title: Sandbox game

text: With time, sandbox design had become a mainstay in survival games, as well as a popular subset of shooters, and RPGs. Long-time series such as "Metal Gear" had made the "shift to an open-world sandbox design," where the game dynamically "adds more missions as the story progresses and players complete the available side-ops". Other long-running series such as "Hitman" were celebrated for their sandbox design. The series became influential, creating a new template of games "that echo the same emphasis on sandbox design, open-ended mission structure, and sneaking". In 2020, PC Gamer noted "" as "a triumph of sandbox design". They observe that "because of its sandbox nature, "Mount & Blade"s quests are procedurally generated around a number of set templates," which leads to a game where "the simulation is the story".


title: Sandbox game

text: One pure sandbox game, aimed to offer no goals but allow players to create works to be shared with others, is "Second Life" (2003), a large massively multiplayer online game set in a virtual world where users could create various sections of the world as their own. The game was purposely developed as a community-driven world, so while the developers established some of the fundamentals of the in-game economies, much of how the workings and economics of the rest of "Second Life"s world was set by the players, which created several issues around pricing, gambling, and taxes, among other aspects. The game ultimately drew use by business as well, seeking to create space within it.


title: Sandbox game

text: More recent sandbox games have been aimed at provided interactive works that can be shared with others. "Garry's Mod" allows players to tinker with the Source engine from Valve to make animations and games while games like "LittleBigPlanet" and "Dreams" (2019) from Media Molecule give users assets and primitive programming elements to craft games that can be shared with others.


title: Sandbox game

text: Some sandbox games have gained favorable use in education settings for inspiring studies to use creativity and critical thinking skills.


title: Sandbox game

text: Part of Microsoft's rationale for acquiring Mojang, the developers of "Minecraft", for in 2014 was for its potential application in Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, according to CEO Satya Nadella on its acquisition in 2014, as the game already helps to pique children's curiosity. Microsoft subsequently enhanced the "MinecraftEDU" version of the game into its "Minecraft: Education Edition" that gives teachers and students numerous pre-made resources to work from, and the ability for teachers to monitor and assist students in their work, but otherwise allowing students to create and learn following several lesson plans developed by Microsoft.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: The Exorcism of Emily Rose is a 2005 American supernatural horror legal drama film directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson. The film is loosely based on the story of Anneliese Michel and follows a self-proclaimed agnostic (Linney) who acts as defense counsel representing a parish priest (Wilkinson), accused by the state of negligent homicide after he performed an exorcism.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: Erin Bruner, an ambitious lawyer seeking to become a senior partner in her law firm, takes the case of Father Richard Moore, a Catholic diocesan priest charged with negligent homicide following an attempted exorcism of 19-year-old student Emily Rose. While the archdiocese wants Moore to plead guilty to minimize the crime's public attention, Moore instead pleads not guilty. During the trial, the statements of the witnesses are visualized via flashbacks. Prosecutor Ethan Thomas interrogates several doctors and neurologists to establish a medical cause for Emily's death, particularly epilepsy and schizophrenia. Emily had dropped out of her college studies after being consistently struck by delusions and muscle spasms at 3 a.m. She returned to her parents' home and was treated with epilepsy and psychosis medications. Moore was consulted when her condition failed to improve, and his assessment and observations led him to the conclusion that Emily was being possessed by a demon. With the consent of Emily's parents, Moore subjected Emily to an exorcism that ultimately failed. Moore surmised that Emily's medications were to blame for the unsuccessful expulsion, as they paralyzed Emily's brain activity and kept the demon out of reach.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: Moore, wanting to tell Emily's story, gives his testimony when he is called to the witness stand. Bruner begins experiencing supernatural phenomena at home, waking up at 3 a.m. to the smell of burning material. Moore warns her she may be a target for the demons, revealing he too has experienced similar phenomena on the night he was preparing the exorcism. Bruner supports Moore by summoning anthropologist Sadira Adani to testify about the beliefs surrounding spiritual possession from various cultures, but Thomas dismisses her claims as nonsense. Graham Cartwright, a medical doctor who attended the exorcism, gives Bruner a cassette tape on which the exorcism was recorded, and Moore presents the recording as evidence. Cartwright's testimony to authenticate the exorcism and refute the prosecution's medical case is prevented when he is suddenly struck and killed by a car. A distraught Bruner retreats to her office, where her boss threatens her with termination if she allows Moore to testify again. Bruner visits Moore in his jail cell, where he convinces her to allow him to tell the rest of Emily's story despite her boss's threat.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: The next day, Moore takes the witness stand again and reads a letter that Emily wrote before she died. On the morning after the exorcism, Emily was visited by the Virgin Mary in a field near her house and was permitted the choice of ascending to Heaven. However, Emily chose to endure her suffering and later received stigmata on her hands. Thomas does not interpret the markings as a divine sign, but rather as traces of self-inflicted injuries. The jury ultimately reaches a verdict of guilty but surprises the court by asking Judge Brewster to give a sentence of time served. Although momentarily shocked by the suggestion, Brewster ultimately accepts it, and Moore is free to go. Bruner is offered a partnership in her firm, but declines. Later, Moore and Bruner pay a visit to Emily's grave, and Moore states that the time will come wherein Emily will be declared a saint. The epilogue reveals that Moore never appealed his conviction.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: The screenplay was written by director Scott Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman; in honor of the contributions of Boardman and other collaborators on the film, Derrickson chose to forgo the traditional "film by" credit. According to Derrickson's DVD commentary, he chose Boardman as his co-writer because Derrickson sees himself as a believer and Boardman as a skeptic, and believed the pairing would provide the screenplay with two different perspectives, thus providing the film some ambiguity as to whether it supports a religious/supernatural interpretation of the events depicted, or a more secular/medical interpretation.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: The character of Emily Rose was inspired by the story of Anneliese Michel. German director Hans-Christian Schmid made his own film of Michel's story, "Requiem", around the same time in late 2006. Linney recommended Carpenter for this role after working with her in a play.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: Adolescent Sara Niemietz was chosen as the vocalist for the soundtrack and score. Niemietz worked again with Christopher Young on "The Uninvited" (2009), and is now an independent artist and cast-member with Postmodern Jukebox.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" made $75.1 million domestically, and $144.2 million worldwide against a $19 million budget. According to Derrickson, the film was not as successful as he hoped.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 44%, based on 157 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads "Loosely based on a true story, "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" mixes compelling courtroom drama with generally gore-free scares in a ho-hum take on demonic cinema". On Metacritic, it has an overall score of 46 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" gave the film a rating of three out of four stars, describing it as "intriguing and perplexing" and writing that "the screenplay is intelligent and open to occasional refreshing wit". Paul Arendt of BBC gave the film three out of five stars, referring to the "flashback story" as "high-octane schlock that occasionally works your nerves, thanks to a committed performance from Jennifer Carpenter". Olly Richards of "Empire" gave the film three out of five stars as well, writing that "Viewed as a horror movie, "Emily Rose" isn't much scarier than the average, but combined with intelligent and balanced courtroom drama it has more to offer than your usual big-lunged, big-breasted screamer".


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: Jerome Reuter of "Scream" magazine gave the film a rating of two out of five stars, writing that ""The Exorcism of Emily Rose", while compelling at times, is nothing more than a blatant attempt to utilise a real human tragedy for an agenda". Ed Gonzalez of "Slant Magazine" gave the film one-and-a-half out of four stars, criticizing the "witless, didactic" screenplay and writing that "I've witnessed more complicated existential wrangling exchanged between two tokers".


title: The Exorcism of Emily Rose

text: In 2006, the Chicago Film Critics Association listed the film in their Top 100 Scariest Films Ever Made at #86. Jennifer Carpenter, whose "demonic" bodily contortions were often achieved without the aid of visual effects, won "Best Frightened Performance" at the MTV Movie Awards in 2006.


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: Yvette Nicole Brown (born August 12, 1971) is an American actress, comedian, writer and host. She starred as Shirley Bennett on the NBC sitcom "Community", as Dani in the 2015 version of "The Odd Couple" on CBS and as Dina Rose on the ABC sitcom "The Mayor". Brown has had guest roles in television shows such as "Drake & Josh", "That '70s Show", "The Office", "Boston Legal", "Chuck", "The Soul Man", "Mom" and "Big Shot". In 2021, she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her role in "A Black Lady Sketch Show".


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: In addition to television, she has had supporting roles in films such as "(500) Days of Summer", "Tropic Thunder", "Repo Men", "", and "". She voiced "Harper" in the video game "" in addition to Cookie on "Pound Puppies", Luna on "Elena of Avalor" and Principal Amanda Waller on "DC Super Hero Girls". She has hosted Syfy cosplay series "Cosplay Melee" and has been a frequent couch guest on "Talking Dead". She has served as a guest co-host on talk shows including "The View", "The Talk", and "The Real".


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: Yvette Nicole Brown was born on August 12, 1971, in East Cleveland, Ohio. She graduated from Warrensville Heights High School in 1989. Brown studied communication studies at the University of Akron and graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in communication in 1994. While at Akron she was selected for initiation into Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honors Society. She was initiated into the University of Akron's Delta Pi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority on May 2, 1993.


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: Brown appeared as "Yvette" in the music video "1-4-All-4-1" by the East Coast Family, a Michael Bivins project, for Biv10 Records. Brown said of the experience, "It was a great run, but I guess music was just never meant to be for me."


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: Brown first appeared on commercials before entering television shows and films a few years later. She has since played roles on television shows such as "The War at Home", Girlfriends, "Malcolm in the Middle", "That's So Raven", "Half & Half", and the American version of "The Office". She had a recurring role as movie theater manager Helen Dubois in the Nickelodeon sitcom "Drake & Josh". Frances Callier replaced Brown as Helen for one episode. Brown reprised the role in the season 2 episode of "Victorious" titled "Helen Back Again". She provided the voice of Cookie on The Hub's "Pound Puppies".


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: In 2009, Brown began starring as Shirley Bennett on the comedy series "Community". On September 30, 2014, Brown announced that she would be leaving the show after five seasons in order to take care of her ailing father. In her announcement she said, "My dad needs daily care and he needs me. The idea of being away 16 hours a day for five months, I couldn't do it. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but I had to choose my dad."


