Villa Rides

Villa Rides is a 1968 American Technicolor western war film in Panavision directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Yul Brynner as Francisco Villa and Robert Mitchum as an American adventurer and pilot of fortune. The supporting cast includes Charles Bronson as Fierro, Herbert Lom as Huerta and Alexander Knox as Madero. Sam Peckinpah wrote the original script and was set to direct, but Brynner disliked Peckinpah's harsh depiction of Villa and had Robert Towne rewrite the script, with Kulik brought on as director. The screenplay is based on the biography by William Douglas Lansford.
Premise.
Pulled into the Mexican Revolution by his own greed, Texas gunrunner and pilot Lee Arnold (Mitchum) joins bandit-turned-patriot Pancho Villa (Brynner) and his band of dedicated men in a march across Mexico battling the Colorados and stealing women's hearts as they go. However, each has a nemesis among his friends: Arnold is tormented by Fierro (Bronson), Villa's right-hand man, and Villa must face possible betrayal by his own president's naiveté.
Production.
This film marked the first of many appearances by Jill Ireland in films with her future husband Charles Bronson, though her part in "Villa Rides" is brief.
Reception.
"Chicago Sun-Times" film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a mixed review, writing, "You would think an interesting picture could be made about Pancho Villa and the Mexican Revolution, a subject most Americans know next to nothing about. But we learn nothing except that Pancho was a romantic fellow who had a mustache and liked to have people lined up three in a row and killed with one bullet. (That scene, incidentally, got a big laugh.) Frankly, this kind of movie is beginning to get to me. You can enjoy one, maybe, or two. Or you can enjoy a particularly well done shoot-em-up. But the Loop has been filled with one action-adventure after another for the last month, and if "Villa Rides" is not the worst, it is certainly not the best."
Film critic A. H. Weiler wrote, "Yul Brynner, Robert Mitchum, cavalry, politicos and even the faint strains of "La Cucaracha" fail to disguise the fact that "Villa Rides" which dashed into the Forum Theater yesterday, is simply a sprawling Western and not history. As such it incessantly fills the screen with the din of pistols and rifles, and assorted warfare and wenching, shot in sharp color on rugged Spanish sites that strikingly simulate Mexico. Any resemblance to the 1912-1914 campaigns of the bandit-revolutionary in the cause of liberal President Madero and against General Huerta is purely coincidental."


Giants in the Earth (novel)

Giants in the Earth (Norwegian: I de dage) is a novel by Norwegian-American author Ole Edvart Rølvaag. First published in Norwegian as two volumes in 1924 and 1925, it was published in English in 1927, translated by Rølvaag and author Lincoln Colcord (1883–1947).
Overview.
The novel follows a pioneer Norwegian immigrant family's struggles with the land and the elements of the Dakota Territory as they try to make a new life in America. In 1873, Per Hansa, his wife Beret, their children settle in the Dakota Territory. They are joined by three other Norwegian immigrant families—Tonseten and his wife Kjersti, Hans Olsa and his wife Sorine, and the Solum brothers.
Part of a trilogy, it had two sequels: "Peder Victorious" ("Peder Seier") in 1928 and "Their Fathers' God" ("Den signede dag") in 1931. The books were based partly on Rølvaag's personal experiences as a settler as well as the experiences of his wife’s family who had been immigrant homesteaders in South Dakota. The novels depicts snow storms, locusts, poverty, hunger, loneliness, homesickness, the difficulty of fitting into a new culture, and the estrangement of immigrant children who grow up in a new land.
"Giants in the Earth" was turned into an opera of the same name by Douglas Moore and Arnold Sundgaard; it won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1951.


La Sombra del Iceberg

La Sombra del Iceberg (Spanish for The Shadow of the Iceberg) is a 2007 documentary film, that claims the photograph "The Falling Soldier" by Robert Capa was staged, and that Federico Borrell García was not the individual in the picture.
The documentary makes several claims:


Oasis (video game)

Oasis is a turn-based strategy video game developed by American studio Mind Control Software and published for Microsoft Windows by PlayFirst in April 2005. Konami released a mobile phone port in 2006 and Electrified Games released an iPad version, renamed as Defense of the Oasis, in 2010. On August 25, 2020, the iPad version was published on Steam. "Oasis" is a casual game set in ancient Egypt that combines "Civilization"-style strategy and puzzle gameplay. "Oasis" "has been described as "Civilization" meets "Minesweeper"".
Gameplay.
Each level of "Oasis" consists of a single screen with a 10x10 grid of randomly generated terrain. Initially the map is covered with fog of war, but the player may remove the fog from tiles by clicking on them. Each click reveals a single tile and takes a turn; 85 turns are available for each level. The eponymous oasis covers several squares of each level and lying in a random oasis tile is the obelisk which contains the level's glyph of power. The primary goal is to find the glyph and protect it from barbarians who attack after the 85th turn from tiles marked by blue cairns. To stop the barbarians from destroying the glyph the player must find cities and use them to mount a defense. The player wins the game by finding and defending 12 glyphs.
Layered on top of the basic gameplay are eight scenarios. Each scenario presents a narrative about a different land and the story of a different leader rising to power. In the first scenario players assume the role of an Egyptian noble, the son of the murdered Falcon King, who wishes to rebuild the nation and disperse the fog that has plunged the nation into chaos since his father's murder. Each scenario has its own theme, and each level within a scenario is distinguished by a mix of special gameplay elements related to the theme, such as barbarian strongholds, jungles, islands, plagues, and others.
Most tiles give the player a number of followers when revealed. Followers are a resource; the player may spend them to build roads or send them to work in the mines. Both activities also cost a turn. Cities connected by roads gradually grow whereas followers working in mines research combat technology. Both benefits accrue over time, which encourages early investments in mines and roads. Turns can also be spent searching cities which reveals either treasures or advisors. Most treasures provide an attack bonus to the population in that city. When found, advisors pledge to join the player if enough cities survive the barbarian attack. Advisors grant bonuses to the player and substantially alter playing strategy.
With 100 tiles and just 85 turns, the player cannot hope to uncover every tile. However, the map is not entirely random. Certain features are present on every or nearly every map: the oasis, cairns, cities, the nomad camp, and mountains. There are clues to finding each feature: the oasis and cairns always appear on the edge, cities are surrounded on all eight sides by crop tiles, the nomad camp appears in the largest block of desert, mountains can be seen from one square away, and mountain ranges are either 'U' shaped, 'S' shaped, or stretch vertically across the map. As an additional clue to finding cities, the number of cities touching a crop tile is the number of followers gained when the tile is uncovered. This sometimes results in being able to find cities in fewer clicks by solving a small "Minesweeper"-like puzzle.
The central tension of the game comes from making trade offs. Players always have more avenues to improve their positions than they have time and resources to pursue them, especially when it comes to spending limited turns and followers. For example, spending turns on exploration provides followers and strategic information, but it delays roads and technology which benefit from early investments. Connecting a far away city could result in net population growth, but it may take valuable time away from searching for a crucial treasure or cairn. Searching the oasis costs turns and gives no immediate value, but it boosts the player's score and leads to bonus levels, which often result in a free glyph and advisor.
Development.
"Oasis" took eight full-time developers two years and five months to make. The game design was based around a "No bad click" philosophy. As one of the game's designers puts it: "A level consists of 85 carrots and one big stick. The player takes 85 turns discovering and rebuilding his or her empire, where every turn creates some kind of goodness."
Reception.
"Oasis" received largely positive reviews from the gaming press, received awards from the independent gaming community and has been ported to mobile phone by Konami. In July 2010, Electrified Games released an iPad version of "Oasis" renamed as "Defense of the Oasis" to avoid confusion with the English rock band Oasis.
Reviewers agreed that the game is easy to pick up and play whilst containing depth of gameplay. Female gamer website Grrl Gamer described the game as "one part puzzle and one part strategy", Game Tunnel stated ""Oasis" packs a very powerful punch of both strategy and entertainment". Game Daily's reviewer disagreed, describing "Oasis" as "the perfect game for those times when you need to do something mindless and silly" and that there is no need to plan moves before taking them.
Website Game Tunnel's founder Russell Carroll rated the game 10 out of 10 overall, summing-up the review by stating "The game is flawlessly designed to create a wonderful experience in strategy/world-building that even those who don't really get into the genre can enjoy" and ""Oasis" is one of the best gaming experiences I've had this year". In "Computer Games Magazine", Steve Bauman called the game "simple, but hardly simplistic". Although he noted its "over-reliance on luck", he nonetheless found that it "offers up surprisingly deep and interesting strategy", and argued that "there's some serious fun to be had with "Oasis"".
"Oasis" received Game Tunnel's 2005 "Game of the Year" and "Strategy Game of the Year" awards. The game also won the Independent Games Festival's 2004 "Seumas McNally Grand Prize" and "Innovation in Game Design" awards in the web/downloadable category.


Bottled Passion

Bottled Passion is a Hong Kong television drama produced by Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) under executive producer Lee Tim-shing. The drama premiered on Jade and HD Jade channels on 6 December 2011 and ended its run on 2 January 2012 with a total of 21 episodes. The Chinese title literally translates to "My Ideal Cruel Husband" (; Cantonese Yale: ngo5 dik1 yu4 yi3 long4 gwan1), with a wordplay on the words "long4 gwan1" (郎君), meaning "husband" or "pimp", and "long4" (狼), meaning "cruel" or "cunning".
Synopsis.
Tung Kwok Hing (Rebecca Chan) adopted an orphan and claimed he was Ko Yi Ho (Raymond Wong), the illegitimate child that her husband Ko Siu Tong (Samuel Kwok) had been searching for many years. Tong believed Ho was more suitable than his oldest son Ko Yi Tai (Joel Chan) to be his successor, which later led Mrs. Ko's discontent. Eventually Ho was kicked out of the family, leaving him homeless. Living out alone, Ho got a taste of the bitterness in life and was determined to return home and take revenge on his adopted family under a different name Tung Bun Sin. Under his new identity, he vowed to give them a taste of losing their loved ones. Meanwhile, he runs into the naive, trusting Tsui Sum (Niki Chow), who had just taken over her family business. Seeing an opportunity, Ho deceives Tsui Sum of her family business and all her family's money in order to get closer to the Ko family. However, old ties, secrets, and memories of a childhood sweetheart come back to haunt him. Eventually Ho embarks on a road that threatens the lives of all he holds dear, and the life of the only woman he's ever loved.


