title: Celtic deities

text: Among the divinities transcending tribal boundaries were the Matres, Cernunnos, the sky-god Taranis, and Epona. Epona, the horse-goddess, was invoked by devotees living as far apart as Britain, Rome and Bulgaria. A distinctive feature of the mother-goddesses was their frequent depiction as a triad in many parts of Britain, in Gaul and on the Rhine, although it is possible to identify strong regional differences within this group.


title: Celtic deities

text: The Celtic sky-god too had variations in the way he was perceived and his cult expressed. Yet the link between the Celtic Jupiter and the solar wheel is maintained over a wide area, from Hadrian's Wall to Cologne and Nîmes.


title: Celtic deities

text: It is sometimes possible to identify regional, tribal, or sub-tribal divinities. Specific to the Remi of northwest Gaul is a distinctive group of stone carvings depicting a triple-faced god with shared facial features and luxuriant beards. In the Iron Age, this same tribe issued coins with three faces, a motif found elsewhere in Gaul. Another tribal god was Lenus, venerated by the Treveri. He was worshipped at a number of Treveran sanctuaries, the most splendid of which was at the tribal capital of Trier itself. Yet he was also exported to other areas: Lenus has altars set up to him in Chedworth in Gloucestershire and Caerwent in Wales.


title: Celtic deities

text: Many Celtic divinities were extremely localised, sometimes occurring in just one shrine, perhaps because the spirit concerned was a "genius loci," the governing spirit of a particular place. In Gaul, over four hundred different Celtic god-names are recorded, of which at least 300 occur just once. Sequana was confined to her spring shrine near Dijon, Sulis belonged to Bath. The divine couple Ucuetis and Bergusia were worshipped solely at Alesia in Burgundy. The British god Nodens is associated above all with the great sanctuary at Lydney (though he also appears at Cockersand Moss in Cumbria). Two other British deities, Cocidius and Belatucadrus, were both Martial gods and were each worshipped in clearly defined territories in the area of Hadrian's Wall. There are many other gods whose names may betray origins as topographical spirits. Vosegus presided over the mountains of the Vosges, Luxovius over the spa-settlement of Luxeuil and Vasio over the town of Vaison in the Lower Rhône Valley.


title: Celtic deities

text: One notable feature of Gaulish and Romano-Celtic sculpture is the frequent appearance of male and female deities in pairs, such as Rosmerta and ‘Mercury’, Nantosuelta and Sucellos, Sirona and Apollo Grannus, Borvo and Damona, or Mars Loucetius and Nemetona.


title: Celtic deities

text: A recurrent figure in Gaulish iconography is a deity sitting cross-legged with antlers, sometimes surrounded by animals, often wearing or holding a torc. The name usually applied to him, Cernunnos, is attested only a few times: on the Pillar of the Boatmen, a relief in Paris (currently reading ERNUNNOS, but an early sketch shows it as having read CERNUNNOS in the 18th century); on an inscription from Montagnac (αλλετ[ει]νος καρνονου αλ[ι]σο[ντ]εας, "Alletinos [dedicated this] to Carnonos of Alisontea"); and on a pair of identical inscriptions from Seinsel-Rëlent ("Deo Ceruninco"). Figured representations of this sort of deity, however, are widespread; the earliest known was found at Val Camonica in northern Italy, while the most famous is plate A of the Gundestrup Cauldron, a 1st-century BC vessel found in Denmark. On the Gundestrup Cauldron and sometimes elsewhere, Cernunnos, or a similar figure, is accompanied by a ram-headed serpent. At Reims, the figure is depicted with a cornucopia overflowing with grains or coins.


title: Celtic deities

text: Healing deities are known from many parts of the Celtic world; they frequently have associations with thermal springs, healing wells, herbalism and light.


title: Celtic deities

text: Brighid, the triple goddess of healing, poetry and smithcraft is perhaps the most well-known of the Insular Celtic deities of healing. She is associated with many healing springs and wells. A lesser-known Irish healing goddess is Airmed, also associated with a healing well and with the healing art of herbalism.


title: Celtic deities

text: In Romano-Celtic tradition Belenus (traditionally derived from a Celtic root "*belen-" ‘bright’, though other etymologies have been convincingly proposed) is found chiefly in southern France and northern Italy. Apollo Grannus, though concentrated in central and eastern Gaul, also “occurs associated with medicinal waters in Brittany [...] and far away in the Danube Basin”. Grannus's companion is frequently the goddess Sirona. Another important Celtic deity of healing is Bormo/Borvo, particularly associated with thermal springs such as Bourbonne-les-Bains and Bourbon-Lancy. Such hot springs were (and often still are) believed to have therapeutic value. Green interprets the name Borvo to mean “seething, bubbling or boiling spring water”.


title: Celtic deities

text: Though traditionally gods like Lugus and Belenos have been considered to be male sun gods, this assessment is derived from their identification with the Roman Apollo, and as such this assessment is controversial. The sun in Celtic culture is nowadays assumed to have been feminine, and several goddesses have been proposed as possibly solar in character.


title: Celtic deities

text: In Irish, the name of the sun, "Grian", is feminine. The figure known as Áine is generally assumed to have been either synonymous with her, or her sister, assuming the role of Summer Sun while Grian was the Winter Sun. Similarly, Étaín has at times been considered to be another theonym associated with the sun; if this is the case, then the pan-Celtic Epona might also have been originally solar in nature, though Roman syncretism pushed her towards a lunar role.


title: Celtic deities

text: The British Sulis has a name cognate with that of other Indo-European solar deities such as the Greek Helios and Indic Surya, and bears some solar traits like the association with the eye as well as epithets associated with light. The theonym Sulevia, which is more widespread and probably unrelated to Sulis, is sometimes taken to have suggested a pan-Celtic role as a solar goddess. She indeed might have been the "de facto" solar deity of the Celts.


title: Celtic deities

text: The Welsh Olwen has at times been considered a vestige of the local sun goddess, in part due to the possible etymological association with the wheel and the colours gold, white and red.


title: Celtic deities

text: Brighid has at times been argued as having had a solar nature, fitting her role as a goddess of fire and light.


title: Celtic deities

text: In Ireland, there are numerous holy wells dedicated to the goddess Brighid. There are dedications to ‘Minerva’ in Britain and throughout the Celtic areas of the Continent. At Bath Minerva was identified with the goddess Sulis, whose cult there centred on the thermal springs.


title: Celtic deities

text: Other goddesses were also associated with sacred springs, such as Icovellauna among the Treveri and Coventina at Carrawburgh. Damona and Bormana also serve this function in companionship with the spring-god Borvo (see above).


title: Celtic deities

text: A number of goddesses were deified rivers, notably Boann (of the River Boyne), Sinann (the River Shannon), Sequana (the deified Seine), Matrona (the Marne), Souconna (the deified Saône) and perhaps Belisama (the Ribble).


title: Celtic deities

text: While the most well-known deity of the sea is the god Manannán, and his father Lir mostly considered as god of the ocean. Nodens is associated with healing, the sea, hunting and dogs.


title: Celtic deities

text: In Lusitanian and Celtic polytheism, Borvo (also Bormo, Bormanus, Bormanicus, Borbanus, Boruoboendua, Vabusoa, Labbonus or Borus) was a healing deity associated with bubbling spring water.


title: Celtic deities

text: Condatis associated with the confluences of rivers in Britain and Gaul, Luxovius was the god of the sacred waters of Luxeuil, worshipped in Gaul.


title: Celtic deities

text: Dian Cécht was the god of healing to the Irish people. He healed with the fountain of healing, and he was indirectly the cause of the name of the River Barrow.


title: Celtic deities

text: The horse, an instrument of Indo-European expansion, plays a part in all the mythologies of the various Celtic cultures. The cult of the Gaulish horse goddess Epona was widespread. Adopted by the Roman cavalry, it spread throughout much of Europe, even to Rome itself. She seems to be the embodiment of "horse power" or horsemanship, which was likely perceived as a power vital for the success and protection of the tribe. She has insular analogues in the Welsh Rhiannon and in the Irish Édaín Echraidhe (echraidhe, "horse riding") and Macha, who outran the fastest steeds.


title: Celtic deities

text: The Irish horse goddess Macha, perhaps a threefold goddess herself, is associated with battle and sovereignty. Though a goddess in her own right, she is also considered to be part of the triple goddess of battle and slaughter, the Morrígan. Other goddesses in their own right associated with the Morrígan were Badhbh Catha and Nemain.


title: Celtic deities

text: Atepomarus in Celtic Gaul was a healing god, and inscriptions were found in Mauvières (Indre). The epithet is sometimes translated as "Great Horseman" or "possessing a great horse".


title: Celtic deities

text: Mother goddesses are a recurrent feature in Celtic religions. The epigraphic record reveals many dedications to the Matres or Matronae, which are particularly prolific around Cologne in the Rhineland. Iconographically, Celtic mothers may appear singly or, quite often, triply; they usually hold fruit or "cornucopiae" or "paterae"; they may also be full-breasted (or many-breasted) figures nursing infants.


title: Celtic deities

text: Welsh and Irish tradition preserve a number of mother figures such as the Welsh Dôn, Rhiannon (‘great queen’) and Modron (from Matrona, ‘great mother’), and the Irish Danu, Boand, Macha and Ernmas. However, all of these fulfill many roles in the mythology and symbolism of the Celts, and cannot be limited only to motherhood. In many of their tales, their having children is only mentioned in passing, and is not a central facet of their identity. "Mother" Goddesses may also be Goddesses of warfare and slaughter, or of healing and smithcraft.


title: Celtic deities

text: Mother goddesses were at times symbols of sovereignty, creativity, birth, fertility, sexual union and nurturing. At other times they could be seen as punishers and destroyers: their offspring may be helpful or dangerous to the community, and the circumstances of their birth may lead to curses, "geasa" or hardship, such as in the case of Macha's curse of the Ulstermen or Rhiannon's possible devouring of her child and subsequent punishment.


