Death Comes to Pemberley (TV series)

Death Comes to Pemberley is a three-part British television drama based on the best-selling 2011 P.D. James novel of the same name. Her murder mystery was based on the style and characters of Jane Austen's 1813 novel "Pride and Prejudice."
The series was commissioned by Controller of BBC Drama Commissioning Ben Stephenson and then-Controller of BBC One Danny Cohen, and was first broadcast from 26 to 28 December 2013 on BBC One.
Premise.
It is June 1803, six years after the marriage of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet, as recounted in "Pride and Prejudice." One evening, George Wickham and his wife Lydia (Elizabeth's sister) are travelling by carriage to Pemberly for a ball with Captain Denny. Wickham and Denny have an argument, and leave the carriage in anger. The two men disappear into the woodland, where Lydia hears two gunshots. After being informed, Darcy sends out a search party, who find Wickham distraught and hysterical, holding Denny's body and blaming himself for his murder.
Production.
Casting.
The cast was announced on 18 June 2013. The series was cast by Gary Davy. Actor Tom Ward, who plays Colonel Fitzwilliam, is the only cast member to have previously played a role in an adaptation of "Pride and Prejudice". He played Lt Chamberlayne in the 1995 BBC adaptation.
Filming.
Filming began in June 2013 on location in Yorkshire and Derbyshire and has been supported with investment from Screen Yorkshire. Chatsworth House in Derbyshire was used as the exterior of Pemberley, and rooms at Chatsworth and at Castle Howard and Harewood House, both in Yorkshire, were used for indoor scenes. Areas of National Trust land, including Hardcastle Crags, Fountains Abbey and the Studley Royal estate and Treasurer's House, were also used in filming. Beverley's Guildhall provided the location for a courtroom. The gallows scenes were filmed on a purpose-built scaffold outside York Crown Court, with Wickham emerging from the gate to the old debtors' prison in the York Museum.
Reception.
"The Guardian" described the tone of the first episode as respectful of Austen's original, but "not afraid to stand out and be its own very different thing as well", describing it as a "mashup" between period drama and Agatha Christie or "Midsomer Murders". A later "Guardian" review described the series as "pretty much perfect Christmas TV", praising the appearance of the series and the "satisfying plot". Lina Talbot, writing for "The Independent", praised the casting of Mr and Mrs Bennet. The "Radio Times" praised the production values of the piece, and noted that they were supported by a "meaty" plot.


Jan van Helmont (painter)

Jan van Helmont (Antwerp, 14 February 1650 - – between 1714 and 1734) was a Flemish painter of history subjects, genre scenes and portraits.
Life.
Jan van Helmont was born in Antwerp as the son of the genre painter Mattheus van Helmont. There are no records about his artistic training. He became a master of the Antwerp Guild of St Luke in 1675–1676. In 1676 he became a member of the 'Sodaliteit der Bejaerde Jongmans', a fraternity for bachelors established by the Jesuit order. In 1690 he became a consultor of the 'Sodaliteit der Getrouwden', a fraternity for married men established by the Jesuit order.
Jan van Helmont married on 26 August 1679 Isabella le Rousseau and was the father of the painter and tapestry designer Zeger Jacob van Helmont.
Van Helmont had a number of pupils including Jan le Grand and Jan-Frederickx Verspecken (1682-1683), Peter van Roy (1683-1684), Niclaes van Diest (1685-1686), Ferdinandus Colijns, Petrus de Wolff and Carolus-Henricus Lefever (1696-1697).
Works.
Jan van Helmont was a painter of history subjects, genre scenes and portraits. He painted many portraits of prominent personalities of his time including Johannes Jacobus Moretus and his wife Theresia Mechtildis Schilders (1717, Plantin-Moretus Museum), the then owners of the Plantin Moretus printing house in Antwerp. He received regularly commissions from the Antwerp city authorities to paint portraits of historic figures such as Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and to restore the portraits of the 34 sovereigns in the state room of the Antwerp City Hall.
Some of van Helmont's portrait paintings were later engraved by the Dutch engraver Jacob Houbraken. An example is the ', which was engraved by Houbraken after a drawing made by Aart Schouman after a painting by Jan van Helmont. Jan van Helmont made designs for engravings by the Antwerp engraver Gaspar Bouttats. An example is the ' (c. 1674 British Museum), which is an engraving by Bouttats after a drawing by van Helmont of a memorial plaque for the noble lady Isabelle de Berchem.
Jan van Helmont created history paintings on religious subjects for churches throughout Flanders including in Aalst, Willebroek and Wambeek.
The collection of the Museum of Military History, Vienna holds a 'guardroom scene' by Jan van Helmont. A guardroom scene typically depicts a scene with officers and soldiers engaged in merrymaking. Guardroom scenes often included mercenaries and prostitutes dividing booty, harassing captives or indulging in other forms of reprehensible activities. The genre became popular in the mid-17th century, particularly in the Dutch Republic. In Flanders there were also a few practitioners of the genre including David Teniers the Younger, Abraham Teniers, Anton Goubau, Cornelis Mahu, Jan Baptist Tijssens the Younger and Jan van Helmont's father Mattheus. Van Helmont's composition depicts soldiers in front of a gate. On the left there is a soldier holding up a flag over a cannon, a pile of weapons, armour and a drum. The armour depicted in the picture was already out of date at the time it was painted since metal armours, breast plates and helmets fell out of use from the 1620s. It is possible that in line with the moralizing intent of the genre, the armour is a reference to the vanitas motif of the transience of power and fame.


Angelica Kauffman

Maria Anna Angelika Kauffmann (30 October 1741 – 5 November 1807), usually known in English as Angelica Kauffman, was a Swiss Neoclassical painter who had a successful career in London and Rome. Remembered primarily as a history painter, Kauffmann was a skilled portraitist, landscape and decoration painter. She was, along with Mary Moser, one of two female painters among the founding members of the Royal Academy in London in 1768.
Early life.
Kauffman was born at Chur in Graubünden, Switzerland. Her family moved to Morbegno in 1742, then Como in Lombardy in 1752 at that time under Austrian rule. In 1757 she accompanied her father to Schwarzenberg in Vorarlberg/Austria where her father was working for the local bishop. Her father, Joseph Johann Kauffmann, was a relatively poor man but a skilled Austrian muralist and painter, who was often traveling for his work. He trained Angelica and she worked as his assistant, moving through Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. Angelica, a child prodigy, rapidly acquired several languages from her mother, Cleophea Lutz, including German, Italian, French and English. She also showed talent as a musician and was forced to choose between opera and art. She quickly chose art as a Catholic priest told her that the opera was a dangerous place filled with "seedy people." By her twelfth year she had already become known as a painter, with bishops and nobles being her sitters.
In 1754, her mother died and her father decided to move to Milan. Later visits to Italy of long duration followed. She became a member of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze in 1762. Kauffman and her family moved to Florence in June 1762, where the young artist first discovered the painting style that was coined Neoclassical painting. Moving to Rome in January 1763, Kauffman was introduced to the British community. While learning more English and continuing her portraiture, a few months later the family moved again to Naples. There Kauffman studied works by the Old Masters, and had her first painting sent to a public exhibition in London. Later in 1763 she visited Rome, returning again in 1764. From Rome she passed to Bologna and Venice, everywhere feted for her talents and charm. Writing from Rome in August 1764 to his friend Franke, Winckelmann refers to her popularity; she was then painting his picture, a half-length; of which she also made an etching. She spoke Italian as well as German, he says, and expressed herself with facility in French and English - one result of the last-named accomplishment being that she became a popular portraitist for British visitors to Rome. "She may be styled beautiful," he adds, "and in singing may vie with our best virtuosi". In 1765, her work appeared in England in an exhibition of the Free Society of Artists. She moved to England shortly after and established herself as a leading artist.
Years in Great Britain.
While in Venice, Kauffman was persuaded by Lady Wentworth, the wife of the British ambassador, to accompany her to London. One of the first pieces she completed in London was a portrait of David Garrick, exhibited in the year of her arrival at "Mr Moreing's great room in Maiden Lane." The rank of Lady Wentworth opened society to her, and she was everywhere well received, the royal family especially showing her great favour. Her firmest friend, however, was Sir Joshua Reynolds. In his pocket-book her name as "Miss Angelica" or "Miss Angel" appears frequently; and in 1766 he painted her, a compliment which she returned by her "Portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds". Another instance of her intimacy with Reynolds is to be found in her variation of Guercino's "Et in Arcadia ego", a subject which Reynolds repeated a few years later in his portrait of Mrs Bouverie and Mrs Crewe.
In 1767 Kauffman was seduced by an imposter going under the name Count Frederick de Horn, whom she married, but they were separated the following year. It was probably owing to Reynolds's good offices that she was among the signatories to the petition to the King for the establishment of the Royal Academy. In its first catalogue of 1769 she appears with "R.A." after her name (an honour she shared with one other woman, Mary Moser); and she contributed the "Interview of Hector and Andromache", and three other classical compositions. She spent several months in Ireland in 1771, as a guest of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Viscount Townshend. and undertook a number of portrait commissions there. Her notable Irish portraits include those of Philip Tisdall, the Attorney General for Ireland, and his wife Mary, who acted as her patron, and of Henry Loftus, 1st Earl of Ely and his family, including his niece Dorothea Monroe, the most admired Irish beauty of her time. It appears that among her circle of friends was Jean-Paul Marat, then living in London and practising medicine, with whom she may have had an affair.
Her friendship with Reynolds was criticized in 1775 by fellow Academician Nathaniel Hone, who courted controversy in 1775 with his satirical picture "The Conjurer". It was seen to attack the fashion for Italian Renaissance art and to ridicule Sir Joshua Reynolds, leading the Royal Academy to reject the painting. It also originally included a nude caricature of Kauffman in the top left corner, which he painted out after she complained to the academy. The combination of a little girl and an old man has also been seen as symbolic of Kauffman and Reynolds's closeness, age difference, and rumoured affair.
From 1769 until 1782 Kauffman was an annual exhibitor with the Royal Academy, sending sometimes as many as seven pictures, generally on classical or allegoric subjects. One of the most notable was "Leonardo expiring in the Arms of Francis the First" (1778).
In 1773 she was appointed by the Academy with others to decorate St Paul's Cathedral, a scheme that was never carried out, and it was she who, with Biagio Rebecca, painted the Academy's old lecture room at Somerset House.
History painting.
While Kauffman produced portraits, and self-portraits, she identified herself primarily as a history painter, an unusual designation for a woman artist in the 18th century. History painting was considered the most elite and lucrative category in academic painting during this time period and, under the direction of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the Royal Academy made a strong effort to promote it to a native audience more interested in commissioning and buying portraits and landscapes. Despite the popularity that Kauffman enjoyed in British society, and her success there as an artist, she was disappointed by the relative apathy of the British towards history painting. Ultimately, she left Britain for Rome, where history painting was better established, held in higher esteem and patronized.[20]
History painting, as defined in academic art theory, was classified as the most elevated category. Its subject matter was the representation of human actions based on themes from history, mythology, literature, and scripture. This required extensive learning in biblical and Classical literature, knowledge of art theory and a practical training that included the study of anatomy from the male nude. Most women were denied access to such training, especially the opportunity to draw from nude models; yet Kauffman managed to cross the gender boundary. It is unclear as to how she gained the knowledge of the male anatomy that she had, but there is speculation that she studied plaster casts of statues. The male characters in her artworks are seen as being more feminine than most painters would chose to display, which may be a result of her lack of formal training on male anatomy.
Later years in Rome.
In 1781, after her first husband's death (she had long been separated from him), she married Antonio Zucchi (1728–1795), a Venetian artist then resident in England. Shortly afterwards she retired to Rome, where she befriended, among others, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; yet, always restive, she wanted to do more and lived for another 25 years with much of her old prestige intact.
In 1782, Kauffman's father died, as did her husband in 1795. In 1794, she painted, "Self-Portrait Hesitating Between Painting and Music", in which she emphasizes the difficult choice she had faced in choosing painting as her sole career, in dedication to her mother's death. She continued at intervals to contribute to the Royal Academy in London, her last exhibit being in 1797. After this she produced little, and in 1807 she died in Rome, being honored by a splendid funeral under the direction of Canova. The entire Academy of St Luke, with numerous ecclesiastics and virtuosi, followed her to her tomb in Sant'Andrea delle Fratte, and, as at the burial of Raphael, two of her best pictures were carried in procession.
Legacy.
By the time of her death she had made herself what she considered to be a renewed artist. This explains why her funeral was directed by the well known Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova. Canova designed her funeral based on the funeral of the Renaissance master Raphael.
By 1911, rooms decorated with her work were still to be seen in various places. At Hampton Court was a portrait of the duchess of Brunswick; in the National Portrait Gallery, a self-portrait (NPG 430).
There were other pictures by her in Paris, at Dresden, in the Hermitage at St Petersburg, in the Alte Pinakothek at Munich, in Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn (Estonia) and in the Joanneum Alte Galerie at Graz. The Munich example was another portrait of herself, and there was a third in the Uffizi at Florence. A few of her works in private collections were exhibited among the Old Masters at Burlington House.
Kauffman is also well known by the numerous engravings from her designs by Schiavonetti, Francesco Bartolozzi and others. Those by Bartolozzi especially found considerable favour with collectors. Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827), artist, patriot, and founder of a major American art dynasty, named several of his children after notable European artists, including a daughter, Angelica Kauffman Peale.
A biography of Kauffman was published in 1810 by . The book was also the basis of a romance by Léon de Wailly (1838) and it prompted the novel contributed by Anne Isabella Thackeray to the "Cornhill Magazine" in 1875 entitled "Miss Angel".
The Angelika Kauffmann Museum.
The Angelika Kauffmann Museum in Schwarzenberg, Vorarlberg (Austria) was established in 2007. This location is in the same area that her father called home. The annually changing exhibitions focus on different aspects and themes of her artistic work. In the 2019 exhibition "Angelika Kauffmann – Unknown Treasures from Vorarlberg Private Collections", many of her paintings were shown to the public for the first time, as a large proportion of her oeuvre is owned by private collectors. The museum is housed in the so-called "Kleberhaus", an old farmhouse in the typical architectural style of the region.