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: She has appeared in television commercials for Hamburger Helper, Big Lots, Pine-Sol, Comcast, Aquapod, Shout, Fiber One, Yoplait Yogurt, DiGiorno Pizza, Dairy Queen, and Time Warner. She has appeared on episodes of "The Thrilling Adventure Hour" as "The Troubleshooter" in the "Sparks Nevada, Marshall on Mars" series.


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: In 2012, Brown appeared as a celebrity contestant on GSN's "The Pyramid" with her "Community" co-star Danny Pudi.


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: In 2014, it was reported that Brown was set to recur on the USA Network series "Benched". Shortly after her exit of "Community", Brown's role of Dani on the CBS sitcom "The Odd Couple" was upgraded to series regular. She has been a regular guest on AMC's "Talking Dead". She hosts Syfy cosplay series "Cosplay Melee".


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: In July 2018, Brown temporarily replaced Chris Hardwick as the host of "Talking Dead" and served as moderator for "The Walking Dead" and "Fear the Walking Dead" panels at the San Diego Comic-Con during Hardwick's suspension.


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: Brown has had a recurring role as Judge Anita Harper on the HBO series "A Black Lady Sketch Show" which earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. In 2019, Brown wrote the independent romantic comedy feature "Always a Bridesmaid".


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: Brown was inducted into Warrensville Heights High School's hall of fame in 2009. Brown serves on the SAG-AFTRA 2019-2021 National Board.


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: Brown endorsed and campaigned for Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. She has been a critic of former U.S. President Donald Trump and then presidential candidate U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders.


title: Yvette Nicole Brown

text: During the 2020 general election, Brown, along with several of her "Community" castmates, made a campaign video in support of Joe Biden, entitled "Human Beings For Biden."


title: Montelukast

text: Montelukast, sold under the brand name Singulair among others, is a medication used in the maintenance treatment of asthma. It is generally less preferred for this use than inhaled corticosteroids. It is not useful for acute asthma attacks. Other uses include allergic rhinitis and hives of long duration. For allergic rhinitis it is a second-line treatment.


title: Montelukast

text: Common side effects include abdominal pain, cough, and headache. Severe side effects may include allergic reactions, such as anaphylaxis and eosinophilia. Use in pregnancy appears to be safe. Montelukast is in the leukotriene receptor antagonist family of medications. It works by blocking the action of leukotriene D4 in the lungs resulting in decreased inflammation and relaxation of smooth muscle.


title: Montelukast

text: Montelukast was approved for medical use in the United States in 1998. It is available as a generic medication. In 2020, it was the fourteenth most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 31million prescriptions.


title: Montelukast

text: Montelukast is used for a number of conditions including asthma, exercise induced bronchospasm, allergic rhinitis, and urticaria. It is mainly used as a complementary therapy in adults in addition to inhaled corticosteroids, if inhaled steroids alone do not bring the desired effect. It is also used to prevent allergic reactions and asthma flare-ups during the administration of intravenous immunoglobulin. It may also be used as an adjunct therapy in symptomatic treatment of mastocytosis. It is taken by mouth, as a tablet, chewable tablet, or as granules.


title: Montelukast

text: Common side effects include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, mild rashes, asymptomatic elevations in liver enzymes, and fever. Uncommon side effects include fatigue and malaise, behavioral changes, paresthesias and seizures, muscle cramps, and nose bleeds. Rare (may affect up to 1 in 10,000 people taking montelukast) but serious side effects include behavioral changes (including suicidal thoughts), angioedema, erythema multiforme, and liver problems.


title: Montelukast

text: In 2019 and 2020, concerns for neuropsychiatric reactions were added to the label in the United Kingdom and United States where the most frequently suspected were nightmares, depression, insomnia (may affect between 1 in 100 to 1 in 1,000 people taking montelukast); aggression, anxiety and abnormal behaviour or changes in behaviour (may affect between 1 in 1,000 and 1 in 10,000 people taking montelukast).


title: Montelukast

text: In June 2009, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded a review into the possibility of neuropsychiatric side effects with leukotriene modulator drugs. Although clinical trials only revealed an increased risk of insomnia, post-marketing surveillance showed that the drugs are associated with a possible increase in suicidal behavior and other side effects such as agitation, aggression, anxiousness, dream abnormalities and hallucinations, depression, irritability, restlessness, and tremor.


title: Montelukast

text: In September 2019, the Pediatric Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee met to discuss a pediatric-focused safety review of neuropsychiatric events with montelukast.


title: Montelukast

text: In March 2020, the FDA required a boxed warning for montelukast to strengthen an existing warning about the risk of neuropsychiatric events associated with the drug in the wake of an increase in case reporting of neuropsychiatric events around the time of the initial communications about the concern from FDA in 2008. The boxed warning advises health care providers to avoid prescribing montelukast for people with mild symptoms, particularly those with allergic rhinitis because there are many other effective, less-concerned allergy medicines that are also indicated for the mild cases.


title: Montelukast

text: In the FDA's self-conducted data analysis in comparison to their received case reports which were dependent on people's self-claims, the propensity of developing neuropsychiatric disorders after montelukast use does not outpace that of inhaled corticosteroids; and there were no statistically significant risks of new-onset neuropsychiatric disorders among males, females, patients 12 years and older, patients with a psychiatric history, or after the 2008 FDA communication and prescribing information changes that first publicized the concern. In addition, FDA's self-conducted data analysis also summarized their own findings, saying "exposure to montelukast was significantly associated with a decreased risk of treated outpatient depressive disorder and the decreased risks were seen among patients with a history of a psychiatric disorder, in patients 12 to 17 years as well as 18 years and older, and in both females and males." "Treated outpatient depressive disorder" refers to patients' actions of making an appointment with psychiatrists to contend with their depressions.


title: Montelukast

text: Montelukast has very few drug-drug interactions. This is due to the lack of off-target affinity towards other targets in the body where it might exert an effect. However, it is important to note that montelukast is an inhibitor of the drug metabolizing enzyme CYP2C8. Therefore, it is theoretically possible that the combination of montelukast with a CYP2C8 substrate (e.g. amodiaquine, an anti-malarial drug) could increase the plasma concentrations of the substrate.


title: Montelukast

text: Montelukast is in the leukotriene receptor antagonist family of medications. It works by blocking the action of leukotriene D4 in the lungs resulting in decreased inflammation and relaxation of smooth muscle.


title: Montelukast

text: Montelukast functions as a leukotriene receptor antagonist (cysteinyl leukotriene receptors) and consequently opposes the function of these inflammatory mediators; leukotrienes are produced by the immune system and serve to promote bronchoconstriction, inflammation, microvascular permeability, and mucus secretion in asthma and COPD. Leukotriene receptor antagonists are sometimes colloquially referred to as "leukasts".


title: Montelukast

text: Two genes of interest are "ALOX5" and "LTC4S", which catalyze two major steps in the biosynthetic pathway of leukotrienes.


title: Montelukast

text: Montelukast may affect nerve remyelination in combination with Pexidartinib and this may cause clinical benefits or side effects.


title: Montelukast

text: Singulair was covered by U.S. Patent No. 5,565,473 which expired on 3 August 2012. The same day, the FDA approved several generic versions of montelukast.


title: Montelukast

text: The United States Patent and Trademark Office launched a reexamination of the patent covering Singulair on 28 May 2009. The decision was driven by the discovery of references that were not included in the original patent application process. The references were submitted through Article One Partners, an online research community focused on finding literature relating to existing patents. The references included a scientific article produced by a Merck employee on the active ingredient in Singulair. A previously filed patent had been submitted in the same technology area. Seven months later the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office determined that the patent in question was valid based on the initial reexamination and new information provided, submitting their decision on 17 December 2009.


title: Montelukast

text: Schering-Plough and Merck sought permission to market a combined tablet with loratadine and montelukast. However, the FDA has found no benefit from a combined pill for seasonal allergies over taking the two drugs in combination, and on 25 April 2008, issued a not-approvable letter for the combination.


title: Montelukast

text: Montelukast is sold under a variety of brand names including Monalast (Ziska Pharmaceuticals Ltd) Montenaaf (NAAFCO Pharma) Montelon-10 (Apex), Montene (Square), Montair-10, Montelo-10, Monteflo, and Tukast L in India, Reversair (ACI Bangladesh), Monas, Miralust, Montiva, Provair, Montril, Lumona, Lumenta, Arokast and Trilock in Bangladesh, Ventair in Nepal, Montika in Pakistan, Montelair in Brazil, Zykast in the Philippines though combined with levocetirizine, Desmont, Levmont, Aircomb and Notta in Turkey, Topraz in South Africa and AirOn in Venezuela.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Gwen Shamblin Lara (February 18, 1955 – May 29, 2021) was an American author, founder of the Christian diet program "The Weigh Down Workshop" and founder of the Remnant Fellowship.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: She is the subject of the 2021 HBO Max docuseries, "The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin".


