title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: In designing St Paul's, Christopher Wren had to meet many challenges. He had to create a fitting cathedral to replace "Old St Paul's", as a place of worship and as a landmark within the City of London. He had to satisfy the requirements of the church and the tastes of a royal patron, as well as respecting the essentially medieval tradition of English church building which developed to accommodate the liturgy. Wren was familiar with contemporary Renaissance and Baroque trends in Italian architecture and had visited France, where he studied the work of François Mansart.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Wren's design developed through five general stages. The first survives only as a single drawing and part of a model. The scheme (usually called the "First Model Design") appears to have consisted of a circular domed vestibule (possibly based on the Pantheon in Rome) and a rectangular church of basilica form. The plan may have been influenced by the Temple Church. It was rejected because it was not thought "stately enough". Wren's second design was a Greek cross, which was thought by the clerics not to fulfil the requirements of Anglican liturgy.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Wren's third design is embodied in the "Great Model" of 1673. The model, made of oak and plaster, cost over £500 (approximately £32,000 today) and is over tall and long. This design retained the form of the Greek-Cross design but extended it with a nave. His critics, members of a committee commissioned to rebuild the church, and clergy decried the design as too dissimilar to other English churches to suggest any continuity within the Church of England. Another problem was that the entire design would have to be completed all at once because of the eight central piers that supported the dome, instead of being completed in stages and opened for use before construction finished, as was customary. The Great Model was Wren's favourite design; he thought it a reflection of Renaissance beauty. After the Great Model, Wren resolved not to make further models and not to expose his drawings publicly, which he found did nothing but "lose time, and subject [his] business many times, to incompetent judges". The Great Model survives and is housed within the cathedral itself.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Wren's fourth design is known as the "Warrant design" because it received a Royal warrant for the rebuilding. In this design Wren sought to reconcile Gothic, the predominant style of English churches, to a "better manner of architecture". It has the longitudinal Latin Cross plan of a medieval cathedral. It is of storeys and has classical porticos at the west and transept ends, influenced by Inigo Jones's addition to Old St Paul's. It is roofed at the crossing by a wide shallow dome supporting a drum with a second cupola, from which rises a spire of seven diminishing stages. Vaughan Hart has suggested that influence in the design of the spire may have been drawn from the oriental pagoda. Not used at St Paul's, the concept was applied in the spire of St Bride's, Fleet Street. This plan was rotated slightly on its site so that it aligned, not with true east, but with sunrise on Easter of the year construction began. This small change in configuration was informed by Wren's knowledge of astronomy.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The final design as built differs substantially from the official Warrant design. Wren received permission from the king to make "ornamental changes" to the submitted design, and Wren took great advantage of this. Many of these changes were made over the course of the thirty years as the church was constructed, and the most significant was to the dome: "He raised another structure over the first cupola, a cone of brick, so as to support a stone lantern of an elegant figure ... And he covered and hid out of sight the brick cone with another cupola of timber and lead; and between this and the cone are easy stairs that ascend to the lantern" (Christopher Wren, son of Sir Christopher Wren). The final design was strongly rooted in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. The saucer domes over the nave were inspired by François Mansart's Church of the Val-de-Grâce, which Wren had seen during a trip to Paris in 1665.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The date of the laying of the first stone of the cathedral is disputed. One contemporary account says it was 21 June 1675, another 25 June and a third on 28 June. There is, however, general agreement that it was laid in June 1675. Edward Strong later claimed it was laid by his elder brother, Thomas Strong, one of the two master stonemasons appointed by Wren at the beginning of the work.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Wren's challenge was to construct a large cathedral on the relatively weak clay soil of London. St Paul's is unusual among cathedrals in that there is a crypt, the largest in Europe, under the entire building rather than just under the eastern end. The crypt serves a structural purpose. Although it is extensive, half the space of the crypt is taken up by massive piers which spread the weight of the much slimmer piers of the church above. While the towers and domes of most cathedrals are supported on four piers, Wren designed the dome of St Paul's to be supported on eight, achieving a broader distribution of weight at the level of the foundations. The foundations settled as the building progressed, and Wren made structural changes in response.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: One of the design problems that confronted Wren was to create a landmark dome, tall enough to visually replace the lost tower of St Paul's, while at the same time appearing visually satisfying when viewed from inside the building. Wren planned a double-shelled dome, as at St Peter's Basilica. His solution to the visual problem was to separate the heights of the inner and outer dome to a much greater extent than had been done by Michelangelo at St Peter's, drafting both as catenary curves, rather than as hemispheres. Between the inner and outer domes, Wren inserted a brick cone which supports both the timbers of the outer, lead-covered dome and the weight of the ornate stone lantern that rises above it. Both the cone and the inner dome are 18 inches thick and are supported by wrought iron chains at intervals in the brick cone and around the cornice of the peristyle of the inner dome to prevent spreading and cracking.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The Warrant Design showed external buttresses on the ground floor level. These were not a classical feature and were one of the first elements Wren changed. Instead he made the walls of the cathedral particularly thick to avoid the need for external buttresses altogether. The clerestory and vault are reinforced with flying buttresses, which were added at a relatively late stage in the design to give extra strength. These are concealed behind the screen wall of the upper story, which was added to keep the building's classical style intact, to add sufficient visual mass to balance the appearance of the dome and which, by its weight, counters the thrust of the buttresses on the lower walls.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: During the extensive period of design and rationalisation, Wren employed from 1684 Nicholas Hawksmoor as his principal assistant. Between 1696 and 1711 William Dickinson was measuring clerk. Joshua Marshall (until his early death in 1678) and Thomas and his brother Edward Strong were master masons, the latter two working on the construction for its entirety. John Langland was the master carpenter for over thirty years. Grinling Gibbons was the chief sculptor, working in both stone on the building itself, including the pediment of the north portal, and wood on the internal fittings. The sculptor Caius Gabriel Cibber created the pediment of the south transept while Francis Bird was responsible for the relief in the west pediment depicting the "Conversion of St Paul", as well as the seven large statues on the west front. The floor was paved by William Dickinson in black and white marble in 1709–10 Jean Tijou was responsible for the decorative wrought ironwork of gates and balustrades. The ball and cross on the dome were provided by an armorer, Andrew Niblett. Following the war damage mentioned above, many craftsmen were employed to restore the wood carvings and stone work that had been destroyed by the bomb impact. One of particular note is Master Carver, Gino Masero who was commissioned to carve the replacement figure of Christ, an eight-foot sculpture in Lime which currently stands on the High Altar.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: St Paul's Cathedral is built in a restrained Baroque style which represents Wren's rationalisation of the traditions of English medieval cathedrals with the inspiration of Palladio, the classical style of Inigo Jones, the baroque style of 17th century Rome, and the buildings by Mansart and others that he had seen in France. It is particularly in its plan that St Paul's reveals medieval influences. Like the great medieval cathedrals of York and Winchester, St Paul's is comparatively long for its width, and has strongly projecting transepts. It has much emphasis on its facade, which has been designed to define rather than conceal the form of the building behind it. In plan, the towers jut beyond the width of the aisles as they do at Wells Cathedral. Wren's uncle Matthew Wren was the Bishop of Ely, and, having worked for his uncle, Wren was familiar with the unique octagonal lantern tower over the crossing of Ely Cathedral, which spans the aisles as well as the central nave, unlike the central towers and domes of most churches. Wren adapted this characteristic in designing the dome of St Paul's. In section St Paul's also maintains a medieval form, having the aisles much lower than the nave, and a defined clerestory.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The most notable exterior feature is the dome, which rises to the cross at its summit, and dominates views of the city. The height of 365 feet is explained by Wren's interest in astronomy. Until the late 20th century St Paul's was the tallest building on the City skyline, designed to be seen surrounded by the delicate spires of Wren's other city churches. The dome is described by Sir Banister Fletcher as "probably the finest in Europe", by Helen Gardner as "majestic", and by Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as "one of the most perfect in the world". Sir John Summerson said that Englishmen and "even some foreigners" consider it to be without equal.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Wren drew inspiration from Michelangelo's dome of St Peter's Basilica, and that of Mansart's Church of the Val-de-Grâce, which he had visited. Unlike those of St Peter's and Val-de-Grâce, the dome of St Paul's rises in two clearly defined storeys of masonry, which, together with a lower unadorned footing, equal a height of about 95 feet. From the time of the "Greek Cross Design" it is clear that Wren favoured a continuous colonnade ("peristyle") around the drum of the dome, rather than the arrangement of alternating windows and projecting columns that Michelangelo had used and which had also been employed by Mansart. Summerson suggests that he was influenced by Bramante's "Tempietto" in the courtyard of San Pietro in Montorio. In the finished structure, Wren creates a diversity and appearance of strength by placing niches between the columns in every fourth opening. The peristyle serves to buttress both the inner dome and the brick cone which rises internally to support the lantern.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Above the peristyle rises the second stage surrounded by a balustraded balcony called the "Stone Gallery". This attic stage is ornamented with alternating pilasters and rectangular windows which are set just below the cornice, creating a sense of lightness. Above this attic rises the dome, covered with lead, and ribbed in accordance with the spacing of the pilasters. It is pierced by eight light wells just below the lantern, but these are barely visible. They allow light to penetrate through openings in the brick cone, which illuminates the interior apex of this shell, partly visible from within the cathedral through the ocular opening of the lower dome.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The lantern, like the visible masonry of the dome, rises in stages. The most unusual characteristic of this structure is that it is of square plan, rather than circular or octagonal. The tallest stage takes the form of a "tempietto" with four columned porticos facing the cardinal points. Its lowest level is surrounded by the "Golden Gallery" and its upper level supports a small dome from which rises a cross on a golden ball. The total weight of the lantern is about 850 tons.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: For the Renaissance architect designing the west front of a large church or cathedral, the universal problem was how to use a facade to unite the high central nave with the lower aisles in a visually harmonious whole. Since Alberti's additions to Santa Maria Novella in Florence, this was usually achieved by the simple expedient of linking the sides to the centre with large brackets. This is the solution that Wren saw employed by Mansart at Val-de-Grâce. Another feature employed by Mansart was a boldly projecting Classical portico with paired columns. Wren faced the additional challenge of incorporating towers into the design, as had been planned at St Peter's Basilica. At St Peter's, Carlo Maderno had solved this problem by constructing a narthex and stretching a huge screen facade across it, differentiated at the centre by a pediment. The towers at St Peter's were not built above the parapet.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Wren's solution was to employ a Classical portico, as at Val-de-Grâce, but rising through two storeys, and supported on paired columns. The remarkable feature here is that the lower story of this portico extends to the full width of the aisles, while the upper section defines the nave that lies behind it. The gaps between the upper stage of the portico and the towers on either side are bridged by a narrow section of wall with an arch-topped window.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The towers stand outside the width of the aisles, but screen two chapels located immediately behind them. The lower parts of the towers continue the theme of the outer walls, but are differentiated from them in order to create an appearance of strength. The windows of the lower story are smaller than those of the side walls and are deeply recessed, a visual indication of the thickness of the wall. The paired pilasters at each corner project boldly.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Above the main cornice, which unites the towers with the portico and the outer walls, the details are boldly scaled, in order to read well from the street below and from a distance. The towers rise above the cornice from a square block plinth which is plain apart from large oculi, that on the south being filled by the clock, while that on the north is void. The towers are composed of two complementary elements, a central cylinder rising through the tiers in a series of stacked drums, and paired Corinthian columns at the corners, with buttresses above them, which serve to unify the drum shape with the square plinth on which it stands. The entablature above the columns breaks forward over them to express both elements, tying them together in a single horizontal band. The cap, an ogee-shaped dome, supports a gilded finial in the form of a pineapple.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The transepts each have a semi-circular entrance portico. Wren was inspired in the design by studying engravings of Pietro da Cortona's Baroque facade of Santa Maria della Pace in Rome. These projecting arcs echo the shape of the apse at the eastern end of the building.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The building is of two storeys of ashlar masonry, above a basement, and surrounded by a balustrade above the upper cornice. The balustrade was added, against Wren's wishes, in 1718. The internal bays are marked externally by paired pilasters with Corinthian capitals at the lower level and Composite at the upper level. Where the building behind is of only one story (at the aisles of both nave and choir) the upper story of the exterior wall is sham. It serves a dual purpose of supporting the buttresses of the vault, and providing a satisfying appearance when viewed rising above buildings of the height of the 17th-century city. This appearance may still be seen from across the River Thames.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Between the pilasters on both levels are windows. Those of the lower storey have semi-circular heads and are surrounded by continuous mouldings of a Roman style, rising to decorative keystones. Beneath each window is a floral swag by Grinling Gibbons, constituting the finest stone carving on the building and some of the greatest architectural sculpture in England. A frieze with similar swags runs in a band below the cornice, tying the arches of the windows and the capitals. The upper windows are of a restrained Classical form, with pediments set on columns, but are blind and contain niches. Beneath these niches, and in the basement level, are small windows with segmental tops, the glazing of which catches the light and visually links them to the large windows of the aisles. The height from ground level to the top of the parapet is approximately 110 feet.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The original fencing, designed by Wren, was dismantled in the 1870s. The surveyor for the government of Toronto had it shipped to Toronto, where it has since adorned High Park.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Internally, St Paul's has a nave and choir in each of its three bays. The entrance from the west portico is through a square domed narthex, flanked by chapels: the Chapel of St Dunstan to the north and the Chapel of the Order of St Michael and St George to the south. The nave is in height and is separated from the aisles by an arcade of piers with attached Corinthian pilasters rising to an entablature. The bays, and therefore the vault compartments, are rectangular, but Wren roofed these spaces with saucer-shaped domes and surrounded the clerestory windows with lunettes. The vaults of the choir are decorated with mosaics by Sir William Blake Richmond. The dome and the apse of the choir are all approached through wide arches with coffered vaults which contrast with the smooth surface of the domes and punctuate the division between the main spaces. The transepts extend to the north and south of the dome and are called (in this instance) the North Choir and the South Choir.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The choir holds the stalls for the clergy, cathedral officers and the choir, and the organ. These wooden fittings, including the pulpit and Bishop's throne, were designed in Wren's office and built by joiners. The carvings are the work of Grinling Gibbons whom Summerson describes as having "astonishing facility", suggesting that Gibbons aim was to reproduce popular Dutch flower painting in wood. Jean Tijou, a French metalworker, provided various wrought iron and gilt grilles, gates and balustrades of elaborate design, of which many pieces have now been combined into the gates near the sanctuary.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The cathedral is some in length (including the portico of the Great West Door), of which is the nave and is the choir.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The width of the nave is and across the transepts is . The cathedral is slightly shorter but somewhat wider than Old St Paul's.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The main internal space of the cathedral is that under the central dome which extends the full width of the nave and aisles. The dome is supported on pendentives rising between eight arches spanning the nave, choir, transepts, and aisles. The eight piers that carry them are not evenly spaced. Wren has maintained an appearance of eight equal spans by inserting segmental arches to carry galleries across the ends of the aisles, and has extended the mouldings of the upper arch to appear equal to the wider arches.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Above the keystones of the arches, at above the floor and wide, runs a cornice which supports the "Whispering Gallery" so called because of its acoustic properties: a whisper or low murmur against its wall at any point is audible to a listener with an ear held to the wall at any other point around the gallery. It is reached by 259 steps from ground level.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The dome is raised on a tall drum surrounded by pilasters and pierced with windows in groups of three, separated by eight gilded niches containing statues, and repeating the pattern of the peristyle on the exterior. The dome rises above a gilded cornice at to a height of . Its painted decoration by Sir James Thornhill shows eight scenes from the life of St Paul set in illusionistic architecture which continues the forms of the eight niches of the drum. At the apex of the dome is an oculus inspired by that of the Pantheon in Rome. Through this hole can be seen the decorated inner surface of the cone which supports the lantern. This upper space is lit by the light wells in the outer dome and openings in the brick cone. Engravings of Thornhill's paintings were published in 1720.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The eastern apse extends the width of the choir and is the full height of the main arches across choir and nave. It is decorated with mosaics, in keeping with the choir vaults. The original reredos and high altar were destroyed by bombing in 1940. The present high altar and baldacchino are the work of W. Godfrey Allen and Stephen Dykes Bower. The apse was dedicated in 1958 as the American Memorial Chapel. It was paid for entirely by donations from British people. The Roll of Honour contains the names of more than 28,000 Americans who gave their lives while on their way to, or stationed in, the United Kingdom during the Second World War. It is in front of the chapel's altar. The three windows of the apse date from 1960 and depict themes of service and sacrifice, while the insignia around the edges represent the American states and the US armed forces. The limewood panelling incorporates a rocket—a tribute to America's achievements in space.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: St Paul's at the time of its completion, was adorned by sculpture in stone and wood, most notably that of Grinling Gibbons, by the paintings in the dome by Thornhill, and by Jean Tijou's elaborate metalwork. It has been further enhanced by Sir William Richmond's mosaics and the fittings by Dykes Bower and Godfrey Allen. Other artworks in the cathedral include, in the south aisle, William Holman Hunt's copy of his painting "The Light of the World", the original of which hangs in Keble College, Oxford. The St. Paul's version was completed with a significant input from Edward Robert Hughes as Hunt was now suffering from glaucoma. In the north choir aisle is a limestone sculpture of the "Madonna and Child" by Henry Moore, carved in 1943. The crypt contains over 200 memorials and numerous burials. Christopher Wren was the first person to be interred, in 1723. On the wall above his tomb in the crypt is written in Latin: "Lector, si monumentum requiris, circumspice" ("Reader, if you seek his monument, look around you").