Act One (play)

Act One is a play written by James Lapine, based on Moss Hart's 1959 autobiography of the same title. The play premiered on Broadway in 2014.
Production.
"Act One" premiered on Broadway
at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in Lincoln Center on March 20, 2014 (previews), officially on April 17, 2014. Directed by James Lapine, the cast featured Santino Fontana, Tony Shalhoub (as George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart) and Andrea Martin. Martin played three women in Moss Hart's life; Shalhoub also played three roles: as the older Hart, Moss's father, and George S. Kaufman. The play closed on June 15, 2014 after 67 performances and 31 previews. It was filmed to be shown on the PBS television program "Live from Lincoln Center." The filmed production was first televised on PBS in November 2015 & then uploaded to the Lincoln Center At Home Youtube page on June 19th 2020.
The play had a reading on Martha's Vineyard in July 2012, with Tony Shalhoub, Debra Monk, Chuck Cooper and David Turner. The play was developed at the Vineyard Arts Project. The book had previously been adapted into a film in 1963.
Overview.
The play is an adaptation of Moss Hart's autobiography "Act One". The play, narrated by the older Moss Hart, traces his life from being poor in The Bronx to becoming famous and successful as a Broadway writer and director. The play depicts Hart's meeting and collaboration with George S. Kaufman. "Act One" ends with the production of the Hart-Kaufman successful play, "Once in a Lifetime" in 1930.
Critical reception.
Ben Brantley, in his review for "The New York Times", wrote "whatever its flaws, 'Act One,'... brims contagiously with the ineffable, irrational and irrefutable passion for that endangered religion called the Theater."
Elysa Gardner, in her review in "USA Today", wrote that the play "... is rather an appreciation, most notable for its deep affection and almost deferential reverence. To say the play lacks the complex poignance of the 'Sunday in the Park with George' and 'Into the Woods' librettist's best work wouldn't be fair; however wry Hart's humor or complicated his relationships — with show business, his family, other people — his 'Act One' is a nostalgic and ultimately upbeat reflection on fulfilling a dream...Lapine captures that essence and the period, on the page and on the stage."
The play received nominations for five Tony Awards, with Beowulf Boritt winning for what "Playbill" called his "captivating, multi-level set design, built on a large-scale revolve..."


The Osama bin Laden I Know

Peter Bergen's The Osama bin Laden I Know () is a book published in 2006. It is a comprehensive collection of personal accounts by people who have met Osama bin Laden or worked with him at various stages of his terrorist career.
Summary.
Peter Bergen’s 2006 book, "The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al-Qaeda’s Leader," reads like an encyclopedia on the subject of Osama bin Laden. From the beginning stages of bin Laden’s life in the port city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to the founding of his Al-Qaeda organization in the wake of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and further on, bin Laden’s jihad against the United States, culminating in the September 11 attacks in the United States, Bergen’s work takes a personal approach with his research.
Bergen interviewed key witnesses such as Khaled Batarfi, bin Laden’s next-door neighbor in Jeddah, who recalled that the young bin Laden enjoyed American television programs and especially Bruce Lee movies at the same time that he was notably religious, even as a teenager. Later, the reader is shown minutes of the meeting where bin Laden and several others created Al-Qaeda. At another point, the transcript of an interrogation of Shadi Abdalla by German police reveals how he became bin Laden’s bodyguard, and a part of his inner circle, in 2000. Further excerpts exhibit a divide within Al-Qaeda over the September 11th attacks, with some members of the group stating that they felt that it was wrong to use airliners to attack the World Trade Center, resulting in the deaths of women, children, and citizens of neutral nations.
Later on, the reader is given access to materials showing Al-Qaeda was hopeful about acquiring weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear material. Finally, Bergen ponders bin Laden’s legacy and notes that bin Laden had “painted [himself] into a corner, where [the] only strategy [was] to call for more violence.” As we now know, bin Laden’s affiliates in Iraq would heed this call via their evolution into ISIS.
Reception.
Former counterterrorism advisor to George W. Bush, Richard A. Clarke, in "The Washington Post" calls Bergen’s work a “go-to resource” that provides insight into the life of Osama bin Laden with a level of detail that is unprecedented. Max Rodenbeck of "The New York Review of Books," says that Bergen has created a “fascinating sequence of oblique-angled perspectives, casting light on the underlying motives of bin Laden and his companions and revealing some of his less-remarked but significant adventures.”
L. Carl Brown at "Foreign Affairs Magazine" praises Bergen’s ability to create a “coherent and dramatic account” from such a large collection of individual sources. Barry Rubin in the "Claremont Review of Books" offers that Bergen’s book is a “remarkable read,” and says that while “the constant switching of sources is somewhat jarring, the book provides the clearest narrative account of bin Laden’s life.” Writing for "The Guardian," Jason Burke calls The Osama bin Laden I Know, “simply one of the most important works to have been published [about bin Laden].”


Adesuwa

Adesuwa (A Wasted Lust) is a 2012 Nigerian historical fiction film produced and directed by Lancelot Oduwa Imasuen. It stars Olu Jacobs, Bob-Manuel Udokwu, and Kofi Adjorlolo. The film was scheduled to be released in theatres across Nigeria on 4 May 2012, but due to an ownership rift between the director and executive producer, it was released on DVD. The film was shot in Benin City, Edo State.
It received 10 nominations at the 8th Africa Movie Academy Awards, and won the awards for Achievement in Costume Design, Achievement in Visual effects, and Best Nigerian film.
Reception.
Nollywood Reinvented gave "Adesuwa" a 49% rating; praising its production, directing, and originality. The reviewer found the film interesting but not especially gripping.
External links.
"Adesuwa" at Nollywood Reinvented


The Golden Horde (video game)

