title: Bull shark

text: The bull shark's diet consists mainly of bony fish and small sharks, including other bull sharks, and stingrays. Their diet can also include turtles, birds, dolphins, terrestrial mammals, crustaceans, and echinoderms. They hunt in murky waters where it is harder for the prey to see the shark coming. Bull sharks have been known to use the bump-and-bite technique to attack their prey. After the first initial contact, they continue to bite and tackle prey until the prey is unable to flee.


title: Bull shark

text: The bull shark is a solitary hunter, though may briefly pair with another bull shark to make hunting and tricking prey easier.


title: Bull shark

text: Sharks are opportunistic feeders, and the bull shark is no exception to this, as it is part of the "Carcharhinus" family of sharks. Normally, sharks eat in short bursts, and when food is scarce, sharks digest for a much longer period of time in order to avoid starvation. As part of their survival mechanism, bull sharks will regurgitate the food in their stomachs in order to escape from a predator. This is a distraction tactic; if the predator moves to eat the regurgitated food the bull shark can use the opportunity to escape.


title: Bull shark

text: Bull sharks mate during late summer and early autumn, often in bays and estuaries. After gestating for 12 months, a bull shark may give birth to 1 to 13 live young.


title: Bull shark

text: They are viviparous, born live and free-swimming. The young are about at birth. The bull shark does not rear its young; the young bull sharks are born into flat, protected areas. Coastal lagoons, river mouths, and other low-salinity estuaries are common nursery habitats.


title: Bull shark

text: The male bull shark is able to begin reproducing around the age of 15 years while the female cannot begin reproducing until the age of 18 years. The size of a fully matured female bull shark to produce viable eggs for fertilization seems to be 175 cm to 235 cm. The courting routine between bull sharks has not been observed in detail as of yet. The male likely bites the female on the tail until she can turn upside down and the male can copulate at that point. Mature females commonly have scratches from the mating process.


title: Bull shark

text: Since bull sharks often dwell in very shallow waters, are found in many types of habitats, are territorial by nature, and have no tolerance for provocation, they may be more dangerous to humans than any other species of shark. Bull sharks are one of the three shark species (along with the tiger shark and great white shark) most likely to bite humans.


title: Bull shark

text: One or several bull sharks may have been responsible for the Jersey Shore shark attacks of 1916, which were the inspiration for Peter Benchley's novel "Jaws". The speculation that bull sharks may have been responsible is based on two fatal bites occurring in brackish and fresh water.


title: Bull shark

text: Bull sharks have attacked swimmers around the Sydney Harbour inlets. In India, bull sharks swim up the Ganges, Bramaputra, Mahanadi, and other Indian rivers and have bitten bathers. Many of these bite incidents were attributed to the Ganges shark, "Glyphis gangeticus", a critically endangered river shark species, although the sand tiger shark was also blamed during the 1960s and 1970s.


title: Bull shark

text: Behavioral studies have confirmed that sharks can take visual cues to discriminate between different objects. The bull shark is able to discriminate between colors of mesh netting that is present underwater. It was found that bull sharks tended to avoid mesh netting of bright colors rather than colors that blended in with the water. Bright yellow mesh netting was found to be easily avoided when it was placed in the path of the bull shark. This was found to be the reason that sharks are attracted to bright yellow survival gear rather than ones that were painted black.


title: Bull shark

text: In 2008, researchers tagged and recorded the movements of young bull sharks in the Caloosahatchee River estuary. They were testing to find out what determined the movement of the young bull sharks. It was found that the young bull sharks synchronously moved downriver when the environmental conditions changed. This large movement of young bull sharks were found to be moving as a response rather than other external factors such as predators. The movement was found to be directly related to the bull shark conserving energy for itself. One way the bull shark is able to conserve energy is that when the tidal flow changes, the bull shark uses the tidal flow in order to conserve energy as it moves downriver. Another way for the bull shark to conserve energy is to decrease the amount of energy needed to osmoregulate the surrounding environment.


title: Bull shark

text: Humans are the biggest threat to bull sharks. Larger sharks, such as the tiger shark and great white shark, may attack them, but typically only target juveniles. Crocodiles may be a threat to bull sharks in rivers. Saltwater crocodiles have been observed preying on bull sharks in the rivers and estuaries of Northern Australia, and a Nile crocodile was reportedly sighted consuming a bull shark in South Africa.


title: My Roommate Is a Gumiho

text: My Roommate Is a Gumiho () is a 2021 South Korean television drama series starring Jang Ki-yong and Lee Hye-ri. The series tells story of romance between a 999-year-old nine-tailed fox named Shin Woo-Yeo and a female college student named Lee Dam who accidentally swallows Shin Woo-Yeo's bead. It premiered on streaming platform iQIYI worldwide and cable channel TVN on May 26, 2021 and aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 22.40 (KST) for 16 episodes till July 15.


title: My Roommate Is a Gumiho

text: The series ended on July 15, 2021 with its last episode recording an average nationwide viewership ratings of 4%. It attained an average viewership of 948 thousand per episode during its run.


title: My Roommate Is a Gumiho

text: Gumiho, literally "nine-tailed fox", is a creature that appears in the folktales and legends of Korea.


title: My Roommate Is a Gumiho

text: It is based on an original webtoon. It tells the story of a male Gumiho who has lived for hundreds of years to become a human being; having his fox beads taken away by a female college student in an accident, they live together in his house to solve this problem.


title: My Roommate Is a Gumiho

text: This is the first Korean TV series produced by iQIYI. It is a joint production between China and South Korea. Lee Hye-ri and Jang Ki-yong both starred in "Schoolgirl Detectives" previously. Lee and Park Kyung-hye also previously worked together in a workplace themed drama Miss Lee. Kang Han-na and Kim Do-wan previously starred together in the 2020 drama "Start-Up".


title: The Sound of Music

text: The Sound of Music is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, "The Story of the Trapp Family Singers". Set in Austria on the eve of the "Anschluss" in 1938, the musical tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to a large family while she decides whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children, and eventually their widowed father, Captain von Trapp. He is ordered to accept a commission in the German navy, but he opposes the Nazis. He and Maria decide on a plan to flee Austria with the children. Many songs from the musical have become standards, including "Edelweiss", "My Favorite Things", "Climb Ev'ry Mountain", "Do-Re-Mi", and the title song "The Sound of Music".


title: The Sound of Music

text: The original Broadway production, starring Mary Martin and Theodore Bikel, opened in 1959 and won five Tony Awards, including Best Musical, out of nine nominations. The first London production opened at the Palace Theatre in 1961. The show has enjoyed numerous productions and revivals since then. It was adapted as a 1965 film musical starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, which won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture. "The Sound of Music" was the last musical written by Rodgers and Hammerstein; Oscar Hammerstein died of stomach cancer nine months after the Broadway premiere.


title: The Sound of Music

text: After viewing "The Trapp Family", a 1956 West German film about the von Trapp family, and its 1958 sequel (""), stage director Vincent J. Donehue thought that the project would be perfect for his friend Mary Martin; Broadway producers Leland Hayward and Richard Halliday (Martin's husband) agreed. The producers originally envisioned a non-musical play that would be written by Lindsay and Crouse and that would feature songs from the repertoire of the Trapp Family Singers. Then they decided to add an original song or two, perhaps by Rodgers and Hammerstein. But it was soon agreed that the project should feature all new songs and be a musical rather than a play.


title: The Sound of Music

text: Details of the history of the von Trapp family were altered for the musical. The real Georg von Trapp did live with his family in a villa in Aigen, a suburb of Salzburg. He wrote to the Nonnberg Abbey in 1926 asking for a nun to help tutor his sick daughter, and the Mother Abbess sent Maria. His wife, Agathe Whitehead, had died in 1922. The real Maria and Georg married at the Nonnberg Abbey in 1927. Lindsay and Crouse altered the story so that Maria was governess to all of the children, whose names and ages were changed, as was Maria's original surname (the show used "Rainer" instead of "Kutschera"). The von Trapps spent some years in Austria after Maria and the Captain married and he was offered a commission in Germany's navy. Since von Trapp opposed the Nazis by that time, the family left Austria after the "Anschluss", going by train to Italy and then traveling on to London and the United States. To make the story more dramatic, Lindsay and Crouse had the family, soon after Maria's and the Captain's wedding, escape over the mountains to Switzerland on foot.


title: The Sound of Music

text: In Salzburg, Austria, just before World War II, nuns from Nonnberg Abbey sing the "Dixit Dominus". One of the postulants, Maria Rainer, is on the nearby mountainside, regretting leaving the beautiful hills ("The Sound of Music"). She returns late to the abbey where the Mother Abbess and the other nuns have been considering what to do about the free-spirit ("Maria"). Maria explains her lateness, saying she was raised on that mountain, and apologizes for singing in the garden without permission. The Mother Abbess joins her in song ("My Favorite Things"). The Mother Abbess tells her that she should spend some time outside the abbey to decide whether she is suited for the monastic life. She will act as the governess to the seven children of a widower, Austro-Hungarian Navy submarine Captain Georg von Trapp.


title: The Sound of Music

text: Maria arrives at the villa of Captain von Trapp. He explains her duties and summons the children with a boatswain's call. They march in, clad in uniforms. He teaches her their individual signals on the call, but she openly disapproves of this militaristic approach. Alone with them, she breaks through their wariness and teaches them the basics of music ("Do-Re-Mi").


title: The Sound of Music

text: Rolf, a young messenger, delivers a telegram and then meets with the oldest child, Liesl, outside the villa. He claims he knows what is right for her because he is a year older than she ("Sixteen Going on Seventeen"). They kiss, and he runs off, leaving her squealing with joy. Meanwhile, the housekeeper, Frau Schmidt, gives Maria material to make new clothes, as Maria had given all her possessions to the poor. Maria sees Liesl slipping in through the window, wet from a sudden thunderstorm, but agrees to keep her secret. The other children are frightened by the storm. Maria sings "The Lonely Goatherd" to distract them.


