, very soft fabric for clothing, often used in skirts, jackets, bathrobes, and swimwear.  Microfiber can be made into Ultrasuede, a synthetic imitation of suede leather, which is cheaper and easier to clean and sew than natural suede leather.

Accessories
Microfiber is used to make many accessories that traditionally have been made from leather: wallets, handbags, backpacks, book covers, shoes, cell phone cases, and coin purses. Microfiber fabric is lightweight, durable, and somewhat water repellent, so it makes a good substitute.

Another advantage of microfiber fabric (compared to leather) is that it can be coated with various finishes and can be treated with antibacterial chemicals. Fabric can also be printed with various designs, embroidered with colored thread, and heat-embossed.

Other uses

Textiles for cleaning

In cleaning products, microfiber can be 100% polyester, or a blend of polyester and polyamide (nylon). It can be either a woven product or a non woven product, the latter most often used in limited use or disposable cloths. In the highest-quality fabrics for cleaning applications, the fiber is split during the manufacturing process to produce multi-stranded fibers. A cross section of the split microfiber fabric under high magnification would look like an asterisk.

The split fibers and the size of the individual filaments make the cloths more effective than other fabrics for cleaning purposes. The structure traps and retains the dirt and also absorbs liquids. Unlike cotton, microfiber leaves no lint, the exception being some micro suede blends, where the surface is mechanically processed to produce a soft plush feel.

For microfiber to be most effective as a cleaning product, especially for water-soluble soils and waxes, it should be a split microfiber. Non-split microfiber is little more than a very soft cloth. The main exception is for cloths used for facial cleansing and for the removal of skin oils (sebum), sunscreens, and mosquito repellents from optical surfaces such as cameras, phones and eyeglasses wherein higher-end proprietary woven, 100% polyester cloths using 2 µm filaments, will absorb these types of oils without smearing.

Microfiber that is used in non-sports-related clothing, furniture, and other applications is not split because it is not designed to be absorbent, just soft. When buying, microfiber may not be labeled to designate whether it is split. One method to determine the type of microfiber is to run the cloth over the palm of the hand. A split microfiber will cling to imperfections of the skin and can be either heard or felt as it does. Alternatively, a small amount of water can be poured onto a hard, flat surface and pushed with the microfiber. If the water is pushed rather than absorbed, it is not split microfiber.

Microfiber can be electrostatically charged for special purposes like filtration.

Cloths and mops
Microfiber products used for consumer cleaning are generally constructed from split conjugated fibers of polyester and polyamide. Microfiber used for commercial cleaning products also includes many products constructed of 100% polyester. Microfiber products are able to absorb oils especially well and are not hard enough to scratch even paintwork unless they have retained grit or hard particles from previous use. Due to hydrogen bonding, microfiber cloth containing polyamide absorbs and holds more water than other types of fibres.

Microfiber is widely used by car detailers to handle tasks such as removing wax from paintwork, quick detailing, interior cleaning, glass cleaning, and drying. Because of their fine fibers which leave no lint or dust, microfiber towels are used by car detailers and enthusiasts in a similar manner to a chamois leather.

Microfiber is used in many professional cleaning applications, for example in mops and cleaning cloths. Although microfiber mops cost more than non-microfiber mops, they may be more economical because they last longer and require less effort to use.

Microfiber textiles designed for cleaning clean on a microscopic scale. According to tests, using microfiber materials to clean a surface reduces bacteria by 99%, whereas a conventional cleaning material reduces bacteria by only  33%. Microfiber cleaning tools also absorb fat and grease and their electrostatic properties allow them to attract dust strongly.

Microfiber cloths are also used to clean photographic lenses as they absorb oily matter without being abrasive or leaving a residue, and are sold by major manufacturers such as Sinar, Nikon and Canon. Small microfiber cleaning cloths are commonly sold for cleaning computer screens and eyeglasses.

Microfiber is unsuitable for some cleaning applications as it accumulates dust, debris, and particles. Sensitive surfaces (such as all high-tech coated surfaces e.g. CRT, LCD and plasma screens) can easily be damaged by a microfiber cloth if it has picked up grit or other abrasive particles during use. One way to minimize the risk of damage to flat surfaces is to use a flat, non-rugged microfiber cloth, as these tend to be less prone to retaining grit.

Rags made of microfiber must only be washed with regular laundry detergent, not oily, self-softening, soap-based detergents. Fabric softener must not be used. The oils and cationic surfactants in the softener and self-softening detergents will clog up the fibers and make them less absorbent until the oils are washed out. Also, since microfibre cloth attracts much soil and holds water tightly, it provides an ideal nutritional environment for various microorganisms.

Insulation
Microfiber materials such as PrimaLoft are used for thermal insulation as a replacement for down feather insulation in sleeping bags and outdoor equipment, because of their better retention of heat when damp or wet. Microfiber is also used for water insulation in automotive car covers. Depending on the technology the fiber manufacturer is using, such material may contain from 2 up to 5 thin layers, merged. Such combination ensures not only high absorption factor, but also breathability of the material, which prevents greenhouse effect.

Basketballs
With microfiber-shelled basketballs already used by FIBA, the NBA introduced a microfiber ball for the 2006–07 season. The ball, which is manufactured by Spalding, does not require a "break-in" period of use as leather balls do and has the ability to absorb water and oils, meaning that sweat from players touching the ball is better absorbed, making the ball less slippery. Over the course of the season, the league received many complaints from players who found that the ball bounced differently from leather balls, and that it left cuts on their hands. On January 1, 2007, the league scrapped the use of all microfiber balls and returned to leather basketballs.

