title: Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)

text: Core is the debut studio album by American rock band Stone Temple Pilots, released on September 29, 1992, through Atlantic Records. The album peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard charts and was certified 8x platinum by the RIAA, making it the band's best-selling album of their career.


title: Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)

text: "Core" was recorded with producer Brendan O'Brien at Rumbo Recorders in Los Angeles over the course of three weeks. The first recorded track for the album, "Wet My Bed", was from an improv session between vocalist Scott Weiland and bassist Robert DeLeo, who were alone in the studio. Producer O'Brien is heard at the end walking in saying "All right, now what?" After recording was done, the band named the album "Core", named after the apple featured in the story of Adam and Eve in the Bible.


title: Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)

text: "Core" displayed the band's attempt to revive the album-oriented music approach of the 1970s. Striving to create an intense and emotional sound, Weiland said that the main theme of the album is that humanity is confused, with songs like "Sex Type Thing" and "Naked Sunday" dealing with social injustice. "Sex Type Thing", according to Weiland, deals with abuse of power, "macho" behavior, and humanity's attitude toward women, treating them as sex objects. Weiland stated that "Naked Sunday" "is about organized religion. About people who tell others what to do and what to believe. They switch off people's minds and control the masses. It gives me a feeling of isolation, when I think about it. Organized religion does not view everyone as equals." Further explaining his lyrical style on "Core", Weiland was quoted as saying:


title: Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)

text: The lyrics of "Wicked Garden" deal with the loss of innocence and purity, while "Sin" addresses "violent and ugly" relationships. The song "No Memory," a musical interlude between "Wicked Garden" and "Sin", was written by guitarist Dean DeLeo.


title: Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)

text: Critics, audiences and many peers from the alternative scene had split opinions of the band. Music journalists accused the band of stealing their sound from other grunge acts, mostly notably Pearl Jam. The band also received hostile complaints about their first single “Sex Type Thing,” as many thought the song promoted date rape. "Entertainment Weekly"s Deborah Frost wrote that the first single, "Sex Type Thing", “could be Mike Tyson's rape defense transcribed into grunge rock. It's unclear whether STP, which sounds like it has crash-landed Pearl Jam into Alice in Chains, is condemning or identifying with its narrator. With a real point of view, this band could be bigger than an accident." Paul Evans of "Rolling Stone" concluded that the "inner child of Stone Temple Pilots is Iron Maiden, and that kid just won't quit howling." Don Kaye of "Kerrang!" praised the band's "confidence and identity," unusual in debut albums.


title: Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)

text: The sharp divide between journalists and the bands fan base was present in a January 1994 issue of Rolling Stone, in which the magazine's readers and critics labeled the band as Best and Worst New Band respectively. In later years, Weiland showed sorrow about the mixed reactions that Core got, saying, "It was really painful in the beginning because I just assumed that the critics would understand where we were coming from, that these just weren't dumb rock songs."


title: Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)

text: In October 2011, "Core" was ranked number ten (preceded by Eric Clapton's acoustic live album "Unplugged") on "Guitar World" magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992. In 2019, "Rolling Stone" ranked the album at No. 11 on its list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums."


title: Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)

text: On September 29, 2017, a 25th anniversary edition of "Core" was released. The reissue includes a 25th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition (4CD/DVD/LP) box set, an exclusive "Core" 25th Anniversary T-shirt, and "Core" 25th Anniversary 16″ x 20″ lithograph. The Super Deluxe Edition's 4CDs present a remastered version of the album, previously unreleased demos and b-sides, and parts of three live performances from 1993 (Castaic Lake Natural Amphitheater, Reading Festival, and "MTV Unplugged"), alongside the remastered album on a single LP and a DVD including a 5.1 surround sound mix and videos for the album's three singles and Wicked Garden.


title: Afsharid dynasty

text: The Afsharid dynasty () was an Iranian dynasty founded by Nader Shah () of the Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman Afshar tribe.


title: Dumuzid

text: Dumuzid or Tammuz (; ; ), known to the Sumerians as Dumuzid the Shepherd (), is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with shepherds, who was also the first and primary consort of the goddess Inanna (later known as Ishtar). In Sumerian mythology, Dumuzid's sister was Geshtinanna, the goddess of agriculture, fertility, and dream interpretation. In the "Sumerian King List", Dumuzid is listed as an antediluvian king of the city of Bad-tibira and also an early king of the city of Uruk.


title: Dumuzid

text: In "Inanna's Descent into the Underworld", Inanna perceives that Dumuzid has failed to properly mourn her death and, when she returns from the Underworld, allows the "galla" demons to drag him down to the Underworld as her replacement. Inanna later regrets this decision and decrees that Dumuzid will spend half the year in the Underworld, but the other half of the year with her, while his sister Geshtinanna stays in the Underworld in his place, thus resulting in the cycle of the seasons. In the Sumerian poem "Inanna Prefers the Farmer", Dumuzid competes against the farmer Enkimdu for Inanna's hand in marriage.


title: Dumuzid

text: Gilgamesh references Tammuz in Tablet VI of the "Epic of Gilgamesh" as the love of Ishtar's youth, who was turned into an "allalu" bird with a broken wing. Dumuzid was associated with fertility and vegetation and the hot, dry summers of Mesopotamia were believed to be caused by Dumuzid's yearly death. During the month in midsummer bearing his name, people all across Mesopotamia would engage in public, ritual mourning for him. The cult of Dumuzid later spread to the Levant and to Greece, where he became known under the West Semitic name Adonis.


title: Dumuzid

text: The cult of Ishtar and Tammuz continued to thrive until the eleventh century AD and survived in parts of Mesopotamia as late as the eighteenth century. Tammuz is mentioned by name in the Book of Ezekiel (e.g., "Ezek. 8:14–15") and possibly alluded to in other passages from the Hebrew Bible. In late nineteenth and early twentieth century scholarship of religion, Tammuz was widely seen as a prime example of the archetypal dying-and-rising god, but the discovery of the full Sumerian text of "Inanna's Descent" in the mid-twentieth century appeared to disprove the previous scholarly assumption that the narrative ended with Dumuzid's resurrection and instead revealed that it ended with Dumuzid's death. However, the rescue of Dumuzid from the underworld was later found in the text "Return of Dumuzid", translated in 1963.


title: Dumuzid

text: The Assyriologists Jeremy Black and Anthony Green describe the early history of Dumuzid's cult as "complex and bewildering". According to the "Sumerian King List" (ETCSL 2.1.1), Dumuzid was the fifth antediluvian king of the city of Bad-tibira. Dumuzid was also listed as an early king of Uruk, where he was said to have come from the nearby village of Kuara and to have been the consort of the goddess Inanna. As "Dumuzid sipad" ("Dumuzid the Shepherd"), Dumuzid was believed to be the provider of milk, which was a rare, seasonal commodity in ancient Sumer due to the fact that it could not easily be stored without spoiling.


title: Dumuzid

text: In addition to being the god of shepherds, Dumuzid was also an agricultural deity associated with the growth of plants. Ancient Near Eastern peoples associated Dumuzid with the springtime, when the land was fertile and abundant, but, during the summer months, when the land was dry and barren, it was thought that Dumuzid had "died". During the month of Dumuzid, which fell in the middle of summer, people all across Sumer would mourn over his death. This seems to have been the primary aspect of his cult. In Lagash, the month of Dumuzid was the sixth month of the year. This month and the holiday associated with it was later transmitted from the Sumerians to Babylonians and other East Semitic peoples, with its name transcribed into those languages as "Tammuz". A ritual associated with the Ekur temple in Nippur equates Dumuzid with the snake-god Ištaran, who in that ritual, is described as having died.


title: Dumuzid

text: Dumuzid was also identified with the god Ama-ušumgal-ana ( "ama-ušumgal-an-na"), who was originally a local god worshipped in the city of Lagash. In some texts, Ama-ušumgal-ana is described as a heroic warrior. As Ama-ušumgal-ana, Dumuzid is associated with the date palm and its fruits. This aspect of Dumuzid's cult was always joyful in character and had no associations with the darker stories involving his death. To ancient Mesopotamian peoples, the date palm represented stability, because it was one of the few crops that could be harvested all year, even during the dry season. In some Sumerian poems, Dumuzid is referred to as "my Damu", which means "my son". This name is usually applied to him in his role as the personification of the power that causes the sap to rise in trees and plants. Damu is the name most closely associated with Dumuzid's return in autumn after the dry season has ended. This aspect of his cult emphasized the fear and exhaustion of the community after surviving the devastating summer.


title: Dumuzid

text: Dumuzid had virtually no power outside of his distinct realm of responsibilities. Very few prayers addressed to him are extant and, of those that are, almost all of them are simply requests for him to provide more milk, more grain, more cattle, etc. The sole exception to this rule is a single Assyrian inscription in which a man requests Tammuz that, when he descends to the Underworld, he should take with him a troublesome ghost who has been haunting him. The cult of Tammuz was particularly associated with women, who were the ones responsible for mourning his death.


title: Dumuzid

text: The custom of planting miniature gardens with fast-growing plants such as lettuce and fennel, which would then be placed out in the hot sun to sprout before withering in the heat, was a well-attested custom in ancient Greece associated with the festival of Adonia in honor of Adonis, the Greek version of Tammuz; some scholars have argued based on references in the Hebrew Bible that this custom may have been a continuation of an earlier oriental practice. The same women who mourned the death of Tammuz also prepared cakes for his consort Ishtar, the Queen of Heaven. These cakes would be baked in ashes and several clay cake molds discovered at Mari, Syria reveal that they were also at least sometimes shaped like naked women.


title: Dumuzid

text: According to the scholar Samuel Noah Kramer, towards the end of the third millennium BC, kings of Uruk may have established their legitimacy by taking on the role of Dumuzid as part of a "sacred marriage" ceremony. This ritual lasted for one night on the tenth day of the Akitu, the Sumerian new year festival, which was celebrated annually at the spring equinox. As part of the ritual, it was thought that the king would engage in ritualized sexual intercourse with the high priestess of Inanna, who took on the role of the goddess. In the late twentieth century, the historicity of the sacred marriage ritual was treated by scholars as more-or-less an established fact, but in recent years, largely due to the writings of Pirjo Lapinkivi, some scholars have rejected the notion of an actual sex ritual, instead seeing "sacred marriage" as a symbolic rather than a physical union.