title: The Sound of Music

text: Captain von Trapp arrives a month later from Vienna with Baroness Elsa Schräder and Max Detweiler. Elsa tells Max that something is preventing the Captain from marrying her. He opines that only poor people have the time for great romances ("How Can Love Survive"). Rolf enters, looking for Liesl, and greets them with "Heil". The Captain orders him away, saying that he is Austrian, not German. Maria and the children leapfrog in, wearing play-clothes that she made from the old drapes in her room. Infuriated, the Captain sends them off to change. She tells him that they need him to love them, and he angrily orders her back to the abbey. As she apologizes, they hear the children singing "The Sound of Music", which she had taught them, to welcome Elsa Schräder. He joins in and embraces them. Alone with Maria, he asks her to stay, thanking her for bringing music back into his house. Elsa is suspicious of her until she explains that she will be returning to the abbey in September.


title: The Sound of Music

text: The Captain gives a party to introduce Elsa, and guests argue over the Nazi German "Anschluss" (annexation) of Austria. Kurt asks Maria to teach him to dance the Ländler. When he fails to negotiate a complicated figure, the Captain steps in to demonstrate. He and Maria dance until they come face-to-face; and she breaks away, embarrassed and confused. Discussing the expected marriage between Elsa and the Captain, Brigitta tells Maria that she thinks Maria and the Captain are really in love with each other. Elsa asks the Captain to allow the children to say goodnight to the guests with a song, "So Long, Farewell". Max is amazed at their talent and wants them for the Kaltzberg Festival, which he is organizing. The guests leave for the dining room, and Maria slips out the front door with her luggage.


title: The Sound of Music

text: At the abbey, Maria says that she is ready to take her monastic vows; but the Mother Abbess realizes that she is running away from her feelings. She tells her to face the Captain and discover if they love each other, and tells her to search for and find the life she was meant to live ("Climb Ev'ry Mountain").


title: The Sound of Music

text: Max teaches the children how to sing on stage. When the Captain tries to lead them, they complain that he is not doing it as Maria did. He tells them that he has asked Elsa to marry him. They try to cheer themselves up by singing "My Favorite Things" but are unsuccessful until they hear Maria singing on her way to rejoin them. Learning of the wedding plans, she decides to stay only until the Captain can arrange for another governess. Max and Elsa argue with the Captain about the imminent "Anschluss", trying to convince him that it is inevitable ("No Way to Stop It"). When he refuses to compromise on his opposition to it, Elsa breaks off the engagement. Alone, the Captain and Maria finally admit their love, desiring only to be "An Ordinary Couple". As they marry, the nuns reprise "Maria" against the wedding processional.


title: The Sound of Music

text: While Maria and the Captain are on their honeymoon, Max prepares the children to perform at the Kaltzberg Festival. Herr Zeller, the "Gauleiter" of the region, demands to know why they are not flying the Flag of Nazi Germany now that the "Anschluss" has occurred. The Captain and Maria return early from their honeymoon before the Festival. In view of the Nazi German occupation, the Captain decides the children should not sing at the event. Max argues that they would sing for Austria, but the Captain points out that it no longer exists. Maria and Liesl discuss romantic love; Maria predicts that in a few years Liesl will be married ("Sixteen Going on Seventeen (Reprise)"). Rolf enters with a telegram that offers the Captain a commission in the German Navy, and Liesl is upset to discover that Rolf is now a committed Nazi. The Captain consults Maria and decides that they must secretly flee Austria. German Admiral von Schreiber arrives to find out why Captain von Trapp has not answered the telegram. He explains that the German Navy holds him in high regard, offers him the commission, and tells him to report immediately to Bremerhaven to assume command. Maria says that he cannot leave immediately, as they are all singing in the Festival concert; and the Admiral agrees to wait.


title: The Sound of Music

text: At the concert, after the von Trapps sing an elaborate reprise of "Do-Re-Mi", Max brings out the Captain's guitar. Captain von Trapp sings "Edelweiss", as a goodbye to his homeland, while using Austria's national flower as a symbol to declare his loyalty to the country. Max asks for an encore and announces that this is the von Trapp family's last chance to sing together, as the honor guard waits to escort the Captain to his new command. While the judges decide on the prizes, the von Trapps sing "So Long, Farewell", leaving the stage in small groups. Max then announces the runners-up, stalling as much as possible. When he announces that the first prize goes to the von Trapps and they do not appear, the Nazis start a search. The family hides at the Abbey, and Sister Margaretta tells them that the borders have been closed. Rolf comes upon them and calls his lieutenant, but after seeing Liesl he changes his mind and tells him they aren't there. The Nazis leave, and the von Trapps flee over the Alps as the nuns reprise "Climb Ev'ry Mountain".


title: The Sound of Music

text: "The Sound of Music" premiered at New Haven's Shubert Theatre where it played an eight-performance tryout in October and November 1959 before another short tryout in Boston. The musical then opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on November 16, 1959, moved to the Mark Hellinger Theatre on November 6, 1962, and closed on June 15, 1963, after 1,443 performances. The director was Vincent J. Donehue, and the choreographer was Joe Layton. The original cast included Mary Martin as Maria, Theodore Bikel as Captain Georg von Trapp, Patricia Neway as Mother Abbess, Kurt Kasznar as Max Detweiler, Marion Marlowe as Elsa Schräder, Brian Davies as Rolf and Lauri Peters as Liesl. Patricia Brooks, June Card and Tatiana Troyanos were ensemble members in the original production. The show tied for the Tony Award for Best Musical with "Fiorello!". Other awards included Martin for Best Actress in a Musical, Neway for Best Featured Actress, Best Scenic Design (Oliver Smith) and Best Conductor And Musical Director (Frederick Dvonch). Bikel and Kasznar were nominated for acting awards, and Donehue was nominated for his direction. The entire children's cast was nominated for Best Featured Actress category as a single nominee, even though two of the children were boys.


title: The Sound of Music

text: Martha Wright replaced Martin in the role of Maria on Broadway in October 1961, followed by Karen Gantz in July 1962, Jeannie Carson in August 1962 and Nancy Dussault in September 1962. Jon Voight, who eventually married co-star Lauri Peters, was a replacement for Rolf. The national tour starred Florence Henderson as Maria and Beatrice Krebs as Mother Abbess. It opened at the Grand Riviera Theater, Detroit, on February 27, 1961, and closed November 23, 1963, at the O'Keefe Centre, Toronto. Henderson was succeeded by Barbara Meister in June 1962. Theodore Bikel was not satisfied playing the role of the Captain, and Bikel did not like to play the same role over and over again. In his autobiography, he writes: "I promised myself then that if I could afford it, I would never do a run as long as that again." The original Broadway cast album sold three million copies.


title: The Sound of Music

text: The musical premiered in London's West End at the Palace Theatre on May 18, 1961, and ran for 2,385 performances. It was directed by Jerome Whyte and used the original New York choreography, supervised by Joe Layton, and the original sets designed by Oliver Smith. The cast included Jean Bayless as Maria, followed by Sonia Rees, Roger Dann as Captain von Trapp, Constance Shacklock as Mother Abbess, Eunice Gayson as Elsa Schrader, Harold Kasket as Max Detweiler, Barbara Brown as Liesl, Nicholas Bennett as Rolf and Olive Gilbert as Sister Margaretta.


title: The Sound of Music

text: In 1981, at producer Ross Taylor's urging, Petula Clark agreed to star in a revival of the show at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London's West End. Michael Jayston played Captain von Trapp, Honor Blackman was the Baroness and June Bronhill played the Mother Abbess. Other notable cast members included Helen Anker, John Bennett and Martina Grant. Despite her misgivings that, at age 49, she was too old to play the role convincingly, Clark opened to unanimous rave reviews and the largest advance sale in the history of British theatre at that time. Maria von Trapp, who attended the opening night performance, described Clark as "the best" Maria ever. Clark extended her initial six-month contract to thirteen months. Playing to 101 percent of seating capacity, the show set the highest attendance figure for a single week (October 26–31, 1981) of any British musical production in history (as recorded in "The Guinness Book of Theatre"). It was the first stage production to incorporate the two additional songs ("Something Good" and "I Have Confidence") that Richard Rodgers composed for the film version. "My Favorite Things" had a similar context to the film version, while the short verse "A Bell is No Bell" was extended into a full-length song for Maria and the Mother Abbess. "The Lonely Goatherd" was set in a new scene at a village fair.


title: The Sound of Music

text: The cast recording of this production was the first to be recorded digitally. It was released on CD for the first time in 2010 by the UK label Pet Sounds and included two bonus tracks from the original single issued by Epic to promote the production.


title: The Sound of Music

text: Director Susan H. Schulman staged the first Broadway revival of "The Sound of Music", with Rebecca Luker as Maria and Michael Siberry as Captain von Trapp. It also featured Patti Cohenour as Mother Abbess, Jan Maxwell as Elsa Schrader, Fred Applegate as Max Detweiler, Dashiell Eaves as Rolf, Patricia Conolly as Frau Schmidt and Laura Benanti, in her Broadway debut, as Luker's understudy. Later, Luker and Siberry were replaced by Richard Chamberlain as the Captain and Benanti as Maria. Lou Taylor Pucci made his Broadway debut as the understudy for Kurt von Trapp. The production opened on March 12, 1998, at the Martin Beck Theatre, and closed on June 20, 1999, after 533 performances. This production was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. It then toured in North America.


title: The Sound of Music

text: An Andrew Lloyd Webber production opened on November 15, 2006, at the London Palladium and ran until February 2009, produced by Live Nation's David Ian and Jeremy Sams. Following failed negotiations with Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson, the role of Maria was cast through a UK talent search reality TV show called "How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?" The talent show was produced by (and starred) Andrew Lloyd Webber and featured presenter/comedian Graham Norton and a judging panel of David Ian, John Barrowman and Zoe Tyler.


