title: Poitín

text: In 2015, in consultation with producers and stakeholders, the Irish Government adopted the Geographical Indication technical file for poitín, outlining the production methods that must be used in order for a spirit to be called Irish Poitín. Topics covered included allowable base materials, distillation method, use of flavourings/infusions and limited storage in casks.


title: Poitín

text: However, the notion of "legal poitín" has been viewed as an oxymoron by some, one writer observing, "If you see a product labelled 'poteen' in an airport or a bar, it's simply a white duty-paid Irish schnapps. By definition, poteen is illegal and can't be sold."


title: Poitín

text: Poitín was also produced in the growing Irish diaspora in the 19th century, particularly in any of the New York City neighborhoods dubbed "Irishtown".


title: Poitín

text: Poitín was generally produced in remote rural areas, away from the interference of the law. A mash was created and fermented before the distillation began. Stills were often set up on land boundaries so the issue of ownership could be disputed. Prior to the introduction of bottled gas, the fire to heat the wash was provided by turf. Smoke was a giveaway for the police, so windy, broken weather was chosen to disperse the smoke. The still was heated and attended to for several days to allow the runs to go through.


title: Poitín

text: The old style of poitín distilling was from a malted barley base for the mash, the same as single malt whiskey or pure pot still whiskey distilled in Ireland. The word "poitín" stems from the Irish word "pota" for pot; this refers to the small copper pot still used by poitín distillers.


title: Poitín

text: In more recent times, some distillers deviated from using malted barley as a base of the mash bill due to the cost and availability instead switching to using treacle, corn and potatoes. It is believed this switch led to the deteriorating quality and character of poitín in the late 20th century.


title: Poitín

text: The quality of poitín was highly variable, depending on the skill of the distiller and the quality of their equipment. Reputations were built on the quality of the distiller's poitín, and many families became known for their distilling expertise, where a bad batch could put a distiller out of business overnight. It has been claimed that the drink can cause blindness but this is possibly due to adulteration and presence of methanol rather than lack of quality.


title: Poitín

text: Poitín is a trope in Irish poetry and prose of the nineteenth century. The Irish critic Sinéad Sturgeon has demonstrated how the illegality of the substance became a crucial theme running through the works of Maria Edgeworth and William Carlton. Many characters in the work of contemporary Irish playwright Martin McDonagh consume or refer to poitín, most notably the brothers in "The Lonesome West". In the Saga of Darren Shan book "The Lake of Souls" the character Spits Abrams brews his own poitín. In Frank McCourt's book "'Tis", he recalls his mother Angela telling him that when his brother Malachy visited her in Limerick, he obtained poitín in the countryside and drank it with her.


title: Poitín

text: Some traditional Irish folk songs, such as "The Hills of Connemara" and "The Rare Old Mountain Dew", deal with the subject of poitín. The folk song "Tinkers' Potcheen" by Seamus Moore recounts the way in which the practice of producing poitín is passed down through families. The persecution of the poitín-maker by the Royal Irish Constabulary in 1880s Cavan is treated in "The Hackler from Grouse Hall" and its reply "The Sergent's Lamentation". In the first song, an overzealous sergeant pursued an ageing hackler with a fondness for poitín.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest museum in the United Kingdom, and several educational institutions, including University College London and a number of other colleges and institutes of the University of London as well as its central headquarters, the New College of the Humanities, the University of Law, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the British Medical Association and many others. Bloomsbury is an intellectual and literary hub for London, as home of world-known Bloomsbury Publishing, publishers of the "Harry Potter" series, and namesake of the Bloomsbury Set, a group of British intellectuals which included author Virginia Woolf, biographer Lytton Strachey, and economist John Maynard Keynes.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury began to be developed in the 17th century under the Earls of Southampton, but it was primarily in the 19th century, under the Duke of Bedford, that the district was planned and built as an affluent Regency era residential area by famed developer James Burton. The district is known for its numerous garden squares, including Bloomsbury Square, Russell Square and Bedford Square.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury's built heritage is currently protected by the designation of a conservation area and a locally based conservation committee. Despite this, there is increasing concern about a trend towards larger and less sensitive development, and the associated demolition of Victorian and Georgian buildings.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury (including the closely linked St Giles area) has a long association with neighbouring Holborn; but is nearly always considered as distinct from Holborn.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The area appears to have been a part of the parish of Holborn when St Giles hospital was established in the early 1100s.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The earliest record of the name, Bloomsbury, is as "Blemondisberi" in 1281. It is named after a member of the Blemund family who held the manor. There are older records relating to the family in London in 1201 and 1230. Their name, Blemund, derives from Blemont, a place in Vienne, in western France. At the end of the 14th century, Edward III acquired Blemond's manor, and passed it on to the Carthusian monks of the London Charterhouse. The area remained rural at this time.


title: Bloomsbury

text: In the 16th century with the Dissolution of the Monasteries, Henry VIII took the land back into the possession of the Crown and granted it to Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The area was part of the Ancient Parish of St Giles, served by the church of St Giles in the Fields. Some sources indicate that the parish was in place before 1222 while others suggest 1547. From 1597 onwards, English parishes were obliged to take on a civil as well as ecclesiastical role, starting with the relief of the poor.


title: Bloomsbury

text: In 1731 a small new independent parish of "Bloomsbury" was created, based on a small area round Bloomsbury Square. In 1774 these parishes recombined, for civil purposes, to form the parish of "St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury" – which had the same boundaries as the initial parish of "St Giles".


title: Bloomsbury

text: The area of the combined civil parish was used for the St Giles District (Metropolis), established under the Metropolis Management Act 1855. This body managed certain infrastructure functions, while the civil parish continued with its responsibilities until the abolishment of the Poor Law in 1930; however it was not formally abolished until the creation of Greater London in 1965.


title: Bloomsbury

text: In 1900 the area of the "St Giles District (Metropolis)" merged with Holborn District (Metropolis) (excluding those parts of Finsbury Division which had been temporarily attached to Holborn) to form a new Metropolitan Borough of Holborn. The traditional boundaries of "St Giles" and "Bloomsbury" were used for wards in the new borough, though these were subject to minor rationalisations to reflect the modern street pattern rather than the historic basis of the older streets and pre-urban field boundaries. The combined civil parish continued to operate, in parallel, for a considerable time after.


title: Bloomsbury

text: In 1965 the Metropolitan Borough of Holborn merged with St Pancras and Hampstead to form the new London Borough of Camden.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The formal historic boundaries of the combined parish of "St Giles in the Fields and St George Bloomsbury" (as adjusted in some places to reflect the modern street pattern) include Tottenham Court Road to the west, Torrington Place (formerly known, in part, as Francis Street) to the north, the borough boundary to the south and Marchmont Street and Southampton Row to the east.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury no longer has official boundaries and is subject to varying informal definitions, based for convenience, on a quadrangle of streets. The western boundary of Tottenham Court Road is common to all and a northern limit of Euston Road is often understood, though Coram's Fields and the land to the north, consisting mainly of blocks of flats, built as both private and social housing was traditionally associated as being north Bloomsbury with Judd Street and its surrounding squares being part of St Pancras, King's Cross.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The eastern boundary is sometimes taken to be in the region of Southampton Row or further east on Grays Inn Road. The southern extent is taken to approximates to High Holborn or the thoroughfare formed by New Oxford Street, Bloomsbury Way and Theobalds Road.


title: Bloomsbury

text: On the west side, the traditional and various informal definitions of the area are all based on the ancient Tottenham Court Road. The differences between the formal and more recent understandings of the area (to the north and south), seem to derive from Bloomsbury having been commonly misconceived as being coterminous with the Bedford Estate.


title: Bloomsbury

text: In the early 1660s, the Earl of Southampton, who held the manors of St Giles and Bloomsbury, constructed what eventually became Bloomsbury Square. "The Yorkshire Grey" public house on the corner of Gray's Inn Road and Theobald's Road dates from 1676. The estate passed to the Russell family following the marriage of William Russell, Lord Russell (1639–1683) (third son of William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford) to Rachel Wriothesley, heiress of Bloomsbury, younger of the two daughters and co-heiresses of Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton (1607–1667). Rachel's son and heir was Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford (1680–1711), of Woburn Abbey in Bedfordshire, whose family also owned Covent Garden, south of Bloomsbury, acquired by them at the Dissolution of the Monasteries.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The area was laid out mainly in the 18th century, largely by Wriothesley Russell, 3rd Duke of Bedford, who built Bloomsbury Market, which opened in 1730. His younger brother, John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, would have built a circus here but he died in 1771, leaving his wife to continue development of the area. She commissioned the construction of Bedford Square and of Gower Street. The major development of the squares that we see today started in about 1800 when Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford, demolished Bedford House and developed the land to the north with Russell Square as its centrepiece. Much is still owned today by the Bedford Estate in trust for the Russell family.


title: Bloomsbury

text: John Russell, 6th Duke of Bedford, extended development on the north and east side of the estate, this area would then be frequented by writers, painters and musicians as well as lawyers due to the nearby Inns of Court. The area was enclosed by gates until these were abolished under a 1893 Act of Parliament. In the 19th century, the Bloomsbury area became less fashionable, now dominated by the University of London and the British Museum as well as numerous new hospitals. Modern development has destroyed several Georgian-era buildings, but some remain.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The London Beer Flood (also known as the "Great Beer Flood") was a disaster that occurred in October 1814, when a large vat of porter at the Horse Shoe Brewery, just west of Dyott Street, burst open, releasing a 15-foot wave of beer onto the surrounding streets, killing eight people.