title: Celtic deities

text: According to Caesar the god most honoured by the Gauls was ‘Mercury’, and this is confirmed by numerous images and inscriptions. Mercury's name is often coupled with Celtic epithets, particularly in eastern and central Gaul; the commonest such names include Visucius, Cissonius, and Gebrinius. Another name, Lugus, is inferred from the recurrent place-name "Lugdunon" ('the fort of Lugus') from which the modern Lyon, Laon, and Loudun in France, Leiden in the Netherlands, and Lugo in Galicia derive their names; a similar element can be found in Carlisle (formerly Castra Luguvallium), Legnica in Poland and the county Louth in Ireland, derived from the Irish "Lú", itself coming from "Lugh". The Irish and Welsh cognates of Lugus are Lugh and Lleu, respectively, and certain traditions concerning these figures mesh neatly with those of the Gaulish god. Caesar's description of the latter as "the inventor of all the arts" might almost have been a paraphrase of Lugh's conventional epithet "samildánach" ("possessed of many talents"), while Lleu is addressed as "master of the twenty crafts" in the "Mabinogi". An episode in the Irish tale of the Battle of Magh Tuireadh is a dramatic exposition of Lugh's claim to be master of all the arts and crafts. Inscriptions in Spain and Switzerland, one of them from a guild of shoemakers, are dedicated to Lugoves, widely interpreted as a plural of Lugus perhaps referring to the god conceived in triple form. The Lugoves are also interpreted as a couple of gods corresponding to the Celtic Dioscures being in this case Lugh and Cernunnos


title: Celtic deities

text: The Gaulish Mercury often seems to function as a god of sovereignty. Gaulish depictions of Mercury sometimes show him bearded and/or with wings or horns emerging directly from his head, rather than from a winged hat. Both these characteristics are unusual for the classical god. More conventionally, the Gaulish Mercury is usually shown accompanied by a ram and/or a rooster, and carrying a caduceus; his depiction at times is very classical.


title: Celtic deities

text: Lugh is said to have instituted the festival of Lughnasadh, celebrated on 1 August, in commemoration of his foster-mother Tailtiu.


title: Celtic deities

text: In Gaulish monuments and inscriptions, Mercury is very often accompanied by Rosmerta, whom Miranda Green interprets to be a goddess of fertility and prosperity. Green also notices that the Celtic Mercury frequently accompanies the Deae Matres (see below).


title: Celtic deities

text: The Gaulish Jupiter is often depicted with a thunderbolt in one hand and a distinctive solar wheel in the other. Scholars frequently identify this wheel/sky god with Taranis, who is mentioned by Lucan. The name Taranis may be cognate with those of Taran, a minor figure in Welsh mythology, and Turenn, the father of the 'three gods of Dana' in Irish mythology.


title: Celtic deities

text: Teutates, also spelled Toutatis (Celtic: "Him of the tribe"), was one of three Celtic gods mentioned by the Roman poet Lucan in the 1st century, the other two being Esus ("lord") and Taranis ("thunderer"). According to later commentators, victims sacrificed to Teutates were killed by being plunged headfirst into a vat filled with an unspecified liquid. Present-day scholars frequently speak of ‘the "toutates"’ as plural, referring respectively to the patrons of the several tribes.


title: Celtic deities

text: Of two later commentators on Lucan's text, one identifies Teutates with Mercury, the other with Mars. He is also known from dedications in Britain, where his name was written Toutatis.


title: Celtic deities

text: Paul-Marie Duval, who considers the Gaulish Mars a syncretism with the Celtic "toutates", notes that:


title: Celtic deities

text: Esus appears in two continental monuments, including the Pillar of the Boatmen, as an axeman cutting branches from trees.


title: Celtic deities

text: Sucellos, the 'good striker' is usually portrayed as a middle-aged bearded man, with a long-handled hammer, or perhaps a beer barrel suspended from a pole. His companion, Nantosuelta, is sometimes depicted alongside him. When together, they are accompanied by symbols associated with prosperity and domesticity. This figure is often identified with Silvanus, worshipped in southern Gaul under similar attributes; Dis Pater, from whom, according to Caesar, all the Gauls believed themselves to be descended; and the Irish Dagda, the 'good god', who possessed a cauldron that was never empty and a huge club.


title: Celtic deities

text: In Gaul, he was identified with the Roman Hercules. He was portrayed as an old man with swarthy skin and armed with a bow and club. He was also a god of eloquence, and in that aspect he was represented as drawing along a company of men whose ears were chained to his tongue.


title: Celtic deities

text: Ogmios' Irish equivalent was Ogma. Ogham script, an Irish writing system dating from the 4th century AD, was said to have been invented by him.


title: Celtic deities

text: Another prominent zoomorphic deity type is the divine bull. Tarvos Trigaranus ("bull with three cranes") is pictured on reliefs from the cathedral at Trier, Germany, and at Notre-Dame de Paris.


title: Celtic deities

text: In Irish literature, the Donn Cuailnge ("Brown Bull of Cooley") plays a central role in the epic "Táin Bó Cuailnge" ("The Cattle-Raid of Cooley").


title: Celtic deities

text: A distinctive ram-headed snake accompanies Gaulish gods in a number of representations, including the antlered god from the Gundestrup cauldron, Mercury, and Mars.


title: Celtic deities

text: This table shows some of the Celtic and Romano-Celtic gods and goddesses mentioned above, in Romanized form as well as ancient Gaulish, British or Iberian names as well as those of the Tuatha Dé Danann and characters from the "Mabinogion". They are arranged so as to suggest some linguistic or functional associations among the ancient gods and literary figures; needless to say, all such associations are subject to continual scholarly revision and disagreement. In particular, it has been noted by scholars such as Sjoestedt that it is inappropriate to try to fit Insular Celtic deities into a Roman format as such attempts seriously distort the Insular deities.


title: Zoey Stark

text: Theresa Serrano (born January 27, 1994) is an American professional wrestler. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the NXT brand under the ring name Zoey Stark, and is a former NXT Women's Tag Team Champion.


title: Zoey Stark

text: On June 8, 2013, Serrano made her debut at Vendetta Pro Wrestling, losing to Hudson Envy. On November 16, 2013, she entered under the ring name Lacey Ryan and won her first match against Larry Butabi. During this time she also won the UCW-Zero Ultra-X Championship. She was able to keep this until January 25, 2014, when she lost it to The Durango Kid. On March 22, she wrestled her last wrestling match for the time being. Ryan celebrated her comeback on August 16, 2018. She wrestled a match against Thunder Rosa, but this ended in a no contest. On May 23, 2019, she wrestled a match against Alex Gracia under the ring name Serrano, which she was able to win. On September 29, she won the FSW Women's Championship, defeating Taya Valkyrie for the title. Ryan held the title until November 20, 2020, when she lost it to Mazzerati.


title: Zoey Stark

text: On January 20, 2021, it was announced that Serrano had signed a contract with WWE. On the January 29 episode of "205 Live", Serrano, now renamed Zoey Stark, made her debut as Marina Shafir's tag team partner in the Women's Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament, losing to Ember Moon and Shotzi Blackheart in the first round. On the February 17 episode of "NXT", she made her NXT debut, defeating Valentina Feroz. On the February 24 episode of "NXT", she lost to NXT Women's Champion Io Shirai in a non-title match. After the match, Shirai embraced Stark, establishing Stark as a face. At , Stark defeated Toni Storm. At The Great American Bash, Stark and Io Shirai defeated The Way (Candice LeRae and Indi Hartwell) to win the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Toxic Attraction (Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne) at in a triple-threat tag team Scareway To Hell Ladder Match, involving Indi Hartwell and Persia Pirotta. On the November 2 episode of "NXT", Stark was attacked backstage by Jayne and Dolin, where she suffered a legitimate torn MCL/Meniscus.


title: Zoey Stark

text: On the July 19 2022 episode of "NXT", Stark made her return from injury in the 20-Woman Battle Royal for the Number One Contendership for the NXT Women's Championship in a winning effort. On the November 8 episode of "NXT", Stark and Nikkita Lyons failed to win the NXT Women's Tag Team Championship from Kayden Carter and Katana Chance. After the match, Stark attacked Lyons, turning heel for the first time in her career.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: The 2021 AFL season was the 125th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior men's Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eighteen clubs, ran from 18 March until 25 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: The season was played during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and saw disruptions but to a much lesser extent than the 2020 season. Virus outbreaks resulted in restrictions on crowds and the relocation of forty games outside their originally fixtured states, but the season was played without suspension and with only minor disruptions to the scheduled dates of matches.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: The premiership was won by the Melbourne Football Club for the 13th time, after it defeated the by 74 points in the 2021 AFL Grand Final, which was played at Optus Stadium in Perth.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: The season was played during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the country's vaccination roll-outs commencing around the beginning of the season. The country had largely settled into a paradigm of most states maintaining zero COVID-19 cases outside of their international travel quarantine systems; and when this was the case, it allowed matches to be played in front of crowds (albeit with reduced capacity) and unhindered interstate travel was permitted without quarantine. However, the different state governments often responded quickly to small numbers or even single virus cases being discovered in the community; this meant border restrictions or quarantine periods were often re-imposed at short notice, impacting interstate travel for matches; and, in some cases, that city- or state-wide lockdowns were imposed within the impacted states, precluding football activities altogether. Short 'snap lockdowns', lasting between three and seven days in a given city, became a common response to the first few cases in the community as governments adopted 'Covid-zero' policies.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: The impact of the pandemic to the season's scheduled fixture was mostly limited to venue changes and matches being played behind closed doors; the dates of some fixtured games were adjusted, but none by more than a week from its original date. Unlike the 2020 season, the league sought to avoid putting clubs into long-term interstate hubs, and players were instead promised that only medium-term interstate trips would occur, with a maximum duration of three weeks before returning home. This worked across most of the league, but a months-long period of lockdown and border restrictions in Sydney during the latter part of the season meant that and were unable to return home after Round 15, the latter spending more than ten weeks interstate in more than six different locations between then and its season ending; families and partners were able to join the players interstate after six weeks. The completion of the season was assisted by special "sterile corridor" arrangements made with several state governments, allowing clubs to fly in and out of those states from some hot zones without quarantine if the travelling party was subjected to isolation and testing requirements in their home states in the week leading up to the match. In the end, the biggest impact to the fixtured season was that the pre-finals bye week, which had been conventional since 2016, was dropped at less than two weeks' notice, and the first week of finals was brought forward, as a contingency to allow the league to respond to any unforeseen changes to border or societal restrictions during finals; at the time of the announcement, the Grand Final remained scheduled for its original date of Saturday 25 September, and the bye week was ultimately scheduled in the week after the Preliminary Finals and the week before the Grand Final.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: The league saw relatively few impacts through the first half of the season, with only occasional games relocated; but, as more virus cases and outbreaks occurred through winter, the second half of the season was more heavily affected with relocated games. In particular:


title: 2021 AFL season

text: While most matches in the season saw some level of attendance restrictions, there was a steady return to larger crowds compared to the restrictions imposed in 2020. The openness of Australia's society compared with others around the world in the first half of the season meant that the AFL was on the leading edge of a return to typical sports attendances; and at the time it was played, the attendance of 78,113 for the match between and on Anzac Day was a world record highest attendance for a sporting event since the beginning of the pandemic. This was reversed in the second half of the season, with a return to matches being played with no spectators in many states.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: Additionally, umpires were directed to use a more stringent interpretation of existing rules related to the man on the mark: the man on the mark had previously been given freedom to move laterally or make a run towards the mark, provided they did not step over the mark; but now, the player would be directed to 'stand' upon taking up the mark position, and would concede a 50-metre penalty if he left that position; he could also choose not to take up the mark, leaving him free to move provided he remained at least five metres behind the mark. This new interpretation made it more difficult for the man on the mark to influence a subsequent sequence of quick-running play, opening up freer ball movement.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: The pre-season series of games returned as the 2021 AAMI Community Series, with teams playing one game each. The games were stand-alone, with no overall winner of the series. All games were televised live on Fox Footy.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: A full 22-round fixture for the 2021 season was released in December 2020; but dates, times and broadcasters were initially revealed only for the first six rounds, with the league intending to release the remaining dates in four-to-six weeks blocks with at least a month's notice during the season.


title: 2021 AFL season

text: Through the below tables, there were many matches played before no crowd or a heavily restricted attendance, all of which were caused by the local COVID-19 conditions at the time of the match. Where the venue for the match was altered due to COVID-19 restrictions, the original venue is noted; in cases where the competing teams had a return match later in the season, the clubs sometimes swapped home games.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The Lawrence Welk Show is an American televised musical variety show hosted by big band leader Lawrence Welk. The series aired locally in Los Angeles for four years, from 1951 to 1955, then nationally for another 16 years on ABC from 1955 to 1971, followed by 11 years in first-run syndication from 1971 to 1982. Repeat episodes are broadcast in the United States by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations. These airings incorporate an original program—usually, a color broadcast from 1965 to 1982—in its entirety. In place of the commercials, newer performance and interview clips from the original stars and/or a family member of the performers are included; these clips are occasionally updated.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: On May 11, 1951, "The Lawrence Welk Show" began as a local program on KTLA in Los Angeles, the flagship station of the Paramount Television Network and the first commercial television station in California and west of the Mississippi River. The original show was broadcast from the since-demolished Aragon Ballroom at Venice Beach. In 1954, Paramount announced plans to distribute the show nationwide, plans that never materialized due to Paramount's feuds with DuMont Television Network that led to the collapse of both.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The show made its national television debut on ABC Television on July 2, 1955, and was initially produced at the Hollywood Palladium, moving to the ABC studios at Prospect and Talmadge (stage 5) in Hollywood shortly afterwards. For 23 of its 27 years on the air, the show would originate there.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The 1965–66 season was taped at the Hollywood Palace because that was ABC's only West Coast TV studio at the time equipped for live or taped color production; Welk had insisted that the show go color in 1965 because he believed that being broadcast in color was critical to the continued success of his program. Once a couple of studios at the ABC Prospect and Talmadge facilities had been converted to color in 1966, the show moved back there. The show also left the Prospect and Talmadge studios between 1976 and 1979, returning to the Hollywood Palace for one season, then moving to CBS's Television City studios in 1977 and staying for two seasons, before coming back to the Prospect and Talmadge studios in 1979 and remaining there for the rest of its run.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The show aired on ABC until 1971. When the show was canceled by the head of programming there, Welk formed his own production company and continued airing the show, on local stations and, often from 7 to 8 P.M. Eastern Time on Saturdays over some of the ABC affiliates on which he had previously appeared, along with some stations affiliated with other networks and some independent television stations. The syndicated version of the program aired from 1971 to 1982.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: When the show debuted nationwide, "The Lawrence Welk Show" was billed as the Dodge Dancing Party in 1955 and 1956. From 1956 to 1959, Lawrence Welk was broadcast two nights per week. The second show's title was Lawrence Welk Presents Top Tunes and New Talent (1956–58) and then Lawrence Welk's Plymouth Show, after another Chrysler vehicle (1958–59). The Plymouth show was the first American television program to air in stereophonic sound. Because stereophonic television had not yet been invented (it would be 25 more years before it would become standard), ABC instead simulcast the show on its radio network, with the TV side airing one audio channel and the radio side airing the other; viewers would tune in both the TV and the radio to achieve the stereophonic effect. Starting with the 1959–60 season the two shows were merged into "The Lawrence Welk Show", reverting to monophonic broadcasts. During this early period, Chrysler also provided the show's announcers: Lou Crosby represented the Dodge shows, while James Narz represented Plymouth. (When it became known that Chrysler's rival Ford employed Narz's older brother Jack, they changed James's name to Tom Kennedy to avoid confusion between the two; Kennedy was moved to "Date with the Angels" in 1957.)


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The primary sponsor of "The Lawrence Welk Show" was Dodge (automobile maker). In 1960, Geritol (a multivitamin) took over sponsorship; Sominex (sleep aid), Aqua Velva (aftershave), Serutan (laxative), Universal Appliances (manufacturer of home appliances), Polident (a denture cleanser), Ocean Spray (fruit juice) and Sinclair Oil (automobile fuel) were some of the other companies or brands which served as associate sponsors for a short time. (During later years, a number of "Welk" cast members appeared in commercials for many of the show's sponsors, filmed specifically to air during "Welk" broadcasts.) From then onward, Bob Warren handled announcing duties.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: While the show was highly rated and continued to attract more audiences, ABC canceled it in 1971 for two reasons. The first was that the network had to cut three-and-a-half hours per week of prime-time programming, owing to the institution of the Prime Time Access Rule in 1971; the other was the fact that Welk's viewership was mostly of people over forty-five, mostly because of the music he chose to play, but also because younger viewers, the core viewing target that networks coveted, were either out during the Saturday night slot, or were watching one of the other networks. Throughout the early 1970s, several variety shows (including Welk's), but ranging from long-running series such as "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Hollywood Palace" and "The Red Skelton Show" to more contemporary shows such as "Hee Haw", "The Johnny Cash Show" and "This Is Tom Jones") were pulled from network schedules (particularly ABC and CBS) in a demographic move known colloquially as the "rural purge".


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: In response to ABC's move, Welk started his own production company and continued producing the show for syndication. Some independent stations put it in its old Saturday timeslot, and in many cases, it drew higher ratings than the network shows scheduled at that time. In many markets, the syndicated Lawrence Welk aired before the start of network prime-time on Saturday nights (7 p.m. Eastern Time); also in many areas, it competed against another show that was canceled by CBS and resurrected in syndication, also in 1971 — "Hee Haw". Welk's program was among a group of syndicated niche programs, others including "Hee Haw" and "Soul Train", that flourished during this era. (The success of "Lawrence Welk" and "Hee Haw" in syndication, and the network decisions that led to their respective cancellations, were the inspiration for a novelty song called "The Lawrence Welk-Hee Haw Counter-Revolution Polka", performed by Roy Clark, one of the co-stars of "Hee Haw".)