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Lara earned an undergraduate degree in dietetics and a master's degree in food and nutrition with an emphasis in Biochemistry from University of Tennessee, in Knoxville. She was a registered dietitian, consultant and a faculty member at Memphis State University for five years. She also worked in the city's Tennessee Department of Health for five years. Lara was raised in a Church of Christ family. She had two children and seven grandchildren.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Lara began a weight control consulting practice in 1980. She had struggled with her weight in college. She counseled that genetics, metabolism, and behavior modification did not explain why some people were thin while others were overweight. Lara founded the Weigh Down Workshop, a weight-loss program with no food restrictions, exercise regimens, weigh-ins, or calorie-counting in 1986.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Some experts expressed concern that the program eliminated exercise and guidance on food selection as recommended by the American Dietetic Association.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Lara developed Weigh Down Workshop while working on her master's degree at Memphis State University. As part of a counseling center, Lara hosted the first class in a mall in Memphis, Tennessee. The program was offered as small classes in retail and non-religious settings. She began hosting the program at Bellevue Baptist Church near Memphis in the 1990s. The program consisted of 12-week seminars guided by video and audio tapes featuring Lara.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: The program was offered in about 600 churches in 35 U.S. states by 1994. The program was in more than 1,000 churches in 49 states, Great Britain and Canada by January 1995. The program had grown to about 5,000 churches, with about 10 percent located in Lara's home state of Tennessee, by July 1996. About eight churches in Britain were hosting workshops in December 1996. Some participants in the U.S. hosted meetings in their homes.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: In 1996, Weigh Down Workshop had a staff of 40 and built a headquarters in Franklin, Tennessee, and Lara began hosting an annual summer convention, Desert Oasis, in the Nashville area.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Weigh Down Workshop hosted more than 21,000 classes with more than 250,000 participants worldwide by August 1998. Classes were hosted in every U.S. state and in Canada and Europe.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Lara was criticized for using the Christianity label while building her business. In 2001, Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF investigated how Weigh Down Workshop leaders spent money. Lara said half the proceeds from Weigh Down Workshop was paid as taxes and the other half was put back into the program.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Shamblin founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in Franklin, Tennessee in 1999. The church's building was completed in 2004 on 40 acres Lara purchased in Brentwood, Tennessee.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Upon her death in 2021, it was found that Shamblin's will left none of her multimillion-dollar fortune to the church.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Shamblin published "The Weigh Down Diet", a book that advised readers to use spirituality to avoid overeating, in 1997. The book sold more than 1.2 million copies. The Weigh Down Diet teaches the love of food should be transferred to a love of God, and to cut food portions in half and eat only when hungry.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Shamblin sent an email to her followers saying that she believed that the doctrine of the Trinity was not biblical on August 10, 2000. In response, some evangelical churches dropped her program, Thomas Nelson Publishers canceled the publication of her next book, she was removed from the Women of Faith website and some employees left her staff.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Shamblin appeared on television programs such as BBC, "20/20", "A Current Affair", "The View", and "Dateline" (Australia). as well as in such magazines as "Family Circle", "Good Housekeeping", "Woman's Day", and many newspaper articles. She was featured on "The Today Show", CNN's "Larry King Live","" "DaySide", and "The Early Show". Participants from the Weigh Down Workshop were featured on the cover of "Good Housekeeping", in the "Ladies' Home Journal", in "People Magazine", "First" magazine, "Quick and Simple", and in numerous newspaper articles. In 2007, "The Tyra Banks Show" devoted an hour-long program to Gwen, the Weigh Down Diet, the Remnant Fellowship and participants from Weigh Down programs.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Gwen and Weigh Down were featured on such television programs as WeTV's "Secret Lives of Women" and CBS’s "The Insider" in 2009. She began producing a live Internet show, "You Can Overcome", in late 2011. A five-part HBO mini series entitled "The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin" aired in 2021.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: A 2021 HBO Max 5-part docuseries "The Way Down: God, Greed, and the Cult of Gwen Shamblin" explores some of the accusations made against Gwen Shamblin Lara and Remnant Fellowship Church over the years. The church posted a response to the series on the RemnantFellowship.org website.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Joseph and Sonya Smith were adherents of Shamblin and had an eight year old, Josef. Sonya and Joseph routinely disciplined their son, Josef, by beating him with glue sticks, belts, and heated coat hangers; locking him in confined spaces for extended periods of time; and tying his hands with rope. Mrs. Smith told police that she “normally” gave the children their whippings in increments of ten blows each and that Josef had gotten several of those whipping sessions on the day of his death. The police reported that the Smiths locked Josef in his room to pray to a picture of Jesus on the ceiling and in a closet for days and even weeks. He was given only a bucket for a toilet. An older son sometimes held Josef down while the parents beat him with implements.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: During the day on October 8, 2003, Joseph disciplined Josef several times, striking him repeatedly with a glue stick. County medical examiners concluded that eight-year-old Josef Smith died as a result of "acute and chronic" abuse. Members of the Remnant Church led by Shamblin paid for the defense of the Smiths. They were convicted in "Georgia v. Smith". After being convicted, the Smiths were then sentenced on March 27, 2007, to life plus 30 years in prison, the maximum punishment, by Cobb County Superior Court Judge James Bodiford.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: In 1978 she married David Shamblin, with whom she would have two children. In 2018 they divorced, and she married Joe Lara.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Lara lived with her husband and children in Ashlawn, a historic mansion in Brentwood, Tennessee that was built in 1838.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: Lara and six church leaders, including her husband Joe and son-in-law Brandon Hannah, were killed when her 1982 Cessna Citation 501 private jet, bound for Palm Beach, Florida, crashed into Percy Priest Lake near Smyrna, Tennessee, shortly after takeoff on May 29, 2021.


title: Gwen Shamblin Lara

text: The preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report stated that the crash occurred in instrument meteorological conditions, that the weather was overcast with a visibility of 10 miles (16 km), and the lowest ceilings were at above ground level. The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate with an instrument rating, with his most recent Federal Aviation Administration second-class medical certificate being issued on November 12, 2019. Shortly after the pilot acknowledged instructions to maintain an altitude of above mean sea level and make a turn, air traffic control instructed the pilot to climb, but the pilot ceased responding. Radar returns show the airplane made a series of heading changes and several climbs and descents before it entered a steep, descending left turn and impacted a shallow area of Percy Priest Lake about 2 to 8 feet (0.6 to 2.4 meters) deep.


title: Highway of Death

text: The Highway of Death ( "ṭarīq al-mawt") is a six-lane highway between Kuwait and Iraq, officially known as Highway 80. It runs from Kuwait City to the border town of Safwan in Iraq and then on to the Iraqi city of Basra. The road was used by Iraqi armored divisions for the 1990 invasion of Kuwait. It was repaired after the Gulf War and used by U.S. and British forces in the initial stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.


title: Highway of Death

text: During the American-led coalition offensive in the Persian Gulf War, American, Canadian, British and French aircraft and ground forces attacked retreating Iraqi military personnel attempting to leave Kuwait on the night of February 26–27, 1991, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of vehicles and the deaths of many of their occupants. Between 1,400 and 2,000 vehicles were hit or abandoned on the main Highway 80 north of Al Jahra.


title: Highway of Death

text: The scenes of devastation on the road are some of the most recognizable images of the war, and it has been suggested that they were a factor in President George H. W. Bush's decision to declare a cessation of hostilities the next day. Many Iraqi forces successfully escaped across the Euphrates river, and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimated that upwards of 70,000 to 80,000 troops from defeated divisions in Kuwait might have fled into Basra, evading capture.


title: Highway of Death

text: The attack began when A-6 Intruder attack jets of the United States Marine Corps' 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing blocked the head and tail of the column on Highway 80, bombarding a massive vehicle column of mostly Iraqi Regular Army forces with Mk-20 Rockeye II cluster bombs, effectively boxing in the Iraqi forces in an enormous traffic jam as the turkey shoot began in earnest, setting up targets for subsequent airstrikes. Over the next 10 hours, scores of U.S. Marine and U.S. Air Force aircraft and U.S. Navy pilots from USS "Ranger" (CV/CVA-61) attacked the convoy using a variety of weapons. Vehicles surviving the air attacks were later engaged by arriving coalition ground units, while most of the vehicles that managed to evade the traffic jam and continued to drive on the road north were targeted individually. The road bottle-neck near the Mutla Ridge police station was reduced to a long uninterrupted line of more than 300 stuck and abandoned vehicles sometimes called the Mile of Death. The wreckage found on the highway consisted of at least 28 tanks and other armored vehicles with many more commandeered civilian cars and buses filled with stolen Kuwaiti property.


title: Highway of Death

text: The death toll from the attack remains unknown. British journalist Robert Fisk said he "lost count of the Iraqi corpses crammed into the smoldering wreckage or slumped face down in the sand" at the main site and saw hundreds of corpses strewn up the road all the way to the Iraqi border. American journalist Bob Drogin reported seeing "scores" of dead soldiers "in and around the vehicles, mangled and bloated in the drifting desert sands." A 2003 study by the Project on Defense Alternatives (PDA) estimated fewer than 10,000 people rode in the cut-off main caravan, and when the bombing started most simply left their vehicles to escape through the desert or into the nearby swamps where some died from their wounds and some were later taken prisoner. According to PDA, the often repeated low estimate of the numbers killed in the attack is 200–300 reported by journalist Michael Kelly (who personally counted 37 bodies), but a minimum death toll of at least 500–600 seems more plausible.


title: Highway of Death

text: Iraqi forces including the elite Iraqi Republican Guard's 1st Armored Division "Hammurabi" were trying to either redeploy or escape on and near Highway 8, the continuation of Highway 80 in Iraq. They were engaged over a much larger area in smaller groups by U.S. artillery units and a battalion of AH-64 Apache helicopter gunships operating under the command of General Barry McCaffrey. Hundreds of predominantly military Iraqi vehicles grouped in defensive formations of approximately a dozen vehicles were then systematically destroyed along a 50-mile stretch of the highway and nearby desert.


title: Highway of Death

text: PDA estimated the number killed there to be in the range of 300–400 or more, bringing the likely total number of fatalities along both highways to at least 800 or 1,000. A large column composed of remnants of the Hammurabi Division attempting to withdraw to safety in Baghdad were also engaged and obliterated deep inside Iraqi territory by Gen. McCaffrey's forces a few days later on March 2, in a post-war "turkey shoot"-style incident known as Battle of Rumaila.


title: Highway of Death

text: The attacks were controversial, with some commentators arguing that they represented disproportionate use of force, saying that the Iraqi forces were retreating from Kuwait in compliance with the original UN Resolution 660 of August 2, 1990, and that the column included Kuwaiti hostages and civilian refugees. The refugees were reported to have included women and children family members of pro-Iraqi, PLO-aligned Palestinian militants and Kuwaiti collaborators who had fled shortly before the returning Kuwaiti authorities pressured nearly 200,000 Palestinians to leave Kuwait. Activist and former United States Attorney General Ramsey Clark argued that these attacks violated the Third Geneva Convention, Common Article 3, which outlaws the killing of soldiers who "are out of combat." Clark included it in his 1991 report "WAR CRIMES: A Report on United States War Crimes Against Iraq to the Commission of Inquiry for the International War Crimes Tribunal".