title: Bloomsbury

text: All of the geographic area of Bloomsbury is covered by the Bloomsbury Conservation Area, an historic designation designed to limit new development, and ensure that changes to the built environment preserve and enhance its special character. This conservation area is one of the oldest and most significant in the UK, having been designated in 1968, less than a year after conservation areas were promulgated in the Civic Amenities Act 1967.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The Bloomsbury Conservation Area is almost unique in the UK in that it also has a "conservation area advisory committee", an expert committee of architects, planners, lawyers, and other community members that also live and work in Bloomsbury. This group was founded in 1968 by the local authority and continues to serve Bloomsbury and the surrounding area. It is generally thought that the Bloomsbury Conservation Area Advisory Committee (BCAAC) has the most detailed knowledge of Bloomsbury's built heritage and social history due to its members having lived in the area for many decades. It is accordingly consulted with on all major and minor development proposals in the area, including traffic circulation changes, and its objections carry formal planning weight through the local authority's constitution.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury contains one of the highest proportions of listed buildings and monuments per square metre of any conservation area, including many of the UK's most iconic buildings, such as the British Museum. However its strategic location in the centre of London and associated high development pressures has seen a rise in the demolition of historic fabric, and the construction of tall and harmful development. Between 2015 and 2020 the local authority recommended approval for a total of five major developments judged to be harmful by the BCAAC, with the Greater London Authority approving one. The BCAAC were only successful in defeating one of those developments.


title: Bloomsbury

text: As a result, Victorian buildings and even some of Bloomsbury's famous Georgian terraces have been demolished in recent years. This has led to sharp criticism of the local authority's approach to the conservation and preservation of Bloomsbury, with national heritage groups such as the Victorian Society and Georgian Group voicing concerns along with local groups. A local campaign associated with the BCAAC, Save Bloomsbury, has written and campaigned extensively to protect Bloomsbury's heritage. As of 2021 Camden Council has not adopted any strategy to ensure Bloomsbury's conservation, and harmful development proposals continue to come forward.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury's topography is largely flat, being situated in the Thames basin, with a gradual decline in elevation eastwards towards Gray's Inn Road and King's Cross Road, where the culverted River Fleet runs.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The area is surrounded by four major roads, its historic boundaries, with Euston Road in the north, Gray's Inn Road to the east, High Holborn/New Oxford Street to the south, and Tottenham Court Road to the west. These major and busy thoroughfares give a well-defined boundary to Bloomsbury's geographic area, with a perceptible change in character across these boundaries. Bloomsbury is also bisected north to south by the main road Southampton Row/Woburn Place, which has several large tourist hotels and links Tavistock Square and Russell Square. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to High Holborn in the south.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The area west of Southampton Row/Woburn Place is notable for its concentration of academic establishments, museums, and formal squares. The area comprises the British Museum and the central departments and colleges of the University of London, including Birkbeck College, University College London, the School of Oriental and African Studies, and the University of London's School of Advanced Study. Within this area runs Gower Street which is a two-way (since Sunday 28 February 2021) street running south from Euston Road towards Shaftesbury Avenue in Covent Garden, becoming Bloomsbury Street when it passes to the south of Great Russell Street.


title: Bloomsbury

text: East of Southampton Row/Woburn Place are Brunswick Square, Mecklenburgh Square, Cartwright Gardens, Argyle Square St George's Gardens, and Queen Square making this area far greener than its western counterpart. By far the largest building in this area is the Brutalist Brunswick Centre a residential building with a shopping centre at ground floor. The area to the south is notable for containing several hospitals clustered around Queen Square and Great Ormond Street.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Neighbouring areas include St Pancras to the north and west, Fitzrovia to the west, Covent Garden and Holborn to the south, and Clerkenwell to the east.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Historically, Bloomsbury is associated with the arts, education, and medicine. The area gives its name to the Bloomsbury Group of artists, among whom was Virginia Woolf, who met in private homes in the area in the early 1900s, and to the lesser known Bloomsbury Gang of Whigs formed in 1765 by John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford. The publisher Faber & Faber used to be located in Queen Square, though at the time T. S. Eliot was editor the offices were in Tavistock Square. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded in John Millais's parents' house on Gower Street in 1848.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The Bloomsbury Festival was launched in 2006 when local resident Roma Backhouse was commissioned to mark the re-opening of the Brunswick Centre, a residential and shopping area. The free festival is a celebration of the local area, partnering with galleries, libraries and museums, and achieved charitable status at the end of 2012. As of 2013, the Duchess of Bedford is a festival patron and Festival Directors have included Cathy Maher (2013), Kate Anderson (2015-2019) and Rosemary Richards (2020-present).


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury is home to the federal University of London's central administrative centre and library, Senate House, as well as many of its independent members institutions including Birkbeck College, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, School of Oriental and African Studies, School of Advanced Study, Royal Veterinary College, and University College London (which has now absorbed the formerly separate School of Eastern European and Slavonic Studies, School of Pharmacy, and Institute of Education academic institutions). Bloomsbury is also home to London Contemporary Dance School, Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, a branch of University of Law, Architectural Association School of Architecture, and the London campuses of several American colleges including Arcadia University, University of California, University of Delaware, Florida State University, Syracuse University, New York University, and Hult International Business School.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The growing private tutoring sector in Bloomsbury includes various tutoring businesses such as Bloomsbury International (for English language), Bloomsbury Law Tutors (for law education), Skygate Tutors, and Topmark Tutors Centre.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The British Museum, which first opened to the public in 1759 in Montagu House, is at the heart of Bloomsbury. At the centre of the museum the space around the former British Library Reading Room, which was filled with the concrete storage bunkers of the British Library, is today the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court, an indoor square with a glass roof designed by British architect Norman Foster. It houses displays, a cinema, a shop, a cafe and a restaurant. Since 1998, the British Library has been located in a purpose-built building just outside the northern edge of Bloomsbury, in Euston Road.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Also in Bloomsbury is the Foundling Museum, close to Brunswick Square, which tells the story of the Foundling Hospital opened by Thomas Coram for unwanted children in Georgian London. The hospital, now demolished except for the Georgian colonnade, is today a playground and outdoor sports field for children, called Coram's Fields. It is also home to a small number of sheep. The nearby Lamb's Conduit Street is a pleasant thoroughfare with shops, cafes and restaurants.


title: Bloomsbury

text: The Dickens Museum is in Doughty Street. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology and the Grant Museum of Zoology are at University College London in Gower Street.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury contains some of London's finest parks and buildings, and is particularly known for its formal squares. These include:


title: Bloomsbury

text: Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine (formerly the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital) are both located on Great Ormond Street, off Queen Square, which itself is home to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (formerly the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases). Bloomsbury is also the location of University College Hospital, which re-opened in 2005 in new buildings on Euston Road, built under the government's private finance initiative (PFI). The Eastman Dental Hospital is located on Gray's Inn Road close to the Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital administered by the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury is in the parliamentary constituency of Holborn and St Pancras. The western half of the district comprises Bloomsbury ward, which elects three councillors to Camden Borough Council.


title: Bloomsbury

text: In February 2010, businesses were balloted on an expansion of the InHolborn Business Improvement District (BID) to include the southern part of Bloomsbury. Only businesses with a rateable value in excess of £60,000 could vote as only these would pay the BID levy. This expansion of the BID into Bloomsbury was supported by Camden Council. The proposal was passed and part of Bloomsbury was brought within the InHolborn BID.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Controversy was raised during this BID renewal when InHolborn proposed collecting Bloomsbury, St Giles and Holborn under the name of "Midtown", since it was seen as "too American". Businesses were informed about the BID proposals, but there was little consultation with residents or voluntary organisations. InHolborn produced a comprehensive business plan aimed at large businesses. Bloomsbury is now part of InMidtown BID with its 2010 to 2015 business plan and a stated aim to make the area "a quality environment in which to work and live, a vibrant area to visit, and a profitable place in which to do business".


title: Bloomsbury

text: Several London railway stations serve Bloomsbury. There are three London Underground stations in Bloomsbury:


title: Bloomsbury

text: King's Cross St. Pancras station offers step-free access to all lines, whilst Euston Square offers step-free access to the westbound platform. Other stations nearby include: Euston, Warren Street, Goodge Street, Tottenham Court Road, Holborn and Chancery Lane. There is a disused station in Bloomsbury on the Piccadilly line at the British Museum.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Several bus stops can be found in Bloomsbury. All buses passing through Bloomsbury call at bus stops on Russell Square, Gower Street or Tottenham Court Road. Several key London destinations can be reached from Bloomsbury directly, including: Camden Town, Greenwich, Hampstead Heath, Piccadilly Circus, Victoria, and Waterloo. Euston bus station is to the north of Bloomsbury.


title: Bloomsbury

text: One of the 13 surviving taxi drivers' shelters in London, where drivers can stop for a meal and a drink, is in Russell Square.


title: Bloomsbury

text: Bloomsbury's road network links the district to several destinations across London. Key routes nearby include:


title: Bloomsbury

text: The London Borough of Camden measures roadside air quality in Bloomsbury. In 2017, average Nitrogen Dioxide (NO) levels recorded in Bloomsbury significantly exceeded the UK National Objective for cleaner air, set at 40μg/m3 (micrograms per cubic metre).


title: Bloomsbury

text: Several cycle routes cross Bloomsbury, with cycling infrastructure provided and maintained by both the London Borough of Camden and Transport for London (TfL). Many routes across Bloomsbury feature segregated cycle tracks or bus lanes for use by cyclists. Additionally, Bloomsbury is connected to the wider London cycle network via several routes, including:


