title: History of sound recording

text: In the 1970s, advances in solid-state electronics made the design and marketing of more sophisticated analog circuitry economically feasible. This led to a number of attempts to reduce tape hiss through the use of various forms of volume compression and expansion, the most notable and commercially successful being several systems developed by Dolby Laboratories. These systems divided the frequency spectrum into several bands and applied volume compression/expansion independently to each band (Engineers now often use the term "compansion" to refer to this process). The Dolby systems were very successful at increasing the effective dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio of analog audio recording; to all intents and purposes, audible tape hiss could be eliminated. The original Dolby A was only used in professional recording. Successors found use in both professional and consumer formats; Dolby B became almost universal for prerecorded music on cassette. Subsequent forms, including Dolby C, (and the short-lived Dolby S) were developed for home use.


title: History of sound recording

text: In the 1980s, digital recording methods were introduced, and analog tape recording was gradually displaced, although it has not disappeared by any means. (Many professional studios, particularly those catering to big-budget clients, use analog recorders for multitracking and/or mixdown.) The digital audio tape never became important as a consumer recording medium partially due to legal complications arising from "piracy" fears on the part of the record companies. They had opposed magnetic tape recording when it first became available to consumers, but the technical difficulty of juggling recording levels, overload distortion, and residual tape hiss was sufficiently high that unlicensed reproduction of magnetic tape never became an insurmountable commercial problem. With digital methods, copies of recordings could be exact, and copyright infringement might have become a serious commercial problem. Digital tape is still used in professional situations and the DAT variant has found a home in computer data backup applications. Many professional and home recordists now use hard-disk-based systems for recording, burning the final mixes to recordable CDs (CD-R's).


title: History of sound recording

text: Most Police forces in the United Kingdom (and possibly elsewhere) still use analogue compact cassette systems to record Police Interviews as it provides a medium less prone to accusations of tampering.


title: History of sound recording

text: The first attempts to record sound to an optical medium occurred around 1900. Prior to the use of recorded sound in film, theatres would have live orchestras present during silent films. The musicians would sit in the pit below the screen and would provide the background noise and set the mood for whatever was occurring in the movie. In 1906, Eugene Augustin Lauste applied for a patent to record Sound-on-film, but was ahead of his time. In 1923, Lee de Forest applied for a patent to record to film; he also made a number of short experimental films, mostly of vaudeville performers. William Fox began releasing sound-on-film newsreels in 1926, the same year that Warner Bros. released "Don Juan" with music and sound effects recorded on discs, as well as a series of short films with fully-synchronized sound on discs. In 1927, the sound film "The Jazz Singer" was released; while not the first sound film, it made a tremendous hit and made the public and the film industry realize that sound film was more than a mere novelty.


title: History of sound recording

text: "The Jazz Singer" used a process called Vitaphone that involved synchronizing the projected film to sound recorded on a disc. It essentially amounted to playing a phonograph record, but one that was recorded with the best electrical technology of the time. Audiences used to acoustic phonographs and recordings would, in the theatre, have heard something resembling 1950s "high fidelity".


title: History of sound recording

text: However, in the days of analog technology, no process involving a separate disk could hold synchronization precisely or reliably. Vitaphone was quickly supplanted by technologies which recorded an optical soundtrack directly onto the side of the strip of motion picture film. This was the dominant technology from the 1930s through the 1960s and is still in use although the analog soundtrack is being replaced by digital sound on film formats.


title: History of sound recording

text: There are two types of a synchronised film soundtrack, optical and magnetic. Optical soundtracks are visual renditions of sound wave forms and provide sound through a light beam and optical sensor within the projector. Magnetic soundtracks are essentially the same as used in conventional analog tape recording.


title: History of sound recording

text: Magnetic soundtracks can be joined with the moving image but it creates an abrupt discontinuity because of the offset of the audio track relative to the picture. Whether optical or magnetic, the audio pickup must be located several inches ahead of the projection lamp, shutter and drive sprockets. There is usually a flywheel as well to smooth out the film moves to eliminate the flutter that would otherwise result from the negative pulldown mechanism. If you have films with a magnetic track, you should keep them away from strong magnetic sources, such as televisions. These can weaken or wipe the magnetic sound signal. Magnetic sound on a cellulose acetate film base is also more prone to vinegar syndrome than a film with just the image.


title: History of sound recording

text: For optical recording on film there are two methods utilized. Variable density recording uses changes in the darkness of the soundtrack side of the film to represent the soundwave. Variable area recording uses changes in the width of a dark strip to represent the soundwave.


title: History of sound recording

text: In both cases, a light that is sent through the part of the film that corresponds to the soundtrack changes in intensity, proportional to the original sound, and that light is not projected on the screen but converted into an electrical signal by a light-sensitive device.


title: History of sound recording

text: Optical soundtracks are prone to the same sorts of degradation that affect the picture, such as scratching and copying.


title: History of sound recording

text: Unlike the film image that creates the illusion of continuity, soundtracks are continuous. This means that if film with a combined soundtrack is cut and spliced, the image will cut cleanly but the soundtrack will most likely produce a cracking sound. Fingerprints on the film may also produce cracking or interference.


title: History of sound recording

text: In the late 1950s, the cinema industry, desperate to provide a theatre experience that would be overwhelmingly superior to television, introduced widescreen processes such as Cinerama, Todd-AO and CinemaScope. These processes at the same time introduced technical improvements in sound, generally involving the use of multitrack "magnetic sound", recorded on an oxide stripe laminated onto the film. In subsequent decades, a gradual evolution occurred with more and more theatres installing various forms of magnetic-sound equipment.


title: History of sound recording

text: In the 1990s, digital audio systems were introduced and began to prevail. In some of them the sound recording is again recorded on a separate disk, as in Vitaphone; others use a digital, optical sound track on the film itself. Digital processes can now achieve reliable and perfect synchronization.


title: History of sound recording

text: The first digital audio recorders were reel-to-reel decks introduced by companies such as Denon (1972), Soundstream (1979) and Mitsubishi. They used a digital technology known as PCM recording. Within a few years, however, many studios were using devices that encoded the digital audio data into a standard video signal, which was then recorded on a U-matic or other videotape recorder, using the rotating-head technology that was standard for video. A similar technology was used for a consumer format, Digital Audio Tape (DAT) which used rotating heads on a narrow tape contained in a cassette. DAT records at sampling rates of 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz, the latter being the same rate used on compact discs. Bit depth is 16 bits, also the same as compact discs. DAT was a failure in the consumer-audio field (too expensive, too finicky, and crippled by anti-copying regulations), but it became popular in studios (particularly home studios) and radio stations. A failed digital tape recording system was the Digital Compact Cassette (DCC).


title: History of sound recording

text: Within a few years after the introduction of digital recording, multitrack recorders (using stationary heads) were being produced for use in professional studios. In the early 1990s, relatively low-priced multitrack digital recorders were introduced for use in home studios; they returned to recording on videotape. The most notable of this type of recorder is the ADAT. Developed by Alesis and first released in 1991, the ADAT machine is capable of recording 8 tracks of digital audio onto a single S-VHS video cassette. The ADAT machine, followed by the Tascam equivalent, the DA-88, using a smaller Hi-8 video cassette, was a common fixture in professional and home studios around the world until approximately 2000 when it was supplanted by various interfaces and 'DAWs' (digital audio workstations) which allowed a computer's hard drive to be the recording medium..


title: History of sound recording

text: In the consumer market, tapes and gramophones were largely displaced by the compact disc (CD) and a lesser extent the minidisc. These recording media are fully digital and require complex electronics to play back. Digital recording has progressed towards higher fidelity, with formats such as DVD-A offering sampling rates of up to 192 kHz.


title: History of sound recording

text: Digital sound files can be stored on any computer storage medium. The development of the MP3 audio file format, and legal issues involved in copying such files, has driven most of the innovation in music distribution since their introduction in the late 1990s.


title: History of sound recording

text: As hard disk capacities and computer CPU speeds increased at the end of the 1990s, hard disk recording became more popular. As of early 2005 hard disk recording takes two forms. One is the use of standard desktop or laptop computers, with adapters for encoding audio into two or many tracks of digital audio. These adapters can either be in-the-box soundcards or external devices, either connecting to in-box interface cards or connecting to the computer via USB or Firewire cables. The other common form of hard disk recording uses a dedicated recorder which contains analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters as well as one or two removable hard drives for data storage. Such recorders, packing 24 tracks in a few units of rack space, are actually single-purpose computers, which can in turn be connected to standard computers for editing.


title: History of sound recording

text: Vinyl records, or long playing (LP) records, have become popular again as a way to consume music despite the rise of digital media. Over 15 thousand units were sold between 2008 and 2012, their sales reaching the highest level in 2012 since 1993. Popular artists have begun releasing their albums on vinyl, and stores such as Urban Outfitters and Whole Foods have started selling them. Popular music corporations, such as Sony, have started manufacturing LP for the first time since 1989 as this medium becomes more popular. However, some companies are facing production problems as there are only 16 record plants currently functioning in the United States.