The Golden Horde () is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows. Developed by World Forge, it was published in Russia by Russobit-M in February 2008, in Europe by JoWooD in March 2008, and in North America by DreamCatcher Interactive in July 2008. A spiritual successor to ' and "Fate of Hellas", "Golden Horde" uses the same game engine as the previous titles - the Ancient Wars Engine (AWE) - and features similar gameplay. One more World Forge game using this engine and gameplay style would follow - ' (released as "Age of Alexander" in some territories).
Set in Russia and Eastern Europe during the Mongol invasion (1237-1242), the game features three playable races - Mongols, Russians, and Crusaders - each of whom has their own campaign, which occasionally overlaps with the other two. The campaigns feature fictional depictions of historical figures such as Batu Khan, Burundai, Jebei, Subutai, Yuri Ingvarevich, Yuri Vsevolodovich, Evpaty Kolovrat, Alexander Yaroslavich, Birger Magnusson, and Herman von Salza, and depict such events as the fall of Ryazan, the Battle of the Sit River, the Siege of Kolomna, the Battle of the Neva, and the Battle on the Ice.
"The Golden Horde" received mainly negative reviews. Although some critics lauded the ability for the player to arm their soldiers with opponents' discarded weaponry, the majority were unimpressed with the AI, pathfinding, and LAN-only multiplayer. The game's slow pace was singled out by many as especially problematic.
Gameplay.
"The Golden Horde" is a real-time strategy game, controlled via a point and click interface, in which the primary goal on most maps is to build a strong enough army to defeat the opponent or opponents by destroying their settlement, or, on occasion, occupying a specific building on the map. To achieve this end, the player must engage in some basic economic micromanagement, such as gathering resources and constructing buildings.
Game modes.
The game can be played in one of two modes; single-player or multiplayer. In single-player mode, the player can play either campaign missions or individual non-campaign games. In campaign mode, the player must complete a series of missions, the goal of many of which is to defeat the computer controlled opponent or opponents by destroying their settlement. Most missions have several primary objectives, which usually must be completed sequentially, and often one or more secondary objectives. Secondary objectives are not necessary to complete the mission, but they do reward the player with troops or resources if completed. The game features thirteen missions (a four-mission campaign for the Mongols, a five-mission campaign for the Russians, and a four-mission campaign for the Crusaders). The campaigns are independent of one another, and can be played in any order. The missions within each campaign, however, are linear, and each mission only becomes available when the previous one has been completed.
In non-campaign single-player and multiplayer modes, the player chooses the map on which to play, and then selects the type of game, choosing from "No other players" (the player plays the mission without any opposition), "AI" (the player competes against only computer controlled opponents), and "Open" (the player competes against either a combination of computer controlled and human controlled opponents, or all human controlled opponents). Multiplayer mode allows for up to six players, or any combination of human players and computer controlled opponents. Multiplayer games can only be played via a LAN; there is no online multiplayer mode.
Settlements and resources.
Whether playing in single-player or multiplayer mode, each game begins roughly the same way; the player is positioned at a set location on the map, sometimes with a prebuilt base building, and often with a certain number of soldiers and/or workers. The upper population of the player's settlement is determined by the capacity of all villages under the player's control. Each village increases the population cap by ten individual slots, although this process happens gradually rather than all at once. Once available, each slot can be filled by a worker or soldier, depending on the player's actions. If a villager dies, his slot will be made available again after a set time has passed. Workers are required to construct buildings and gather wood. They also occupy and perform the requisite task of each building. Workers can be directly controlled by the player, and can be ordered to repair buildings and collect enemy weapons.
The game features two types of resource; wood and metal, which are required to construct buildings and manufacture equipment. Wood can be acquired by clearing forests; metal must be mined. To do so, the player must build a metal mine atop a metal deposit. Each deposit has a set amount of metal, and to exhaust the deposit, the player must upgrade the mine. At level one, a mine will yield one-third of the total metal amount; at level two, it will yield two-thirds, and at level three, it will yield 100%. Wood has to be transported by workers from the point of origin to the base building, but they do not have to be transported to building sites, to buildings where they are being used for manufacturing, or to buildings that are being upgraded.
Each of the three races has its own unique buildings, heroes, soldiers, and special abilities. Mongol buildings are mobile, and each building can be disassembled and transported to another location; Russian buildings can only be constructed within a certain distance of the base building; Crusaders' buildings can be built in any location, and are fixed - once built, they cannot be relocated. The Mongol base building is the Khan's House, the Russian is the Tachara, and the Crusaders' is the Acropolis.
Combat.
There are three basic type of weapon with which players can equip soldiers - melee weapons such as swords, axes, and clubs, short ranged weapons such as spears and pikes, and long ranged weapons such as bows and javelins. Each soldier can carry one weapon plus a shield. Depending on which race the player is using, there are different soldiers available for recruitment. Mongols have one unit type - Aduuchs, who are trained in the Yurt of Warriors. Prior to levelling up, Aduuchs can also be used as workers. Upon levelling up, an Aduuch becomes a specialised unit - a Turgen (swordsman), Nuker (spearman), or Nachin (archer), determined by which weapon he had equipped at the moment he levelled up. Russians also have one unit type - Druzhinniks, who are trained in the Detinets. When initially trained, they do not have a specialisation, which is only acquired when they level up. Like the Mongolians, the nature of their specialisation depends on which weapon they are using at the moment they level up. Crusaders have two unit types - Capitularies and Knights, both of which are trained in the garrison. Knights are stronger, but Capitularies are faster, with Knights better suited to melee combat, and Capitularies to ranged combat. However, players are free to recruit ranged Knights and melee Capitularies. When initially trained, soldiers do not have a specialisation, which is only acquired when they level up. The nature of their specialisation depends on which weapon they are using when they level up.
Initially, the player is restricted to using default equipment, but once the forge is built and the smith starts to earn experience, more weapons and shields become available. At the highest level of experience, the smith can manufacture a banner, only one of which can be used at a time, and which grants all soldiers stat increases. Each race's banner grants different bonuses. Manufacturing each piece of equipment costs resources and takes time, and once a piece of equipment has been manufactured, the player can equip it to any unit. An alternative way to equip soldiers is to have workers collect the equipment of defeated enemies. This equipment can then be used by the player to equip their own army without any manufacture time. Player's can also take possession of the opponent's banner, which will grant different stat improvements than their own unique banner.
Every time an enemy unit is killed, all player units within a certain range gain experience points, with the unit who performed the fatal hit gaining more experience than other nearby units. When a unit accumulates a certain amount of experience, he levels up, increasing his hit points, defence, and offence. He also gains access to additional special abilities. This is an automatic process; the player has no input into the levelling up process of normal units. Players do, however, have input in levelling up heroes. Heroes have more health points and are stronger than normal units, and in some missions, if the player's hero dies, the mission is immediately over. When the hero gains a level, the player must manually upgrade his skills, choosing from three categories of skill - Strategic (grants bonuses to all allied troops), Tactical (grants bonuses to all nearby troops), and Combat (grants bonuses to hero unit only).
When the player's units see enemies, they react automatically, depending on which stance the player has selected from the four available; "Aggressive" (attack enemies as soon as they come within range, and pursue fleeing enemies indefinitely), "Defensive" (attack enemies as soon as they come within range, but only pursue them a short distance), "Hold the ground" (units defend their position and do not pursue the enemy), and "Passive" (units do not attack the enemy unless they are attacked first). As well as these four stances, the player also has three formations from which to choose: line, column, and free formation. Weather conditions also play a part in combat. For example, rain slows down all movement, snow decreases visibility and shooting range, ice can break and drown troops, fire can spread from one object to another depending on wind direction and speed. Wind is also important for archers - those shooting downwind get a 10%-30% range increase, depending on the strength of the wind, whilst those shooting upwind get a 10%-30% range decrease.
Plot.
The Mongolian campaign.
The campaign begins in 1237. Ögedei Khan is the 2nd Khagan-Emperor of the Mongol Empire, and as part of his plan to conquer Europe, Ögedei has ordered Batu Khan, founder of the Golden Horde, to invade Russia. As the game begins, Batu has led the Horde to the southern edge of Ryazan.
He offers the Grand Duke of Ryazan, Yuri Ingvarevich, a chance to surrender, but Ingvarevich refuses. Along with his generals Burundai, Jebei, and Subutai, Batu successfully leads his army against the city. However, Ingvarevich and some of his soldiers escape, relocating to the forests along the Sit River. Led by Burundai, a force is sent through the forests to take Ingvarevich by surprise. At the Battle of the Sit River, Burundai is successful, wiping out the remains of Ryazan's resistance.
Following the Mongol occupation of Russia, many Cuman-Kipchak tribes fled the country and travelled west. One such tribe was that led by Kotjan Kahn, which headed to Hungary. There, they were offered asylum if they converted to Christianity. They did so and allied themselves with the Hungarian king, Béla IV, vowing to fight the Mongols, who were preparing to invade. However, in 1241, worried that Béla was using the Cumans to solidify his hold on power, Hungarian nobles murdered Kotjan. This infuriated the tribe, who immediately left Hungary, heading towards the Balkans, and destroying every village in their path. En route, they are attacked by a Mongol force led by Subutai, and many are killed, leaving the path open for the Mongols to invade Hungary and continue with the occupation of Europe.
The Russian campaign.
The Russian campaign begins as Ingvarevich receives a letter from Batu demanding that he surrender Ryazan. Ignoring the demand, he begins preparing the city for attack, contacting Yuri Vsevolodovich, Grand Duke of Vladimir, for assistance. However, unwilling to let go of past enmity between Ryazan and Vladimir, Vsevolodovich ignores the pleas for aid. Although initially successful in defending the city, after several weeks of sustained attacks, Ryazan eventually falls.
Towards the end of the siege, a boyar named Evpaty Kolovrat manages to escape with a group of about 1,700 men, and after the city falls, he begins to lead them in attacks on Batu's forces. After the Battle of the Sit River, the Mongols head towards Kolomna and lay siege to the fortress. A week later, they are attacked by a makeshift army composed of Kolovrat's troops, Vsevolodovich's troops (who had now decided to stand against the Mongols), and troops from Novgorod. They put up a valiant fight against the much larger Mongol force, even managing to slay Jebei, but eventually they fall along with Kolomna.
Three years later, Novgorod lookouts spot a Swedish army travelling along the Neva River. When alerted of the impending invasion, Alexander Yaroslavich, Prince of Novgorod, immediately begins to mobilise. Shortly thereafter he receives a letter from Birger Magnusson, a high ranking Swedish jarl and leader of the invasion. Magnusson taunts Yaroslavich, stating that there is little point in resisting. Irrespective of this, Yaroslavich marches his troops to Izhora. At the Battle of the Neva, Yaroslavich is victorious.
The following year, the Livonian Order, a branch of the Teutonic Knights, occupy Pskov, hoping to exploit Novgorod's weakness in the wake of the Mongol and Swedish invasions, but Yaroslavich successfully liberates the city. Determined to push the Order out of Russia, he marches to Lake Peipus, and in the Battle on the Ice, his troops engage with the Order on the frozen lake. Defeating them, Alexander is able to drive the invaders back, halting their eastward expansion.
The Crusader campaign.
The Crusader campaign begins during the Cuman exodus from Hungary. As the Cumans travel towards the Balkans, destroying any villages they encounter, they cross paths with a group of Teutonic Knights, who immediately send word for help. However, the messenger troop is intercepted and all but two are killed - a cleric and a young knight named Herman von Salza. Determined to complete their mission and carry the message to its destination, the duo manage to sneak out of Hungary and alert the Teutonic Order about what is happening.
Later that year, Pope Gregory IX receives a request to allow displaced Curonians to join the Livonian Order. Believing that uniting the Courland church with the Order will weaken any enemies in the region, Gregory agrees, and places von Salza in charge. Led by von Salza and Magnusson, the Order occupy Izborsk, before setting their sights on and successfully conquering Pskov.
Meanwhile, the Mongol invasion of Europe continues, with much of the Great Steppe now under their rule. Determined to complete the invasion before the beginning of spring, Batu orders Burundai to set up camp along the Oder River. However, having done so, the Mongols inadvertently converge with the troops led by Magnusson. In a series of hit-and-run battles, Magnusson is able to defeat multiple contingents of the Mongol army, slowing down the European invasion.
Reception.
The game received predominately negative reviews, with an aggregate score of 54 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on seven reviews.
"GameWatcher"s Simon Priest scored it 6.8 out of 10, acknowledging that "it probably won't be to everyone's taste." Although he found it to be "a pleasant shake up to the usual tried and true method of an RTS game", he also felt that "nothing here is going to blow you away".
"GameSpot"s Brett Todd scored it 6 out of 10, calling it "just about as mediocre as the developer's last effort.! He was critical of the "tedious micromanagement and sluggish paint-by-numbers real-time strategy gameplay", as well as how the story was presented, arguing that the game provides little context to any of the missions. He was also critical of "the sluggish pace" and the "plodding, dull" missions. Although he praised the variety of objectives within each mission, and argued that the AI was improved upon since the previous game, he concluded, "everything about this RTS is a blend of been-there, done-that formula."
"IGN"s Steve Butts scored it 5.8 out of 10. He was unimpressed with the "agonisingly slow pace", the AI (which "seems to rely too heavily on specific, limited triggers and exploitable scripted behaviour"), and the pathfinding. Although he praised the ability to equip units with enemies' weapons, he concluded "if you're absolutely chomping at the bit to get your hands on an RTS that lets you fight as Medieval Russians and Mongols, you don't have too many other options, but there's not much else here to recommend."
"PC Zone"s Ed Zitron scored it 36 out of 100, writing "its got everything you could possibly expect from a middling RTS but is hindered by wonky concepts." He was especially critical of the AI, pathfinding, and pace. He concluded, "the middling graphics, the hilariously bad voice acting, and AI that's erratic enough to sever any immersion you might be feeling all combine to make "The Golden Horde" patently unrecommendable."