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The 2nd Armored Division ("Hell on Wheels") was an armored division of the United States Army. The division played important roles during World War II in the invasions of Germany, North Africa, and Sicily and in the liberation of France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. During the Cold War, the division was primarily based at Fort Hood, Texas, and had a reinforced brigade forward stationed in Garlstedt, West Germany. After participation in the Persian Gulf War, the division was inactivated in 1995.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The 2nd Armored Division was formed at Fort Benning, Georgia on July 15, 1940, by reorganizing and redesignating the Provisional Tank Brigade (the 66th Infantry Regiment (Light Tanks), 67th Infantry Regiment (Medium Tanks), and 68th Infantry Regiment (Light Tanks)). It was originally commanded by Major General Charles L. Scott, with Colonel George S. Patton Jr. in charge of training. Scott was promoted to command the I Armored Corps in November of that year, which put Patton, now a brigadier general, in command of the division. The division, which in February 1942 passed over to the command of Major General Willis D. Crittenberger, served with the First, Seventh, and Ninth Armies throughout the war.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The 2nd Armored was organized as a "heavy" armored division meaning it contained two armored regiments; each regiment having two medium tank battalions and one light tank battalion, with each battalion consisting of three companies (18 tank companies total). Along with the 3rd Armored Division, it retained its organization throughout World War II–the 14 other U.S. armored divisions were reorganized as "light" armored divisions, having three tank battalions, each consisting of three medium tank companies and one light tank company (12 tank companies total). Both types had an infantry component of three mechanized battalions, although the heavy divisions maintained an "armored infantry regiment" organization.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The core units of the division were the 41st Armored Infantry Regiment, the 66th Armored Regiment, the 67th Armor Regiment, the 17th Armored Engineer Battalion, the 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and the 142nd Armored Signal Company. The 82nd Armored Reconnaissance Battalion was known as the "eyes and ears" of the 2nd Armored Division.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The 2nd Armored Division had three artillery battalions: (the 14th, 78th, and 92nd). The division also had support units, including the 2nd Ordnance Maintenance Battalion, 2nd Supply Battalion, the 48th Armored Medical Battalion, and a band and military police platoon. The military police and band were tasked with headquarters defense of base operations under the banner of the 502d Adjutant General Company (502d AG).


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: Elements of the division were among the first U.S. military to engage in offensive ground combat operations in the European and Mediterranean theater during World War II. The 2nd Armored Division, now commanded by Major General Ernest N. Harmon, served in North Africa along with the 1st Armored Division. They were part of the Western Task Force of Operation Torch, which landed at Casablanca in French Morocco on November 8, 1942. The remainder of Torch's American component were the 1st, 3rd, 9th and 34th Infantry Divisions. However, the 2nd Armored Division did not see much action in North Africa and instead remained in French North Africa on garrison and training duties. In April 1943 Major General Harmon relinquished command of the division to Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey. Training in amphibious operations began in preparation for an amphibious landing at Sicily.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: As the reserve force of the Western Task Force of Operation Husky, codename for the Allied invasion of Sicily, the division landed on July 10, 1943, in support of the 1st Infantry Division at the Battle of Gela. Afterwards, the division next went into action in the second landing at Licata, Sicily on July 21 following the 3rd Infantry Division's better-known earlier landing on July 10. The 2nd Armored, operating closely with paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division, then fought through to the Sicilian capital of Palermo. Along the way the 2nd Armored Division captured thousands of Italian prisoners of war (POWs). The fighting in Sicily came to an end on August 17, with the 2nd Armored Division having sustained relatively light casualties in the brief campaign, where it had gained its first Medal of Honor of World War II, belonging to Sergeant Gerry H. Kisters. During the campaign the division came under the command of the U.S. Seventh Army, under Lieutenant General George S. Patton, who had been a former commander of the division.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: Soon afterwards the 2nd Armored Division was sent to England, in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy, and remained there until June 1944. In April the division received a new commander, Major General Edward H. Brooks, a decorated veteran of World War I, replacing Major General Gaffey.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The 2nd Armored Division landed at Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 9, 1944, three days after the initial Normandy landings, and operated in the Cotentin Peninsula, later forming the right flank of the Operation Cobra assault. The division encircled the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich and the 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen around Roncey, and destroyed most of their armored equipment. At La Chapelle, a 2nd SS Panzer column was attacked at point blank range by 2nd Armored Division artillery. Over the course of two hours American artillery fired over 700 rounds into the column. The Germans suffered the loss of 50 dead, 60 wounded and 197 taken prisoner; material losses included over 260 German combat vehicles destroyed. Beyond the town, the 2nd Armored engaged another column, killing 1,150 German soldiers and destroying an additional 96 armored combat vehicles and trucks. The U.S. 2nd Armored Division destroyed 64 German tanks and 538 other German combat vehicles during Operation Cobra, while itself losing 49 tanks. The 2nd Armored Division inflicted over 7,370 casualties on the Germans, while suffering 914 casualties of their own. This is approximately an eightfold disparity. The 2nd Armored blunted Operation Lüttich, the German counterattack on Avranches, then raced across France with the rest of the First Army, reaching the Albert Canal in Belgium on September 8. On September 18 it crossed the German border near Sittard and took up defensive positions near Geilenkirchen. On October 3, the division, now commanded again by Major General Harmon, launched an attack on the Siegfried Line from Marienberg, broke through, crossed the Wurm River, seized the town of Puffendorf on November 16, and Barmen on November 28.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: Members of the division received 9,369 individual awards, including two Medals of Honor, twenty-three Distinguished Service Crosses, and 2,302 Silver Stars as well as nearly 6,000 Purple Hearts; among those receiving the Silver Star were Edward H. Brooks, Hugh Armagio, Stan Aniol, Staff Sergeant John J. Henry, William L. Giblin, Neil J. Garrison, Morton Eustis, son of William Corcoran Eustis, and Sgt Kenneth J. White. The division was twice cited by the Belgian government and division soldiers for the next 50 years wore the fourragere of the Belgian Croix de Guerre.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: After a brief period of occupation duty, the division returned to Fort Hood, Texas, in 1946 to retrain and rebuild. The 2nd Armored Division returned to West Germany to serve as part of 7th Army from 1951 to 1957, when it got back to III Corps, Fort Hood.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: While stationed in Germany in 1952 with the 7th Army, the 2nd Armored Division was based at Stutttgart-Vaihingen under the command of General Williston Palmer. During this time, Palmer enlisted the help of a young Corporal Samuel Adler from within his ranks to organize the Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra. During the course of the next decade, the orchestra remained based with the 2nd Armored Division and the Seventh Army while supporting America's cultural diplomacy initiatives throughout Europe during the height of the Cold War.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The 1/50 Infantry; 2/1 Cavalry; 1/40 Field Artillery; and 1/92 Field Artillery fought in the war in Vietnam, but not the division as a whole. The division included the "Fort Hood Three", a group of three enlisted men who refused to ship out when ordered to deploy to Vietnam in 1966.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The majority of the division would spend much of the next 35 years based at Fort Hood, and the division remained on active service during the Cold War. Its primary mission was to prepare to conduct heavy armored combat against Warsaw Pact forces in defense of NATO. The division formed a key component of the U.S. military's plan to move 'ten divisions in ten days" to Europe in the event of a Soviet threat to NATO. The division practiced this task numerous times during Exercise Reforger from 1967 to 1988. To build and maintain combat skills, the division's maneuver brigades deployed almost annually to the National Training Center to face an opposing force modeling Soviet military weapons and tactics.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: However, with the end of the Cold War, the U.S. military began to draw down its combat units. The 2nd Armored Division was scheduled for inactivation in the spring of 1990.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: In 1975, the 2nd Armored Division's third brigade forward deployed to West Germany and was assigned to NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG). The brigade received additional aviation, engineer, military intelligence, medical, and logistics support units and was reflagged as the 2nd Armored Division (Forward). The unit's primary mission in case of conflict with the Warsaw Pact was to either secure airfields and staging areas for the deployment of III Corps from the United States, or to deploy directly to the Inter-German Border (IGB) and establish a blocking position as part of a NATO combat force.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: From 1975 through 1978, the Brigade HQ was located at Grafenwöhr, along with the rotating armor and artillery battalions and the supporting engineer and cavalry units. Two rotating infantry battalions were based at Hohenfels and Vilseck. The six-month rotations continued until 1978, immediately before the move to permanent facilities in northern Germany.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: 2nd Armored Division (Forward) was based at a new military facility near the village of Garlstedt just north of the city of Bremen. The facilities cost nearly $140 million to construct, half of which was paid for by the Federal Republic of Germany. The brigade had approximately 3,500 soldiers and another approximately 2,500 family dependents and civilian employees. The German government constructed family housing in the nearby city of Osterholz-Scharmbeck. In addition to troop barracks, motor pools, an indoor firing range, repair and logistics facilities, and a local training area, facilities at Garlstedt included a troop medical clinic, post exchange, library, movie theater, and a combined officer/non-commissioned officer/enlisted club. The division's soldiers and family members received radio and TV broadcasts from The American Forces Network (AFN) – Europe via the AFN Bremerhaven affiliate station located in the nearby port city of Bremerhaven. In April 1986, a Burger King restaurant opened on the kaserne.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The brigade was officially designated as 2nd Armored Division (Forward) during ceremonies at Grafenwöhr, FRG on July 25, 1978. The Garlstedt facilities were officially turned over to the United States by the German government in October. At that time the Garlstedt kaserne (camp) was named after General Lucius D. Clay, revered by the German people for his role as the American military commander following World War II. His son, a retired U.S. Army major general, attended the ceremony.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The brigadier general in charge of 2nd Armored Division (Forward) had a unique command. In addition to command of the heavy brigade, he also functioned as the Commander, III Corps (Forward), headquartered in Maastricht, Netherlands, and as commander of all US Army forces in Northern Germany, including the military communities of Garlstedt and Bremerhaven. In the event of the deployment of III Corps and/or the 2nd Armored Division from the United States, the division commander would revert to his job as assistant division commander for operations of 2nd Armored Division. This contingency was practised during REFORGER exercises in 1980 and 1987. As a result of this varied and demanding job, command of the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) was considered a plum assignment for armor branch brigadier generals, on par with perhaps only the Berlin Brigade for high visibility and potential for advancement to higher rank. Brigadier generals who held the position included James E. Armstrong, George R. Stotser, Thomas H. Tait, William F. Streeter, John C. Heldstab, and Jerry R. Rutherford.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The brigade's subordinate combat units initially consisted of the 3d Battalion, 41st Infantry; 2d Battalion, 50th Infantry; 2d Battalion, 66th Armor (Iron Knights); 1st Battalion, 14th Field Artillery, and Troop C, 2d Squadron, 1st Cavalry. In October 1983, as part of the army's regimental alignment program, 2–50 Infantry was reflagged as 4–41 Infantry and 1–14 Field Artillery as 4-3 Field Artillery. Other brigade subordinate units eventually included the 498th Support Battalion, Company D, 17th Engineer Battalion, and the 588th Military Intelligence Company. The brigade also had a military police platoon and an aviation detachment. In 1986, under the army's COHORT unit manning and retention plan, 3–41st Infantry returned to Fort Hood and was replaced by 1–41st Infantry. In 1987, 4–41st Infantry returned to Fort Hood, Texas and was replaced by 3–66th Armor (Burt's Knights, named for Captain James M. Burt who was awarded the Medal of Honor as a company commander in the 66th Armored Regiment in the Battle of Aachen during World War II). Now an armor-heavy brigade, 2nd Armored Division (Forward) fielded 116 M-1A1 Abrams tanks and nearly 70 M2/3 Bradley Fighting Vehicles.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The brigade initially deployed to Germany with the M60A1 Patton tank and the M113 armored personnel carrier. 4–3rd Field Artillery had the M109 155 mm self-propelled howitzer. In 1984, 2–66th AR transitioned to the M1/IPM1/M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. In 1985, 3–41st IN and 4–41st IN transitioned to the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle; also, C/2-1 Cavalry was replaced by an air cavalry troop, D/2-1 Cavalry, armed with AH-1S Cobra attack helicopters.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The division participated in numerous major NATO training exercises, including "Trutzige Sachsen" (1985), "Crossed Swords" (1986) and the "Return of Forces to Germany" (REFORGER) (1980 and 1987). Division subordinate units used the NATO gunnery and maneuver ranges at the Bergen-Hohne Training Area for gunnery and maneuver training and each year the division as a whole deployed south to Grafenwöhr and Hohenfels (both in Bavaria) training areas for annual crew and unit gunnery and maneuver qualification. 2nd Armored Division (Forward) developed a reputation for excellence during these deployments, particularly in tank crew gunnery.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: Tank companies from 2–66th, and later 3–66th, Armor competed in the bi-annual NATO tank gunnery competition, the Canadian Army Trophy, or "CAT," as part of the NORTHAG team. C Company, 2–66th first contested for the trophy in 1983. And while a West German tank platoon won the competition that year at Bergen Hohne, 2–66th surprised the competition by performing well with its old M60A1 tanks, which used optical rangefinder technology from the World War II era. This showed the value of local course knowledge over pure technology. C Company, 2–66th contested for the trophy again in 1985, and D Company, 2–66th was part of the NORTHAG team in 1987. In 1989 C Company, 3–66th Armor won the competition outright. Participation in "CAT" was a source of great pride among the tank crews of 2AD (FWD).