title: History of sound recording

text: The analog tape recorder made it possible to erase or record over a previous recording so that mistakes could be fixed. Another advantage of recording on tape is the ability to cut the tape and join it back together. This allows the recording to be edited. Pieces of the recording can be removed, or rearranged. See also audio editing, audio mixing, multitrack recording.


title: History of sound recording

text: The advent of electronic instruments (especially keyboards and synthesizers), effects and other instruments has led to the importance of MIDI in recording. For example, using MIDI timecode, it is possible to have different equipment 'trigger' without direct human intervention at the time of recording.


title: History of sound recording

text: In more recent times, computers (digital audio workstations) have found an increasing role in the recording studio, as their use eases the tasks of cutting and looping, as well as allowing for instantaneous changes, such as duplication of parts, the addition of effects and the rearranging of parts of the recording.


title: Mister Donut

text: Mister Donut is an international chain of doughnut stores. It was founded in the United States in 1956 by Harry Winokur. Primary offerings include doughnuts, coffee, muffins and pastries. After being acquired by Allied Domecq in 1990, most of the North American stores became Dunkin' Donuts. Outside of the United States, Mister Donut maintains a presence in Japan, El Salvador, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Lagos and Ibadan in Nigeria.


title: Mister Donut

text: In 1955, Harry Winokur worked with brother-in-law William Rosenberg, the founder of Dunkin' Donuts. After Winokur broke his partnership with Rosenberg, he went on to create Mister Donut with his son-in-law David Slater that same year, with stores in most of North America. The Mister Donut business became so popular that Winokur and Slater decided to go into franchising. As a result, Mister Donut began a rapid expansion that resulted in the opening of 275 stores in the U.S. and Canada. In 1970, Minneapolis-based International Multifoods Corporation, one of the world's largest and most successful food companies, acquired Mister Donut and its franchising concept from Winokur.


title: Mister Donut

text: The first Mister Donut outlet in Japan opened in Minoh, Osaka in 1971. Also in the same year, a Mister Donut training center was constructed in Japan. In 1973, the French cruller became available in Japan stores. In 1983, Duskin Co., Ltd. of Osaka, Japan, acquired the rights to franchise Mister Donut throughout Japan and Asia.


title: Mister Donut

text: In the 1980s, Mister Donut was the largest competitor to Dunkin' Donuts. On March 31, 1987, Elie G. Saheb and his business associates acquired the trademark rights for Mister Donut in the United Kingdom and afterwards opened a Mister Donut pilot store and bakery in Fulham, London. On May 2, 1988, the Mister Donut franchise sold the trademark rights for the European market at large.


title: Mister Donut

text: By the 1980s, Mister Donut had over 550 stores in the United States and Canada. In 1989, the British corporate giant Allied-Lyons plc acquired Dunkin' Donuts from Rosenberg for a reported £196 million. After becoming a subsidiary of Allied-Lyons, Dunkin' Donuts immediately acquired Mister Donut from International Multifoods. Mister Donut stores were offered the option to convert to Dunkin' Donuts. Mister Donut was acquired by Dunkin' Donuts' then-parent company, Allied Lyons, in February 1990. After the acquisition of Mister Donut by Allied-Lyons, all Mister Donut stores in North America were offered the chance to change their name to Dunkin' Donuts. Mister Donut sold its Middle East trademarks on October 14, 1995.


title: Mister Donut

text: In July 2005, Allied-Lyons was acquired by Pernod Ricard SA. On 12 December 2005, Pernod Ricard announced that it had agreed to sell Dunkin' Brands, which owned Dunkin' Donuts and Mister Donut, to a consortium of three US private equity firms (Thomas H. Lee Partners, the Carlyle Group and Bain Capital LLP) for US$2.43 billion. The closing of the sale occurred on 1 March 2006. In August 2012, Dunkin' Brands became completely independent of the private equity firms.


title: Mister Donut

text: As of 2017, only one Mister Donut store remains in the United States, in Godfrey, Illinois (outside of St. Louis), while there were 10,000 stores worldwide. As of 2016, Mister Donut Japan had over "1,300 stores, making it the largest donut chain in the country." and as of June 2016, Duskin Co., Ltd. was also operating Mister Donut stores in China, Taiwan, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, and Malaysia.


title: Mister Donut

text: In 2020, Dunkin' Brands was purchased by Sandy Springs-based Inspire Brands, and Mister Donut's trademark management became part of Inspire.


title: Mister Donut

text: Mister Donut has an orange and white logo in the likeness of a moustachioed chef. More recently, the chain developed a set of mascot characters based on its donuts. One character, , a lion with a mane shaped like its donut line, is used in Japan.


title: Mister Donut

text: In El Salvador, the mascots are five anthropomorphic doughnuts and a rooster that is used for the breakfast menu. The company uses the same logo as Japan and the slogan is "La gran variedad" (The great variety).


title: Mister Donut

text: In Japan, Mister Donut is owned by Duskin Co., Ltd., a part of the Mitsui conglomerate. Mister Donut is the largest donut franchise chain in Japan, with a total of 961 retails shops operating as of March 2021. Keiji Chiba, who was Duskin Company's general manager and director of food industries, adjusted the recipes and gave a higher class image so the company would be successful in the Japanese market. Prior to the introduction of Mister Donut, Japanese perceived doughnuts as being snacks for children.


title: Mister Donut

text: "The Star" wrote in 2007 that "Mister Donut has gained a following among mostly younger Japanese for its American-style doughnuts, decor and music, becoming the country's biggest donut chain." On September 13, 2013, a survey by the Japanese retail research company, Softbrain Field, surveyed close to 6000 Japanese citizens of all ages on their favorite fast food restaurant. Mister Donut came in third, at 17%, behind McDonald's at 33% and MOS Burger at 25%.


title: Mister Donut

text: In the Philippines, the first Mister Donut store opened in 1982 in Manila and has become the country's second largest doughnut chain, with Dunkin' Donuts as its main competitor. In 1995, the Ramcar Group acquired the Philippine franchise of Mister Donut through its subsidiary, Food Fest, Inc.


title: Mister Donut

text: Of its 1,800 outlets, majority are stalls, often located inside shopping malls, while 200 are full-scale stores. Mister Donut products are also sold in 7-Eleven stores and KFC restaurants. Some locations sell coffee but mostly it focuses on doughnuts including as "pasalubong", gifts by visitors to friends and family. The doughnuts sold are adjusted to suit the local market with smaller sizes, therefore cheaper, and different flavors.


title: Mister Donut

text: In 2004, the Uni-President Group introduced Mister Donut in Taiwan through the newly established joint-venture Mister Donut Taiwan Corp., announcing a goal to open 100 outlets in Taiwan in three years.


title: Mister Donut

text: In Thailand, Mister Donut has been a leader in the Thai donut market since 1978 and uses the slogan "Donut for Fun". As of December 2011, Thailand was the "largest market outside Japan for Mister Donut in terms of sales volume." Mister Donut has more than 320 branches across Thailand with more opening yearly. They include stand-alone stores as well as branches at shopping malls and supermarkets. In 2014, donut consumption increased 10 and 15 per cent in Thailand, with Mister Donut accounting for half of that increase. In 2015, Thailand's Central Restaurants Group announced plans to open 30 new outlets in 2015, bringing its store number to 350. The company stated that it would be able to sell "it's doughnuts in all 77 provinces by year end." Central has also stated it is considering expanding Mister Donut in Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.


title: Mister Donut

text: In May 2016, plans were announced for Mister Donut stores to open in Vietnam through Central Restaurants Group (CRG).


title: Mister Donut

text: In Indonesia, Mister Donut is operated under management of Indomaret, a subsidiary of Salim Group. First store was opened in 2015, with 7 standalone outlets and 1.350 stand inside Indomaret outlets, mostly located in city center, malls, airport, rail station or shop-in-shop at every Indomaret outlets.


title: Mister Donut

text: On 31 March 1987, Elie G. Saheb and associates acquired the Mister Donut trademark rights for the United Kingdom and opened the first Mister Donut bakery and pilot shop in Fulham, London. The trademark rights for the European markets were acquired on May 2, 1988, and for the Middle East region on October 14, 1995.


title: Mister Donut

text: Only one business still uses the Mister Donut name. It is located in 2720 Grovelin Street, Godfrey, Illinois.


title: Mister Donut

text: After Mister Donut was acquired by Dunkin' Donuts in 1990, most either closed or became Dunkins. There were nine outlets in the Pennsylvania and Ohio region that remained Mister Donut, mostly due to being close to existing Dunkin' Donuts stores. Their owners formed a cooperative to continue receiving bulk pricing on materials. As of May 2006, these stores rebranded as Donut Connection, serving the same items as Mister Donut. Some locations of the Donut Connection partnership have retained the original fixtures of the original Mister Donut location, such as the outlet in Shakopee, Minnesota, which still has the orange motif and original Mister Donut price board.