title: The Sound of Music

text: Connie Fisher was selected by public voting as the winner of the show. In early 2007, Fisher suffered from a heavy cold that prevented her from performing for two weeks. To prevent further disruptions, an alternate Maria, Aoife Mulholland, a fellow contestant on "How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?", played Maria on Monday evenings and Wednesday matinee performances. Simon Shepherd was originally cast as Captain von Trapp, but after two preview performances he was withdrawn from the production, and Alexander Hanson moved into the role in time for the official opening date along with Lesley Garrett as the Mother Abbess. After Garrett left, Margaret Preece took the role. The cast also featured Lauren Ward as the Baroness, Ian Gelder as Max, Sophie Bould as Liesl, and Neil McDermott as Rolf. Other notable replacements have included Simon Burke and Simon MacCorkindale as the Captain and newcomer Amy Lennox as Liesl. Summer Strallen replaced Fisher in February 2008, with Mulholland portraying Maria on Monday evenings and Wednesday matinees.


title: The Sound of Music

text: The revival received enthusiastic reviews, especially for Fisher, Preece, Bould and Garrett. A cast recording of the London Palladium cast was released. The production closed on February 21, 2009, after a run of over two years and was followed by a UK national tour, described below.


title: The Sound of Music

text: The first Australian production opened at Melbourne's Princess Theatre in 1961 and ran for three years. The production was directed by Charles Hickman, with musical numbers staged by Ernest Parham. The cast included June Bronhill as Maria, Peter Graves as Captain von Trapp and Rosina Raisbeck as Mother Abbess. A touring company then played for years, with Vanessa Lee (Graves' wife) in the role of Maria. The cast recording made in 1961 was the first time a major overseas production featuring Australian artists was transferred to disc.


title: The Sound of Music

text: In 1988, the Moon Troupe of Takarazuka Revue performed the musical at the Bow Hall (Takarazuka, Hyōgo). Harukaze Hitomi and Gou Mayuka starred. A 1990 New York City Opera production, directed by Oscar Hammerstein II's son, James, featured Debby Boone as Maria, Laurence Guittard as Captain von Trapp, and Werner Klemperer as Max.


title: The Sound of Music

text: An Australian revival played in the Lyric Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales, from November 1999 to February 2000. Lisa McCune played Maria, John Waters was Captain von Trapp, Bert Newton was Max, Eilene Hannan was Mother Abbess and Rachel Marley was Marta. This production was based on the 1998 Broadway revival staging. The production then toured until February 2001, in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Rachael Beck took over as Maria in Perth and Adelaide, and Rob Guest took over as Captain von Trapp in Perth.


title: The Sound of Music

text: An Austrian production premiered in 2005 at the Volksoper Wien in German. It was directed and choreographed by Renaud Doucet. The cast included Sandra Pires as Maria, Kurt Schreibmayer and Michael Kraus as von Trapp, with Heidi Brunner as Mother Abbess. The song "Do-Re-Mi" was rewritten as "C wie Cellophanpapier", replacing the solfège syllables with the German letter notation C through H and selecting mnemonics that begin with each letter. As of 2021, the production was still in the repertoire of the Volksoper with 12–20 performances per season.


title: The Sound of Music

text: The Salzburg Marionette Theatre has toured extensively with their version that features the recorded voices of Broadway singers such as Christiane Noll as Maria. The tour began in Dallas, Texas, in 2007 and continued in Salzburg in 2008. The director is Richard Hamburger. In 2008, a Brazilian production with Kiara Sasso as Maria and Herson Capri as the Captain played in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, and a Dutch production was mounted with Wieneke Remmers as Maria, directed by John Yost.


title: The Sound of Music

text: Andrew Lloyd Webber, David Ian and David Mirvish presented "The Sound of Music" at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto from 2008 to 2010. The role of Maria was chosen by the public through a television show, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?", which was produced by Lloyd Webber and Ian and aired in mid-2008. Elicia MacKenzie won and played the role six times a week, while the runner-up in the TV show, Janna Polzin, played Maria twice a week. Captain von Trapp was played by Burke Moses. The show ran for more than 500 performances. It was Toronto's longest running revival ever.


title: The Sound of Music

text: A UK tour began in 2009 and visited more than two dozen cities before ending in 2011. The original cast included Connie Fisher as Maria, Michael Praed as Captain von Trapp and Margaret Preece as the Mother Abbess. Kirsty Malpass was the alternate Maria. Jason Donovan assumed the role of Captain Von Trapp, and Verity Rushworth took over as Maria, in early 2011. Lesley Garrett reprised her role as Mother Abbess for the tour's final engagement in Wimbledon in October 2011.


title: The Sound of Music

text: A production ran at the Ópera-Citi theater in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2011. The cast included Laura Conforte as Maria and Diego Ramos as Captain Von Trapp. A Spanish national tour began in November 2011 at the Auditorio de Tenerife in Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The tour visited 29 Spanish cities, spending one year in Madrid's Gran Vía at the Teatro Coliseum, and one season at the Tívoli Theatre in Barcelona. It was directed by Jaime Azpilicueta and starred Silvia Luchetti as Maria and Carlos J. Benito as Captain Von Trapp.


title: The Sound of Music

text: A production was mounted at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park from July to September 2013. It starred Charlotte Wakefield as Maria, with Michael Xavier as Captain von Trapp and Caroline Keiff as Elsa. It received enthusiastic reviews and became the highest-grossing production ever at the theatre. In 2014, the show was nominated for Best Musical Revival at the Laurence Olivier Awards and Wakefield was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical.


title: The Sound of Music

text: A brief South Korean production played in 2014, as did a South African production at the Artscape in Cape Town and at the Teatro at Montecasino based on Lloyd Webber and Ian's London Palladium production. The same year, a Spanish language translation opened at Teatro de la Universidad in San Juan, under the direction of Edgar García. It starred Lourdes Robles as Maria and Braulio Castillo as Captain Von Trapp, with Dagmar as Elsa. A production (in Thai: "มนต์รักเพลงสวรรค์") ran at Muangthai ratchadalai Theatre, Bangkok, Thailand, in April 2015 in the Thai language. The production replaced the song "Ordinary couple" with "Something Good".


title: The Sound of Music

text: A North American tour, directed by Jack O'Brien and choreographed by Danny Mefford, began at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles in September 2015. The tour ran until July 2017. Kerstin Anderson played Maria, with Ben Davis as Capt. von Trapp and Ashley Brown as Mother Abess. The production has received warm reviews. A UK tour produced by Bill Kenwright began in 2015 and toured into 2016. It was directed by Martin Connor and starred Lucy O'Byrne as Maria. A 2016 Australian tour of the Lloyd Webber production, directed by Sams, included stops in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide. The cast included Amy Lehpamer as Maria, Cameron Daddo as Captain Von Trapp, Marina Prior as Baroness Schraeder and Lorraine Bayly as Frau Schmidt. The choreographer was Arlene Phillips.


title: The Sound of Music

text: On March 2, 1965, 20th Century Fox released a film adaptation of the musical starring Julie Andrews as Maria Rainer and Christopher Plummer as Captain Georg von Trapp. It was produced and directed by Robert Wise with the screenplay adaptation written by Ernest Lehman. Two songs were written by Rodgers specifically for the film, "I Have Confidence" and "Something Good". The film won five Oscars at the 38th Academy Awards, including Best Picture.


title: The Sound of Music

text: A live televised production of the musical aired twice in December 2013 on NBC. It was directed by Beth McCarthy-Miller and Rob Ashford. Carrie Underwood starred as Maria, with Stephen Moyer as Captain von Trapp, Christian Borle as Max, Laura Benanti as Elsa, and Audra McDonald as the Mother Abbess. The production was released on DVD the same month.


title: The Sound of Music

text: British network ITV presented a live version of its own on December 20, 2015. It starred Kara Tointon as Maria, Julian Ovenden as Captain von Trapp, Katherine Kelly as the Baroness and Alexander Armstrong as Max.


title: The Sound of Music

text: Most reviews of the original Broadway production were favorable. Richard Watts Jr. of the "New York Post" stated that the show had "strangely gentle charm that is wonderfully endearing. "The Sound of Music" strives for nothing in the way of smash effects, substituting instead a kind of gracious and unpretentious simplicity." The "New York World-Telegram and Sun" pronounced "The Sound of Music" "the loveliest musical imaginable. It places Rodgers and Hammerstein back in top form as melodist and lyricist. The Lindsay-Crouse dialogue is vibrant and amusing in a plot that rises to genuine excitement." The "New York Journal American"s review opined that "The Sound of Music" is "the most mature product of the team ... it seemed to me to be the full ripening of these two extraordinary talents".


title: The Sound of Music

text: Brooks Atkinson of "The New York Times" gave a mixed assessment. He praised Mary Martin's performance, saying "she still has the same common touch ... same sharp features, goodwill, and glowing personality that makes music sound intimate and familiar" and stated that "the best of the "Sound of Music" is Rodgers and Hammerstein in good form". However, he said, the libretto "has the hackneyed look of the musical theatre replaced with "Oklahoma!" in 1943. It is disappointing to see the American musical stage succumbing to the clichés of operetta." Walter Kerr's review in the "New York Herald Tribune" was unfavorable: "Before "The Sound of Music" is halfway through its promising chores it becomes not only too sweet for words but almost too sweet for music", stating that the "evening suffer(s) from little children".


title: The Sound of Music

text: Columbia Masterworks recorded the original Broadway cast album at the Columbia 30th Street Studio in New York City a week after the show's 1959 opening. The album was the label's first deluxe package in a gatefold jacket, priced $1 higher than previous cast albums. It was No. 1 on "Billboard" best-selling albums chart for 16 weeks in 1960. It was released on CD from Sony in the Columbia Broadway Masterworks series. In 1959, singer Patti Page recorded the title song from the show for Mercury Records on the day that the musical opened on Broadway. The 1961 London production was recorded by EMI and released on the HMV label and later re-issued on CD in 1997, on the Broadway Angel label.