La otra mirada

La otra mirada is a Spanish drama television series created by Josep Cister and Jaime Vaca. Starring, among others, Macarena García, Patricia López Arnaiz, Ana Wagener and Cecilia Freire, the fiction is set in 1920s Seville and it conveys a strongly feminist message.
Its two seasons originally aired from 2018 to 2019 on La 1.
Plot.
Set in an academy for young ladies in Seville in the 1920s, it shows a teaching center clinging to an unwavering way of doing things and conditioned by the traditions of the city and those years. All this universe and its pillars wobble with the arrival of a new teacher who has a very different way of seeing things and who has a secret objective directly related to the academy. The search for the own voice of a group of adult and young women will be the destiny of the protagonists.
Topics covered.
Each chapter of both seasons deals with problems and themes that occurred at that time of the series but which, unfortunately, are still nowadays in our society.
Thanks to the experiences and the stories of our protagonists, the series educates and shares knowledge. We can learn the history of Elena Maseras and about teaching in the female sector, to learn about the role of women and sport over the years, the importance of mutual support among women to understand feminism as a collective movement, the need of all women to tell their stories so that no one else can tell them for them, discover feminist artworks such as "" by Francisco de Goya, recognize that sexuality goes beyond male pleasure, self-knowledge of the female sexual organ, to value self-love, mental health, racism ... among many others.
La otra mirada could be perfectly used as an audiovisual work to teach in the schools and universities classes today.
Production and release.
Created by Josep Cister and Jaime Vaca, "La otra mirada" was produced by RTVE in collaboration with Boomerang TV. It was known as "Alma Mater" during pre-production. The episodes of season 1 were directed by Luis Santamaría, Mar Olid, Fernando González Molina, Miguel del Arco and Pablo Guerrero. Shooting locations included Seville, Madrid, Guadalajara and Toledo.
Although the series' premiere was scheduled for the northern hemisphere Summer of 2018, Televisión Española (TVE) decided to bring it forward on 25 April. The last episode aired on 25 July 2018. The season averaged a 9.0% audience share and 1,418,000 viewers.
By October 2018, RTVE decided to renew the series for a second and a final season of 8 episodes, despite the fact that its audience ratings were unimpressive. It however earned critical acclaim. Melina Matthews and Dariam Coco, as well as Joaquín Notario and César Vicente joined the cast for the new season. Credited directors in season 2 included Luis Santamaría, Pablo Guerrero and Carlos Navarro, whereas the writing team was formed by Alba Lucio, Irene Rodríguez, Ana Muñiz da Cunha and Tatiana Rodríguez. The broadcasting run spanned from 27 May 2019 to 15 July 2019.


Enter the Aardvark

Enter the Aardvark is an American satirical novel by Jessica Anthony originally published in 2020.
Plot summary.
The novel follows two related stories of repressed love connected via a giant taxidermied aardvark. One strand of the novel is set in modern-day Washington, D.C and chronicles freshman Rep. Alexander Paine Wilson's receipt of the stuffed aardvark via a mysterious FedEx dropoff. This event sets in motion a satirical chain of events for the neo-Reaganite congressman preparing for a reelection campaign. A separate thread set in Victorian-era London tells the story of Titus Downing, the taxidermist that originally the stuffed and displayed the aardvark. The two stories weave together similarities and secrets the men share across time and space.
Awards and recognition.
The novel featured on a number of year-end book review lists including "Time"'s "The 100 Must Read Books of 2020" and the The A.V. Club's "15 favorite books of 2020".
Publication history.
"Enter the Aardvark" was first published in hardcover in the United States by Little, Brown and Company on March 24, 2020. It was released in the United Kingdom by Penguin Random House on April 23, 2020.
Literary criticism.
Anthony received favorable reviews across a number of newspapers and online media include "The New York Times Book Review", "Los Angeles Times", "Time", "The Guardian", "Esquire", and "Los Angeles Review of Books". Maggie Lange reviewing for the "The Los Angeles Times" compared the novel to Vladimir Nabokov's "Pnin" as well as political satires such as HBO's television show "Veep" and Christopher Buckley's novel "Thank You For Smoking".


History Bites

History Bites is a television series on the History Television network that ran from 1998 to 2004. Created by Rick Green, "History Bites" explored what would be on television if the medium had been around for the last 5,000 years of human history.
Typically, a significant historical event was chosen and mock news, sports and entertainment programming was created around it. Each episode included several segments of Green offering historical background of the episode's chosen era and otherwise showed frequent shifts from one comedy sketch to another (as well as returning to certain sketches repeatedly) representing a channel-surfing viewer who never watched any one sketch for more than a few minutes at a time. Furthermore, the theme of the series is about debunking misplaced nostalgia about historical periods by illustrating their often absurd injustices and brutal realities to modern sensibilities.
Synopsis.
Contemporary movies, television shows and personalities (Martha Stewart, Don Cherry, Tom Brokaw, Dennis Miller, Larry King and Andy Rooney, among others) were comically adapted to the chosen era. For example, the legendary revenge story of the "47 Ronin" of early 18th-century Japan was told in the style of a made-for-TV movie modelled on the real-life film "The Godfather". Television sitcoms such as "Seinfeld" and "All in the Family" were also frequently parodied, with the characters commenting on time-appropriate events, be it Joan of Arc or the benefits of joining the elite Persian Immortals. Game and reality shows were parodied as well, including a depiction of the Donner Party as participants in an 1846 version of "Survivor", and almost every episode featured segments that parodied "Jeopardy!", "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and/or "The Weakest Link", in which contestants answered trivia questions about the common beliefs of the featured era. Anachronisms were frequent and deliberate, adding to the show's distinctive humour. For example, in one episode set in AD 100 and focusing on gladiatorial combat, the "Zamboni family" was responsible for tidying the Colosseum between bouts, in reference to modern Zamboni machines that repair rink surfaces during intermissions at ice hockey games.
By far, the earliest setting for an episode has been 6000 BC, in which viewers were advised on pre-monotheism ritual as well as the new technologies of agriculture, the bow and arrow and house-building. It also included a parody of a hospital show in which the treatment for every ailment was a trepanation. The most recent setting was 1880, in an episode largely about "The Shootout At Fly's Photographic Studio", a historically more accurate description of the event commonly known as the gunfight at the O.K. Corral.
The show's production values improved over its five seasons, increasing and refining the use of sets, costumes and props. Never lost was Green's message (stated explicitly in the first episode and alluded to in the closing of each episode) that fond nostalgia is misplaced and that the lives of our ancestors were rife with oppression, ignorance (including casually held antisemitic and/or racist beliefs), disease and suffering. Ultimately, the title "History Bites" has a double meaning, referring to the "soundbites"-like nature of the short clips from each sketch, as well as the often brutal and unpleasant nature of the history being satirized.
Parodies.
Films, television programs and personalities parodied on "History Bites" include:
Animation.
The fifth season of History Bites and most of the specials feature cartoon segments in a wide variety of styles animated by Bryce Hallett of Frog Feet Productions. These include parodies of "" (aka Captain Puritan), "Pokémon"/anime cartoons, "Scooby-Doo" and 1950s educational films as well as original material and styles in the specials. The cartoons are short but ambitious considering the modest budget of the show.
Specials.
After the end of the 5th season, "History Bites" continued with a series of one-hour specials. These episodes did not feature the channel-surfing theme that earlier episodes did.
Actors.
Regulars on the show (along with the characters they played/parodied) include:
As well, members of the show's writing staff were frequently used as extras or in bit roles, and as the series progressed, the writers (especially Danny DiTata) began to be featured in larger roles:
Notable guest stars include:


Chopin (opera)