A Dinner Engagement

A Dinner Engagement is a one-act comic opera by Lennox Berkeley, (his Op. 45) to a libretto by Paul Dehn.
The opera was written for Benjamin Britten's English Opera Group. It premiered at the Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh Festival, in 1954; the first London performance was at Sadler's Wells Theatre on 7 October 1954, with the same cast. The first performance in the USA was at the University of Washington in 1958.
Berkeley's 1967 one-act opera, "Castaway" (also to a libretto by Dehn) was written as a companion piece to "A Dinner Engagement".
Synopsis.
The impoverished Earl and Countess of Dunmow are preparing a dinner at their flat in Chelsea for the wealthy Grand Duchess of Monteblanco (where the Earl was once ambassador) and her son Prince Phillipe. They are hoping that they can encourage the Prince into marrying their recalcitrant daughter Susan. Despite food burning in the oven, demands from an errand boy for payment of overdue grocer's bills and the eccentricities of Mrs. Kneebone, hired as domestic help for the occasion, the plan is eventually successful.
References.
Notes
Sources


Don Rodrigo

Don Rodrigo is an opera in three acts by Alberto Ginastera, the composer's first opera, to an original Spanish libretto by Alejandro Casona. Ginastera composed the opera on commission from the Municipality of the City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first performance was at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires, Argentina on 24 July 1964 with Carlo Cossutta in the title role. The production was directed by Jorge Petraglia and conducted by Bruno Bartoletti.
On February 22, 1966, Plácido Domingo had his international breakthrough by singing the title role of this opera at the US premiere of the work by the New York City Opera. Other cast members included Jeannine Crader as Florinda, Spiro Malas as Teudiselo, the king's tutor, and David Clatworthy as Don Julian, Florinda's father. Julius Rudel conducted, and the opera received 9 performances at New York City Opera. In November 1967 the production was also given, still with Plácido Domingo, on tour at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Ginastera prepared from the opera a concert work for soprano and orchestra, which received its own first performance in October 1964.
Malena Kuss has published a detailed study of Ginastera's use of motives and of Argentine musical idioms in the opera. Pola Suares Urtubey has published an analysis of the dramatic structure of the opera.
Synopsis.
The setting is Toledo, Spain in the 8th century. A note is that Don Rodrigo is also the Spanish name for Roderic, the last Visigothic king of Spain. The three acts of the opera are divided into nine scenes linked by interludes, with labeling of the scenes as follows:
"Act I"
"Act II"
"Act III"
The scenes mirror each other in a format resembling a dramatic palindrome, with Scene 1 mirrored in Scene 9, Scene 2 mirrored in Scene 8, and so on, with Scene 5 forming the dramatic climax and fulcrum of the story.
At the start, Don Rodrigo has avenged an attack on his father. He is then about to be crowned King of Spain. Don Julian, Governor of Ceuta in Africa, introduces the King to his daughter Florinda. Rodrigo promises Don Julian that he will look after her as a daughter if she is permitted to stay at the royal court. At the coronation of Rodrigo, Florinda drops the crown. Although some regard this accident as a baleful sign, Rodrigo then retrieves the crown and places it on his own head. Historically, a chest in the Vault of Hercules has contained a locked mystery, which every King of Spain has respected since ancient times. However, Rodrigo opens the locked chest, where he sees the secret in the form of an Arab flag and a curse. The curse states that he who has opened the chest will be the last of his dynasty and that the Arabs will enslave Spain.
Later, Florinda bathes in a fountain, which Rodrigo sees. He goes to Florinda’s bedroom at night, and forces himself on her. Rodrigo then abandons her. Florinda writes to her father, angrily calling for revenge on Rodrigo.
Don Julian raises a rebellion against Don Rodrigo. At the battle at Guadalete, Don Julian is victorious against Don Rodrigo, which allows the Moors to enter Spain, fulfilling that part of the curse. Rodrigo becomes a penniless vagrant, and eventually finds shelter with a blind hermit. Florinda eventually discovers Rodrigo there. Rodrigo confesses his sins, and finally dies in Florinda's embrace.


Conquest of the New World

Conquest of the New World is a computer game produced by Interplay Productions in the mid-1990s. It is a strategy game, involving one or more players either by hotseat, on LAN, modem, or even PBEM (play-by-email). The game is set starting in the year 1493, and deals with the discovery and conquest of the Americas.
A deluxe version of the game was released in 1997. It was later released on GOG.com.
Gameplay.
Players move their various units (including explorers, colonists, and soldiers) through a blacked-out world, uncovering mountains, plains, and rivers. Landmarks are named by the first player to discover them. After mapping out some of the local terrain, players must build a colony and make it self-sufficient; to this end, players can build sawmills, metal mines, housing, and farms to generate the resources and space necessary to expand, and eventually, build more colonies. Lastly, players must train armies with which to conquer the other colonists and eventually proclaim independence from their mother country.
The player controls one of 6 different nations (five European and the High Natives) in their attempt to colonize and conquer a "new" continent.
The game is turn-based, and combat is a mini-game taking place on a 3x4 square battlefield where victory can be achieved by killing all enemy troops or capturing the enemy's flag. The gameworld is represented in an isometric point of view with three-dimensional terrain features.
Colonies consist of a Colony Centre, exerting an area of control within which all buildings must be placed. Most buildings, including the Colony Centre, can be upgraded, adding to their production capabilities. Resources are used for construction and trading.
Victory conditions are customizable, so the game can be played as a pure conquest game with the last nation standing, being the winner, or as a more peaceful race for victory points to a pre-determined score.
Reception.
A reviewer for "Next Generation" judged that while "Conquest of the New World" is not as enthralling or addictive as its competitors "Civilization II" or "Sid Meier's Colonization", and is too lacking in flair and style to appeal to the casual player, it has a distinctive simplicity and a need for forethought which would make it enjoyable for hardcore strategy fans. He particularly complimented the ability for players to adjust the level of complexity by setting either the colonies or the military on automatic. In contradiction, Trent Ward of "GameSpot" argued that "Conquest of the New World" is much less dry than other historical simulations. He commented that the battles are tactically deep while refreshingly short, and that features such as the ability to name landmarks and networked multiplayer make the game generally outstanding. Scott Gehrs of "Computer Game Review" concluded, "For players that are into strategy games, "Conquest of the New World" should be one of the games on the shelf." The game scored 3/5 in "Computer Games Magazine", and 4/5 in "Adrelinelane Vault".
In 2000, "Conquest of the New World" passed 500,000 units in sales.


Self-Portrait Aged 24

Self-Portrait Aged 24 is an 1804 self-portrait painting by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, first exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1806. The painting now in the Musée Condé is considered to be either the 1804 portrait with modifications by the artist in from 1851 or an autograph copy by Ingres of a lost work.
It is his earliest self-portrait, and he extensively reworked it between 1804 and 1851.
The original appearance of the painting was recorded in an 1806 engraving by Jean-Louis Potrelle (which Ingres himself retouched), an 1807 copy by Marie-Anne-Julie Forestier and a c.1849 photograph of the original by Charles Marville. Its composition refers to Renaissance portraiture, especially Raphael's "Portrait of Bindo Altoviti".


Tim Haines

Tim Haines is a screenwriter, producer and director who is best known for his work on the BBC popular science shows "Walking with Dinosaurs", "Walking with Beasts", and "Walking with Monsters". He is co-creator and executive producer of the ITV sci-fi drama "Primeval", and founder of the production company Impossible Pictures.
Tim Haines graduated from Bangor University in 1981 with a BSc in Applied Zoology, before beginning a career as a journalist, eventually working for the BBC, and becoming a producer. In 2002, Bangor University awarded him an Honorary Fellowship.
He is also an author, and has written and co-written many books relating to the television series.


Plerng Phra Nang

Plerng Phra Nang (; ; lit: "Her Majesty's Flame"; English title: The Royal Fire) was a Thai TV drama or "lakorn". It aired on Thailand's Channel 7 from February 17 to April 15, 2017 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 20:30 for a total of 26 episodes.
Plot summary.
The story is a thinly veiled depiction of the life story of Hsinbyumashin, queen of Burma (now Myanmar). It is set in the fictional country of Muang Thip. Lady Ananthip has been stripped of her royal title. Her father, the late King Pitula, was deposed in a coup led by King Burapha Kham, who is the elder brother of Crown Princess Sekkaradewi. Out of resentment, she seeks revenge and precipitates the loss of Muang Thip's independence.
Cast.
Main characters
Supporting characters
Criticism, impact and ratings.
Plerng Phra Nang is a remake of a 1996 drama of the same name, also produced by Kantana Group. The script was based on M.R.Kukrit Pramoj’s 1969 nonfiction book "The Fall of the Burmese" (พม่าเสียกรุง) and Prince Damrong Rajanubhab’s "Journey Through Burma in 1936: A View of the Culture, History and Institutions" (เที่ยวเมืองพม่า).
Comparisons were made between the costumes of the characters in the 2017 version and those worn by Fan Bingbing in "The Empress of China." There were also complaints that some scenes were unrealistic.
Soe Win, the great-grandson of Thibaw Min, the last King of Burma, called the drama "unwatchable" and "distasteful" and asked for the series to be taken off the air. The producer, Chitralada Disayanon, argued that the plot was "“unrelated to Burma and is completely fictional, with the costumes and setting not meant to evoke any country or time period in particular”. However, the massacre of 100 royal family members is a clear reference to events in Burma in 1879. There is also a direct mapping between the members of the Burmese royal family of the time and the characters in the drama: Lady Ananthip is Hsinbyumashin, King Muangkoom is Mindon Min, Queen Pinmanee is Queen Supayalat, King Maanfah is Thibaw Min, Upparat Kanaung is Kanaung Mintha and King Burapha Kham is Tharrawaddy Min.
The rating for the finale was and the average nationwide rating for all episodes was Google ranked the phrase "Plerng Phra Nang" as the fourth most searched term by Thais in 2017, ranked second place in the category of television programs.