title: The Sound of Music

text: The 1965 film soundtrack was released by RCA Victor and is one of the most successful soundtrack albums in history, having sold over 20 million copies worldwide. RCA Victor also released an album of the 1998 Broadway revival produced by Hallmark Entertainment and featuring the full revival cast, including Rebecca Luker, Michael Siberry, Jan Maxwell and Fred Applegate. The Telarc label made a studio cast recording of "The Sound of Music", with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra conducted by Erich Kunzel (1987). The lead roles went to opera stars: Frederica von Stade as Maria, Håkan Hagegård as Captain von Trapp, and Eileen Farrell as the Mother Abbess. The recording "includes both the two new songs written for the film version and the three Broadway songs they replace, as well as a previously unrecorded verse of "An Ordinary Couple"". The 2006 London revival was recorded and has been released on the Decca Broadway label. There have been numerous studio cast albums and foreign cast albums issued, though many have only received regional distribution. According to the cast album database, there are 62 recordings of the score that have been issued over the years.


title: The Sound of Music

text: The from the 2013 NBC television production starring Carrie Underwood and Stephen Moyer was released on CD and digital download in December 2013 on the Sony Masterworks label. Also featured on the album are Audra McDonald, Laura Benanti and Christian Borle.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: A cyclic redundancy check (CRC) is an error-detecting code commonly used in digital networks and storage devices to detect accidental changes to digital data. Blocks of data entering these systems get a short "check value" attached, based on the remainder of a polynomial division of their contents. On retrieval, the calculation is repeated and, in the event the check values do not match, corrective action can be taken against data corruption. CRCs can be used for error correction (see bitfilters).


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: CRCs are so called because the "check" (data verification) value is a "redundancy" (it expands the message without adding information) and the algorithm is based on "cyclic" codes. CRCs are popular because they are simple to implement in binary hardware, easy to analyze mathematically, and particularly good at detecting common errors caused by noise in transmission channels. Because the check value has a fixed length, the function that generates it is occasionally used as a hash function.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: CRCs are based on the theory of cyclic error-correcting codes. The use of systematic cyclic codes, which encode messages by adding a fixed-length check value, for the purpose of error detection in communication networks, was first proposed by W. Wesley Peterson in 1961.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Cyclic codes are not only simple to implement but have the benefit of being particularly well suited for the detection of burst errors: contiguous sequences of erroneous data symbols in messages. This is important because burst errors are common transmission errors in many communication channels, including magnetic and optical storage devices. Typically an "n"-bit CRC applied to a data block of arbitrary length will detect any single error burst not longer than "n" bits, and the fraction of all longer error bursts that it will detect is .


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Specification of a CRC code requires definition of a so-called generator polynomial. This polynomial becomes the divisor in a polynomial long division, which takes the message as the dividend and in which the quotient is discarded and the remainder becomes the result. The important caveat is that the polynomial coefficients are calculated according to the arithmetic of a finite field, so the addition operation can always be performed bitwise-parallel (there is no carry between digits).


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: In practice, all commonly used CRCs employ the Galois field, or more simply a finite field, of two elements, GF(2). The two elements are usually called 0 and 1, comfortably matching computer architecture.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: A CRC is called an "n"-bit CRC when its check value is "n" bits long. For a given "n", multiple CRCs are possible, each with a different polynomial. Such a polynomial has highest degree "n", which means it has terms. In other words, the polynomial has a length of ; its encoding requires bits. Note that most polynomial specifications either drop the MSB or LSB, since they are always 1. The CRC and associated polynomial typically have a name of the form CRC-"n"-XXX as in the table below.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The simplest error-detection system, the parity bit, is in fact a 1-bit CRC: it uses the generator polynomial  (two terms), and has the name CRC-1.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: A CRC-enabled device calculates a short, fixed-length binary sequence, known as the "check value" or "CRC", for each block of data to be sent or stored and appends it to the data, forming a "codeword".


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: When a codeword is received or read, the device either compares its check value with one freshly calculated from the data block, or equivalently, performs a CRC on the whole codeword and compares the resulting check value with an expected "residue" constant.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The device may take corrective action, such as rereading the block or requesting that it be sent again. Otherwise, the data is assumed to be error-free (though, with some small probability, it may contain undetected errors; this is inherent in the nature of error-checking).


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: CRCs are specifically designed to protect against common types of errors on communication channels, where they can provide quick and reasonable assurance of the integrity of messages delivered. However, they are not suitable for protecting against intentional alteration of data.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Firstly, as there is no authentication, an attacker can edit a message and recompute the CRC without the substitution being detected. When stored alongside the data, CRCs and cryptographic hash functions by themselves do not protect against "intentional" modification of data. Any application that requires protection against such attacks must use cryptographic authentication mechanisms, such as message authentication codes or digital signatures (which are commonly based on cryptographic hash functions).


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Secondly, unlike cryptographic hash functions, CRC is an easily reversible function, which makes it unsuitable for use in digital signatures.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Thirdly, CRC satisfies a relation similar to that of a linear function (or more accurately, an affine function):


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: where formula_2 depends on the length of formula_3 and formula_4. This can be also stated as follows, where formula_3, formula_4 and formula_7 have the same length


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: as a result, even if the CRC is encrypted with a stream cipher that uses XOR as its combining operation (or mode of block cipher which effectively turns it into a stream cipher, such as OFB or CFB), both the message and the associated CRC can be manipulated without knowledge of the encryption key; this was one of the well-known design flaws of the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: To compute an "n"-bit binary CRC, line the bits representing the input in a row, and position the ()-bit pattern representing the CRC's divisor (called a "polynomial") underneath the left end of the row.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: In this example, we shall encode 14 bits of message with a 3-bit CRC, with a polynomial . The polynomial is written in binary as the coefficients; a 3rd-degree polynomial has 4 coefficients (). In this case, the coefficients are 1, 0, 1 and 1. The result of the calculation is 3 bits long, which is why it is called a 3-bit CRC. However, you need 4 bits to explicitly state the polynomial.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: This is first padded with zeros corresponding to the bit length "n" of the CRC. This is done so that the resulting code word is in systematic form. Here is the first calculation for computing a 3-bit CRC:


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The algorithm acts on the bits directly above the divisor in each step. The result for that iteration is the bitwise XOR of the polynomial divisor with the bits above it. The bits not above the divisor are simply copied directly below for that step. The divisor is then shifted right to align with the highest remaining 1 bit in the input, and the process is repeated until the divisor reaches the right-hand end of the input row. Here is the entire calculation:


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Since the leftmost divisor bit zeroed every input bit it touched, when this process ends the only bits in the input row that can be nonzero are the n bits at the right-hand end of the row. These "n" bits are the remainder of the division step, and will also be the value of the CRC function (unless the chosen CRC specification calls for some postprocessing).


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The validity of a received message can easily be verified by performing the above calculation again, this time with the check value added instead of zeroes. The remainder should equal zero if there are no detectable errors.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The following Python code outlines a function which will return the initial CRC remainder for a chosen input and polynomial, with either 1 or 0 as the initial padding. Note that this code works with string inputs rather than raw numbers:


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: This is a practical algorithm for the CRC-32 variant of CRC. The CRCTable is a memoization of a calculation that would have to be repeated for each byte of the message ().


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Mathematical analysis of this division-like process reveals how to select a divisor that guarantees good error-detection properties. In this analysis, the digits of the bit strings are taken as the coefficients of a polynomial in some variable "x"—coefficients that are elements of the finite field GF(2) (the integers modulo 2, i.e. either a zero or a one), instead of more familiar numbers. The set of binary polynomials is a mathematical ring.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The selection of the generator polynomial is the most important part of implementing the CRC algorithm. The polynomial must be chosen to maximize the error-detecting capabilities while minimizing overall collision probabilities.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The most important attribute of the polynomial is its length (largest degree(exponent) +1 of any one term in the polynomial), because of its direct influence on the length of the computed check value.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The most commonly used polynomial lengths are 9 bits (CRC-8), 17 bits (CRC-16), 33 bits (CRC-32), and 65 bits (CRC-64).


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: A CRC is called an "n"-bit CRC when its check value is "n"-bits. For a given "n", multiple CRCs are possible, each with a different polynomial. Such a polynomial has highest degree "n", and hence terms (the polynomial has a length of ). The remainder has length "n". The CRC has a name of the form CRC-"n"-XXX.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The design of the CRC polynomial depends on the maximum total length of the block to be protected (data + CRC bits), the desired error protection features, and the type of resources for implementing the CRC, as well as the desired performance. A common misconception is that the "best" CRC polynomials are derived from either irreducible polynomials or irreducible polynomials times the factor , which adds to the code the ability to detect all errors affecting an odd number of bits. In reality, all the factors described above should enter into the selection of the polynomial and may lead to a reducible polynomial. However, choosing a reducible polynomial will result in a certain proportion of missed errors, due to the quotient ring having zero divisors.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The advantage of choosing a primitive polynomial as the generator for a CRC code is that the resulting code has maximal total block length in the sense that all 1-bit errors within that block length have different remainders (also called syndromes) and therefore, since the remainder is a linear function of the block, the code can detect all 2-bit errors within that block length. If formula_9 is the degree of the primitive generator polynomial, then the maximal total block length is formula_10, and the associated code is able to detect any single-bit or double-bit errors. We can improve this situation. If we use the generator polynomial formula_11, where formula_12 is a primitive polynomial of degree formula_13, then the maximal total block length is formula_14, and the code is able to detect single, double, triple and any odd number of errors.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: A polynomial formula_15 that admits other factorizations may be chosen then so as to balance the maximal total blocklength with a desired error detection power. The BCH codes are a powerful class of such polynomials. They subsume the two examples above. Regardless of the reducibility properties of a generator polynomial of degree "r", if it includes the "+1" term, the code will be able to detect error patterns that are confined to a window of "r" contiguous bits. These patterns are called "error bursts".