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The division had a formal partnership with Panzergrenadierbrigade 32, a Federal Republic of Germany Bundeswehr mechanized infantry brigade headquartered in nearby Schwanewede. The division also had informal relationships with Dutch, Belgian, and British NORTHAG forces, often conducting joint training activities at Bergen Hohne.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The invasion of Kuwait by Saddam Hussein in August 1990 caught the division in the midst of the post-Cold War drawdown of the U.S. Army. The division's 2nd Brigade could not be deployed as a whole; it was in the middle of inactivating due to cuts to the Regular Army ordered by Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney, along with the elite 9th Infantry Division, which had trained during the 1980s to fight a desert hit & run war in the Middle East. Some units like A 1/92, a MLRS unit, as well a couple of others were attached to the Division's 1st Brigade, known as the Tiger Brigade, for the war, and was commanded by Colonel John B. Sylvester, deployed to Saudi Arabia independently and participated in Operation Desert Storm by providing heavy armor support for United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces in their attack into Kuwait. It was spearheaded by 3-41 Infantry's Straight and Stalwart Battalion Task Force and The Tiger Brigades 1-3 Field Artillery Bn. It served at the Battle of Kuwait International Airport. The Tiger Brigade was credited with destroying or capturing 181 enemy tanks, 148 APCs, 40 artillery pieces, 27 AA emplacements, and 263 Iraqi soldiers killed with an additional 4,051 captured.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The division's 3rd brigade, based in Germany, deployed to Saudi Arabia in the fall of 1990 and acted as the third maneuver brigade of the 1st Infantry Division from Fort Riley, KS. One of the brigade's battalion task forces, Task Force 1-41 Infantry, was the first coalition force to breach the Saudi Arabian border on February 15, 1991, and conduct ground combat operations in Iraq engaging in direct and indirect fire fights with the enemy on February 17, 1991. It was involved in a six-hour battle to clear Iraq's initial defensive positions. Initially it was tasked with performing counter reconnaissance and reconnaissance missions against Iraqi reconnaissance units. The brigade served at the Battle of 73 Easting with the 1st Infantry Division (Mechanized) along with the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. They were responsible for destroying the Iraqi 18th Mechanized and 9th Armored Brigades of the Republican Guard Tawakalna Mechanized Infantry Division and the Iraqi 26th Infantry Division. They played a key role in the destruction of the 12th Armored Division destroying no less than 80 combat vehicles. The brigade destroyed 60 Iraqi tanks and 35 infantry vehicles along the IPSA pipeline. This is known as the Battle of Norfolk. The division's 4-3 FA battalion played a large role in the destruction of 50 enemy tanks, 139 APCs, 30 air defense systems, 152 artillery pieces, 27 missile launchers, 108 mortars, and 548 wheeled vehicles, 61 trench lines and bunker positions, 92 dug in and open infantry targets, and 34 logistical sites during combat operations.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: Before the end of combat operations the 2nd Armored Division(Forward) would engage a total of 11 Iraqi divisions. By dawn of the third day of the ground campaign, the 2nd Armored Division (Forward) had a hand in the destruction of four Iraqi tank and mechanized brigades and two divisions. Between the cease-fire and the official end of the war in April 1991, 2nd Armored Division (Forward) took part in security operations to ensure peace in Kuwait. The division then redeployed to Saudi Arabia, where some of its soldiers established and ran three refugee camps near Raffia, Saudi Arabia. Division relief workers processed over 22,000 Iraqi refugees between April 15 and May 10. After turning the camps over to the Saudi Arabian government, the unit redeployed to Germany.


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: The division's attack helicopter battalion, 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, deployed from Fort Hood to Saudi Arabia in fall 1990 attached to and with support from the 1st Cavalry Division (also based at Ft. Hood). The battalion was equipped with McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache attack helicopters. The battalion participated in many air strikes along the border region during the air portion of the campaign. The unit provided covering missions when the ground forces advanced into Iraq. 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment was pulled back into Saudi Arabia after the cease-fire, with two squads staging in Kuwait to provide refueling and rearming services for battalion aircraft if hostilities resumed. The unit returned to Fort Hood, Texas, in April 1991 and continued the inactivation that was interrupted when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The unit was inactivated on September 16, 1991, and the regimental flag transferred to sister unit 3rd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment based in Germany. The unit was transferred as a whole to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, in August 1991 and became the 2nd Battalion of the 101st Aviation Regiment (part of the 101st Airborne Division).


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: After the Gulf War the division went through a series of inactivations and reflaggings. Due to the restructuring of the U.S. Army after the end of the Cold War, the division was ordered off the active duty rolls, ending more than 50 years of continuous service. On return to Fort Hood in 1991, the Tiger Brigade and 1st Battalion of the 3rd Aviation Regiment, all that remained of the U.S.-based division, were reflagged as the 3d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, and the 2d Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment respectively. On September 1, 1991, 2nd Armored Division (Forward), in Germany, officially became 2nd Armored Division after main elements of 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood inactivated. Over the summer and fall of 1992, 2nd Armored Division was inactivated. Lucius D. Clay Kaserne was turned back over to the German government and was later to become home of the German Army Logistics and Supply School ("Logistikschule der Bundeswehr") as well as the seat of "General der Nachschubtruppe".