title: Mister Donut

text: Mister Donut operations downsized in the late 1990s and the final surviving three in the Toronto, Ontario area closed quietly around or prior to June 2006.


title: Mister Donut

text: In El Salvador, the menu includes some Salvadoran cuisine. As of 2014, there were 30 Mister Donut stores in the country, with a few offering 24-hour service. The rights are held by Adolfo Salume.


title: Mister Donut

text: As of 2004, the first Mister Donut shop opened in Taiwan featured "doughnuts in 50 different flavors every day. Each flavor comes with a label indicating the level of sweetness." The store also sold around 15 kinds of drinks and beverages.


title: Mister Donut

text: In 2007, Mister Donut attracted media attention in Japan, when it admitted it had used out-of-dated syrups in some of its drinks earlier that year.


title: Mister Donut

text: The company has created special donut lines for various events, for example creating soldier-themed doughnuts for National Doughnut Day on June 1 in Thailand, with funds benefitting military personnel in the country.


title: Mister Donut

text: In June 2013, Mister Donuts in Thailand debuted the SushiDo, sushi-themed donuts created as a part of "a special sushi-themed menu." At the time, they had not been added to the menu in Japan or other countries. Options included "sweet donut versions of ebi, tamago, maguro, salmon, with sugary frosting replacing raw fish." For Halloween, in October 2013, Mister Donut debuted Hello Kitty jack-o’-lantern doughnuts in pumpkin or strawberry flavor, as well as other seasonal pumpkin flavored items, including pumpkin versions of their regular donut.


title: Mister Donut

text: As of 2014, the stores in El Salvador focused on a menu described as more "homey than foreign, offering national staples like pupusas and tamales alongside giant cream-filled doughnuts."


title: Mister Donut

text: On May 27, 2014, Mister Donut collaborated with the Japanese fast food franchise Mos Burger on the MOSDO!, a burger using "a spiral-shaped chorizo, lettuce and spicy chili sauce sandwiched between Mister Donut's French Cruller donut as the buns." The menu item was released at Mos Burger stores, while Mister Donut stores at the time were selling "Mos Burger's famous rice burger with sweet bean paste, sweet potato paste, and custard cream stuffing."


title: Mister Donut

text: In April 2015, Mister Donut released new items such as the "Brooklyn Merry-Go-Round, which uses both cookie and bagel dough." At the time, the company announced that it will "launch new key products quarterly while maintaining its standard menu."


title: Mister Donut

text: In 2015, Japan revealed a summer doughnut menu themed to Brooklyn, New York. "Japan Times" explained that the menu was "'Brooklyn themed' in the sense it combines several foodstuffs together into one, in the style of New York-born fusion treats such as the Cronut." Items included "berry or lemon doughnuts cut in half, with a layer of yogurt added to the middle, or a chocolate option with sugary cream in the center."


title: Mister Donut

text: As of May 2016, "some 80% of the menu at Mister Donut bakery and cafe is made up of coffee drinks and the rest is doughnuts."


title: Mister Donut

text: In Japan, current items as of July 2016 may include the old-fashioned doughnuts covered in chocolate or cinnamon flavored. There is also a "chocolate almond croissant muffin," a salty donut, a chocolate-covered churro, a financier donut," and "Japanese-style matcha kuromitsu stick."


title: Mister Donut

text: In Japan, Mister Donut's "signature" is the "Pon de Ringu, with its cartoon lion mascot." The Japanese stores also sell the "pon de ring, Mister Donut’s signature item that’s made of a connected circle of dough balls." Pon de ring varieties include the pon de angel, which is cream-filled, and the pon de kokuto, or a pon de ring with brown sugar.


title: Brian Wilde

text: Brian George Wilde (13 June 1927 – 20 March 2008) was an English actor, best known for his roles in television comedy, most notably Mr Barrowclough in "Porridge" and Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst in "Last of the Summer Wine". His lugubrious world-weary face was a staple of British television for forty years.


title: Brian Wilde

text: Though born in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire, Wilde was brought up in Devon and Hertfordshire and attended Hertford Grammar School. He trained as an actor at RADA.


title: Brian Wilde

text: He had an early uncredited role as a small-time crook in the film "Forbidden Cargo" (1954), starring Jack Warner and Nigel Patrick, and a small but significant dramatic part in the horror film "Night of the Demon" (1957). His early television work included the series "The Love of Mike" (1960) and supporting Tony Hancock in episodes of his ATV series in 1963. Wilde also played Detective Superintendent Halcro in a series of two-part thrillers about undercover Scotland Yard officers, "The Men from Room Thirteen" (BBC, 1959–61). He had minor roles in films such as "Life for Ruth" (1962), "The Bargee" (1964), "The Jokers" (1967) and "Carry On Doctor" (1967), and on television in "Room at the Bottom" (1966–67) as Mr Salisbury.


title: Brian Wilde

text: His first major television success was in 1970 as refuse depot manager "Bloody Delilah" in the ITV sitcom "The Dustbinmen". He showed his sinister side as the mischievous magician Mr Peacock in the children's drama series "Ace of Wands" between 1970 and 1972. That year he starred as a murderer in "The Uninvited", an episode of the BBC's supernatural thriller series "Out of the Unknown". Also in 1971, in the television drama "Elizabeth R", Wilde played the efficient, merciless 'rackmaster' Richard Topcliffe, who was charged with the torture of prisoners in the Tower of London. He played a character in the 1970s British children's series "The Ghosts of Motley Hall", by Richard Carpenter.


title: Brian Wilde

text: In 1973, he starred as a different kind of gaoler in the second episode of "Seven of One", a series of seven individual stories, all of which starred Ronnie Barker. In the episode, entitled "Prisoner and Escort", Wilde played Mr Barrowclough, one of two prison officers whose job it is to escort Barker's character Fletcher across the moors to his prison (the other was Mr Mackay, played by Fulton Mackay). The episode proved successful and a series was commissioned by the BBC, titled "Porridge". Wilde reprised his role as the timid and eager-to-please Barrowclough. "Porridge" which ran until 1977, was a great success, with a film version being made in 1979.


title: Brian Wilde

text: Wilde gained and established another role in 1976, when he took over from Michael Bates as the third member of a trio of old men in the BBC sitcom "Last of the Summer Wine". The character, Walter "Foggy" Dewhurst, was a determined ex-army man who planned the group's misadventures with military precision and a painstaking eye for detail. Wilde saw the long-running series gather momentum and continue its success; he stayed with the series for nine years, before leaving in 1985 to work on other projects. Foggy was written out of the series and was replaced by Michael Aldridge as Seymour Utterthwaite.


title: Brian Wilde

text: When Aldridge left "Last of the Summer Wine", Wilde returned as Foggy in 1990. He stayed until 1996, when he contracted shingles during the preparations for series 19 and decided to leave. Frank Thornton was invited to join the cast to replace Wilde, making his debut in the 1997 Christmas special "There Goes The Groom!". Wilde never returned to the programme, despite several invitations to do so.


title: Brian Wilde

text: He featured in "The Fear Merchants", an episode of ABC's "The Avengers", in January 1967. In this he played Jeremy Raven, a ceramics manufacturer caught up in a sinister plot to get rid of the competition. In 1978, Wilde voiced the public information film series "Play Safe", highlighting the dangers of overhead power lines to children.


title: Brian Wilde

text: He also supplied the voice of the magician Meredith in the children's animated series "Alias the Jester", "Shortie the Giraffe" in "Coco Pops" and narrated an animated series, "Microscopic Milton", about a microscopic little chap who lives in a clock on the mantelpiece, in the parlour of the house that belongs to a lady called Mrs. Witherspoon. Wilde starred in his own BBC series in 1988, "Wyatt's Watchdogs", as retired soldier Major Wyatt who forms his own neighbourhood watch group. As a stuffy ex-army member who leads a motley bunch of comic characters, Wyatt was quite similar to Foggy. The programme, which co-starred Trevor Bannister, was written by Miles Tredinnick and ran for one series of six episodes.


title: Brian Wilde

text: Wilde suffered a fall in January 2008 from which he never recovered. He died in his sleep on the morning of 20 March 2008 at his home in Ware, Hertfordshire and was survived by his wife Eva, their son Andrew and daughter Sarah.


title: Brian Wilde

text: His son, Andrew Wilde, had been film editor on "Last of the Summer Wine" from the mid-1990s until the final episode in 2010, working initially on many of the episodes that had starred his father and later on the Frank Thornton editions.


title: Destiny of X

text: "Destiny of X" is a 2022 relaunch of the "X-Men" line of comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is the sequel to "Reign of X" following the end of the dual miniseries "X Lives of Wolverine" and "X Deaths of Wolverine", and the first phase of the Krakoan era of X-Men following the departure of Jonathan Hickman during "Reign of X". A sequel, "Fall of X" is coming in the summer of 2023.