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Lawrence Welk retired in 1982; at the time of his retirement, he was 79 years old, making him at the time the oldest host of a regularly scheduled US entertainment television series (a feat later surpassed by game show host Bob Barker in 2003 and later by actress and comedian Betty White in 2012). Classic shows — largely, from 1967 to 1982 — were repackaged with new footage (either Welk or the show's cast introducing segments) for syndication during the 1982–1983 season as "Memories with Lawrence Welk", after which they were withdrawn from distribution for a short time. In 1985, "The Lawrence Welk Christmas Reunion" was produced. It was the last show in which Welk appeared with the "musical family" and his grandchildren on Christmas Eve at Lawrence Welk's home.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: In March 1987, the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority produced and released a documentary film, "Lawrence Welk: Television's Music Man", hosted by Kathy Lennon of The Lennon Sisters. The film was a retrospective on Welk's life and career, featuring interviews with surviving members of Welk's "musical family", and scenes from the show; it was part of a new approach to pledge drive programming that aimed to lure donors with popular music and nostalgia, an approach that has since become standard at other public television stations. The film was so successful that the OETA acquired rerun rights to the program and began offering them to stations nationwide that October. Welk's segments from "Memories with Lawrence Welk" were used until his death, after which select members of the "musical family" took over as hosts. Reruns continue to air to this day (in many markets airing on Saturday nights at 7 pm, the same time the show aired during the latter years of its original run), with new and updated interviews with surviving cast members. The shows are occasionally "recut" and interspersed with segments from other episodes for time and diversity purposes; for example, a rebroadcast of Gail Farrell's 1969 debut featured an added song by Anacani, who did not join the show until 1973.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The show was most highly rated during the mid to late 1960's and was a top 30 hit for five seasons, according to ClassicTVHits.com's ratings database.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The show would often open by showing bubbles floating around and was accompanied by a sound effect of a bottle of champagne opening, including the opening theme (originally "Bubbles in the Wine", composed by Welk and Frank Loesser, later replaced with a derivative theme, "Champagne Time", and fanfare composed by George Cates). Each week, Welk would introduce the theme of the show, which usually inspired joyous singing and/or patriotic fervor. He was most known for delivering these monologues in a distinctive German accent (this despite being born and raised in North Dakota), which was parodied in popular culture (even by Welk himself: the two books he authored, "Wunnerful, Wunnerful!" and "Ah-One, Ah-Two!" were so titled because they were his catchphrases). This was evident from his mispronunciations of script on cue cards. One such story, related by Jo Ann Castle on "The Mike Douglas Show", has him introducing a medley of World War I tunes as "songs from World War Eye". Also, from his autobiography "Wunnerful, Wunnerful!" he bemoans his accent, and in some of his pronunciations of "wonderful" in the show he can be heard forcing the D.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: If the number was more of a dance tune, Welk would frequently dance with ladies from the audience, for which he became somewhat known. For certain songs (mainly the instrumentals performed by the orchestra), the couples in attendance were also allowed to dance at the Ballroom. Many of the show's songs were performed as part of a skit; while a handful of skits were common throughout the show's run, during a short period in the mid-1970s (about the same time The Semonski Sisters were featured performers on the show), the show consisted almost entirely of them.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Welk often demonstrated multiple times on-camera how the champagne bottle sound was created, by placing a finger in his mouth, releasing it to make the popping sound, and making a soft hissing sound to simulate the bubbles escaping the bottle. One such instance is part of the opening sequence of the public television reruns seen today.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Welk frequently had performers sing and play standards from the big band era and the first half of the 20th century. He had a particular admiration for those composers contemporary with him, such as Hoagy Carmichael, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, Cole Porter, and Harry Warren; although the show's repertoire was in reality much broader, and would often include pop songs from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s—Welk even devoted an entire show to the music of the 1970s in 1978—as well as country music, patriotic music, and religious music, especially if it was thought to appeal to older listeners (and, as Welk stated in 1956, "as long as it's done in the champagne style"). In one of his most infamous incidents, he asked singers Gail Farrell and Dick Dale to perform Brewer & Shipley's hit song "One Toke Over the Line" (a mock gospel tune riddled with drug references) as a modern spiritual, apparently oblivious to the meaning of the word "toke." Brewer responded that although it was "absurd", the duo "got more publicity than we could pay for" from the out-of-place performance. Welk, for his part, blamed ABC for pressuring him into including the song, among others he felt did not fit the show's format.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Almost all of the music performed on the show was done in-house by the show's "Musical Family." Special musical guests were a rare and irregular occurrence; these ranged from Henry Mancini to more contemporary artists such as banjoist Eddie Peabody, surf rock group The Chantays, novelty artist Stan Boreson, and country singers Charley Pride and Barbara Mandrell.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The closing theme during the syndicated years, with lyrics often performed by the "Musical Family", was "Adios, Au Revoir, Auf Wiedersehen" (composed by George Cates). A recording of the song has been edited over the updated credits on PBS reruns.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Welk employed many musicians and singers, which were known in the press as his "Musical Family". Most members of the Musical Family had specific, well-defined roles within the context of the show, generally specializing in one type of performance (for instance, the show had two pianists, but one would specialize in ragtime piano while the other would handle easy listening pieces; the show's numerous singers and dancers were similarly typecast). One of the most prominent positions in the Musical Family was the "Champagne Lady", who always sang a down-tempo solo number toward the end of each show.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: These musicians were bound by an unofficial set of morals (artistic and personal) dictated by Welk, and if he believed the audience did not find them wholesome enough, they would be fired. According to popular belief, former "Champagne Lady" Alice Lon was fired in 1959 for crossing her legs on a desk, which was something Welk didn't like. After he fired Lon, thousands of letters filled the ABC mailroom, demanding an apology, and that she be rehired. Welk tried to get Lon back but she refused.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: In later years however, it was revealed that along with the "cheesecake" incident, another one of the reasons for Lon's departure was money; she was supporting three young sons and wanted a raise. A further reason was a dispute over what kind of songs she would be singing, and since Welk insisted on playing what he felt his audiences wanted to hear, generally older "standards", she rebelled against such restrictions. (Both on TV and in live performances, Welk did not shy away from allowing more modern musical styles such as light rock and roll to be performed.)


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: After two years and a string of short-lived vocalists, Norma Zimmer was hired, starting in 1960. Zimmer stayed with Welk for the rest of the show's run.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Another example of being bound by Welk's set of morals was famed clarinetist Pete Fountain, renowned for his New Orleans-style jazz. He was a valued member of the Welk cast, who was rumored to have quit when Welk objected to his efforts to "jazz up" the Christmas standard "Silver Bells" on the 1958 Christmas show. In an interview, Fountain admitted he left Welk because "Champagne and bourbon don't mix." (The departure was amicable; Fountain would reappear in Welk reunion shows after the show ended.)


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Welk relied on fan letters to tell him who was popular and who was not. Often, performers who received a positive reaction were prominently featured on future shows, while those who did not meet muster with the audience saw their solo opportunities diminish and sometimes were eventually let go.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Among the performers that were wildly popular with audiences during the years it was on ABC were The Lennon Sisters, Joe Feeney, Steve Smith, Larry Hooper, Jo Ann Castle and electric guitarist Buddy Merrill, just to name a few. Lynn Anderson, Clay Hart, and Ava Barber used the show as a springboard to launch their own successful careers as country music solo artists. At the height of the show's popularity, members of the Musical Family were featured in several celebrity tabloid magazines alongside other mainstream television and movie stars.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Tap dancer Arthur Duncan became the second African-American to appear regularly on a sponsored television variety program, and the first since 1951, when he was hired as a permanent music maker by Welk in 1964. (The first was Teddy Wilson, a member of Benny Goodman's orchestra who appeared along with the orchestra on the short-lived "Star Time" throughout its 1950–51 run.) Duncan was already marginally famous through his appearances on "The Betty White Show" in 1954.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: James Hobson (also known as Jim Hobson) served longest as producer (1962–1982) and director of "The Lawrence Welk Show". Hobson died on April 26, 2013, in Santa Monica Hospital, California.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: The surviving episodes from the first 10 seasons on ABC, which began in 1955, exist today as black and white kinescopes or videotape, as the show was broadcast live for the first 10 years, right up through the 1964–1965 season. A few of these have been broadcast on public television. Most episodes shown on PBS stations today are from around 1965 to 1982 (the majority being from the syndicated run), but some older black and white episodes were added to the rotation in recent years and can be found on YouTube.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Beginning with the 1965–1966 season, the episodes were recorded in color. It is assumed the color episodes exist intact. The very first color episode of the show, which aired in September 1965, was taped on-location at the Escondido resort near San Diego, in which Welk had a financial and ownership interest. It is occasionally shown on PBS stations; the PBS rebroadcast is introduced by Bobby Burgess and also Mary Lou Metzger.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Surviving episodes on YouTube are posted constantly with full shows and clips in all ranges of video quality, while most are ripped from the reruns of the show on TV, some videos on YouTube, do contain original not seen before content (on the reruns) of the show. There are also several YouTube channels made dedicated to the show including the most popular, "Lawrence Welk Show Fans", "ahoneahtwo", "Lawrence Welk LPs", etc.