title: Highway of Death

text: Additionally, journalist Seymour Hersh, citing American witnesses, alleged that a platoon of U.S. Bradley Fighting Vehicles from the 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry Division opened fire on a large group of more than 350 disarmed Iraqi soldiers who had surrendered at a makeshift military checkpoint after fleeing the devastation on Highway 8 on February 27, apparently hitting some or all of them. The U.S. Military Intelligence personnel who were manning the checkpoint claimed they too were fired on from the same vehicles and barely fled by car during the incident. Journalist Georgie Anne Geyer criticized Hersh's article, saying that he offered "no real proof at all that such charges—which were aired, investigated and then dismissed by the military after the war—are true."


title: Highway of Death

text: Before the U.S. Military Police were deployed to guard the wreckage, looting of functional Iraqi weapons took place.


title: Terri Irwin

text: Terri Raines Irwin (née Raines, born July 20, 1964) is an American-Australian conservationist, television personality and author who is the owner of Australia Zoo in Beerwah, Queensland. She is the widow of Steve Irwin.


title: Terri Irwin

text: Born in Oregon, she began working for an independent animal rehabilitation center for injured predator mammals at the age of 22 while working for her family's trucking business. While touring wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Australia in 1991, she had a chance meeting with Irwin. The two married in 1992, and went on to co-star in "The Crocodile Hunter", their unconventional television nature documentary series and its spin-off series, "Croc Files", "The Crocodile Hunter Diaries", and "Crikey! It's the Irwins". They had two children, Bindi and Robert, before Steve's death in 2006 from a stingray injury.


title: Terri Irwin

text: Following Steve's death, Terri became a naturalised Australian citizen in 2009. She and her two children continue to operate Australia Zoo.


title: Terri Irwin

text: Theresa Penelope Raines was born in Eugene, Oregon, United States, the youngest of three daughters of environmentalist parents, Clarence and Judy Raines. Commenting on her childhood, she said, "My friends and I were truly 'free-range kids.' Summers were spent bicycling around Alton Baker Park or hiking up Spencer Butte in the hopes of catching a glimpse of one of the shy rattlesnakes that sought refuge in the rock escarpments. Winters were spent hoping the Willamette Valley would get snow."


title: Terri Irwin

text: Her family owned a long-haul trucking business and, during her childhood, her father constantly brought home injured animals from the highways on which his trucks traveled; this eventually instilled in her an ongoing commitment to saving and rehabilitating wild animals. While working in the family business in 1986, she started a rehabilitation facility called Cougar Country to re-educate and release predator mammals such as foxes, raccoons, bears, bobcats, and cougars back into the wild. Soon she was handling 300 animals each year.


title: Terri Irwin

text: Terri joined an emergency veterinary hospital in 1989 as a veterinary technician to gain further knowledge on the care and support to all kinds of animals. Her life was very busy, as she was still helping her father run the family business, rehabilitating animals through her Cougar Country, and working at the vet hospital. In addition, she had 15 cats of her own, several birds, and a dog.


title: Terri Irwin

text: In 1991, Terri went on a tour of Australia, and while visiting wildlife rehabilitation facilities, she had a chance meeting with Steve Irwin, whose father had founded the Australia Zoo (as Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park). Steve would later say that "it was love at first sight." A "whirlwind romance" followed: They were engaged after only four months and, eight months later, on June 4, 1992, they married in Eugene, Oregon. Their first television documentary was filmed on their honeymoon. The footage, shot by John Stainton, became the first episode of "The Crocodile Hunter", which later became successful in the US.


title: Terri Irwin

text: The couple settled in Australia shortly after their wedding, with Terri leaving her Cougar Country project behind in the US. However, as a partner in their wildlife enterprises and television shows, she believes she was able to do far greater work on behalf of wildlife conservation.


title: Terri Irwin

text: In addition to their two popular television programs shown on the Animal Planet television network in the US, in 2002, the Irwins released a feature film, "".


title: Terri Irwin

text: In 2018, the series "Crikey! It's the Irwins" began airing, which focuses on the lives of Terri and her children at Australia Zoo.


title: Terri Irwin

text: Terri met Steve Irwin in Australia in 1991. The couple married in her home state of Oregon in 1992 before returning to live in Australia. The Irwins had two children: daughter Bindi on July 24, 1998, and son Robert on December 1, 2003. In an interview before the birth of their second child, Terri Irwin had this to say about her marriage and working with her husband Steve:


title: Terri Irwin

text: Irwin and her children were reportedly trekking in Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, on the morning of September 4, 2006, when Steve died after sustaining heart injuries from a short-tail stingray barb that pierced his chest. He was filming an underwater documentary at the time at Batt Reef near Port Douglas in Queensland. In her first statement after her husband's death, Irwin announced that the Australian memorial service (on September 20, 2006, at Australia Zoo in Queensland) would be open to the public, and that people who wished to attend should make a donation to Irwin's "Wildlife Warriors" fund. The service was held at the "Crocoseum," a 5,500-seat open-air amphitheater, which Steve had built at the zoo and which she had chosen over any larger facility. She also thanked well-wishers for their "overwhelming outpouring of love, support and prayers for [her] family." Terri herself was seemingly too upset to speak at the ceremony. She remained with her son, Robert, during the proceedings, but daughter Bindi spoke about her love for her father, for which she received a standing ovation.


title: Terri Irwin

text: Australian TV network Channel 9 screened an interview between Irwin and local presenter Ray Martin, on September 27, at 8:30pm on the station. During the interview, she said, "And I'll make Australia Zoo bigger. I'll make it bigger . . . because I promised." Barbara Walters held an interview with Irwin on "The View", which aired September 27 in the US.


title: Terri Irwin

text: On October 31, 2006, Irwin was invited to the Royal Albert Hall to present a Special Recognition Award to Sir David Attenborough at the British National Television Awards. When she came on stage, the entire audience gave her a standing ovation. Irwin fought back tears, while the camera cut to "Neighbours" star Alan Fletcher, who was shown to be also fighting back tears. She cited Attenborough as a great inspiration for her husband, saying, "If there's one person, other than his father, who directly inspired my husband, it's the person being honoured tonight," and going on to say "[Steve's] real, true love was conservation – and the influence of tonight's recipient in preserving the natural world has been immense."


title: Terri Irwin

text: Attenborough reciprocated by praising her husband for introducing many people to the natural world, saying, "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was; he was a born communicator." Terri published a memoir, "My Steve", about her relationship and marriage with Steve Irwin, in 2007.


title: Terri Irwin

text: On January 3, 2007, the only video footage showing the events that led to Steve Irwin's death was handed over to Terri, who said the video would never become public, and noted that her family has not seen the video either. In a January 11, 2007, interview with "Access Hollywood", Terri said "all footage has been destroyed." On March 2, 2008, it was announced that Bob Irwin, father of Steve Irwin, had resigned from Australia Zoo, of which he was the founder, in order to "keep his son's dream alive" on a different property with his wife. In a statement to the press, the elder Irwin thanked the staff for all their help but made no mention of Terri. At that time, the zoo was being sued for $2.5 million by a debt collection agency, but the lawsuit was later dismissed by the court.


title: Terri Irwin

text: In a 2018 interview, Terri told "People" magazine that she had not dated or had a relationship since her husband's death. "There's always the potential to find love again, and that's a beautiful thing . . . but I had my happily ever after," she said, "[so] I'm doing OK."


title: Terri Irwin

text: American by birth, Terri became an Australian citizen on November 15, 2009. In a tribute to her husband Steve, the citizenship ceremony was held during the "Steve Irwin Day" celebrations in Australia Zoo's Crocoseum.


title: Terri Irwin

text: Irwin has expressed support for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and was present at the launching of one of the organization's vessels, which was renamed after her husband.


title: Terri Irwin

text: In 2008, she signed on to a three-year research program in correspondence with Australia Zoo supporting the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University, funding two US$250,000 research projects on humpback whales. "Learning about whales is part of a bigger picture," she said of the project. "Our oceans are in jeopardy and the more research we gather about whales, the more knowledge we have to help us save, protect and preserve our delicate oceans."


title: Terri Irwin

text: In 2006, Irwin was made an honorary Member of the Order of Australia for services to wildlife conservation and the tourism industry.


title: Terri Irwin

text: She has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Queensland for her work in conservation and support of high-quality research.


title: Mamamoo

text: Mamamoo (, stylized in all caps) is a South Korean girl group formed by RBW (formerly WA Entertainment) in 2014, composed of four members: Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein and Hwasa. The group officially debuted with their single "Mr. Ambiguous" on June 18, 2014. Their debut was considered by some critics as one of the best K-pop debuts of 2014. They are recognized for their retro, jazz, R&B concepts and their strong vocal performances.


title: Mamamoo

text: The group name "Mamamoo" is symbolic of the first time a baby babbles. In addition, it has the meaning of approaching instinctively and primitively like a baby.


title: Mamamoo

text: Prior to their official debut, Mamamoo collaborated with several artists. Their first collaboration titled "Don't Be Happy" with Bumkey was released on January 8, 2014. A second collaboration with K.Will titled "Peppermint Chocolate" featuring Wheesung was released on February 11, 2014. "Peppermint Chocolate" debuted at number 11 on the Gaon Digital Chart in its first week. On May 30, 2014, Mamamoo released a collaboration single called "HeeHeeHaHeHo" with rap duo Geeks.


title: Mamamoo

text: The group made their official debut on June 18, 2014, with lead single "Mr. Ambiguous" from their first extended play (EP) "Hello". The music video for "Mr. Ambiguous" contained cameo appearances from many well-known K-pop industry figures such as CNBLUE's Jonghyun, Baek Ji-young, Wheesung, Jung Joon-young, Bumkey, K.Will, and Rhymer of Brand New Music. The album contained three previously released collaborations and four new songs. The group made their first live appearance on the June 19 episode of "M Countdown". In July 2014, Mamamoo released their first original soundtrack contribution titled "Love Lane" for the Korean drama "Marriage, Not Dating".