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The largest monument in the cathedral is that to the Duke of Wellington by Alfred Stevens. It stands on the north side of the nave and has on top a statue of Wellington astride his horse "Copenhagen". Although the equestrian figure was planned at the outset, objections to the notion of having a horse in the church prevented its installation until 1912. The horse and rider are by John Tweed. The Duke is buried in the crypt.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The tomb of Horatio, Lord Nelson is located in the crypt, next to that of Wellington. The marble sarcophagus which holds his remains was made for Cardinal Wolsey but not used as the cardinal had fallen from favour. At the eastern end of the crypt is the Chapel of the Order of the British Empire, instigated in 1917, and designed by John Seely, Lord Mottistone. There are many other memorials commemorating the British military, including several lists of servicemen who died in action, the most recent being the Gulf War.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Also remembered are Florence Nightingale, J. M. W. Turner, Arthur Sullivan, Hubert Parry, Samuel Johnson, Lawrence of Arabia, William Blake and Sir Alexander Fleming as well as clergy and residents of the local parish. There are lists of the Bishops and cathedral Deans for the last thousand years. One of the most remarkable sculptures is that of the Dean and poet, John Donne. Before his death, Donne posed for his own memorial statue and was depicted by Nicholas Stone as wrapped in a burial shroud, and standing on a funeral urn. The sculpture, carved around 1630, is the only one to have survived the conflagration of 1666 intact. The treasury is also in the crypt but the cathedral has very few treasures as many have been lost, and on 22 December 1810 a major robbery took almost all of the remaining precious artefacts.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The funerals of many notable figures have been held in the cathedral, including those of Lord Nelson, the Duke of Wellington, Winston Churchill, George Mallory and Margaret Thatcher.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: A clock was installed in the south-west tower by Langley Bradley in 1709 but was worn out by the end of the 19th century. The present mechanism was built in 1893 by Smith of Derby incorporating a design of escapement by Edmund Denison Beckett similar to that used by Edward Dent on Big Ben's mechanism in 1895. The clock mechanism is long and is the most recent of the clocks introduced to St Paul's Cathedral over the centuries. Since 1969 the clock has been electrically wound with equipment designed and installed by Smith of Derby, relieving the clock custodian from the work of cranking up the heavy drive weights.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The south-west tower also contains four bells, of which Great Paul, cast in 1881 by J. W. Taylor of Taylor's bell foundry of Loughborough, at was the largest bell in the British Isles until the casting of the Olympic Bell for the 2012 London Olympics. Although the bell is traditionally sounded at 1 PM each day, Great Paul had not been rung for several years because of a broken chiming mechanism. In the 1970s, the bolt that held the clapper in place inside the bell had broken. The clapper and its suspension, which together weigh a tonne, had fallen through the clock mechanism below, causing £30,000 worth of damage. In about 1989, the clapper had finally and irrevocably fractured. On 31 July 2021, during the London Festival of the Bells, Great Paul rang for the first time in two decades, being hand swung by the bell ringers. The clock bells included Great Tom, which was moved from St Stephen's Chapel at the Palace of Westminster and has been recast several times, the last time by Richard Phelps. It chimes the hour and is traditionally tolled on occasions of a death in the royal family, the Bishop of London, or the Lord Mayor of London, although an exception was made at the death of the US president James Garfield. It was last tolled for the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, ringing once every minute along with other bells across the country in honor of the 96 years of her life.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: In 1717, Richard Phelps cast two more bells that were added as "quarter jacks" that ring on the quarter hour. Still in use today, the first weighs , is in diameter and is tuned to A; the second weighs and is in diameter and is tuned to E.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The north-west tower contains a ring of 12 bells by John Taylor & Co of Loughborough hung for change ringing. In January 2018 the bells were removed for refurbishment and were rehung in September that year, being rung again for the first time on All Saints' Day. The original service or "Communion" bell dating from 1700 and known as "the Banger" is rung before 8 am services.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The Interpretation Project is a long-term project concerned with bringing St Paul's to life for all its visitors. In 2010, the Dean and Chapter of St Paul's opened St Paul's Oculus, a 270° film experience that brings 1400 years of history to life. Located in the former Treasury in the crypt, the film takes visitors on a journey through the history and daily life of St Paul's Cathedral. Oculus was funded by American Express Company in partnership with the World Monuments Fund, J. P. Morgan, the Garfield Weston Trust for St Paul’s Cathedral, the City of London Endowment Trust and AIG.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: In 2010, new touchscreen multimedia guides were also launched. These guides are included in the price of admission. Visitors can discover the cathedral’s history, architecture and daily life of a busy working church with these new multimedia guides. They are available in 12 different languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Russian, Mandarin, Japanese, Korean and British Sign Language (BSL). The guides have fly-through videos of the dome galleries and zoomable close-ups of the ceiling mosaics, painting and photography. Interviews and commentary from experts include the Dean of St Paul’s, conservation team and the Director of Music. Archive film footage includes major services and events from the cathedral's history.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: St Paul's charges for the admission of those people who are sightseers, rather than worshippers; the charge is £21 (£18 when purchased online). Outside service times, people seeking a quiet place to pray or worship are admitted to St Dunstan's Chapel free of charge. On Sundays people are admitted only for services and concerts and there is no sightseeing. The charge to sightseers is made because St Paul's receives little regular or significant funding from the Crown, the Church of England or the state and relies on the income generated by tourism to allow the building to continue to function as a centre for Christian worship, as well as to cover general maintenance and repair work.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: The St Paul’s Cathedral Arts Project explores art and faith. Projects have included installations by Gerry Judah, Antony Gormley, Rebecca Horn, Yoko Ono and Martin Firrell.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: In 2014, St Paul's commissioned Gerry Judah to create an artwork in the nave to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War. Two spectacular sculptures consisting of three-dimensional white cruciforms reflect the meticulously maintained war graves of northern France and further afield. Each sculpture is also embellished with miniaturised destroyed residential blocks depicting war zones in the Middle East—Syria, Baghdad, Afghanistan—thus connecting 100 years of warfare.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: Bill Viola has created two altarpieces for permanent display in St Paul's Cathedral. The project commenced production in mid-2009. Following the extensive programme of cleaning and repair of the interior of St Paul's, completed in 2005, Viola was commissioned to create two altarpieces on the themes of Mary and Martyrs. These two multi-screen video installations are permanently located at the end of the Quire aisles, flanking the High Altar of the cathedral and the American Memorial Chapel. Each work employs an arrangement of multiple plasma screen panels configured in a manner similar to historic altarpieces.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: In summer 2010, St Paul's chose two new works by the British artist Mark Alexander to be hung either side of the nave. Both entitled Red Mannheim, Alexander's large red silkscreens are inspired by the Mannheim Cathedral altarpiece (1739–41), which was damaged by bombing in the Second World War. The original sculpture depicts Christ on the cross, surrounded by a familiar retinue of mourners. Rendered in splendid giltwood, with Christ's wracked body sculpted in relief, and the flourishes of flora and incandescent rays from heaven, this masterpiece of the German Rococo is an object of ravishing beauty and intense piety.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: In 2007, the Dean and Chapter commissioned Martin Firrell to create a major public artwork to mark the 300th anniversary of the topping-out of Wren's building. The Question Mark Inside consisted of digital text projections to the cathedral dome, West Front and inside onto the Whispering Gallery. The text was based on blog contributions by the general public as well as interviews conducted by the artist and on the artist's own views. The project presented a stream of possible answers to the question: "What makes life meaningful and purposeful, and what does St Paul's mean in that contemporary context?" The Question Mark Inside opened on 8 November 2008 and ran for eight nights.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: St Paul's Cathedral has been depicted many times in paintings, prints and drawings. Among the well-known artists to have painted it are Canaletto, Turner, Daubigny, Pissarro, Signac, Derain, and Lloyd Rees.