title: Les Deux Magots

text: Les Deux Magots () is a famous café and restaurant situated at 6, Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris's 6th arrondissement, France. It once had a reputation as the rendezvous of the literary and intellectual elite of the city. It is now a popular tourist destination. Its historical reputation is derived from the patronage of Surrealist artists, intellectuals to the likes of Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre, as well as young writers, such as Ernest Hemingway. Other patrons included Albert Camus, Pablo Picasso, James Joyce, Bertolt Brecht, Julia Child and the American writers James Baldwin, Chester Himes and Richard Wright.


title: Les Deux Magots

text: The Deux Magots literary prize (Prix des Deux Magots) has been awarded to a French novel every year since 1933 at Les Deux Magots.


title: Les Deux Magots

text: "Magot" literally means "stocky figurine from the Far East". The name originally belonged to a fabric and novelty shop at nearby 23 Rue de Buci. The shop sold silk lingerie and took its name from a popular play of the moment (19th century) entitled "Les Deux Magots de la Chine". Its two statues represent Chinese "mandarins", or "magicians" (and "alchemists", depending upon one's philosophical point of view), who gaze serenely over the room. In 1873, the business moved to its current location in the Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés. In 1884, the business changed to a café and "liquoriste", keeping the name.


title: Les Deux Magots

text: Auguste Boulay bought the business in 1914, when it was on the brink of bankruptcy, for 400,000 francs. The present manager, Catherine Mathivat, is his great-great-granddaughter.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Abhijnanashakuntalam (Devanagari: अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, IAST: "Abhijñānaśākuntalam"), also known as Shakuntala, The Recognition of Shakuntala, The Sign of Shakuntala, and many other variants, is a Sanskrit play by the ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa, dramatizing the story of Śakuntalā told in the epic "Mahābhārata" and regarded as best of Kālidāsa's works. Its exact date is uncertain, but Kālidāsa is often placed in the 4th century CE.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Plots similar to the play appear in earlier texts. There is a story mentioned in the "Mahābhārata". A story of similar plot appear in the Buddhist Jātaka tales as well. In the Mahābhārata the story appears as a precursor to the Pāṇḍava and Kaurava lineages. In the story King Duṣyanta and Śakuntalā meet in the forest and get estranged and ultimately reunited. Their son Bharata is said to have laid the foundation of the dynasty that ultimately led to Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Manuscripts differ on what its exact title is. Usual variants are "Abhijñānaśakuntalā", "Abhijñānaśākuntala", "Abhijñānaśakuntalam" and "Abhijñānaśākuntalam". The Sanskrit title means "pertaining to the recognition of Shakuntala", so a literal translation could be "Of Śakuntalā who is recognized". The title is sometimes translated as "The token-for-recognition of Śakuntalā" or "The Sign of Śakuntalā". Titles of the play in published translations include "Sacontalá or The Fatal Ring" and "Śakoontalá or The Lost Ring". A more recent translation by Barbara Stoler Miller (1984) was entitled "Sakuntala and the Ring of Recollection". The well-received Clay Sanskrit Library translation of 2006 is entitled "The Recognition of Shakúntala".


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: The protagonist is Śakuntalā, daughter of the sage Viśvāmitra and the apsara Menakā. Abandoned at birth by her parents, Śakuntalā is reared in the secluded hermitage of the sage Kaṇva, and grows up a comely but innocent maiden.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: While Kaṇva and the other elders of the hermitage are away on a pilgrimage, Duṣyanta, king of Hastināpura, comes hunting in the forest. Just as he was about to slay a deer, Vaikhānasa, a sage obstructs him saying that the deer was from the hermitage and must not be slayed. He politely requests the king to take his arrow back, to which the king complies. The sage then informs him that they are going to collect firewood for the sacrificial fire and asks him to join them. They then spot the hermitage of Sage Kaṇva and decide to pay the hermits a visit. However the king decides to go to this penance grove dressed up as a commoner. He also stops the chariot farther away to not disturb the hermits. The moment he enters the hermitage and spots Śakuntalā, he is captivated by her, courts her in royal style, and marries her. Soon, he has to leave to take care of affairs in the capital. The king gives her a ring which, as it turns out, will eventually have to be presented to him when she appears in his court to claim her place as queen.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: One day, the anger-prone sage Durvāsa arrives when Śakuntala is lost in her thoughts, and when she fails to attend to him, he curses her by bewitching Duṣyanta into forgetting her existence. The only cure is for Śakuntala to show the king the signet ring that he gave her.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: She later travels to meet him, and has to cross a river. The ring is lost when it slips off her hand as she dips it in the water playfully. On arrival the king is unable to recognize the person he married and therefore refuses to acknowledge her. Śakuntala is abandoned by her companions who declare that she should remain with her husband. They then return to the hermitage.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Fortunately, the ring is discovered by a fisherman in the belly of a fish, and presents it in the king's court. Duṣyanta realizes his mistake - too late. The newly wise Duṣyanta is asked to defeat an army of Asuras, and is rewarded by Indra with a journey through heaven. After returning to Earth years later, Duṣyanta finds Śakuntala and their son by chance, and recognizes them.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: In other versions, especially the one found in the 'Mahābhārata', Śakuntala is not reunited until their son Bharata is born, and found by the king playing with lion cubs. Duṣyanta meets young Bharata and enquires about his parents, and finds out that Bharata is indeed his son. Bharata is an ancestor of the lineages of the Kauravas and Pāṇḍavas, who fought the epic war of the Mahābhārata. It is after this Bharata that India was given the name "Bhāratavarsha", the 'Land of Bharata'.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: By the 18th century, Western poets were beginning to get acquainted with works of Indian literature and philosophy. "Shakuntala" was the first Indian drama to be translated into a Western language, by Sir William Jones in 1789. In the next 100 years, there were at least 46 translations in twelve European languages.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: "Sacontalá or The Fatal Ring", Sir William Jones' translation of Kālidāsa's play, was first published in Calcutta, followed by European republications in 1790, 1792 and 1796. A German (by Georg Forster) and a French version of Jones' translation were published in 1791 and 1803 respectively. Goethe published an epigram about Shakuntala in 1791, and in his "Faust" he adopted a theatrical convention from the prologue of Kālidāsa's play. Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel's plan to translate the work into German never materialised, but he did however publish a translation of the "Mahābhārata" version of Śakuntalā's story in 1808. Goethe's epigram goes like this:


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: "Shakuntala" was disapproved of as a text for school and college students in the British Raj in the 19th century, as popular Indian literature was deemed, in the words of Charles Trevelyan, to be "marked with the greatest immorality and impurity", and Indian students were thought by colonial administrators to be insufficiently morally and intellectually advanced to read the Indian texts that were taught and praised in Britain.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: When Leopold Schefer became a student of Antonio Salieri in September 1816, he had been working on an opera about Shakuntala for at least a decade, a project which he did however never complete. Franz Schubert, who had been a student of Salieri until at least December of the same year, started composing his "Sakuntala" opera,  701, in October 1820. Johann Philipp Neumann based the libretto for this opera on Kālidāsa's play, which he probably knew through one or more of the three German translations that had been published by that time. Schubert abandoned the work in April 1821 at the latest. A short extract of the unfinished score was published in 1829. Also Václav Tomášek left an incomplete "Sakuntala" opera.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Kālidāsa's "Śakuntalā" was the model for the libretto of 's first opera, which premièred in 1853. In 1853 Monier Monier-Williams published the Sanskrit text of the play. Two years later he published an English translation of the play, under the title: "Śakoontalá or The Lost Ring". A ballet version of Kālidāsa's play, "Sacountalâ", on a libretto by Théophile Gautier and with music by Ernest Reyer, was first performed in Paris in 1858. A plot summary of the play was printed in the score edition of Karl Goldmark's Overture to "Sakuntala", Op. 13 (1865). Sigismund Bachrich composed a "Sakuntala" ballet in 1884. Felix Weingartner's opera "Sakuntala", with a libretto based on Kālidāsa's play, premièred the same year. Also Philipp Scharwenka's "Sakuntala", a choral work on a text by Carl Wittkowsky, was published in 1884.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Felix Woyrsch's incidental music for Kālidāsa's play, composed around 1886, is lost. Ignacy Jan Paderewski would have composed a Shakuntala opera, on a libretto by Catulle Mendès, in the first decade of the 20th century: the work is however no longer listed as extant in overviews of the composer's or librettist's oeuvre. Arthur W. Ryder published a new English translation of "Shakuntala" in 1912. Two years later he collaborated to an English performance version of the play.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Italian Franco Alfano composed an opera, named "La leggenda di Sakùntala" ("The legend of Sakùntala") in its first version (1921) and simply "Sakùntala" in its second version (1952).


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Fritz Racek's completion of Schubert's "Sakontala" was performed in Vienna in 1971. Another completion of the opera, by Karl Aage Rasmussen, was published in 2005 and recorded in 2006. A scenic performance of this version was premièred in 2010.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: Norwegian electronic musician Amethystium wrote a song called "Garden of Sakuntala" which can be found on the CD "Aphelion". According to Philip Lutgendorf, the narrative of the movie Ram Teri Ganga Maili recapitulates the story of Shakuntala.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: In Koodiyattam, the only surviving ancient Sanskrit theatre tradition, prominent in the state of Kerala on India, performances of Kālidāsa's plays are rare. However, legendary Kutiyattam artist and "Natyashastra" scholar "Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam Padma Shri Guru" Māni Mādhava Chākyār has choreographed a Koodiyattam production of "The Recognition of Sakuntala".