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The concept of the CRC as an error-detecting code gets complicated when an implementer or standards committee uses it to design a practical system. Here are some of the complications:


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: These complications mean that there are three common ways to express a polynomial as an integer: the first two, which are mirror images in binary, are the constants found in code; the third is the number found in Koopman's papers. "In each case, one term is omitted." So the polynomial formula_17 may be transcribed as:


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: CRCs in proprietary protocols might be obfuscated by using a non-trivial initial value and a final XOR, but these techniques do not add cryptographic strength to the algorithm and can be reverse engineered using straightforward methods.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Numerous varieties of cyclic redundancy checks have been incorporated into technical standards. By no means does one algorithm, or one of each degree, suit every purpose; Koopman and Chakravarty recommend selecting a polynomial according to the application requirements and the expected distribution of message lengths. The number of distinct CRCs in use has confused developers, a situation which authors have sought to address. There are three polynomials reported for CRC-12, twenty-two conflicting definitions of CRC-16, and seven of CRC-32.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The polynomials commonly applied are not the most efficient ones possible. Since 1993, Koopman, Castagnoli and others have surveyed the space of polynomials between 3 and 64 bits in size, finding examples that have much better performance (in terms of Hamming distance for a given message size) than the polynomials of earlier protocols, and publishing the best of these with the aim of improving the error detection capacity of future standards. In particular, iSCSI and SCTP have adopted one of the findings of this research, the CRC-32C (Castagnoli) polynomial.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The design of the 32-bit polynomial most commonly used by standards bodies, CRC-32-IEEE, was the result of a joint effort for the Rome Laboratory and the Air Force Electronic Systems Division by Joseph Hammond, James Brown and Shyan-Shiang Liu of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Kenneth Brayer of the Mitre Corporation. The earliest known appearances of the 32-bit polynomial were in their 1975 publications: Technical Report 2956 by Brayer for Mitre, published in January and released for public dissemination through DTIC in August, and Hammond, Brown and Liu's report for the Rome Laboratory, published in May. Both reports contained contributions from the other team. During December 1975, Brayer and Hammond presented their work in a paper at the IEEE National Telecommunications Conference: the IEEE CRC-32 polynomial is the generating polynomial of a Hamming code and was selected for its error detection performance. Even so, the Castagnoli CRC-32C polynomial used in iSCSI or SCTP matches its performance on messages from 58 bits to 131 kbits, and outperforms it in several size ranges including the two most common sizes of Internet packet. The ITU-T G.hn standard also uses CRC-32C to detect errors in the payload (although it uses CRC-16-CCITT for PHY headers).


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: CRC-32C computation is implemented in hardware as an operation () of SSE4.2 instruction set, first introduced in Intel processors' Nehalem microarchitecture. ARM AArch64 architecture also provides hardware acceleration for both CRC-32 and CRC-32C operations.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: The table below lists only the polynomials of the various algorithms in use. Variations of a particular protocol can impose pre-inversion, post-inversion and reversed bit ordering as described above. For example, the CRC32 used in Gzip and Bzip2 use the same polynomial, but Gzip employs reversed bit ordering, while Bzip2 does not.


title: Cyclic redundancy check

text: Note that even parity polynomials in GF(2) with degree greater than 1 are never primitive. Even parity polynomial marked as primitive in this table represent a primitive polynomial multiplied by formula_21. The most significant bit of a polynomial is always 1, and is not shown in the hex representations.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Teresa Giudice ( , ; ; born May 18, 1972) is an American television personality best known for starring in "The Real Housewives of New Jersey". Besides appearing on the show, Giudice wrote multiple "New York Times" bestseller cookbooks and was featured on Donald Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice 5" (2012).


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In December 2015, she was released from prison after serving 11 months of a 15-month sentence for fraud, while her husband and four daughters resided in the Towaco section of Montville, New Jersey. She is known for her extravagant lifestyle and highly publicized financial and legal troubles leading up to her prison sentence. Her husband, born Giuseppe but called Joe, began his 41-month sentence in March 2016.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Giudice was born Teresa Gorga in Paterson, New Jersey, to Giacinto and Antonia Gorga, Italian immigrants from Sala Consilina, Campania. She and her younger brother Giuseppe "Joey" Gorga were raised in the Roman Catholic faith. She studied fashion marketing at Berkeley College in New Jersey.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Giudice worked for Macy's as an associate buyer. She has been a cast member of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" since season 1.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Since starring on "Housewives", Giudice has co-authored three successful cookbooks that include recipes handed down from her mother: "Skinny Italian" (May 4, 2010), "Fabulicious" (May 3, 2011), and "Fabulicious!: Fast & Fit" (May 8, 2012) alongside a memoir, co-written with K.C. Baker, "", revolving around her time in prison. Giudice's sixth book, "Standing Strong", was released on October 3, 2017. All four books have been "New York Times" Best Sellers. Giudice also created Fabellini, a line of bellini cocktails, as well as a haircare line with Jerel Sabella named after Giudice's daughter Milania.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In 2012, Giudice joined the cast of "The Celebrity Apprentice" 5 (also known as "The Apprentice" 12), and ultimately raised $70,000 for her selected charity, The NephCure Foundation. She was fired in (airdate May 6, 2012), after placing fifth.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: She is a committee member for Project Ladybug, a charity founded by fellow "RHONJ" co-star Dina Manzo.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In May 2017, Giudice, Joe Gorga and Melissa Gorga opened a restaurant named Gorga's Homemade Pasta & Pizza in East Hanover, New Jersey. In January 2018, the restaurant closed.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Giudice starred in "The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip", a spin-off featuring various women from The Real Housewives franchise, that premiered on Peacock in November 2021.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: On September 8, 2022, Giudice was announced as a contestant on season 31 of "Dancing with the Stars". She was partnered with Pasha Pashkov. They were eliminated week 2, finishing in 15th place.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Teresa was married to Giuseppe "Joe" Giudice (an Italian citizen born in Saronno, Italy, and brought to Paterson, New Jersey, by his parents when he was a one-year-old), who had worked as a construction builder and restaurant owner in New Jersey. They have four daughters together: Gia (b. 2001), Gabriella (b. 2004), Milania (b. 2006), and Audriana (b. 2009). After her release from prison, Giudice became a competitive bodybuilder.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Teresa Giudice's mother, Antonia Gorga, died in March 2017. Her father, Giacinto Gorga, died on April 3, 2020.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Teresa Giudice's brother, Joe Gorga, married Melissa Gorga in 2004. From 2011 to 2013, Teresa and Melissa's rivalry was broadcast for three seasons of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey". Their relationship started blossoming after Teresa was convicted and spent 11 months in prison.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In December 2019, it was announced that Giudice and her husband had separated after 20 years of marriage. Seen on the reality television show, this was due to the rumors of infidelity and prison convictions. Teresa filed for divorce a few months later and in September 2020, a rep confirmed the divorce had been finalized.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In July 2020, Giudice started dating Luis Ruelas, and they became engaged in October 2021. The couple officially wed in August 2022.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In October 2009, the Giudices filed for bankruptcy. An auction of furniture from their Montville, New Jersey, home was initially scheduled for August 22, 2010, but was postponed and then canceled as the couple withdrew their petition for bankruptcy.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: On July 29, 2013, Teresa and Joe Giudice were charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud, making false statements on loan applications, and bankruptcy fraud in a 39-count indictment. The indictment also charged Joe Giudice with failure to file tax returns for tax years 2004 through 2008, during which time he allegedly earned nearly $1 million. Teresa's attorney told the Associated Press she would plead not guilty and "we look forward to vindicating her."


title: Teresa Giudice

text: Joe Giudice stood trial on November 19, 2013, on individual charges that he allegedly used marriage and birth certificates belonging to his brother to fraudulently obtain a driver's license in 2010. Giudice's own driver's license had been suspended following a DUI arrest January 13, 2010. After he was convicted, Joe's license was suspended for 12 months, and he was sentenced to 20 days of community service. As he employed the same defense attorney in both trials, U.S. District Judge Esther Salas moved the date of the tax case, involving both Teresa and Joe, from October 8, 2013, to February 24, 2014.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: On March 4, 2014, Teresa and Joe entered a guilty plea to 41 counts of fraud, following a deal struck with federal prosecutors. The couple was accused of engaging in bank, mail, wire, and bankruptcy fraud, which allegedly saw them net over $5 million over a 10-year period. On October 2, 2014, Teresa was sentenced to 15 months in a federal prison; Joe was sentenced to 41 months, followed by potential deportation to Italy. Together, the couple must also pay $414,000 in restitution. Teresa and Joe were allowed to stagger their sentences so one parent could stay with their children. She began her sentence first, on January 5, 2015. She surrendered herself to the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut (seven hours ahead of schedule). At Danbury, Teresa was known as Inmate No. 65703-050 and was scheduled for a two months' early release on February 16, 2016. Giudice was ultimately released on December 23, 2015.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In July 2015, Giudice's primary residence in Towaco was in the primary stages of foreclosure, while the couple's summer home in Beach Haven West, in Stafford Township, New Jersey, was foreclosed; the latter was auctioned in a sheriff's sale on August 18, 2015, and received no bids. The residence was bought back by the Giudice's mortgage holder for $100. In November 2015, Giudice's primary residence was no longer in foreclosure.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In December 2014, Giudice filed a $5 million lawsuit against her bankruptcy lawyer, James Kridel, for failing to meet with her before filing bankruptcy documents. In March 2017, the lawsuit was announced to be moving forward.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In June 2018, it was announced Giudice's bankruptcy case from 2009 had been dismissed. Giudice will pay restitution to the New Jersey state department of treasury and the IRS.