Other
Microfibers used in tablecloths, furniture, and car interiors are designed to repel wetting and consequently are difficult to stain. In furniture, microfiber is a close alternative to leather due to the simple upkeep of the qualities of the material. Easy to wipe off liquids and better suited for individuals with pets. Microfiber tablecloths will bead liquids until they are removed and are sometimes advertised showing red wine on a white tablecloth that wipes clean with a paper towel. This and the ability to mimic suede economically are common selling points for microfiber upholstery fabrics (e.g., for couches).

Microfibers are used in towels especially those to be used at swimming pools as even a small towel dries the body quickly. They dry quickly and are less prone than cotton towels to become stale if not dried immediately. Microfiber towels need to be soaked in water and pressed before use, as they would otherwise repel water as microfiber tablecloths do.

Microfiber is also used for other applications such as making menstrual pads, cloth diaper inserts, body scrubbers, face mitts, whiteboard cleaners, and various goods that need to absorb water and/or attract small particles.

In the medical world, the properties of microfibers are used in the coating of certain fabric sheets used to strengthen the original material.

Environmental and safety issues
Microfiber textiles tend to be flammable if manufactured from hydrocarbons (polyester) or carbohydrates (cellulose) and emit toxic gases when burning, more so if aromatic (PET, PS, ABS) or treated with halogenated flame retardants and azo dyes. Their polyester and nylon stock are made from petrochemicals, which are not a renewable resource and are not biodegradable.

For most cleaning applications they are designed for repeated use rather than being discarded after use. An exception to this is the precise cleaning of optical components where a wet cloth is drawn once across the object and must not be used again as the debris collected are now embedded in the cloth and may scratch the optical surface.

Microfiber products also enter the oceanic water supply and food chain similar to other microplastics. Synthetic clothing made of microfibers that are washed release materials and travel to local wastewater treatment plants, contributing to plastic pollution in water. A study by the clothing brand Patagonia and University of California, Santa Barbara, found that when synthetic jackets made of microfibers are washed, on average  of microfibers are released from the washing machine. These microfibers then travel to local wastewater treatment plants, where up to 40% of them enter into rivers, lakes, and oceans where they contribute to the overall plastic pollution. Microfibers account for 85% of man-made debris found on shorelines worldwide. Fibers retained in wastewater treatment sludge (biosolids) that are land-applied can persist in soils.

See also

Polyamide
Polyester
Polar fleece

References

Synthetic fibers
Textiles
Technical fabrics
Sustainable products

Microfiber


Cyclotron resonance describes the interaction of external forces with charged particles experiencing a magnetic field, thus already moving on a circular path. It is named after the cyclotron, a cyclic particle accelerator that utilizes an oscillating electric field tuned to this resonance to add kinetic energy to charged particles.

Cyclotron resonance frequency
The cyclotron frequency or gyrofrequency is the frequency of a charged particle moving perpendicular to the direction of a uniform magnetic field B (constant magnitude and direction). Since that motion is always circular, the cyclotron frequency is given by equality of centripetal force and magnetic Lorentz force

with the particle mass m, its charge q, velocity v, and the circular path radius r, also called gyroradius.

The angular speed is then:
.

Giving the rotational frequency (being the cyclotron frequency) as:
,

It is notable that the cyclotron frequency is independent of the radius and velocity and therefore independent of the particle's kinetic energy; all particles with the same charge-to-mass ratio rotate around magnetic field lines with the same frequency. This is only true in the non-relativistic limit, and underpins the principle of operation of the cyclotron.

The cyclotron frequency is also useful in non-uniform magnetic fields, in which (assuming slow variation of magnitude of the magnetic field) the movement is approximately helical - in the direction parallel to the magnetic field, the motion is uniform, whereas in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field the movement is, as previously circular. The sum of these two motions gives a trajectory in the shape of a helix.

When the charged particle begins to approach relativistic speeds, the centripetal force should be multiplied by the Lorentz factor, yielding a corresponding factor in the angular frequency:
.

Gaussian units
The above is for SI units. In some cases, the cyclotron frequency is given in Gaussian units. In Gaussian units, the Lorentz force differs by a factor of 1/c, the speed of light, which leads to:
.

For materials with little or no magnetism (i.e. ) , so we can use the easily measured magnetic field intensity H  instead of B:

.

Note that converting this expression to SI units introduces a factor of the vacuum permeability.

Effective mass

For some materials, the motion of electrons follows loops that depend on the applied magnetic field, but not exactly the same way. For these materials, we define a cyclotron effective mass,  so that:

.

See also
 Ion cyclotron resonance
 Electron cyclotron resonance

References

External links
 Calculate Cyclotron frequency with Wolfram Alpha
Condensed matter physics
Electric and magnetic fields in matter
Accelerator physics
Scientific techniques

Cyclotron resonance


Werner V (c. 899 – c. 935) was a Rhenish Franconian count in the Nahegau, Speyergau and Wormsgau. He is one of the earliest documented ancestors of the  Salian dynasty that provided German kings and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire from 1024 to 1125.

Werner's origins have not been conclusively established: his ancestor presumably was Werner IV (also called Walaho), who appeared as a count in the Wormsgau about 840 and was married to Oda, a daughter of the Robertian count Robert III of Worms. He inherited the Worms estates, after Oda's brother, Robert the Strong, left his home and rose to power in West Francia. His daughter Wiltrud married the Conradine noble Eberhard (d. 902/03), a count in the Niederlahngau and brother of Conrad the Elder; she thereby became the aunt of future king Conrad I of Germany.

Werner V first appeared as a count in 906; as he was related to the most powerful Franconian dynasties, he quickly assumed a leading position in the stem duchy, particularly after Conrad I had become duke and was elected king in 911. According to the contemporary chronicles by Flodoard, he had the Reims ecclesiastical lands in the Palatinate confiscated and the Bishop of Speyer blinded.