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: A production directed by Tarek Iskander was mounted for a run at London's Union Theatre in January and February 2009. The play is also appearing on a Toronto stage for the first time as part of the Harbourfront World Stage program. An adaptation by the Magis Theatre Company featuring the music of Indian-American composer Rudresh Mahanthappa had its premiere at La MaMa E.T.C. in New York February 11–28, 2010.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: It is one of the few classical Sanskrit plays that have been adapted to the silver screen in India and of them the most adapted (another being the Mṛcchakatika by Śūdraka). These films mostly under the title of the heroine ("Shakuntala") include ones in: 1920 by Suchet Singh, 1920 by Shree Nath Patankar, 1929 by Fatma Begum, 1931 by Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani, 1931 by J.J. Madan, 1932 by Sarvottam Badami, 1932 Hindi film, 1940 by Ellis Dungan, 1941 by Jyotish Bannerjee, 1943 by Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre, 1961 by Bhupen Hazarika, 1965 by Kunchacko, 1966 by Kamalakara Kameshwara Rao, and 2022 by Gunasekhar. A television film, titled "Shakuntalam", was an adaptation of the play by Indian theatre director Vijaya Mehta.


title: Shakuntala (play)

text: "Bharat Ek Khoj", a 1988 Indian historical drama television series by Shyam Benegal based on Jawaharlal Nehru's "The Discovery of India" (1946), included a two part adaptation of the play and Kalidasa's life which aired on DD National. A television series adaptation of the same name was produced by Sagar Arts and aired on the Indian television channel Star One in 2009.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: The Dodge Ram SRT-10 is a sport pickup truck that was produced by American automaker Dodge in limited numbers. It was introduced at the January 2002 North American International Auto Show, but was not put into production until 2004.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: The Dodge Ram SRT was created by DaimlerChrysler's PVO (Performance Vehicle Operations) division, using Dodge Viper and Plymouth Prowler engineers. Extensive wind tunnel testing was used in styling the exterior of the Ram SRT-10. This is the second time that Dodge has put a Viper engine into a Ram pickup. At the 1996 Chicago Auto Show, Dodge introduced a concept Dodge Ram with a Viper Generation 2 engine, but it was not put into production. The Dodge Ram VTS was painted Banzai Blue with dual white skunk stripes, housed an 8.0 L (488 cid) V10, a six-speed Borg-Warner manual gearbox, and Viper GTS wheels wrapped in BF Goodrich 275/60-HR17 Comp T/A HR4 tires.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: The SRT-10 featured a Chrysler 8.3 liter V10 that was first used in the third generation Viper. This engine produced at 5,600 rpm and of torque at 4,200 rpm. The regular cab, with a total curb weight of , reached a top speed of , and could accelerate from 0 to in 4.9 seconds, whereas the Quad Cab, weighing , achieved 0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 5.3 seconds and reached a top speed of . The regular cab could complete the in 13.6 seconds at , the Quad Cab in 13.7 seconds at . The engine produced one horsepower for every 10.3 lbs of vehicle weight in the regular cab. The regular cab generated .86 g of grip on a skidpad, while the Quad Cab generated .83 g. The regular cab was rated by the EPA at 9 MPG city/15 highway, while the Quad Cab was rated at 9 city/12 MPG highway.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: The V10 Viper engine delivered 90 percent of its torque from 1500 to 5600 rpm. The cast aluminum cylinder block had cast-iron liners and cross-bolted main caps. The bore and stroke had been increased over previous Viper models. Compression ratio, firing order, rod length, block height and block length were unchanged from the second-generation Viper engine. The regular cab featured a Tremec T-56 transmission, while the Quad Cab utilized a 48RE four-speed automatic transmission modified from the Ram Heavy Duty transmission. Both regular cab and Quad Cab used a Dana 60 rear axle.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: PVO engineers modified the Ram Heavy Duty's rack and pinion steering and independent front suspension for use in the Ram SRT-10. A fully hydroformed Dodge Ram frame was used in conjunction with a custom-tuned suspension, lowering the Ram SRT-10's ride height one inch in the front and 2.5 inches in the rear. Bilstein shock absorbers, performance-tuned springs and unique aerodynamic aids were used to enhance the Ram SRT-10's higher-speed performance.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: The Ram SRT-10 had a unique hood that featured a wide power bulge and honeycomb grill hood scoop. The hood scoop allowed cool air to enter as well as forcing hot air to exit from the engine bay, thus helping the engine to run cooler. "Viper Powered" badges were added to the sides of the power bulge, to indicate the SRT-10 engine under the hood. Large chrome SRT-10 logos were mounted to the driver and passenger side doors and rear tailgate right side on the Quad cab and Single Cab 2005 models replaced in 2006 by smaller chrome and red SRT-10 logo badges . All models were outfitted with large molded kickerpanels painted to match body color. Another exterior feature was a tonneau cover with an attached spoiler that was supposed to come standard on the 2005 Quad Cab version and all 2006 models, but due to manufacturing problems was not installed on nearly half of the Ram SRT-10s intended. To help remedy this situation, Dodge added a $1000 credit and a regular spoiler to the Ram SRT-10s that did not receive the tonneau cover. In addition to style, the spoiler also helped with air flow and provided a reduction in lift and drag. The Ram SRT-10 had a bed size of , giving the regular cab an overall length of , and overall length for the Quad Cab.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: The Truck audio had 3 options of the Dodge Ram SRT-10 by 2006 and consisted of 8 Infinity brand speakers with a DVD based large color LCD map navigation system and a mid-tier CD turn by turn graphics CD-based system with small color LCD, and finally a standard LED Radio with CD player; all built and designed by Infinity audio and 10 inch woofer mounted in between the seats with silver bezel and 575 watts of total system output, Bluetooth by U-Connect for hands free communication through your car stereo as a factory option also full digital Satellite radio. The doors on both the Standard cab and Quad had silver accents along the middle above the arm rest. It also came with a leather trimmed steering wheel and with heavily bolstered racing-derived suede-trimmed charcoal leather seats. The center stack was adorned with silver trim, and a silver trim strip with the SRT-10 logo resided under the passenger-side air bag cover. Taking a cue from the Dodge Viper, the Ram SRT-10 came with a red start button on the dash. The manual transmission regular cab featured a Hurst shift lever, which sprouted from a silver metal shift bezel and was fitted with a Viper shift knob. Aluminum performance-inspired pedals replaced the stock setup. The gauge cluster featured satin silver-faced gauges and Viper font and graphics. The A-Pillar on Driver's side has an Oil Temperature Gauge, sporting the SRT logo. The speedometer and tachometer were re-calibrated to match the Ram SRT-10's increased performance. Optional sunroof was electric, as was a small electric rear window.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: Excluding the special editions, the 2004–2005 Ram SRT-10 came in three colors: Black Clear Coat, Bright Silver Metallic Clear Coat, and Flame Red Clear Coat. The redesigned 2006 Ram SRT-10 came in Mineral Gray Metallic, Inferno Red Crystal Pearl Coat, Brilliant Black Crystal Clear Coat, Flame Red Clear Coat and Black Clear Coat.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: The stock wheels were fitted with Pirelli Scorpion P305/40R-22 performance tires and modeled after the 10-spoke wheels available on the Viper. The brakes for the 2004 model (front and rear) and 2005-06 (rear) were modified from the Ram Heavy Duty truck for use in the Ram SRT-10. The standard ABS-equipped brakes were fitted with rotors in front and rotors out back. 2004 models used red-painted two-piston sliding brake calipers front and rear; these were replaced with larger four-piston monoblock calipers up front in 2005–06, designed by TRW and unique to the SRT-10. Two NASCAR-inspired brake cooling ducts integrated into the front fascia provide cooling for the Ram SRT-10's brakes.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: Following the success of the Ram SRT-10 regular cab, Dodge decided to introduce a Quad Cab version starting in the 2005 model year. The new Quad Cab was aimed at the performance truck enthusiast who wanted a performance pickup, but not at the expense of room for passengers and towing capacity. The Dodge Ram SRT-10 Quad Cab was fitted with a 4.56 final-drive gear ratio to improve low-end acceleration and was rated at towing capacity. A body-color aluminum tonneau cover with an aerodynamic spoiler came standard on the Quad Cab. The Quad Cab was only offered with a 4-speed automatic transmission, a 48RE borrowed from the Ram Heavy Duty with the Cummins ISB turbo diesel. The 48RE was rated to handle up to of torque.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: Dodge released several limited editions of the Ram SRT-10 alongside the standard regular cab and Quad Cab versions.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: The first SRT-10 was produced November 10, 2003. Ram SRT-10 production ended after the 2006 model year Total production for the 2004 Dodge Ram SRT-10 was 3,057. For 2005, the total production was 5,113 and the 2006 total production was 1,973. Over the 3-year lifespan of this truck, 10,046 Dodge Ram SRT-10s were manufactured.