Chopin is a four-act opera by Giacomo Orefice (1865–1922) to a libretto by , premiered in Milan in 1901.
The opera, which is "a wildly inaccurate account" of the life of Frédéric Chopin, is based entirely on his music, orchestrated by Orefice. The vocal score indicates the sources of the music, which include Chopin's sonatas, polonaises, mazurkas and nocturnes.
Synopsis.
The overture is based on Chopin's "Fantasy on Polish Airs", Op. 13. Act I is set in a village in Poland at Christmas time. Chopin declares his love to Stella (who is, like all the opera's characters except Chopin himself, entirely fictional). In Act II, set in Paris, Elio tells a group of children about the history and struggles of Poland, inspiring Chopin to fly to the piano and write a nocturne. Chopin's new love, Flora, is also present. Act III is set in Majorca, where the real Chopin spent the winter of 1838-9 with George Sand. In this version Chopin is there with Flora and their daughter, who dies after a thunderstorm and is mourned by the local population. In Act IV, Stella arrives in Paris from Poland just in time for Chopin to expire in her arms.
Reception.
The opera was premiered in the Teatro Lirico, Milan, on 25 November 1901. The Musical Times reported that "this rather curious lyrical stage-work" was "a distinct success." A production in Paris in 1905 was not well received by the critic Arthur Pougin, who commented "It is an idea, perhaps ingenious but certainly bizarre, to create an opera score by borrowing the elements of various works by a genius who, throughout his life, never dreamt of writing for the theatre", and concluded that Orifece had committed "a sacrilege". A modern assessment suggests that the opera is "in essence a kitsch contribution to the last vestiges of late 19th-century romanticized bohemianism and to the Italian 'scapigliatura'".
The opera was performed at the Opera Wrocławska in Wrocław, Poland, in 2010 as part of the Chopin bicentenary celebrations.


Meet the Ancestors

Meet the Ancestors (later Ancestors) is a BBC Television documentary series first broadcast in 1998. It documented the archaeological excavation and scientific reconstruction of human remains. The series was introduced by archaeologist Julian Richards and often included facial reconstructions by Caroline Wilkinson.
A follow-up to the series, "Stories from the Dark Earth: Meet the Ancestors Revisited", was broadcast in 2014 on BBC Four.


The Darling (novel)

The Darling is a historical novel written by Russell Banks, and published on October 12, 2004 by HarperCollins.
Summary.
The novel is narrated by white American leftist Hannah Musgrave, a woman in her fifties reflecting back on her life as a politically radical student who later became a member of the Weathermen and changes her name to Dawn Carrington. After a series of failed relationships with men, Dawn takes on a young mother named Carol as her lover and lives with her and her daughter Bettina while carrying on secret activities for the weathermen. After Zack, another member of her cell, erroneously tells her that they are both wanted by drug dealers, she flees with him to Ghana before moving on to the city of Monrovia in Liberia in 1975. There she meets and eventually marries the Minister of Public Health, Woodrow Sundiata, who is aware of her political past but is willing to overlook it because of the status that a white American woman brings to his family.
Their marriage is one of convenience on both sides and during the time they are together Hannah gives birth to three sons: Dillon, a math prodigy, and twin boys William and Paul. Motherhood does not come naturally to Hannah and she feels cold and distant with her children while at the same time feeling warm and loving to the chimpanzees she works with as part of her job.
In 1980 William R. Tolbert, Jr., the president of Liberia and a friend of Woodrow's, is murdered during a coup d'état. He is replaced by Samuel Doe. Hannah's life remains relatively comfortable throughout the political upheaval and she remains ignorant of the political situation in Liberia until three years later, in 1983, when she is 40 years old, when Woodrow is taken away from home in the middle of the night on accusations that he and Charles Taylor have embezzled aid relief for their own personal use. Woodrow is eventually able to successfully free himself but as a condition of his release Hannah is forced to return to America without her sons. Hannah is secretly relieved at the idea of abandoning her children and husband, though she mourns her separation from her chimpanzees.
In America Hannah decides to visit her parents for the first time in 15 years. After surprising her mother she learns that her father suffered a cerebral hemorrhage a few weeks before her return. Though her mother is optimistic about his recovery Hannah quickly realizes that he is completely brain-dead. She is able to visit her father once in the hospital before he dies. Shaken by the death of her father, Hannah steals her mothers car and goes to find Carol. She finds Zack living there and he tells her of his brief incarceration in a low-security prison where he met Charles Taylor. Hannah goes to meet Charles Taylor in jail and after he tells her that, once free, he will assassinate Samuel Doe and allow Hannah to return home, she agrees to help him escape from jail.
After helping Charles Taylor to flee America, Hannah begins to correspond with her husband Woodrow. She learns that Samuel Doe has lifted his imposed ban on her and she is free to return to Liberia.
Once in Liberia Hannah decides to open a rescue sanctuary for her beloved chimpanzees while she waits patiently for Charles Taylor to return and overthrow Samuel Doe. Eventually Charles Taylor and a small guerrilla group begin to invade Liberia, triggering the beginning of the First Liberian Civil War. Since Hannah and her family live in the country's capital, Monrovia they are able to stay protected for some time. Eventually, Samuel Doe, fearful that he is losing power, sends a group of assassins to murder Woodrow. Hannah and her children witness the murder and her sons run off shortly thereafter to join any of the rebel armies against Samuel Doe.
Hannah spends the rest of her time in Liberia fruitlessly searching for her sons despite the urging of Sam Clement, the American ambassador, to leave for America. He at last provides a video tape showing that her children are now child soldiers working for Prince Johnson who have murdered Samuel Doe. He also reveals that the Americans were behind Charles Taylor's escape from prison and rise to power and that they have known Hannah's true identity and movements for decades. Hannah, dispirited that all along she was working on behalf of the interests of the CIA finally leaves Liberia.
Reception.
The novel received positive reviews upon its publication. "The Guardian" called it "an urgent, passionate, compelling panorama" while noting that it "deserves to stand beside Conrad and Greene." "The Village Voice" praised Hannah as "The Darling's only full-bodied character, a monstrously magnetic woman" but criticized Bank's "inability or unwillingness to bring Hannah's African family to life" calling it a "major failure on Banks's part, in a book otherwise reverberating with ideas and startling prose."
Adaptations.
A film adaptation of "The Darling" starring Cate Blanchett and directed by Martin Scorsese was planned and later scrapped. In 2011 Jessica Chastain was rumoured to be attached to the role of Hannah with Denis Villeneuve directing.


Jean-Pierre Granger

Jean-Pierre Granger (11 March 1779, in Paris – 1 December 1840, in Paris) was a French painter who worked in the Neo-Classical style. He is primarily known for portraits, history paintings and mythological scenes, but also created numerous religious works. Some sources incorrectly call him Jean-Perrin.
Biography.
His father was a glazier. At the age of six, he became a drum major in the "Régiment Royal-Bonbons", a children's branch of the French Guards which was intended to provide "manly, patriotic training", but also served as a form of amusement for the Dauphin.
Two years later, his father made the acquaintance of Angélique Briceau (fl.1780-1800), a watercolorist who gave lessons to both of them. Shortly after, she married , who then gave them lessons in engraving. Granger worked as an engraver for seven years, but eventually felt constrained by the limits of that medium and entered the studios of Jean-Baptiste Regnault to study oil painting. Four years later, he worked closely with Jacques-Louis David.
In 1800, he was awarded the Prix de Rome for his painting of Antiochus sending his son to Scipio. His colleague, Ingres, who came in second, accused David of using his influence on the jury.
While in Rome, he worked for Lucien Bonaparte, making sketches and paintings of the Prince's antiquities collection. He also began a portrait of Bonaparte's wife, Alexandrine de Bleschamp, but he (and some others) found it unsatisfactory, so he turned it into a painting of an anonymous lady of the court. This portrait (now in the Louvre) pleased him so much that he married the model, Jeanne-Catherine Delaigle.
He returned to Paris in 1812, and exhibited annually at the Salon until his death, receiving medals in 1812, 1817 and 1820.
His daughter, Eléonore Palmyre (1819-1874), a pianist of some note, married the writer Paul Meurice. Her portrait was painted by Ingres, who had apparently gotten over his grudge and become her godfather. It is currently on display at the Maison de Victor Hugo.


Self-portrait as David

Self-Portrait as David is a c.1509-1510 oil on panel portrait by Giorgione, now in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Brunswick. It is not universally accepted as an autograph work but - if it is - it is thought to be the prototype for another "Self-Portrait" (Budapest Museum of Fine Arts) by the artist himself or an assistant.
It is mentioned in an inventory of the Casa Grimani dating to 1528 and was seen by Vasari, who mentioned the subject as holding Goliath's head and used it was the basis for the printed portrait of Giorgione in the second edition of his "Lives of the Artists" in 1568.


The Eternity Man

The Eternity Man is a chamber opera in one act and seven scenes by the Australian composer Jonathan Mills to a libretto by Dorothy Porter. It deals with the life of Arthur Stace who was known as "The Eternity Man" because he chalked the word "Eternity" about 500,000 times in over 35 years on Sydney's walls and footpaths.
The opera is written for four voices. These include the voice of Stace himself (baritone) and three female characters (soprano, mezzo-soprano, contralto) who represent alternatively Stace's sister, Myrtle; a Darlinghurst brothel keeper; and an assortment of female choruses – female freaks at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and also ghosts of female convicts and a gaggle of Kings Cross drag queens. A performance lasts for about 70 minutes.
Performance history.
The work was commissioned by and premiered at London's Almeida Theatre on 23 July 2003, conducted by Stuart Stratford, production by Benedict Andrews, with singers Richard Jackson, Tara Harrison, Claire McCaldin and Andee-Louise Hippolite. The work had one Australian season, at the Sydney Festival in January 2005. That performance at the Sydney Opera House Studio, conducted by Richard Gill included the singers Grant Smith, Christa Hughes, Belinda Montgomery, Inara Molinari.
Film adaptation.
In 2008 director Julien Temple adapted the work into a 64-minute film with funding from the ABC and Britain's Channel 4. It was first shown in June 2008 at the Sydney Film Festival, subsequently at film festivals in Melbourne, Locarno, Athens, Cologne, Vancouver, Warsaw, Mar del Plata. In 2008 it won the ATOM Award for Best Experimental Film, the Gold Cinematography Award and the Judges Award for Best Work of the Year at the Queensland Australian Cinematography Awards. It was also named the Best Performing Arts program at the international 2009 Rose d'Or. The film screened on the ABC on 18 January 2009. The cast includes Grant Doyle and Christa Hughes.