title: The Lawrence Welk Show

text: Neither the Welk Organization nor the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority have released any episodes of "The Lawrence Welk Show" on home video, nor are there any plans to do so. Welk Musical Family specials, however, are available on DVD, and can be obtained with a donation during reairs on local PBS stations.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Meet the Parents is a film series following the character Greg Focker (Ben Stiller) as he interacts with his family and in-laws. The series is made up of three movies: "Meet the Parents" (2000), "Meet the Fockers" (2004), and "Little Fockers" (2010). The series primarily stars Stiller, Robert De Niro, Teri Polo, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman, and Barbra Streisand. The three films earned over $1.15 billion at the box office.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Before the remake in 2000, there was the original film, a 1992 American independent comedy film written by Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke. Glienna also directed and starred in the film as the male protagonist, Greg. The film is about a young man meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time and the problems that arise when the girl's father takes a disliking to him.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Several years after the film's release, Universal Pictures purchased the rights to the independent film. After hiring screenwriter Jim Herzfeld to expand the script, a new version of "Meet the Parents" was filmed and released in October 2000.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) is a nurse living in Chicago. He intends to propose to his girlfriend Pam Byrnes (Teri Polo), but his plan is disrupted when he learns that Pam's sister's fiancé had asked Pam's father for permission before proposing. Greg and Pam travel to Pam's parents' house to attend Pam's sister's wedding. Greg hopes to propose to Pam in front of her family after receiving her father's permission. His plan, however, is put on hold after the airline loses his luggage which contains the engagement ring.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: At the Byrnes's house, Greg meets Pam's father Jack (Robert De Niro), mother Dina (Blythe Danner) and their beloved cat Mr. Jinx. Jack takes an instant dislike to Greg and openly criticizes him for his choice of career as a male nurse and whatever else he sees as a difference between Greg and the Byrnes family. Greg attempts to impress Jack, but his efforts fail. Greg becomes even more uncomfortable after he receives an impromptu lie detector test from Jack and later learns from Pam that her father is a retired CIA counterintelligence officer.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Meeting the rest of Pam's family and friends, Greg still feels like an outsider. Despite efforts to impress the family, Greg's inadvertent actions make him an easy target for ridicule and anger: He accidentally gives Pam's sister a black eye during a pool volleyball mishap, uses a malfunctioning toilet that floods the Byrnes's backyard with sewage, sets the wedding altar on fire, and inadvertently leads Jack to think he is a marijuana user. Later, Greg loses Mr. Jinx and replaces him with a stray whose tail he spray paints to make him look like Mr. Jinx. Also, after Greg spray-paints the cat's tail, the cat is left alone in the house while the whole family is out at dinner, and when the family returns home, they find that the stray cat has damaged and destroyed many of the wedding possessions. It is then that the truth is revealed about the cat and everybody, especially Jack, is absolutely furious with Greg.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Jack denies turning Pam against Greg, saying that Greg did that himself through his dishonesty. Jack says that he always demands honesty, which is when Greg reveals to Pam that Jack never retired and is still in the CIA. Jack is forced to admit that Greg is correct. Unfortunately for Greg, the incident in which he observed Jack with one of Jack's associates and carrying out a phone call in Thai was actually Jack preparing a surprise honeymoon for Pam's sister and her fiancé which makes Jack even angrier with Greg. Jack reveals that the person he met at the supermarket was his travel agent, and that he was receiving Debbie and her fiancé's visas.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: By now, the entire Byrnes family, including Pam, agrees that it is best for Greg to leave. Unwillingly, Greg goes to the airport and is detained by airport security for refusing to check in his recently returned luggage. Back at the Byrnes household, Jack tries to convince Dina and Pam that Greg would have been an unsuitable husband for Pam. Upon receiving admonishment from both Dina and Pam over his picking apart of Greg and any other man whom Pam brings home, Jack realizes that Pam truly loves Greg. Jack rushes to the airport, convinces airport security to release Greg, and brings him back to the Byrnes household.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Greg proposes to Pam. She accepts, and her parents agree that they should now meet Greg's parents. After Debbie's wedding, Jack views footage of Greg recorded by hidden cameras that he had placed strategically around their house. As Jack watches Greg and hears what Greg has to say, Jack gets furious at Greg for the insults toward Jack and Jack's son, Denny.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Ben Stiller) and his fiancée Pam Byrnes (Polo) decide to introduce their parents to each other. They first fly to Oyster Bay, Long Island, to pick up Pam's father, retired CIA operative Jack Byrnes (De Niro), her mother Dina (Danner) and one-year-old nephew Little Jack. But rather than going to the airport as planned, Jack decides to drive the family to Miami to meet the Fockers in his new RV.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Once they arrive, they are greeted by Greg's eccentric but fun-loving and amiable father, Bernie (Hoffman), and mother, Roz (Streisand), who is a sex therapist for elder couples. Worried that Jack may be put off by the Fockers' lifestyle, Greg convinces Roz to pretend that she is a yoga instructor for the weekend. Though Jack and Bernie get off to a good start, small cracks begin to form between Jack and the Fockers, due to their contrasting personalities. Things are made worse when a chase between the Fockers' dog, Moses, and the Byrnes' cat, Jinx, culminates with Jinx flushing Moses down the RV's toilet, forcing Bernie to destroy it to save Moses, and later on when Bernie accidentally injures Jack's back during a game of football.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Pam, meanwhile, informs Greg that she is pregnant, but the two decide to keep it a secret from Jack, who is unaware they are having sex. Jack, however, becomes suspicious of Greg's character again when they are introduced to the Focker's housekeeper, Isabel Villalobos (Alanna Ubach), with whom Bernie reveals Greg had a sexual affair 15 years earlier. Jack later takes the RV to Isabel's 15-year-old son, Jorge (Ray Santiago), to fix the toilet, but is disturbed by Jorge's striking resemblance to Greg and begins to suspect he may be Greg's son with Isabel. Meanwhile, Roz, Bernie and Dina realize Pam is pregnant, but promise not to tell Jack. Growing envious of Bernie and Roz's active sex life, Dina consults Roz on sex tips in order to seduce Jack, but none of them work.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Things eventually come to a crunch when Greg is left alone to babysit Little Jack, whom Jack has been raising via the Ferber method. Despite Jack's instructions to leave Little Jack to self-soothe, Greg is unable bear to listen to Little Jack's cries and tends to the boy to cheer him up, turning the television on to Sesame Street, acting funny and inadvertently teaching Little Jack to say "asshole". A brief phone call from Roz is long enough for Little Jack to wander out of his pen (after being accidentally opened by Jinx), put on "Scarface" and glue his hands to a rum bottle. After a furious argument with the Fockers and his own family (though amends are quickly made), Jack reverts to his old ways and sends Greg and Jorge's hair samples for a DNA test, while inviting Jorge to the Fockers' planned engagement party in hopes of getting Greg to admit he is Jorge's father.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: At the engagement party, Jack introduces Greg to Jorge, and later when Greg refuses to admit Jorge is his son, Jack injects him with a truth serum to make him talk. On stage, Greg blurts out that Pam is pregnant and that Jorge is indeed his son (in a comically Darth Vader-esque manner) before finally passing out. When the others realize Jack's actions the next day, another argument ensues and Dina admits that they all knew Pam was pregnant and deliberately did not tell him. Shocked and hurt by this, Jack leaves with his grandson. Bernie and Greg give pursuit, but are tasered and arrested by an overzealous, corrupt deputy sheriff, Officer Vern LeFlore (Tim Blake Nelson), for speeding. Jack returns to defend them after being informed Greg is not Jorge's father (his real father turns out to be a baseball player who also resembles Greg), but the overzealous LeFlore tasers and arrests him as well. In their cell, Greg, Jack and Bernie make up and are released by the local judge, Ira (Shelley Berman), who is a student of Roz and close friend of the Focker family.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Greg and Pam are married that weekend by Pam's ex-fiancée (Owen Wilson). During the party, Jack asks Roz for some sex tips and sneaks into the RV with Dina.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Gaylord "Greg" Focker (Stiller) is preparing to celebrate his twins' fifth birthday party. Things seem to go awry when Greg's father-in-law Jack Byrnes (De Niro) visits. Recently, Jack has been diagnosed with a heart condition and become embittered by his daughter Debbie's divorce from her husband, Bob (whose marriage was the social event in "Meet the Parents" and how Jack was introduced to Greg), for cheating on her with a nurse. Jack's plan was originally to name Bob as his successor of the Byrnes family, but he decides to pass the role on to Greg, naming him "The Godfocker". Despite Greg begrudgingly accepting the role, Jack begins to suspect Greg of infidelity when he sees him with a drug rep, Andi Garcia (Alba), who openly flirts with him, and the presence of Sustengo erection pills in Greg's house, which prompts Jack to think Greg is no longer sexually attracted to his wife, Pam (Polo). Furthermore, Jack starts to doubt Greg's ability to provide for his family when he appears reluctant to send his children to a private school.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: During a medical conference promoting Sustengo, Greg meets Bob at a bar. Bob tells Greg of Jack's original intention to name him as successor, "The Bobfather", and expresses relief and happiness at leaving Jack's family, which makes Greg slightly uncomfortable. Jack, for his part, starts to speak with Pam about the possibility of divorcing Greg and renewing her relationship with her ex-fiancée, Kevin Rawley (Wilson). Eventually, following a row at a clinic, Greg runs away from home to his and Pam's unfinished new house, where he is paid a visit by Andi, who tries to cheer him up with takeout and wine, but Andi soon becomes so drunk that she makes an aggressive sexual pass at Greg. While looking for Greg to apologise and bring him home, Jack pulls up to the house and sees, through the window, what he believes to be Greg and Andi having sex while Greg is trying to rebuff Andi's advances. Disgusted, Jack merely leaves, but tells Dina and Pam that he was unable to find Greg.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: At the twins' birthday party, Greg's parents, Bernie (Hoffman) and Roz (Streisand) rejoin the family, but Jack, enraged at Greg's apparent infidelity, engages Greg in a physical fight, despite Greg insisting that Andi was drunk and he was rebuffing her. The fight culminates with Jack having a heart attack and collapsing. As he is taken away by paramedics, Jack quietly admits that he now believes Greg after feeling his carotid artery, which remained stable while Greg was claiming his innocence.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: Four months later on Christmas Day, Greg and Pam's parents come to spend Christmas with them in their new house. Greg's parents (who are Jewish) give Jack a present of a kippah, informing him they traced his family roots back while nursing him back to health, discovering he is part Jewish. Bernie informs Greg and Pam that he and Roz have sold their island home and are moving to Chicago only two houses down from theirs. Jack and Dina decide they will move too, because they also want to be close to their grandchildren. Greg and Pam try to wean their respective parents off the idea.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: The success of "Meet the Parents" was initially responsible for a 2002 NBC reality television show entitled "Meet My Folks" in which a young woman's love interest, vying for her family's approval, is interrogated by the woman's overprotective father with the help of a lie detector machine. In September 2002, NBC also aired a situation comedy entitled "In-Laws". During the development of the sitcom, NBC called it "a "Meet the Parents" project" which prompted an investigation by Universal into whether NBC was infringing on Universal's copyright. Universal did not pursue any action against NBC but neither show lasted more than one season. Ironically, NBC and Universal merged on a corporate level in 2004, just two years after this.


title: Meet the Parents (film series)

text: On July 18, 2005, a regularly scheduled American Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to San Juan, Puerto Rico, had to be diverted back to Fort Lauderdale shortly after take-off due to a bomb threat. The pilot turned the airplane around approximately 40 minutes into the flight after a flight attendant found a crumpled napkin that read "Bomb, bomb, bomb ... meet the parents," a clear reference to the scene in which Ben Stiller's character repeatedly shouts the word "bomb" while being detained by airport security. The airplane was met by a bomb squad of the local sheriff's office as well as the FBI whose agents questioned the plane's 176 passengers about the note.


title: Kayserispor

text: Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits.


title: Kayserispor

text: The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also finished as Turkish Super Cup runners-up in the same year. They finished fifth in the Turkish Super League four times, in 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, and 2012–13. Internationally, Kayserispor was one of the co-winners of the 2006 Intertoto Cup.


title: Kayserispor

text: Erciyesspor, which was Kayserispor's predecessor, was founded as Erciyesspor with red-white colours. In 1937, Erciyesspor merged with Yılmazspor and changed their colours to yellow-red. It was merged into Kayseri Gençlik in 1940. They were refounded in 1948 with yellow-navy colours. They merged with Kayseri Gençlik in 1949 and changed their colours to yellow-red. They were dissolved in 1951. But they were refounded by Naci Ulucan in 1952. They played in a regional league until 1966.


title: Kayserispor

text: In 1965, Orhan Şefik Apak, then president of the Turkish Football Federation, asked cities in Turkey to combine their amateur football clubs into one singular club that would represent their communities. These new clubs would compete in the newly created 2.Lig (Second Division). After several meetings, representatives of the city merged Erciyesspor, Sanayispor, and Ortaanadoluspor to form Kayserispor. The club submitted the required paperwork and were officially founded as Kayserispor on 1 July 1966. They began competing in the 1966–67 2.Lig. Erdoğan Gürhan was the first manager, signing a contract worth 1,500 TL. In their first season, the club competed in the Beyaz Grup (White Group). Yener scored the first goal in club history when he netted a shot in the 17th minute against Ankara Toprakspor. The club finished with a nine win, nine draw, and twelve loss record in 30 matches while scoring 21 goals and conceding 33. They finished in ninth place.