James Hayllar

James Hayllar (1829–1920) was an English genre, portrait and landscape painter.
Life and work.
Hayllar was born in Chichester in Sussex (now West Sussex), and received his training in art at Cary's Art Academy in London; he painted Cary's portrait in 1851. He went on to study at the Royal Academy.
Hayllar travelled in Italy from 1851–53. He was a regular exhibitor at the Royal Academy from 1850–98, and also showed work at the British Institution and the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) - of which he was a member. He first became known as a portrait painter but later turned his brush to genre art, often featuring pretty young girls (see illustration); his work became very popular. With George Dunlop Leslie (who also lived in Wallingford at the same time), he painted a large portrait of Queen Victoria to celebrate her Golden Jubilee in 1887 - the painting now hangs in Wallingford Town Hall.
He married Edith Phoebe Cavell (1827–1899), the aunt of Edith Cavell - the famous British nurse who was to be shot by the Germans for "treason" during World War I. They lived at a house called "Castle Priory" in Wallingford on the River Thames in Berkshire (now Oxfordshire) from 1875–99; scenes from village life in the area often featured in his work there. The couple went on to have 9 children, of whom four became recognised artists (see below). After the death of his wife in 1899, he moved to Bournemouth.
Family.
Hayllar had four sons and five daughters, four of whom, Edith Hayllar (1860–1948), Jessica Hayllar (1858–1940), Mary Hayllar (1863–c. 1950), and Kate Hayllar (fl. 1883–1900), became notable artists in their own right; all received their training from their father and exhibited at the Royal Academy.


Notorious Woman

Notorious Woman is a 1974 BBC television serial based on the life of the French author George Sand. It starred Rosemary Harris in the title role. The seven episodes were written by Harry W. Junkin and directed by Waris Hussein.
In the United States, the series was broadcast in 1975–1976 as part of the fifth season of "Masterpiece Theatre" on PBS.


The Natural History of Revolution

The Natural History of Revolution is a sociology treatise written by The Reverend Lyford P. Edwards, an American Episcopalian priest, in 1927. It formed part of the corpus of the Chicago School's work on the causes and effects of revolution.
While the work was later overshadowed by other works on revolutionary sociology (notably "Anatomy of Revolution" by Crane Brinton, who praised Natural History as one "of the best introductions to the subject available in English."), it was seminal in elaborating upon the potential stages of revolution and the relationship between early moderates and radicals who may usurp the power of the revolution.
Using the cases of the English, American, French and Russian Revolutions, Edwards theorized that revolutions were not the cause of social change but merely one of the extreme symptoms of previously understated social change.
Edwards was an Episcopal priest, born in 1882, who was ordained at a time when there were close connections between the University of Chicago Divinity school and the Department of Sociology. He came under the influence of the theories of Robert E. Park, to whom he dedicated this work. He later dedicated himself to teaching.


Zero Hour (play)

Zero Hour is a 2006 one-person play written and performed by playwright and actor Jim Brochu and directed by actress Piper Laurie. In a biographical reflection on Zero Mostel, Brochu portrays the Jewish actor and comedian giving a fictional interview with an unseen "New York Times" reporter shortly before Mostel's death in 1977. Brochu's Mostel recounts his life and career; he describes the impact of the Hollywood blacklist on himself and his friends, including his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee, as well as his success with "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "Fiddler on the Roof" and the original movie version of "The Producers".
A lifelong admirer of Mostel, Brochu found inspiration during his research into the adversity Mostel faced, including his parents' rejection of his marriage to a Catholic woman and a bus accident that resulted in a severe leg injury, and how his "sense of humor saved him". Writing the play during intermissions of another show he was working on, Brochu also drew upon his own recollections of Mostel, including seeing the actor in "Forum" and visiting him backstage:
I went down and Zero was outside of his dressing room reading the Riot Act to one of the other actors. The actor had upstaged him or done something. He was screaming at this actor and finished with, Now never do it again! The actor walked away and he looked at me and said, Well, hello!. How are you? Come visit me.
After seeing the play, Mostel contemporary Theodore Bikel wrote to Brochu, "Thank you for bringing back a volcano that we thought was long extinct."
The play premiered at the Egyptian Arena Theatre in Hollywood, California, presented by the West Coast Jewish Theatre and directed by Paul Kreppel. It won the 2006 Ovation Award for "World Premiere Play." It began a limited Off Broadway run at St. Clement's Theatre beginning November 14, 2009, officially December 22, and running through January 31, 2010. Bochu won the 2010 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance.


Boss (TV series)

Boss is an American political drama television serial created by Farhad Safinia. The series stars Kelsey Grammer as Tom Kane, the mayor of Chicago, who has recently been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia, a degenerative neurological disorder.
The series was broadcast in the United States on the premium television service Starz and was produced by Category 5 Entertainment, Grammnet Productions and Lionsgate Television. On September 27, 2011, before the series premiered, Starz announced that "Boss" had been renewed for a second season of ten episodes. The first season premiered on October 21, 2011 and the second season premiered on August 17, 2012.
On November 20, 2012, it was announced that Starz had cancelled the show. A film was discussed to finish the show's storylines, but those plans were cancelled after series creator Farhad Safinia declined to move forward with the project.
Overview.
As the series commences we follow Tom Kane, the Mayor of Chicago, who has been diagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies, a degenerative neurological disorder. Determined to remain in charge, Kane conceals the disease from everyone around him except his own physician, Dr. Ella Harris. Kane's marriage to Meredith is one of convenience. His closest advisors, Kitty O'Neill and Ezra Stone, begin to suspect something is wrong with the Mayor but respect the boundary he has erected that precludes asking such questions, though lapses on Kane's part begin to become apparent to others around him, such as the current Illinois governor McCall "Mac" Cullen and "The Sentinel"s political journalist Sam Miller. Meanwhile, Kane and his team work behind the scenes to groom State Treasurer Ben Zajac to become the next Governor of Illinois.
Development and production.
Farhad Safinia developed "Boss" in late 2009, with creative input from Kelsey Grammer and his production company Grammnet Productions. In November 2010, the script was shopped around to various cable networks and, following a heated and contentious bidding war, Starz placed an eight episode order for the series, based solely on the strength of the script. This was in keeping with Starz's business model of not ordering pilots but rather green-lighting projects straight-to-series. Safinia wrote the pilot, Gus Van Sant was attached to the project as director, with Grammer, Safinia, Van Sant, Richard Levine, Lyn Greene, Brian Sher and Stella Bulochnikov-Stopler serving as executive producers.
Casting announcements began in November 2010, with Grammer first to be cast. He portrays Tom Kane, "the Mayor of Chicago who is diagnosed with a degenerative mental condition that only he and his doctor know about". Next to join the series was Connie Nielsen as Meredith Kane, Tom's wife: "Meredith and Kane have a bad marriage and barely speak when they aren't in public". Jeff Hephner was next to be cast, as Ben Zajac, "the state's treasurer, an impeccably handsome and ambitious Chicago native who is clearly about to become a major player on the Chicago political scene". Hannah Ware and Kathleen Robertson were the last actors to join the main cast, with Ware playing Emma Kane, Tom Kane's estranged daughter, and Robertson playing Kitty O'Neil, Kane's personal aide.
Starz later announced that Martin Donovan, Francis Guinan, Rotimi Akinosho, Karen Aldridge, Troy Garity, Ricardo Gutierrez, James Vincent Meredith and Joe Minoso had joined the series as recurring guest stars. Martin Donovan was cast as Ezra Stone, "A savvy Yale graduate, and senior advisor to Kane, Stone knows the Mayor better than anyone. Whether it's pushing Kane's agenda, or assisting with personal matters, Ezra always delivers". Francis Guinan was cast as Governor McCall "Mac" Cullen, "The governor of Illinois, Cullen hates playing along with the Mayor's apparent unwavering support for his re-election bid. And his ugly temper is getting even worse". Rotimi Akinosho was cast as Darius, "a muscular drug dealer who's covered in tattoos, but he's smart, well spoken, and cares for his sick uncle". Karen Aldrige was cast as Dr. Ella Harris, Mayor Kane's neurologist and (initially) the only other person who knows about his current medical condition. Garity was cast as Sam Miller, "a politically savvy journalist for The Sentinel, with a nose for a real story". Ricardo Gutierrez was cast as Alderman Mata, "Political boss of the 30th ward, Mata is a thug in a suit who believes the ends justify the means, however vicious". James Vincent Meredith was cast as Alderman Ross, "Kane's biggest rival", and Joe Minoso was cast as Moco Ruiz, "A construction worker, Ruiz is one of Mata's guys".
The series was filmed between April 27, 2011, and July 27, 2011, on location in Chicago, Illinois.
At the 2011 Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, Starz announced that "Boss" would premiere on October 21, 2011; the second season premiered on August 17, 2012. The series was produced by Category 5 Entertainment, Grammnet Productions, and Lionsgate Television.
Reception.
Awards and nominations.
The series received two nominations for the 69th Golden Globe Awards for Best Drama Series and Kelsey Grammer received a nomination for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama. Kelsey Grammer won his category, while the show lost out to "Homeland".
Ratings.
The show garnered a total of 1.7 million viewers across multiple airings in its opening weekend. By comparison, other "Starz" TV series such as ' delivered 2.8 million viewers in its first weekend, ' produced 2 million viewers, and "Camelot" had 1.6 million viewers for the Friday airings alone. However, just two weeks later, the ratings had fallen to around a quarter of a million. The third episode, "Swallow", aired on November 4, 2011 averaged only 268,000 viewers — down 31% from the week before on October 28 ("Reflex"), which had just 391,000 viewers.
In an attempt to garner more television viewers, "Starz" shifted the season two premiere date from October 21, 2012 to August 17, 2012. This placed the season two premiere in a more advantageous state; between the finales of most summer shows on cable and the traditional launch of the fall television season, where an October launch would have been buried with many other programs. "Starz" also put the season two premiere full episode online for free on August 20, 2012 for a limited time.
The season two premiere had 317,000 viewers, which was less than half of the 659,000 viewers who watched the series premiere. With encores that same night, the ratings rose to 509,000 viewers. Over the weekend, the season premiere pulled in 915,000 viewers, just under the 1.1 million average in the first season.
The show's low ratings are cited as the main reason for its cancellation.
Critical reception.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Season 1 has an approval rating of 79% based on reviews from 28 critics. The website's critical consensus states: "A mature drama, Boss constructs political devolution with ease and packs a powerful punch with steamy tales of corruption and sex." Season 2 has an approval rating of 89% based on reviews from 18 critics. The website's critical consensus states: "Kelsey Grammar alone provides ample reason to watch Boss, but the rest of the stellar supporting cast of wretchedly fascinating, emotionally entangled characters holds viewer attention." On Metacritic, Season 1 has a score of 78 out of 100, based on reviews from 24 critics. Season 2 has a score of 75 out of 100, based on reviews from 18 critics.