title: St Paul's Cathedral

text: St Paul's Cathedral has been the subject of many photographs, most notably the iconic image of the dome surrounded by smoke during the Blitz. It has also been used in films and TV programmes (including Thames Television's most recognized ident), either as the focus of the film, as in the episode of "Climbing Great Buildings"; as a feature of the film, as in "Mary Poppins"; or as an incidental location such as Wren's Geometric Staircase in the south-west tower which has appeared in several films including "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".


title: Ponyo

text: The film was originally released in Japan on July 19, 2008 by distributor Toho. It was a major commercial success, grossing over $204 million worldwide and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing anime film of all time. It received critical acclaim for its uplifting themes, visual design, and simultaneous appeal towards young children and all audiences.


title: Ponyo

text: An English-language version of the film was released on August 15, 2009, releasing to 927 theatres across the U.S., the widest opening for a Studio Ghibli film across the U.S. It was produced by The Kennedy/Marshall Company and released by Walt Disney Pictures.


title: Ponyo

text: Fujimoto, a once-human wizard, lives underwater with his daughter Brunhilde and her numerous smaller sisters. While she and her siblings are on an outing with their father in his four-flippered submarine, Brunhilde sneaks off and floats away on the back of a jellyfish. After an encounter with a fishing trawler, she becomes trapped in a glass jar and drifts to the shore of a small fishing town where she is rescued by five-year-old boy Sōsuke. While shattering the jar with a rock, Sōsuke cuts his finger. Brunhilde licks his blood, healing the wound almost instantly. Sōsuke names her Ponyo and promises to protect her. Meanwhile, a distraught Fujimoto searches frantically for his lost daughter whom he believes to have been kidnapped. He calls his wave spirits to recover her, leaving Sōsuke heartbroken and confused by what happened.


title: Ponyo

text: Ponyo refuses to let her father call her by her birth name, declaring her desire to be a human named Ponyo. With magic, she forces herself to grow leg- and arm-like appendages and start changing into a human, a power granted to her by Sōsuke's human blood that she licked. Fujimoto forces her to change back into her true form and leaves to summon Ponyo's mother, Gran Mamare. Meanwhile, Ponyo, with the help of her sisters, breaks away from her father and inadvertently uses his magic to make herself human. The huge amount of magic that she releases into the ocean causes an imbalance in nature, resulting in a tsunami. Ponyo goes back to Sōsuke, who is amazed and overjoyed to see her. His mother, Lisa, allows her to stay at their house. Lisa leaves after the tsunami subsides to check up on the residents of the nursing home where she works, promising Sōsuke that she will return home as soon as possible.


title: Ponyo

text: Gran Mamare arrives at Fujimoto's submarine. Sōsuke's father, Kōichi, sees her traveling and recognizes her as the Goddess of Mercy. Fujimoto notices the moon appears to be falling out of its orbit and satellites are falling like shooting stars, symptoms of the dangerous imbalance of nature that now exists. Gran Mamare declares that if Sōsuke can pass a test, Ponyo can live as a human and that the balance of nature will be restored. Fujimoto, still worried, reminds her that if Sōsuke fails the test, Ponyo will turn into sea foam.


title: Ponyo

text: The next day, Sōsuke and Ponyo find that most of the land around the house has been covered by the ocean. Since it is impossible for Lisa to come home, the two decide to find her. With Ponyo's magic, they make Sōsuke's pop pop boat bigger to traverse the waters, seeing marine life from the Late Devonian period and more people on boats. When they reach the forest, however, Ponyo tires and falls asleep, and the boat slowly reverts back to its original size. Sōsuke drags Ponyo to the shore, where he finds Lisa's abandoned car. As they continue walking, Ponyo mysteriously reverts to her fish form. Meanwhile, Lisa and the residents of the nursing home are temporarily able to breathe water because of Gran Mamare. Ponyo and Sōsuke encounter Fujimoto, who warns the boy on the imbalance of nature, begs him to give him back Ponyo. Despite their attempt to flee, they are captured and Fujimoto takes them down to the protected nursing home.


title: Ponyo

text: Sōsuke reunites with Lisa and meets Gran Mamare, with whom Lisa has just had a long private conversation. Gran Mamare asks him if he can love Ponyo whether she is a fish or human; Sōsuke replies likewise. She then tells her daughter that if she chooses to become human once and for all, she will have to give up her magical powers. Ponyo agrees, and she is encased in a bubble given to Sōsuke, who is instructed to kiss it to complete Ponyo's transformation, as the balance of nature is restored. The previously stranded ships head back to port. Fujimoto respects his daughter's choice, having decided he can trust Sōsuke. Ponyo then joyfully jumps high in the air and kisses Sōsuke, completing her transformation as a human.