title: Dumuzid

text: The poem "Inanna Prefers the Farmer" (ETCSL 4.0.8.3.3) begins with a rather playful conversation between Inanna and her brother Utu, who incrementally reveals to her that it is time for her to marry. Dumuzid comes to court her, along with a farmer named Enkimdu. At first, Inanna prefers the farmer, but Utu and Dumuzid gradually persuade her that Dumuzid is the better choice for a husband, arguing that, for every gift the farmer can give to her, the shepherd can give her something even better. In the end, Inanna marries Dumuzid. The shepherd and the farmer reconcile their differences, offering each other gifts. Samuel Noah Kramer compares the myth to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel because both accounts center around a farmer and a shepherd competing for divine favor and, in both stories, the deity in question ultimately chooses the shepherd.


title: Dumuzid

text: A vast number of erotic love poems celebrating the consummation of Inanna and Dumuzid have survived. Two excerpts from a representative example are translated below:


title: Dumuzid

text: Towards the end of the epic poem "Inanna's Descent into the Underworld" (ETCSL 1.4.1), Dumuzid's wife Inanna escapes from the Underworld, but is pursued by a horde of "galla" demons, who insist that someone else must take her place in the Underworld. They first come upon Inanna's "sukkal" Ninshubur and attempt to take her, but Inanna stops them, insisting that Ninshubur is her loyal servant and that she had rightfully mourned for her while she was in the Underworld. They next come upon Shara, Inanna's beautician, who is still in mourning. The demons attempt to take him, but Inanna insists that they may not, because he had also mourned for her. The third person they come upon is Lulal, who is also in mourning. The demons try to take him, but Inanna stops them once again. Finally, they come upon Dumuzid, who is lavishly clothed and resting beneath a tree, or sitting on Inanna's throne, entertained by slave-girls. Inanna, displeased, decrees that the demons shall take him, using language which echoes the speech Ereshkigal gave while condemning her. The demons then drag Dumuzid down to the Underworld.


title: Dumuzid

text: The Sumerian poem "The Dream of Dumuzid" (ETCSL 1.4.3) begins with Dumuzid telling Geshtinanna about a frightening dream he has experienced. Then the "galla" demons arrive to drag Dumuzid down into the Underworld as Inanna's replacement. Dumuzid flees and hides. The "galla" demons brutally torture Geshtinanna in an attempt to force her to tell them where Dumuzid is hiding. Geshtinanna, however, refuses to tell them where her brother has gone. The "galla" go to Dumuzid's unnamed "friend", who betrays Dumuzid, telling the "galla" exactly where Dumuzid is hiding. The "galla" capture Dumuzid, but Utu, the god of the Sun, who is also Inanna's brother, rescues Dumuzid by transforming him into a gazelle. Eventually, the "galla" recapture Dumuzid and drag him down into the Underworld.


title: Dumuzid

text: In the Sumerian poem "The Return of Dumuzid", which begins where "The Dream of Dumuzid" ends, Geshtinanna laments continually for days and nights over Dumuzid's death, joined by Inanna, who has apparently experienced a change of heart, and Sirtur, Dumuzid's mother. The three goddesses mourn continually until a fly reveals to Inanna the location of her husband. Together, Inanna and Geshtinanna go to the place where the fly has told them they will find Dumuzid. They find him there and Inanna decrees that, from that point onwards, Dumuzid will spend half of the year with her sister Ereshkigal in the Underworld and the other half of the year in Heaven with her, while Geshtinanna takes his place in the Underworld.


title: Dumuzid

text: Other texts describe different and contradictory accounts of Dumuzid's death. The text of the poem "Inanna and Bilulu" (ETCSL 1.4.4), discovered at Nippur, is badly mutilated and scholars have interpreted it in a number of different ways. The beginning of the poem is mostly destroyed, but seems to be a lament. The intelligible part of the poem describes Inanna pining after her husband Dumuzid, who is in the steppe watching his flocks. Inanna sets out to find him. After this, a large portion of the text is missing. When the story resumes, Inanna is told that Dumuzid has been murdered. Inanna discovers that the old bandit woman Bilulu and her son Girgire are responsible. She travels along the road to Edenlila and stops at an inn, where she finds the two murderers. Inanna stands on top of a stool and transforms Bilulu into "the waterskin that men carry in the desert", forcing her to pour the funerary libations for Dumuzid.


title: Dumuzid

text: "Dumuzid and Geshtinanna" begins with demons encouraging Inanna to conquer the Underworld. Instead, she hands Dumuzid over to them. They put Dumuzid's feet, hands, and neck in the stocks and torture him using hot pokers. They strip him naked, do "evil" to him, and cover his face with his own garment. Finally, Dumuzid prays to Utu for help. Utu transforms Dumuzid into a creature that is part eagle and part snake, allowing him to escape back to Geshtinanna. In the text known as "The Most Bitter Cry", Dumuzid is chased by the "seven evil deputies of the netherworld" and, as he is running, he falls into a river. Near an apple tree on the other bank, he is dragged into the Underworld, where everything simultaneously "exists" and "does not exist", perhaps indicating that they exist in insubstantial or immaterial forms.


title: Dumuzid

text: A collection of lamentations for Dumuzid entitled "In the Desert by the Early Grass" describes Damu, the "dead anointed one", being dragged down to the Underworld by demons, who blindfold him, tie him up, and forbid him from sleeping. Damu's mother tries to follow him into the Underworld, but Damu is now a disembodied spirit, "lying in" the winds, "in the lightnings and in tornadoes". Damu's mother is also unable to eat the food or drink the water in the Underworld, because it is "bad". Damu travels along the road of the Underworld and encounters various spirits. He meets the ghost of a small child, who tells him that it is lost; the ghost of a singer agrees to accompany the child. Damu asks the spirits to send a message to his mother, but they cannot because they are dead and the living cannot hear the dead's voices. Damu, however, manages to tell his mother to dig up his blood and chop it into pieces. Damu's mother gives the congealed blood to Damu's sister Amashilama, who is a leech. Amashilama mixes the congealed blood into a brew of beer, which Damu must drink in order to be restored to life. Damu, however, realizes that he is dead and declares that he is not in the "grass which shall grow for his mother again", nor in the "waters which will rise". Damu's mother blesses him and Amashilama dies to join him in the Underworld. She tells him that "the day that dawns for you will also dawn for me; the day you see, I shall also see", referring to the fact that day in the world above is night in the Underworld.


title: Dumuzid

text: In the myth of Adapa, Dumuzid and Ningishzida are the two doorkeepers of Anu, the god of the heavens, who speak out in favor of Adapa, the priest of Ea, as he stands trial before Anu. In Tablet VI of the standard Akkadian "Epic of Gilgamesh", Ishtar (Inanna) attempts to seduce the hero Gilgamesh, but he rebuffs her, reminding her that she had struck Tammuz (Dumuzid), "the lover of [her] youth", decreeing that he should "keep weeping year after year". Gilgamesh describes Tammuz as a colorful "allalu" bird (possibly a European or Indian roller), whose wing has been broken and now spends all his time "in the woods crying 'My wing!'" (Tablet VI, section ii, lines 11–15). Gilgamesh may be referring to an alternative account of Dumuzid's death, different from the ones recorded in extant texts.


title: Dumuzid

text: Anton Moortgat has interpreted Dumuzid as the antithesis of Gilgamesh: Gilgamesh refuses Ishtar's demand for him to become her lover, seeks immortality, and fails to find it; Dumuzid, by contrast, accepts Ishtar's offer and, as a result of her love, is able to spend half the year in Heaven, even though he is condemned to the Underworld for the other half. Mehmet-Ali Ataç further argues that the "Tammuz model" of immortality was far more prevalent in the ancient Near East than the "Gilgamesh model". In a chart of antediluvian generations in Babylonian and Biblical traditions, William Wolfgang Hallo associates Dumuzid with the composite half-man, half-fish counselor or culture hero (Apkallu) An-Enlilda, and suggests an equivalence between Dumuzid and Enoch in the Sethite Genealogy given in Genesis chapter 5.


title: Dumuzid

text: The cult of Ishtar and Tammuz may have been introduced to the Kingdom of Judah during the reign of King Manasseh and the Old Testament contains numerous allusions to them. mentions Tammuz by name: "Then he brought me to the door of the gate of the Lord's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. Then said he unto to me, 'Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these."


title: Dumuzid

text: Ezekiel's testimony is the only direct mention of Tammuz in the Hebrew Bible, but the cult of Tammuz may also be alluded to in :


title: Dumuzid

text: Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips: In the day shalt thou make thy plant to grow, and in the morning shalt thou make thy seed to flourish: but the harvest shall be a heap in the day of grief and of desperate sorrow.


title: Dumuzid

text: This passage may be describing the miniature gardens that women would plant in honor of Tammuz during his festival. , , and all denounce sacrifices made "in the gardens", which may also be connected to the cult of Tammuz. Another possible allusion to Tammuz occurs in : "Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all." The subject of this passage is Antiochus IV Epiphanes and some scholars have interpreted the reference to the "one desired by women" in this passage as an indication that Antiochus may have persecuted the cult of Tammuz. There is no external evidence to support this reading, however, and it is much more probable that this epithet is merely a jibe at Antiochus's notorious cruelty towards all the women who fell in love with him.


title: Dumuzid

text: The Hebrew Bible also contains references to Tammuz's consort Inanna-Ishtar. and mention "the Queen of Heaven", who is probably a syncretism of Inanna-Ishtar and the West Semitic goddess Astarte. The Song of Songs bears strong similarities to the Sumerian love poems involving Inanna and Dumuzid, particularly in its usage of natural symbolism to represent the lovers' physicality. ("Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?") is almost certainly a reference to Inanna-Ishtar.