Alias Smith and Jones

Alias Smith and Jones is an American Western series that originally aired on ABC from January 1971 to January 1973. The show initially starred Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes and Ben Murphy as Jedediah "Kid" Curry, outlaw cousins who are trying to reform. The governor offers them a clemency deal on two conditions: that they keep the agreement a secret, and that they will remain wanted fugitives until the governor decides that they should receive a formal amnesty.
Plot.
Operating primarily in Wyoming Territory (1868–1890), cousins Hannibal Heyes and Jedediah "Kid" Curry (whose boyish face spawned the nickname) are the two most successful outlaws in the history of the West. However, crime-fighting methods are evolving to foil them; safes are becoming harder to crack, trains more difficult to stop, and posses more adept at tracking them down.
Heyes, the brains of the Devil's Hole Gang, falls in disfavor with fellow members. Deciding to give up their life of crime, he and Curry learn of an amnesty program founded by the territorial governor. Through an old acquaintance, Sheriff Lom Trevors (James Drury in the pilot, alternately Mike Road and John Russell in the series), they contact the governor, who is unsure of how voters will react if he extends leniency to Heyes and Curry. He ultimately strikes a deal to grant them amnesty for their past crimes, with the stipulations that they must not discuss the agreement with anyone and that they will officially still be wanted men until such time as the governor decides that they deserve full clemency.
The cousins reluctantly accept the deal, but find life as law-abiding citizens to be more difficult than expected. Now calling themselves Joshua Smith and Thaddeus Jones, they find themselves tangling with lawmen, bounty hunters, operatives of the Bannerman Detective Agency, and other nefarious figures. They are forced to rely on Heyes' silver tongue, Curry's fast draw, and occasionally a little help from friends on both sides of the law.
Cast and characters.
Heyes was deemed "cunning," with Curry "gunning." Heyes/Smith was considered the brains of the duo and an excellent poker player. Curry/Jones was the master gun hand and the brawn. Usually, Heyes figured out ways to make money and save the twosome from precarious situations. Starting with "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap" (season two, episode 16), a slightly revamped introduction partially explained why the renowned duo did not split to evade capture--they were cousins. Roger Davis' original theme voiceover referred to the characters as "latter-day Robin Hoods." The new introduction replaced that description with the phrase "Kansas cousins." It remained so after Ralph Story reworked the introduction, once Davis assumed the Heyes role. After Davis took over as Heyes, his distinctive voice could no longer be used in the theme introduction. Ralph Story was brought in to provide narration for the series (he, rather than Davis, had done so in the pilot).
When the cousins were children, all four of their parents were slaughtered during the "border wars" just before the Civil War (q.v. Kansas-Missouri Border War) ("The Men That Corrupted Hadleyburg", season two, episode 17). In "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Red Gap," Heyes remarks, "My cousin and I are not Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry." Curry also speaks of their "sage old grandfather." In the first episode with Davis, "The Biggest Game in the West" (season two, episode 19), Heyes shouts to Curry: "Yes sir! Cousin, you're all right!" In the episode "Don't Get Mad, Get Even," Curry and Heyes both make reference to their Irish grandfather Curry.
Recurring characters include:
Recasting of Hannibal Heyes.
In the early morning hours of December 31, 1971, series star Pete Duel died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the age of 31. He was reportedly suffering from depression and had been drinking heavily when he shot himself. Upon learning of Duel's death, executive producer Jo Swerling Jr. initially wanted to end the series, but ABC refused. Swerling later stated:
ABC said, "No way!" They said, "You have a contract to deliver this show to us, and you will continue to deliver the show as best you can on schedule or we will sue you." Hearing those words, Universal didn't hesitate for a second to instruct us to stay in production. We were already a little bit behind the eight ball on airdates. So, we contacted everybody, including Ben (Murphy), and told them to come back in. The entire company was reassembled and back in production by one o'clock that day shooting scenes that did not involve Peter — only 12 hours after his death.
Series writer, director, and producer Roy Huggins contacted actor Roger Davis (who had appeared in episode 19 "Smiler with a Gun" and provided narration for the series) the day of Duel's death to fill the role of Hannibal Heyes. Davis was fitted for costumes the following day, and began reshooting scenes Duel had previously completed for an unfinished episode the following Monday. According to Swerling, the decision to continue production so soon after Duel's death was heavily criticized in the press at the time.
Production.
Development.
"Alias Smith and Jones" began with a made-for-TV movie of the previous year called "The Young Country" about con artists in the Old West. It was produced, written, and directed by Roy Huggins, who served as executive producer of the show. Under the pseudonym John Thomas James, Huggins at least shared the writing credit on most episodes of the series that followed. It was broadcast on 17 March 1970 in the "ABC Movie of the Week" strand.
Roger Davis starred as Stephen Foster Moody, and Pete Duel had the secondary but significant role of Honest John Smith. Joan Hackett played a character called Clementine Hale; a character with the same name appeared in two "Alias Smith and Jones" episodes, played by Sally Field. This pilot was rejected, but Huggins was given a second chance and, with Glen A. Larson, developed "Alias Smith and Jones". As with the previously rejected pilot "The Young Country", this series pilot proper also aired as an "ABC Movie of the Week".
It was made in the same spirit as many other American TV series of the time, from Huggins' own "The Fugitive" to "Renegade", about fugitives on the run across America who get involved in the personal lives of the people they meet. The major difference was that Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry were guilty of the crimes for which they were accused, but were trying to begin a noncriminal life.
The series was modeled on the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford. (Universal contract player Ben Murphy was offered to the producers because he was considered a Paul Newman lookalike.) A number of similarities are seen between the film and the TV series: One of the lead characters in the film was called Harvey Logan (played by Ted Cassidy). In real life, Harvey Logan, also known by the nickname of Kid Curry, was an associate of the real Butch Cassidy, and unlike the TV version, was a cold-blooded killer.
The TV series also featured a group of robbers called the Devil's Hole Gang, loosely based on the Hole in the Wall Gang from which Cassidy recruited most of his outlaws. To lend them an element of audience sympathy, Heyes and Curry were presented as men who avoided bloodshed (though Curry did once kill in self-defense) and always were attempting to reform and seek redemption for their "prior ways".
The names "Smith" and "Jones" originated from a comment in the 1969 film "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", when before one of their final hold-ups, the characters are outside a bank in Bolivia and Sundance turns to Butch and says: "I'm Smith and you're Jones."
Locations.
Parts of the television series were filmed at Castle Valley and Professor Valley in Utah.
Cancellation.
The series continued for another 17 episodes after the recasting of Hannibal Heyes, but never regained its popularity after the loss of Duel. This, as well as the fact that the long-prominent Western genre was giving way to police dramas, brought the show to an end on January 13, 1973. On January 16, 1973, "Bonanza" aired its final episode, leaving the 18-year-old "Gunsmoke", the syndicated comedy western "Dusty's Trail", and "Kung Fu" as the only Westerns scheduled for Fall 1973.
Home media.
The entire series has been released on DVD.
Universal Studios Home Entertainment released the complete first season of "Alias Smith and Jones" in Region 2 on June 11, 2007.
Original tie-in novels.
American Western author Todhunter Ballard, better known as W.T. Ballard, wrote six original novels based on the series, under his tie-in pseudonym "Brian Fox." Only the first two were published in the US, by Award Books, between 1971 and 1972. The TV series, however, was so popular in the UK, that after first run episodes were exhausted, the first two novels were reprinted and distributed by London-based publisher Tandem Books, who also released the four additional titles, all in 1976. Since Award and Tandem were affiliated publishers, it's unclear if Award commissioned all six books and dropped the book series as the show's US popularity waned, unwittingly leaving the then-unpublished manuscripts to be rejuvenated later; or if Tandem returned to Ballard for the additional titles.
Each book is a standalone novel and they can be read in any order. Following, however, is the order of publication.


Die Bernauerin

Die Bernauerin is a piece in Bavarian dialect by the composer Carl Orff to his own libretto on the life of Agnes Bernauer. It was first performed on 8 June 1947 in Stuttgart.


Karl Jauslin

Karl Jauslin (1842 - 1904) was a Swiss painter and illustrator, known mostly for historical and battle scenes.
Biography.
His father was, successively, a quarry worker, a personal servant and a member of the Cantonal police. This necessitated several moves. He drew continuously while in school, portraying figures from history and his classmates.
After his father's death in 1858, he went to work as a construction laborer to help support his family. This proved to be too strenuous for his health, so he found employment at a spinning mill in Dornach, owned by Achilles Alioth (1822-1898), an entrepreneur from Mulhouse. Eventually, he went to Alioth with his drawings and paintings. Surprisingly, Alioth took pity on him and helped him become apprenticed to a decorative painter in Basel named Bernhard Thommen (1826-1868).
As it turned out, he went to work for Thommen's company, painting decorations and stage sets. He remained with him for eight years. Every so often, he would send a painting to Alioth, who believed that Jauslin was studying, which he was, but only part-time in evening classes at the "Zeichnungs- und Modellierschule". During this time, his girlfriend emigrated to America with her family and he decided to remain single.
After Thommen's death, he had to support himself with odd jobs while trying to sell his paintings, until the beginning of the Franco-Prussian War, when the publisher, Eduard Hallberger, of Stuttgart, hired him to do illustrations of scenes from the war for the magazine "Über Land und Meer". This assignment took him to the military hospital in Karlsruhe, Strasbourg during the bombardment, the Siege of Belfort and Les Verrières for the entry of the Armée de l'Est. This enabled him to begin studying at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, while continuing to work for Hallberger. He also travelled to Vienna, to make copies of the Old Masters, and created anatomical illustrations at the city hospital for publications by Doctor Salomon Stricker.
Life in Muttenz.
He returned home in 1876, after he had been hired by the firm of Buri & Jeker to do illustrations for the 400th anniversary of the Battle of Morat. While doing this, he developed a lifelong interest in historical uniforms and owned several, including the armor. He stayed when he was done; living with his mother and sister, Bertha, until she married and moved to America. He was able to acquire a small house in 1886, where he stayed for the rest of his life, which was lived quietly, except for a few short trips related to his work.
His paintings never became popular, and he created very few after 1877, when he failed to get a commission for frescoes at the Tellskapelle. It wasn't until 1901 that he took up painting on a large scale again, after receiving an order for two dozen historical scenes from Doctor Heinrich Bircher (1850-1923) of Aargau, who was also a noted military historian. Sixteen were for the opening of the "Kriegs- und Friedensmuseum" (War and Peace Museum) in Lucerne and the other eight were shown at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, just before his death.
He suffered a stroke in 1904, after participating in a parade, where he was a costumed standard-bearer. He died two weeks later. His home is no longer standing, but the spot is marked by a monument. His estate included 200 sheets of poetry, written since he was seventeen and his art was looked after by his sister Lina until her death in 1948, when it was bequeathed to the city of Muttenz. It was fully displayed after 1972. A street in Muttenz has been named after him.