title: Ponyo

text: Hayao Miyazaki, the film's director and writer, was prompted to create "Ponyo" after producer Toshio Suzuki suggested he make a film aimed at children, noting the success of "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004). The film would be created from a mixture of real-world and fictional influences, combined with a desire to implement new art and animation approaches developed by other Studio Ghibli staff in a feature-length film. In 2004 and 2005, Miyazaki spent time in Tomonoura, a seaside town in Setonaikai National Park, where he familiarised himself with its community and environment. His experience in Tomonoura established the kind of setting he wanted for his next film. During his time there, he read the complete works of Natsume Sōseki. He took particular interest in "The Gate", a book involving a character named Sōsuke who lived at the bottom of a cliff. This provided him more concrete ideas for characters and settings. Initially, Miyazaki solely considered the concept of a film that would depict a stormy sea with "waves higher than the house on a hillside". He later created the character Ponyo, a name he thought of as an onomatopoeia of what "soft, squishy softness" feels like when touched. Miyazaki recalled that as a nine-year-old he borrowed a copy of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" from his neighbour, and that while he was reading it he had difficulty accepting its premise that its protagonist did not have a soul.


title: Ponyo

text: When preparing pre-production materials, Miyazaki hit a creative block before visiting the Tate Britain art museum, where he found himself startled by an 1852 painting named "Ophelia" and its attention to detail. He remarked, "I thought, my work is shoddy compared to those artists. I was just astonished. At that point, it became clear to me. Our animation style could not go on as before." At the time Katsuya Kondō, Miyazaki's colleague, had been the animation director of "House Hunting" (2006), a 12-minute short film made for screening at the Ghibli Museum. The short used solid and simple lines, and largely used hand-drawn animation. During the production of the short, Kondō had discussed the possibility of producing a feature-length film like this. Kondō accepted an offer to work on the next Studio Ghibli feature film soon after completing the short, identifying an opportunity to progress the ideas behind "House Hunting" with more consideration to story.


title: Ponyo

text: Production of "Ponyo" began in May 2006. Kondō was given the role of animation supervisor, and worked closely with Miyazaki in outlining a set of goals that defined the direction of the project, including the use of traditional animation throughout production. Borrowing from Kondō's experience in animating "House Hunting", "Ponyo" would use solid and simple lines; in isolating basic animation elements, the film would aim to demonstrate the advantages of hand drawn animation through the depiction of motion that cannot be reproduced in any other medium. An example of the simple style is when Miyazaki painted a picture of Ponyo riding on a flock of fish, called "Ponyo is Here", which was inspired by him listening to "Ride of the Valkyries" while writing a letter to his staff about going with a more elemental style. This would later become a scene in the film. In normal productions, animating a sailing ship would usually involve drawing one cel and sliding it across the frame, which would fix it in a predefined perspective and direction. Miyazaki, however, wanted the ships that appeared in "Ponyo" to be drawn frame-by-frame. A few previous Studio Ghibli films used computer-generated imagery (CGI), the earliest being "Princess Mononoke" (1997). For the production of "Ponyo" however, the computer graphics section at the studio was closed to prioritize hand-drawn animation.


title: Ponyo

text: Some elements of the film were inspired by Richard Wagner's opera "Die Walküre". Ponyo's birth name, Brunhilde, is a deliberate reference to the eldest of the nine legendary Valkyrie and Wagner's Brünnhilde. The music also makes reference to Wagner's opera. The character of Sōsuke is based on Miyazaki's son Gorō Miyazaki when he was five.


title: Ponyo

text: Miyazaki wanted his next film to be "Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea 2", but producer Toshio Suzuki convinced him to make "The Wind Rises" instead.


title: Ponyo

text: "Ponyo"s eponymous theme song, "Gake no Ue no Ponyo", was released ahead of the film on December 5, 2007, performed by Fujioka Fujimaki (a duo consisting of Takaaki Fujioka and Naoya Fujimaki who are known for their underground band "Marichans" from the 1970s) and eight-year-old Nozomi Ōhashi. It entered the top 100 on the Oricon Weekly Charts on July 14, then rose to 24th on July 21, then 6th on July 28, and after the release of the film it ranked 3rd on August 4. By the end of 2008, it was ranked as the 14th highest selling single on the Oricon Yearly Charts. Ōhashi was also the youngest participant in the 59th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen, beating Cute's Mai Hagiwara's record at age 11. Afterward, Ōhashi announced her unit with Fujioka Fujimaki was disbanding.


title: Ponyo

text: An English-translated pop version of the theme was recorded by Frankie Jonas and Noah Cyrus, the voices of Sōsuke and Ponyo in the North American dub, to tie in with the film's English release. The theme plays over the second half of the English version's closing credits; the first half is merely a translated version of the theme rather than remix.


title: Ponyo

text: The film score of "Ponyo" was composed by Joe Hisaishi, Miyazaki's regular collaborator. The score album, published on compact disc in Japan by Tokuma Japan Communications, in South Korea by Pony Canyon Korea and throughout Europe by Germany-based label Colosseum, received a great deal of press in the West, including positive reviews from several veteran film music reviewers.


title: Ponyo

text: The film was released by Toho on July 19, 2008, in theatres across Japan on 481 screens—a record for a domestic film. As it had beaten "" (which had opened on the same day). It grossed ¥10 billion ($91 million) in its first month of release, and a total of ¥15.0 billion ($153.1 million) as of November 9, 2008.


title: Ponyo

text: Tokyo Anime Fair chose "Ponyo" as Animation of the Year of 2008, as revealed in a press release by Anime News Network.


title: Ponyo

text: "Ponyo" was released in the U.S. and Canada on August 15, 2009 by Walt Disney Pictures and The Kennedy/Marshall Company, opening at a wide release at 927 theaters across America, which is by far the widest release for a Studio Ghibli film ever in the U.S, as compared to other Miyazaki films ("Spirited Away" opened in 26 theaters, "Howl's Moving Castle" opened in 36 theaters, and "Princess Mononoke" opened in 38 theaters).


title: Ponyo

text: The film's English dub was directed by John Lasseter, Brad Lewis and Peter Sohn of Pixar and produced by Frank Marshall, Hayao Miyazaki, John Lasseter, Steve Alpert, and Kathleen Kennedy; the English script was written by Melissa Mathison.


title: Ponyo

text: In July 2009, there were multiple pre-screenings of the film in California. Miyazaki traveled to America to promote this film by speaking at the University of California, Berkeley and the San Diego Comic-Con.


title: Ponyo

text: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray on March 2, 2010, as the first film produced by Ghibli or directed by either Miyazaki or Takahata to be released on Blu-ray in America. GKIDS re-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on October 17, 2017 under a new deal with Studio Ghibli.


title: Ponyo

text: On its opening weekend in the United States and Canada, it made $3,585,852 on 927 screens, which is a per screen average of $3,868. It also opened at number nine at the United States and Canada box office. The film made a total of $15,743,471 in the United States and Canada and $187,461,411 in other countries for a worldwide total of $203,204,882. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as a DVD/Plush Toy pack, on March 2, 2010.


title: Ponyo

text: On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a 91% "Certified Fresh" rating, based on 172 reviews with an average score of 7.61/10, stating "While not Miyazaki's best film, "Ponyo" is a visually stunning fairy tale that's a sweetly poetic treat for children and Miyazaki fans of all ages." On Metacritic the film has a score of 86 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".


title: Ponyo

text: "The Japan Times" gave the film four out of five stars, and praised the film's simple thematic elements and its visual scheme, and compared the film to Miyazaki's classic animation "My Neighbor Totoro".


title: Ponyo

text: "Anime Diet" cited the quality of the translation, noting, "The story and the core of the film was communicated more than adequately through the professional dub and it did not get in the way of the sheer delight and joy that Miyazaki wanted to convey." Citing "slight pacing problems," it gave "Ponyo" a rating of 88%.


title: Ponyo

text: Critics at the Venice International Film Festival generally had high praise. Wendy Ide of "The Times" said "Ponyo" "is as chaotic and exuberant as a story told by a hyperactive toddler," and gave it 4 stars out of 5. Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film four out of four stars, stating that, "There is a word to describe "Ponyo", and that word is magical. This poetic, visually breathtaking work by the greatest of all animators has such deep charm that adults and children will both be touched. It's wonderful and never even seems to try: It unfolds fantastically."


title: Ponyo

text: "Ponyo" was an entrant in the 65th Venice International Film Festival. It received a special mention in the Bologna Future Film Festival, for "the high artistic and expressive quality of animation able to give form to wonderful imagination of the worldwide cinema master".


title: Ponyo

text: In 2009, "Ponyo" won five awards at the 8th annual Tokyo Anime Awards. The awards included "Anime of the year" and "Best domestic feature". Miyazaki received the award for best director and best original story, and Noboru Yoshida received the award for best art direction.