title: Dodge Ram SRT-10

text: In July 2004, a Dodge Ram SRT-10, driven by NASCAR driver Brendan Gaughan set both the Guinness World Record and Sports Car Club of America's record for the world's fastest production truck with an average speed of .


title: Clonus

text: Clonus is a set of involuntary and rhythmic muscular contractions and relaxations. Clonus is a sign of certain neurological conditions, particularly associated with upper motor neuron lesions involving descending motor pathways, and in many cases is accompanied by spasticity (another form of hyperexcitability). Unlike small spontaneous twitches known as fasciculations (usually caused by lower motor neuron pathology), clonus causes large motions that are usually initiated by a reflex. Studies have shown clonus beat frequency to range from three to eight Hz on average, and may last a few seconds to several minutes depending on the patient’s condition.


title: Clonus

text: Clonus is most commonly found at the ankle, specifically with a dorsiflexion/plantarflexion movement (up and down). Some case studies have also reported clonus in the finger, toe, and laterally in the ankle (as opposed to the typical up and down motion).


title: Clonus

text: Clonus is typically seen in people with cerebral palsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord damage and hepatic encephalopathy. It can occur in epilepsy as part of a generalized tonic–clonic seizure, and in pregnant women presenting with severe pre-eclampsia and eclampsia. It can also be an adverse drug reaction, such as after ingestion of potent serotonergic drugs, where clonus strongly predicts imminent serotonin toxicity (serotonin syndrome).


title: Clonus

text: The self re-excitation of hyperactive stretch reflexes theory involves a repetitive contract-relax cycle in the affected muscle, which creates oscillatory movements in the affected limb. In order for self re-excitation to exist, both an increase in motor neuron excitability and nerve signal delay are required. Increased motor neuron excitability is likely accomplished by alterations to the net inhibition of neurons occurring as a result of injury to the central nervous system (CNS) (stroke/ spinal cord injury). This lack of inhibition biases neurons to a net excitatory state, therefore increasing total signal conduction. Signaling delay is present due to an increased nerve conduction time. Long delays are primarily due to long reflex pathways, which are common in distal joints and muscles. This may therefore explain why clonus is typically found in distal structures like the ankle. Frequency of clonus beats have been found to be directly proportional to the length of the reflex pathway it is found in.


title: Clonus

text: Clonus, with respect to the presence of a central oscillator, functions on the theory that when the central oscillator is turned on by a peripheral event, it will continue to rhythmically excite motor neurons, therefore creating clonus.


title: Clonus

text: Although the two proposed mechanisms are very different in [theory] and are still debated, some studies now propose the potential of both mechanisms co-existing to create clonus. It is thought that the stretch reflex pathway may be stimulated first, and through its events, cause a decreased synaptic current threshold. This decreased synaptic current threshold would enhance motor neuron excitability as nerve impulses would be more readily conducted, and thus turn on this central oscillator. This theory is still being investigated.


title: Clonus

text: Clonus tends to co-exist with spasticity in many cases of stroke and spinal cord injury likely due to their common physiological origins. Some consider clonus as simply an extended outcome of spasticity. Although closely linked, clonus is not seen in all patients with spasticity. Clonus tends to not be present with spasticity in patients with significantly increased muscle tone, as the muscles are constantly active and therefore not engaging in the characteristic on/off cycle of clonus.


title: Clonus

text: Clonus results due to an increased motor neuron excitation (decreased action potential threshold) and is common in muscles with long conduction delays, such as the long reflex tracts found in distal muscle groups. Clonus is commonly seen in the ankle but may exist in other distal structures as well.


title: Clonus

text: Clonus at the ankle is tested by rapidly flexing the foot into dorsiflexion (upward), inducing a stretch to the gastrocnemius muscle. Subsequent beating of the foot will result, however only a sustained clonus (5 beats or more) is considered abnormal. Clonus can also be tested in the knees by rapidly pushing the patella (knee cap), towards the toes.


title: Aerojet Rocketdyne

text: Aerojet Rocketdyne is an American manufacturer of rocket, hypersonic, and electric propulsive systems for space, defense, civil and commercial applications. Headquartered in Sacramento, California, the company is owned by Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings. Aerojet Rocketdyne was formed in 2013 when Aerojet (then owned by GenCorp) and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne were merged, following the latter's acquisition by GenCorp from Pratt & Whitney. On April 27, 2015, the name of the holding company, GenCorp, was changed from "GenCorp, Inc." to "Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc".


title: Aerojet Rocketdyne

text: Lockheed Martin announced plans to take over Aerojet Rocketdyne on December 20, 2020 as part of a $4.4 billion acquisition; however this was abandoned by Lockheed on February 13, 2022 after opposition from Raytheon led the FTC to move to block the acquisition.


title: Aerojet Rocketdyne

text: On 13 October 2017, it was reported that Aerojet Rocketdyne completed a keystone demonstration on a new X3 ion thruster, which is a central part of the XR-100 system for the NextSTEP program. The X3 ion thruster was designed by the University of Michigan and is being developed in partnership with the University of Michigan, NASA, and the Air Force. The X3 is a Hall-effect thruster operating at over 100 kW of power. During the demonstration, it broke records for the maximum power output, thrust and operating current achieved by a Hall thruster to date. It operated at a range of power from 5 kW to 102 kW, with electrical current of up to 260 amperes. It generated 5.4 Newtons of thrust, "which is the highest level of thrust achieved by any plasma thruster to date." A novelty in its design is that it incorporates three plasma channels, each a few centimeters deep, nested around one another in concentric rings. The system is and almost one meter in diameter.


title: Aerojet Rocketdyne

text: Aerojet Rocketdyne is the prime contractor to the US Department of Energy for the Multi-mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator. The first flight MMRTG is currently powering the Mars Curiosity Rover, and a second flight unit powers the Perseverance Rover.


title: Bo (dog)

text: Bo (October 9, 2008 – May 8, 2021) was a pet dog of the Obama family, the first family of the United States from 2009 until 2017. President Barack Obama and his family were given the male Portuguese Water Dog as a gift after months of speculation about the breed and identity of their future pet. The final choice was made in part because elder daughter Malia's allergies dictated a need for a hypoallergenic breed. Bo was occasionally called "First Dog". In August 2013, Bo was joined by Sunny, a female dog of the same breed.


title: Bo (dog)

text: Bo was named by sisters Malia and Sasha after their cousins' cat, First Lady Michelle Obama's father, and as a reference to the R&B musician Bo Diddley. Bo's name was also Barack Obama's initials.


title: Bo (dog)

text: The Portuguese Water Dog is originally from the Algarve region of Portugal. Only 48 Portuguese Water Dogs were entered for Britain's Crufts competition in the year 2009 and the author of "The New Complete Portuguese Water Dog", Kitty Braund, believes there are about 50,000 in North America. Due to its fleecy coat of minimally shedding hair, the Portuguese Water Dog is considered a hypoallergenic dog breed.


title: Bo (dog)

text: Bred by Martha and Art Stern of Amigo Portuguese Water Dogs in Boyd, Texas, Bo was a son of Watson—of the Rader family in Pittsburgh's Ambridge suburb—and Penny, belonging to Art and Martha Stern. One of Bo's nine litter mates was Senator Ted Kennedy's dog named Cappy (Amigo's Captain Courageous); the litter was named "Hope and Change", in honor of Obama's victory.


title: Bo (dog)

text: Bo's original buyer is unknown, but eventually they returned him to the Stern family; purchasing Bo required signing a contract to return him to his breeder if things did not work out. Bo enrolled with Kennedy's obedience trainer Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz in Hume, Virginia on January 5, 2009.


title: Bo (dog)

text: At his first press conference as President-elect, Obama was questioned by reporters as to which breed the family was looking to acquire; he replied, "We have two criteria that have to be reconciled. One is that Malia is allergic, so it has to be hypoallergenic. There are a number of breeds that are hypoallergenic. On the other hand, our preference would be to get a shelter dog, but, obviously, a lot of shelter dogs are mutts like me. So—so whether we're going to be able to balance those two things, I think, is a pressing issue on the Obama household."


title: Bo (dog)

text: George Stephanopoulos asked Obama on television in early January what kind of dog they would get, and when, saying that he was passing on a question from Obama's daughters who were sitting in the control room. Obama said "They seem to have narrowed it down to a labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound ... medium-sized dog, and so, we're now going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up." Much was made by the public and press about the family's search for a dog. On April 12, 2009, it was announced that the Obamas would soon accept a six-month-old Portuguese Water Dog puppy as a gift from Senator Kennedy. The dog was reported to have visited the family some weeks earlier in a secret meeting to gauge compatibility and purportedly referred to by staffers as "The Meeting". However, the gift was not accepted until the dog officially arrived and moved in at the White House on Tuesday, April 14, 2009. Immediately after he arrived, the family staged a photo op with Bo on the property's South Lawn. At the conference, Obama was asked if he would allow Bo inside the Oval Office, to which he responded: "of course." He also gave a nod to President Harry Truman's quote "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog." The White House website was later updated to include official pictures and biographical details of Bo.