title: Dumuzid

text: The myth of Inanna and Dumuzid later became the basis for the Greek myth of Aphrodite and Adonis. The Greek name ("Adōnis", ) is derived from the Canaanite word "ʼadōn", meaning "lord". The earliest known Greek reference to Adonis comes from a fragment of a poem by the Lesbian poet Sappho, dating to the seventh century BC, in which a chorus of young girls asks Aphrodite what they can do to mourn Adonis's death. Aphrodite replies that they must beat their breasts and tear their tunics. Later recensions of the Adonis legend reveal that he was believed to have been slain by a wild boar during a hunting trip. According to Lucian's "De Dea Syria", each year during the festival of Adonis, the Adonis River in Lebanon (now known as the Abraham River) ran red with blood.


title: Dumuzid

text: In Greece, the myth of Adonis was associated with the festival of the Adonia, which was celebrated by Greek women every year in midsummer. The festival, which was evidently already celebrated in Lesbos by Sappho's time, seems to have first become popular in Athens in the mid-fifth century BC. At the start of the festival, the women would plant a "garden of Adonis", a small garden planted inside a small basket or a shallow piece of broken pottery containing a variety of quick-growing plants, such as lettuce and fennel, or even quick-sprouting grains such as wheat and barley. The women would then climb ladders to the roofs of their houses, where they would place the gardens out under the heat of the summer sun. The plants would sprout in the sunlight, but wither quickly in the heat. Then the women would mourn and lament loudly over the death of Adonis, tearing their clothes and beating their breasts in a public display of grief. The third century BC poet Euphorion of Chalcis remarked in his "Hyacinth" that "Only Cocytus washed the wounds of Adonis".


title: Dumuzid

text: Traditional Mesopotamian religion began to gradually decline between the third and fifth centuries AD as ethnic Assyrians converted to Christianity. Nonetheless, the cult of Ishtar and Tammuz managed to survive in parts of Upper Mesopotamia. The Church Father Jerome records in a letter dated to the year 395 AD that "Bethlehem... belonging now to us... was overshadowed by a grove of Tammuz, that is to say, Adonis, and in the cave where once the infant Christ cried, the lover of Venus was lamented." This same cave later became the site of the Church of the Nativity. The church historian Eusebius, however, does not mention pagans having ever worshipped in the cave, nor do any other early Christian writers. Peter Welten has argued that the cave was never dedicated to Tammuz and that Jerome misinterpreted Christian mourning over the Massacre of the Innocents as a pagan ritual over Tammuz's death. Joan E. Taylor has countered this contention by arguing that Jerome, as an educated man, could not have been so naïve as to mistake Christian mourning over the Massacre of the Innocents as a pagan ritual for Tammuz.


title: Dumuzid

text: During the sixth century AD, some early Christians in the Middle East borrowed elements from poems of Ishtar mourning over the death of Tammuz into their own retellings of the Virgin Mary mourning over the death of her son Jesus. The Syrian writers Jacob of Serugh and Romanos the Melodist both wrote laments in which the Virgin Mary describes her compassion for her son at the foot of the cross in deeply personal terms closely resembling Ishtar's laments over the death of Tammuz.


title: Dumuzid

text: Tammuz is the month of July in Iraqi Arabic and Levantine Arabic (see Arabic names of calendar months), as well as in the Assyrian calendar and Jewish calendar, and references to Tammuz appear in Arabic literature from the 9th to 11th centuries AD. In what purports to be a translation of an ancient Nabataean (here Arabic Nabatean written in Aramaic Nabataean Arabic Nabataeans) text by Qūthāmā the Babylonian, Ibn Wahshiyya (c. 9th-10th century AD), adds information on his own efforts to ascertain the identity of Tammuz, and his discovery of the full details of the legend of Tammuz in another Nabataean book: "How he summoned the king to worship the seven (planets) and the twelve (signs) and how the king put him to death several times in a cruel manner Tammuz coming to life again after each time, until at last he died; and behold! it was identical to the legend of St. George." Ibn Wahshiyya also adds that Tammuz lived in Babylonia before the coming of the Chaldeans and belonged to an ancient Mesopotamian tribe called Ganbân. On rituals related to Tammuz in his time, he adds that the Sabaeans in Harran and Babylonia still lamented the loss of Tammuz every July, but that the origin of the worship had been lost.


title: Dumuzid

text: In the tenth century AD, the Arab traveler Al-Nadim wrote in his "Kitab al-Fehrest" that "All the Sabaeans of our time, those of Babylonia as well as those of Harran, lament and weep to this day over Tammuz at a festival which they, more particularly the women, hold in the month of the same name." Drawing from a work on Syriac calendar feast days, Al-Nadim describes a Tâ'ûz festival that took place in the middle of the month of Tammuz. Women bewailed the death of Tammuz at the hands of his master who was said to have "ground his bones in a mill and scattered them to the wind." Consequently, women would forgo the eating of ground foods during the festival time. The same festival is mentioned in the eleventh century by Ibn Athir, who recounts that it still took place every year at the appointed time along the banks of the Tigris river. The cult of Ishtar and Tammuz still existed in Mardin as late as the eighteenth century. "Tammuz" is still the name for the month of July in Iraqi Arabic.


title: Dumuzid

text: The late nineteenth-century Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer wrote extensively about Tammuz in his monumental study of comparative religion "The Golden Bough" (the first edition of which was published in 1890) as well as in later works. Frazer claimed that Tammuz was just one example of the archetype of a "dying-and-rising god" found throughout all cultures. Frazer and others also saw Tammuz's Greek equivalent Adonis as a "dying-and-rising god". Origen discusses Adonis, whom he associates with Tammuz, in his "Selecta in Ezechielem" ( “Comments on Ezekiel”), noting that "they say that for a long time certain rites of initiation are conducted: first, that they weep for him, since he has died; second, that they rejoice for him because he has risen from the dead ("apo nekrôn anastanti")."


title: Dumuzid

text: Tammuz's categorization as a "dying-and-rising god" was based on the abbreviated Akkadian redaction of "Inanna's Descent into the Underworld", which was missing the ending. Since numerous lamentations over the death of Dumuzid had already been translated, scholars filled in the missing ending by assuming that the reason for Ishtar's descent was because she was going to resurrect Dumuzid and that the text could therefore be assumed to end with Tammuz's resurrection. Then, in the middle of the twentieth century, the complete, unabridged, original Sumerian text of "Inanna's Descent" was finally translated, revealing that, instead of ending with Dumuzid's resurrection as had long been assumed, the text actually ended with Dumuzid's "death".


title: Dumuzid

text: The rescue of Dumuzid from the underworld was later found in the text "Return of Dumuzid", translated in 1963. Biblical scholars Paul Eddy and Greg Boyd argued in 2007 that this text does not describe a triumph over death because Dumuzid must be replaced in the underworld by his sister, thus reinforcing the "inalterable power of the realm of the dead". However, other scholars have cited this as an example of a god who was previously dead and risen again.


title: Dumuzid

text: The references to the cult of Tammuz preserved in the Bible and in Greco-Roman literature brought the story to the attention of western European writers. The story was popular in Early Modern England and appeared in a variety of works, including Sir Walter Raleigh's "History of the World" (1614), George Sandys's "Dictionarium Relation of a Journey" (1615), and Charles Stephanus's "Dictionarium Historicam" (1553). These have all been suggested as sources for Tammuz's most famous appearance in English literature as a demon in Book I of John Milton's "Paradise Lost", lines 446–457:


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Discoid lupus erythematosus is the most common type of chronic cutaneous lupus (CCLE), an autoimmune skin condition on the lupus erythematosus spectrum of illnesses. It presents with red, painful, inflamed and coin-shaped patches of skin with a scaly and crusty appearance, most often on the scalp, cheeks, and ears. Hair loss may occur if the lesions are on the scalp. The lesions can then develop severe scarring, and the centre areas may appear lighter in color with a rim darker than the normal skin. These lesions can last for years without treatment.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Patients with systemic lupus erythematous develop discoid lupus lesions with some frequency. However, patients who present initially with discoid lupus infrequently develop systemic lupus. Discoid lupus can be divided into localized, generalized, and childhood discoid lupus.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: The lesions are diagnosed by biopsy. Patients are first treated with sunscreen and topical steroids. If this does not work, an oral medication—most likely hydroxychloroquine or a related medication—can be tried.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) skin lesions first present as dull or purplish red, disc-shaped flat or raised and firm areas of skin. These lesions then develop increasing amounts of white, adherent scale. Finally, the lesions develop extensive scarring and/or atrophy, as well as pigment changes. They may also have overlying dried fluid, known as crust. On darker skin, the lesions often lose skin pigmentation in the center and develop increased, dark skin pigmentation around the rim. On lighter skin, the lesions often develop a gray color or have very little color change. More rarely, the lesions may be bright red and look like hives.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: The skin lesions are most often in sun-exposed areas localized above the neck, with favored sites being the scalp, bridge of the nose, upper cheeks, lower lip, and ear and hands 24% of patients also have lesions in the mouth (most often the palate), nose, eye, or vulva, which are all mucosal parts of the body.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: When discoid lupus is on the scalp, it starts as a red flat or raised area of skin that then loses hair and develops extensive scarring. The lesions often lose skin pigment and become white with areas of increased skin pigment, with or without areas of redness, and have a sunken appearance. They can have a smooth surface or have visible, dilated hair follicles on the surface.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: When discoid lupus is on the lip, it often has a grey or red colour with a thickened top layer of skin (known as hyperkeratosis), areas where the top layer has worn away (known as erosion), and a surrounding rim of redness.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Patients may state that their lesions are itchy, tender, or asymptomatic. In addition to their skin lesions, they may also have swelling and redness around their eyes, as well as blepharitis.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Darker-skinned patients are often left with severe scarring and skin color changes even after the lesions get better. In addition, these patients have an increased, though still small, risk for aggressive skin squamous cell carcinoma.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Sun exposure triggers lesions in people with discoid lupus erythematous (DLE). Evidence does not clearly demonstrate a genetic component to DLE; however, genetics may predispose certain people to disease.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Most experts consider DLE an autoimmune disease since pathologists see antibodies when they biopsy the lesions and look at the tissue under the microscope. However, scientists do not understand the connection between these antibodies and the lesions seen in discoid lupus.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Possibly, UV light damages skin cells, which then release material from their nuclei. This material diffuses to the dermoepidermal junction, where it binds to circulating antibodies, thereby leading to a series of inflammatory reactions by the immune system.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: When a patient initially presents with discoid lupus, the doctor should ensure that the patient does not have systemic lupus erythematosus. The doctor will order tests to check for anti-nuclear antibodies in the patient's serum, low white blood cell levels, and protein and/or blood in the urine.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: In order to help with diagnosis, the doctor may peel off the top layer of scale from a patient's lesions in order to look at its underside. If the patients do indeed have discoid lupus, the doctor may see tiny spines of keratin that look like carpet tacks and are called "langue au chat."