title: Teresa Giudice

text: In March 2019, Joe Giudice completed his sentence and was transferred to an ICE facility to wait on a pending case about whether he shall be deported or not to his native country, Italy, as he never became a United States citizen despite living in the United States since he was a year old. In October 2019, Giudice returned to Italy to await a decision on the case. In April 2020, Giudice's third appeal was denied.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th century, its practitioners model it on the pre-Christian religions adhered to by the Germanic peoples of the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages. In an attempt to reconstruct these past belief systems, Heathenry uses surviving historical, archaeological, and folkloric evidence as a basis, although approaches to this material vary considerably.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Heathenry does not have a unified theology but is typically polytheistic, centering on a pantheon of deities from pre-Christian Germanic Europe. It adopts cosmological views from these past societies, including an animistic view of the cosmos in which the natural world is imbued with spirits. The religion's deities and spirits are honored in sacrificial rites known as "blóts" in which food and libations are offered to them. These are often accompanied by "symbel", the act of ceremonially toasting the gods with an alcoholic beverage. Some practitioners also engage in rituals designed to induce an altered state of consciousness and visions, most notably "seiðr" and "galdr", with the intent of gaining wisdom and advice from the deities. Many solitary practitioners follow the religion by themselves. Other Heathens assemble in small groups, usually known as "kindreds" or "hearths", to perform their rites outdoors or in specially constructed buildings. Heathen ethical systems emphasize honor, personal integrity, and loyalty, while beliefs about an afterlife vary and are rarely emphasized.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Heathenry's origins lie in the 19th- and early 20th-century Romanticism which glorified the pre-Christian societies of Germanic Europe. Völkisch groups actively venerating the deities of these societies appeared in Germany and Austria during the 1900s and 1910s, although they largely dissolved following Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II. In the 1970s, new Heathen groups established in Europe and North America, developing into formalized organizations. A central division within the Heathen movement emerged surrounding the issue of race. Older groups adopted a racialist attitude—often termed "folkish" within the community—by viewing Heathenry as an ethnic or racial religion with inherent links to a Germanic race. They believe it should be reserved for white people, particularly of northern European descent, and often combine the religion with far right-wing and white supremacist perspectives. A larger proportion of Heathens instead adopt a "universalist" perspective, holding that the religion is open to all, irrespective of ethnic or racial background.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: While the term "Heathenry" is used widely to describe the religion as a whole, many groups prefer different designations, influenced by their regional focus and ideological preferences. Heathens focusing on Scandinavian sources sometimes use Ásatrú, Vanatrú, or Forn Sed; practitioners focusing on Anglo-Saxon traditions use Fyrnsidu or Theodism; those emphasising German traditions use Irminism; and those Heathens who espouse folkish and far-right perspectives tend to favor the terms Odinism, Wotanism, Wodenism, or Odalism. Scholarly estimates put the number of Heathens at no more than 20,000 worldwide, with communities of practitioners active in Europe, the Americas, and Australasia.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Scholars of religious studies classify Heathenry as a new religious movement, and more specifically as a reconstructionist form of modern Paganism. Heathenry has been defined as "a broad contemporary Pagan new religious movement (NRM) that is consciously inspired by the linguistically, culturally, and (in some definitions) ethnically 'Germanic' societies of Iron Age and early medieval Europe as they existed prior to Christianization", and as a "movement to revive and/or reinterpret for the present day the practices and worldviews of the pre-Christian cultures of northern Europe (or, more particularly, the Germanic speaking cultures)".


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Practitioners seek to revive these past belief systems by using surviving historical source materials. Among the historical sources used are Old Norse texts associated with Iceland such as the "Prose Edda" and "Poetic Edda", Old English texts such as "Beowulf", and Middle High German texts such as the "Nibelungenlied". Some Heathens also adopt ideas from the archaeological evidence of pre-Christian northern Europe and folklore from later periods in European history. Among many Heathens, this material is referred to as the "Lore" and studying it is an important part of their religion. Some textual sources nevertheless remain problematic as a means of "reconstructing" pre-Christian belief systems, because they were written by Christians and only discuss pre-Christian religion in a fragmentary and biased manner. The anthropologist Jenny Blain characterises Heathenry as "a religion constructed from partial material", while the religious studies scholar Michael Strmiska describes its beliefs as being "riddled with uncertainty and historical confusion", thereby characterising it as a postmodern movement.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: The ways in which Heathens use this historical and archaeological material differ; some seek to reconstruct past beliefs and practices as accurately as possible, while others openly experiment with this material and embrace new innovations. Some, for instance, adapt their practices according to unverified personal gnosis (UPG) that they have gained through spiritual experiences. Others adopt concepts from the world's surviving ethnic religions as well as modern polytheistic traditions such as Hinduism and Afro-American religions, believing that doing so helps to construct spiritual world-views akin to those that existed in Europe prior to Christianization. Some practitioners who emphasize an approach that relies exclusively on historical and archaeological sources criticize such attitudes, denigrating those who practice them using the pejorative term ""Neo-Heathen"".


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Some Heathens seek out common elements found throughout Germanic Europe during the Iron Age and Early Middle Ages, using those as the basis for their contemporary beliefs and practices. Conversely, others draw inspiration from the beliefs and practices of a specific geographical area and chronological period within Germanic Europe, such as Anglo-Saxon England or Viking Age Iceland. Some adherents are deeply knowledgeable as to the specifics of northern European society in the Iron Age and Early Medieval periods; however for most practitioners their main source of information about the pre-Christian past is fictional literature and popular accounts of Norse mythology. Many express a romanticized view of this past, sometimes perpetuating misconceptions about it; the sociologist of religion Jennifer Snook noting that many practitioners "hearken back to a more epic, anachronistic, and pure age of ancestors and heroes".


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: The anthropologist Murphy Pizza suggests that Heathenry can be understood as an "invented tradition". As the religious studies scholar Fredrik Gregorius states, despite the fact that "no real continuity" exists between Heathenry and the pre-Christian belief systems of Germanic Europe, Heathen practitioners often dislike being considered adherents of a "new religion" or "modern invention" and thus prefer to depict theirs as a "traditional faith". Many practitioners avoid using the scholarly, etic term "reconstructionism" to describe their practices, preferring to characterize it as an "indigenous religion" with parallels to the traditional belief systems of the world's indigenous peoples. In claiming a sense of indigeneity, some Heathens—particularly in the United States—attempt to frame themselves as the victims of Medieval Christian colonialism and imperialism. A 2015 survey of the Heathen community found equal numbers of practitioners (36%) regarding their religion as a reconstruction as those who regarded it as a direct continuation of ancient belief systems; only 22% acknowledged it to be modern but historically inspired, although this was the dominant interpretation among practitioners in Nordic countries.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: No central religious authority exists to impose a particular terminological designation on all practitioners. Hence, different Heathen groups have used different words to describe both their religion and themselves, with these terms often conveying meaning about their socio-political beliefs as well as the particular Germanic region of pre-Christian Europe from which they draw inspiration.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Academics studying the religion have typically favoured the terms "Heathenry" and "Heathenism" to describe it, for the reason that these words are inclusive of all varieties of the movement. This term is the most commonly used option by practitioners in the United Kingdom, with growing usage in North America and elsewhere. These terms are based on the word "heathen", attested as the Gothic "haithn", which was adopted by Gothic Arian missionaries as the equivalent of both the Greek words "Hellenis" (Hellene, Greek) and "ethnikós"—"of a (foreign) people". The word was used by Early Medieval Christian writers in Germanic Europe to describe non-Christians; by using it, practitioners seek to reappropriate it from the Christians as a form of self-designation. Many practitioners favor the term "Heathen" over "pagan" because the former term originated among Germanic languages, whereas "pagan" has its origins in Latin.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Further terms used in some academic contexts are "contemporary Germanic Paganism" and "Germanic Neopaganism", although the latter is an "artificial term" developed by scholars with little use within the Heathen community. Alternately, Blain suggested the use of "North European Paganism" as an overarching scholarly term for the movement; Strmiska noted that this would also encompass those practitioners inspired by the belief systems of northeastern Europe's linguistically Finnic and Slavic societies. He favored "Modern Nordic Paganism", but accepted that this term excluded those Heathens who are particularly inspired by the pre-Christian belief systems of non-Nordic Germanic societies, such as the Anglo-Saxons and the Goths.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Another name for the religion is the Icelandic "Ásatrú", which translates as "Æsir belief"—the Æsir being a sub-set of deities in Norse mythology. This is more commonly rendered as "Asatru" in North America, with practitioners being known as "Asatruar". This term is favored by practitioners who focus on the Nordic deities of Scandinavia, however is problematic as many self-identified Asatruar worship entities other than the Æsir, such as the Vanir, valkyries, elves, and dwarfs. Although initially a popular term of designation among practitioners and academics, usage of "Ásatrú" has declined as the religion has aged.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Other practitioners term their religion "Vanatrú", meaning "those who honor the Vanir", or "Dísitrú", meaning "those who honor the goddesses", depending on their particular theological emphasis. A small group of practitioners who venerate the Jötnar, refer to their tradition as "Rokkatru". Although restricted especially to Scandinavia, since the mid-2000s a term that has grown in popularity is "Forn Siðr" or "Forn Sed" ("the old way"); this is also a term reappropriated from Christian usage, having previously been used in a derogatory sense to describe pre-Christian religion in the Old Norse "Heimskringla". Other terms used within the community to describe their religion are the "Northern Tradition", "Norse Paganism", and "Saxon Paganism", while in the first third of the 20th century, commonly used terms were "German", "Nordic", or "Germanic Faith". Within the United States, groups emphasising a German-orientation have used "Irminism", while those focusing on an Anglo-Saxon approach have used "Fyrnsidu" or "Theodism".