Werner married Hicha (c. 905 – 950), a daughter of Duke Burchard II of Swabia and his wife Regilinde of Zurich. Their only son was Conrad the Red, who was appointed Duke of Lotharingia in 944.

Further reading
 Andreas Thiele: Erzählende genealogische Stammtafeln zur europäischen Geschichte Band I, Teilband 1, 1993
 Rüdiger E. Barth: Der Herzog in Lotharingien im 10. Jahrhundert. 1990
 Detlev Schwennicke: Europäische Stammtafeln Neue Folge Band I. 1, 1998

Salian dynasty
890s births
930s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain

Werner V (Salian)


Ceramides are a family of waxy lipid molecules. A ceramide is composed of sphingosine and a fatty acid joined by an amide bond.  Ceramides are found in high concentrations within the cell membrane of eukaryotic cells, since they are component lipids that make up sphingomyelin, one of the major lipids in the lipid bilayer.  Contrary to previous assumptions that ceramides and other sphingolipids found in cell membrane were purely supporting structural elements, ceramide can participate in a variety of cellular signaling: examples include regulating differentiation, proliferation, and programmed cell death (PCD) of cells.

The word ceramide comes from the Latin cera (wax) and amide. Ceramide is a component of vernix caseosa, the waxy or cheese-like white substance found coating the skin of newborn human infants.

Pathways for ceramide synthesis
There are three major pathways of ceramide generation.  First, the sphingomyelinase pathway uses an enzyme to break down sphingomyelin in the cell membrane and release ceramide.  Second, the de novo pathway creates ceramide from less complex molecules.  Third, in the "salvage" pathway, sphingolipids that are broken down into sphingosine are reused by reacylation to form ceramide.

Sphingomyelin hydrolysis
Hydrolysis of sphingomyelin is catalyzed by the enzyme sphingomyelinase. Because sphingomyelin is one of the four common phospholipids found in the plasma membrane of cells, the implications of this method of generating ceramide is that the cellular membrane is the target of extracellular signals leading to programmed cell death.  There has been research suggesting that when ionizing radiation causes apoptosis in some cells, the radiation leads to the activation of sphingomyelinase in the cell membrane and ultimately, to ceramide generation.

De novo
De novo synthesis of ceramide begins with the condensation of palmitate and serine to form 3-keto-dihydrosphingosine. This reaction is catalyzed by the enzyme serine palmitoyl transferase and is the rate-limiting step of the pathway. In turn, 3-keto-dihydrosphingosine is reduced to dihydrosphingosine, which is then followed by acylation by the enzyme (dihydro)ceramide synthase to produce dihydroceramide. The final reaction to produce ceramide is catalyzed by dihydroceramide desaturase.  De novo synthesis of ceramide occurs in the endoplasmic reticulum. Ceramide is subsequently transported to the Golgi apparatus by either vesicular trafficking or the ceramide transfer protein CERT. Once in the Golgi apparatus, ceramide can be further metabolized to other sphingolipids, such as sphingomyelin and the complex glycosphingolipids.

Salvage pathway
Constitutive degradation of sphingolipids and glycosphingolipids takes place in the acidic subcellular compartments, the late endosomes and the lysosomes, with the end goal of producing sphingosine. In the case of glycosphingolipids, exohydrolases acting at acidic pH optima cause the stepwise release of monosaccharide units from the end of the oligosaccharide chains, leaving just the sphingosine portion of the molecule, which may then contribute to the generation of ceramides. Ceramide can be further hydrolyzed by acid ceramidase to form sphingosine and a free fatty acid, both of which are able to leave the lysosome, unlike ceramide. The long-chain sphingoid bases released from the lysosome may then re-enter pathways for synthesis of ceramide and/or sphingosine-1-phosphate. The salvage pathway re-utilizes long-chain sphingoid bases to form ceramide through the action of ceramide synthase. Thus, ceramide synthase family members probably trap free sphingosine released from the lysosome at the surface of the endoplasmic reticulum or in endoplasmic reticulum-associated membranes. The salvage pathway has been estimated to contribute from 50% to 90% of sphingolipid biosynthesis.

Physiological roles

Pathology
As a bioactive lipid, ceramide has been implicated in a variety of physiological functions including apoptosis, cell growth arrest, differentiation, cell senescence, cell migration and adhesion. Roles for ceramide and its downstream metabolites have also been suggested in a number of pathological states including cancer, neurodegeneration, diabetes, microbial pathogenesis, obesity, and inflammation.

Several distinct ceramides potently predict major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), namely C16:0, C18:0, and C24:1, although C24:0 has an inverse relationship. C16-C18 are harmful in the liver.  Ceramide levels are positively correlated with inflammation and oxidative stress in the liver, and the onset and progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is associated with elevated ceramide in hepatocytes. Dietary intake of saturated fat has been shown to increase serum ceramide and increase insulin resistance. Although initial studies showed increased insulin resistance in muscle, subsequent studies also showed increased insulin resistance in liver and adipose tissue.  Interventions that limit ceramide synthesis or increase ceramide degradation lead to improved health (reduced insulin resistance and reduced fatty liver disease, for example).

Ceramides induce skeletal muscle insulin resistance when synthesized as a result of saturated fat activation of TLR4 receptors. Unsaturated fat does not have this effect. Ceramides induce insulin resistance in many tissues by inhibition of Akt/PKB signaling. Aggregation of LDL cholesterol by ceramide causes LDL retention in arterial walls, leading to atherosclerosis. Ceramides cause endothelial dysfunction by activating protein phosphatase 2 (PP2A). In mitochondria, ceramide suppresses the electron transport chain and induces production of reactive oxygen species.