title: Mamamoo

text: On November 21, 2014, Mamamoo released their second EP "Piano Man" with the title track of the same name. The title song peaked at 41 on Gaon's Digital chart. By the end of 2014, Mamamoo ranked tenth highest among idol girl groups for digital sales, 19th in album sales, and 11th in overall sales according to Gaon's year-end rankings. On January 10, 2015, Mamamoo performed a rendition of Joo Hyun-mi's "Wait a Minute" at the singing show "Immortal Songs 2", reaching the final round before losing to Kim Kyung-ho.


title: Mamamoo

text: On April 2, 2015, Mamamoo released "Ahh Oop!", the first single of their third EP titled "Pink Funky". "Ahh Oop!" marks the group's second collaboration with label mate Esna, after she was featured in "Gentleman" on their second EP "Piano Man". On June 13, 2015, the group traveled to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to perform at an event sponsored by the South Korean Embassy with Crayon Pop and K-Much. The event was a commemorative concert held in honor of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic ties between South Korea and Mongolia.


title: Mamamoo

text: On June 19, 2015, Mamamoo released their third EP "Pink Funky" and lead single "Um Oh Ah Yeh". The song was a commercial success, peaking at number three on the Gaon Chart, becoming their first top-three single. On August 23, 2015, after promotions concluded, Mamamoo held their first fan meeting, entitled "1st Moo Party", for a total of 1,200 fans at the Olympic Park in Seoul. Tickets for the fan meeting sold out within one minute, so the group added an additional meeting for 1,200 more fans the same night. They also held another "Moo Party" in Los Angeles, which took place on October 4, 2015. Mamamoo also collaborated and performed with label mate Basick on the Korean rap survival show "Show Me the Money".


title: Mamamoo

text: On August 29, 2015, Mamamoo returned to "Immortal Song 2" with a rendition of Jo Young-nam's "Delilah". On October 31, 2015, Mamamoo returned to the "Immortal Song 2", singing a rendition of Korean trot singer Bae Ho's song "Backwood's Mountain" (두메산골). Their performance earned their first overall win on "Immortal Song" with 404 points.


title: Mamamoo

text: On January 10, 2016, RBW announced Mamamoo's first solo concert since their debut in 2014. The concert, titled "2016 Mamamoo Concert-Moosical", was held on August 13–14, 2016, at the Olympic Hall in Seoul. 7,000 tickets for the concert were sold out in one minute.


title: Mamamoo

text: On January 26, 2016, Mamamoo pre-released an R&B ballad, "I Miss You", from their first full-length album "Melting". On February 12, 2016, another track, "1cm/Taller than You" was pre-released with a music video. The full album was released on February 26, 2016, debuting at number 3 on the Gaon chart. The title track "You're the Best (넌 is 뭔들)" also debuted at number three but peaked at number one the following week, becoming their first number-one single.


title: Mamamoo

text: On March 6, 2016, they received their first music show win with the song "You're the Best" on "Inkigayo""," followed by wins on "Music Bank", "M Countdown", and other music shows. They received eight wins in total for the single. On March 16, 2016, Mamamoo performed in Austin, Texas at South By Southwest's K-Pop Night Out.


title: Mamamoo

text: On August 31, 2016, Mamamoo released the singles "Angel" and "Dab Dab" as subgroups consisting of vocalists (Solar and Wheein) and rappers (Moonbyul and Hwasa) respectively. On September 21, 2016, Mamamoo released their follow-up digital single "New York" and accompanying music video. After wrapping up promotions for "New York" Mamamoo's agency announced that the group will make their comeback on November 7 with their fourth EP, "Memory". The lead single for "Memory" was announced to be "Décalcomanie". Shortly afterwards, Mamamoo participated in several year-end award shows, while also featuring in the OST titled "Love" for hit TV show "Goblin".


title: Mamamoo

text: On January 19, 2017, Mamamoo announced their second solo concert titled "2017 Mamamoo Concert Moosical: Curtain Call", which was held on March 3–5, 2017 in Seoul and August 19–20, 2017 in Busan at KBS Busan Hall. Following the first show of their March 2017 concert in Seoul, Mamamoo received criticism for performing in blackface when, as part of the concert, they played a video containing the members impersonating Bruno Mars while wearing darker makeup, meant to recreate a snippet of the music video for Mars' "Uptown Funk" (2014). The clip was cut from following concert dates and multiple apologies were promptly issued, including one directly from the members, stating that they were "extremely ignorant of blackface and did not understand the implications of our actions. We will be taking time to understand more about our international fans to ensure this never happens again." The group released their fifth EP "Purple" with the lead single "Yes I Am" on June 22, 2017. The single quickly climbed to the number one spot on the Melon real-time chart. After one day, Mamamoo set the record for the highest number of unique listeners in 24-hours with "Yes I Am" on Melon for a girl group. On June 27, 2017, the song received its first music show win on "The Show", followed by wins on "Show Champion", "M Countdown", and "Show! Music Core". "Purple" also peaked at number one on the "Billboard" World Albums chart.


title: Mamamoo

text: On January 4, 2018, Mamamoo released a pre-release single called "Paint Me" to act as a prelude to their upcoming project series "Four Seasons, Four Colors". The goal of the series is to showcase four mini albums, each combining one color and a matching member's characteristic for each season. The group has stated that they wish to show their depth as artists and present a more mature style with this project.


title: Mamamoo

text: Mamamoo started off the "Four Seasons, Four Colors" project with the release of their sixth EP, "Yellow Flower," on March 7. "Yellow Flower" debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart, becoming their first number-one album since their 2014 debut. The Latin-inspired and dance-pop song "Starry Night" was released alongside the album, with an accompanying music video. "Starry Night" debuted and peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart, earning 44.7 million Gaon Index points in its debut week. It also ranked at number six on the mid-year and 13 on the year-end editions of the Gaon Digital Chart, making it the fourth-highest-charting song by a girl group on the latter. The song earned the group their first music recording certification since the Gaon Music Chart and Korea Music & Content Association (KMCA) introduced certifications in April 2018; in November 2018, it was certified platinum for 100 million streams, and July 2019, it was certified platinum for 2.5 million paid digital downloads.


title: Mamamoo

text: On July 1, Mamamoo released the single "Rainy Season" as the pre-release single from their upcoming album. "Rainy Season" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart, behind only Blackpink's "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du", and was nominated for Best Female Vocal Performance at the 2018 Genie Music Awards. The group released their seventh EP, "Red Moon", which serves as the second installment in the "Four Seasons, Four Colors" series, on July 16. The EP debuted and peaked at number three on the Gaon Album Chart, with 38,000 copies sold in July 2018. The EP debuted at number four on the "Billboard" World Albums with 1,000 copies cold, marking their best U.S. sales week, and gave the group their first-ever appearance on the "Billboard" Heatseekers Albums Chart, entering the chart at number 25. The Latin-pop lead single "Egotistic", released alongside the EP, peaked at number four on the Gaon Digital Chart and the "Billboard" World Digital Songs Sales chart, earning the group their fifth top-ten entry on the latter chart.


title: Mamamoo

text: On August 18–19, Mamamoo held their third headlining concert, titled "2018 Mamamoo Concert 4Seasons S/S", at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul. Tickets for the concert were sold out within two minutes of being available for sale.


title: Mamamoo

text: Mamamoo released their debut Japanese single, the re-recorded Japanese version of their 2016 single "Décalcomanie", on October 3 by Victor Entertainment. The CD and digital releases of the single also include the b-side "You Don't Know Me", a pop track that serves as their first original Japanese song. "Décalcomanie" peaked at number 11 on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart, with over 9,000 copies sold. On November 29, the group returned to the Korean-language market, releasing their eighth EP "Blue;S", which serves as the third installment of the "Four Seasons, Four Colors" series of albums. "Blue;S", which focuses on member Solar, peaked at number seven on the Gaon Album Chart. The lead single "Wind Flower" peaked at number nine on the Gaon Digital Chart. On February 6, 2019, the group released the Japanese version of "Wind Flower", alongside its b-side "Sleep Talk", as their second Japanese-language single. "Wind Flower" peaked at number 16 on the Oricon Singles Chart, selling 7,000 copies.


title: Mamamoo

text: On March 14, 2019, Mamamoo released their ninth EP, and the fourth and final installment of the "Four Seasons, Four Colors" project, "White Wind", on March 14, 2019, with the lead single "Gogobebe". "White Wind" debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart, selling nearly 60,000 physical copies by April 2019. "Gogobebe" also saw decent commercial success, peaking at number five on the Gaon Digital Chart and placing at number 72 on the yearly chart. The song also peaked at number two on both the "Billboard" Korea K-Pop Hot 100 and Billboard World Digital Songs Sales charts. On March 27, the group announced their fourth headlining concert, titled "2019 Mamamoo Concert 4Seasons F/W". The concert was held at Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul on April 19–21. The concerts served as a grand finale for Mamamoo's "Four Seasons, Four Colors" project, launched the previous year in order to re-create the group's identity.


title: Mamamoo

text: On July 24, Mamamoo released a new promotional single titled "Gleam" in collaboration with the brand Davich Eyeglasses. The dance and pop single saw minor success, peaking at number 89 on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number 15 on the "Billboard" World Digital Songs Sales chart.


title: Mamamoo

text: In August 2019, Mamamoo was announced to be joining Mnet reality-competition show "Queendom" as one of six teams. The show is a "comeback battle" between six trending girl group acts in order to "determine the real number one" when all six release their singles at the same time. "Queendom" premiered on August 26 and ran for ten total episodes, ending on October 31. During the show's finale, the group was crowned the winner of "Queendom", thus earning the prize of a full-length comeback show to be broadcast on Mnet. As part of the show, Mamamoo released various songs, including a cover of AOA's 2016 hit "Good Luck" and their original finale song "Destiny".