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Diagnosis is confirmed through biopsy. Typical biopsy findings include deposits of IgG and IgM antibodies at the dermoepidermal junction on direct immunofluorescence. This finding is 90% sensitive; however, false positives can occur with biopsies of facial lesions. In addition, pathologists often see groups of white blood cells, particularly T helper cells, around the follicles and blood vessels in the dermis. The epidermis appears thin and has effaced rete ridges as well as excess amounts of keratin clogging the openings of the follicles. The basal layer of the epidermis sometimes appears to have holes in it since some of the cells in this layer have broken apart. The remains of skin cells that have died through a process called apoptosis are visible in the upper layer of the dermis and the basal layer of the epidermis.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: The differential diagnosis includes actinic keratoses, sebborheic dermatitis, lupus vulgaris, sarcoidosis, drug rash, Bowen's disease, lichen planus, tertiary syphilis, polymorphous light eruption, lymphocytic infiltration, psoriasis, and systemic lupus erythematosus.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Discoid lupus can be broadly classified into localized discoid lupus and generalized discoid lupus based on the location of the lesions. Patients who develop discoid lupus in childhood also have their own sub-type of disease.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Hypertrophic lupus and lupus profundus are two special types of discoid lupus distinguished by their characteristic morphological findings.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Most people with discoid lupus only have lesions above the neck and therefore have localized discoid lupus erythematosus.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Rarely, patients may have lesions above and below the neck; these patients have generalized discoid lupus erythematosus. In addition to lesions in the typical above-the-neck locations, patients with generalized discoid lupus often have lesions on the thorax and the arms. These patients are often bald, with abnormal skin pigment on their scalp, and have severe scarring of the face and arms. Patients with generalized discoid lupus often have abnormal lab tests, such as an elevated ESR or a low white blood cell count. They also often have auto-antibodies, such as ANA or anti-ssDNA antibody.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: When patients develop discoid lupus in childhood, it differs from typical discoid lupus in several ways. Boys and girls are equally affected, and these patients later develop SLE more often. These patients also typically do not have any abnormal sensitivity to the sun.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Some experts consider hypertrophic lupus erythematosus—which consists of lesions covered by a very thick, keratin-filled scale—an unusual subset of discoid lupus. Others consider it a distinct entity.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: If a patient has discoid lupus lesions on top of lupus panniculitis, they have lupus profundus. These patients have firm, nontender nodules with defined borders underneath their discoid lupus lesions.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: In general, patients with discoid lupus who have only skin disease and no systemic symptoms have a genetically distinct disease from patients with SLE. However, 25% of patients with SLE get discoid lupus lesions at some point as part of their disease.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Treatment for discoid lupus erythematosus includes smoking cessation and a sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB light as well as very strong topical steroids or steroids injected into the lesions. Other topical treatments, tacrolimus or pimecrolimus can also be used. If this does not help the patient, his or her physician can prescribe an antimalarial medication such as oral hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine. Other oral medications used to treat discoid lupus include retinoids (isotretinoin or acitretin), dapsone, thalidomide (teratogenic, side effects include peripheral neuropathy), azathioprine, methotrexate, or gold. The topical steroid fluocinonide is more effective than hydrocortisone in the treatment of discoid lupus erythematosus. For oral treatment, hydroxychloroquine and acitretin are equally effective; however, acitretin was associated with more adverse effects.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Pulsed dye laser is also an effective treatment for patients with localized discoid lupus. For patients with scalp disease, hair transplantation can help with their hair loss.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Discoid lupus erythematosus is a chronic condition, and lesions will last for several years without treatment. 50% of patients will eventually get better on their own. If a patient does not have any signs of systemic lupus erythematosus, such as generalized hair loss, ulcers in the mouth or nose, Raynaud's phenomenon, arthritis, or fever at the time that they develop discoid lupus, they will most likely only have discoid lupus and will never develop systemic lupus erythematosus.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Discoid lupus has an unknown incidence, although it is two to three times more common than systemic lupus erythematosus. The disease tends to affect young adults, and women are affected more than men in a 2:1 ratio.


title: Discoid lupus erythematosus

text: Singer Michael Jackson was reportedly diagnosed with discoid lupus in 1984; the condition might have damaged his nasal cartilage and led to some of his cosmetic surgery.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The Volkswagen Touran is a car manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen since 2003 and sold in Europe and other select markets. A compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), it fills a gap in Volkswagen's model lineup between the Volkswagen Golf, with which it shares its platform, and the Volkswagen Sharan, its larger counterpart, which ceased production in 2022. The vehicle has been sold in Japan as the Golf Touran and the crossover-styled variant as the CrossTouran. The name 'Touran' is derived from the combination of 'Tour' and 'Sharan'. Despite the similarity of their names, the Touran is not related to the North American market Volkswagen Routan. The vehicle is delivered in five or seven seat versions.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: Announced back in August 2002, the Touran, whose production started in December 2002 and sales commenced in 2003, is the first Volkswagen MPV based on a Golf platform, more precisely the first vehicle on PQ35 platform. It joined Volkswagen's existing MPV line up that included the Sharan and Caravelle (Volkswagen Bus).


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: It can be considered an extended version of the Golf Plus, since their front ends are similar in size, while the Touran's rear overhang is longer (and therefore a seven-seater, while the Golf Plus is a five seater).


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The Touran introduced electro-mechanical steering, a first in its class and for Volkswagen. It is able to vary the weight of the steering depending on the road speed. Due to the lack of energy consumption in idle it also improves the overall efficiency of the vehicle. The Touran was the first vehicle to use Volkswagen's 2.0 TDI engine.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The engines available at the launch included a 1.6 FSI and two diesel engines, the 1.9 TDI with and the 2.0 TDI . The engines are EURO 4 compliant, except the 1.9 TDi when paired with the DSG (direct shift gearbox). The Touran launched with a six speed manual gearbox as standard, and a DSG for the 1.9 TDI Engines.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The initial test of the Touran in 2003, resulted in a four star rating for adult protection. Volkswagen made slight changes to the Touran from November 2003, adding "an intelligent reminder for the driver and front passenger to buckle their seat belts." This allowed the Touran to be retested the same year, scoring a single extra point, and so giving the car a five star rating for adult protection:


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The 2007 model year Touran was the first production vehicle in the Volkswagen Group to be released with the new Park Assist technology. Park Assist helps the driver parallel park the vehicle. Firstly, after having activated the feature and whilst travelling up to 30 km/h Park Assist uses sensors to attempt to identify a suitable parking spot (defined as 0.8 metres longer than the length of the vehicle).


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The driver then stops ahead of the parking spot, releases the steering wheel, but continues working the gears, accelerator and brake pedal as advised by the display panels, as the Park Assist controls the steering to park the vehicle.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: At the December 2006 Bologna Motor Show, Volkswagen released the third Cross vehicle designed by Volkswagen Individual GmbH.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The CrossTouran is distinguished from a standard Touran by its 17-inch alloy wheels, redesigned plastic guards which ape a crossover vehicle, and a higher suspension/chassis setup that is optional for standard Tourans in Europe.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: When the vehicle was re-released to the markets in August 2010, the Touran was updated to the newer Golf VI platform (PQ35). This included as new features compared to the previous generation the option for DCC (Volkswagen's adaptive suspension system), Light-Assist for Xenon Headlights, an improved Park-Assist System that can also handle perpendicular park positions and updated infotainment systems. The aerodynamics of the car were also improved, the Cw improved from 0,31 to 0,32 to 0,29.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: In late 2010, SAIC-VW released the new Touran in China. Though its front was updated to the German style, the tail keeps the design of the previous generation model. The electronic systems of this domestically produced car were upgraded as its relative in Europe. A 1.4 TSI, which can output 93 kW, was added to the new model.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: New engines were available following the downsizing trend, a 1.2 with and a new 1.6 TDI with or . They replaced the 1.6 and 1.9 TDI from the previous model. The 1.2, and 1.6 TDI were also available as BlueMotion, Volkswagen's low fuel consumption vehicle program.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The diesel models of the Touran offer better fuel economy. Given the proper conditions, it is possible to achieve over in a diesel Touran.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The car is delivered with a five- (1.6 only) and six speed manual transmissions, Tiptronic six speed automatic transmission (in 1.6, 1.6 FSI and 2.0 FSI (2003 to 2006 only)) or the DSG twin clutch automatic transmission; the 1.4 TSI, the 1.6 FSI from 2003 to 2006, the 1.9 TDI from 2003 to 2008, and the 2.0 TDI uses the six speed version, and the 1.9 TDI since the middle of 2008 use the seven-speed dry clutch version.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: As for the 2010 model, an updated version of the 2.0 TDI engine was launched with common rail technology. The engine was introduced in the Volkswagen Passat in the models from 2008.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The Touran Hy Motion is Volkswagen's Hydrogen Development concept. It has a nickel-metal hydride battery which produces , it does the 0–100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprint in 14 seconds and has a top speed of .


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: In 2008, Shanghai-Volkswagen with Tongji University had released a Touran Hybrid, as part of the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: A prototype of the Touran Hybrid was shown with a electric motor in conjunction with a petrol engine, the transmission will most likely be Volkswagen's Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG).