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Many racialist-oriented Heathens prefer the terms "Odinism" or "Wotanism" to describe their religion. The England-based racialist group Woden's Folk favored "Wodenism" and "Woden Folk-Religion", while another racialist group, the Heathen Front, favored the term "Odalism", coined by Varg Vikernes, in reference to the odal rune. There is thus a general view that all those who use "Odinism" adopt an explicitly political, right-wing and racialist interpretation of the religion, while "Asatru" is used by more moderate Heathen groups, but no such clear division of these terms' usage exists in practice. Gregorius noted that "Odinism" was "highly problematic" because it implies that the god Odin—who is adopted from Norse mythology—is central to these groups' theology, which is often not the case. Moreover, the term is also used by at least one non-racialist group, the British Odinshof, who utilise it in reference to their particular dedication to Odin.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: The historian of religion Mattias Gardell noted that there is "no unanimously accepted theology" within the Heathen movement. Several early Heathens like Guido von List found the polytheistic nature of pre-Christian religion embarrassing, and argued that in reality it had been monotheistic. Since the 1970s, such negative attitudes towards polytheism have changed. Today Heathenry is usually characterised as being polytheistic, exhibiting a theological structure which includes a pantheon of gods and goddesses, with adherents offering their allegiance and worship to some or all of them. Most practitioners are polytheistic realists, referring to themselves as "hard" or "true polytheists" and believing in the literal existence of the deities as individual entities. Others express a psychological interpretation of the divinities, viewing them for instance as symbols, Jungian archetypes or racial archetypes, with some who adopt this position deeming themselves to be atheists.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Heathenry's deities are adopted from the pre-Christian belief systems found in the various societies of Germanic Europe; they include divinities like Týr, Odin, Thor, Frigg and Freyja from Scandinavian sources, Wōden, Thunor and Ēostre from Anglo-Saxon sources, and figures such as Nehalennia from continental sources. Some practitioners adopt the belief, taken from Norse mythology, that there are two sets of deities, the Æsir and the Vanir. Certain practitioners blend the different regions and times together, for instance using a mix of Old English and Old Norse names for the deities, while others keep them separate and only venerate deities from a particular region. Some groups focus their veneration on a particular deity; for instance, the Brotherhood of Wolves, a Czech Heathen group, center their worship on the deity Fenrir. Similarly, many practitioners in the U.S. adopt a particular patron deity for themselves, taking an oath of dedication to them known as "fulltrúi", and describe themselves as that entity's devotee using terms such as "Thorsman" or "Odinsman".


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Heathen deities are not seen as perfect, omnipotent, or omnipresent, and are instead viewed as having their own strengths and weaknesses. Many practitioners believe that these deities will one day die, as did, for instance, the god Baldr in Norse mythology. Heathens view their connection with their deities not as being that of a master and servant but rather as an interdependent relationship akin to that of a family. For them, these deities serve as both examples and role models whose behavior is to be imitated. Many practitioners believe that they can communicate with these deities, as well as negotiate, bargain, and argue with them, and hope that through venerating them, practitioners will gain wisdom, understanding, power, or visionary insights. In Heathen ritual practices, the deities are typically represented as "godpoles" - wooden shafts with anthropomorphic faces carved into them, as were used prior to Christianisation, although in other instances resin statues of the divinities are sometimes used.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Many practitioners combine their polytheistic world-view with a pantheistic conception of the natural world as being sacred and imbued with a divine energy force permeating all life. Heathenry is animistic, with practitioners believing in nonhuman spirit persons commonly known as "wights" ("vættir") that inhabit the world, each of whom is believed to have its own personality. Some of these are known as "land spirits" ("landvættir") and inhabit different aspects of the landscape, living alongside humans, whom they can both help and hinder. Others are deemed to be household deities and live within the home, where they can be propitiated with offerings of food. Some Heathens interact with these entities and provide offerings to them more often than they do with the gods and goddesses. Wights are often identified with various creatures from northwestern European folklore such as elves, dwarves, gnomes, and trolls. Some of these entities—such as the Jötunn of Norse mythology—are deemed to be baleful spirits; within the community it is often deemed taboo to provide offerings to them, however some practitioners still do so. Many Heathens also believe in and respect ancestral spirits, with ancestral veneration representing an important part of their religious practice. For Heathens, relationships with the ancestors are seen as grounding their own sense of identity and giving them strength from the past.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Heathens commonly adopt a cosmology based on that found in Norse mythology—Norse cosmology. As part of this framework, humanity's world—known as Midgard—is regarded as just one of Nine Worlds, all of which are associated with a cosmological world tree called Yggdrasil. Different types of being are believed to inhabit these different realms; for instance, humans live on Midgard, while dwarfs live on another realm, elves on another, jötnar on another, and the divinities on two further realms. Most practitioners believe that this is a poetic or symbolic description of the cosmos, with the different levels representing higher realms beyond the material plane of existence. The world tree is also interpreted by some in the community as an icon for ecological and social engagement. Some Heathens, such as the psychologist Brian Bates, have adopted an approach to this cosmology rooted in analytical psychology, thereby interpreting the nine worlds and their inhabitants as maps of the human mind.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: According to a common Heathen belief based on references in Old Norse sources, three female entities known as the Norns sit at the end of the world tree's root. These figures spin "wyrd", which refers to the actions and interrelationships of all beings throughout the cosmos. In the community, these three figures are sometimes termed "Past, Present and Future", "Being, Becoming, and Obligation" or "Initiation, Becoming, Unfolding". It is believed that an individual can navigate through the wyrd, and thus, the Heathen worldview oscillates between concepts of free will and fatalism. Heathens also believe in a personal form of wyrd known as "örlög". This is connected to an emphasis on luck, with Heathens in North America often believing that luck can be earned, passed down through the generations, or lost.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Various Heathen groups adopt the Norse apocalyptic myth of Ragnarök; few view it as a literal prophecy of future events. Instead, it is often treated as a symbolic warning of the danger that humanity faces if it acts unwisely in relation to both itself and the natural world. The death of the gods at Ragnarök is often viewed as a reminder of the inevitability of death and the importance of living honorably and with integrity until one dies. Alternately, ethno-nationalist Heathens have interpreted Ragnarök as a prophecy of a coming apocalypse in which the white race will overthrow who these Heathens perceive as their oppressors and establish a future society based on Heathen religion. The political scientist Jeffrey Kaplan believed that it was the "strongly millenarian and chiliastic overtones" of Ragnarök which helped convert white American racialists to the right wing of the Heathen movement.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Some practitioners do not emphasize belief in an afterlife, instead stressing the importance of behaviour and reputation in this world. In Icelandic Heathenry, there is no singular dogmatic belief about the afterlife. A common Heathen belief is that a human being has multiple souls, which are separate yet linked together. It is common to find a belief in four or five souls, two of which survive bodily death: one of these, the "hugr", travels to the realm of the ancestors, while the other, the "fetch", undergoes a process of reincarnation into a new body. In Heathen belief, there are various realms that the "hugr" can enter, based in part on the worth of the individual's earthly life; these include the hall of Valhalla, ruled over by Odin, or Sessrúmnir, the hall of Freyja. Beliefs regarding reincarnation vary widely among Heathens, although one common belief is that individuals are reborn within their family or clan.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: In Heathenry, moral and ethical views are based on the perceived ethics of Iron Age and Early Medieval northwestern Europe, in particular the actions of heroic figures who appear in Old Norse sagas. Evoking a life-affirming ethos, Heathen ethics focus on the ideals of honor, courage, integrity, hospitality, and hard work, and strongly emphasize loyalty to family. It is common for practitioners to be expected to keep their word, particularly sworn oaths. There is thus a strong individualist ethos focused around personal responsibility, and a common motto within the Heathen community is that "We are our deeds". Most Heathens reject the concept of sin and believe that guilt is a destructive rather than useful concept.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Some Heathen communities have formalized such values into an ethical code, the Nine Noble Virtues (NNV), which is based largely on the "Hávamál" from the "Poetic Edda". This was first developed by the founders of the UK-based Odinic Rite in the 1970s, although it has spread internationally, with 77% of respondents to a 2015 survey of Heathens reporting its use in some form. There are different forms of the NNV, with the number nine having symbolic associations in Norse mythology. Opinion is divided on the NNV; some practitioners deem them too dogmatic, while others eschew them for not having authentic roots in historical Germanic culture, negatively viewing them as an attempt to imitate the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments. Their use is particularly unpopular in Nordic countries, and has been observed declining in the United States.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Within the Heathen community of the United States, gender roles are based upon perceived ideals and norms found in Early Medieval northwestern Europe, in particular as they are presented in Old Norse sources. Among male American Heathens there is a trend toward hypermasculinized behaviour, while a gendered division of labor—in which men are viewed as providers and women seen as being responsible for home and children—is also widespread among Heathens in the U.S. Due to its focus on traditional attitudes to sex and gender—values perceived as socially conservative in Western nations—it has been argued that American Heathenry's ethical system is far closer to traditional Christian morals than the ethical systems espoused in many other Western Pagan religions such as Wicca. A 2015 survey of the Heathen community nevertheless found that a greater percentage of Heathens were opposed to traditional gender rules than in favor of them, with this being particularly the case in northern Europe.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: The sociologist Jennifer Snook noted that as with all religions, Heathenry is "intimately connected" to politics, with practitioners' political and religious beliefs influencing one another. As a result of the religion's emphasis on honoring the land and its wights, many Heathens take an interest in ecological issues, with many considering their faith to be a nature religion. Heathen groups have participated in tree planting, raising money to purchase woodland, and campaigning against the construction of a railway between London and the Channel Tunnel in Southeastern England. Many Germanic Neopagans are also concerned with the preservation of heritage sites, and some practitioners have expressed concern regarding archaeological excavation of prehistoric and Early Medieval burials, believing that it is disrespectful to the individuals interred, whom Heathens widely see as their ancestors.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Ethical debates within the community also arise when some practitioners believe that the religious practices of certain co-religionists conflict with the religion's "conservative ideas of proper decorum". For instance, while many Heathens eschew worship of the Norse god Loki, deeming him a baleful wight, his gender-bending nature has made him attractive to many LGBT Heathens. Those who adopt the former perspective have thus criticized Lokeans as effeminate and sexually deviant. Views on homosexuality and LGBT rights remain a source of tension within the community. Some right-wing Heathen groups view homosexuality as being incompatible with a family-oriented ethos and thus censure same-sex sexual activity. Other groups legitimize openness toward LGBT practitioners by reference to the gender-bending actions of Thor and Odin in Norse mythology. There are, for instance, homosexual and transgender members of The Troth, a prominent U.S. Heathen organisation. Many Heathen groups in northern Europe perform same-sex marriages, and a group of self-described "Homo-Heathens" marched in the 2008 Stockholm Pride carrying a statue of the god Freyr.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: In Anglophone countries, Heathen groups are typically called "kindreds" or "hearths", or alternately sometimes as "fellowships", "tribes", or "garths". These are small groups, often family units, and usually consist of between five and fifteen members. They are often bound together by oaths of loyalty, with strict screening procedures regulating the admittance of new members. Prospective members may undergo a probationary period before they are fully accepted and welcomed into the group, while other groups remain closed to all new members. Heathen groups are largely independent and autonomous, although they typically network with other Heathen groups, particularly in their region. There are other followers of the religion who are not affiliated with such groups, operating as solitary practitioners, with these individuals often remaining in contact with other practitioners through social media. A 2015 survey found that the majority of Heathens identified as solitary practitioners, with northern Europe constituting an exception to this; here, the majority of Heathens reported involvement in groups.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Priests are often termed "godhi", while priestesses are "gydhja", adopting Old Norse terms meaning "god-man" and "god-woman" respectively, with the plural term being "gothar". These individuals are rarely seen as intermediaries between practitioners and deities, instead having the role of facilitating and leading group ceremonies and being learned in the lore and traditions of the religion. Many kindreds believe that anyone can take on the position of priest, with members sharing organisational duties and taking turns in leading the rites. In other groups, it is considered necessary for the individual to gain formal credentials from an accredited Heathen organisation in order to be recognised as a priest. In a few groups—particularly those of the early 20th century which operated as secret societies—the priesthood is modelled on an initiatory system of ascending degrees akin to Freemasonry.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Heathen rites often take place in non-public spaces, particularly in a practitioner's home. In other cases, Heathen places of worship have been established on plots of land specifically purchased for the purpose; these can represent either a "hörg", which is a sanctified place within nature like a grove of trees, or a "hof", which is a wooden temple. The Heathen community has made various attempts to construct hofs in different parts of the world. In 2014 the Ásaheimur Temple was opened in Efri Ás, Skagafjörður, Iceland, while in 2014 a British Heathen group called the Odinist Fellowship opened a temple in a converted 16th-century chapel in Newark, Nottinghamshire. Heathens have also adopted archaeological sites as places of worship. For instance, British practitioners have assembled for rituals at the Nine Ladies stone circle in Derbyshire, the Rollright Stones in Warwickshire, and the White Horse Stone in Kent. Swedish Heathens have done the same at Gamla Uppsala, and Icelandic practitioners have met at Þingvellir.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Heathen groups assemble for rituals in order to mark rites of passage, seasonal observances, oath takings, rites devoted to a specific deity, and for rites of need. These rites also serve as identity practices which mark the adherents out as Heathens. Strmiska noted that in Iceland, Heathen rituals had been deliberately constructed in an attempt to recreate or pay tribute to the ritual practices of pre-Christian Icelanders, although there was also space in which these rituals could reflect innovation, changing in order to suit the tastes and needs of contemporary practitioners. In addition to meeting for ritual practices, many Heathen kindreds also organize study sessions to meet and discuss Medieval texts pertaining to pre-Christian religion; among U.S. Heathens, it is common to refer to theirs as a "religion with homework".