Apoptosis

One of the most studied roles of ceramide pertains to its function as a proapoptotic molecule. Apoptosis, or Type I programmed cell death, is essential for the maintenance of normal cellular homeostasis and is an important physiological response to many forms of cellular stress. Ceramide accumulation has been found following treatment of cells with a number of apoptotic agents, including ionizing radiation, UV light, TNF-alpha, and chemotherapeutic agents. This suggests a role for ceramide in the biological responses of all these agents. Because of its apoptosis-inducing effects in cancer cells, ceramide has been termed the "tumor suppressor lipid".  Several studies have attempted to define further the specific role of ceramide in the events of cell death and some evidence suggests ceramide functions upstream of the mitochondria in inducing apoptosis. However, owing to the conflicting and variable nature of studies into the role of ceramide in apoptosis, the mechanism by which this lipid regulates apoptosis remains elusive.

Skin
The stratum corneum is the outermost layer of the epidermis. It is composed of terminally differentiated and enucleated corneocytes that reside within a lipid matrix, like "bricks and mortar." Together with cholesterol and free fatty acids, ceramides form the lipid mortar, a water-impermeable barrier that prevents evaporative water loss. As a general rule of thumb, the epidermal lipid matrix is composed of an equimolar mixture of ceramides (~50% by weight), cholesterol (~ 25% by weight), and free fatty acids (~15% by weight), with smaller quantities of other lipids also being present.  The lipid barrier also protects against the entry of microorganisms.

Epidermal ceramides have a diversity of structures and can be broadly classified as AS and NS ceramides; ADS and NDS dihydroceramides;  AH, EOH, and NH 6-hydroxyceramides; AP and NP phytoceramides; and EOH and EOS acylceramides, see figure.
 The diversity of ceramide structures undoubtedly plays an important role in the unique attributes of the stratum corneum across different body sites. For example, the stratum corneum of the face is thin and flexible to accommodate different facial expressions. In contrast, the stratum corneum covering the heel of the foot is thick and rigid to protect against trauma. Matching these structural changes, there are body-site specific alterations in the epidermal lipidome, including changes in the relative abundance of the different epidermal ceramide structures.

Similar to body site-specific alterations in ceramide abundance, there are also well-characterized changes in epidermal ceramide expression in patients with inflammatory skin diseases. In the hyperplastic disorder psoriasis, investigators have reported an increase in AS and NS ceramides and a decrease in EOS, AP, and NP ceramides, which may contribute to a defect in the skin's water impermeability barrier. Studying ceramide expression in atopic dermatitis and psoriasis patients, other investigators have reported that rather than focusing on ceramide classes, ceramide sphingoid base length and fatty acid chain length have the strongest influence on the likelihood of a particular ceramide structure being upregulated or downregulated in inflamed skin.

Hormonal
Inhibition of ceramide synthesis with myriocin in obese mice may lead to both improved leptin signaling and decreased insulin resistance by decreasing SOCS-3 expression. An elevated level of ceramide can cause insulin resistance by inhibiting the ability of insulin to activate the insulin signal transduction pathway and/or via the activation of JNK.

Substances known to induce ceramide generation

Anandamide
Ceramidase inhibitors
Chemotherapeutic agents
Fas ligand
Endotoxin
Homocysteine
 Heat
 Hydroxypalmitoyl Sphinganine
Gamma interferon
Ionizing radiation
Matrix metalloproteinases
Niacinamide
Reactive oxygen species
Sphingosine
Tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids
TNF-alpha
1,25 Dihydroxy vitamin D

Mechanism by which ceramide signaling occurs
Currently, the means by which ceramide acts as a signaling molecule are not clear.

One hypothesis is that ceramide generated in the plasma membrane enhances membrane rigidity and stabilizes smaller lipid platforms known as lipid rafts, allowing them to serve as platforms for signalling molecules. Moreover, as rafts on one leaflet of the membrane can induce localized changes in the other leaflet of the bilayer, they can potentially serve as the link between signals from outside the cell to signals to be generated within the cell.

Ceramide has also been shown to form organized large channels traversing the mitochondrial outer membrane. This leads to the egress of proteins from the intermembrane space.

Related diseases
In the metabolic disease combined malonic and methylmalonic aciduria (CMAMMA) due to ACSF3, a massive altered composition of complex lipids occurs as a result of impaired mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (mtFAS). For example, while the concentration of sphingomyelin is noticeably increased, the concentration of ceramides is proportionally decreased.

Uses
Ceramides may be found as ingredients of some topical skin medications used to complement treatment for skin conditions such as eczema.   They are also used in cosmetic products such as some soaps, shampoos, skin creams, and sunscreens. Additionally, ceramides are being explored as a potential therapeutic in treating cancer.

Ceramide in bacteria
Ceramide is rarely found in bacteria. Bacteria of family Sphingomonadaceae, however, contain it.

Ceramide phosphoethanolamine
Ceramide phosphoethanolamine (CPE) is a sphingolipid consisted of a ceramide and a phosphoethanolamine head group. CPE is the major sphingolipid class in some invertebrates such as members of Drosophila. In contrast, mammalian cells contain only small amounts of CPE.

References

External links

Lipids
Ceramides

Ceramide


The Move were a British rock band formed in December 1965. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. Although bassist-vocalist Chris "Ace" Kefford was the original leader, for most of their career the Move was led by guitarist, singer and songwriter Roy Wood. He wrote all the group's UK singles and, from 1968, also sang lead vocals on many songs, although Carl Wayne was the main lead singer up to 1970. Initially, the band had 4 main vocalists (Wayne, Wood, Trevor Burton and Kefford) who split the lead vocals on a number of their earlier songs.