title: Bo (dog)

text: Listed by the name "Amigo's New Hope" with American Kennel Club's breed registry and given the name "Charlie" by his original owners, the puppy received his name from President Obama's two daughters, Malia and Sasha, in part after their cousins' cat and Michelle Obama's father's nickname Diddley; the dog is a namesake of singer Bo Diddley.


title: Bo (dog)

text: In June 2009, the White House released a baseball card for Bo with his new official portrait on one side and tongue-in-cheek statistics on the other; information included the facts that Bo's favorite food is tomatoes and that he does not yet know how to swim. The card was available by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the White House.


title: Bo (dog)

text: According to financial disclosure forms released by President Obama in 2010, Bo was purchased for $1,600 ().


title: Bo (dog)

text: As of August 2012, Bo was on a diet, though no other details were released (it was announced by the President during the Kids' State Dinner, where children from the states and territories who had won a contest to design healthy, appealing meals had lunch at the White House).


title: Bo (dog)

text: The Obamas had voiced a strong desire to adopt a shelter dog, but made no firm commitments. In Summer 2008, Best Friends Animal Society, an animal welfare organization, gathered 50,000 signatures on a petition asking the family to adopt a shelter animal.


title: Bo (dog)

text: Bo was a gift through a breeder, not a shelter dog. Dog expert César Millán stated Bo could be considered part of a larger group known as "rescue dogs". He was unsuccessful in his first home when plans for him to provide companionship to an older female dog went awry; apparently his attempts to suckle irritated her. The Obamas pledged a donation to the DC Humane Society in a show of support for shelter dogs.


title: Bo (dog)

text: The Humane Society of the United States released a statement thanking the Obamas "for taking in a second-chance dog," but discouraged employing breeders.


title: Bo (dog)

text: "The Washington Post"s Manuel Roig-Franzia, granted exclusive access to Bo for his debut in print, described the puppy: "Bo's a handsome little guy. Well suited for formal occasions at the White House, he's got tuxedo-black fur, with a white chest, white paws and a rakish white goatee."


title: Bo (dog)

text: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) described the family's choice to accept the gift of a puppy from a family friend as "disquieting" and publicly urged Obama to have Bo neutered, despite the dog having been neutered before the Obamas received him.


title: Bo (dog)

text: In anticipation of increased interest in the breed, the Portuguese Water Dog Club of America issued a statement requesting that members of the public considering obtaining the dogs "ensure that this breed fits their lifestyle", advising that the dogs' needs preclude their being left alone for long periods or boarded in kennels.


title: Bo (dog)

text: Immediately upon Bo joining the First Family, four children's books and a plush toy depicting him were slated for publication or manufacture.


title: Bo (dog)

text: On July 17, 2009, Ben Greenman, writing in "The New York Times" as Bo, reflected on his first hundred days in office.


title: Bo (dog)

text: In the final episode of the History Channel's "Life After People", aired March 16, 2010, the producers imagined what life would be like for Bo after the disappearance of humanity. This program speculated that he would leave the White House, and live off seafood from the Chesapeake Bay.


title: Bo (dog)

text: Bo appeared in the comic book "Lockjaw and the Pet Avengers" and on the television shows "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and "Ellen". On Meyers' show, Bo was the subject of a "Barney Cam" parody in which he is shown to be shamelessly manipulating White House staffers and guests (such as by finding and planting classified information in the bag of a speechwriter who refused to give him treats).


title: Bo (dog)

text: On January 8, 2016, a man named Scott Stockert from Dickinson, North Dakota was arrested for allegedly trying to kidnap Bo after United States Secret Service Agents discovered a 12 gauge pump action shotgun and a bolt action .22 caliber rifle on the back of his pickup truck.


title: Bo (dog)

text: On May 8, 2021, the Obama family confirmed that Bo had died of cancer in Washington, D.C. at the age of 12.


title: Maurice Benard

text: Maurice Benard (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor. In 1993, he was cast as Sonny Corinthos on the ABC soap opera "General Hospital".


title: Maurice Benard

text: Benard was born Mauricio José Morales in Martinez, California, the son of Martha, a bank employee, and Humberto Morales, a bakery superintendent. He grew up in San Francisco, California, and is of Nicaraguan ancestry.


title: Maurice Benard

text: He then began appearing on "General Hospital", a daytime soap opera on ABC. His role on the show was the fictionalized Sonny Corinthos, a manic depressive mobster King pin. His first air date on "GH" was August 13, 1993. Benard has been nominated for several Daytime Emmy awards for his role of Sonny Corinthos,winning Outstanding Lead Actor in 2003, 2019, and 2021, as well as winning three Soap Opera Digest Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1996, 2003, and 2005.


title: Maurice Benard

text: In addition to guest spots on several television series during the early 1990s, Benard appeared in television movies including the CBS television movie "" (1991), in which he portrayed Desi Arnaz. He also starred in the independent film "The Ghost and the Whale", executive produced by his wife Paula.


title: Maurice Benard

text: Benard married Paula Smith on August 11, 1990. They have four children: three daughters and one son. He and his wife adopted his wife's younger sister Heather, after their mother's death.


title: Maurice Benard

text: Benard was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 22. He has become a spokesperson for treatment of the disorder with Mental Health America. He made the decision to have the "General Hospital" writers make his character, Sonny Corinthos, also have the disorder. Many of the struggles he faces on the show due to the disorder are ones he faced in his own life. Much praise has been given to the show for the realistic depiction.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada () is a 2016 Indian Tamil-language romantic action thriller film written and directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon. The film stars Silambarasan and Manjima Mohan, while Baba Sehgal plays the role of a corrupt cop. The film revolves around a youngster who embarks on a road trip with his lady-love during which he meets with an accident which causes things to get out of control.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: Principal photography commenced in November 2013, however, in June 2014, filming schedules were postponed until Menon completed his other project "Yennai Arindhaal (2015)" with Ajith Kumar. Filming recommenced on 21 February 2015, majority of shooting was done in Chennai, India. The film features film score and soundtrack album composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Thamarai. It was simultaneously made in Telugu as "Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo" with Naga Chaitanya replacing Silambarasan and Manjima Mohan in the same role. This film's title is based on a song from "Mannathi Mannan" (1960).


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: The protagonist, whose name is not mentioned, is revealed to be a care free MBA student and bike enthusiast, accompanied by his close friends Mahesh, Shyam, Srikanth and "Auto" Selvam. He has two sisters and two love stories that revolved around him in the past, one is Sukanya, and the other, Mallika. He now considers his new bike, "Thunderbird", as his first love ever. However, he meets and falls in love with Leela, a friend of his sister, Maythrie, who stays in his house to complete her studies. He plans a long road trip in his bike to Kanyakumari along with his friend Mahesh, but he ditches his friend in the last minute and is accompanied by Leela instead.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: They head to Kanyakumari via Salem, Palakkad, and Trivandrum. The protagonist also humorously finds out about Leela's gluttony, over food. On the trip, they go to a village and stay for a night, where they are taken care by a kind-hearted villager. The next day, they reach Kanyakumari and see the sunrise. During the course of the trip, Leela falls for him. After the trip, he agrees to drop her at her home, in Kolhapur. On their way to Maharashtra, they meet with a road accident. The protagonist injures his shoulder and proposes to her, before fainting, as if he was about to die. The next day he wakes up to find himself in a hospital. He feels that something is wrong after phoning Leela.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: The same day, Leela's parents are attacked by some unknown assailants. The protagonist and his friend, Mahesh, visit the hospital that Leela and her parents are in. The three of them discover that Leela was the target of the attack. The protagonist decides to save Leela. But they encounter a corrupt cop, Kamath, who, with a help of a gangster, Hiren, kill Leela's parents. Unfortunately, Mahesh is also killed in the incident. The protagonist is devastated by this and vows to avenge Mahesh and Leela's parents's death at any cost. Leela and the protagonist go into hiding, where Kamath tries to trace them out, even in Mahesh's funeral. Kamath finally reaches his house, in Chennai, where another friend of the protagonist, poses as the owner of his bike, with fake proof.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: Deceived, Kamath returns to Maharashtra. Two years later, Kamath is preparing to receive his new superior police officer, in Kolhapur. The new officer is none other than the protagonist himself; he is now the new DCP of Kolhapur, who went into a self-imposed exile, studied for the UPSC exam, and chose IPS, despite being eligible for IAS, to fulfill his vengeance. Finally, his name is revealed to be 'Rajinikanth Muralitharan'. He also reveals the reason behind hiding his name so far; his mother, being a big fan of Rajinikanth, without any hesitations, named him so, as soon as he was born. Whenever anybody came to know of his name, they would look at him for an extra few seconds, which is why, he seldom states his name to others.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: Rajini then reveals that he has unravelled what happened two years ago to Kamath. Leela's biological father, Nathuram Dubey, is a politician in Maharashtra, and the candidate for Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He planned to kill Leela as she was his illegitimate daughter and thus, a danger to his political ambitions. Kamath, with the help of Hiren, executed his plan. Rajini discovered that Leela's actual mother, Anamika, knew of the incident. After his probation, Rajini devised a plan to eliminate everyone involved in the scheme. Nathuram is arrested and brought into the station. Kamath, defeated, tries to kill Rajini, but accidentally shoots Nathuram. Finally, Rajini assassinates Kamath, in self-defense, avenging Mahesh' and Leela's parents' deaths. He gets a vacation, based on personal trauma, and returns home. He picks up Leela from the village they stayed in, on their way to Kanyakumari. Later, they both go on a bike trip to Kanyakumari, again, only for Rajini to propose to Leela.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: After the success of "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa", Gautham Vasudev Menon narrated the script to Vijay along with "Yohan Adhayam Ondru" script as the actor felt it wouldn't suit his image and for the audience. Menon announced in October 2013 that he would produce and direct a film featuring Simbu in the lead role after the following success of "Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa".