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The second generation Touran was introduced at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. It uses the Volkswagen Group MQB platform and offers increased cabin space, four new engines with 19% less fuel consumption, and an array of new advanced driver-assistance systems and infotainment options. Autoradio with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto is included as an option.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: The Touran currently serves as the successor to the Volkswagen Santana in Shanghai's taxi fleet since October 2018, as the Santana was phased out. Qiangsheng, one of the largest taxi firms in Shanghai, stated that the Touran offered greater passenger comfort over its predecessor. 100 new electric cabs were also added to the taxi fleet. The Chinese market Touran L has the same wheelbase as the european model. It is available in 280TSI and 330TSI trims with the 1.4 litre TSI, known as the CSS in China, available on 280TSI models and the 1.8 litre TSI for 330TSI models. A 5 speed manual gearbox option is available on 280TSI models along with the 7 speed direct shift gearbox. 330TSI models come standard with the latter gearbox. The Touran L came standard in 5 seater configurations only when new. Pricing in 2016 ranged between 155,800 yuan and 230,800 yuan with 7 trim levels (23,850 to 35,330 USD - January 2021 exchange rate). Trim levels were known as: 280TSI Fashion (manual and DSG), 280TSI Comfort (manual and DSG), 280TSI Elegant (DSG only), 280TSI Deluxe and 330TSI Deluxe. A 1.6 litre engine was only available for the 2018 model year under the Fashion trim level. Six-seater and seven-seater configurations were added to the range for the 2018 model year onwards.


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: As of January 2021, for the 2021 model year, only one model, the 280TSI was available. Trim levels are known as: Fashion (7-seater), Comfort (7-seater), Extension (6 and 7 seater) and Deluxe (6 and 7 seater). Pricing ranges between 151,800 yuan and 194,800 yuan (23,235 to 29,820 USD - January 2021 exchange rate).


title: Volkswagen Touran

text: Additionally, in 2018 "Cross Touran L" was announced, being still the same wheelbase, but with plastic wheel arches and chassis sitting 23mm higher.


title: Lists of unsolved problems

text: List of unsolved problems may refer to several notable conjectures or open problems in various academic fields:


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: Operation: Doomsday is the debut studio album by rapper MF DOOM, released through Fondle 'Em Records on 19 October 1999 and reissued by Sub Verse Records in 2001 with a slightly altered track listing. It was his first solo release under the MF DOOM moniker after previously performing as Zev Love X in the group KMD. "Operation: Doomsday" is regarded as one of the most influential albums in independent hip-hop history. A deluxe remastered version of the album was released by Doom's own Metal Face Records on 24 October 2011.


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: Following his debut in the late-1980s, Daniel Dumile, then known as Zev Love X, suffered a series of unfortunate setbacks, including the death of his brother and fellow KMD member DJ Subroc and the subsequent abandonment of the group's second studio album "Black Bastards" by Elektra Records due to its political message and cover art. After the untimely death of his brother and the disbanding of KMD in 1993, Zev Love X left the hip-hop community and would suffer years of homelessness and despair. In 1997 he would re-emerge as MF DOOM, covering his face at shows and releasing singles on Bobbito Garcia's label Fondle 'Em Records. The three singles released generated enough buzz for Garcia to agree to sign Doom for an album.


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: "Operation: Doomsday" was produced by Daniel Dumile himself and recorded under his new name MF DOOM, also known as Metal Face Doom. The recording draws most of its character from lo-fi production values, retaining minor flaws and imperfections. MF DOOM self-produced his solo album through the use of low-fidelity bedroom production in addition to low-budget audio mixing techniques. His eccentric record production maintains a left-field finish, often invoking mid-1980s quiet storm. He incorporated a variety of musical styles onto the album, featuring an at times abstract mixture of 1980s soul and smooth jazz loops with vintage drum breaks. DOOM's usage of smooth jazz loops served to alleviate muffled recording sounds while integrating cartoon samples and snippets. For the most part, MF DOOM included minimal percussion to complement his musical selections, often rapping over their original musical backdrops.


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: As an underground rap album, "Operation: Doomsday" is a lo-fi recording, with MF DOOM producing bedroom electro. Despite being an earthly work born from tragedy, it revisits the cartoon pleasure of late-1980s hip-hop. The debut album features dense rhyme schemes over tracks composed from a collage of R&B, cartoon samples and elevator music. It is embroidered with an array of samples and snippets, ranging from Hanna-Barbera cartoon series "Fantastic Four" and "Scooby-Doo" to 1982 hip-hop film "Wildstyle" to English sophisti-pop band Sade. "Operation: Doomsday" indulges in quiet storm balladry that evokes a sense of loss, expressing smooth jazz loops which bring balance to muffled soundscapes. Throughout the album, MF DOOM effectually rhymes over the original musical backgrounds atop minimal percussion.


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: The pretense for the concept behind "Operation: Doomsday" was reminiscent to that of Marvel Comics supervillain Dr. Doom, with a series of terrible setbacks and tragedy culminating in the birth of a villainous persona. After suffering the devastating death of his brother and their group was dropped from their record label, MF DOOM, formerly known as Zev Love X, was left emotionally scarred. His lingering pain manifested in the form of a masked hip-hop supervillain who wishes to rule the world for its own good on "Operation: Doomsday". In addition, the debut album features thematic skits and interludes which continue the comic book narrative beginning in the opening track all through to a spoken word monologue by E. Mason alongside guest appearances from MF DOOM's Monsta Island Czars collective.


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: With an erratic thought process, MF DOOM delivers sharp-witted stream-of-consciousness rhymes in a deteriorating yet steadfastly murky flow. At the center of "Operation: Doomsay" lies a bent towards free-form lyricism and pop-culture references. Doom uses a raw and lyrically dexterous delivery to recite palatable, off-kilter rhymes containing obscure references. His abstract rapping is laced with disparate word association grounded by tongue-in-cheek humor. Much of the album's lyrical content displays MF DOOM in emotional disorder. The solo debut album acts as a lengthy exercise in musical therapy, with death hanging over throughout, both musically and lyrically. Drawing from the weight of his past, "Operation: Doomsday" is compact with frank, sincere lyrics and hard, piercing rhymes.


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: After the departure of KMD from their label Elektra Records, MF DOOM released his solo debut album, "Operation: Doomsday" through the independent record label Fondle 'Em Records in 1999, The studio album was re-released through Sub Verse Music in 2001.


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: It was announced on 16 December 2010 that "Operation: Doomsday" was being reissued in 2011. The reissue cover was designed by Jason Jagel, who did the art for "Mm..Food". It was reported that there were licensing issues with the original artwork, which was designed by the famed graffiti writer Keo X-Men, that caused problems with reissuing. Stones Throw Records stated that DOOM was working on a track-listing for the reissue.


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: Upon its release, "Operation: Doomsday" garnered praise from contemporary music journalists, and has since achieved status as a cult classic. "Alternative Press" said the debut, "Places an insightful spin on Doom's history on the rap game ... the mish-mashed musical styles that MF incorporates lend a bit of variety, and the generally lo-fi production values give the album character. Refreshing..." Writing for "The Village Voice", rock critic Robert Christgau remarked, "As concept, this could get tedious fast, but as a few skits it's one more scenic sonic on an album that reaches its high point when it samples not just the "Scooby-Doo" theme but Scoob himself, thus acknowledging that, as Scoob knows so well, some villains are just plain evil." He concluded, "Right, the album never comes into full focus. But it does flow, as music and as signifying. Message: this smart guy had some horrible setbacks and came out on the other side. A role model, you might say." AllMusics Cyril Cordor stated, "For the hardcore Doom fans, the recorded-in-the-basement quality is appealing and representative of his persona as the underdog who 'came to destroy rap.' ... Even though this album is certainly not for everyone, you can easily respect from where the man is coming." Jason Draper of "Record Collector" opined, "Doom may have become more accomplished – not least recording with Madlib and Danger Mouse – but this outside attack launched the bomb, and made MF DOOM the leftfield hero that he remains today."


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: "Pitchfork"s Ian Cohen described the album as DOOM's "warmest and most benevolent work, almost entirely bled of the angrier material that would mark future releases." Their review of the 2011 reissue also called the album "a must-hear in just about any format." In his review of the 2011 reissue, Nathan Rabin from "The A.V. Club" argued that since its initial release "Operation: Doomsday" has "attained mythic status; its legend has grown in proportion to its relative unavailability, and to DOOM’s ascent to cult godhood." On the album's 20th anniversary, "Stereogum" described it as "an immediately engaging display of [DOOM's] raw talent as both a rapper and producer, as well as an engrossing origin story for the most popular of his many alter-egos." In a less enthusiastic review, "Spin" writer Jon Caramanica claimed, "Sewn together with snippets from the "Fantastic Four" and "Wildstyle", the album is a rambling exercise in musical therapy." He concluded, "But Doom ain't no joker: he’s merely fulfilling KMD's mythology ... six years too late."