The Move evolved from several mid-1960s Birmingham based groups, including Carl Wayne & the Vikings, the Nightriders and the Mayfair Set. Their name referred to the move various members of these bands made to form the group. Besides Wood, the Move's original five-piece roster in 1965 was drummer Bev Bevan, bassist Kefford, vocalist Carl Wayne and guitarist Trevor Burton. The final line-up of 1972 was the trio of Wood, Bevan and Jeff Lynne; together, they rode the group's transition into the Electric Light Orchestra. Between 2007 and 2014, Burton and Bevan performed intermittently as "The Move featuring Bev Bevan and Trevor Burton."

Members

Official

Unofficial

Timeline

Lineups

References

The Move

List of the Move members


ʿAbd Allāh ibn Sabāʾ al-Ḥimyarī () (sometimes also called Ibn Sabāʾ, Ibn al-Sawdāʾ, or Ibn Wahb,) was a 7th-century figure in Islamic history associated with a group of followers called the Sabaʾiyya ().

According to Sunni and Shia tradition, Abd Allah ibn Saba' was a Yemenite Jew from the Arab Himyar tribe who converted to Islam during Uthman's reign. Because of his exaggerated reverence for Ali, he is traditionally considered as the first of the ghulāt. In accounts collected by Sayf ibn Umar, Ibn Saba' and his followers (the Saba'iyya) are said to be the ones who enticed the Egyptians against Uthman and were responsible for breaking the near-settlement at the Battle of the Camel.

Modern historians differed on the historicity of Ibn Saba'. Some believe that Abd Allah ibn Saba' and Ibn al-Sawdāʾ should be considered as two separate individuals (Hodgson). Some have described him as semi-legendary or legendary (Taha Hussein, Bernard Lewis, Wilferd Madelung, Leone Caetani, and Shia historians) Others such as Israel Friedlander, Sabatino Moscati, and Sunni historians affirm his existence. His Jewish origin has also been contested. Some modern historians assert that Sayf ibn Umar fabricated the episode about the killing of Uthman to "exonerate the people of Medina from participation in the caliph's murder" and the movement to support Ali as a successor to Muhammad did not exist in the time of Uthman. With the exception of Taha Hussein, most modern Sunni writers affirm the existence of Ibn Saba'.

Historicity
According to traditional Sunni and Shia sources, Abd Allah ibn Saba' was a Yemenite Jewish convert to Islam. But modern historians differed on the historicity of Ibn Saba. M.G.S. Hodgson doubts that Ibn Saba' was a Jew, and suggests that Ibn Saba' and Ibn al-Sawada' should be considered as two separate individuals.<ref>Robert L. Canfield, Turko-Persia in Historical Perspective, Cambridge University Press, 2002, Page 159, </ref> According to Leone Caetani, Ibn Saba in origin was a purely political supporter of Ali, "around whom later generations imagined a religious conspiracy like that of the Abbasids". Taha Hussein and Ali al-Wardi maintain that Ibn Saba' was the creation of Umayyad propaganda.

However, some historians affirm the existence of Ibn Saba' or his followers. Israel Friedlander concludes that Ibn Saba' and the Saba'iyya did, in fact, exist. His work has also been attested to by Sabatino Moscati. Linda D. Lau and A. R. Armush also accept Sayf ibn Umar's accounts and the role of the Saba'iyya at the Battle of the Camel.

Concerning Ibn Saba' religious beliefs, particularly that of the Saba'iyya, W. F. Tucker noted that they are more complete and better recorded in sources devoted to heresiography. Matti Musa points out that the Saba'iyya as a ghulat sect did in fact exist, noting that their views have been seriously considered by both Sunni and Shia heresiographers. Hodgson states that there are contradictions in what religious views is ascribed to him and his followers, but we can assume that he was a founder or a hero of one or more sects called Sabaʾiyya, which exalted the position of Ali.

Ancestry
M. G. S. Hodgson concludes he was most likely not a Jew. W. F. Tucker suggests the possibility that the attribution of Jewish ancestry to Ibn Saba' on his paternal side and imputation of black descent on his mother's side, were fabricated to discredit his credentials as a Muslim Arab and "thus stigmatize all ideas associated with him". Bernard Lewis states that modern critical scholarship casts doubt on his Jewishness. Citing the example of Ibn Saba', Lewis states that there is tendency in Islamic sources to attribute subversive and extremist doctrines to Jewish origins, conspiracy or instigation. G. Levi Della Vida also rejects his Jewish origin and maintains that Ibn Saba' was an Arab.

However, according to Hartwig Hirschfeld, Abd Allah ibn Saba' was a Jew from Yemen who embraced Islam. Israel Friedlander suggested that he may have been a son of an Ethiopian Falasha woman, which explains why he was called "ibn al-Sawdāʾ". W. F. Tucker, after examining the different arguments, concludes that "Whatever is the case regarding his ethnic identity, it is quite probable that Ibn Saba' was a Yemenite, and that he came from a Jewish milieu".

 Ghulat
Traditionally, Abd Allah ibn Sabaʾ is considered as the first of the ghulāt. He may have been the first to deny that Ali had died and predicted his return (rajʿa), which was considered one form of ghulū. Also, the notion of the absence or 'occultation' (ghayba) of an imam seem to have appeared first among the ghulāt.

Heinz Halm records him as a representative of a Ghulat group from the city of Seleucia-Ctesiphon (al-Madā'in) who came to see 'Alī in Kūfah. When Ibn Saba' proclaimed divinity, then 'Alī denied this angrily and exiled him back to Seleucia-Ctesiphon. Heinz Halm adds that Islamic writers such as Ašʿari in Maqālāt,  Baḡdādi in Feraq have said that Ibn Saba' was the first person who idolized Ali ibn Abi Talib. He preached that ʿAli was God (al-elāh).  After ʿAli's death, he is said to maintain this idea that "a devil in ʿAli's appearance had been murdered" and ʿAli had ascended to heaven and that his return (rajʿa) was imminent.