title: Ponyo

text: The film won the awards for Animation of the Year and Outstanding Achievement in Music at the 32nd Japan Academy Prize.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: Five Finger Death Punch, also abbreviated as 5FDP or FFDP, is an American heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2005. The band originally consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Ivan Moody, rhythm guitarist Zoltan Bathory, lead guitarist Caleb Andrew Bingham, bassist Matt Snell, and drummer Jeremy Spencer. Bingham was replaced by guitarist Darrell Roberts in 2006, who was then replaced by Jason Hook in 2009. Bassist Matt Snell departed from the band in 2010, and was replaced by Chris Kael in 2011. Spencer then departed the band in 2018 due to recurring back issues, and was replaced by Charlie Engen, making rhythm guitarist Bathory the only remaining founding member of the band. In October 2020, British guitarist Andy James became the band's lead guitarist, replacing Jason Hook.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: Five Finger Death Punch's debut album "The Way of the Fist" was released in 2007, which began achieving rapid success and selling over 500,000 copies in the United States. The 2009 follow-up album "War Is the Answer" further increased their popularity, selling over 1,000,000 copies and got certified Platinum by the RIAA, the band's third album, "American Capitalist", was released on October 11, 2011, and achieved Platinum status. The following four albums—"The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1" (2013), "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2" (2013), "Got Your Six" (2015), and "And Justice for None" (2018)—have all been certified Platinum and Gold, making Five Finger Death Punch one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the decade. The band has played international music festivals including Mayhem Festival in 2008, 2010, and 2013, and Download Festival in 2009, 2010, 2013, 2015, and 2017. The band released their eighth studio album, "F8", in 2020.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: Five Finger Death Punch are the recipients of the RadioContraband Rock Radio Awards for "Indie Artist of the Year" in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014. They were also honored with the Radio Contraband Rock Radio Award for Album ("American Capitalist") and Song of the Year ("Coming Down") in 2012 and "Video of the Year" for "Wrong Side of Heaven" in 2014.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: To date, Five Finger Death Punch has released nine studio albums, one live album, two compilation albums, one extended play (EP), and 33 singles.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: Five Finger Death Punch was founded in 2005 by former U.P.O. bassist Zoltan Bathory and drummer Jeremy Spencer, Zoltan deriving the band's name from classic martial arts cinema. Bassist Matt Snell joined in early 2006. Later that year, Bathory contacted former Motograter vocalist Ivan Moody, sending him some of the material the band had recorded and asked him to audition for the vocalist position. Moody flew from his home in Denver, Colorado to Los Angeles and quickly began recording material with the band.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: By the end of 2006, their debut album, "The Way of the Fist" had been recorded and entirely self-produced. The album was recorded with Stevo "Shotgun" Bruno and Mike Sarkisyan and was mixed by guitarist Logan Mader. After searching for a second guitarist, they found Caleb Bingham who played some shows with the band, but was later replaced by Darrell Roberts. Shortly after recording the album, they signed a record deal with Firm Music, a branch of "The Firm". On July 10, 2007, they released an EP, "Pre-Emptive Strike" exclusively through the American iTunes Store. The album's lead single, "The Bleeding", was released on July 13, 2007. "The Way of the Fist" was released on July 31, 2007. The album entered the "Billboard" 200 at number 199 and was certified gold in 2011.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: From July 30 – September 2, 2007, the band went on their first major tour cycle as one of the supporting acts on Korn's Family Values Tour. They were also a supporting act of the North American leg of Korn's Bitch We Have a Problem Tour from September 22 – October 27, 2007. They were set to tour with Chimaira and All That Remains from January through March 2008, but due to singer Moody developing cysts on his vocal cords they were forced to pull out. He made a full recovery and they began to tour again. They supported Disturbed on their "Indestructible" US Tour from April through May 2008.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: "The Way of the Fist" was re-released on May 13, 2008, with 3 bonus tracks. One of the bonus tracks, "Never Enough" was released as the album's second single on July 15, 2008. Later that year they were a part of the 2008 Mayhem Festival playing the Jägermeister Stage. The third single from "The Way of the Fist", "Stranger Than Fiction" was released on September 17, 2008. "The Way of the Fist" was released through Spinefarm Records in Canada on November 4, 2008, and in Europe on January 19, 2009. In January 2009, Darrell Roberts was rumored to have been fired; the split was confirmed a few days later, and Roberts was replaced by guitarist Jason Hook. They ended their support for their first album playing the main stage at the 2009 Download Festival.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: In May 2009, Five Finger Death Punch announced their second studio album, "War Is the Answer". The album was produced by Kevin Churko and mixed by Randy Staub. The album debuted at number 7 on the "Billboard" 200 and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The first single from the album, "Hard to See", was released on July 21, 2009. To promote "War Is the Answer", Five Finger Death Punch embarked on "The Shock and Raw" US Tour. Main support on the tour was provided by Shadows Fall, with additional support coming from Otep and 2Cents. Upon completing the US run of the tour, Five Finger Death Punch then brought the Shock and Raw tour to Europe, finishing off with a run of dates in the UK. Main support for these dates was again Shadows Fall, and opening acts for the UK portion of the tour were Rise To Remain and Magnacult.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: The second single from "War Is the Answer", "Walk Away", was released on November 2, 2009. The album also spawned two UK-only singles, "Dying Breed", released on November 16, 2009, and "No One Gets Left Behind", released on March 8, 2010. During March 2010, Five Finger Death Punch traveled to Iraq and played 10 shows for the United States troops. The band's cover of Bad Company's self-titled song was released as the fifth single from "War Is the Answer" on May 17, 2010. On their way to perform at Rock am Ring and Rock im Park Zoltan Bathory, Matt Snell and Jeremy Spencer were detained by German police for alleged international weapons violations. After recognizing the event as a misunderstanding, German police released the band members and they appeared at both Rock im Park on June 4, 2010, and Rock am Ring June 6, 2010, as scheduled.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: Five Finger Death Punch also played the Maurice Jones Main Stage at the 2010 Download Festival on June 12, 2010. While playing the song "Dying Breed", their set was cut due to too many people crowd surfing up to the stage. They were allowed to play one final song, "The Bleeding". They played the main stage at Mayhem Festival 2010 with Korn, Rob Zombie and Lamb of God from July 10 until August 14, 2010. On August 17, 2010, they performed the songs "Bad Company" and "Hard to See" on the ABC show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!". On September 16, 2010, The band released "Far from Home" as the sixth single from "War Is the Answer". They supported Godsmack on their "The Oracle 2010" tour from October 3 – November 4, 2010. The song, "Dying Breed" was featured on the soundtrack for Namco Bandai Games' remake of Splatterhouse, released on November 23, 2010.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: The band began to record their third studio album in November 2010 at The Hideout studios in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bassist Matt Snell departed from the band in December 2010, and in June 2011, Chris Kael was announced as Snell's replacement. The band's third album, titled "American Capitalist", was released October 11, 2011. Production for the album was handled again by Kevin Churko. The first single from "American Capitalist", entitled "Under and Over It", was released on July 27, 2011, following a music video in September 2011. In support of the album, Five Finger Death Punch embarked on their "Share the Welt" tour from October 16 – December 14, 2011 with support from All That Remains, Hatebreed and Rains and their "Furious and Deadly" tour from March 23 – April 12, 2012 with support from Soulfly, Windowpane, and Persist. The song "Back for More" is included on the soundtrack for the video game Madden NFL 12. "Back for More" was released as a digital single on September 13, 2011. "Remember Everything" was released as the second official single for "American Capitalist" in November 2011, with a music video following in February 2012. "Coming Down" was released as the third official single from "American Capitalist" in April 2012, with a music video, directed by Nick Peterson, following in June 2012. The song also won the band an Independent Music Award in 2013 for Best Metal/Hardcore Song.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: From July 13 to August 28, 2012, Five Finger Death Punch took part in Metal Hammer's "Trespass America Festival" with support from Battlecross, God Forbid, Emmure, Pop Evil, Trivium and Killswitch Engage.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: On February 28, the band posted a picture on Facebook of Moody recording vocals for the album. On March 12, an update video was posted to YouTube. On March 18, the band was announced to be playing Mayhem Festival 2013. On March 18, Five Finger Death Punch posted a promotional video for their next tour with a new song "Here to Die". The band also announced that they were working on a fourth album, due in the summer.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: On May 1, 2013, the band announced the release of their next two studio albums collectively titled "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell" with Volume 1 being released on July 30, and Volume 2 following on November 19. During the fifth annual Golden Gods Awards, Five Finger Death Punch performed a new song with Rob Halford of Judas Priest entitled "Lift Me Up". The song was released as a single on May 14.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: On June 6, Five Finger Death Punch revealed the artwork for "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 1" and also released a snippet of future single "Dot Your Eyes" Volume 1 reached the No. 2 position on the Billboard 200 with 113,000 copies sold in its first week, making it the band's most successful debut to date. "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Volume 1" has sold over 210,000 copies .


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: On September 9, 2013, the band released a new single, "Battle Born", in anticipation of their fifth studio album "The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Volume 2". It sold 77,000 copies in its first week, and once again landed in the No. 2 position on the Billboard 200.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: On August 11, 2014, Five Finger Death Punch released a video for the song "Wrong Side of Heaven". The video is about homeless veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and depression after serving in the military, and not receiving the help they need for their illnesses.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: On December 12, 2013, Five Finger Death Punch revealed in a radio interview that they had already begun working on a sixth studio album. On January 14, 2015, Five Finger Death Punch announced US Spring headline tour dates from April 25 to May 9, 2015, and their intention to enter the studio to write and record a new album. On May 2, 2015, the band released the title of their sixth album, "Got Your Six" as well as a teaser for a new song titled "Ain't My Last Dance" on their official Facebook page. The album, which was slated for release on August 28, 2015, was later pushed back to September 4. On May 19, 2015, the band announced a co-headlining North American Tour with Papa Roach to promote the upcoming album and were accompanied by In This Moment as special guests with support by From Ashes to New for the tour. The band also performed on the main stage as part of Download Festival 2015.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: On April 27, 2016, "Billboard" reported that Five Finger Death Punch's record label Prospect Park had filed a lawsuit against the band on April 21, 2016, for breaching their contract. The basis of the claim cites that the band began working on a new album without Prospect Park's consent and will be working with Rise Records. In a recent interview, vocalist Ivan Moody has said he will be completing the current tour and leave the band at the end of 2017. The next day however, an announcement was published on the official site of FFDP, where it was revealed, that rumors about Ivan's departure are false. According to the announcement, the vocalist plans to start a side project beside Five Finger Death Punch, which does not mean he has plans on leaving.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: However, during a concert in the Netherlands, Moody did not show up to perform the first song, which was sung by Tommy Vext, with Moody saying he was running "a little bit late". Vext also sang a second song during the set later in the evening while Moody walked off stage. During the show all of the members left the stage for long periods on several occasions, and Hook also threw his guitar down and walked offstage at one point. During the set, Moody said that "there is no other singer for Five Finger Death Punch", and then later said "This is my last show with Five Finger Death Punch" before making a slit-throat gesture. Bathory shortly after the show tweeted that the events that transpired were "not a publicity stunt."