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: In December 1992, the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Polk, Louisiana, was reflagged as the 2nd Armored Division. In 1993, the unit moved to Fort Hood. In December 1995, the 2nd Armored Division was again reflagged, this time as the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), stationed at Fort Carson, CO. This formally ended the 2nd Armored Division's 55-year history. Several units historically associated with the 2nd Armored Division, including battalions from the 66th Armored Regiment at Fort Hood, TX, the 41st Infantry Regiment at Fort Carson, Colorado, the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas, and the 172nd Infantry Brigade at Grafenwöhr, Germany (inactivated May 31, 2013).


title: 2nd Armored Division (United States)

text: Though it was inactivated, the division was identified as the fourth highest priority inactive division in the United States Army Center of Military History's lineage scheme due to its numerous accolades and long history. All of the division's flags and heraldic items were moved to the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Georgia following its inactivation. Should the U.S. Army decide to activate more divisions in the future, the center will most likely suggest the first new division be the 9th Infantry Division, the second be the 24th Infantry Division, the third be the 5th Infantry Division and the fourth be the 2nd Armored Division.


title: David Wain

text: David Benjamin Wain (born August 1, 1969) is an American comedian, writer, actor, and director. He has co-written and directed six feature films, including "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), "Role Models" (2008), "Wanderlust" (2012) and "They Came Together" (2014). He has also served as a creator, producer, writer and director on number of television series, including "", "", "Childrens Hospital" and "Medical Police". He has had small roles in most of the films and TV series he has produced or directed. He also had a starring voice role, as the Warden, on the 2008-2014 animated Adult Swim series "Superjail!"


title: David Wain

text: He began his career as a member of the sketch comedy troupe The State. The group had their own TV show on MTV from 1993 to 1995, "The State", for which Wain directed many of the sketches. He is also member of comedy trio Stella, along with two other members of The State. The three wrote and starred in short films called the Stella shorts, as well as the 2005 TV series "Stella".


title: David Wain

text: Wain was born to a Jewish family in Shaker Heights, Ohio, the son of Nina (née Saul) and Norman Wain. As a young man, Wain went to a summer camp in Canaan, Maine, on which "Wet Hot American Summer" was loosely based.


title: David Wain

text: In 1988 while attending NYU film school, Wain became a founding member of the sketch comedy group The New Group. This group later came to be known as The State, and in 1993 he and his fellow members created and starred in "The State", a sketch show that lasted 26 episodes on MTV. Wain and Michael Patrick Jann directed most of the show's sketches.


title: David Wain

text: Wain's first feature film, "Wet Hot American Summer" (2001), was an absurdist summer camp comedy starring Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Molly Shannon, Paul Rudd, Christopher Meloni, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Ken Marino and Elizabeth Banks. Wain directed the film, and co-wrote and co-produced it with Showalter, who also plays a lead role.


title: David Wain

text: His second feature film "The Ten", starring Winona Ryder and Paul Rudd (and a large ensemble cast of well-known actors), had a short theatrical run and was released on DVD on January 15, 2008.


title: David Wain

text: Wain's third feature, "Role Models", starring Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jane Lynch and Elizabeth Banks, was his first widely released film. Released in theaters on November 7, 2008, the film received positive reviews from critics and fans alike, as well as earning $19 million on its opening weekend.


title: David Wain

text: Wain starred in a web series titled "Wainy Days" on the website My Damn Channel, which ran for five seasons and ended in January 2012. The series follows a fictionalized version of Wain through his everyday life as he tries to romance numerous women and discusses his problems with his friends at the sweatshop where he works. Elizabeth Banks, Jonah Hill, Jason Sudeikis, Rob Corddry, Thomas Lennon, Josh Charles, Paul Rudd, and Michael Ian Black, and various other Stella, The State and "Wet Hot American Summer" alumni have all guest-starred in various episodes. The recurring cast included A.D. Miles, Matt Ballard and Zandy Hartig, who was instrumental in the creation of the series.


title: David Wain

text: As one third of the comedy troupe Stella, Wain has co-hosted the long running nightclub show in New York City, toured the United States and made a series of shorts with the group, and eventually help create a 2005 series on Comedy Central based on their routines.


title: David Wain

text: Wain is featured as the voice of The Warden in the animated series "Superjail!". He was a featured commentator in the "I Love the 70s" series, "I Love the 90s Part Deux" series, and the weekly VH1 show "Best Week Ever".. With "The State", Wain co-wrote the book "State by State with The State". He has appeared in such movies as "The Baxter", "Keeping the Faith" and "Role Models". Wain's fourth feature film, "Wanderlust", was released on February 24, 2012. It stars Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd, Malin Akerman and Alan Alda. Wain directed the film, from a screenplay he wrote with Ken Marino, and has a cameo in the film as a TV weatherman.


title: David Wain

text: His fifth feature, the romantic parody "They Came Together", was released in June 2014. The cast includes Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, Ed Helms, Cobie Smulders, Max Greenfield, and Christopher Meloni. Wain and Showalter co-wrote the eight-episode Netflix prequel "" based on the 2001 film with almost the entire cast of the original film returning. The series premiered on July 31, 2015, and was more well received by critics. He returned to co-write and direct another Netflix sequel "", which premiered in 2017.


title: David Wain

text: In 2018 Wain directed "A Futile and Stupid Gesture", a feature film biography of National Lampoon founder Doug Kenney, starring Will Forte, Domhnall Gleeson and Joel McHale.


title: David Wain

text: Wain lives in Los Angeles. He has two sons and is divorced from Zandy Hartig, an actress and producer.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: A skid loader, skid-steer loader, SSLs or skidsteer is a small, rigid-frame, engine-powered machine with lift arms that can attach to a wide variety of buckets and other labor-saving tools or attachments.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Skid-steer loaders are typically four-wheeled or tracked vehicles with the front and back wheels on each side mechanically linked together to turn at the same speed, and where the left-side drive wheels can be driven independently of the right-side drive wheels. This is accomplished by having two separate and independent transmissions; one for the left side wheels and one for the right side wheels. Earliest versions of skid steer loaders used forward and reverse clutch drives. Virtually all modern skid steers designed and built since the mid-1970s use two separate hydrostatic transmissions (one for the left side and one for the right side).


title: Skid-steer loader

text: The wheels typically have no separate steering mechanism and hold a fixed straight alignment on the body of the machine. Turning is accomplished by differential steering, in which the left and right wheel pairs are operated at different speeds, and the machine turns by skidding or dragging its fixed-orientation wheels across the ground. Skid-steer loaders are capable of zero-radius turning, by driving one set of wheels forward while simultaneously driving the opposite set of wheels in reverse. This "zero-turn" capability (the machine can turn around within its own length) makes them extremely manoeuvrable and valuable for applications that require a compact, powerful and agile loader or tool carrier in confined-space work areas.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: The extremely rigid frame and strong wheel bearings prevent the torsional forces caused by this dragging motion from damaging the machine. As with tracked vehicles, the high ground friction produced by skid steers can rip up soft or fragile road surfaces. They can be converted to low ground friction by using specially designed wheels such as the Mecanum wheel.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Skid-steer loaders are sometimes equipped with tracks instead of the wheels, and such a vehicle is known as a compact track loader.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Skid steer loaders, both wheel and track models, operate most efficiently when they are imbalanced - either the front wheels or the back wheels are more heavily loaded. When equipped with an empty bucket, skid steer loaders are all heavier in the rear and the rear wheels pivot in place while the front wheels slide around. When a bucket is fully loaded, the weight distribution reverses and the front wheels become significantly heavier than the rear wheels. When making a zero-turn while loaded, the front wheels pivot and the rear wheels slide.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Imbalanced operation reduces the amount of power required to turn the machine and minimizes tire wear. Skilled operators always try to keep the machine more heavily loaded on either the front or the rear of the machine. When the weight distribution is 50/50 (or close to it) neither the front set of wheels nor the rear set of wheels wants to pivot or slide and the machine starts to "buck" due to high friction, evenly divided between front and rear axles. Tire wear increases significantly in this condition.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Unlike in a conventional front loader, the lift arms in these machines are alongside the driver with the pivot points behind the driver's shoulders. Because of the operator's proximity to moving booms, early skid loaders were not as safe as conventional front loaders, particularly due to the lack of a rollover protection structure. Modern skid loaders have cabs, open or fully enclosed and other features to protect the operator. Like other front loaders, they can push material from one location to another, carry material in the bucket, load material into a truck or trailer and perform a variety of digging and grading operations.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: The first three-wheeled, front-end loader was invented by brothers Cyril and Louis Keller in Rothsay, Minnesota, in 1957. The Kellers built the loader to help a farmer, Eddie Velo, mechanize the process of cleaning turkey manure from his barn. The light and compact machine, with its rear caster wheel, was able to turn around within its own length while performing the same tasks as a conventional front-end loader, hence its name.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: The Melroe brothers, of Melroe Manufacturing Company in Gwinner, North Dakota, purchased the rights to the Keller loader in 1958 and hired the Kellers to continue refining their invention. As a result of this partnership, the M-200 Melroe self-propelled loader was introduced at the end of 1958. It featured two independent front-drive wheels and a rear caster wheel, a engine and a lift capacity. Two years later they replaced the caster wheel with a rear axle and introduced the M-400, the first four-wheel, true skid-steer loader. The M-440 was powered by a engine and had an rated operating capacity. Skid-steer development continued into the mid-1960s with the M600 loader. Melroe adopted the well-known Bobcat trademark in 1962.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: The conventional bucket of many skid loaders can be replaced with a variety of specialized buckets or attachments, many powered by the loader's hydraulic system. The list of attachments available is virtually endless. Some examples include backhoe, hydraulic breaker, pallet forks, angle broom, sweeper, auger, mower, snow blower, stump grinder, tree spade, trencher, dumping hopper, pavement miller, ripper, tillers, grapple, tilt, roller, snow blade, wheel saw, cement mixer, and wood chipper machine.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Some models of skid steer now also have an automatic attachment changer mechanism. This allows a driver to change between a variety of terrain handling, shaping, and leveling tools without having to leave the machine, by using a hydraulic control mechanism to latch onto the attachments. Traditionally hydraulic supply lines to powered attachments may be routed so that the couplings are located near the cab, and the driver does not need to leave the machine to connect or disconnect those supply lines. Recently, manufacturers have also created automatic hydraulic connection systems that allow changing attachments without having to manually disconnect/connect hydraulic lines