 Examining his roles in Uthman's killing
According to M. G. S. Hodgson, "surer sources" than Tabari and Sayf ibn Umar seem to exclude Ibn Sabaʾ from playing any major role in the political events that led to Uthman's killing.

Wilferd Madelung after reviewing the accounts of Sayf ibn Umar on the alleged role of Abd Allah ibn Saba' in the rebellion against Uthman and emergence of Shi'a asserts "few if any modern historians would accept Sayf's legend of Ibn Saba'".

Taha Hussein asserts that the "fabrication" of ibn Saba' was done by the enemies of the Shias; that the insertion of a "Jewish element" would discredit the Shias. He noted that the absence of any record of ibn Saba' being present at the Battle of Siffin suggests that ibn Saba' is a fictitious person.

Israel Friedlander, Julius Wellhausen, and most particularly, Leone Caetani, assert that Sayf fabricated the episode about killing of Uthman to "exonerate the people of Medina from participation in the caliph's murder" and as Friedlander adds finding a "scapegoat for the troubles surrounding Uthman" and any complicity in the strife resulting in the death of third caliph. Tucker asserts that although it may have been the case, there is no concrete evidence supporting this theory. They note that sources older than al-Tabari are silent on Ibn Saba' and his role in the agitation against Uthman. "They aver that the movement for supporting Ali as heir and testamentary trustee of the prophet did not exist in the time of Uthman as Ibn Saba' had alleged. Therefore, they refuse to accept the authenticity of Ibn Saba's claim that Ali was the heir of prophet". Caetani noted that a religious conspiracy may have been created around the person of Ibn Sabaʾ even though he may have been just a political supporter of Ali.

However, W. F. Tucker notes that the suggestion that Sayf is not reliable is no longer sustainable. Tucker and Landau-Tasseron point out that although Sayf may have been an unscrupulous hadith collector, this should not detract from his general reliability as a transmitter of historical information (akhbārī). Tucker also states that even if Sayf's accounts of Ibn Saba' was a fabrication, he appears to be only the transmitter of the story and not the ultimate source. He adds that accusations of bias could equally be leveled at other akhbārīs contemporary to Sayf, including the Shi'a historian Abu Mikhnaf. Moreover, Fuat Sezgin, Albrecht Noth, and Martin Hinds have also challenged Wellhausen's views and placed Sayf on an equal footing with other traditionalists.

Linda D. Lau and A. R. Armush accept Sayf's accounts and the role of the Saba'iyya at the Battle of the Camel. They point out that traditionalists other than Sayf did not give an explanation to why the hostilities broke out after the near-settlement. Not only Sayf's account is the sole exiting account with an explanation of what happened, it is also logically consistent.

Sunni views
According to Tabari, based on traditions collected by Sayf ibn Umar, Ibn Saba' was a Yemenite Jew who embraced Islam. During the time of Ali ibn Abi Taleb, he introduced a number of concepts that later were ascribed to more extreme factions of Shia Islam, or ghulat. According to these traditions, the exaltation of Ali, his divine appointment by the Islamic prophet Muhammad as a successor, the concept of occultation (ghayba) and return (rajʿa) were first formulated and expressed by Ibn Sabaʾ and his followers (the Sabaʾiyya). He and his followers are sometimes said to be the ones who enticed the Egyptians against Uthman on the ground of Ali's special right of succession, and participated in further instigation at later conflicts. Historically, Sunni theologians have not only upheld Ibn Saba's existence, but used evidence from the historical works of the Shi'a in order to support their claims.

In Sunni polemics, Ibn Saba' plays the same role of seeking to destroy the message of Islam from within (by introducing proto-Shi'ite beliefs) as Paul would play in seeking to deliberately corrupt the early teachings of Jesus.

Shia views

In traditional Shia sources, Abd Allah ibn Saba' is viewed as an extremist (Ghali) that was cursed and killed by Ali ibn Abi Talib (1st Shia Imam), and cursed by Ali ibn Husayn (4th Shia Imam), Muhammad al-Baqir (5th Shia Imam) and Ja'far al-Sadiq (6th Shia Imam). Nevertheless, Ibn Sabaʾ became the subject of a tradition used by different Shia factions to both attack and defend extreme Shia groups. According to these traditions, Ali first exiled him for declaring Ali as God and himself as prophet. But when he did not stop from his incorrect belief, Ali killed him and then burned his corpse.

Shia scholars such as Abu Muhammad al-Hasan bin Musa al-Nawbakhti, Abu Amr bin Abdul Aziz al-Kash-shi, Al-Hasan bin Ali al-Hilly, al-Astra Abadi,Al-Sadooq, and Al-Nawbakhty talked about the stories and narrations of Ibn Saba. Al-Maamiqaaniy has asserted the existence of Abd Allah ibn Saba'.

It is narrated different traditions from Shia Imams in the book  about the belief of Abd Allah ibn Saba' (i.e. divinity of Ali and prophethood of himself), and also cursing of him by different Shia Imams. One such example includes:

After narrating the traditions of Shia Imams which say that Abd Allah ibn Saba' was a cursed person who believed that Ali is God, about him,  says:

Shia scholars have said that "Some knowledgeable people" in the saying of Kashshi refers to those Sunni scholars that wrongly attributed the founding of Shia beliefs to Abd Allah ibn Saba', based on the invented tales of Sayf ibn Umar about whom Sunni eminent scholars like al-Dhahabi, Haakim, Ibn Habban, etc. have said that was a hadith fabricator, liar and also a  (atheist).