Alexandre-Louis Leloir

Alexandre-Louis Leloir (14 March 1843 – 28 January 1884) was a French painter specializing in genre and history paintings.
Life and career.
Alexandre-Louis Leloir was born in Paris, France. He was born into a family with a rich artistic heritage, the son of the painter and fashion illustrator Héloïse Colin and the grandson of the painter Alexandre-Marie Colin. His younger brother was the painter and illustrator Maurice Leloir.
Leloir received his early art education from his parents and his maternal grandfather, Alexandre Colin, who had been a pupil of Girodet. In 1860, Leloir entered the École des Beaux-Arts and made several attempts to win the prestigious Prix de Rome. In 1861, he won a Second Grand Prix with "The Death of Priam" (Museum of Art and Archeology, Guéret), then again in 1862, 1863, and again won a Second Grand Prize in 1864 with "Homer on the island of Scyros" (Unterlinden Museum, Colmar). He received a medal at the Paris Exposition in 1878. He also distinguished himself in the contest of the Half-figure Painted" in 1864.
Specializing in historical subject matter and genre scenes, he participated in the Salon as early as 1863, with a scene of the "Massacre of Innocents" (Musée Bernard-d'Agesci, Niort). His work "The Fight of Jacob with the Angel" (Roger Quilliot Art Museum in Clermont-Ferrand) presented at the Salon of 1865 is an example of his virtuosity. From 1868, he directed his painting towards genre scenes, drawing inspiration from medieval everyday life, from the interiors of the Grand Siècle, in the Dutch manner, and in Orientalist scenes. He illustrated some editions published by Damase Jouaust, and also illustrated books by Molière and other notable authors. He participated in the foundation of the Society of French Watercolourists in 1879. He was made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 1876.


Metal of Honor

Metal of Honor: The Ironworkers of 9/11 is a documentary film about the ironworkers who worked on the World Trade Center after 9/11. It premiered on Spike TV on September 5, 2006.


The Emerald City (Boardwalk Empire)

"The Emerald City" is the tenth episode of the first season of the HBO television series "Boardwalk Empire", which aired on HBO November 21, 2010. The episode was written by co-executive producer Lawrence Konner and directed by Simon Cellan Jones. The title is based on the fictional Emerald City from the Oz Books.
Nucky asks Margaret to toe the party line; Angela witnesses Jimmy's violent side; Capone faces a crossroads; Van Alden grapples with his emotions.
Plot.
Following Nucky's assassination attempt, Richard stays at the Schroeder apartment; his scarred face and tin mask frighten the children. Sebso's false account about Winslow's attempted escape is accepted by Van Alden's boss, who gives Sebso vacation time and warns Van Alden that further mistakes will ruin his career. Jimmy is released from jail for lack of evidence; he returns home and works at reconnecting with Angela. Nucky tries to allay Margaret's apprehensions about living under guard, promising her that he has the situation well in hand.
In New York, Rothstein meets with Mickey and the D'Alessio brothers. Rothstein, a calculating gambler who values the power of accurate information, rebukes the group for not doing enough research on Nucky's butler, Eddie, and for shooting an innocent civilian during the attack. When they ask how they can make it up to him, Rothstein replies, "Nothing says 'I'm sorry' like money." In Chicago, Torrio becomes furious with Capone for interrupting a business meeting with a juvenile prank. Later, Capone follows Torrio to the "bar mitzvah" of an associate's son. In the synagogue, one of the congregants chats with Capone about the ceremony's significance and the responsibilities that come with manhood. Capone is deeply moved by the ceremony and apologizes to Torrio, promising to act like an adult and take on more responsibility. Torrio tasks him with fixing the distribution problems at a brewery in their territory.
As the Darmodys pass the photography shop on the boardwalk on a family outing, Jimmy's son Tommy points to a picture of Robert and Mary Dittrich and calls one of them Angela's "kissing friend", referring to Mary. Misunderstanding, Jimmy storms inside and beats up Robert, prompting Angela to promise Mary she will leave Jimmy and move with Tommy and her to Paris. Margaret celebrates the passage of women's suffrage, but Nucky immediately pressures her to help rally new female voters in support of Bader. She finally gives in and makes a rousing speech in favor of Bader, but sours when she sees Nucky gladhanding with other powerful men. Margaret also invites Richard to sit while she reads the children "The Road to Oz", and later admits that she was a bit frightened herself at his disfigurement. Richard replies that because he himself has not moved past judging by appearances, he can hardly expect the same of others. He also notes that he sometimes forgets the changes he has undergone, and is reminded only when he looks into a mirror.
Van Alden visits Margaret and, in a plea fraught with religious and romantic overtones, demands that she let him save her from damnation for participating in Nucky's life of crime. When she rejects him, he visits a bordello, where he takes shots of whiskey and has sex with Lucy. Worried the D'Alessios will soon kill him, Mickey reveals the conspiracy to an enraged Nucky, who enlists Chalky to arrange a false deal with Lansky in the hopes of luring Rothstein's men into an ambush. When Lansky and two of the D'Alessios meet with Chalky, one of them mentions his Packard, a detail they could only know from seeing it when they killed Chalky's driver. After Chalky takes them prisoner, Nucky identifies one of the brothers as his would-be assassin; Jimmy shoots him in the head. The remaining D'Alessio promises Chalky that his surviving brothers will lynch him; Chalky strangles him with his bare hands. Seeing that the original plan is ruined, Nucky releases Lansky and demands that he tell Rothstein what has happened. Nucky returns home to Margaret, blaming his late return on a campaign strategy meeting. The episode ends with Margaret looking in the mirror, contemplating the decisions she has made.
Reception.
Critical reception.
"IGN" gave the episode a score of 8.5 calling it "Great" and said ""I don't control anyone, Margaret," Nucky says. "I'm more of an overseer." If "Emerald City" is any indication, how Nucky observes and participates in the events of Season One's final two episodes will involve more changes and more strategic bloodshed." "The A.V. Club" gave the episode a "B", describing it "For the first nine episodes of Boardwalk Empire, we've been getting a lot of introduction and backstory and a lot of exploration of the world of 1920, but only a little bit of forward movement on the plot that was set into motion back in episode one. Yes, we've seen Margaret blossom from an abused immigrant peasant to an increasingly assured political player and Jimmy go from being a small-time crook to a shrewd mobster, and we've seen a number of folks get shot. But we began this adventure with Nucky Thompson, Arnold Rothstein, and the agents of the United States government all at odds over the future of the booze biz, and their respective advantages haven't changed much since then. And not to be an alarmist, but after tonight's "The Emerald City", there are only two episodes remaining in the first season." Expanding on that, they said "As mentioned, "The Emerald City" features a lot of scenes of powerful men dealing with underlings who may or may not be up to the responsibilities of their respective organizations. Even Arnold Rothstein has a rough time of it, trying to explain "the age of information" to a bunch of goons whose idea of sound business practice is to shoot a man in the street. But then that's what Boardwalk Empire is all about, isn't it? Or at least it's what keeps me fascinated by the show even when it occasionally annoys me. What is it that all these characters are engaged in: Is this business or crime? Or is it something in between—like politics."
Ratings.
"The Emerald City" gained a tenth of a point in to a 1.3 adults 18–49 rating and added a handful of viewers, just topping 3 million and had an overall of 3.049 million viewers.


The Bastard (novel)