The Glory

The Glory (1994) is the sequel to "The Hope" written by American author Herman Wouk.
Plot introduction.
Interweaving the lives and fates of fictional characters and real-life notables, the sequel to "The Hope" continues the story of Israeli history to the climactic events of the Yom Kippur War and the promise of peace.
Historical events in the book include:
Families whose history is chronicled in "The Glory":
Real historical personages in the novel include Yonatan Netanyahu, Golda Meir, Ariel Sharon, Anwar Sadat, Moshe Dayan, and David Elazar.


More Cattle, Less Bull

"More Cattle, Less Bull" is the fifth episode of the third season of "Scandal". It premiered on October 31, 2013 in the U.S.
Plot.
Olivia has her weekly dinner with her father while Jake and Huck break into his house to look for clues on Operation Remington. They find footage of Rowan and Fitz talking together about the operation and realize that he was not the pilot on the flight but was instead involved in another secret mission somewhere in Iceland.
Josie Marcus hires Olivia and her team to cover up a teenage pregnancy she had. The team goes to Montana and manages to bribe the few people who knew about the pregnancy into not speaking to the media. They do, however, discover that Josephine’s child was never given up for adoption and that the child was raised as Josephine’s younger sister, Candace, who now works with Josie. Right before Josie’s debate against Governor Reston Olivia discovers that Reston has been leaked the news by Cyrus prompting her to advise Josie to come clean and admit that she gave a child up for adoption. Candace does the math and figures out she’s actually Josie’s daughter prompting Josie to fire Olivia.
In the meantime Olivia finds herself struggling with her relationship with Fitz. She throws her secret Fitz phone in the trash only to retrieve it when he calls. She asks Jake to accompany her to the White House Correspondents' Dinner as a cover but when she is called away from the table by the secret service she encounters Mellie who begs her to come back and run Fitz’s re-election campaign. At the end of the night Jake reveals that he knew he was there as an excuse for Olivia to see Fitz and warns her that he isn’t willing to play second fiddle.
Abby and David’s relationship continues to progress along a positive note until she lies to him that she’s still in Montana to avoid going to the White House Correspondents' Dinner with him. David later realizes that Abby skipped the dinner as her abusive ex-husband was in attendance.
At the end of the night, after leaving Jake, Olivia receives an offer from Josie to work as her campaign manager leaving her with option of working with either Fitz or Josie.
Jake returns to his home where Huck informs him that he has discovered that a plane was shot down in Iceland when Fitz was there and that one of the passengers was Maya Lewis, Olivia’s mother. The two rush to Olivia’s apartment to present her with this new evidence.
Production.
Paul Adelstein was announced as a recurring guest star on September 9, 2013. Adelstein’s wife Liza Weil played Amanda Tanner during the first season of the show.


Carcassonne (board game)

Carcassonne () is a tile-based German-style board game for two to five players, designed by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede and published in 2000 by Hans im Glück in German and by Rio Grande Games (until 2012) and Z-Man Games (currently) in English. It received the Spiel des Jahres and the Deutscher Spiele Preis awards in 2001.
It is named after the medieval fortified town of Carcassonne in southern France, famed for its city walls. The game has spawned many expansions and spin-offs, and several PC, console and mobile versions. A new edition, with updated artwork on the tiles and the box, was released in 2014.
Gameplay.
The game board is a medieval landscape built by the players as the game progresses. The game starts with a single terrain tile face up and 71 others shuffled face down for the players to draw from. On each turn a player draws a new terrain tile and places it adjacent to tiles that are already face up. The new tile must be placed in a way that extends features on the tiles it touches: roads must connect to roads, fields to fields, and cities to cities.
After placing each new tile, the placing player may opt to station a piece (called a "follower" or "meeple") on a feature of that newly placed tile. The placing player may not use a follower to claim any features of the tile that extend or connect features already claimed by another player. However, it is possible for terrain features claimed by opposing players to become "shared" by the subsequent placement of tiles connecting them. For example, two separate field tiles (each with a follower) can become connected into a single field by another terrain tile.
The game ends when the last tile has been placed. At that time, all features (including fields) score points for the players with the most followers on them. The player with the most points wins the game.
Scoring.
During the players' turns, cities, cloisters, and roads (but not fields) are scored when they are completed—cities and roads when they are completed (i.e. contain no unfinished edges from which they may be expanded), and cloisters when surrounded by eight tiles. At the end of the game, when there are no tiles remaining, all incomplete features are scored. Points are awarded to the players with the most followers in a feature.
If there is a tie for the most followers in any given feature, all of the tied players are awarded the full number of points. In general (see table), points are awarded for the number of tiles covered by a feature; cloisters score for neighboring tiles; and fields score based on the number of connected "completed" cities.
Once a feature is scored, all of the followers in that feature are returned to their owners.
Older editions.
There are two older editions of "Carcassonne", differing in scoring of cities and fields. The current scoring rules were introduced in the German version in 2004, but until 2008, the first edition scoring rules were still included with the English releases of "Carcassonne", third edition rules are now included with all editions (including the Xbox 360 and travel versions), and are assumed by all expansions in all languages.
In the first and second editions of the game, completed cities covering just two tiles scored two points (one per tile) and one extra point for every pennant that resides in the city. This exception is removed from the third edition, in which there is no difference between two-tile cities and cities of larger size.
The greatest divergence in scoring rules between the editions of "Carcassonne" is in scoring for fields. In the first edition, the players with the greatest number of followers adjacent to a city were awarded four points for that city. Thus, followers from different fields contributed to the scoring for a city, and followers on a field may contribute to the scoring for multiple cities. The second edition considered different fields separately – for each field, the players with the greatest number of followers in a field scored three points for each city adjacent to the field, although points were only scored once for any given city. The third edition removes these exceptions and brings field scoring in line with the scoring of other features.
Reception.
"Carcassonne" is considered to be an excellent "gateway game" by many board game players as it is a game that can be used to introduce new players to board games. The rules are simple, no one is ever eliminated, and the play is fast. A typical game, without any expansions, takes about 45 minutes to play. There is a substantial luck component to the game; however, good tactics greatly improve one's chances of winning. Examples of tactical considerations include:
The game has been used in education to teach geographical concepts.
Expansions.
Several official expansions for "Carcassonne" have been published, which add numerous additional rules, tiles and new kinds of figures. Together, they can more than double the length of the game. These expansions are generally compatible with each other and may be played together.
Mini expansions.
Six stand-alone mini expansions, with each containing a tile for a seventh mini expansion.
1. Carcassonne — The Flying Machines (Carcassonne — Die Fluggeräte)
2. Carcassonne — The Messengers (Carcassonne — Die Depeschen)
3. Carcassonne — The Ferries (Carcassonne — Die Fähren)
4. Carcassonne — The Gold Mines (Carcassonne — Die Goldminen)
5. Carcassonne — Mage & Witch (Carcassonne — Magier & Hexe)
6. Carcassonne — The Robbers (Carcassonne — Die Räuber)
7. Carcassonne — Corn Circles II (Carcassonne – Die Kornkreise)
Spinoffs.
Following the success of "Carcassonne", a number of games have been spun off from the main game, all sharing similar mechanics. There is also a travel-sized version of the original game, "Travel Carcassonne" ("Reise-Carcassonne"), released in 2007.
Tournaments and World Championships.
International "Carcassonne" tournaments were held in Germany in 2003–2005.
The first official "Carcassonne" World Championship was held at SPIEL in Essen, Germany, in 2006. An annual world championship has been held at SPIEL every year since 2006 with the exception of the fifth championship, which was held on 24 October 2010 during SPIEL but at an alternate location in Herne, Germany. Ralph Querfurth has been the World Champion in four editions.


Black Heart of Jamaica

Black Heart of Jamaica is the fifth book in the Cat Royal series by British author Julia Golding. In this story the protagonist, Cat, becomes a pirate and gets involved with Pedro in a slave revolt.
Plot.
Cat and Pedro decide to earn a living as a duet of acting and playing the violin, as Cat feels uncomfortable at living with Frank, Lizzie and Johnny without working, and Pedro decides to go with her. Syd is very upset at the prospect of Cat going away from him again but puts up with it for Cat's sake.
In Jamaica, Cat and Pedro are disgusted to learn that slavery is still common and both are frightened and horrified when they discover that Pedro's former owner, Mr Hawkins is in Jamaica. Mr Hawkins thinks that slavery is lawful and fair, and he still believes that Pedro belongs to him. He taunts Cat after her performance on stage and then finally kidnaps her. At his plantation Cat falls ill with malaria and while she is still delusional and sick Billy rescues her. He forces her to buy a slave which Pedro is disgusted at, but he soon learns to forgive Cat. In the end Cat gets involved in a slave revolt but Pedro tells her to leave, while he will stay and help his fellow men gain their rights of freedom and equality. Cat is heartbroken to leave Pedro alone but she knows she must, so she and Billy leave together.


Musubi no Yama Hiroku

Musubi no Yama Hiroku (産霊山秘録 "The Secret History of Mt. Musubi") is an epic historical fantasy novel by Ryō Hanmura. It is a multi-generational saga reinterpreting 400 years of Japan's history through the perspective of a secretive family with mystical capabilities.
The novel is widely considered one of the masterpieces of Japanese fantasy literature. It won the first Izumi Kyōka Prize for Literature in 1973. In a 2006 issue of "S-F Magazine", one of Japan's most prominent science fiction publications, it was voted as one of the "Top Ten Japanese Science Fiction Novels of All Time".
Overview.
The plot revolves around the Hi Family, whose lineage stretches back into antiquity. Each member of the family possesses supernatural psychic powers fueled by the three magical treasures called Mikagami, Yoritama, and Ibuki. All throughout history, the Hi Family have been subtly manipulating Japan's greatest historical events from behind the scenes, leading the country to its modern formation.
The narrative opens during Oda Nobunaga's Siege of Mount Hiei. It then proceeds through the Battle of Sekigahara to the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, and all the way to the end of the Pacific War.