title: Skid-steer loader

text: The original skid-steer loader arms were designed using a hinge near the top of the loader frame towers at the rear of the machine. When the loader arms were raised to pivot the loader arm up into the air in an arc that swings up over the top of the operator. This is known as a radial lift loader. This design is simple to manufacture and lower cost. Radial lift loaders start with the bucket close to the machine when the arms are fully down and start moving up and forward away from the machine as the arms are raised. This provides greater forward reach at mid-point in the lift for dumping at around four to five feet, but less stability at the middle of their lift arc (because the bucket is so much further forward). As the loader arms continue to raise past mid-height the bucket begins to move back closer to the machine and becomes more stable at full lift height, but also has far less forward reach at full height.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Radial lift machines are lower cost and tend to be preferred for users who do a lot of work at lower height of lift arms, such as digging and spreading materials at low heights. Radial lift designs have very good lift capacity/stability when the loader arms are all the way down and become less stable (lower lift capacity) as the arms reach mid-point and the bucket is furthest forward. Static stability increases as the arms continue to rise, but raised loads are inherently less stable and safe for all machine types. One downside of radial lift design is that when fully-raised the bucket is back closer to the machine, so it has relatively poor reach when trying to load trucks or hoppers or spreaders. In addition, the bucket is almost over the operator's head and spillage over the back of the bucket can end up on top of the machine or in the operator's lap. Another downside of radial lift machines is that the large frame towers to which the loader arms are attached tend to restrict an operator's visibility to the rear and back corners of the machine. The radial arm is still the most common design and preferred by many users, but almost all manufacturers that started with radial lift designs began also producing "vertical lift" designs as well.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: "Vertical lift" designs use additional links and hinges on the loader arm, with the main pivot points towards the center or front of the machine. This allows the loader arm to have greater operating height and reach while retaining a compact design. There are no truly "vertical lift" designs in production. All loaders use multiple links (that all move in radial arcs) which aim to straighten the lift path of the bucket as it is raised. This allows close to vertical movement at points of the lift range, to keep the bucket forward of the operator's cab, allowing safe dumping into tall containers or vehicles. Some designs have more arc in the lowest part of the lift arc while other designs have more arc near the top of the lift arc.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: One downside of vertical lift designs is somewhat higher cost and complexity of manufacturing. Some vertical lift designs may also have reduced rear or side visibility when the arms are down low, but superior visibility as the arms are raised (especially if the design does not require a large rear frame tower). Most Vertical lift machines provide more constant stability as the arms are raised from fully-lowered to fully-raised position since the bucket (load) has a similar distance from the machine from bottom to top of the lift path. As a side benefit to constant stability, most vertical lift machines have larger bucket capacities and longer, flatter low-profile buckets that can carry more material per cycle and tend to provide smoother excavating and grading than short-lip buckets. Vertical lift designs have grown rapidly in popularity in the past thirty years and now make up a significant proportion of new skid loader sales.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: A skid-steer loader can sometimes be used in place of a large excavator by digging a hole from the inside. This is especially true for digging swimming pools in a back yard where a large excavator cannot fit. The skid loader first digs a ramp leading to the edge of the desired excavation. It then uses the ramp to carry material out of the hole. The skid loader reshapes the ramp making it steeper and longer as the excavation deepens. This method is also useful for digging under a structure where overhead clearance does not allow for the boom of a large excavator, such as digging a basement under an existing house. Several companies make backhoe attachments for skid-steers. These are more effective for digging in a small area than the method above and can work in the same environments.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Other applications may consist of transporting raw material around a job site, either in buckets or using pallet forks. Rough terrain forklifts have very poor maneuverability; and smaller "material handling" forklifts have good maneuverability but poor traction. Skid steer loaders have very good maneuverability and traction but typically lower lift capacity than forklifts.


title: Skid-steer loader

text: Skid steer loaders excel at snow removal, especially in smaller parking lots where maneuverability around existing cars, light poles, and curbs is an issue with larger snow plows. Skid steers also have the ability to actually remove the snow rather than just plowing it and pushing snow into a pile.


title: Kiralık Aşk

text: Kiralık Aşk ("Love for Rent") is a Turkish romantic drama television series, starring Barış Arduç, Elçin Sangu, Salih Bademci, Sinem Öztürk, Nergis Kumbasar, and Levent Ülgen. It comprises two seasons, premiering on Star TV on June 19, 2015 with the final episode airing January 20, 2017.


title: Kiralık Aşk

text: A waitress named Defne Topal (Elçin Sangu) finds herself in a love game when she urgently needs a large sum of money to pay off her brother's debt. Defne looks after her grandmother, her young sister and her older brother. Her father died when Defne and her siblings were very young after which their mother left to start life anew with another man. One day, a man named Ömer İplikçi (Barış Arduç) kisses her abruptly outside the restaurant where Defne works to save himself from a blind date arranged by his aunt. Unknown to Defne and Ömer, Ömer's aunt, Neriman (Nergis Kumbasar), witnesses the kiss. After that, Neriman approaches Defne with an offer to marry and then leave the man she's renting her for, her husband's nephew Ömer. Neriman is ready to give 400,000 liras, but Defne only takes the money she needs (200,000 liras) and accepts the offer to free her brother from the people he is indebted to.


title: Kiralık Aşk

text: Neriman is desperate to find a girl for Ömer in order to please her father-in-law and Ömer's estranged grandfather, Hulusi İplikçi (Ferdi Merter). Hulusi has threatened Neriman and her husband Necmi (Levent Ülgen) that unless he sees Ömer married in the next 6 months, he will sell all the family property including Necmi and Neriman's house. Under Neriman's instructions, Defne begins work at Ömer İplikçi's footwear company as his personal assistant, unaware of the fact that he is the man who had forcefully kissed her until she sees him on her first day of work. She has 6 months to make Ömer fall in love with her, marry him and then leave him. Things become complicated when, without intending to, Defne also falls in love with Ömer, now torn between not wanting to deceive him and hiding the true reason she came into his life for fear that he will never want to see her again.


title: Beth Orton

text: Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician, known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, Red Snapper and the Chemical Brothers in the mid-1990s. Her UK/US first solo album, "Trailer Park", received much critical acclaim in 1996. Orton developed a devoted audience with the release of the BRIT Award-winning album "Central Reservation" (1999) and the 2002 UK top 10 album, "Daybreaker". Her 2006 album, "Comfort of Strangers", was followed by a break during which Orton gave birth to her daughter and collaborated with the British guitarist Bert Jansch. Orton returned with "Sugaring Season" in 2012, which moved towards a purer acoustic sound, followed by a return to electronic music with "Kidsticks", released in 2016.


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton's music has been featured in "Felicity", "How to Deal", "Charmed", "Dawson's Creek", "Roswell", "Vanilla Sky", "Grey's Anatomy", and "Manifest", providing her with exposure to a more mainstream American audience.


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton was born in East Dereham, Norfolk, but moved to Dalston, East London, at age 14. Her father, a public relations consultant and journalist, left her mother when Beth was 11, and she lived with her mother, a journalist and political activist, and her two brothers, her father dying shortly afterwards. Orton studied A-levels at City College Norwich. Her mother died from cancer in 1989, when Beth was aged 19, which led to her travelling to Thailand for a short period, living with Buddhist nuns. On returning to London, Orton worked at jobs such as a waitress at Pizza Hut, and she even briefly owned her own catering company. Orton was an actress before becoming a musician, initially enrolling at the Anna Scher Theatre School. She toured in an experimental stage adaptation of "Une Saison en Enfer" with a theatre company touring throughout the UK, Russia and Ukraine, playing Rimbaud's lover.


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton began working with William Orbit on an LP together as Spill, entitled "Burn Blind". "Don't Wanna Know 'Bout Evil" was the first track on the album that ended up being released in just Orton's name. "Superpinkymandy" was named after a rag doll which she bought at a jumble sale at the age of six. This rare album was released only in Japan, in extremely limited numbers (popularly quoted as between 1,000 and 5,000 copies). The sound is very much Orbit's, but all of the songs (except "Don't Wanna Know 'Bout Evil" written by John Martyn) were co-written by Orton and Orbit, and some tracks were later recycled, in very different versions. "She Cries Your Name" later appeared on "Trailer Park". "Yesterday's Gone" became "Montok Point" on the fourth Strange Cargo release, "Hinterland" (1995). "Hinterland" had Orton's vocals on several tracks, and also included an alternative version of "She Cries Your Name".


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton provided a one-word vocal to the first Red Snapper EP in 1994 ("Snapper"), then co-wrote and sang on "In Deep" on "The Swank EP" (also 1994). Ali Friend from Red Snapper later joined Orton's band.


title: Beth Orton

text: It was roughly at this time that she met Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers and began the first in a series of collaborations, providing vocals for the track "Alive Alone" on "Exit Planet Dust" (1995). She would later provide vocals for the tracks "Where Do I Begin" on "Dig Your Own Hole" (1997) and "The State We're In" on "Come with Us" (2002). In 2018 she and The Chemical Brothers released a long-lost cover of Tim Buckley's "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain", a collaborative effort dating back from the late '90s, when the three were sharing space in London’s Orinoco studios. According to Mixmag "Orton said she rediscovered the tune after it fell out of an unread copy of War and Peace."


title: Beth Orton

text: Her first solo single, a cover of The Ronettes' "I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine", was released, again in extremely limited numbers, in mid-1996, and was followed by "She Cries Your Name", shortly before the release of what she herself considers to be her first LP "Trailer Park", released on Heavenly Records on 19 October 1996. This release earned her nominations for two BRIT Awards (best British newcomer, best British female) and the Mercury Music Prize in 1997, was well received by critics, and sold modestly well, selling 300,000 copies and peaking at No. 68 in the UK. The album presented Orton's signature sound, an innovative mix of acoustic-based songwriting and electronic beats and elements. She began to tour this record, first supporting acts such as The Beautiful South, and appearing with Ron Sexsmith, before touring on her own. In June 1997, she had her first UK Top 40 hit single with a reissue of "She Cries Your Name".