title: Operation: Doomsday

text: "Operation: Doomsday" has been heralded as an underground classic that established MF Doom's rank within the underground hip-hop scene during the early to mid-2000s. The album has had a vast, long-lasting influence on contemporary underground rap and independent hip-hop artists. Writing for streaming service Tidal, Dylan Green and Donna-Claire Chesman called the album, "a blueprint for all of independent rap." They cite the "dusty cartoon samples" of its lo-fi production, MF Doom's preference for keeping anonymous, his "stream-of-consciousness flows" and the self-sustainance ethos that led to self-producing the entire studio album himself as essential elements both driving "Operation: Doomsday" as well as serving a source of inspiration for countless artists worldwide.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The Next Gen car, originally known as the Gen-7 car, is the common name for the racecar that is currently in use in the NASCAR Cup Series; its use starting in 2022. A further evolution of the Generation 6 car, the Next Gen features improved aero and downforce packages while introducing new technologies on the track. In addition, the Next Gen is designed to lower costs and attract new original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to compete with Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The Next Gen body style was set to debut at the 2021 Daytona 500, but when the COVID-19 pandemic postponed all NASCAR racing (and therefore, testing) until the month of May, the sanctioning body announced that the debut of the car would be pushed back a year to 2022.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Prior to the 2022 Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway, Chevrolet clinched its 41st manufacturers' championship and the first in the Next Gen era.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The rules package of the 2019 season served as the starting point of the Next Gen's development. The prototype, built by Richard Childress Racing using a generic body, was tested for the first time on October 8–9 by driver Austin Dillon at Richmond Raceway.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The second test of the car was done at Phoenix Raceway on December 9–10 with Joey Logano behind the wheel. Erik Jones drove the car in its third test, which was held at Homestead–Miami Speedway on January 15–16.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The fourth test was at Auto Club Speedway with William Byron on March 2–3. John Probst, NASCAR's senior vice president of racing innovation, commented that the "P3" prototype Byron tested was nearly 100 percent of the final product.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all racing was postponed through the month of May. Further testing that was scheduled to take place at Atlanta Motor Speedway with Clint Bowyer on March 16–17 was still on since the Next Gen testing was exempted from NASCAR's indefinite ban on all testing. However, this decision was quickly reversed because of the situation as the Atlanta weekend was postponed shortly after the Rudy Gobert incident at an NBA game days prior that led to NASCAR's decision on postponement. A handful of manufacturers, teams, and drivers alike indicated their hope for the debut of the car to be postponed one year to 2022 as a result of the lost testing time. On March 30, 2020, it was reported that NASCAR was taking a serious look at pushing back the rollout of the new car to 2022. NASCAR officially confirmed these reports on April 2, 2020, and the car's debut was pushed back a year to allow for enough testing time after the postponement of all events through May.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On August 17, NASCAR announced that testing of the Next Gen would resume at Dover International Speedway with Cole Custer on August 18–19, while another prototype, built by Action Express Racing, was tested at the Daytona road course with Felipe Nasr driving the day after the Daytona road course events.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On November 10, NASCAR announced Charlotte Motor Speedway would host a pair of tests, with Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr. participating in both with a pair of prototype chassis. The tests took place on November 16–18 with the first day being held on the road course, and the second day on the oval.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On December 11, NASCAR announced the Next Gen's first superspeedway test at Daytona on December 14–15, with Chris Buescher as the test driver. The Next Gen has successfully passed all speed tests. They were able to focus on the gearbox and other features. The next tests took place at Charlotte before further tire tests were carried out with Goodyear.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On February 1, 2021, NASCAR announced that the development stage of the Next Gen was complete. On April 1, Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota, brought prototypes of their Next Gen cars to Martinsville Speedway for testing alongside NASCAR's evaluation of Goodyear's wet-weather tires. On April 6–7, Tyler Reddick conducted a Goodyear tire test for the Next Gen at Darlington Raceway. During the final run of the testing, Reddick lost control of the car and scraped the outside wall, damaging the right side of the car.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: NASCAR conducted further testing at Texas Motor Speedway on July 27–28, with Justin Allgaier in the Chevrolet, David Ragan in the Ford, and Drew Herring in the Toyota. Herring reportedly crashed the Toyota during the test. On August 20, Christopher Bell tested the Toyota at Bristol Motor Speedway. On August 31, eight teams were announced to do tire testing at Daytona on September 7–8. The teams are the Richard Childress Racing No. 3 Chevrolet driven by Austin Dillon, the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 11 Toyota driven by Denny Hamlin, the Roush Fenway Racing No. 17 Ford driven by Chris Buescher, the Team Penske No. 22 Ford driven by Logano, the Hendrick Motorsports No. 24 Chevrolet driven by William Byron, the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 41 Ford driven by Cole Custer, the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet driven by Chastain, and the JTG Daugherty Racing No. 47 Chevrolet driven by Ricky Stenhouse Jr.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On October 8, StarCom Racing announced that Kaz Grala would test the Next Gen at the Charlotte Roval on October 11. Three days later, NASCAR announced the schedule of the Next Gen's testing before the 2022 season: November 17–18 at Charlotte, December 14–15 at Phoenix, and January 11–12 at Daytona. On October 26, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, and Bowyer tested the Next Gen at Bowman Gray Stadium for Goodyear to determine the tires to use at the 2022 Busch Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. On October 27, Bob Pockrass of Fox Sports reported that Stewart Friesen would test the Next Gen at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia to determine the tires to use for the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol. On November 25, NASCAR rescheduled the Phoenix testing session to January 25–26, replacing the Las Vegas testing schedule. NASCAR also tentatively scheduled additional Charlotte sessions on December 15 and 17 for testing under cold weather conditions. On November 30, Phoenix Raceway announced free admission for fans to watch the January 25 testing session. On December 9, Friesen completed further Goodyear dirt tire testing at Lancaster Motor Speedway in Lancaster, South Carolina.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: During the Charlotte testing on November 17, Dillon's car sustained major damage after hitting the outside wall in turn 2 and sliding into the inside wall. Mechanics and engineers from all participating teams examined the wrecked car to assess the damage. Richard Childress Racing was able to return the car to its shop for repairs and send it back to the track later that night. "So, yeah, it was a really good feeling knowing that the car performed as designed. Looking at the front bumper on it, looked like it crushed the way it was designed to do," said John Probst, NASCAR's senior vice president of racing innovation. At Charlotte on December 15, Reddick lost control of his car and slammed on the sand barrels in front of pit road. Following the Charlotte test sessions, NASCAR announced that teams will use the 670 horsepower and 4-inch spoiler package for intermediate tracks, short tracks, and road courses.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On April 19, 2022, Bubba Wallace, Chastain, and Custer participated in a tire testing session at Charlotte in preparation for the 2022 Coca-Cola 600. Kyle Busch, Daniel Suárez, and Aric Almirola are scheduled to do tire testing at Pocono Raceway on May 11.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: NASCAR unveiled the Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, Ford Mustang GT, and Toyota Camry TRD at The Park Expo in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 5, 2021, with Chase Elliott, Logano, and Hamlin representing their respective brands during the event. On May 25, Öhlins was announced as the official shock absorber provider for the Next Gen.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On January 24, 2022, NASCAR announced a more stringent penalty system structure for the Cup Series. The penalty system is structured in three tiers from L1 to L3, with L3 reserved for the tampering and counterfeiting of Next Gen single-source vendor parts. L3 violations will result in a deduction of owner and driver points (including playoff points), revocation of playoff eligibility, crew member suspensions, or postseason bans.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On March 24, Matt McCall, crew chief of the RFK Racing No. 6 driven by Brad Keselowski, was suspended for four races and fined 100,000 for an L2 Penalty during post-race inspection after the 2022 Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta. The penalty came under Sections 14.1 and 14.5 in the NASCAR Rule Book, both of which pertain to the modification of a single-source supplied part. In addition, the No. 6 team was docked 100 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points. On April 13, Scott Miller, NASCAR's senior vice president of competition, explained that the repairs to No. 6's rear fascia did not meet original specifications, as a critical dimension of the part was altered.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Prior to the 2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono, both the No. 42 (driven by Ty Dillon) and No. 43 (driven by Jones) cars of Petty GMS Motorsports were each docked 35 driver and owner points for an L1 penalty when the pre-race inspection revealed issues on the cars' rocker box vent holes. Hamlin and Kyle Busch of Joe Gibbs Racing finished first and second, respectively, at the race, but were disqualified after the post-race inspection revealed illegal modifications on the cars' front fascias. On July 26, Blake Harris, the crew chief of the Front Row Motorsports No. 34 car driven by Michael McDowell, was suspended for four races and fined 100,000 for an L2 Penalty during post-race inspection after the 2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono. The penalty came under Sections 14.1 C, D and Q and 14.5 A and B in the NASCAR Rule Book, both of which pertain to the body and overall vehicle assembly rules surrounding modification of a single-source supplied part. In addition, the No. 34 team was docked 100 driver and owner points and 10 playoff points.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On October 5, Rodney Childers, crew chief of the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 driven by Kevin Harvick, was suspended for four races and fined 100,000 for an L2 Penalty during post-race inspection after the 2022 YellaWood 500 at Talladega. The penalty came under Sections 14.1 (vehicle assembly) and 14.5 (body) in the NASCAR Rule Book, both of which pertain to the body and overall vehicle assembly rules surrounding modification of a single-source supplied part. In addition, the No. 4 team was docked 100 driver and owner points.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Heading into the first races of the 2022 season, a concern was raised regarding parts supply chain issues, partly due to the control parts rule introduced with the generation, as well as ongoing supply chain issues caused by the Omicron variant; it is reported that teams may face shortage of spare parts and backup cars for the beginning of the season. For its part, NASCAR announced that the team that won the Daytona 500 in 2022 would get to retain their car for the rest of the season, with NASCAR instead scanning the winning car and placing an identical paint scheme wrap (complete with Victory Lane confetti) on a prototype that would be shown at the Daytona 500 Experience.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The Next Gen made its official debut at the 2022 Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum in Los Angeles, with Logano winning the exhibition race.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The car made its points race debut at the 2022 Daytona 500, won by Austin Cindric. Numerous issues with the car cropped up during the race, including several cars having issues with wheels or tire rubber popping off, difficulty getting the center-locking lug nuts to go in, hood flaps flying off, and a crash that saw Harrison Burton flip, with many fans noting that the car stayed sideways for too long, as well as the flat undertray compared to past cars, both of which allowed enough air to get underneath the car to lift it off the ground, recalling an issue with the first design of the Car of Tomorrow where the original rear wing produced enough lift to render the roof flaps completely useless. Earlier in the week during first practice, teams had exploited the independent rear suspension to skew the cars out of proportion to get better downforce and corner speed, which was compared to the "Twisted Sister" cars created by skewing the bodies of the Generation 4 cars out of proportion. Prior to pole qualifying, NASCAR clamped down on this practice. Although Penske were allowed to retain the car due to the parts shortage concerns, the team opted not to do so and instead handed over the exact winning car to the Daytona 500 Experience several weeks after the race.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On March 17, 2022, NASCAR and Hendrick Motorsports announced they will field a Next Gen at the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans as a special Garage 56 entry, with former crew chief Chad Knaus assigned as the program manager. This will mark the first time a NASCAR stock car will run at Le Mans since 1976, when a Dodge Charger driven by Hershel McGriff and his son Doug ran for two laps, and a Ford Torino owned by Donlavey Racing and driven by Dick Brooks, Dick Hutcherson, and Marcel Mignot retired after 104 laps.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The announcement was criticized by Hamlin, who took issue with NASCAR not informing other teams of the announcement. In addition, he noted that this gave Hendrick Motorsports an unfair advantage over other teams. Toyota Racing Development president David Wilson was also disappointed that neither Toyota nor Ford were informed of the program.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On April 15, it was reported that Jeff Gordon was interested in participating at Le Mans, but he did not indicate that he would be part of the Next Gen program.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On November 14, the Garage 56 prototype made its test run at Virginia International Raceway, with veteran Le Mans driver Mike Rockenfeller behind the wheel.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The Next Gen uses a stepped front splitter, aerodynamic vents on the hood, and a redesigned side skirt, all of which are designed to reduce the amount of side force in the cars. A notable addition to the Next Gen is the rear diffuser, which is set to be used in NASCAR for the first time. NASCAR has conducted various tests on the wind tunnel to have the car to generate more downforce using the rear diffuser. Adjustable aerodynamic components are also being used to accommodate the various track types in the schedule.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Despite initial reports that the Next Gen will use a carbon fiber tub, NASCAR engineer Brandon Thomas clarified that the car will still use a steel space frame, but with a modular setup to allow faster setups. Dallara was initially rumored to be the exclusive supplier of the new chassis, but it was revealed that Technique recently opened a shop in Concord, North Carolina, indicating that they will manufacture the chassis for NASCAR teams.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: The Next Gen has the traditional four-speed manual transmission replaced with a five-speed Xtrac Limited sequential manual transmission, similar to the type of transmission used in contemporary race cars (e.g., touring cars).