title: Mamamoo

text: Following their "Queendom" victory, Mamamoo released their second full album, "Reality in Black", on November 14, 2019, with the lead single "Hip". "Reality in Black" debuted and peaked atop the Gaon Album Chart, while "Hip" peaked at number four on the Digital Chart. "Hip" also debuted at number five on the World Digital Songs Sales chart and peaked atop the chart in its second week, giving the group their very first number-one hit on the chart. On February 19, 2020, Mamamoo released their third Japanese song, "Shampoo", as a digital single. The song, along with the Japanese version of "Hip", is included in the Japanese edition of "Reality in Black". The Japanese edition of the album was released on March 11 and peaked at number 27 on the Oricon Albums Chart with 2,500 copies sold.


title: Mamamoo

text: In January 2020, an OSEN interview with Kim Do-hoon, the CEO and executive producer of Mamamoo's record label RBW, was published, in which Kim detailed the trajectory of Mamamoo's career and activities in 2020. He reflected on the successes of Mamamoo's participation on "Queendom" and their second Korean studio album "Reality in Black" and confirmed that the members would begin to focus on solo projects, with each member hoping to showcase their individualities that they had previously shown in the "Four Seasons, Four Colors" project series. Moonbyul became the first member to release a solo project in 2020, releasing her debut EP "Dark Side of the Moon" on February 14. On April 23, Solar released her debut single "Spit It Out" and its accompanying single album. Following the single's debut at number 12 (and subsequent peak at number six), Mamamoo became the second Korean group in which every member had a solo song chart on the "Billboard"'s World Digital Song Sales chart.


title: Mamamoo

text: Mamamoo released a promotional single, "Wanna Be Myself," on September 10. The "nostalgic" and "minimalist" music video was released in conjunction with the song itself and gained 3.8 million views in its first 24 hours of being released. The single peaked at number 93 on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number 11 on the "Billboard" World Digital Songs Sales chart.


title: Mamamoo

text: In October 2020, Mamamoo announced their tenth EP, due out in November. "Dingga" (딩가딩가), the first single off of the EP, was pre-released ahead of the album on October 20. The disco-influenced pop song, characterized by themes of isolation and longing in the COVID-19 pandemic, was described by "Teen Vogue" as a "fun, chill" dance track accompanied by a "striking, retro-inspired music video to match." Led by a "simply melody line and funky vibes," the single earned top ten positions in South Korea and on the "Billboard" World Digital Songs Sales chart, and further charted in Singapore and Japan. The full EP, titled "Travel", and its second single, "Aya", were released on November 3. "Travel" received mixed receptions for its lack of cohesion, and it peaked at number two on the Gaon Album Chart. The EP broke the group's personal sales records, selling a reported 100,000 copies in its first day and over 128,000 copies in its first week, and additionally topped iTunes charts in 29 countries. Described as a "180-degree flip" from the retro-pop style of "Dingga," the second single from "Travel," "Aya," was described by critics as being "alluring" and "captivating" and peaked within the top 40 of the Gaon Digital Chart.


title: Mamamoo

text: On January 22, 2021, RBW announced that Solar and Moonbyul had renewed their contracts with their agency, while Wheein and Hwasa were still currently discussing contract renewals. On March 30, Hwasa officially renewed her contract with RBW, with Wheein's contract remaining under discussion. Later on the entertainment RBW also confirmed that Mamamoo will stay together and won't disband. On May 1, Mamamoo held a global virtual concert on live-streaming platform LiveNOW, becoming the first South Korean music act to hold a concert on the platform.


title: Mamamoo

text: Their eleventh EP, "WAW", was released on June 2, along with the lead single "Where Are We Now." "WAW" topped iTunes albums charts in 21 countries worldwide, and it sold over 40,000 domestic copies in its first day of release, according to the Hanteo chart.


title: Mamamoo

text: On June 11, RBW announced that Wheein would be leaving the company as she has chosen not to renew her solo contract with the agency. However, she signed a second contract extension to remain as a member of Mamamoo until at least December 2023. Thus, RBW remains responsible for her activities in the group but is no longer involved in her solo endeavors. On August 31, it was revealed that Wheein signed an exclusive solo contract with the agency THEL1VE.


title: Mamamoo

text: A compilation album, titled "", was released alongside the lead single "Mumumumuch" on September 15. The album peaked at number eight on the Gaon Album Chart. On March 23, 2022, Mamamoo released the Japanese edition of "The Best".


title: Mamamoo

text: In August 2022, it was announced that members Solar and Moonbyul would be forming the group's first official subunit, Mamamoo+, with an expected album release at the end of the month. The duo's debut single "Better" featuring rapper Big Naughty, was released as planned on August 30.


title: Mamamoo

text: Since their 2014 debut, Mamamoo has received five Mnet Asian Music Awards and Asia Artist Awards respectively, four Golden Disc Awards, Seoul Music Awards and The Fact Music Awards respectively. A total of 44 awards out of 161 nominations.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: The Hills Have Eyes is a 2006 horror film directed by Alexandre Aja and co-written by Aja and Grégory Levasseur, in their English-language debut. It is a remake of Wes Craven's 1977 film of the same name. The film stars Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, Vinessa Shaw, Emilie de Ravin, Dan Byrd, Robert Joy, and Ted Levine and follows a family that is targeted by a group of cannibalistic mutants after their car breaks down in the desert.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: The film was released theatrically in the United States and United Kingdom on March 10, 2006. It earned $15.5 million in its opening weekend in the U.S., where it was originally rated NC-17 for strong gruesome violence, but was later edited down to an R-rating. An unrated DVD version was released on June 20, 2006.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Retired detective Bob Carter and his wife Ethel are travelling from Cleveland to San Diego through the New Mexico desert for their silver wedding anniversary; with them are their three children, Lynn, Brenda, and Bobby, Lynn's husband Doug and their baby daughter Catherine, and their two German Shepherds, Beauty and Beast. They stop at a gas station where the elderly attendant suggests a different route through the hills, claiming it will save them a few hours. Not long after, their tires are punctured by a hidden spike strip, causing the truck and trailer to crash.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Bob and Doug set off in opposite directions to find help while the rest of the family stay by the trailer. Beauty escapes and, when Bobby chases her into the hills, he finds her mutilated corpse. Horrified, he flees back to the trailer but falls off the hill on the way, knocking himself unconscious. A timid female mutant Ruby protects him from her brother Goggle. Meanwhile, Bob arrives back at the gas station. Upon searching the station, he finds newspaper clippings detailing various disappearances in the area after recent nuclear testings at a mining town by the US government that caused the mutants' deformities. He confronts the attendant who then commits suicide. Bob attempts to flee in an abandoned car but is attacked by the mutant leader Papa Jupiter.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: After Bobby is found by Brenda, Doug returns after heading towards the interstate and found a huge crater filled with numerous abandoned cars and other belongings. When being pursued by Papa Jupiter, Bobby confesses his story to Doug and Lynn, just as Pluto and Lizard infiltrate the trailer. They attack and rape Brenda, who has stayed in the trailer with Catherine, while using a distraction of immolating Bob to a tree to divert the others. When Lynn and Ethel return to the trailer, Lizard shoots both of them before abducting Catherine and escaping with Pluto. Doug and Bobby return to discover the carnage; Lynn and Ethel die shortly afterwards.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: The next morning, Doug, along with Beast, set out to rescue Catherine. He comes across an abandoned nuclear testing village through the miner town's cave system but is knocked unconscious by Big Mama. Awakening in an ice box, he escapes and encounters Big Brain who reveals the mutants' origins to him. Pluto appears and attacks Doug but he manages to gain the upper hand and kills Pluto with his own axe before killing another mutant, Cyst. After ordering Lizard to kill Catherine, Big Brain is mauled to death by Beast. Ruby manages to take the baby from Lizard and escapes through the hills.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Back at the trailer, Brenda and Bobby build an explosive trap, which they set off when Brenda is attacked by Jupiter. Meanwhile, Doug catches up with Ruby but Lizard attacks them before Ruby can hand Catherine over. A struggle ensues and Doug manages to defeat him with Cyst's shotgun. Ruby then gives Doug his daughter back. Lizard, still alive, aims the shotgun at Doug but Ruby tackles Lizard off a cliff, sending them both falling to their deaths.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Bobby and Brenda find Jupiter wounded from their trap and Brenda finishes him off with a pickaxe before the siblings are reunited with Doug, Catherine, and Beast. As the survivors of the Carter family embrace, an unknown mutant watches them from afar through binoculars.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: An international co-production film between The United States, France and Morocco. Wes Craven, director and writer of the original film, considered a remake after he saw the success of other horror remakes such as "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "The Amityville Horror". The search then began for filmmakers to helm the project. Marianne Maddalena, Craven's long-time producing partner, came across Alexandre Aja and his art director/collaborator Grégory Levasseur who had previously made the French slasher film "High Tension". After showing the film to Craven and the rest of the production crew, they were impressed with the pair. Craven commented that they "demonstrated a multi-faceted understanding of what is profoundly terrifying" and "After viewing the film and then meeting the film makers, I knew I wanted to work with them." Aja and Levasseur then began to re-write the story in what was the pair's first American production. Initially the remake was setup at Dimension Films as part of Craven's overall deal with Miramax, Dimension then put the film into turnaround where it was acquired by Fox Searchlight.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Director Aja and art director Grégory Levasseur chose not to film in the original's filming location of Victorville, California, and instead scouted many locations for filming including Namibia, South Africa, New Mexico, and Mexico. The two settled on Ouarzazate in Morocco, which was also known as "the gateway to the Sahara Desert".


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: The film is set in New Mexico, and strongly implies that a large number of atmospheric nuclear weapon tests were performed in that state. In fact, the only atmospheric nuclear detonation in New Mexico was the Trinity test, the first test of a nuclear device conducted on July 16, 1945. The United States carried out most of its atmospheric nuclear weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site and in the Marshall Islands at the lagoons of Bikini and Eniwetok, between 1946 and 1962. The theatrical poster shows Vinessa Shaw's character prone, with a mutant hand on her face.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: During the opening sequence, flashes of deformed children are shown. These children are victims of Agent Orange infamous for it's use during the Vietnam War.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Prior to filming, Aja and Levasseur had already conceived an idea for the mutants' appearance. "We based all our descriptions and directions on real documents, pictures and footage that we found on the effects of nuclear fallout in Chernobyl and Hiroshima", explains Aja. "The Hills Have Eyes" utilized the K.N.B. EFX Group Inc. who had done previous work on films such as "" (for which they were nominated for an Academy Award) and "Sin City".