title: Beth Orton

text: That summer she toured with Lilith Fair, released the "Best Bit" EP which included the single "Best Bit", and collaborated with soul legend Terry Callier on a cover of Fred Neil's song "Dolphins". That song improved on her previous best chart position, reaching number 38 in the UK. "Central Reservation", her second album (proper), helped Orton build on the success of her début. Although retaining the electronic edge of the former, this record showed a notably more acoustic side with a few tracks consisting purely of Orton's vocals accompanied by a solitary acoustic guitar, with subject matters becoming more introspective, including "Pass in Time", a song about the death of her mother. Despite this style, the album still provided more polished moments such as lead single "Stolen Car", the jazz-and-strings-tinged "Sweetest Decline", and the electro melancholy of "Stars All Seem to Weep" (with the haunting vocal allegedly recorded in a single take). The album also featured notable contributions from soul musician Terry Callier, Dr. Robert and Ben Harper. Two tracks were produced by Ben Watt of Everything But The Girl.


title: Beth Orton

text: The album earned Orton a second Mercury Music Prize nomination and won the Best Female Artist award at the 2000 BRIT Awards.


title: Beth Orton

text: In July 2002, Orton released the album "Daybreaker", which again blended the early electronica style, with uptempo pop songs and acoustic ballads. It featured guest appearances from musicians such as the Chemical Brothers, Emmylou Harris, whom she met at Lilith Fair, Ryan Adams and Four Tet. It was a great commercial success, reaching the top 8 of the UK Albums Chart, and received largely positive reviews from the press, ranging from "Her best work yet" from "Mojo" magazine, the "NME" (8/10), "Rolling Stone" and "The Guardian", but receiving a more lukewarm reception from "Q" (despite this, she was nominated for the "Q" award for best album). This was followed in 2003 by a US-only release on American label Astralwerks, "The Other Side of Daybreak", an album consisting mainly of B-sides and remixes of songs from "Daybreaker", created by artists such as Roots Manuva. She also contributed a song to the War Child charity, for their "Hope" compilation album that year.


title: Beth Orton

text: "Daybreaker" debuted at No. 40 on the "Billboard" 200 and has sold 155,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.


title: Beth Orton

text: A "best of" double album, titled "Pass in Time", was released in 2003. It represented Orton's extensive and diverse musical career through previously unreleased songs, B-sides, and rarities (such as "Where Do You Go" from "Superpinkymandy"), as well as collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers. On 31 March 2003, she played to a packed Royal Albert Hall in London on the last date of her worldwide "Daybreaker" tour. In addition, she played a tribute concert to Elliott Smith in November.


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton's fourth studio album, "Comfort of Strangers", was released in February 2006. The North American release was through Astralwerks, and the UK release was through EMI-UK. The release saw her move away from the electronica element that she is usually associated with, to a more stripped down traditional alt-folk album. This album followed an extended absence since her previous release, partially a result of several production attempts, and the parting of ways between her and Heavenly Records. The album was produced by musician Jim O'Rourke. It was widely acclaimed, with critics noting the depth and focus of the songwriting and the stripped-down quality of the music.


title: Beth Orton

text: On 11 July 2012, "Sugaring Season" was announced on Beth Orton's official website as the follow-up album to "Comfort of Strangers". It was released on ANTI-, her first through that label, on 1 October 2012, in the UK and the next day in the USA. Recorded in Portland, Oregon, USA, the album is produced by Tucker Martine and expanded on the purely acoustic sound of her previous record, with many of the songs written in the open guitar tunings Orton had learned from Bert Jansch in the years previous. The album was largely recorded live, with a band consisting of Brian Blade on drums, Sebastian Sternberg on bass, and Rob Burger on keyboards. Additional guitar work came from Marc Ribot and Ted Barnes, with backing vocals by Laura Veirs and Sam Amidon. Sugaring Season was widely received as a return to form, with many critics calling it her finest album to date.


title: Beth Orton

text: "Paste" magazine said, "Blessed with great songs, wonderful arrangements and vocal performances that seriously raise the bar in our expectations of what she's capable of, it is a record that shows real artistic growth in every area and is destined to become a classic that rivals Trailer Park and Central Reservation," while "Pitchfork" called it "10 songs of sweet resilience delivered by a voice of seemingly effortless expression." Her solo concert in November 2016 was named a top gig of the year by chief New York Times critic John Pareles, who stated, "Alone onstage with her acoustic guitar for much of her set, Ms. Orton set up steady, mantralike picking patterns, a backdrop of serene constancy for the turmoil of ache and determination in her vocals. The songs were hypnotic, the audience silently rapt." The album release was followed by extensive touring in the UK in Europe, solo and with her band, and included an appearance as musical guest on "The Late Show with David Letterman".


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton's sixth studio album, "Kidsticks", was released on 27 May 2016, and marked a distinct turn towards a purely electronic sound, with Orton playing keyboards and synthesizers instead of acoustic guitar. The album was produced by Orton herself alongside Andrew Hung from the band Fuck Buttons, who provided drum and synth programming. The album included contributions from Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, George Lewis Jr from Twin Shadow, and composer Dustin O’Halloran. Kidsticks was released on 27 May 2016, following extensive airplay of the singles "Moon" and "1973" on BBC 6Music and elsewhere. In October 2016, Orton returned to "Later… with Jools Holland", performing the singles "1973" and "Wave". The Guardian wrote that "Kidsticks is a real reinvention: not so much a return to her electronic roots as a bold exploration of fresh territory."


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton was criticised over her music video for the song "1973" in which she is shown spray painting a federally protected Joshua tree and other desert plant life. After an outcry from the local community, which included a petition on change.org, the music video was removed online. Orton publicly apologised and the Mojave Desert Trust responded positively to her outreach, stating, "We appreciate that Beth Orton regrets her prior actions, and that she intends to educate others about the natural beauty of the Mojave Desert, and the responsibility we collectively share for protecting this unique environment from vandalism and harm."


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton's consistent band from 1999's "Central Reservation" until around 2006 was guitarist Ted Barnes, keyboardist Sean Read, ex-Sandals drummer Will Blanchard and former Red Snapper member Ali Friend on bass. However, this had changed by 2008, with Ali and Ted having moved on to form their own band Clayhill, and Ted having pursued his own projects, with Orton guesting on his solo debut album, "Short Scenes". After that Orton's touring band consisted of Amidon, Steinberg, with Steven Nistor on drums, and her current touring band consists of Alex Thomas on sticks, vocals and electronics, and Grey McMurray on guitar, bass and electronics.


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton gave birth to a daughter, Nancy, in mid-December 2006. She cancelled her September 2006 UK tour because of her pregnancy. She is now married to musician Sam Amidon and the two have a son, Arthur, born in 2011.


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton played at the "One Big No" concert in March 2003 at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, organised by Emily Eavis, and has participated in concerts hosted by producer Hal Willner, including the 2006 concert film "", and performing a duet with Nick Cave as part of Willner's Allen Ginsberg Tribute at the Ace Theater in Los Angeles, in spring of 2015.


title: Beth Orton

text: Orton played the lead female in the independent film "Southlander" in 2001, and returned to acting with a leading role in the British independent film "Light Years" (2015), directed by Esther May Campbell.


title: Zakir Hussain (actor)

text: Zakir Hussain is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He is known for his negative and comic roles. His best-known performances include those of Rashid in Ramgopal Varma's 2005 film "Sarkar", Shardul in Sriram Raghavan's 2007 film "Johnny Gaddaar" and Prakash Rao in Rohit Shetty's "Singham Returns" .


title: Zakir Hussain (actor)

text: Zakir Hussain was born and brought up in Jani Khurd, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. It was during his studies in Delhi that he first got attracted to the world of theatre and cinema. He started out with "small time" theatre, and then joined the Shri Ram Centre for Performing Arts. He then joined the prestigious National School of Drama and graduated in 1993.


title: Zakir Hussain (actor)

text: Hussain did theatre for a few years and then came to Mumbai to work in television and films. He started out with serials like "Firdaus", "Kitty Party" and "Gaatha", and this earned him recognition. Sriram Raghavan's 2004 film "Ek Hasina Thi" was his first film as actor. Hussain's role in the film was limited to two scenes, but he managed to impress director Ramgopal Varma, who then offered him the role of Rashid in "Sarkar". This role of a cold-blooded villain was much appreciated and Hussain received the "New Menace" award at the 2006 Stardust Film Awards.


title: Zakir Hussain (actor)

text: After "Sarkar", Varma cast Hussain in almost every production of his. Hussain's second noteworthy performance was his role of Shardul in another Raghavan film – "Johnny Gaddaar". This performance was so well received by audiences that people on the streets started addressing Hussain as Shardul. This was the film that brought him both decent pay cheques as well as fame.


title: Zakir Hussain (actor)

text: Hussain is also a talented musician – a percussionist as well as singer. However, he is not to be confused with the famous tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain (born 1951), who starred in the film "Heat and Dust".


title: Ethnic religion

text: In religious studies, an ethnic religion is a religion or belief associated with a particular ethnic group. Ethnic religions are often distinguished from universal religions, such as Christianity or Islam, in which gaining converts is a primary objective and, therefore, are not limited in ethnic, national or racial scope.


title: Ethnic religion

text: A number of alternative terms have been used instead of "ethnic religion". Another term that is often used is "folk religion". While "ethnic religion" and "folk religion" have overlapping uses, the latter term implies "the appropriation of religious beliefs and practices at a popular level." The term "folk religion" can therefore be used to speak of certain Chinese and African religions, but can also refer to popular expressions of more multi-national and institutionalized religions such as Folk Christianity or Folk Islam.


title: Ethnic religion

text: In Western contexts, a variety of terms are also employed. In the United States and Canada a popular alternative term has been "nature religion". Some neopagan movements, especially in Europe, have adopted "ethnic religion" as their preferred term, aligning themselves with ethnology. This notably includes the European Congress of Ethnic Religions, which chose its name after a day-long discussion in 1998, where the majority of the participants expressed that "Pagan" contained too many negative connotations and "ethnic" better described the root of their traditions in particular nations. In the English-language popular and scholarly discourse "Paganism", with a capital P, has become an accepted term.