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: During religious ceremonies, many adherents choose to wear clothing that imitates the styles of dress worn in Iron Age and Early Medieval northern Europe, sometimes termed "garb". They also often wear symbols indicating their religious allegiance. The most commonly used sign among Heathens is Mjölnir, or Thor's hammer, which is worn as a pendant, featured in Heathen art, and used as a gesture in ritual. It is sometimes used to express a particular affinity with the god Thor, however is also often used as a symbol of Heathenism as a whole, in particular representing the resilience and vitality of the religion. Another commonly used Heathen symbol is the valknut, used to represent the god Odin or Woden. Practitioners also commonly decorate their material—and sometimes themselves, in the form of tattoos—with runes, the alphabet used by Early Medieval Germanic languages.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: The most important religious rite for Heathens is called "blót", which constitutes a ritual in which offerings are provided to the gods. "Blót" typically takes place outdoors, and usually consists of an offering of mead, which is contained within a bowl. The gods are invoked and requests expressed for their aid, as the priest uses a sprig or branch of an evergreen tree to sprinkle mead onto both statues of the deities and the assembled participants. This procedure might be scripted or largely improvised. Finally, the bowl of mead is poured onto a fire, or onto the earth, as a final libation to the gods. Sometimes, a communal meal is held afterward; in some groups this is incorporated as part of the ritual itself. In other instances, the "blót" is simpler and less ritualized; in this case, it can involve a practitioner setting some food aside, sometimes without words, for either gods or wights. Some Heathens perform such rituals on a daily basis, although for others it is a more occasional performance. Aside from honoring deities, communal "blóts" also serve as a form of group bonding.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: In Iron Age and Early Medieval northern Europe, the term "blót" was at times applied to a form of animal sacrifice performed to thank the deities and gain their favor. Such sacrifices have generally proved impractical for most modern practitioners or altogether rejected, due in part to the fact that skills in animal slaughter are not widely taught, while the slaughter of animals is regulated by government in Western countries. The Icelandic group Ásatrúarfélagið for instance explicitly rejects animal sacrifice.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: In 2007 Strmiska noted that a "small but growing" number of Heathen practitioners in the U.S. had begun performing animal sacrifice as a part of "blót". Such Heathens conceive of the slaughtered animal as a gift to the gods, and sometimes also as a "traveller" who is taking a message to the deities. Groups who perform such sacrifices typically follow the procedure outlined in the "Heimskringla": the throat of the sacrificial animal is slashed with a sharp knife, and the blood is collected in a bowl before being sprinkled onto both participants of the rite and statues of the gods. Animals used for this purpose have included poultry as well as larger mammals like sheep and pigs, with the meat then being consumed by those attending the rite. Some practitioners have made alterations to this procedure: Strmiska noted two American Heathens who decided to use a rifle shot to the head to kill the animal swiftly, a decision made after they witnessed a "blót" in which the animal's throat was cut incorrectly and it slowly died in agony; they felt that such practices would have displeased the gods and accordingly brought harm upon those carrying out the sacrifice.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Another common ritual in Heathenry is "sumbel", also spelled "symbel", a ritual drinking ceremony in which the gods are toasted.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: "Sumbel" often takes place following a "blót". In the U.S., the "sumbel" commonly involves a drinking horn being filled with mead and passed among the assembled participants, who either drink from it directly, or pour some into their own drinking vessels to consume. During this process, toasts are made, as are verbal tributes to gods, heroes, and ancestors. Then, oaths and "boasts" (promises of future actions) might be made, both of which are considered binding on the speakers due to the sacred context of the "sumbel" ceremony. According to Snook, the sumbel has a strong social role, representing "a game of politicking, of socializing, cementing bonds of peace and friendship and forming new relationships" within the Heathen community. During her ethnographic research, Pizza observed an example of a "sumbel" that took place in Minnesota in 2006 with the purpose of involving Heathen children; rather than mead, the drinking horn contained apple juice, and the toasting accompanied the children taping pictures of apples to a poster of a tree that symbolized the apple tree of Iðunn from Norse mythology.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: One religious practice sometimes found in Heathenry is "seiðr", which has been described as "a particular shamanic trance ritual complex", although the appropriateness of using "shamanism" to describe "seiðr" is debatable. Contemporary "seiðr" developed during the 1990s out of the wider Neo-Shamanic movement, with some practitioners studying the use of trance-states in other faiths, such as Umbanda, first. A prominent form is high-seat or oracular "seiðr", which is based on the account of Guðriðr in "Eiríks saga". While such practices differ between groups, oracular "seiðr" typically involves a "seiðr"-worker sitting on a high seat while songs and chants are performed to invoke gods and wights. Drumming is then performed to induce an altered state of consciousness in the practitioner, who goes on a meditative journey in which they visualise travelling through the world tree to the realm of Hel. The assembled audience then provide questions for the "seiðr"-worker, with the latter offering replies based on information obtained in their trance-state. Some "seiðr"-practitioners make use of entheogenic substances as part of this practice; others explicitly oppose the use of any mind-altering drugs.


title: Heathenry (new religious movement)

text: Not all Heathens practice "seiðr"; given its associations with both the ambiguity of sexuality and gender and the gods Odin and Loki in their unreliable trickster forms, many on the Heathen movement's right wing disapprove of it. While there are heterosexual male practitioners, "seiðr" is largely associated with women and gay men, and a 2015 survey of Heathens found that women were more likely to have engaged in it than men. One member of the Troth, Edred Thorsson, developed forms of "seiðr" which involved sex magic utilizing sado-masochistic techniques, something which generated controversy in the community. Part of the discomfort that some Heathens feel toward "seiðr" surrounds the lack of any criteria by which the community can determine whether the "seiðr"-worker has genuinely received divine communication, and the fear that it will be used by some practitioners merely to bolster their own prestige.