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: The day after the show in Tilburg, Netherlands, the band announced a headline European tour with In Flames and Of Mice & Men in late 2017. Later that same day, the band released a statement addressing what happened at the show via their Facebook page, stating that bands that tour as heavily as they do will "inevitably have a few derailments, but the train always keeps on moving", implying that all shows would proceed as planned and that Moody would remain as the band's frontman. Ivan Moody subsequently checked himself into rehab and sat out the remainder of the tour. Tommy Vext filled in for Moody while he sought treatment. On August 19, Ivan Moody returned to the stage at the Illinois State Fair, although just days prior it was still unknown if he would be taking the stage.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: In December 2017, it was announced that the band was working on their seventh studio album. The album, "And Justice for None" was released May 18, 2018. On December 21, 2017, the band released a video for their cover of "Gone Away" by The Offspring. The cover song was featured on Five Finger Death Punch's greatest hits album, "A Decade of Destruction". On April 5, 2018, the band released "Fake" as the lead single from "And Justice for None". On April 20, 2018, a second single was released, titled "Sham Pain". A third single "When the Seasons Change" was released on May 4, 2018.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: For a Fall 2018 tour with Breaking Benjamin, Charlie Engen replaced Jeremy Spencer to allow him to undergo back surgery. On December 18, it was announced that Spencer had departed the band permanently. In June 2019, it was announced that Jeremy Spencer has continued the band's support of first responders and was sworn in as a reserve police officer in Indiana.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: Five Finger Death Punch have also worked with Brantley Gilbert, Brian May of Queen, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd to re-record a new version of Sheperd's song "Blue on Black". The proceeds from the recording support The Gary Sinise Foundation. While a cover of the song had already appeared on "And Justice for None", this new version merged Sheperd's blues rock, Gilbert's country, May's classic rock and Five Finger Death Punch's mainstream rock styles.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: On May 9, 2019, the band released a video announcing a "new record in the making". The album, "F8" was released on February 28, 2020. The album's lead single, "Inside Out", was released on December 2, 2019. "A Little Bit Off" was released as the second single in June 2020. Both songs topped the "Billboard" Mainstream Rock songs. On February 4, 2020, it was announced that lead guitarist Jason Hook was forced to miss the remaining shows of the European tour due to health issues. Andy James was named as substitute lead guitarist for the rest of the tour. It was confirmed on October 12, 2020, that Hook officially left the band, with James replacing him permanently.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: In May 2021, it was announced that the band planned on recording their ninth album in 2022. They will also make a 15th anniversary re-recording of their debut album, "The Way of the Fist". On April 12, 2022, the band released the title track from their ninth studio album, "AfterLife". On the same day, the band announced a U.S. tour with Megadeth, The Hu, and Fire from the Gods, set for August through October 2022. On May 13, 2022, the band released the second single, "IOU". They also announced the release of their ninth studio album, "AfterLife", which was released on August 19, 2022. On June 9, 2022, the band released the third single, "Welcome to the Circus". On July 8, 2022, the band released the fourth single, "Times Like These".


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: In October 2022, Moody announced plans to retire from heavy metal music after releasing the band's tenth studio album to spend more time with his kids. Moody later retracted his retirement announcement stating:


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: Five Finger Death Punch's musical style has generally been regarded as heavy metal, groove metal, alternative metal, hard rock, thrash metal, nu metal, and arena rock. Thom Jurek of AllMusic wrote that Five Finger Death Punch's "instantly recognizable sound is equal parts melodic and meaty guitar riffs, fat vamps, catchy hooks, tight, flashy solos, and hard-grooving bass and drums". Bathory described Five Finger Death Punch as "a straight-up heavy metal band with a hint of thrash metal—maybe a hint of the Euro stuff in there" and then said, "that's pretty much what we are". Five Finger Death Punch vocalist Ivan Moody's vocals are usually singing and screaming. The band has released successful ballads as well.


title: Five Finger Death Punch

text: Bathory cited Pantera, Voivod, Iron Maiden, Accept, W.A.S.P., and Yngwie Malmsteen as influences. Ivan Moody cited vocalists such as Mike Patton, Phil Anselmo, Layne Staley and Lynn Strait as influences. Moody credited the witty lyricism of Tool's Maynard James Keenan and Faith No More's Mike Patton as great inspirations. The singer also said, "Pantera is one of our biggest influences". Jeremy Spencer cited drummers such as Lars Ulrich, Dave Lombardo, Gene Hoglan, Dave Grohl, Buddy Rich and Tommy Aldridge as influences. Spencer also cited Prince and David Bowie as influences.


title: Stoat

text: The stoat (Mustela erminea), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. It is distinct from the long-tailed weasel ("Neogale frenata"), also known as the "masked ermine", or "big stoat"; the two species are visually similar, especially the black tail tip.


title: Stoat

text: The name ermine () is used for species in the genus "Mustela", especially the stoat, in its pure white winter coat, or the fur thereof.


title: Stoat

text: Introduced in the late 19th century into New Zealand to control rabbits, the stoat has had a devastating effect on native bird populations. It was nominated as one of the world's top 100 "worst invaders".


title: Stoat

text: Ermine fur was used in the 15th century by Catholic monarchs, who sometimes used it as the mozzetta cape. It has long been used on the ceremonial robes of members of the UK House of Lords. It was also used in capes on images such as the Infant Jesus of Prague.


title: Stoat

text: The root word for "stoat" is likely either the Dutch word ("bold") or the Gothic word (, "to push"). According to John Guillim, in his "Display of Heraldrie", the word "ermine" is likely derived from Armenia, the nation where it was thought the species originated, though other authors have linked it to the Norman French from the Teutonic (Anglo-Saxon ). This seems to come from the Lithuanian word . In Ireland (where the least weasel does not occur), the stoat is referred to as a weasel, while in North America it is called a short-tailed weasel. A male stoat is called a "dog", "hob", or "jack", while a female is called a "jill". The collective noun for stoats is either "gang" or "pack".


title: Stoat

text: Formerly considered a single species with a very wide circumpolar range, a 2021 study split "M. erminea" into 3 species: "M. erminea sensu stricto" (Eurasia and northern North America), "M. richardsonii" (most of North America), and "M. haidarum" (several islands off the Pacific Northwest coast).


title: Stoat

text: The stoat's direct ancestor was "Mustela palerminea", a common carnivore in central and eastern Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, that spread to North America during the late Blancan or early Irvingtonian. The stoat is the product of a process that began 5–7 million years ago, when northern forests were replaced by open grassland, thus prompting an explosive evolution of small, burrowing rodents. The stoat's ancestors were larger than the current form, and underwent a reduction in size as they exploited the new food source. The stoat first arose in Eurasia, shortly after the long-tailed weasel, which is in a different genus ("Neogale"), arose as its mirror image in North America 2 million years ago. The stoat thrived during the Ice Age, as its small size and long body allowed it to easily operate beneath snow, as well as hunt in burrows. The stoat and the long-tailed weasel remained separated until 500,000 years ago, when falling sea levels exposed the Bering land bridge.


title: Stoat

text: Combined phylogenetic analyses indicate the stoat's closest living relatives are the American ermine ("M. richardsonii") and Haida ermine ("M. haidarum"), the latter of which partially descends from "M. erminea". It is basal to most other members of "Mustela", with only the yellow-bellied ("M. kathia"), Malayan ("M. katiah"), and back-striped ("M. strigidorsa") weasels being more basal. The mountain weasel ("Mustela altaica") was formerly considered its closest relative although more recent analyses have found it to be significantly more derived. It was also previously thought to be allied with members of the genus "Neogale" such as the long-tailed weasel, but as those species have since been separated into a new genus, this is likely not the case.


title: Stoat

text: The stoat is similar to the least weasel in general proportions, manner of posture, and movement, though the tail is relatively longer, always exceeding a third of the body length, though it is shorter than that of the long-tailed weasel. The stoat has an elongated neck, the head being set exceptionally far in front of the shoulders. The trunk is nearly cylindrical, and does not bulge at the abdomen. The greatest circumference of body is little


title: Stoat

text: more than half its length. The skull, although very similar to that of the least weasel, is relatively longer, with a narrower braincase. The projections of the skull and teeth are weakly developed, but stronger than those of the least weasel. The eyes are round, black and protrude slightly. The whiskers are brown or white in colour, and very long. The ears are short, rounded and lie almost flattened against the skull. The claws are not retractable, and are large in proportion to the digits. Each foot has five toes. The male stoat has a curved baculum with a proximal knob that increases in weight as it ages. Fat is deposited primarily along the spine and kidneys, then on gut mesenteries, under the limbs and around the shoulders. The stoat has four pairs of nipples, though they are visible only in females.


title: Stoat

text: The dimensions of the stoat are variable, but not as significantly as the least weasel's. Unusual among the Carnivora, the size of stoats tends to decrease proportionally with latitude, in contradiction to Bergmann's rule. Sexual dimorphism in size is pronounced, with males being roughly 25% larger than females and 1.5-2.0 times their weight. On average, males measure in body length, while females measure . The tail measures in males and in females. In males, the hind foot measures , while in females it is . The height of the ear measures in males and . The skulls of males measure in length, while those of females measure . Males average in weight, while females weigh less than .


title: Stoat

text: The stoat has large anal scent glands measuring in males and smaller in females. Scent glands are also present on the cheeks, belly and flanks. Epidermal secretions, which are deposited during body rubbing, are chemically distinct from the products of the anal scent glands, which contain a higher proportion of volatile chemicals. When attacked or being aggressive, the stoat secretes the contents of its anal glands, giving rise to a strong, musky odour produced by several sulphuric compounds. The odour is distinct from that of least weasels.


title: Stoat

text: The winter fur is very dense and silky, but quite closely lying and short, while the summer fur is rougher, shorter and sparse. In summer, the fur is sandy-brown on the back and head and a white below. The division between the dark back and the light belly is usually straight, though this trait is only present in 13.5% of Irish stoats. The stoat moults twice a year. In spring, the moult is slow, starting from the forehead, across the back, toward the belly. In autumn, the moult is quicker, progressing in the reverse direction. The moult, initiated by photoperiod, starts earlier in autumn and later in spring at higher latitudes. In the stoat's northern range, it adopts a completely white coat (save for the black tail-tip) during the winter period. Differences in the winter and summer coats are less apparent in southern forms of the species. In the species' southern range, the coat remains brown, but is denser and sometimes paler than in summer.