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: K.N.B. spent over six months designing the mutants, first using 3D designer tools, such as ZBrush, allowing them to use a computer to generate their sculptures. After prosthetics were made, they could be fitted to the actors before filming. Robert Joy, who plays the mutant Lizard, explained, "Every day, these amazing artists took more than three hours to transform me into something that could only be found in a nightmare."


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Jamison Goei and his team, who had done previous work on "" and "", had done over 130 visual effects for the film. A large part of that was digitally constructing the testing village, which in actuality was only one built street with others digitally added. The team also warped the mutant's faces slightly, which is shown mostly in the character of Ruby.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Papa Jupiter displays no deformities. However, as shown in "The Making Of", Papa Jupiter appears to have a large parasitic twin attached to his upper left torso. The young children of the film had their deformities added by CGI, with the exception of Ruby, who had a combination of CGI and makeup.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: The casting process began with the selection of "The Silence of the Lambs"' Ted Levine as the character Big Bob. Levine was also a fan of the film "High Tension". Afterward, Kathleen Quinlan was cast as Ethel in her first role starring in a horror film (despite appearing in "" and "Event Horizon"). Next, Aaron Stanford was cast as Doug Bukowski who "undergoes the most radical transformation of anyone in the Carter family". Stanford even asked not to see any of the mutants in make-up before his character's battle in the testing village so, that way, he'd be truly frightened. When casting Lynn, Doug's wife, Aja wanted to cast Vinessa Shaw who he had wanted to work with since seeing her in Stanley Kubrick's 1999 film "Eyes Wide Shut". Shaw was hesitant to play the role, but after watching "High Tension", she agreed, explaining: "There was such an odd combination of beauty and terror, it felt almost like an art film. So, after meeting with Alex and Greg, I decided to do it." For the role of Brenda, the filmmakers sought a young actress who had relatively little exposure and found it in Emilie de Ravin, who was beginning her rise in the television series "Lost". After de Ravin, Dan Byrd was cast as Bobby. Byrd had previous genre experience starring in "Salem's Lot".


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: When casting for the mutants, associate producer Cody Zwieg explained: "We needed to find actors who could not only perform the stunt work, handle the extensive makeup and perform in that makeup, but who truly could embody the fierce, primal nature of the mutants' way of life." To play the role of Pluto, Aja looked to Michael Bailey Smith, who had been in "". For Lizard, the filmmakers cast Robert Joy, who had made previous genre films such as "Amityville 3-D" and George A. Romero's "Land of the Dead". Ezra Buzzington, impressed with the filmmakers, agreed to play the role of Goggle and even watched a documentary about human cultures engaging in cannibalism. To play the mutant leader, Billy Drago was cast. Drago had previously had a role in Brian De Palma's "The Untouchables" and other horror features. The most difficult mutant to cast was Ruby, who was a "touch of sweetness to the madness of the mutants." Laura Ortiz was ultimately cast, making her film debut.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: "The Hills Have Eyes" was a commercial success, playing in total 2,521 theaters and taking in its opening weekend $15,708,512. The film grossed $41,778,863 in the United States box office and $70,000,000 worldwide, surpassing its budget costs by over fourfold.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: The film placed third at the box office during its opening week. It dropped to fifth after its second week of release, and to eighth after its third week. It fell out of the top 10 into twelfth place after four weeks in release. After five weeks, it placed seventeenth at the box office, and it fell out of the top 20 into twenty-first place after its sixth week. It continued to fall in subsequent weeks.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: "The Hills Have Eyes" was in first release for a total of 105 days, or 15 weeks, with its final showing on June 22, 2006.


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: Reviews were mixed, with an average critic "Rotten" rating of 52% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 142 reviews. The critical consensus stated "Faster paced for today's audiences, this 'Hills' remake ratchets up the gore for the hardcore horror fans, but will turn away casual audiences." "The Washington Post" said: "this remake of the alleged 1977 Wes Craven classic has one very disturbing quality: It's too damned good." Some have gone on to refer to the film as torture porn. Bloody Disgusting, however, was scathing of those who referred to the movie's genre as such, saying "some may call it 'Torture porn'—these people are idiots". Roger Ebert also gave a negative review, mentioning that the characters in the film are not familiar with horror movies, and went on to cite that the film should have focused more on the characters rather than the violence, saying ""The Hills Have Eyes" finds an intriguing setting in 'typical' fake towns built by the government [...] But its mutants are simply engines of destruction. There is a misshapen creature who coordinates attacks with a walkie-talkie; I would have liked to know more about him, but no luck."


title: The Hills Have Eyes (2006 film)

text: The soundtrack score was composed by tomandandy. The record was released on March 7, 2006 via Lakeshore Records label.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the "Three Bs" of music, a comment originally made by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Brahms composed for symphony orchestra, chamber ensembles, piano, organ, violin, voice, and chorus. A virtuoso pianist, he premiered many of his own works. He worked with leading performers of his time, including the pianist Clara Schumann and the violinist Joseph Joachim (the three were close friends). Many of his works have become staples of the modern concert repertoire.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Brahms has been considered both a traditionalist and an innovator, by his contemporaries and by later writers. His music is rooted in the structures and compositional techniques of the Classical masters. Embedded within those structures are deeply romantic motifs. While some contemporaries found his music to be overly academic, his contribution and craftsmanship were admired by subsequent figures as diverse as Arnold Schoenberg and Edward Elgar. The detailed construction of Brahms's works was a starting point and an inspiration for a generation of composers.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Brahms's father, Johann Jakob Brahms (1806–72), was from the town of Heide in Holstein. The family name was also sometimes spelt 'Brahmst' or 'Brams', and derives from 'Bram', the German word for the shrub broom. Against the family's will, Johann Jakob pursued a career in music, arriving in Hamburg in 1826, where he found work as a jobbing musician and a string and wind player. In 1830, he married Johanna Henrika Christiane Nissen (1789–1865), a seamstress 17 years older than he was. In the same year he was appointed as a horn player in the Hamburg militia. Eventually he became a double-bass player in the Stadttheater Hamburg and the Hamburg Philharmonic Society. As Johann Jakob prospered, the family moved over the years to ever better accommodation in Hamburg. Johannes Brahms was born in 1833; his sister Elisabeth (Elise) had been born in 1831 and a younger brother Fritz Friedrich (Fritz) was born in 1835. Fritz also became a pianist; overshadowed by his brother, he emigrated to Caracas in 1867, and later returned to Hamburg as a teacher.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Johann Jakob gave his son his first musical training; Johannes also learnt to play the violin and the basics of playing the cello. From 1840 he studied piano with Otto Friedrich Willibald Cossel (1813–1865). Cossel complained in 1842 that Brahms "could be such a good player, but he will not stop his never-ending composing". At the age of 10, Brahms made his debut as a performer in a private concert including Beethoven's quintet for piano and winds Op. 16 and a piano quartet by Mozart. He also played as a solo work an étude of Henri Herz. By 1845 he had written a piano sonata in G minor. His parents disapproved of his early efforts as a composer, feeling that he had better career prospects as a performer.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: From 1845 to 1848 Brahms studied with Cossel's teacher, the pianist and composer Eduard Marxsen (1806–1887). Marxsen had been a personal acquaintance of Beethoven and Schubert, admired the works of Mozart and Haydn, and was a devotee of the music of J. S. Bach. Marxsen conveyed to Brahms the tradition of these composers and ensured that Brahms's own compositions were grounded in that tradition. In 1847 Brahms made his first public appearance as a solo pianist in Hamburg, playing a fantasy by Sigismund Thalberg. His first full piano recital, in 1848, included a fugue by Bach as well as works by Marxsen and contemporary virtuosi such as Jacob Rosenhain. A second recital in April 1849 included Beethoven's "Waldstein" sonata and a waltz fantasia of his own composition and garnered favourable newspaper reviews.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Brahms's compositions at this period are known to have included piano music, chamber music and works for male voice choir. Under the pseudonym 'G. W. Marks', some piano arrangements and fantasies were published by the Hamburg firm of Cranz in 1849. The earliest of Brahms's works which he acknowledged (his "Scherzo" Op. 4 and the song "Heimkehr" Op. 7 no. 6) date from 1851. However, Brahms was later assiduous in eliminating all his early works; even as late as 1880 he wrote to his friend Elise Giesemann to send him his manuscripts of choral music so that they could be destroyed.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Persistent stories of the impoverished adolescent Brahms playing in bars and brothels have only anecdotal provenance, and many modern scholars dismiss them; the Brahms family was relatively prosperous, and Hamburg legislation very strictly forbade music in, or the admittance of minors to, brothels.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: In 1850 Brahms met the Hungarian violinist Ede Reményi and accompanied him in a number of recitals over the next few years. This was his introduction to "gypsy-style" music such as the "csardas", which was later to prove the foundation of his most lucrative and popular compositions, the two sets of "Hungarian Dances" (1869 and 1880). 1850 also marked Brahms's first contact (albeit a failed one) with Robert Schumann; during Schumann's visit to Hamburg that year, friends persuaded Brahms to send the former some of his compositions, but the package was returned unopened.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: In 1853 Brahms went on a concert tour with Reményi. In late May the two visited the violinist and composer Joseph Joachim at Hanover. Brahms had earlier heard Joachim playing the solo part in Beethoven's violin concerto and been deeply impressed. Brahms played some of his own solo piano pieces for Joachim, who remembered fifty years later: "Never in the course of my artist's life have I been more completely overwhelmed". This was the beginning of a friendship which was lifelong, albeit temporarily derailed when Brahms took the side of Joachim's wife in their divorce proceedings of 1883. Brahms also admired Joachim as a composer, and in 1856 they were to embark on a mutual training exercise to improve their skills in (in Brahms's words) "double counterpoint, canons, fugues, preludes or whatever". Bozarth notes that "products of Brahms's study of counterpoint and early music over the next few years included "dance pieces, preludes and fugues for organ, and neo-Renaissance and neo-Baroque choral works".


title: Johannes Brahms

text: After meeting Joachim, Brahms and Reményi visited Weimar, where Brahms met Franz Liszt, Peter Cornelius, and Joachim Raff, and where Liszt performed Brahms's Op. 4 Scherzo at sight. Reményi claimed that Brahms then slept during Liszt's performance of his own Sonata in B minor; this and other disagreements led Reményi and Brahms to part company.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Brahms visited Düsseldorf in October 1853, and, with a letter of introduction from Joachim, was welcomed by Schumann and his wife Clara. Schumann, greatly impressed and delighted by the 20-year-old's talent, published an article entitled "Neue Bahnen" ("New Paths") in the 28 October issue of the journal "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik" nominating Brahms as one who was "fated to give expression to the times in the highest and most ideal manner". This praise may have aggravated Brahms's self-critical standards of perfection and dented his confidence. He wrote to Schumann in November 1853 that his praise "will arouse such extraordinary expectations by the public that I don't know how I can begin to fulfil them". While in Düsseldorf, Brahms participated with Schumann and Schumann's pupil Albert Dietrich in writing a movement each of a violin sonata for Joachim, the "F-A-E Sonata", the letters representing the initials of Joachim's personal motto "Frei aber einsam" ("Free but lonely").