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Much like the race cars used in IMSA, the Next Gen uses an independent rear suspension with 5-way adjustable Öhlins TTR dampers, instead of the solid rear axle used by previous generations.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On March 2, 2020, NASCAR announced that the traditional 15-inch steel wheel with the five-lug pattern will be replaced by a new 18-inch aluminum wheel that uses a single center-locking lug nut. The wheels are manufactured by BBS. Prototypes tested before the announcement featured aluminum wheels, but with a five-lug pattern. Despite the reduction from five lug nuts to one, the extra torque required to secure the single lug nut has indicated that only a minimal effect is expected on pit stop timings.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Since its recent inception, the Next Gen has had several wheel related problems, such as loose lugnuts causing wheels to fall off. The wheel design also quickly began facing criticism for how thin the tires are, which has led to drivers getting stuck after blowing tires during a spin. Prior to the 2022 Daytona 500, NASCAR confiscated the wheels of Team Penske and RFK Racing. Roger Penske notified NASCAR that his team found inconsistencies on the wheels and modified the drive pin holes. After the race, NASCAR announced that the two teams would not be penalized after the organization discussed with Next Gen suppliers and several teams about the wheel specifications.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Aside from the standard rear and side mirrors, the Next Gen is now also equipped with a rear-facing camera, located just above the driver's rear window.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Despite the safety concerns before the 2022 season, the car has received overwhelmingly good reviews from fans and drivers alike, with certain drivers, such as Brad Keselowski, enjoying the challenge that it brings with it being so hard to handle. The entire NASCAR community has praised the car for its durability, as it has shown that it can take big hits without suffering day-ending damage. Often times, the team is still able to be competitive after taking hits that would likely have ruined their day in the previous cars. Many fans have also praised the improved racing in the Next Gen car, with races being more intense than ever. The car has also somewhat leveled the playing field as it was designed to, with several drivers, including Austin Cindric, Chase Briscoe, Ross Chastain, Daniel Suárez, and Tyler Reddick each getting their first career Cup Series wins with the car.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: However, fans and drivers alike have criticized the car for having several wheel related problems. In the first few races of the season, drivers who spun sometimes got stuck because their tires were flat and the tires were so thin that they could not drive to the pits, instead having to be towed back. Drivers such as Christopher Bell and Austin Dillon were furious about having their days ruined by needing to be towed back. This issue seemed to subside after the first few races of the 2022 season. However, wheels falling off cars continues to be a problem. This is typically a result of mistakes made on pit road, so NASCAR suspends pit crews for four weeks when wheels fall off. With so many instances of this since the inception of the Next Gen, people have speculated that the wheels are falling off so often due to a design flaw rather than mistakes by the pit crew.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On July 8, 2021, rumors started to speculate that the Next Gen would be delayed until 2023 or 2024. This started when Steve Hmiel confirmed that during crash testing, the dummy in the car was "killed". Hmiel stated that the car may have been too stiff and had too few crush zones. In response to the allegations, NASCAR said that the rumors had been happening for months. In a statement, NASCAR's John Probst said "[We] simulated some of the bigger incidents that we've had with the current Gen-6 car on the Next-Gen car. I'd say that we're pretty happy with where we're at. I won't get into the specifics of where we're at." On July 19, NASCAR announced that distribution of the Next Gen chassis would begin that week.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Following the Daytona testing, drivers expressed concern over the interior heat due to the placement of the exhaust directly under the seat. To solve this, in November 2021 NASCAR added a front cooling duct to the cars (the front identification windshield was revised to allow for this change), among other changes.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: During the first two races of 2022, drivers lost several laps after experiencing tire failures, as the new wheels lack inner liners and the cars sit lower to the ground, rendering them unable to drive back to pit road. As a temporary solution, NASCAR allowed cars to be towed back to pit road during a caution. Since the Next Gen car’s inception, there have been several incidents when wheels fell off their cars on track, resulting in the crew chiefs of the affected teams being suspended for four races each.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Prior to the 2022 GEICO 500 at Talladega, several teams failed inspection; it was revealed that the high temperatures and the brightness of the sun caused the Lexan windshields to expand. Bob Pockrass reported that the sun altered car bodies anywhere from 80/1000ths to 200/1000ths of an inch.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: On July 24, 2022, Kurt Busch sustained a concussion from a crash during qualifying for the 2022 M&M's Fan Appreciation 400 at Pocono. Since the accident, several drivers have opened up about the safety concerns of the Next Gen. Logano and Corey LaJoie stated that the car's solid structure makes crashes more painful to drivers than the Gen-6. Following the 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona, safety concerns began to focus more on rear-end impacts, as drivers complained they were the most painful to sustain during a crash. After Kevin Harvick's car caught fire at the 2022 Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington, NASCAR began an investigation on the cause of the fire. In addition, Toyota examined the engines of Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. after their cars experienced engine failures during the race. At the 2022 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas, Cody Ware survived a hard crash, colliding with the turn 4 wall before violently hitting the pit wall. He sustained an impaction fracture on his ankle from the crash. At the same race, several teams suffered tire failures, which was explained by Harvick's crew chief Rodney Childers as due to practice of teams running lower tire pressures than Goodyear suggested in pursuit of speed due to restrictions on suspension shock travel in the new car, and Alex Bowman suffered from a concussion after a rear impact crash, further increasing safety concerns of the car. Bowman sat out of the remaining Round of 12 and Round of 8 races (eliminating himself from the playoffs), but was cleared to return at the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: In the first 23 races of the 2022 season, drivers in the Cup Series have scored a total of 151 DNFs - an increase by 56.6% compared to the 2021 season.


title: Next Gen (NASCAR)