Al-Maamqaani from his work Tanqih al-Maqaal Fi Ilm al-Rijaal (2/183-184):

From Sa'd ibn Abd Allah al-Ash'ari al-Qummi who was speaking of the Sab'iyyah (in al-Maqaalaat wal-Firaq p. 20):

Regarding to this saying of Sa'd bin Abd Allah al-Ash'ari al-Qummi, Shia scholars say that he did not mention any chain of authorities nor did he mention from whom (or which book) he got the story and what his source was. Moreover, al-Ash'ari al-Qummi has narrated many traditions from Sunni authorities. al-Najjashi (d. 450) in his "al-Rijal"said that al-Ash'ari al-Qummi traveled to many places and was well known for his relation with Sunni historians and heard many stories from them. So, he surely wrote this report from what he heard from Sunnis, which was indeed based on the stories of Sayf ibn Umar.

Ni'matullah al-Jazaa'iree, another of Shi'ite famous scholars from his book al-Anwaar al-Nu'maaniyyah (2/234):

The first part of the saying of Ni'matullah al-Jazaa'iree is the Shia belief about Abd Allah ibn Saba' which is based on the authentic traditions. But the second part of his saying ( i.e., And it is said that he was a Jew who accepted Islam ... ) is about the story which was made by Sayf ibn Umar. Usually, in Islamic books, using from the term 'قيل' ( Ghila, i.e., It is said ... ) before mentioning a matter by the author, implies the belief of the author about the weakness of the saying which is mentioned after it. So, using the term 'Ghila' by Ni'matullah al-Jazaa'iree shows that he believed that the saying is weak.

Famous Shia scholar Nau Bakhti writes,

Muhammad Ali al-Mual'lim, a present-day Shi'ite, also affirmed the existence of Abd Allah ibn Saba' in his book Abdullah bin Saba: The Unknown Reality''. This book was a refutation of those who denied the existence of Abd Allah ibn Saba' giving the excuse of "false narrations".

Modern Shia historians often cite a number of Sunni scholars who considered Sayf ibn Umar as unreliable on matters of prophetic hadith. For example, al-Dhahabi (d. 748 AH) has quoted from the book of Sayf in his History, but wrote in "al-Mughni fi al-Dhu'afa'" that: "Sayf has two books which have been unanimously abandoned by the scholars." They point out to a number of prominent Sunni scholars concur regarding his narration of hadith. including al-Hakim, Abu Dawud, al-Suyuti and al-Nisa'i. However, some modern historians have pointed out that this view of Sayf should be limited to his hadith scholarship, and thus it does not detract from his general reliablitiy as a transmitter of historical information. But this is not acceptable. Because when he used to make many fake traditions, so that logically he used to make fake tales and then narrate them as historical stories.

Other sources

Tabari narration on Ibn Saba' goes back to Sayf ibn Umar. There are two other historians that mentioned Ibn Saba' accounts which is said to have independent sources. However, it can be shown that their chains of isnad go back to Sayf Ibn Umar.

There is a favorable Isma'ili legend that formed around the figure of Abd Allah ibn Saba'.

Some early Jewish literature also exists on Ibn Saba. He was largely regarded as an apostate from Judaism.

See also
 History of Shia Islam
 Ka'ab al-Ahbar
 Dhammiyya Shia

References

Citations

Sources

Further reading

Further reading from traditional Shia sources:

 Tarikh Tabri, Volume 3, page 177.
 [Tarikh Damishq, 7:430]
 [Rijal-i-Kashi, page 71].
 [al-Maqaalaat wal-Firaq page 20].
 Tanqih al-Maqaal Fi Ilm al-Rijaal (2/183-184).
 Ibn Abi al-Hadeed, Sharh Nahj al-Balaaghah (5/5).
 Ni'matullah al-Jazaa'iree, al-Anwaar al-Nu'maaniyyah (2/234)
 Nau Bakhti, [Khandan-i-Nau-Bakhti, page 275].
 Muhammad Ali al-Mual'lim, "Abdullah bin Saba: The Unknown reality", page X.
 Bihar Al Anwar, By Allama Baqir Majlasi, 97/65.
 Fundamental Shi'te Beliefs, Pages 11–13.

External links

7th-century Islamic religious leaders
Converts to Islam from Judaism
People executed by the Rashidun Caliphate
Yemenite Jews
7th-century Arabian Jews
Ghulat leaders

Abd Allah ibn Saba'


Norman Luboff (May 14, 1917 – September 22, 1987) was an American music arranger, music publisher, and choir director.

Early years
Luboff was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1917.  He studied piano as a child and participated in his high school chorus. Luboff studied at the University of Chicago and Central College in Chicago. Following this, he did graduate work with the composer Leo Sowerby while singing and writing for radio programs in Chicago. Luboff served in the U.S. Army's Signal Corps.

Radio, TV and film
With a call from Hollywood to be choral director of The Railroad Hour, a radio weekly starring Gordon MacRae, Luboff began a successful career scoring many television programs and more than 80 motion pictures. He also recorded with artists such as Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Frankie Laine and Doris Day.

Publishing company
In 1950, he established Walton Music Corporation, to publish his music. Luboff provided a vehicle for composers in Sweden to have their works available in the United States, including Waldemar Åhlén, and Egil Hovland from Norway. Walton Music exists today as a major choral music publisher under the guidance of Luboff's widow, Gunilla Marcus-Luboff, a former Swedish television producer.

Norman Luboff Choir
Luboff was the founder and conductor of the Norman Luboff Choir, one of the leading choral groups of the 1950s, 60s and 70s. They came to prominence through their participation in the very successful Christmas broadcasts with Bing Crosby which ran from 1955 to 1962. History was made in 1956 when Luboff and his choir recorded with Harry Belafonte on "Calypso", the first album to sell one million copies. The choral group toured yearly from 1963 to 1987, and recorded more than 75 albums. The holiday albums Songs of Christmas (1956) and Christmas with the Norman Luboff Choir (1964) were perennial bestsellers for years. Luboff and his choir won the 1961 Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus.