Hans Werner Schmidt

Hans Werner Schmidt (1859-1950) was a German painter, illustrator and etcher. Primarily, he created history paintings, frequently dealing with the history of Weimar and the life of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Grown up as the son of a craftsman, Schmidt began studying at the Weimar Saxon Grand Ducal Art School in 1879. As a student of Albert Heinrich Brendel and Theodor Hagen he became a master student in 1885 and was appointed professor in 1903.


A Secret Life (book)

A Secret Life: The Lies and Scandals of President Grover Cleveland is a 2011 historical book by American author Charles Lachman.
The book is about President Grover Cleveland's 1884 presidential campaign and the allegations that a decade earlier Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate son and had the child's mother committed to a mental asylum.


Crusade (Laird novel)

Crusade is a novel written by Elizabeth Laird and first published by Macmillan in 2007. It is set in the Third Crusade and focuses on a Saracen boy named Salim and an English boy called Adam. It was shortlisted for the 2007 Costa Children's Book Award.
Plot.
For a year and a half, Acre is besieged by the Frankish army, while the Sultan's camp is close by. In an incredible twist of fate, Jennet's ship reappears and she arrives to Adam with baby Tibby, the daughter of Robert de Martel. By chance, Adam and Faithful stumble across Salim, who was watching Acre in a spell of homesickness. Adam becomes a serf for Sir Ivo, and works as a groom and later becomes a squire.
Salim takes to watching the Frankish camp as often as possible until he gets caught by Saracen soldiers who believe him to be a spy for the franks, however when they return with him to Saladin's camp his identity is discovered. When Saladin realises how much information Salim has learned about the Frankish army, he is told to continue to watch them as long as he doesn't get caught. The Mamluk Ismail uses Salim's information to plan an ambush on the soldiers nearest the edge of the camp.
The Mamluks provoke the Martel soldiers by yelling insults while on horses. The knights immediately prepare for battle, eager to leave the camp. Sir Guy de Martel ignores advice from Sir Ivo, who believes they are going to ride straight into an ambush. All of the knights from the Martel army ride to battle, swiftly followed by their squires and other foot soldiers. Adam runs to Sir Ivo's help and Faithful tries to follow but gets ordered to return to the camp. However, Adam doesn't see Faithful start running with him again, instead of returning to the camp. When they arrive to the ambush, the knights are already fighting the Mamluks. Two Mamluks are attacking Sir Ivo, one of them is trying to make his horse, Grimbald, rear while the other is trying to attack him with a sword. Faithful bites the Mamluk trying to make Grimbald rear, which later turns out to be Ismail, while Sir Ivo kills the other. The Mamluks retreat with four Frankish prisoners of war. Faithful starts barking at Sir Guy de Martel's horse, Vigor, and Adam hurriedly pulls him away and sends him back to the camp. When he turns back he discovers Vigor has reared and Guy de Martel has fallen to the ground.
In an act of chivalry, Saladin sends Dr. Musa and Salim to try to heal Sir Guy, who has a serious head injury and remains unconscious. One of the prisoners is sent with him with the threat that if he failed to return, or if he allowed Dr. Musa and Salim to be harmed, the other prisoners would be killed. Dr. Musa meets Dr. John, a Frankish doctor who lived all his life in the Holy Land, and Dr. Nicholas. Unlike Dr. John, Nicholas believes a demon has entered Sir Guy's body and that's why he remains unconscious, and the only way to save him is to let the demon from his body. Dr. John and Musa know he has no demon on his body and they eventually win the right to treat Sir Guy instead of Nicholas.
They manage to repair the damage and, although Sir Guy survives, he isn't returned completely to normal. For a while, he only remained conscious for a small amount of time each day. It was in one of these brief moments that he told Adam he was really his father. Sir Robert de Martel refuses to believe he is related to Adam and believes Adam is a witch and has put a spell on Sir Guy. Eventually he is forced to accept it. A little while after the accident, Adam leaves morning mass early to talk to his father and admits it was his dog who caused Vigor to rear and Sir Guy sees it as punishment for his sins. Just a few days after Adam admits this, Sir Guy has a seizure and while Dr. John is in a different part of the army Dr. Nicholas, still certain a demon has entered Sir Guy's body and caused the fit, is left to do what he thinks will help. He cuts open Sir Guy's head to release the demon and Sir Guy dies rapidly. When Dr. Musa hears of the death he is furious at Dr. Nicholas' decision.
Sir Ivo and Adam are grateful that Dr. Musa came to help Sir Guy, and they travel to the Saracen camp to ask them if there was anything they could do for them. Dr. Musa mentions that Salim's family is still in the castle of Acre and asks for a safe passage for them through the camp. Sir Ivo does as they asked but Ali, a part of the garrison of Acre, chooses to remain in the castle to help defend Acre against the Frankish army. When back in Saladin's camp, Salim's mother reveals her plans to go to Damascus where her brother lives, using money a friend gave her just before she left. Just days after the family escaped, Acre's walls fall and the army attacks the city.
While waiting for the walls to finally fall, Adam and the rest of the army prepare to go inside siege towers. Jennet is nearby, handing out water to the stifling soldiers. While they are all waiting for the attack, one of the towers is hit by Greek Fire. Adam and the rest of the soldiers hurriedly got away from the tower before they were harmed, but it fell on Jennet and she quickly died. Adam helps in the attack when the walls finally fall, but he is hit by an object while climbing over the remnants of the crumbled wall. He is carried back to safety by Sir Ivo. He later wakes up in Acre's hospital but it is a few weeks before he is strong enough to leave the hospital. Here he discovers a woman called Joan is looking after since Jennet's death. He offers to pay her enough to leave her job and go to his own new estate, to which she agrees.
A little while after this, Tibby goes missing and Adam searches for her everywhere, only to discover Jacques has sold her to slavers. Salim, Dr. Musa and their body guard and groom, Tewfik are told they can finally travel to Jerusalem. While they are leaving, Adam finds them and convinces them to help find Tibby. They give Adam a skullcap and Damascus tunic to help him pass as a Kurd while travelling to find the slavers in Jerusalem. He is told to pretend to be deaf and dumb so no one realises he is really a Frank. They never reach Jerusalem but they find Tibby and Adam narrowly escapes with her. When he returns he is jailed for abandoning Sir Ivo, who was badly wounded in his absence. Eventually, he is released and allowed to return to England. While waiting to board the ship, Adam tells everyone that Jacques is a cheat and he starts to chase Jacques along with several more people. He is then found by a messenger who gives him is bond of freedom to go to his new estate at Brockwood.
At Dr. Musa's home in Jerusalem, a group of Mamluks including Ismail appear and say Saladin wants them to return. Dr. Musa refuses to return to the army, but tells the Mamluks Salim knows just as much as he does. Salim, who longs to return to the army, is given a turban by Dr. Musa which prompts Ismail to call him brother instead of little brother. With the Mamluks, Salim rides back to Saladin's army.
Ten years on, Adam is the master of Brockwood, he manages his estate well with Tom Bate (Jennet's father), as his right-hand man, and he married a miller's daughter, who is called Margaret. They have three sons and Faithful has puppies. Sir Ivo is a frequent visitor. Adam never finds out Dr. Musa died quietly five years after Saladin saved Jerusalem, while reading a book in the courtyard of his home. Salim cried when he heard the news, and after years of training he is a well-respected doctor. He looks after his family and lives in a house in Damascus with his wife, Leila and two daughters. He keeps a Mamluk-trained horse in his stable and sometimes saddles it up for a ride to be on his own. Ismail is captain of his own Mamluk troop and often sends Salim greetings and news.
Characters.
Salim.
Salim Ibn Adil is a boy from the mighty town of Acre. When news that a Frankish army is arriving soon sweeps through the town, his father makes him leave as Dr. Musa's apprentice to get to safety in Damascus. While they are escaping, a small unit of Franks forces them to hide by a farmstead's outer wall at the top of a hill. They are almost discovered by the Franks when a small force of Mamluks appears and chases the Franks away without seeing Salim, Dr. Musa and their mule Suweida. They try to keep hidden while the Mamluks are there but Suweida gives away their position. The Mamluks take them to Sultan Saladin's camp as they are in need of a doctor. Here, Salim befriends a Mamluk named Ismail.
Adam.
Adam is a fourteen-year-old English boy. After his mother dies, he becomes convinced that the only way to guarantee her soul to Paradise is to scatter the dust of Jerusalem on her grave. Jacques the pedlar sells him some of this special soil but, after Adam spent his only penny on the bottle of soil, he discovers it is ordinary dirt from England. After his mother's death, he becomes a dog boy in service of the lord guy. When war is announced, Adam is inspired to take up the cross and travel to the Holy Land to obtain the dust of Jerusalem for his mother. The Lord selects him as one of the people to travel to the Holy Land, hoping for some good hunting on the way there. Before they leave for the Holy Land, Adam is given a mastiff he then names Faithful. During their trip, most of the dogs die of illness while Faithful is the only one remaining by the time they arrive at Acre. His closest friend, named Jennet, is on a separate ship to him and to Adam's horror; the ship is lost during a terrible storm.


Cristina Marcano

Cristina Marcano (1960), is a noted biographer of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Along with Alberto Barrera Tyszka, she authored "Hugo Chávez Sin Uniforme: Una Historia Personal", which was published in 2005 by Random House Mondadori ().