title: Ethnic religion

text: Ethnic religion are defined as religions which are related to a particular ethnic group, and often seen as a defining part of that ethnicity's culture, language, and customs. Diasporic groups often maintain ethnic religions as a means of maintaining a distinct ethnic identity such as the role of African traditional religion and African diaspora religions among the African diaspora in the Americas.


title: Ethnic religion

text: Some ancient ethnic religions, such as those historically found in pre-modern Europe, have found new vitality in neopaganism. Moreover, non-ethnic religions, such as Christianity, have been known to assume ethnic traits to an extent that they serve a role as an important ethnic identity marker, a notable example of this is the Serbian "Saint-Savianism" of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and the religious and cultural heritage of Syriac Christianity branch of the Assyrian people.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: Dream House is a 2011 American psychological thriller film directed by Jim Sheridan from Universal Pictures and Morgan Creek Productions, starring Daniel Craig, Rachel Weisz, Naomi Watts, and Marton Csokas. It was released on September 30, 2011, in the United States and Canada and was panned by critics. It was released by Warner Bros. in international markets.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: Will Atenton (Daniel Craig), a successful editor for a New York City publishing house, quits his job to focus on writing a book while spending more time with his wife Libby (Rachel Weisz) and their young daughters, Trish and Dee Dee. The family is initially happy to live in their Fairfield County "dream house" near the forest. Soon, however, they grow uneasy because of a series of unsettling events, including one in which the children see a strange man lurking outside and another involving Will discovering teenagers gathering in the basement. It all seems to tie to a crime committed in the house five years earlier, when a man named Peter Ward apparently murdered his wife and two children and was committed to a mental hospital from which he has been recently released due to lack of evidence.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: Will tries to enlist the help of the local police, but they appear unwilling to assist. He also approaches his neighbor Ann (Naomi Watts), who seems apprehensive, while her estranged husband Jack (Marton Csokas) demonstrates outright hostility toward Will. Will decides to conduct his own investigations, visiting the facility where Peter Ward was housed, and discovers that he actually is Peter Ward.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: During the attack that claimed the lives of his wife and daughters, Peter was shot in the head, so he has no memories of the murders. In order to cope with the grief, he fabricated a delusion in which his family is still alive and created a new identity for himself based on his inpatient ID band "W1-1L 8-10-10". Once dismissed, Peter moved back to his abandoned house, which is now condemned and covered in graffiti, but in Peter's mind, it is still unspoiled and inhabited by Libby and the girls.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: Peter is forcibly removed from the dilapidated house by authorities and is taken in by Ann, who believes in his innocence and used to visit him at the facility. She encourages Peter to move on, but Peter eventually returns to the house to confront his memories, ultimately realizing that he did not kill his wife and children; it was a local man named Boyce (Elias Koteas), who broke into the house and shot Peter's family. Libby, while aiming at Boyce, inadvertently shot Peter.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: Peter and Ann are suddenly attacked by Jack, who reveals that he had hired Boyce to kill Ann five years earlier, in retaliation for divorcing him and to obtain full custody of their daughter, Chloe. However, Boyce went to the wrong house and mistakenly killed Peter's family. Aided by Boyce, Jack decides to kill Ann himself and set the house on fire, framing Peter for her murder. He also shoots Boyce, to eliminate him as a witness. As Jack ignites a fire, Peter overpowers Jack and saves Ann with the help of his wife Libby who is revealed to be a spirit, as are their daughters, and not a mental projection. Boyce douses Jack in gasoline before being killed, this results in Jack burning to death when he tries to escape through the flames.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: Some time later, we see that Peter has returned to New York and published a best-selling book called "Dream House", in which he recounts his tragic experiences.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: Director Jim Sheridan reportedly clashed with Morgan Creek's James G. Robinson constantly on the set over the shape of the script and production of the film. According to the "Los Angeles Times", Sheridan tried to take his name off the film after being unhappy with it and his relationship with Morgan Creek Productions.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: Reportedly Sheridan, Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz disliked the final cut of the film. The trailer, cut by Morgan Creek Productions, was criticised for revealing the film's main plot twist.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: The score to "Dream House" was composed by John Debney and conducted by Robert Ziegler. Christian Clemmensen, reviewer of Filmtracks.com, gave it four out of five stars, declaring it "among the biggest surprises of 2011" and stating, "It's not clear how badly Debney's work for "Dream House" was butchered by the studio's frantic last minute attempts to make the film presentable, but Debney's contribution does feature a cohesive flow of development that is, at least on album, a worthy souvenir from this otherwise messy situation." The soundtrack was released on 11 October 2011 and features 15 tracks of score at a running time of 56 minutes.


title: Dream House (2011 film)

text: The film was not screened in advance for critics and was critically panned. On review aggregation Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 6% based on 86 reviews, with a rating average of 3.7/10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Dream House" is punishingly slow, stuffy and way too obvious to be scary." Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating to reviews, gives the film a score of 35 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA or FA) is an autosomal-recessive genetic disease that causes difficulty walking, a loss of sensation in the arms and legs, and impaired speech that worsens over time. Symptoms generally start between 5 and 20 years of age. Many develop hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and require a mobility aid such as a cane, walker, or wheelchair in their teens. As the disease progresses, some affected people lose their sight and hearing. Other complications may include scoliosis and diabetes mellitus.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: The condition is caused by mutations in the "FXN" gene on chromosome 9, which makes a protein called frataxin. In FRDA, cells produce less frataxin. Degeneration of nerve tissue in the spinal cord causes the ataxia; particularly affected are the sensory neurons essential for directing muscle movement of the arms and legs through connections with the cerebellum. The spinal cord becomes thinner, and nerve cells lose some myelin sheath.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: No effective treatment is known, but several therapies are in trials. FRDA shortens life expectancy due to heart disease, but some people can live into their 60s or older.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: FRDA affects one in 50,000 people in the United States and is the most common inherited ataxia. Rates are highest in people of Western European descent. The condition is named after German physician Nikolaus Friedreich, who first described it in the 1860s.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: Symptoms typically start between the ages of 5 and 15, but in late-onset FRDA, they may occur after age 25 years. The symptoms are broad, but consistently involve gait and limb ataxia, dysarthria and loss of lower limb reflexes.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: There is some variability in symptom frequency, onset and progression. All individuals with FRDA develop neurological symptoms, including dysarthria and loss of lower limb reflexes, and more than 90% present with ataxia. Cardiac issues are very common with early onset FRDA . Most individuals develop heart problems such as enlargement of the heart, symmetrical hypertrophy, heart murmurs, atrial fibrillation, tachycardia, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and conduction defects. Scoliosis is present in about 60%. 7% of people with FRDA also have diabetes and having diabetes has an adverse impact on people with FA, especially those that show symptoms when young.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: People who have been living with FRDA for a long time may develop other complications. 36.8% experience decreased visual acuity, which may be progressive and could lead to functional blindness. Hearing loss is present in about 10.9% of cases. Some patients report bladder and bowel symptoms. Advanced stages of disease are associated with supraventricular tachyarrhythmias, most commonly atrial fibrillation.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: Other later stage symptoms can include, cerebellar effects such as nystagmus, fast saccadic eye movements, dysmetria and loss of coordination (truncal ataxia, and stomping gait). Symptoms can involve the dorsal column such as the loss of vibratory sensation and proprioceptive sensation.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: The progressive loss of coordination and muscle strength leads to the full-time use of a wheelchair. Most young people diagnosed with FRDA require mobility aids such as a cane, walker, or wheelchair by early 20s.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: The disease is progressive, with increasing staggering or stumbling gait and frequent falling. By the third decade, affected people lose the ability to stand or walk without assistance and require a wheelchair for mobility.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: Non-neurological symptoms such as scoliosis, pes cavus, cardiomyopathy and diabetes are more frequent amongst the early-onset cases.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: FRDA is an autosomal-recessive disorder that affects a gene ("FXN") on chromosome 9, which produces an important protein called frataxin.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: In 96% of cases, the mutant "FXN" gene has 90–1,300 GAA trinucleotide repeat expansions in intron 1 of both alleles. This expansion causes epigenetic changes and formation of heterochromatin near the repeat. The length of the shorter GAA repeat is correlated with the age of onset and disease severity. The formation of heterochromatin results in reduced transcription of the gene and low levels of frataxin. People with FDRA might have 5-35% of the frataxin protein compared to healthy individuals. Heterozygous carriers of the mutant FXN gene have 50% lower frataxin levels, but this decrease is not enough to cause symptoms.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: In about 4% of cases, the disease is caused by a (missense, nonsense, or intronic) point mutation, with an expansion in one allele and a point mutation in the other. A missense point mutation can have milder symptoms. Depending on the point mutation, cells can produce no frataxin, nonfunctional frataxin, or frataxin that is not properly localized to the mitochondria.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: Degeneration of nerve tissue in the spinal cord causes ataxia. The sensory neurons essential for directing muscle movement of the arms and legs through connections with the cerebellum are particularly affected. The disease primarily affects the spinal cord and peripheral nerves.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: The spinal cord becomes thinner and nerve cells lose some myelin sheath. The diameter of the spinal cord is smaller than that of unaffected individuals mainly due to smaller dorsal root ganglia. The motor neurons of the spinal cord are affected to a lesser extent than sensory neurons. In peripheral nerves, a loss of large myelinated sensory fibers occurs.


title: Friedreich's ataxia

text: Structures in the brain are also affected by FRDA, notably the dentate nucleus of the cerebellum. The heart often develops some fibrosis, and over time, develops left-ventricle hypertrophy and dilatation of the left ventricle.