Luboff was also a guest conductor at many choirs in the United States and abroad.

His choir's version of Dixie was used on numerous tv & radio station sign-on & sign-offs in Southern USA including WRAL-TV, WBBR, WQOK, & WALT.

Death
Luboff died of lung cancer at his home in Bynum, North Carolina, in 1987 at the age of 70. The Norman Luboff Collection was donated to the Music Division of the United States Library of Congress in 1993 by his widow.

References

External links

Walton Music website

1917 births
1987 deaths
American male composers
American choral conductors
American male conductors (music)
American music arrangers
Musicians from Chicago
Grammy Award winners
RCA Victor artists
Deaths from lung cancer in North Carolina
20th-century American conductors (music)
20th-century American composers
Classical musicians from Illinois
20th-century American male musicians

Norman Luboff


Charles Patrick Mackenzie (1924-1986) is best known as a senior lecturer in veterinary medicine at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Edinburgh, Scotland.

Early life and career
Charles qualified at the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies in 1952 and pursued a career in veterinary medicine for the next ten years. He spent several years in Africa, principally at the Veterinary Research Institute in Vom, Nigeria.

He returned to the UK in 1958 where he took up general practice with Gordon Ashworth in Crieff.

In 1962, Charles joined the staff of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and spent the rest of his professional life in charge of the small animal medical hospital at Summerhall, first as a lecturer then as senior lecturer.

His research work included many clinical subjects; blood lead and plasma cortisol levels, skin parasitic conditions, endocrine disorders, thyroid hormones, excretion of amino acids, vitamin A deficiency and hepatic damage in canine diabetes.

David L. Doxey wrote:"He was one of those rare teachers who could instill enthusiasm into his audience and, because of this and his unfailingly friendly manner; he was universally popular among the student body."

Later life
In later years, Charles suffered recurrent bouts of ill health over a period of many years and the death of his wife, Margaret.

He died aged 62 years on 19 February 1986, leaving behind his sons, Charlie and David.

External links
 http://www.nvri.gov.ng/
 http://www.ed.ac.uk/vet

References

1924 births
1986 deaths
British veterinarians

Charles Patrick Mackenzie


In entertainment, an origin story is a story that tells how a character or group of characters became the way they are. Very often, it adds to the main story. In comic books, an origin story explains how certain characters obtained the powers they have (often superpowers), or how they became a hero or villain.  When the comic or book is successful and grows older, origin stories are often rewritten and extended.

Literature

Origin story


Monica Ward (born August 5, 1965) is an Italian actress and voice actress.

Biography
Ward contributes to dubbing characters in anime, cartoons, movies, and other content as well as voicing characters in Italian animation such as Nova in Winx Club. She is best known as the voice of Lisa Simpson in the Italian dub of the animated series The Simpsons. She also voiced Marina in the second Italian dub of Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid, Steff in the Italian dub of Freakazoid! and Blossom in the Italian dubs of The Powerpuff Girls and Powerpuff Girls Z.

Ward has American ancestry on her father's side. Her paternal grandfather was a U.S Marine during World War I.

She is the youngest child and only daughter of Aleardo and Maresa Ward and the younger sister of Luca and Andrea Ward.

Voice work

Animation
 Blair in Soul Eater
 Steff in Freakazoid!
 Blossom in The Powerpuff Girls
 Blossom in Powerpuff Girls Z
 Blossom in The Powerpuff Girls Movie
 Lisa Simpson in The Simpsons
 Lisa Simpson in The Simpsons Movie
 Angelica Pickles in Rugrats (2nd dub)
 Marina in Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid (2nd dub)
 Nakoma in Disney's Pocahontas and its 1998 direct-to-video sequel
 Skunk in Skunk Fu!
 Nova in Winx Club
 Heather in Total Drama
 Elena Patata and Ezechiele Zick in Monster Allergy
 Caitlin Cooke in 6teen
 Nova in Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go!
 Cathy Kawaye in Sarah Lee Jones
 Maggie Lee in Maya & Miguel
 Nicky Little in Pepper Ann
 Juniper Lee in The Life and Times of Juniper Lee
 Jelly in TeachTown
 Haruna Sakurada in Sailor Moon (Viz Media redub)
 Leona Lion in Between the Lions
 Diana Lombard in Martin Mystery
 Ranma Saotome (female) in Ranma ½ (episodes 1-161) (1st dub)
 Kyoko Otonashi, Kentaro Ichinose and Ritsuko Chigusa in Maison Ikkoku (episodes 1-52)
 Filmore in South Park
 Marshall, Farmer Yumi, and various characters in PAW Patrol
 Lola Bunny in Baby Looney Tunes
 Lily in LeapFrog
 Marinette in Tomodachi Life: The TV Series
 Vince LaSalle in Recess
 Laura Carrot, Annie, Miss Achmetha and Grandma Gourd in VeggieTales
 Maria Hill in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes
 Shock in The Nightmare Before Christmas
 Boots in Dora the Explorer
 Todd in ToddWorld
 Athena, Josephine X, Spring Horae, Hera in Class of the Titans
 Sagwa in Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat
 Olly in (mini cuccioli)
 Mimi in Baby Felix
 Sophie McNally in ChalkZone

Live action shows
 Samantha Spade in Without a Trace (played by  Poppy Montgomery)
 Summer Van Horn in Make It or Break It (played by Candace Cameron Bure)

Cinema
 Cheerleader in Scream
 Sandra Babcox in ParaNorman

Dubbing director
 Total Drama
 Chuck (season 2-present)

See also
 Non-English versions of The Simpsons

References

External links

1965 births
Living people
Actresses from Rome
Italian voice actresses
Italian voice directors
Italian people of American descent
People of Tuscan descent

Monica Ward