Urban Rez

Urban Rez is a 2013 American documentary film about the repercussions of the Urban Relocation Program (1952–1973), the greatest voluntary upheaval of Native Americans during the 20th century. It was directed by Larry T. Pourier and written by Lisa D. Olken.
The film examines policies that encouraged Native Americans to relocate. The documentary focuses on Native Americans in rural areas. The film uses personal stories and modern-day analysis to reflect on the Voluntary Relocation Program.
The documentary was released on PBS.
Reception.
The film won the 2013 Heartland Emmy Award for Best Cultural Documentary, was an Official Selection to the 2013 Native American Indian & Video Festival of the Southeast, and was the Best Documentary Short Winner at the 2013 American Indian Festival.
In addition, the film screened at the 2014 First Nations Film and Video Festival.
See also.
Indian Relocation Act of 1956


Mare Nostrum (board game)

Mare Nostrum is a board game for 3 to 5 players, designed by Serge Laget and published in 2003 by Eurogames. It was also the name of a 1983 board game in the Fronte Mare series.
Gameplay.
Players assume the roles of one of five Mediterranean empires - Rome, Greece, Babylon, Egypt or Carthage.
Units are placed on a game board representing the Mediterranean and the surrounding area, divided into provinces which contain one or more resources.
Players take turns in rounds of three phases:
The first player to do any of the following wins the game:
Game interest.
"Mare Nostrum" is intended by the designer to be a more playable version of Civilization. The goal of the game is to bring glory to your civilization by acquiring great heroes and by building architectural wonders in your kingdom. Prominently featured in the game are historic personalities such as Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Hammurabi, as well as the Seven Wonders of the World.
The game incorporates many features found in other games, for example:
The game itself supports three to five players, but it is best played with all five.
The game has been criticised as being too inflexible in the player's roles; for example, Rome must play aggressively while Egypt must trade. Further, players are forced (to a certain extent) into certain actions early in the game; if Egypt is allowed to acquire too many resource cards they will quickly build the Pyramids; if Rome is not then held in check they will achieve military victory. However, once the game has been played a few times these strategies become less effective and the game opens out again.
Expansions.
"Mare Nostrum: Mythology Expansion" adds mythological and religious elements to the game. These include:


The Andorra Hustle

The Andorra Hustle is a 2020 documentary film about the war of the Kingdom of Spain against the Catalan independence movement. The documentary was produced between March 2019 and August 2020 and premiered on August 27, 2020 via the Amazon Prime platform.


Hino da Maria da Fonte

The ""Maria da Fonte" anthem" (), also known as the "Anthem of Minho" () is a Portuguese patriotic anthem, written in 1846 by Angelo Frondoni with lyrics by Paulo Midosi, following the popularly-called Revolution of Maria da Fonte.
History.
According to Angelo Frondoni's obituary, written by Acácio Antunes and published on the "O Occidente" magazine in 1891, the idea for this patriotic anthem came from Paulo Midosi, who was Frondoni's librettist in several operettas. Midosi came to Frondoni so he would compose a song to go with a couple of verses of his own making for "an enthusiastic anthem". The music, that Fondoni wrote in its entirety on the same day, would become the song of the popular revolt in the spring of 1846, against the government of the Count of Tomar.
According to João Augusto Marques Gomes, the "Maria da Fonte" anthem was sung for the first time on 24 June 1846, a month after the main incidents of the revolt, in the house of the Marquess of Nisa, by an opera singer. The triumph of the liberal faction, assures the return of César de Vasconcelos, José Estêvão, e Mendes Leite, who had been in exile following the Torres Novas "pronunciamento". On 6 July, the three attend Almeida Garrett's play "O Alfageme de Santarém" in D. Maria II National Theatre — during intermission, a band played the "Maria da Fonte" anthem, and the audience enthusiastically sung, clapped and cheered on.
The "Maria da Fonte" anthem is still used today in formal military and civic ceremonies in Portugal. It serves as honors music to the legislative speaker, the Prime Minister and the cabinet, as well as to the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, the Chief and Vice-Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff, and the military heads of the Navy, of the Army, and of the Air Force.
Lyrics.
While there are multiple historical variations in the lyrics of the song, that tended to be changed according to the political climate of the time, the original lyrics written by Paulo Midosi in 1846 are the following:
<poem>
Baqueou a tirania
Nobre povo, és vencedor,
Generoso, ousado e livre,
Dêmos glória ao teu valor.
Eia avante, Portugueses!
Eia avante, não temer!
Pela santa Liberdade,
Triunfar ou perecer!
Algemada era a Nação,
Mas é livre ainda uma vez;
Ora, e sempre, é caro à Pátria
O heroísmo Português.
Eia avante, Portugueses...
Lá raiou a Liberdade
Que a Nação há-de aditar!
Glória ao Minho que primeiro
O seu grito fez soar!
Eia avante, Portugueses...
Segue, ó Povo, o belo exemplo
De tamanha heroicidade:
Nunca mais deixes tiranos
Ameaçar a Liberdade.
Eia avante, Portugueses...
Fugi déspotas! Fugi,
Vis algozes da Nação!
Livre, a Pátria vos repulsa,
Terminou a escravidão!
Eia avante, Portugueses...
</poem>
<poem>
Tyranny has succumbed
Noble people, you are the victor
Generous, bold, and free
Glory be upon your worth.
Onward, Portuguese!
Onward, never fear!
For blessed Freedom,
Either triumph or perish!
The Nation was in shackles
But it's free again once more;
Now and always the Fatherland is dear
To the Portuguese prowess.
Onward, Portuguese...
The dawn of Freedom is upon us
Filling with Nation with bliss
Glory be upon Minho, the first
Who made their cries heard!
Onward, Portuguese...
Follow, People, the example
Of such heroism:
Never again let tyrants
Threatern our Freedom.
Onward, Portuguese...
Flee, despots! Flee,
Vile butchers of the Nation!
Free, the Fatherland banishes you,
Slavery is no more!
Onward, Portuguese...
</poem>


Pes-Ke-Le-Cha-Co (Henry Inman)

Pes-Ke-Le-Cha-Co is an oil painting by Henry Inman currently on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It depicts Pawnee chief Pes-Ke-Le-Cha-Co as of 1832, painted as a copy of a now destroyed set of paintings by Charles Bird King. It was painted by Inman around 1832 to 1833.
Inman was an American artist who is well known for his portraits. He was asked by Thomas L. McKenney to copy over 100 oil paintings by King and translate them to his set of Native American chief biographies, History of the Indian Tribes of North America.


Maurice Fingercwajg

Maurice Fingercwajg also Mojsze, Fingercweig (25 December 1923 in Warsaw – 21 February 1944 in Mont Valérien), was one of the resistance fighters shot at the Fort Mont Valérien, a volunteer soldier in the French liberation army FTP-MOI and a member of the group of Missak Manouchian.
Biography.
Fingercwajg was born on 25 December 1923 in Warsaw, Poland. He was less than three years old when his parents settled in Paris. His father, a tailor, worked hard to feed his family. The young Maurice went to school and could have been a happy child were it not for the loss of his mother at the age of ten. Despite his youth, he worked as an upholsterer. Fingercwajg's elder brother Jacques was a member of the "Jeunesse Communiste" and influenced him greatly. In 1940 Fingercwajg in his turn joined the "Jeunesse Communiste", where he became very active.
When the second Jewish detachment of the "FTP immigrés" was formed in the spring of 1942, Maurice was one of the first fighters. His bravery and devotion led to his being transferred to the elite derailment teams under the command of Missak Manouchian, where he carried out many audacious operations.
Fingercwajg's father and two brothers, Jacques and Léon, were deported during the great round-ups of Jews; he was left alone in the world and with the antifascist fighters as his only family. In November 1943, he was arrested along with his leader, Manouchian, and handed over with his other brothers in arms to the tribunal known as the "procès des 23" (trial of the 23). Sentenced to death, he was shot at the Fort Mont Valérien on 21 February 1944.
Affiche rouge.
Fingercwajg's name appeared on the Affiche Rouge German propaganda poster, with the caption "Fingercwajg, Juif polonais, 3 attentats, 5 déraillements" (Fingercwajg, Polish Jew, 3 attacks, 5 derailments).


Claudius Jacquand

Claude Jacquand, known as Claudius (; 11 December 1803, Lyon – 2 April 1878, Paris) was a French painter of historical tableaus, genre scenes and religious subjects.
Biography.
He came from a family devoted to handicrafts and his father was a comb-maker. He had his first art lessons at the École nationale des beaux-arts de Lyon with Fleury François Richard. Following his mother's death in 1836, he moved to Paris and began exhibiting.
In 1839, he became a Knight in the Legion d'Honneur and, a year later, he was awarded the Gold Medal at an exposition in Brussels. The following year, at an exhibition in The Hague, he won another Gold Medal and was decorated with the Order of Leopold. His father died shortly after, leaving him several valuable properties that enabled him to marry the aristocratic Lydia de Forbin, daughter of Louis Nicolas Philippe Auguste de Forbin and widow of the Viscount Alexandre Paul de Pinelli. He taught painting to his son-in-law , who also became a well-known artist.
He and his family settled at her hometown of Émeringes, where he built a mansion inspired by a castle he had seen in Paris. He was chosen to be Mayor in 1844. A year later, he exhibited at the Salon, where Charles Baudelaire characterized him as a painter of the "twentieth quality".
After the French Revolution of 1848, his income began to shrink dramatically and he sought paid employment. An effort to obtain the post of Director at the Musée de l'Histoire de France at Versailles was not successful. He and Lydia moved to Boulogne-sur-Mer in 1852 and sold their properties in Émeringes to help maintain their life style. Nevertheless, in 1856, they were forced to seek less expensive quarters in Paris. Lydia died in 1863, amid worsening financial problems. He continued to exhibit regularly, earning merely enough to get by. He died in 1878.


Closed by Prescription

Closed by Prescription (, "Priklyucheno po davnost"; or "Closed by Prescription") is a 2008 Bulgarian documentary, written and directed by Malina Petrova.
Storyline.
On the night of August 26, 1990, the headquarters of the Bulgarian Communist Party in Sofia, Bulgaria, was set on fire. For 15 years, the case was kept from the courts, and finally it was closed.
18 years later, in an attempt to uncover the truth, documentarian Malina Petrova presents the different perspectives of people directly or indirectly involved in the events.
The documentary invites the audience to become the jury in a trial that never took place.
Awards.
In 2009 the film was awarded the Prize of the Bulgarian National Film Archive at the XVII Documentary Film Festival.