The Bastard is a historical novel written by John Jakes and originally published in 1974. It is book one in a series known as The Kent Family Chronicles or the American Bicentennial Series. The novel mixes fictional characters with historical events or people, to tell the story of the United States of America in the time period leading up to the American Revolution. The novel was adapted into a four-hour television film in 1978, "The Bastard".
Plot summary.
The story begins in November 1770 in Auvergne, France, near Chavaniac. Philippe Charboneau, a seventeen-year-old boy, is living with his mother, Marie, in an inn inherited from her deceased father. The young Philippe never knew his father. Having kept it a secret from him for years, she finally tells him his father was James Amberly, the 6th Duke of Kent. The Duke began an affair with Marie when she was performing on stage in Paris, but he never married her, making Philippe illegitimate. Their affair was brief and when he returned to England, Amberly married and had a legitimate son, Roger; however, he continued to support Marie and intended for Philippe to inherit half of his fortune. When Philippe and Marie received word that the Duke had taken ill they immediately made plans to travel to Kent, England and stake their claim to his inheritance Once at Kent, the Duke's wife, Lady Jane Amberly, and Roger, her son, refused to recognize Philippe as the son of the Duke. Marie insists otherwise and is determined not to leave Kent until her son inherits what she feels is rightfully his half of the Amberly's' wealth.
Philippe and his mother stay months at an inn in hopes that Lady Jane would reconsider, but she never does. The situation becomes even more tense when Philippe began a sexual relationship with Roger's fiancée, Alicia Parkhurst. When Philippe and Marie are informed that the Duke had died they return to his home, but they are not allowed to see the body. Instead Philippe and Roger brawl, and Roger's hand is badly wounded. Philippe escapes with his life, though he remains in danger. Alicia warned him to leave Kent because Roger is bent on killing him for injuring his hand. Lacking the funds to return to France, Marie and Philippe flee to London and hope to remain hidden there until the situation cooled.
Not knowing their way around the city of London, they made for St. Paul's Church, hoping to find sanctuary there. Instead, they are attacked by violent beggars who try to rob Philippe and Marie. They are saved by Esau and Hosea Sholto, the sons of Solomon Sholto, a deeply religious man who believes in charity and compassion. Philippe and Marie are allowed to stay with the Sholtos and Solomon offered to train Philippe as his apprentice, as the Sholto family owns and operates a printing company and a lending library. Convinced that his claim to Kentland will never be validated, Philippe decides to take Solomon's advice and learn the trade.
When Philippe confides to Solomon his desire to emigrate to America, Solomon introduces him to Benjamin Franklin, who is currently an American trade representative to England. To convince Philippe that America was the place he should be, Franklin praised his native country for its boundless opportunities, but also warns that trouble between the British and the colonies are brewing. Marie is adamantly opposed to leaving England without settling the claim for her son, but Philippe is attacked by an agent hired by Roger, who has never given up on trying to eliminate his rival claimant. London is no longer safe for Marie and Philippe and they fled again, this time to the port city of Bristol, to find passage to America. During their transatlantic journey, Marie, heartbroken, dies of dysentery and is buried at sea, and Philippe decides to adopt an Anglicized version of his name, renaming himself Philip Kent.
Philip arrives in Boston, Massachusetts penniless, becoming homeless and starving. He quickly angers a British soldier by accidentally splashing mud on him. He is saved from a beating by local merchant William Molineux. Through his connection with Molineux, Philip was introduced to Samuel Adams and Paul Revere. He is also introduced to Benjamin Edes, the editor of the Boston Gazette, who gives Philip a job at his publishing firm. It was through this job that Philip meets Abraham Ware, who often contributes to articles to the paper, and his daughter Anne, whom Philip begins courting.
Philip participates in the Boston Tea Party, and then joins the Boston Grenadier Company under Henry Knox. A number of measures are enacted after the Tea Party to punish the colonists in Boston. One of these acts, the Quartering Act, particularly angers Abraham Ware, because he is required to house a British soldier in his home. George Lumden, the sergeant who is quartered in the Wares' house, falls in love with Daisy O'Brian, the Wares' cook, and decides to desert the British army. Philip, who wants Lumden's musket, encourages the sergeant to do so and even employs a local boy to assist him in taking the musket. However, the boy finds it more profitable to betray Philip and inform on Lumden to the commander of his unit, who is none other than Roger Amberly. Roger goes to the Wares' house in search of Lumden, but finds only Anne. When Philip arrives, Roger recognizes and attacks him, but Philip stabs his half-brother in the stomach with a bayonet. Thinking him dead, Philip flees the city with Lumden and goes to stay on Daisy's father's farm, near Concord, Massachusetts.
Anne and Daisy join them at the farm some time later and they inform him that Roger had not died. He was taken to Philadelphia to be treated privately, and Alicia Parkhurst was with him. Anne gives Philip a letter that Alicia had written to him and he leaves Concord to see her in Philadelphia. Roger dies before Philip reached the city. Philip meets with Alicia, who tells him she wants to marry him. Philip is torn between Alicia and Anne. In a chance reunion with Benjamin Franklin, Franklin tells Philip that James Amberly is actually still alive and Philip realizes that Alicia only wants to marry him now because he is now the Duke's only heir. Philip confronts Alicia and informs her that he no longer loves her and has decided to give up any claim to his inheritance, believing that the immense wealth would corrupt him as it had corrupted the Kent family.
On his return from Philadelphia to Concord to be reunited with Anne, he ran into Paul Revere again, this time with William Dawes and Samuel Prescott, on their famous "midnight ride" to warn the patriots that the British army is coming. Philip tries to see Anne, but her father will not allow him to, telling him Anne was too distraught when he left her. Then, Philip returns to O'Brian's farm to get Lumden's musket. Once there, he tells Daisy to tell Anne that he loves her. Philip participates in the Battle of Concord and afterwards, he is finally reunited with Anne. He tells her that he plans to marry her, and then he leaves to continue the fighting in the war against the British.
In popular culture.
The novel is seen on Walter White's bedside table in Season 5, Episode 2 of the AMC television show "Breaking Bad", "Madrigal," when Walter moves the bedside table in order to hide a vial of ricin in the electrical socket.


My Neighbor, My Killer

My Neighbor, My Killer () is a 2009 French-American documentary film directed by Anne Aghion that focuses on the process of the Gacaca courts, a citizen-based justice system that was put into place in Rwanda after the 1994 genocide. Filmed over ten years, it makes us reflect on how people can live together after such a traumatic experience. Through the story and the words of the inhabitants of a small rural community, we see survivors and killers learn how to coexist.
Critical reception and awards.
It was an Official Selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, the winner of the Human Rights Watch's Nestor Almendros Prize for courage in filmmaking, a nominee for the 2009 Gotham Best Documentary Award and the winner of the best documentary at Montreal Black Festival. The film has been shown at film festivals and universities around the world, including in Rwanda. It is rated 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
"My Neighbor, My Killer" is the feature length based on the Gacaca Series, composed of three films that Anne Aghion made over the years in Rwanda, one of which - "In Rwanda We Say…The Family That Does Not Speak Dies" - received an Emmy Award.


Tea with Mussolini

Tea with Mussolini () is a 1999 Anglo-Italian semi-autobiographical film directed by Franco Zeffirelli, scripted by John Mortimer, telling the story of a young Italian boy's upbringing by a circle of British and American women before and during the Second World War.
Plot.
The film begins in 1935 in Florence, Italy, where a group of cultured expatriate English women – called the "Scorpioni" by the Italians – meet for tea every afternoon. Young Luca (Charlie Lucas) is the illegitimate son of an Italian businessman (Massimo Ghini) who shows little interest in his son's upbringing; the boy's mother, a dressmaker, has recently died. Mary Wallace (Joan Plowright), who works as the man's secretary, steps in to care for him, turning for support to her Scorpioni friends, including eccentric would-be artist Arabella (Judi Dench). Together, they teach Luca many lessons about life and especially the arts. Elsa Morganthal (Cher), a brash rich young American widow whom Scorpioni matron Lady Hester Random (Maggie Smith) barely tolerates, sets up a financial trust for Luca when she learns of the death of his mother, whom she was fond of and to whom Elsa still owes money for her dressmaking services.
One day when the ladies are in a restaurant for afternoon tea, it is vandalised by Italian Fascists, reflecting the increasingly uncertain position of the expatriate community. Lady Hester, widow of Britain's former ambassador to Italy, retains an admiring faith in Benito Mussolini (Claudio Spadaro) and takes it upon herself to visit him, receiving his insincere assurances of their safety, and proudly recounts her "tea with Mussolini". But the political situation continues to deteriorate and the Scorpioni find their status and liberties diminishing. Luca's father decides that Italy's future is with Germany rather than Britain and sends Luca to an Austrian boarding school.
Five years later, Luca (now played by Baird Wallace) returns to Florence with the intention of using Elsa's trust fund to study art. He finds that most British nationals are fleeing the country, anticipating Mussolini's declaration of war on Great Britain, and that Mary has moved in with Lady Hester and the other English hold-outs. He arrives at the house just as they – and Hester's ineffectual grandson Wilfred (Paul Chequer), disguised as a young woman for his safety – are being rounded up and put onto a transport truck, which he follows to the nearby Tuscan town of San Gimignano. Because the United States is not at war, Elsa and her American compatriot Georgie Rockwell (Lily Tomlin), an openly lesbian archaeologist, remain free. Elsa uses Luca to deliver forged orders and funds to have the ladies moved from their distressingly barracks-like quarters to an upper class hotel. Believing that Mussolini himself issued the orders, Lady Hester is delighted, proudly brandishing the newspaper photo of her tea with "Il Duce".
As the war progresses, oppression of Jews increases and the Jewish Elsa – protected somewhat by her citizenship and wealth – provides a group of Italian Jews with fake passports, enlisting Luca – who has become enamored of her – to deliver them. However Luca becomes jealous when she forms a romantic alliance with Vittorio (Paolo Seganti), a shrewd Italian lawyer.
When the United States enters the war in 1941, Elsa and Georgie are interned with the British women. Elsa falls for Vittorio's scheme to embezzle her art collection and money, which would deliver her to the German Gestapo in a phony escape to Switzerland. Luca is aware of the deception but does not tell anyone out of jealous spite against Elsa. Mary learns of it from Elsa's art dealer (Mino Bellei) and scolds Luca. His attitude changes and he gives his trust fund money to members of the Italian resistance movement, which Wilfred has joined. Elsa still refuses to believe Vittorio's betrayal and is ultimately convinced only when Lady Hester, informed by Mary and Luca of what Elsa has secretly done for all of them, repents of her contempt for Elsa and offers her gratitude and help. Elsa consents to an escape plan hatched by Mary, Luca and Wilfred. Before she departs, Elsa tells Luca how she once helped his young mother choose to go through with her pregnancy, thus allowing him to be there for her.
In July 1944, as the British Army advances toward San Gimignano, Arabella frantically defends her beloved frescoes from demolition by German troops and is heroically joined in the line of fire by Georgie and the English women, including Lady Hester. They are saved when the Germans receive orders to retreat, leaving the women and the towers untouched. The city rejoices as the Scots Guards arrive, with Luca now serving as their commander's Italian interpreter. The major has orders to evacuate the Scorpioni but Lady Hester refuses to cooperate, resolved that they will resume their former lives in Italy. Mary is delighted to see that Luca – now in British uniform – has become the "English gentleman" his father wished him to become.
Closing texts explain the mostly happy fates of the characters, concluding with the remark that Luca went on to become an artist and "helped in making this film" – in other words, as writer and director.
Cast.
Michael Williams, who was married to Judi Dench in real life, died not long after the film was finished. This film marks his last on-screen appearance.
Production.
Lady Hester Random is based upon a real resident of Florence whom Zeffirelli knew in his childhood. Zeffirelli mentions her and a couple of other ladies of "the Scorpioni" in his autobiography. He said: "I don't remember if she was called Hester, but I remember this terrible, fantastic woman. She was the dowager of the community. I remember the many outrageous things she did because she could afford to be arrogant and bossy."
Reception.
The film opened tenth at the U.S. box office with $1,633,183 for the weekend, eventually grossing a worldwide total of $45,566,200, considerably more than its budget.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 67% from 36 reviews with the consensus: ""Tea with Mussolini" contains few surprises, but this amiably ambling drama is too likable -- and well-cast -- to completely resist."


The Life of Shakespeare

The Life of Shakespeare is a 1914 British silent biographical film directed by Frank R. Growcott and J.B. McDowell and starring Albert Ward, Sybil Hare and George Foley. It follows the life of the English playwright William Shakespeare.