title: Stoat

text: The stoat has a circumboreal range throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. The stoat in Europe is found as far south as 41ºN in Portugal, and inhabits most islands with the exception of Iceland, Svalbard, the Mediterranean islands and some small North Atlantic islands. In Japan, it is present in central mountains (northern and central Japan Alps) to northern part of Honshu (primarily above 1,200 m) and Hokkaido. Its vertical range is from sea level to . In North America, it is found throughout Alaska and western Yukon to most of Arctic Canada east to Greenland. Throughout the rest of North America, as well as parts of Nunavut including Baffin Island and some islands in southeast Alaska, it is replaced by "M. richardsonii".


title: Stoat

text: Stoats were introduced into New Zealand during the late 19th century to control rabbits and hares, but are now a major threat to native bird populations. The introduction of stoats was opposed by scientists in New Zealand and Britain, including the New Zealand ornithologist Walter Buller. The warnings were ignored and stoats began to be introduced from Britain in the 1880s, resulting in a noticeable decline in bird populations within six years. Stoats are a serious threat to ground- and hole-nesting birds, since the latter have very few means of escaping predation. The highest rates of stoat predation occur after seasonal gluts in southern beechmast (beechnuts), which enable the reproduction of rodents on which stoats also feed, enabling stoats to increase their own numbers. For instance, the endangered South Island takahē's wild population dropped by a third between 2006 and 2007, after a stoat plague triggered by the 2005–06 mast wiped out more than half the takahē in untrapped areas.


title: Stoat

text: In the Northern Hemisphere, mating occurs in the April–July period. In spring, the male's testes are enlarged, a process accompanied by an increase of testosterone concentration in the plasma. Spermatogenesis occurs in December, and the males are fertile from May to August, after which the testes regress. Female stoats are usually only in heat for a brief period, which is triggered by changes in day length. Copulation can last as long as 1 hour. Stoats are not monogamous, with litters often being of mixed paternity. Stoats undergo embryonic diapause, meaning that the embryo does not immediately implant in the uterus after fertilization, but rather lies dormant for a period of nine to ten months. The gestation period is therefore variable but typically around 300 days, and after mating in the summer, the offspring will not be born until the following spring – adult female stoats spend almost all their lives either pregnant or in heat. Females can reabsorb embryos and in the event of a severe winter they may reabsorb their entire litter. Males play no part in rearing the young, which are born blind, deaf, toothless and covered in fine white or pinkish down. The milk teeth erupt after three weeks, and solid food is eaten after four weeks. The eyes open after five to six weeks, with the black tail-tip appearing a week later. Lactation ends after 12 weeks. Prior to the age of five to seven weeks, kits have poor thermoregulation, so they huddle for warmth when the mother is absent. Males become sexually mature at 10–11 months, while females are sexually mature at the age of 2–3 weeks whilst still blind, deaf and hairless, and are usually mated with adult males before being weaned.


title: Stoat

text: Stoat territoriality has a generally mustelid spacing pattern, with male territories encompassing smaller female territories, which they defend from other males. The size of the territory and the ranging behaviour of its occupants varies seasonally, depending on the abundance of food and mates. During the breeding season, the ranges of females remain unchanged, while males either become roamers, strayers or transients. Dominant older males have territories 50 times larger than those of younger, socially inferior males. Both sexes mark their territories with urine, faeces and two types of scent marks; anal drags are meant to convey territorial occupancy, and body rubbing is associated with agonistic encounters.


title: Stoat

text: The stoat does not dig its own burrows, instead using the burrows and nest chambers of the rodents it kills. The skins and underfur of rodent prey are used to line the nest chamber. The nest chamber is sometimes located in seemingly unsuitable places, such as among logs piled against the walls of houses. The stoat also inhabits old and rotting stumps, under tree roots, in heaps of brushwood, haystacks, in bog hummocks, in the cracks of vacant mud buildings, in rock piles, rock clefts, and even in magpie nests. Males and females typically live apart, but close to each other. Each stoat has several dens dispersed within its range. A single den has several galleries, mainly within of the surface.


title: Stoat

text: As with the least weasel, mouse-like rodents predominate in the stoat's diet. However, unlike the least weasel, which almost exclusively feeds on small voles, the stoat regularly preys on larger rodent and lagomorph species, and will take down individuals far larger than itself. In Russia, its prey includes rodents and lagomorphs such as European water voles, common hamsters, pikas, and others, which it overpowers in their burrows. Prey species of secondary importance include small birds, fish, and shrews and, more rarely, amphibians, lizards, and insects. In Great Britain, European rabbits are an important food source, with the frequency in which stoats prey on them having increased between the 1960s and mid 1990s since the end of the myxomatosis epidemic. Typically, male stoats prey on rabbits more frequently than females do, which depend to a greater extent on smaller rodent species. British stoats rarely kill shrews, rats, squirrels and water voles, though rats may be an important food source locally. In Ireland, shrews and rats are frequently eaten. In mainland Europe, water voles make up a large portion of the stoat's diet. Hares are sometimes taken, but are usually young specimens. In New Zealand, the stoat feeds principally on birds, including the rare kiwi, kaka, mohua, yellow-crowned parakeet, and New Zealand dotterel. Cases are known of stoats preying on young muskrats. The stoat typically eats about of food a day, which is equivalent to 25% of the animal's live weight.


title: Stoat

text: The stoat is an opportunistic predator that moves rapidly and checks every available burrow or crevice for food. Because of their larger size, male stoats are less successful than females in pursuing rodents far into tunnels. Stoats regularly climb trees to gain access to birds' nests, and are common raiders of nest boxes, particularly those of large species. The stoat reputedly mesmerises prey such as rabbits by a "dance" (sometimes called the weasel war dance), though this behaviour could be linked to "Skrjabingylus" infections. The stoat seeks to immobilize large prey such as rabbits with a bite to the spine at the back of the neck. The stoat may surplus kill when the opportunity arises, though excess prey is usually cached and eaten later to avoid obesity, as overweight stoats tend to be at a disadvantage when pursuing prey into their burrows. Small prey typically die instantly from a bite to the back of the neck, while larger prey, such as rabbits, typically die of shock, as the stoat's canine teeth are too short to reach the spinal column or major arteries.


title: Stoat

text: The stoat is a usually silent animal, but can produce a range of sounds similar to those of the least weasel. Kits produce a fine chirping noise. Adults trill excitedly before mating, and indicate submission through quiet trilling, whining and squealing. When nervous, the stoat hisses, and will intersperse this with sharp barks or shrieks and prolonged screeching when aggressive.


title: Stoat

text: Submissive stoats express their status by avoiding higher-ranking animals, fleeing from them or making whining or squealing sounds.


title: Stoat

text: Tuberculosis has been recorded in stoats inhabiting the former Soviet Union and New Zealand. They are largely resistant to tularemia, but are reputed to suffer from canine distemper in captivity. Symptoms of mange have also been recorded.


title: Stoat

text: Stoats are vulnerable to ectoparasites associated with their prey and the nests of other animals on which they do not prey. The louse "Trichodectes erminea" is recorded in stoats living in Canada, Ireland and New Zealand. In continental Europe, 26 flea species are recorded to infest stoats, including "Rhadinospylla pentacantha", "Megabothris rectangulatus", "Orchopeas howardi", "Spilopsyllus ciniculus", "Ctenophthalamus nobilis", "Dasypsyllus gallinulae", "Nosopsyllus fasciatus", "Leptospylla segnis", "Ceratophyllus gallinae", "Parapsyllus n. nestoris", "Amphipsylla kuznetzovi" and "Ctenopsyllus bidentatus". Tick species known to infest stoats are "Ixodes canisuga", "I. hexagonus", and "I. ricinus" and "Haemaphysalis longicornis". Louse species known to infest stoats include "Mysidea picae" and "Polyplax spinulosa". Mite species known to infest stoats include "Neotrombicula autumnalis", "Demodex erminae", "Eulaelaps stabulans", "Gymnolaelaps annectans", "Hypoaspis nidicorva", and "Listrophorus mustelae".


title: Stoat

text: The nematode "Skrjabingylus nasicola" is particularly threatening to stoats, as it erodes the bones of the nasal sinuses and decreases fertility. Other nematode species known to infect stoats include "Capillaria putorii", "Molineus patens" and "Strongyloides martes". Cestode species known to infect stoats include "Taenia tenuicollis", "Mesocestoides lineatus" and rarely "Acanthocephala".


title: Stoat

text: In Irish mythology, stoats were viewed anthropomorphically as animals with families, which held rituals for their dead. They were also viewed as noxious animals prone to thieving, and their saliva was said to be able to poison a grown man. To encounter a stoat when setting out for a journey was considered bad luck, but one could avert this by greeting the stoat as a neighbour. Stoats were also supposed to hold the souls of infants who died before baptism. In the folklore of the Komi people of the Urals, stoats are symbolic of beautiful and coveted young women. In the Zoroastrian religion, the stoat is considered a sacred animal, as its white winter coat represented purity. Similarly, Mary Magdalene was depicted as wearing a white stoat pelt as a sign of her reformed character. One popular European legend had it that a white stoat would die before allowing its pure white coat to be besmirched. When it was being chased by hunters, it would supposedly turn around and give itself up to the hunters rather than risk soiling itself. The former nation (now province) of Brittany in France uses a stylized ermine-fur pattern in forming the Coat of Arms and Flag of Brittany. Gilles Servat's song "La Blanche Hermine" ("The White Ermine") became an anthem for Bretons (and is popular among French people in general).