title: Kayserispor

text: It was refounded as Kayseri Emniyetspor with red-navy colours. They merged with Kayserigücü, whose former name was Mahrumlarspor in 1985. They were promoted to 3rd level in 1988. However changed their name to Kayseri Erciyesspor due to the Security General Directorate's decision to withdraw Security teams from leagues. They changed their colours to black-white. They became Büyükşehir Belediye Erciyesspor with blue-white colours in 1992, Melikgazi Belediyesi Erciyesspor with yellow-red in 1997, and Hacılar Erciyesspor with yellow-navy colours in 1999. They were promoted to second level in the 1999–2000 season. They changed their name to Erciyesspor and colours to yellow-red in 2001. They were relegated to third level in the 2001–2002 season. But after successive two promotions, Erciyesspor reached the top level in 2004. It was at this time that Kayserspor switched names with Kayseri Erciyesspor. Manager Hüsnü Özkara was fired seven matches into the season after accumulating two points out of a possible twenty-one. Hikmet Karaman took over as manager and guided the club to a 14th-place finish, two places above the relegation zone.


title: Kayserispor

text: Ertuğrul Sağlam, former Samsunspor and Beşiktaş player, took over for Karaman at the end of the season. Sağlam led the club to fifth place in the league, and Gökhan Ünal won the "Gol Kralı" (top goal scorer) award after netting 25 goals in 32 matches. The club qualified for European competition for the first time. The club would go on to win the 2006 UEFA Intertoto Cup and qualified for the 2006–07 UEFA Cup, where they lost to AZ in the second round. Kayserispor finished fifth for the second time in a row at the end of the 2006–07 season. Sağlam moved to Beşiktaş over the summer, with Tolunay Kafkas being his replacement. Kafkas led the club to a third straight fifth-place finish, as well as the club's first Turkish Cup title in 2008. On 15 October 2012 Robert Prosinečki was assigned as manager of Kayserispor, Gordan Ciprić and Dragan Spasić assisted him. They finished 5th in the 2012–13 season. But, the next season Kayserispor relegated from the Süper Lig, finishing as last, despite assigning three managers during the season to change its faith. Fortune changed in the 2014–15 season; manager Cüneyt Dumlupınar led the club to the championship, earning the club ones again a spot in the Süper Lig.


title: Kayserispor

text: Due to sponsordeals the club name changed over the years. As of January 2019 the club's name altered into "İstikbal Mobilya Kayserispor" . In January 2020 the club's name revised into "HES Kablo Kayserispor". As of August 2021 the name was changed into "Yukatel Kayserispor".


title: Kayserispor

text: End 2019, Berna Gözbaşı, a member of the club board, was elected president of the football club, becoming the first woman president of a football club playing in the Turkish top-level men's league.


title: Kayserispor

text: In the 2021-22 season Kayserispor introduced its third kit (light blue) in accordance with corporate social responsibility (CSR). These jerseys, inspired by Seljuk motifs, with an "Autism Awareness" logo are intended to draw attention for people with autism.


title: Kayserispor

text: Manager Hikmet Karaman led the team to the final of the 2021–22 Turkish Cup, however it was archrival Sivasspor who grabbed the title with a 3-2 win after extra time.


title: Kayserispor

text: Kadir Has Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Kayseri, Turkey. It is part of a complex of sports venues that are planned on the outskirts of the city, as part of the Atatürk Sport Complex. It replaced Kayseri Atatürk Stadium, which had been in use since 1964. It was completed in early 2008, and has primarily been used to host the home matches of Kayserispor and Kayseri Erciyesspor. The stadium has a capacity of 32,864 (all-seated) and is covered. The stadium contains several restaurants, cafes, and VIP areas for fans. Two shopping centres are also located nearby, and the parking lot holds 1,785 cars. The light-rail system of Kayseri, Kayseray, passes near the stadium complex, allowing the fans an alternative to traveling by car or bus.


title: Kayserispor

text: The mountains in the emblem represent Kayseri's landmark Mount Erciyes, the K represents Kayseri, the S represents Spor and 1966 signifies the year the club (now Kayseri Erciyesspor) was founded.


title: Kayserispor

text: Başaran, Kenan (2017). "Sivas-Kayseri; Türkiye'nin büyük futbol faciası." İletişim Yayınları. ISBN-13: 978-975-05-2270-3


title: Cyr (album)

text: Cyr is the eleventh studio album by American alternative rock band the Smashing Pumpkins, released on November 27, 2020, on Sumerian Records. Produced by band leader Billy Corgan, the album features a synth-pop sound and was preceded by the release of ten of its songs as singles, with Corgan actively seeking out a "contemporary" sound during the recording process.


title: Cyr (album)

text: The release of "Cyr" was accompanied by a five-part animated series, "In Ashes", written by Corgan and directed by Mike Anderson, which served as official videos for five of the album's tracks.


title: Cyr (album)

text: After the band's previous album, "" was released, the band toured in support of it, while at the time subtly talking about their upcoming recording efforts via Billy Corgan's Instagram stories. Drummer Jimmy Chamberlin notes that he and Corgan began planning the aesthetic of "Cyr" in early 2019, with Corgan sending him up to 35 potential song options: "It’s hard when you start with, like, 35 songs. Then you just whittle them down, except the criteria for the record was pretty high. Billy started sending me sketches of stuff he was thinking about, and we started talking about the drum sound."


title: Cyr (album)

text: In early 2020, Corgan confirmed that a new album was in the process of being recorded: "In many ways, this is the first real album [since the reunion] where we’ve hunkered down and made a classic, 'Let’s throw it all at the wall and see what happens' type of Pumpkins record. [...] This is the first album since the album that came out in 2000, "Machina", where me, James and Jimmy worked on something for a very long time. It’s got a greater conceptual base, and it’s probably a wider swath of music. The last one was kind of like, 'Let’s just jump in, record some stuff real fast, and let it be what it is,' so I’m excited about this, because we’re kind of back in the lane of taking a risk, and trying to bring something new to the table, as opposed to just aping what we’re known for."


title: Cyr (album)

text: Regarding the band's shift to a synth-pop sound, Corgan noted: "I got sick of making music that people kept telling me didn’t sound contemporary. In my mind, I’m in a contemporary band. I’m a contemporary artist. [...] Now the positive thing there is I frame myself as a progressive musician. So I took that on and thought, ‘OK, I’m gonna make contemporary music; I don’t care what it takes’. I told the band, ‘This is what we’re gonna do’ and everybody said, ‘OK, fine’" Chamberlin elaborated, "Once we got a bead on what the record was gonna be, we had this pile of songs and they either translated to that architecture or they didn’t, and that’s kind of [how we got to] the 20 that we ended up with. They were the best of the best representation of that, ideologically."


title: Cyr (album)

text: Unlike the previous album, produced by Rick Rubin, Corgan self-produced "Cyr", pushing himself to record and work outside his comfort zone: "I was trying to bring myself into modernity. I got Logic, I got some beats going, but I just wasn’t feeling it. I started to feel like the Luddite who couldn’t evolve. But then I realized that when I first heard Siouxsie and the Banshees, Sisters of Mercy and Joy Division, they were making very modern music by using the technology that they had at hand. So I had to get inside the choices that they made." The band members recorded parts on their typical instruments, with synthesizers being recorded by Corgan and backing vocals by Sierra Swan and touring member Katie Cole. Chamberlin notes that the sound of his drums on the album were influenced by "early-seventies prog rock bands, that type of tight dry drum sound."


title: Cyr (album)

text: The release marks the first time a stable Smashing Pumpkins line-up has released two consecutive albums since "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" (1995), with the core line-up of Corgan, guitarists James Iha and Jeff Schroeder, and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin all contributing to the recording process.


title: Cyr (album)

text: "Cyr" was released on all digital platforms, as well as on CD and vinyl, on November 27, 2020. After the band teased the upcoming project with their countdown timers, they released the lead single "Cyr" and "The Colour of Love", on August 28, 2020, with an accompanying music video for the titular track. Several weeks later, the band released another single, which featured "Confessions of a Dopamine Addict" and "Wrath". This release also included 2 animated episodes of the band's short series "In Ashes", which featured music from "The Colour of Love" and "Confessions of a Dopamine Addict". On October 9, 2020, the band released the third single from the album, "Anno Satana" and "Birch Grove", as well as the third episode of "In Ashes". On October 30, 2020 the band released a fourth pair of songs as a single, "Ramona" and "Wyttch." On November 13, 2020, the band released a music video for "Wyttch" as part of a Friday the 13th event through their label Sumerian Records. The band released a final pair of songs, "Purple Blood" and "Dulcet in E" as the fifth single for "Cyr".


title: Cyr (album)

text: The band was set to embark on the "Rock Invasion 2" tour soon after recording wrapped up, but was forced to cancel due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also led to the band having to remotely work on the music video for lead single "Cyr". The album was teased with a series of time counters on the band's website before the first single was released, and had five singles, which were all composed of two songs, as well as three music videos and a five-part animated short series that was released leading up to the album's release.


title: Cyr (album)

text: The title song was later used in promotion of the NWA Back For The Attack professional wrestling event, and the "NWA Powerrr" companion series, "PowerrrSurge", both produced by the Corgan-owned National Wrestling Alliance.


title: Cyr (album)

text: The album earned mixed reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, it holds an average score of 61 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 19 reviews. At AnyDecentMusic?, which collects critical reviews from more than 50 media sources, the album scored 5.9 points out of 10, based on 26 reviews.


title: Cyr (album)

text: A review by "NME" stated that the album was "far better than anything Corgan produced when he was running with the Pumpkins name on his own", while The Guardian called it "a synth-fuelled endurance test of an album." "Rolling Stone" was less positive, criticizing Corgan's move to an electro-pop and new wave sound on the album, stating that the reliance on synths made it sound more like a Corgan solo album, but that "unfortunately he has neither the singular vision he had in the Nineties nor the melodic savvy of Talk Talk's Mark Hollis to pull it off...most of the songs, all filled with neo-goth romantic lyrics, stumble and fumble over meandering melodies with no sing-along choruses to buttress them." Marc Burrows of "The Quietus" praised the album's tone and texture, but worried that it had limited sonic variety given its 70-minute running time, describing Corgan as having "a commendable ambition to move forward and a maddening stubbornness preventing that ambition growing past a certain point."