A Beautiful Blue Death

A Beautiful Blue Death, by Charles Finch, is the first novel in a series of mysteries featuring Victorian gentleman and amateur detective Charles Lenox.
Plot summary.
The novel, set in 1865 London, follows Charles Lenox as he seeks to solve a murder. Lenox is an independently wealthy gentleman who enjoys solving crimes as a hobby, though he generally prefers to pass the cold winter days in his library with a cup of tea, a roaring fire and a good book. He is drawn into a new case when his lifelong friend and neighbor Lady Jane Grey makes a special request for his help. Prudence Smith, Grey's former housemaid, is dead in an apparent suicide. But Lenox immediately suspects foul play: murder by a rare and deadly poison. Smith lived and worked in the patrician house of George Barnard, a place full of suspects. While Smith played with more than a few hearts, the motive behind her death proves elusive.
When another body turns up during the season's most fashionable ball, Lenox must untangle the web of loyalties and animosities surrounding Barnard’s mansion. Lenox receives help with the task both from his faithful valet, Graham, and his friend, Dr. Thomas McConnell. Throughout the story, Lenox’s efforts are intermittently enabled or hampered by Scotland Yard Inspector James Exeter, who requires Lenox’s help with the case but wants always to appear in total control.
The subplots of the novel focus on Lenox's evolving personal relationship with Grey and McConnell's strained marriage to Lady Victoria "Toto" Phillips, all recurring characters in Finch's books.
Awards and recognition.
"A Beautiful Blue Death" was nominated for the Agatha Award for best first mystery of 2007.
The novel was also named one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2007, one of only five mystery novels on the list.
Publication history.
"A Beautiful Blue Death" was first published in hardcover by St. Martin’s Minotaur and released on June 26, 2007. A large print edition was published by Thorndike Press in December of 2007. The trade paperback was released in 2008. The novel has been translated into German and Russian.
Literary criticism.
Finch received favorable reviews in several major newspapers. Kevin Allman of "The Washington Post" called "A Beautiful Blue Death" "a fine specimen of the genre" and noted that "particularly good is [Finch's] delineation of Lenox's cozy-but-proper relationship with Lady Jane." Publishers Weekly praised the book, saying that "lovers of quality historical whodunits will hope this is the first in a series."


William Holmes Sullivan

William Holmes Sullivan (1836-1908) was a British painter who mainly painted history paintings, portraits, and war scenes. His works include various paintings based on William Shakespeare's "Tragedy of Julius Caesar".


Angelique and the King

Angelique and the King (French: Angélique et le Roy), Italian: Angelica alla corte del re) is a 1966 historical adventure film directed by Bernard Borderie. It stars Michèle Mercier. It was made as a co-production between France, Italy and West Germany.
It was shot at the Billancourt Studios in Paris. Location shooting took place at Versailles, the Abbey of Fontenay, the Château de Chantilly and Senlis. The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Giordani.
Plot.
In the third film of the Angelique series, the title character is sent on a mission by King Louis XIV of France. Later she learns that rumors are spreading that she is the King's mistress. In addition, she learns a secret that a satanic cult are practicing human sacrifices.
Box office.
The film sold 9,477,873 tickets in France, Germany and Spain. It also sold tickets in the Soviet Union, for a worldwide total of 52,777,873 ticket sales.


Brass (TV series)

Brass was a British television comedy-drama, made by Granada Television for ITV and eventually Channel 4. "Brass" is northern English slang for "money" as well as for "effrontery". The series was set primarily in Utterley, a fictional Lancashire mining town in the 1930s, "Brass" satirized working-class period dramas of the 1970s, most significantly "When the Boat Comes In". Unusually for ITV comedies of the time, "Brass" eschewed a laugh track and utilized a dry sense of humour based in part on convoluted wordplay and subtle commentary on popular culture. The series also parodied the 1977 Granada TV dramatisation of Dickens' "Hard Times", which also starred Timothy West.
Story and characters.
The series, created by John Stevenson and Julian Roach, was set around two feuding families—the wealthy Hardacres and the poor, working-class Fairchilds—who lived in a small terraced house rented from the Hardacre empire. The Hardacre family was headed by the ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre (Timothy West) and his glamorous, alcoholic aristocratic wife Lady Patience (Caroline Blakiston). Bradley spouted Thatcherite rhetoric, while coming up with harebrained schemes to make his businesses more efficient so he could sack workers. The head of the Fairchilds was the stern "Red" Agnes (Barbara Ewing), who spread militant socialist rhetoric around the Hardacre mine, mill and munitions factory and her doltish, forelock-tugging husband George (Geoffrey Hinsliff; Geoffrey Hutchings in the 1990 series), who is dominated by his wife and his boss. In a twist, Agnes was also Bradley Hardacre's mistress.
Other characters in the series were the children of the families. The Fairchilds had two sons—Jack (Shaun Scott), a defiant miner and Matthew (Gary Cady), a sensitive clerk who wrote very poor verse. The Hardacre children were Bentley (deceased; his memorial stone is featured in the first episode), glamorous, nymphomaniac Isobel (Gail Harrison), innocent budding feminist Charlotte (Emily Morgan), ambitious heir to the Hardacre empire Austin (Robert Reynolds) (Patrick Pearson in the 1990 series) and Morris (James Saxon), a gay Cambridge student with a fondness for teddy bears (c.f. Sebastian in "Brideshead Revisited"). Bentley, Austin and Morris are named after British car manufacturers; Jack and Matt were named after terms used in the game of bowls.
Not only were Bradley and Agnes lovers, with Bradley being most likely the father of Matthew but Isobel and Jack were also lovers and afterwards it was revealed that Charlotte was not Bradley's daughter but the result of an affair between Lady Patience and the elderly Lord Mountfast, whom Isobel married. Charlotte married Matthew, to whom Morris Hardacre had at one time been attracted. To complicate matters even further Lady Patience also had a brief fling with Matthew Fairchild.
Despite his wealth and social connections, Bradley had been brought up in the Utterley Cottage workhouse and had made his money himself, obviously not legally or fairly.
Apart from the Hardacres and the Fairchilds the most significant other character was the Scottish idealist, Dr McDuff, played by David Ashton and satirising Dr Finlay of "Dr Finlay's Casebook".
Series history.
"Brass" ran for two series on ITV, shown between 1982 and 1984 but was brought back for a third series in 1990 on Channel 4, set in 1939. The third series saw the Hardacres move to London and later to a country mansion called Yonderley but making frequent trips to Utterley or Swarfside, where the Hardacre business empire was still based. The Fairchilds had also moved to London as Agnes was now MP for Utterley.
Filming.
Some scenes are set at Croydon Airport but were filmed at Barton Airport, whose distinctive control tower appears in the film. Some of the opening scenes are of Thorn Street in Summerseat, Bury. Greater Manchester.
Availability on video.
The series is available on DVD in the United Kingdom.


Sheriff (video game)

 also known as Bandido, is a 1979 multi-directional shooter arcade game by Nintendo. It is one of several Western-themed video games from the 1970s, along with "Western Gun", "Outlaw", and "Boot Hill". The player controls a county sheriff tasked with defense of a town against bandits, to rescue the captured woman. It was a commercial success in Japan, where it was among the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1979.
Gameplay.
The game's concept is Nintendo's first damsel in distress theme, predating " Donkey Kong" (1981). The player controls a sheriff character against a gang of attacking bandits, to defend the town and rescue the captured woman.
"Sheriff" distinctly features two separate controls: a joystick for movement, and a dial control for aiming and firing, a configuration unusual for arcade games and nonexistent in consoles at the time. The joystick moves the character and the dial aims and fires, each in eight separate directions, allowing the sheriff to walk in one direction while shooting in another. The movement joystick is set with a considerable time delay before moving.
16 bandits surround the outer rim, marked by a dotted "fence". Bullets from either the sheriff or the bandits can destroy the fenceposts, and they can function as defensive walls or aiming obstacles for the player. Larger barriers also exist on the midpoint of each side of the screen, and bullets from either the sheriff or the bandits will slowly erode these. The top and bottom barriers display the current level number.
The basic action taken by the enemy bandits is to walk around the outer rim while firing bullets at the sheriff, but they will sometimes enter into the central area, along with a change in game music. The sheriff must avoid touching the bandits, dodge bullets, and shoot all 16 bandits to complete each level.
Development.
The game was developed by Nintendo R&D1 in 1979, designed by Genyo Takeda with art by Shigeru Miyamoto. Some sources assert that Ikegami Tsushinki also did design work on "Sheriff".
Release.
The game was originally released in two formats: an upright cabinet and a cocktail (tabletop) version. These versions were imported to Europe and Asia. In the UK, "Sheriff" was licensed for production and distribution by Bell-Fruit Manufacturing in an upright cabinet. Bell-Fruit's core product range at the time was fruit/slot machines. "Sheriff" (and later "Puckman") marked the company's first, and short lived, diversification into the market of video games as licensee, so the cabinet design for this territory differs considerably from that of the Japanese version. Although it features the same marquee and bezel design, it shares many properties more commonly associated with slot machines, such as a lack of side art or cabinet decals. However, the game's title in this region remains unchanged as "Sheriff".
Exidy distributed a version of the game called "Bandido".
Reception.
The game was a commercial success in Japan, where "Sheriff" was among the top ten highest-grossing arcade games of 1979.
In 2012, 1up wrote, ""Sheriff" put Nintendo on the right track as a game developer."
Legacy.
Sequels.
A sequel, "Sheriff 2", was released in 1979. It features the addition of color graphics, minor changes in bonus scoring, characters being changed to cute animals, and a simplified control system. The 8-way dial used for shooting was replaced with a normal button, so the sheriff can only shoot in the direction he is facing. Another game pattern was added, where the bandits enter into the central area, but run straight through the top half instead of chasing the sheriff. The player can gain bonus points if he manages to shoot all of the bandits while they are running through the central area.
In later games.
More than two decades after the two arcade releases, it was re-released as part of "", released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. In "WarioWare", "Sheriff" was included as both a microgame and as a minigame ("Wario's Sheriff") in which Wario takes the role of the sheriff. Standard controls apply to the microgame version, but in the minigame version, the L/R buttons can make the sheriff face in the opposite direction without moving. The time delay for moving the sheriff was removed, and the sheriff's walking speed is greatly increased from the original. When the player's points double after completing a certain number of levels, the sheriff also gains extra lives, reducing the game's difficulty considerably.
The Sheriff character has appeared in the "Super Smash Bros." series starting with "Super Smash Bros Melee", in which he appears as one of the many collectible Trophies in the game. Sheriff later returned in "Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS" and "Wii U" as an assist trophy where he fires a succession of eight bullets in a random order on the battlefield when summoned. He appears again as an Assist Trophy and Spirit in "Super Smash Bros Ultimate".