text: Denny Hamlin has called for NASCAR to redesign the Next Gen from scratch, as he believed there was no feasible way to solve the safety issues of the car's current iteration. On October 1, NASCAR announced that a new rear clip and rear bumper structure would undergo crash tests on October 5. Following the test, NASCAR held a meeting with drivers on October 8 and announced that changes to the rear bumper construction, rear chassis clip, and center chassis clip would be implemented for the 2023 season.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: U.S. Route 50 or U.S. Highway 50 (US 50) is a major east–west route of the U.S. Highway system, stretching from Interstate 80 (I-80) in West Sacramento, California, to Maryland Route 528 (MD 528) in Ocean City, Maryland, on the Atlantic Ocean. Until 1972, when it was replaced by Interstate Highways west of the Sacramento area, it extended (by way of Stockton, the Altamont Pass, and the Bay Bridge) to San Francisco, near the Pacific Ocean. The Interstates were constructed later and are mostly separate from this route. It generally serves a corridor south of I-70 and I-80 and north of I-64 and I-40.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: The route runs through mostly rural desert and mountains in the western United States, with the section through Nevada known as "The Loneliest Road in America". In the Midwest, US 50 heads through mostly rural areas of farms as well as a few large cities including Kansas City, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; and Cincinnati, Ohio.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: The route continues into the eastern United States, where it passes through the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia before heading through Washington, D.C. From there, US 50 continues through Maryland as a high-speed road to Ocean City.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: Signs at each end give the length as , but the actual distance is slightly less, due to realignments since the former figure was measured in the early 1980s. US 50 passes through a total of 12 states; California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, as well as the District of Columbia.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: US 50 was created in 1926 as part of the original U.S. Highway system. The original route planned in 1925 ran from Wadsworth, Nevada, east to Annapolis, Maryland, along several auto trails including the Lincoln Highway, Midland Trail, and the National Old Trails Road. The final 1926 plan had US 50 running from Sacramento, California, east to Annapolis with a gap in west Utah that was bridged by running the route north via Salt Lake City before rerouting it to US 6 in the 1950s. US 50 was extended west from Sacramento to San Francisco in the 1930s, replacing US 48; this was reversed in 1964 when I-580 replaced much of the route between the two cities. In addition, US 50 was extended east from Annapolis to Ocean City prior in 1949, replacing a portion of US 213. US 50 had two split configurations into US 50N and US 50S, one in Kansas and another in Ohio and West Virginia; both of these instances have been removed.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: US 50 begins as a major freeway at its junction with Interstate 80 in West Sacramento and continues into Sacramento. The portion of US 50 west of and including its interchange with California's State Highway 99 in Sacramento is also designated, but not signed as, Interstate 305. The signage along this portion of the highway indicates Business Loop I-80 and a portion of the way (2 miles/3.33 km) as California State Highway 99. From Sacramento, the highway heads eastward as the William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr. Memorial Highway, continuing as a freeway to the Gold Country foothills, then following the American River up the Sierra Nevada as a conventional highway, until cresting the Sierras at Echo Summit and descending to Lake Tahoe, where the highway enters Nevada. In Nevada, the highway crosses a series of north–south running mountain ranges that break up the Nevada desert which are called Basin and Range. East of Carson City, the road enters the heart of the Great Basin, passing by few communities and minimal services, giving it the name "Loneliest Road in America" until reaching Utah.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: In Utah, US 50 also passes through desolate, remote areas with few inhabitants. After crossing the Confusion Range via Kings Canyon and the House Range, the road traverses the north shore of the endorheic Sevier Lake. In Holden, US 50 shortly overlaps Interstate 15 to cross the Pavant Range. The road begins a much longer overlap with Interstate 70 in Salina crossing the Wasatch Plateau and San Rafael Swell into Colorado. US 50 leaves I-70 upon entering the state and heads southeast through Grand Junction and into the southern part of Colorado. Once there, the road climbs to its highest elevation of over the Rocky Mountains and in Monarch Pass where it crosses the Continental Divide. After descending from the Rockies, US 50 passes by Royal Gorge near Cañon City and serves Pueblo. The route then joins U.S. Route 400 in Granada and follows the Arkansas River into Kansas.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: Upon entering Kansas, US 50, concurrent with US 400, runs along the Arkansas River to Dodge City where US 50 splits from US 400 and takes a more northerly course. US 50 continues to traverse the farmlands and small towns of the Great Plains mostly as a straight two-lane road until Emporia where it joins Interstate 35 and splits onto Interstate 435 to bypass the center of the Kansas City Area. In Missouri, US 50 leaves I-435 for Interstate 470 splitting at Lee's Summit. US 50 runs as a four-lane divided highway across the Western Plain to Sedalia where it continues as a two-lane road until reaching California, MO about 20 miles west of Jefferson City. The road continues as a four-lane divided highway into Jefferson City where it joins US 63 just south of the Missouri River Bridge. It continues 12 miles east of Jefferson City to the Osage River where US 63 splits off to the south. It then continues as a two-lane road as it traverses the northern sections of the Ozark Highlands east to Union where it begins an overlap with Interstate 44 which goes through Pacific. The routes separate in Sunset Hills where US 50 migrates southeast bypassing St Louis by joining Interstate 255 to cross Mississippi River into Illinois.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: In that state, US 50 switches to Interstate 64 before splitting onto its own alignment in eastern O'Fallon. It heads east through Trenton, Breese, Carlyle crossing the Kaskaskia River, Salem, Flora and Lawrenceville to the Wabash River along a corridor between Interstates 64 and 70. US 50 enters Indiana at the Wabash River, bypassing Vincennes and Washington and passing through Bedford, Seymour, and Versailles. It meets the Ohio River at Aurora, and soon crosses into Ohio, running through downtown Cincinnati via Fort Washington Way (Interstate 71). The route crosses southern Ohio via Hillsboro, Chillicothe, and Athens, joining the four-lane divided Corridor D (State Route 32) west of Athens. It meets the Ohio River around Belpre, and crosses the newer Blennerhassett Island Bridge (previously crossing the Parkersburg-Belpre Bridge) into greater Parkersburg, West Virginia.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: The portion of US 50 from Parkersburg, West Virginia to Winchester, Virginia follows the historic Northwestern Turnpike, which crosses the southern tip of Garrett County, Maryland. From Parkersburg to Interstate 79 east of Clarksburg, US 50 has been upgraded as part of the four-lane divided Corridor D. US 50 is a curving two-lane mountain road, east of Clarksburg through Grafton, a bit of Maryland, and Romney to Winchester. This portion of the road is so curvy that locals claim "you can meet yourself coming". The land flattens out after the route crosses the Blue Ridge Mountain east of Winchester, and it follows the old Little River Turnpike from Aldie to Fairfax City and the newer Arlington Boulevard to Rosslyn, where it crosses the District of Columbia line on the west shore of the Potomac River and joins Interstate 66 on the Theodore Roosevelt Bridge.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: Within the District, US 50 immediately exits the freeway onto Constitution Avenue along the north side of the National Mall and south of the White House. After turning north on 6th Street Northwest, it exits the city to the northeast on New York Avenue. Upon crossing into Maryland, it passes the south end of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and becomes the John Hanson Highway, a freeway to Annapolis. The portion of this highway east of the Capital Beltway (I-95/I-495) is also designated, but not signed as, Interstate 595, and U.S. Route 301 joins from the south at Bowie. The freeway continues beyond Annapolis as the Blue Star Memorial Highway which crosses the Chesapeake Bay on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and continues to Queenstown. There the Blue Star Memorial Highway continues northeast as US 301, while US 50 turns south, passing through Easton to Cambridge, and then east through Salisbury to Ocean City on the four-lane divided Ocean Gateway. US 50 ends near the Atlantic Ocean shore at Baltimore Avenue (Maryland Route 378 northbound); its westbound beginning is one block to the west, at Philadelphia Avenue (Maryland Route 528 southbound).


title: U.S. Route 50

text: Before the creation of the Interstate Highway System after World War II, US 50 was a major east–west route. Numbered highways in the United States follow a pattern of odd numbers for north–south routes and even numbers for east–west routes, hence the designation of "50" for this route. In the preliminary report, approved by the Joint Board on Interstate Highways in late 1925, US 50 ran from Wadsworth, Nevada to Annapolis, Maryland, passing through Pueblo, Colorado; Kansas City, Missouri; Tipton, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Cincinnati, Ohio, and Washington, D.C. The route did not directly replace any auto trail, instead combining portions of many into one continuous route. It followed the historic Northwestern Turnpike across West Virginia, and portions of other historic roads. Major auto trails followed, including the Midland Trail in part of Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and parts of Utah and Colorado. The National Old Trails Road (Old Santa Fe Trail) was designated in Kansas and eastern Colorado, and the Lincoln Highway was constructed in Nevada. In most states that had numbered their state highways, US 50 followed only one or two numbers across the state.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: One major controversy related to the preliminary route of US 50. The through route had been assigned to the Old Santa Fe Trail, while the spur U.S. Route 250 followed the competing New Santa Fe Trail to the south. As a compromise, the Joint Board on Interstate Highways approved a split configuration—U.S. Route 50N and U.S. Route 50S—in January. Another problem was in western Utah, where no improved road existed for US 50 to use. The final numbering plan, approved in November 1926, left a gap in US 50 between Ely, Nevada and Thistle, Utah. Finally, rather than ending US 50 at Wadsworth, where the Lincoln and Victory Highways merged, it was sent over the Lincoln Highway's Pioneer Branch, past the south side of Lake Tahoe, to Sacramento, California.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: The gap in Utah was soon bypassed by taking US 50 to the north, crossing the Great Salt Lake Desert with U.S. Route 40 to Salt Lake City, and using long portions of U.S. Route 93 in Nevada and U.S. Route 89 in Utah. U.S. Route 6 was marked along the direct, but still partially unimproved, route in 1937; it was finally paved in 1952, and US 50 was moved to it within a few years. Another straightening was made in 1976, when US 50 in central Utah was moved south onto the new extension of Interstate 70 at the request of the National Highway 50 Federation, a group dedicated to promoting US 50. Among other things, the group has unsuccessfully pushed for an extension of Interstate 70 west along US 50 to California.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: The north–south split in Kansas was eliminated in the late 1950s, with the south route—which was to be US 250—becoming part of US 50, and most of US 50N becoming part of a new U.S. Route 56. Another split was located between Athens, Ohio and Ellenboro, West Virginia from the late 1920s to the mid-1930s, when US 50 went back to its original southern route; that U.S. Route 50N is now Ohio State Route 550 and part of West Virginia Route 16.


title: U.S. Route 50

text: At its west end, US 50 was extended south from Sacramento along U.S. Route 99 to Stockton and west to the San Francisco Bay Area, replacing U.S. Route 48, by the early 1930s. US 50 was officially cut back to Sacramento in the 1964 renumbering, replaced by Interstate 580, but remained on maps and signs for several more years. US 50 was extended east from Annapolis to Ocean City, Maryland in 1949, three years prior to the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in 1952; this extension replaced Maryland Route 404 between Annapolis and Wye Mills and U.S. Route 213 between Wye Mills and Ocean City. Prior to the bridge opening, US 50 used a ferry across the Chesapeake Bay between Sandy Point and Matapeake and followed present-day Maryland Route 8 between Matapeake and Stevensville before continuing east.


title: Pebble (watch)

text: Pebble is a discontinued smartwatch developed by Pebble Technology Corporation. Funding was conducted through a Kickstarter campaign running from April 11, 2012, to May 18, 2012, which raised $10.3 million; it was the most funded project in Kickstarter history, at the time. Pebble began shipping watches to Kickstarter backers in January 2013. Pebble watches can be connected to Android and iOS devices to show notifications and messages. An online app store distributed Pebble-compatible apps from many developers including ESPN, Uber, Runkeeper, and GoPro.


title: Pebble (watch)

text: A steel-bodied variant to the original Pebble, the Pebble Steel, was announced at CES 2014 and released in February 2014. It has a thinner body, tactile metal buttons, and a Corning Gorilla Glass screen. It comes in 2 variations: a black matte finish and a brushed stainless steel finish, with both a black leather band and a matching steel band.


title: Pebble (watch)

text: In 2015, Pebble launched its second generation of smartwatches: the Pebble Time and Time Steel. The devices were similarly funded through Kickstarter, raising $20.3 million from over 75,000 backers and breaking records for the site. In 2016, Pebble shut down their subsequent Time 2 series watches and refunded Kickstarter backers, citing financial issues.


title: Pebble (watch)

text: On December 7, 2016, Pebble officially announced that the company would be shut down and would no longer manufacture or continue support for any devices, nor honor any existing warranties. Pebble's intellectual property was purchased by Fitbit, a wearable technology company specializing in fitness tracking, who also hired some of the Pebble staff. Further clarification on the transition timeline and efforts to render Pebble OS and its watchfaces/apps more self-sufficient was posted to the Pebble Dev Blog on December 14, 2016. Support for the Pebble app store, online forum, cloud development tool, voice recognition, and voice replies ceased in June 2018, although support for some online services was restored by the unofficial "Rebble" community.


title: Pebble (watch)

text: The original Pebble Smartwatch was designed based on a concept by Eric Migicovsky describing a watch that could display messages from a smartphone and select Android devices. Migicovsky successfully took his idea through the Y Combinator business incubator program, and unusually for a startup company at Y Combinator, Migicovsky's business actually generated revenue during the program. Migicovsky was able to raise US$375,000 from angel investors such as Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, but was unable to raise additional funds. Discussing his inability to raise further funds, Migicovsky told the "Los Angeles Times", "I wasn't extremely surprised... hardware is much harder to raise money for. We were hoping we could convince some people to our vision, but it didn't work out."