title: The Condemned

text: The Condemned is a 2007 action film written and directed by Scott Wiper. The film stars Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones, Robert Mammone, Tory Mussett, Madeleine West and Rick Hoffman.


title: The Condemned

text: The film centers on ten convicts who are forced to fight each other to the death as part of an illegal game which is being broadcast to the public. "The Condemned" was filmed in Queensland, Australia. Fight choreography was coordinated by Richard Norton, who also stunt doubles for Jones on some scenes. A sequel titled "The Condemned 2" starring Randy Orton was released in 2015.


title: The Condemned

text: Jack Conrad awaits execution in a corrupt Salvadoran prison. He is "purchased" by a wealthy television producer and transported to a deserted island in the South Pacific along with nine other condemned criminals from prisons around the world. They are "offered" the opportunity to avoid capital punishment and win back their freedom with a pocket full of cash by fighting to the death in an illegal game to be filmed and broadcast live over the Internet.


title: The Condemned

text: A bomb is placed on the ankle of every contestant, each featuring a 30-hour countdown timer, and a pin (similar to a grenade) that will detonate the bomb after a ten-second delay. The winner will have the bomb removed and be given their freedom as well as a pocket full of cash as the prize. Ian Breckel, the producer, is aiming for online ratings that equal or beat the latest Super Bowl reception of 40 million television viewers.


title: The Condemned

text: As the broadcast progresses, FBI agents discover Conrad's real identity as Jack Riley after a tip from one of Conrad's former classmates. Conrad is discovered to be a former Delta Force operative who was captured on a Black ops mission to El Salvador after bombing a building controlled by drug dealers. Conrad's girlfriend Sarah becomes aware of the situation and watches the show at the local bar she works at as it unfolds.


title: The Condemned

text: Ewan McStarley and Saiga team up to remove the competition, while Yasantwa uses her wiles to trick others to their death. After seeing the show's broadcast tower before the show, Conrad infiltrates the tower and calls Sarah, managing to tell her the latitude of the island before he is forced to leave.


title: The Condemned

text: After the other seven contestants have died, Conrad is left alone against McStarley and Saiga. He stabs Saiga, and McStarley flees. Eventually, a helicopter drops a shotgun down to McStarley, who uses it to hunt down Conrad. After Conrad falls into a stream, McStarley runs into the cameraman and his armed guard dressed in ghillie suits while searching for Conrad, and shoots them, picking up the guard's MP5 submachine gun.


title: The Condemned

text: When McStarley and Conrad meet again, Conrad ends up rolling over a cliff and into a stream to avoid being shot by McStarley's shotgun. Conrad is presumed dead by the fall, and McStarley is declared the winner. As McStarley is being driven to the control tower to collect his prize, Breckel hears that the FBI has sent United States Navy SEALs to take him into custody. After he meets McStarley and de-activates his bomb, he tells him that he will not receive his prize money as it is revealed that Breckel has fixed the game in McStarley’s favor. McStarley takes an MP5 from one of the guards, and kills the tech team in the building, one by one, even though they truthfully did not know that Breckel was abandoning them all. When he corners Julie, Breckel's girlfriend, he is confronted by Conrad, who shoots him several times after talking briefly about McStarley's past. Conrad grabs McStarley's two machine guns and chases down Breckel, who is fleeing the island in a helicopter. After emptying the two guns firing at the helicopter, he is given McStarley's re-activated ankle bomb by Julie. Conrad throws it into the helicopter, and Breckel reaches for it; however, the helicopter explodes, and crashes into a cliff, killing Breckel and bringing his vicious game to an end.


title: The Condemned

text: Conrad is driven back to Sarah's home in Texas, a free man. Sarah, who presumed him dead after he fell off the cliff in his struggle against McStarley, greets him.


title: The Condemned

text: The Condemned (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was released on April 24, 2007. It was composed by Graeme Revell. It is exclusively available on the iTunes Store.


title: The Condemned

text: As of April, 2020, Rotten Tomatoes listed the film with a 15% rating, based on 101 reviews. The site's consensus stated: ""The Condemned" is a morally ambiguous, exceedingly violent and mostly forgettable action film." As of April, 2020, Metacritic gave the film a score of 23 Out of 100, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Reviews of "The Condemned" included complaints of plot holes, overly preachy tone, lack of plot progression, hypocritical morals, poor fight choreography and one "fake" wrestler.


title: The Condemned

text: V.A. Musetto of the "New York Post" gave the film zero stars out of four, describing it as a "sickeningly violent and inane movie" and complaining that it is a bad rip-off of "Battle Royale" and "The Most Dangerous Game".


title: The Condemned

text: One of the few positive reviews came from Michael Booth of "The Denver Post". He described the concept as ""The Truman Show" meets "Con Air"" and makes positive notes about the reality television aspects of the story, although he cautions readers not to expect "high art" based on the 3 star rating he gives the film.


title: The Condemned

text: The film debuted with a $3.8 million opening weekend in the US. The film lasted only 4 weeks in theaters and posted a big loss, closing with a total of $7,371,706. The movie fared worse internationally, taking only $1,271,152 in limited foreign markets, for a total of $8,642,858.


title: The Condemned

text: On September 18, 2007, "The Condemned" was released on DVD and Blu-ray. Opening at number four, "The Condemned" brought in $6.5 million in the first week. Overall, it has sold an estimated 1.185 million DVD units earning $22.7 million. The DVD made its release in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2008 with a rating of 18 (Contains Strong Violence and Language). This was a straight to DVD release in the United Kingdom.


title: Estas Tonne

text: Born Stanislav Tonne in 1975 in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, he is of Jewish and German ancestry. He took up the guitar at the age of eight and started to study classical music at the local music school. After his family moved to Israel in 1990, Tonne stopped playing for 11 years. In September 2001, he moved to New York and resumed playing the guitar in a duo with violinist and street musician Michael Shulman. He eventually began to travel around the world as a solo musician.


title: Estas Tonne

text: Tonne plays concerts in countries across the world, as well as performing at street, yoga, art, or other festivals. Estas plays a 6-stringed classical guitar as well as the flute.


title: Bill Block

text: William Hunt Block (born April 2, 1954) is an American film producer who has been CEO of Miramax since April 2017. His producing credits include "W." (2008), "District 9" (2009), "Fury" (2014), "Bad Moms" (2016), "Dirty Grandpa" (2016), "Halloween" (2018), and "Halloween Kills" (2021).


title: Bill Block

text: Block was born in New York City, where he attended Columbia University and later became a supporter of the school's film program.


title: Bill Block

text: Block began his career as a literary agent before founding the Intertalent Agency in 1988, where he represented artists such as Kim Basinger, Samuel L. Jackson, Steven Seagal, Charlie Sheen, John Travolta, Forest Whitaker, Sam Raimi, Roland Emmerich and William Friedkin. In 1992, he joined International Creative Management as head of West Coast Operations.


title: Bill Block

text: Block founded Artisan Entertainment, an independent film studio that produced films including "The Blair Witch Project"; "The Buena Vista Social Club"; Darren Aronofsky's "Pi" and "Requiem for a Dream"; "The Limey" directed by Steven Soderbergh; "The Ninth Gate" starring Johnny Depp and directed by Roman Polanski; and David Koepp's "Stir of Echoes" and "Made" starring Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn.


title: Bill Block

text: In 2002, Block founded film finance, production and sales company QED International. He was CEO of QED for 12 years, producing films including Neill Blomkamp's "District 9" and "Elysium", Oliver Stone's "W." and David Ayer's WWII thriller "Fury" starring Brad Pitt. In 2014, after Media Content Capital took a controlling interest in QED, Block left the company to launch Merced Media with producer Kevin Frakes.


title: Bill Block

text: From 2015–17, he was managing director of Bill Block Media, producing the commercially successful "Bad Moms" starring Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell, and "Dirty Grandpa" starring Robert De Niro and Zac Efron. In November 2015, he settled a legal dispute with QED, after his former company filed a federal lawsuit alleging trademark infringement and unfair competition concerning the rights to "Dirty Grandpa".


title: Bill Block

text: Block lives in the Hollywood Hills with his wife, Eugenia Kuzmina, a model, actress and comedian, his two sons and a daughter.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Arthrogryposis (AMC) describes congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body. It derives its name from Greek, literally meaning "curving of joints" (', "joint"; ', late Latin form of late Greek "", "hooking").