title: Stoat

text: Stoat skins are prized by the fur trade, especially in winter coat, and used to trim coats and stoles. The fur from the winter coat is referred to as ermine and is the traditional ancient symbol of the Duchy of Brittany, forming the earliest flag of that nation. There is also a design called ermine inspired by the winter coat of the stoat and painted onto other furs, such as rabbit. In Europe these furs are a symbol of royalty and high status. The ceremonial robes of members of the UK House of Lords and the academic hoods of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge are traditionally trimmed with ermine. In practice rabbit or fake fur is now often used due to expense or animal rights concerns. Prelates of the Catholic Church still wear ecclesiastical garments featuring ermine (a sign of their status equal to that of the nobility). Cecilia Gallerani is depicted holding an ermine in her portrait, "Lady with an Ermine", by Leonardo da Vinci. Henry Peacham's "Emblem 75", which depicts an ermine being pursued by a hunter and two hounds, is entitled "Cui candor morte redemptus" ("Purity Bought with His Own Death"). Peacham goes on to preach that men and women should follow the example of the ermine and keep their minds and consciences as pure as the legendary ermine keeps its fur.


title: Stoat

text: Ermine (both "M. erminea" and "M. richardsonii", both of which inhabited the Tlingit's territory) were also valued by the Tlingit and other indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. They could be attached to traditional regalia and cedar bark hats as status symbols, or they were also made into shirts.


title: Stoat

text: The stoat was a fundamental item in the fur trade of the Soviet Union, with no less than half the global catch coming from within its borders. The Soviet Union also contained the highest grades of stoat pelts, with the best grade North American pelts being comparable only to the 9th grade in the quality criteria of former Soviet stoat standards. Stoat harvesting never became a specialty in any Soviet republic, with most stoats being captured incidentally in traps or near villages. Stoats in the Soviet Union were captured either with dogs or with box-traps or jaw-traps. Guns were rarely used, as they could damage the pelt.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films "Soapdish" (1991), "Sister Act" (1992), "Hocus Pocus" (1993), "Hope Floats" (1998), "The Wedding Planner" (2001), "Rat Race" (2001), and "Hocus Pocus 2" (2022), as well as her portrayal of Olive Massery on the NBC sitcom "Veronica's Closet" (1997–2000) and for voicing Peggy Hill on the animated television series "King of the Hill" (1997–2010).


title: Kathy Najimy

text: She also starred in Disney and Pixar's Academy Award winning film "WALL-E" (2008), "Step Up 3D" (2010), "The Guilt Trip" (2012), Tyler Perry's "A Madea Christmas" (2013), "A Christmas Melody" (2015), "Dumplin'" (2018), "Music" (2021), and "Single All the Way" (2021).


title: Kathy Najimy

text: She was first nationally known for her feminist play "The Kathy and Mo Show", which she wrote and performed with Mo Gaffney.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy was born on February 6, 1957, in San Diego, California, the daughter of Lebanese-American parents Samia ("née" Massery; 1928–2015) and Fred Najimy, a postal worker. Her mother immigrated from Lebanon to the United States in 1946. She was raised Maronite Catholic and attended Crawford High School. Her father died when she was 14. She is a 1995 graduate of San Diego State University.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy and Mo Gaffney's feminist comedy play "The Kathy and Mo Show" premiered in 1986 and had three long term New York City runs and generated two HBO specials, "Parallel Lives" and "The Dark Side".


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy's film career began in the early 1990s, with a number of offbeat minor roles in "The Fisher King", "Soapdish", "This Is My Life", "The Hard Way". Her first major role was as Sister Mary Patrick in the 1992 comedy "Sister Act", a role she reprised in 1993 in "Sister Act 2". She also starred in "Hocus Pocus" as Mary Sanderson, alongside Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker, and the 1994 made-for-TV movie "In Search of Dr. Seuss" as Kathy Lane. In 2000, she played the Stepmother in "CinderElmo", a primetime special for "Sesame Street". In 2001, she co-starred in the hit comedy film "Rat Race" alongside John Cleese, Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz and Seth Green. She has made four movies with Goldberg ("Soapdish", "Sister Act 1" and "2", and "Rat Race"). Najimy starred in Disney and Pixar's Academy Award winning film "WALL-E" and Tyler Perry's "A Madea Christmas".


title: Kathy Najimy

text: From film, Najimy expanded into television roles, including a dramatic recurring role on "Chicago Hope", She was part of the cast of "Veronica's Closet" from 1997 to 2000. She played Wendy Keegan in HBO's "Veep" for four seasons. She appeared with Ellen DeGeneres in three episodes of her sitcom "Ellen", playing a different character each time (including a non-speaking cameo in the iconic "Puppy Episode") and in the TV movie "If These Walls Could Talk 2". Najimy was a series regular season 4 of "Unforgettable", season 4 of "The Big C," and season 3 of "Numbers". She guest starred on "That's So Raven", "Drop Dead Diva", "Desperate Housewives", "Ugly Betty", and "Franklin & Bash". She starred in TNT's "In Search of Dr. Seuss".


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy starred as Mae West in the Broadway hit "Dirty Blonde". She appeared in V'Day's "Vagina Monologues" on Broadway and in Nassim Soleimanpour's plays "White Rabbit Red Rabbit" and "Nassim". She is the co-creator and director of the musical revue "Back to Bacharach and David", which ran in New York City in 1992 and 1993, and which she directed again in Los Angeles in April 2009.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy starred as Peggy Hill in Fox's "King of the Hill" from 1997 to 2010. Her voice is featured in the animated films "Brother Bear 2", "", "Cats Don't Dance", and "Tinkerbell". She has also lent her voice to hundreds of animated television shows and movies, including "BoJack Horseman", "Rapunzel's" "Tangled Adventure", "American Dad!", "Hercules", "Pepper Ann", and played a role in the "Nightmare Ned" video game. In 2003, Najimy provided the voice of Margalo in "", taking over from Melanie Griffith, and in 2000 took over from Madeline Kahn as Mrs. Shapiro in "Little Bill". She stars in Disney Junior's reboot of "The Rocketeer" and Amy Poehler's "Duncanville".


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Premiering in August 2015, Najimy appeared in Disney's "Descendants" as the Evil Queen. Later that year, she took part in the successful Christmas TV movie "A Christmas Melody" starring Mariah Carey, Brennan Elliott, Lacey Chabert and Fina Strazza. It debuted on the Hallmark Channel on December 19, 2015. The film was viewed by 3.95 million people upon its debut.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: She appeared in Netflix's 2018 film "Dumplin'" alongside Jennifer Aniston. "Dumplin"' was released on December 7, 2018, on the platform.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: In 2021, she appeared in musical drama film "Music", directed by singer-songwriter Sia. In the United States, it was released in select IMAX theatres for one night on February 10, 2021, and was followed by a premium video on demand release across the country on February 12. The same year, she starred in the Netflix Christmas romantic comedy "Single All the Way" alongside Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers and Jennifer Coolidge.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: During its debut week, "Single All the Way" ranked at number 6 on Netflix's top 10 weekly rankings for English-language films, based on its methodology of measuring a film or TV show by the number of hours it was viewed, with 13.82 million hours watched. It also ranked in the weekly top 10 on Netflix in 42 countries. In the second week of release, it had a viewership of 11.14 million hours and ranked at number 5 on Netflix's chart, while remaining in the top 10 Netflix rankings in 36 countries.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy is an activist and frequently travels the country to speak on issues of equal rights, safety, and self esteem for women and girls, LGBTQ rights, AIDS awareness, domestic violence, body image, and civil rights. She has spoken at the Human Rights Campaign, Planned Parenthood, and PFLAG. She was a surrogate speaker for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. In 2004, Najimy was "Ms. Magazine"s Woman of the Year and a speaker at the March for Women's Lives. She is an active member of Time's Up.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy has also worked with PETA on a number of animal welfare issues and posed with Todd Oldham for the "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign. PETA gave her their Humanitarian of the Year award in 2000 and their Compassionate Action Award in 2014.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy is a strong advocate for women's health and reproductive rights. She's a proud contributor to the groundbreaking book, "The Choices We Made", which includes testimonials from women who believe in choice. Najimy is vocal about issues regarding body image among women. In August 2006 she voiced her opinions over a remark made by Heidi Klum on the television series "Project Runway" after Klum said one model's outfit made her look plus-sized, which Najimy called "dangerous" and "irresponsible".


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy created and produced the off-Broadway play "Gloria: A Life", about the life of activist Gloria Steinem. Starting in 2012, Najimy has been creating, directing, and co-writing personal monologues with actresses including Olivia Wilde, Amy Schumer, Zosia Mamet, Debra Messing, Rosie Perez, and Gabourey Sidibe. The pieces have been performed at Glamour Magazine's live evening of personal monologues titled "These Girls" and at the 2017 and 2018 MAKERS conference. Najimy is currently working on a documentary about the 53% of white women who voted for Donald Trump in 2016. She has performed her solo show, "Lift Up Your Skirt", at many venues including the Adelaide Cabaret Festival, ICONS at Fire Island, and Feinstein's at The Nikko in San Francisco. She is also currently producing a television series about the women's movement.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Najimy uses her celebrity status to donate money to charities by appearing on game shows. She appeared as a contestant on a celebrity version of "The Weakest Link" where she won $50,000 for The Feminist Majority Foundation's Campaign to Stop Gender Apartheid in Afghanistan. She won the season 6 tournament of "Celebrity Poker Showdown", donating the $100,000 to V-Day, an organization that helps stop violence against women and girls. She was also crowned Grand Champion on CBS's "Gameshow Marathon" in 2006, donating the $100,000 winnings to Girls Best Friend, a charity that helps empower girls. In 2013, Najimy was a contestant on "" on Team Rachael where she was playing for PETA, cooking only vegetarian food. She was eliminated on the Feb 3 episode, reaching third place.


title: Kathy Najimy

text: Before she became a known actress, in 1981, Najimy was a contestant on "Family Feud," which was used as the finale in "Gameshow Marathon." Najimy and her family were winners on both shows. Najimy also appeared on the "$25,000 Pyramid" as a civilian contestant, on the episode dated July 31, 1985. She claimed, on the "Pyramid" show, that she also had been on "American Bandstand". She returned to the "Pyramid" ("The $100,000 Pyramid") on the June 26, 2016, episode as a celebrity guest opposite Rosie O'Donnell. She appeared once again in Season 2, Episode 7 on July 23, 2017, to play against Alexandra Wentworth, helping her contestant partner win the $150,000 grand prize.