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Schumann's accolade led to the first publication of Brahms's works under his own name. Brahms went to Leipzig where Breitkopf & Härtel published his Opp. 1–4 (the Piano Sonatas nos. 1 and 2, the Six Songs Op. 3, and the Scherzo Op. 4), whilst Bartholf Senff published the Third Piano Sonata Op. 5 and the Six Songs Op. 6. In Leipzig, he gave recitals including his own first two piano sonatas, and met with Ferdinand David, Ignaz Moscheles, and Hector Berlioz, among others.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: After Schumann's attempted suicide and subsequent confinement in a mental sanatorium near Bonn in February 1854 (where he died of pneumonia in 1856), Brahms based himself in Düsseldorf, where he supported the household and dealt with business matters on Clara's behalf. Clara was not allowed to visit Robert until two days before his death, but Brahms was able to visit him and acted as a go-between. Brahms began to feel deeply for Clara, who to him represented an ideal of womanhood. Their intensely emotional platonic relationship lasted until Clara's death. In June 1854 Brahms dedicated to Clara his Op. 9, the "Variations on a Theme of Schumann". Clara continued to support Brahms's career by programming his music in her recitals.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: After the publication of his Op. 10 Ballades for piano, Brahms published no further works until 1860. His major project of this period was the Piano Concerto in D minor, which he had begun as a work for two pianos in 1854 but soon realized needed a larger-scale format. Based in Hamburg at this time, he gained, with Clara's support, a position as musician to the tiny court of Detmold, the capital of the Principality of Lippe, where he spent the winters of 1857 to 1860 and for which he wrote his two Serenades (1858 and 1859, Opp. 11 and 16). In Hamburg he established a women's choir for which he wrote music and conducted. To this period also belong his first two Piano Quartets (Op. 25 and Op. 26) and the first movement of the third Piano Quartet, which eventually appeared in 1875.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: The end of the decade brought professional setbacks for Brahms. The premiere of the First Piano Concerto in Hamburg on 22 January 1859, with the composer as soloist, was poorly received. Brahms wrote to Joachim that the performance was "a brilliant and decisive – failure ... [I]t forces one to concentrate one's thoughts and increases one's courage ... But the hissing was too much of a good thing ..." At a second performance, audience reaction was so hostile that Brahms had to be restrained from leaving the stage after the first movement. As a consequence of these reactions Breitkopf and Härtel declined to take on his new compositions. Brahms consequently established a relationship with other publishers, including Simrock, who eventually became his major publishing partner. Brahms further made an intervention in 1860 in the debate on the future of German music which seriously misfired. Together with Joachim and others, he prepared an attack on Liszt's followers, the so-called "New German School" (although Brahms himself was sympathetic to the music of Richard Wagner, the School's leading light). In particular they objected to the rejection of traditional musical forms and to the "rank, miserable weeds growing from Liszt-like fantasias". A draft was leaked to the press, and the "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik" published a parody which ridiculed Brahms and his associates as backward-looking. Brahms never again ventured into public musical polemics.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Brahms's personal life was also troubled. In 1859 he became engaged to Agathe von Siebold. The engagement was soon broken off, but even after this Brahms wrote to her: "I love you! I must see you again, but I am incapable of bearing fetters. Please write me ... whether ... I may come again to clasp you in my arms, to kiss you, and tell you that I love you." They never saw one another again, and Brahms later confirmed to a friend that Agathe was his "last love".


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Brahms had hoped to be given the conductorship of the Hamburg Philharmonic, but in 1862 this post was given to the baritone Julius Stockhausen. (Brahms continued to hope for the post; but when he was finally offered the directorship in 1893, he demurred as he had "got used to the idea of having to go along other paths".) In autumn 1862 Brahms made his first visit to Vienna, staying there over the winter. There he became an associate of two close members of Wagner's circle, his earlier friend Peter Cornelius and Karl Tausig, and of Joseph Hellmesberger Sr. and Julius Epstein, respectively the Director and head of violin studies, and the head of piano studies, at the Vienna Conservatoire. Brahms's circle grew to include the notable critic (and opponent of the 'New German School') Eduard Hanslick, the conductor Hermann Levi and the surgeon Theodor Billroth, who were to become amongst his greatest advocates.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: In January 1863 Brahms met Richard Wagner for the first time, for whom he played his "Handel Variations" Op. 24, which he had completed the previous year. The meeting was cordial, although Wagner was in later years to make critical, and even insulting, comments on Brahms's music. Brahms however retained at this time and later a keen interest in Wagner's music, helping with preparations for Wagner's Vienna concerts in 1862/63, and being rewarded by Tausig with a manuscript of part of Wagner's "Tannhäuser" (which Wagner demanded back in 1875). The "Handel Variations" also featured, together with the first Piano Quartet, in his first Viennese recitals, in which his performances were better received by the public and critics than his music.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Although Brahms entertained the idea of taking up conducting posts elsewhere, he based himself increasingly in Vienna and soon made it his home. In 1863, he was appointed conductor of the Wiener Singakademie. He surprised his audiences by programming many works by the early German masters such as Heinrich Schütz and J. S. Bach, and other early composers such as Giovanni Gabrieli; more recent music was represented by works of Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn. Brahms also wrote works for the choir, including his Motet, Op. 29. Finding however that the post encroached too much of the time he needed for composing, he left the choir in June 1864. From 1864 to 1876 he spent many of his summers in Lichtental, today part of Baden-Baden, where Clara Schumann and her family also spent some time. His house in Lichtental, where he worked on many of his major compositions including "A German Requiem" and his middle-period chamber works, is preserved as a museum.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: In February 1865 Brahms's mother died, and he began to compose his large choral work "A German Requiem", Op. 45, of which six movements were completed by 1866. Premieres of the first three movements were given in Vienna, but the complete work was first given in Bremen in 1868 to great acclaim. A seventh movement (the soprano solo "Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit") was added for the equally successful Leipzig premiere (February 1869). The work went on to receive concert and critical acclaim throughout Germany and also in England, Switzerland and Russia, marking effectively Brahms's arrival on the world stage. Brahms also experienced at this period popular success with works such as his first set of "Hungarian Dances" (1869), the "Liebeslieder Waltzes", Op. 52, (1868/69), and his collections of lieder (Opp. 43 and 46–49). Following such successes he finally completed a number of works that he had wrestled with over many years such as the cantata "Rinaldo" (1863–1868), his first two string quartets Op. 51 nos. 1 and 2 (1865–1873), the third piano quartet (1855–1875), and most notably his first symphony which appeared in 1876, but which had been begun as early as 1855. During 1869 Brahms had felt himself falling in love with the Schumann's daughter Julie (then aged 24 to his 36) but did not declare himself; when later that year Julie's engagement to Count Marmorito was announced, he wrote and gave to Clara the manuscript of his "Alto Rhapsody" (Op. 53). Clara wrote in her diary that "he called it "his" wedding song" and noted "the profound pain in the text and the music".


title: Johannes Brahms

text: From 1872 to 1875, Brahms was director of the concerts of the Vienna Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. He ensured that the orchestra was staffed only by professionals, and conducted a repertoire which ran from Bach to the nineteenth century composers who were not of the 'New German School'; these included Beethoven, Franz Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Joachim, Ferdinand Hiller, Max Bruch and himself (notably his large scale choral works, the "German Requiem", the "Alto Rhapsody", and the patriotic "Triumphlied", Op. 55, which celebrated Prussia's victory in the 1870/71 Franco-Prussian War). 1873 saw the premiere of his orchestral "Variations on a Theme by Haydn", originally conceived for two pianos, which has become one of his most popular works.


title: Johannes Brahms

text: Brahms's first symphony, Op. 68, appeared in 1876, though it had been begun (and a version of the first movement had been announced by Brahms to Clara and to Albert Dietrich) in the early 1860s. During the decade it evolved very gradually; the finale may not have begun its conception until 1868. Brahms was cautious and typically self-deprecating about the symphony during its creation, writing to his friends that it was "long and difficult", "not exactly charming" and, significantly "long and in C Minor", which, as Richard Taruskin points out, made it clear "that Brahms was taking on the model of models [for a symphony]: Beethoven's Fifth".


title: Johannes Brahms

text: In May 1876, Cambridge University offered to grant honorary degrees of Doctor of Music to both Brahms and Joachim, provided that they composed new pieces as "theses" and were present in Cambridge to receive their degrees. Brahms was averse to traveling to England, and requested to receive the degree 'in absentia', offering as his thesis the previously performed (November 1876) symphony. But of the two, only Joachim went to England and only he was granted a degree. Brahms "acknowledged the invitation" by giving the manuscript score and parts of his first symphony to Joachim, who led the performance at Cambridge 8 March 1877 (English premiere).