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Children born with one or more joint contractures have abnormal fibrosis of the muscle tissue causing muscle shortening, and therefore are unable to perform active extension and flexion in the affected joint or joints.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: AMC has been divided into three groups: amyoplasia, distal arthrogryposis, and syndromic. Amyoplasia is characterized by severe joint contractures and muscle weakness. Distal arthrogryposis mainly involves the hands and feet. Types of arthrogryposis with a primary neurological or muscle disease belong to the syndromic group.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Often, every joint in a patient with arthrogryposis is affected; in 84% all limbs are involved, in 11% only the legs, and in 4% only the arms are involved. Every joint in the body, when affected, displays typical signs and symptoms: for example, the shoulder (internal rotation); wrist (volar and ulnar); hand (fingers in fixed flexion and thumb in palm); hip (flexed, abducted and externally rotated, frequently dislocated); elbow (extension and pronation) and foot clubfoot and less commonly congenital vertical talus.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Range of motion can be different between joints because of the different deviations. Some types of arthrogryposis like amyoplasia have a symmetrical joint/limb involvement, with normal sensations. The contractures in the joints can result in delayed walking development in the first five years, but severity of contractures do not necessarily predict eventual walking ability or inability.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Intelligence is normal to above normal in children with amyoplasia, but it is not known how many of these children have an above normal intelligence, and there is no literature available about the cause of this syndrome. There are a few syndromes like the Freeman–Sheldon and Gordon syndrome, which have craniofacial involvement. The amyoplasia form of arthrogryposis is sometimes accompanied with a midline facial hemangioma.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Arthrogryposis is not a diagnosis but a clinical finding, so this disease is often accompanied with other syndromes or diseases. These other diagnoses could affect any organ in a patient. There are a few slightly more common diagnoses such as pulmonary hypoplasia, cryptorchidism, congenital heart defects, tracheoesophageal fistulas, inguinal hernias, cleft palate, and eye abnormalities.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Research of arthrogryposis has shown that anything that inhibits normal joint movement before birth can result in joint contractures. Arthrogryposis could be caused by genetic and environmental factors. In principle: any factor that curtails fetal movement can result in congenital contractures. The exact causes of arthrogryposis are unknown.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: The malformations of arthrogryposis can be secondary to environmental factors such as: decreased intrauterine movement, oligohydramnios (low volume or abnormal distribution of intrauterine fluid), and defects in the fetal blood supply. Other causes could be: hyperthermia, limb immobilization and viral infections. A specific virus that may cause arthrogryposis is contraction of the Zika virus during pregnancy. Congenital Zika syndrome (CZS), may occur when there is vertical transmission of the Zika virus to the fetus. Myasthenia gravis of the mother leads also in rare cases to arthrogryposis. The major cause in humans is fetal akinesia, however, this is disputed lately.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Arthrogryposis could also be caused by intrinsic factors. This includes molecular, muscle- and connective tissue development disorders or neurological abnormalities.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Research has shown that there are more than 35 specific genetic disorders associated with arthrogryposis. Most of those mutations are missense, which means the mutation results in a different amino acid. Other mutations that could cause arthrogryposis are: single gene defects (X-linked recessive, autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant), mitochondrial defects and chromosomal disorders (for example: trisomy 18). This is mostly seen in distal arthrogryposis. Mutations in at least five genes (TNN12, TNNT3, TPM2, MYH3 and MYH8) could cause distal arthrogryposis. There could be also connective tissue, neurological or muscle development disorders.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Loss of muscle mass with an imbalance of muscle power at the joint can lead to connective tissue abnormality. This leads to joint fixation and reduced fetal movement. Also muscle abnormalities could lead to a reduction of fetal movement.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Those could be: dystrophy, myopathy and mitochondrial disorders. This is mostly the result of abnormal function of the dystrophin-glycoprotein-associated complex in the sarcolemma of skeletal muscles.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Seventy to eighty percent of cases of the most severe forms of arthrogryposis are caused by neurological abnormalities, which can be either genetic or environmental.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: The underlying aetiology and pathogenesis of congenital contractures, particularly arthrogryposis and the mechanism of the mutations remains an active area of investigation, because identifying these factors could help to develop treatment and congenital finding of arthrogryposis.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Research on prenatal diagnosis has shown that a diagnosis can be made prenatally in approximately 50% of fetuses presenting arthrogryposis. It could be found during routine ultrasound scanning showing a lack of mobility and abnormal position of the foetus. There are other options for visualization of details and structures using techniques such as 4D ultrasound. In clinic a child can be diagnosed with arthrogryposis with physical examination, confirmed by ultrasound, MRI, or muscle biopsy.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: The treatment of arthrogryposis includes occupational therapy, physical therapy, splinting and surgery. An approach that occupational therapists use is orthopedic management. Using casts in order to correct joint deformities can be very effective since the joints can be misaligned and present with deformities. Another vital intervention that occupational therapists use to treat arthrogryposis, is range of motion exercises. This is in order to increase joint mobility. The primary long-term goals of these treatments are increasing joint mobility and muscle strength and the development of adaptive use patterns that allow for walking and independence with activities of daily living. Since arthrogryposis has many different types, the treatment varies between patients depending on the symptoms.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Only a few good articles exist in which a surgical technique that is used to treat arthrogryposis is described. These surgeries are explained below.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: There are a number of passive devices for enhancing limb movement, intended to be worn to aid movement and encourage muscular development. For example, the Wilmington Robotic Exoskeleton is a potential assistive device built on a back brace, shadowing the upper arm and forearm. It can be difficult to fit and heavy and awkward to wear.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Researchers at the University of Delaware are developing a light and unobtrusive therapeutic garment, suitable for babies and children, called the Playskin Lift. The garment looks like normal clothing but contains bundled steel wires under the arms, which help to push the arms toward a lifted position while allowing the wearer to move freely from that position.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Children with the amyoplasia type of arthrogryposis usually have flexion and ulnar deviation of the wrists. Dorsal carpal wedge osteotomy is indicated for wrists with excessive flexion contracture deformity when non-surgical interventions such as occupational therapy and splinting have failed to improve function. On the dorsal side, at the level of the midcarpus, a wedge osteotomy is made. Sufficient bone is resected to at least be able to put the wrist in a neutral position. If the wrist also has ulnar deviation, more bone can be taken from the radial side to correct this abnormality. This position is held into place with two cross K-wires. In addition, a tendon transfer of the extensor carpi ulnaris to the extensor carpi radialis brevis may be performed to correct ulnar deviation or wrist extension weakness, or both. This tendon transfer is only used if the extensor carpi ulnaris appears to be functional enough.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: The soft tissue envelope in congenital contractual conditions such as clasped or arthrogrypotic thumbs is often deficient in two planes, the thumb-index web and the flexor aspect of the thumb. There is often an appearance of increased skin at the base of the index finger that is part of the deformity. This tissue can be used to resurface the thumb-index web after a comprehensive release of all the tight structures to allow for a larger range of motion of the thumb. This technique is called the index rotation flap.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: The flap is taken from the radial side of the index finger. It is proximally based at the distal edge of the thumb-index web. The flap is made as wide as possible, but still small enough to close with the excessive skin on the palmar side of the index finger. The flap is rotated around the tightest part of the thumb to the metacarpophalangeal joint of the thumb, allowing for a larger range of motion.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Generally, foot surgery is usually reserved for patients with a walking or ambulatory potential. Foot surgery may also be indicated to assist brace and orthosis fitting and hence promote supported standing. The most common foot deformity in arthrogryposis is club feet or talipes equinovarus. In the early years of life the serial casting according to the Ponseti method usually yields good results. The Ponseti method can also be used as a first line treatment in older and more resistant cases. In such severe and neglected cases bony surgery in the form of foot osteotomies and arthrodesis is usually indicated. It is usually accompanied by soft tissue surgery in the form of release of contracted tendon and capsular structures. In older patients near skeletal maturity joint fusion or arthrodesis may be indicated as well. Less frequent patients with arthrogryposis may develop congenital vertical talus also known as rocker bottom foot. Similarly, congenital vertical talus is classically managed by serial casting according to the reversed Ponseti method. Resistant or recurrent cases may be offered an extensive soft tissue release. However this is fraught with risk of foot stiffness and pain in the long term. Talectomy or excision of the talus to give room for creation of plantigrade foot has been practiced. Naviculectomy or midtarsal resection arthroplasty represents a less invasive option with satisfactory short-term results.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: AMC is considered non-progressive, so with proper medical treatment things can improve. The joint contractures will not get worse than they are at the time of birth. There is no way to resolve or cure AMC completely but with proper treatment most children make significant improvements in their range of motion and ability to move their limbs, which enables them to carry out daily activities and live relatively normal lives.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Therapeutic interventions that are cornerstones in the treatment of AMC include: stretching and range of motion exercises, physical, occupational and speech therapy, splinting and serial casting. Surgical intervention may also improve joint mobility and function. Other positive prognostic factors for independent walking are active hips and knees, hip flexion contractures of less than 20 degrees and knee flexion contractures of less than 15 degrees without severe scoliosis.


title: Arthrogryposis

text: Arthrogryposis is a rare condition. Some authors say the overall prevalence is one in 3,000 and others say it is one in 11,000–12,000 among European live births. Congenital clubfoot is the most common single contracture and its prevalence is one in 500 live births.


title: Iftar

text: Iftar (), also known as (from , , 'breakfast'), (), is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. They break their fast at the time of the call to prayer (adhan) for the evening prayer. This is their second meal of the day; the daily fast during Ramadan begins immediately after the pre-dawn meal of and continues during the daylight hours, ending with sunset with the evening meal of iftar.


title: Iftar

text: Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan, and is often done as a community, with Muslim people gathering to break their fast together. The meal is taken just after the call to the prayer, which is around sunset. Traditionally three dates are eaten to break the fast, in emulation of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, who broke his fast in this manner, but this is not mandatory. Muslims believe that feeding someone iftar as a form of charity is very rewarding and that such was practised by Muhammad.


title: Iftar

text: The room was a perfect square, totally unfurnished, save that in the centre of the floor was spread a carpet, on which stood a wooden frame, about two feet in height, supporting an immense round plated tray, with the edge slightly raised. In the centre of the tray was placed a capacious white basin, filled with a kind of cold bread soup; and around it were ranged a circle of small porcelain saucers, filled with sliced cheese, anchovies, caviare, and sweetmeats of every description: among these were scattered spoons of box-wood, and goblets of pink and white sherbet, whose rose-scented contents perfumed the apartment. The outer range of the tray was covered with fragments of unleavened bread, torn asunder; and portions of the Ramazan cake, a dry, close, sickly kind of paste, glazed with the whites of eggs, and strewed over with aniseeds."


title: Iftar

text: Pardoe reports the meal was served by slaves "black, white, and gray", as the guests took seats on cushions around the platter with cloth napkins, they were served fish with rice, eaten from a common pot. Of this practice, Pardoe says it is "rendered less revolting than it would otherwise be, by the fact that each individual is careful". Nineteen dishes were served for the "iftar"—meats, birds and fish, custards and pastries, and for the last course, a pyramid-shaped heap of "pilaf". According to Ottoman customs, sweets were served before salty foods, and stews were served before custards. After the meal they were attended by "a very pretty old "massaljhe", a type of storyteller who attended ladies' social functions to provide amusement and entertainment for the guests. The guests were offered cups of Turkish coffee and the "massaljhe" was smoking pipes of "scented weed". The father and sons of the family joined the guests for a coffee and smoke, and according to custom, brought gifts of nuts, sweetmeats and cakes for the women of the harem.