Vasily Petrovich Vereshchagin

Vasily Petrovich Vereshchagin (; 13 January 1835, in Perm – 22 October 1909, in Saint Petersburg) was a Russian portraitist, history painter and illustrator.
Biography.
His father, Pyotr Prokopovich (1795-1843) and grandfather, Prokopy Danilovich (1764-c.1811) were painters. His brothers, Pyotr and Mitrofan (1842-1894) became painters as well. His first art lessons came from his father while he was attending the public schools. He also worked with his maternal grandfather, a local icon painter named Ivan Babin.
In 1856, he enrolled at the Imperial Academy of Arts and studied with Alexey Markov. He remained there for six years and was awarded a gold medal for his painting of Sophia of Lithuania at the wedding of her son, Vasily the Blind. Later, thanks to a stipend from the Academy, he was able to study in Europe, especially Rome, where he copied the Old Masters, and won a gold medal at the International Exposition in Paris in 1867.
Upon his return to Saint Petersburg in 1869, he presented two large paintings with several portraits and watercolors and was appointed a Professor of history and portrait painting at the Academy, a position he held for twenty years. The following year, he created decorations on themes from Russian folk poetry in the palace of Grand Duke Vladimir.
In 1873, he received another gold medal at the Vienna Exposition, and did further decorative work at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (1875-1879) and in the Assumption Cathedral of the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. In 1891, he published an album, featuring portraits of notable people and scenes from history, which became very popular. After his health began to fail, he presented many of his paintings, and some by his late brother Pyotr, to the "Scientific Industrial Museum" in Perm, towards the goal of creating a separate art department there.


El Comandante (TV series)

El Comandante, is a Colombian television series created by Sony Pictures Television. It is based on the life of the late Venezuelan President, Hugo Rafael Chávez Frias. It stars Andrés Parra as the titular character.
Plot summary.
"El Comandante" is a story inspired by the life of Hugo Chávez, a man of humble origin who, at only 44 years old and against all odds, became the most powerful and controversial Latin American leader of his time. During his rule he controlled at will the largest oil reserves on the planet, challenged the First World and managed to shake the continent as nobody else.
The production narrates the fictional story of a man and a country, inspired by real events, incorporating elements and characters of fiction as his comrades fighting, the spies who wanted to kill him, the women who accompanied him in his career and the members of the opposition, to offer an account of suspense and action, of politics and romance.
Production.
The production is based on an original idea by the Venezuelan writer and columnist Moisés Naím and the direction is by Felipe Cano ("Lady, la vendedora de rosas", "El laberinto de Alicia") and Henry Rivero (film "En coma"). The librettos are by José Luis González, Juan Andrés Granados and Versalia Cordero. The series is produced by Andrea Marulanda and Luis Eduardo Jiménez as executive producers, series production is scheduled for the summer of 2016.
The first advance of the series was revealed on October 25, 2016, showing scenes that marked the life of the Venezuelan president, such as episodes of his childhood in Sabaneta, Barinas state, until the coup attempt he led in 1992.
Casting.
In May 2016, Andrés Parra published in his Twitter account a promotional image of the series next to the phrase "The power of passion and the passion for power". To interpret Chavez, Parra had to practice the Venezuelan accent, and cut his hair to interpret the stage where Chavez suffered from cancer. For the personage of Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez several Venezuelan actresses made casting such as Wanda D'Isidoro, Eileen Abad, Gaby Spanic and Sonya Smith, later she was chosen Gabriela Vergara to interpret the character. More than 50% of the cast are Venezuelan actors.
Reception.
Following heavy promotion of the series in Colombia, "The Miami Herald" described "El Comandante"'s launch as being "in a lackluster sixth place, behind the telenovela "Sin Tetas No Hay Paraiso" as well as "Colombia's Next Top Model" and NBC’s "Las Vega's"".
Controversy.
In May 2016, Diosdado Cabello was completely opposed to the production of the series, because he would only lend to defaming the former president of Venezuela, thus asking the executives of Sony Pictures Television to stop the production process and show evidence that the Chavez family agreed with such a series. Later, Sony Pictures Television clarified that Asdrúbal Chávez had authorized the production of the series. Actress Gabriela Vergara received several negative comments towards her character in the series, because Marisabel Rodríguez de Chávez is accused of complicity and robbery during the Chávez government.
In October 2016, Cabello warned to take legal action against the production company Sony Pictures Television to continue with the production of the series.
Moisés Naím clarified that the series is a series of fiction and not a biography so it will have nothing to do with the reality of Venezuela.
In Venezuela, CONATEL, an institution that regulates airing and broadcasting in the country, ordered to withdraw the signal from RCN Television to prohibit the viewing of the series.
Broadcast.
The series will be released on January 30, 2017 in Colombia on RCN Televisión, while in Latin America it will premiere on January 31, 2017 on TNT. In the United States, it will be transmitted by the network Telemundo.


The Voyages of Marco Polo

The Voyages of Marco Polo is a historical-themed euro-style board game with focus on resource management for 2-4 players, released in 2015.
The game won the 2015 Deutscher Spiele Preis award.


The Druid King

The Druid King is a 2003 historical novel by American novelist Norman Spinrad. The novel is set during the Gallic Campaigns of Julius Caesar. The main protagonist of the novel is Vercingetorix and the plot follows his rise to power to become king of the Gauls and his eventual surrender to Caesar at the Battle of Alesia. The book is a novelisation of an early version of the script for "Vercingétorix, la Légende du Druide Roi", a French language film.
Development.
While working on the script for the French Language film "Vercingétorix, la Légende du Druide Roi", Spinrad collaborated on many revisions with the director Jacques Dorfmann. Friends of Spinrad had really enjoyed earlier versions of the script, but when the fourteenth revision was produced, Spinrad was unhappy with it, so decided to revive the earlier third revision as a novel.
In researching the novel, Spinrad was forced to largely rely on Caesar's accounts of the events, however he used the internet to help do additional research into the lifestyle and culture of the Gauls.
Genre.
Though the novel is set in historical setting and uses conventions of historical fiction. However, one reviewer noted that the novel felt like high fantasy without the magic and magical creatures.
Plot.
The novel begins as Caesar searches for an excuse to use his Roman legions in Gaul in order to gain political capital in Rome. He makes a deal with Diviaxc of the Edui tribe, to allow the Romans to trade with the tribe and hurt another tribe attacking the Gauls. Caeser means to use the alliance and trade activities to provoke some sort of war with the Gauls and precipitate war between Rome and the Gauls. Meanwhile, Vercingetorix follows his father, who is the elected leader of the Arverni. and observes a gathering held by his father which seeks to bring together the Gallic tribes in order to oppose Roman expansion. His father attempts to become a king over all the tribes, but the other leaders resist and capture Vercingetorix's father and kill him. Vercingetorix barely escapes their pursuit with the help of the arch druid, Guttuatr. Guttuatr takes Vercingetorix under his wing, and trains him to become a druid. While training with the Druids he encounters the amazon warrior, Rhea, who teaches him how to fight and vows to always be his sister warrior upon her virginity.
Caesar decides to invade Britain, offering the Gauls half of the pillage if they accompany him. However, unbeknownst to the Gallic allies, Caesar plans to send the Gauls ahead of him into battle in order for many of their warriors and leaders to be killed. While traveling north with his column of Roman infantry and his Gallic allies, Caesar encounters Vercingetorix who has left the druid training in order to reclaim his father's wealth amongst the Arverni. Vercingetorix is again elected their leader. Soon, Vercingetorix takes a military force to join Ceaser's invasion of Britain. At the camp, Vercingetorix is again reintroduced to his childhood love Marah, who has become enamoured with Caesar. Though Caesar attempts to bring Vercingetorix under his wing, Vercingetorix has a falling out with Caesar after the death of another Gallic leader. Vercingetorix becomes outlawed and Caesar leaves a portion of his army to subdue the Gallic forces which rebelled against him. This force effectively subdues Gaul before Caesar returns victorious from Britain and when Caesar returns, they have garrisoned all of the major Gallic cities.
Vercingetorix resists, and eventually, through support of the high druid and political maneuvering, gains the support of the various Gallic factions. United, the next year they resist the Roman Army through a combination of scorched earth and Guerrilla tactics, overcoming the Roman superiority through discipline. However, Caesar realizing that the Gaul's could not resist a siege, and after months of maneuvering, forces Vercingetorix to move his army to Alesia where the superior siege technology of the Romans traps Vercingetorix in the city, and successfully resists the reinforcements of the all the tribes of Gaul.
Style.
The language of the novel has been called full of "vivid details" and one reviewer noted that the language was the most enticing part of the novel. John Snider noted that the novel is particularly good at retelling the details of battle scenes.
Themes.
Selfless heroism is central to the novel, one reviewer noting that the heroism could be compared to that represented in the Arthurian legends.
Reception.
John Snider of the online Science Fiction magazine "Scifidimensions" called the book fantastic, noting it as particularly vivid novel which beautifully retells the story of Vercingetorix. "The Copperfield Review" also noted that Spinrad immerses the reader in a vivid retelling of the historical setting.
However, "The Independent" noted that the book was highly professional and predictable but did not have as much passion and depth as other novels.


Soul of the Samurai

, released as Ronin Blade in Europe, is an action-adventure game developed and published by Konami in 1999 for the PlayStation.
Gameplay.
From the start the player chooses to be either a young male ronin named Kotaro or a teenage female ninja named Lin (Rin). From then on he or she travels through prerendered levels, killing enemies and fulfilling their mission.
The game's combat system is quite detailed, and might take a while to get used to. However, when mastered, it is relatively easy for Lin and Kotaro to dispatch multiple enemies quickly from different directions, while simultaneously avoiding the enemies thrusts and swipes. There is a single attack button, but combined with different directional buttons pressed in different combinations and held down for various intervals. There are different attack speeds which correlate to the weight of the equipped weapon, and this is displayed on the sword's 'check' window (also displayed is the sword's length and sharpness, and a brief description of the blade).
Characters.
Main characters:
Kotaro's Path bosses:
It is possible he is Sasaki Kojiro due to the fact that a long sword named Monohoshizao is obtained after defeating him, which was the name of the nodachi that Kojiro used in real life.
Lin's Path bosses:
After defeating Ryu Oda and saving feudal Japan from the soul bugs, both Kotaro and Lin perform their final duties to their fallen friend and brother, respectively, and in the end decide to stay with each other.
Development.
An early version of the game, developed under the working title "Shogun Assassin", featured young warriors named Hotaru and Hyaku, members of the shogunate secret police (their designs were the same as those of the final protagonists Kotaro and Lin). Earlier, the game was also known as "Japan" and Konami sources said the game would combine elements from "Bushido Blade" and "Tenchu".
Reception.
The game received "mixed" reviews according to video game review aggregator GameRankings. According to a positive review in "GamePro", "Soul of the Samurai" delivered "lively action melded to a compelling story line." On the other hand, GameSpot's review stated that "those looking for a ninja game of "Tenchu" will unfortunately have to keep on looking."