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: In an interview with the Bangalore Mirror, Menon stated that the film was originally titled "Sattendru Maarathu Vaanilai" and described the film as one which starts as a "love story" and then enters a "violent / action space". Menon outlined the storyline of the film, stating, "It is the story of a happy-go-lucky guy (played by Silambarasan) who is looking to do normal things in life but then, a situation is thrown at him and it changes everything", adding that the story is inspired by the scene in the film "The Godfather" where a bruised Michael Corleone plots revenge against the corrupt policeman McCluskey. Menon had previously portrayed cops as heroes but in this film, he revealed that the cop was the antagonist. When he was writing the second half of the film, he ensured not to watch films in the other genre. In December 2013, A. R. Rahman was officially confirmed to compose the songs, while Dan Macarthur was confirmed as the film's cinematographer. Baba Sehgal was chosen to portray a negative role as a cop.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: While the team was still in the process of casting a female lead opposite Silambarasan, principal photography began in mid-November 2013 with a ten-day schedule in Adyar, Chennai, with scenes featuring Silambarasan and Sathish Krishnan were shot. Later, filming continued for ten days with Pallavi Subhash as the female lead. Further, the shooting progressed during the nights, in and around Kalakshetra and Thiruvanmiyur. A second schedule began in early December 2013 featuring scenes with the lead cast in urban Chennai. The film was shot for thirty days and was put on hold until Menon completed filming "Yennai Arindhaal" (2015).


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: In 2015, Pallavi Subhash could not allot bulk dates to the film and was replaced by Former Malayalam Baby Artist Manjima Mohan, as Female lead. She was cast after actor Vineeth Srinivasan made Menon watch the trailer of "Oru Vadakkan Selfie" and then Manjima was auditioned and selected for the role. Filming began from 21 February 2015, re-shooting all previous scenes with Manjima Mohan. By September 2015, four songs were filmed and the team was left with 20 days of work. By November 2015, ninety percent of the filming was completed. The next schedule comprised 30 allotted days. On 17 February 2016, the climax portions were being filmed in Adyar, Chennai. However, a stunt made Silambarasan suffer facial injuries, postponing the filming schedules.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: A. R. Rahman's inclusion in the project was confirmed by December 2013, marking his second collaboration with Silambarasan and Gautham Menon after their critically acclaimed Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa soundtrack. As per the urgency of shooting, a single track with lyrics penned by Madhan Karky was recorded within three hours by the composer at his studio in Los Angeles. Recording of the songs recommenced from February 2015. By September 2015, recording of all the five tracks by A. R. Rahman was completed. For the sixth track, Rahman was yet to see the film and score it, which was later on added as the theme music. The soundtrack album has five songs, all placed in the first half of the film.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: The first single, "Thalli Pogathey", was released on 23 January 2016, and became popular among listeners, as the lyric video of the song crossed 20 million views. The second single, "Rasaali", was released on 2 June 2016, followed by the third single track "Showkali", on 10 August. The full album was exclusively launched in iTunes on 9 September 2016. A month later, the album was released digitally on 7 October 2016, and a physical release on 10 October 2016.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: The album received highly positive reviews from critics and audiences. Sharanya CR from The Times of India rated 4 out of 5, stating that "This one's not just for Rahmaniacs, but for all the music lovers, too" Behindwoods rated the album 3.5 out of 5, stating that "Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada is an apt album from the creative combination of AR Rahman - Gautham Menon. This duo never disappoints!" Sify rated the album 4 out of 5, viewing that "‘Acham Yenbathu Madamaiyada’ has AR Rahman in scintillating form with 5 masterpiece songs. GVM's success ratio with his music composers is intact, and the album is bound to be renowned for the quality of lyrics it has produced. This album works instantly & one doesn't need the excuse ‘Rahman songs are slow burners’ here. It is so refreshing to see a Rahman album being uncomplicated and work in the first instance!"


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: The film was initially titled "Sattendru Maaruthu Vaanilai" in December 2013. The title refers to lyrics of the song "Nenjukkul Peidhidum", from Menon's 2008 film "Vaaranam Aayiram". However, the title could not be retained as the producers K. Ethiraj and Dr. Saravanan completed a different film with the same title which was censored and tax exempted. A fifty-second teaser of Menon's film that was released on 3 February 2014. However, in February 2015, the title was revealed as "Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada".


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: The teaser was released on 29 August 2015. The first trailer was released on 31 December 2015. The film was released on 11 November 2016.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: It earned 3.65 crore on the first day. In the next two days, the movie added a close to 7 crore to take its first-weekend tally to 10.10 crore. It has to be noted that the major chunk of the business have come from Chennai and Chengalpet regions. AYM collected 25.60 crore total after the first week of release.


title: Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada

text: The song "Thalli Pogathey" was parodied by Rajendran and Kovai Sarala in "Anbanavan Asaradhavan Adangadhavan" (2017) also starring Silambarasan. In the film Idhu Namma Aalu starring Silambarasan featured the song "Thalli Pogathey" as the Ringtone of the phone for Simbu's character. The line "Yeno Vaanilai Maaruthey" from the song "Thalli Pogathey" inspired a short film of the same name. The song "Thalli Pogathey" inspired a film of the same name. The film Putham Pudhu Kaalai has a segment story called 'Avalum Naanum' directed by Gautham Menon, which is after the song Avalum Naanum.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The siege of the International Legations occurred in 1900 in Peking, the capital of the Qing Empire, during the Boxer Rebellion. Menaced by the Boxers; an anti-Christian anti-foreign peasant movement, 900 soldiers, sailors, marines, and civilians, largely from Europe, Japan, and the United States, and about 2,800 Chinese Christians took refuge in the Peking Legation Quarter. The Qing government took the side of the Boxers after the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Tianjin at the Battle of the Taku Forts (1900), without a formal declaration of war. The foreigners and Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter survived a 55-day siege by the Qing Army and Boxers. The siege was broken by an international military force, which marched from the coast of China, defeated the Qing Army, and occupied Peking (now known as Beijing). The siege was called by the "New York Sun" "the most exciting episode ever known to civilization."


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The Legation Quarter was approximately long and wide. It was located in the area of the city designated by the Qing government for foreign legations. In 1900, there were eleven legations located in the quarter as well as a number of foreign businesses and banks. Ethnic Chinese-occupied houses and businesses were also scattered about the quarter. The twelve or so Christian missionary organizations in Beijing were not located in the Legation Quarter, but rather dispersed around the city. In total, about 500 citizens of Western countries and Japan resided in the city. The northern side of the Legation quarter was near the Imperial City where the Empress Dowager Cixi resided. The massive Tartar Wall which ringed the entire city of Beijing bordered the south. The eastern and western sides of the Legation Quarter were major streets.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: By 1900, foreign powers had been chipping away at Chinese sovereignty for over six decades. After Chinese defeats in the Opium Wars and Tonquin War, the Qing government was forced to sign several "unequal treaties" with the Western powers, granting them the right to free trade in the previously isolationist nation along with extraterritoriality for subjects of Western nations. Japan obtained similar privileges after its victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. Anti-Japanese and anti-Western sentiments helped lead to the formation of the "Yihetuan", whose stated goal was to drive foreigners and foreign influence (including Christianity) out of China.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: Authorities differ as to the origin of the Boxers, but they became prominent in Shantung (Shandong) in 1898 and spread northward toward Beijing. They were an indigenous peasant movement, related to the secret societies that had flourished in China for centuries and that had, on occasion, threatened Chinese central governments. The Boxers were named—probably by American missionary Arthur H. Smith—for their acrobatic rituals which included martial arts, twirling swords, prayers and incantations.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The Boxers believed that with the proper ritual they would become invulnerable to Western bullets. The religious and magical practices of the Boxers had "as a paramount goal the affording of protection and emotional security in the face of a future... that was fraught with danger and risk." The Boxers had no central organization but appear to have been organized on the village level. They were anti-foreign and anti-missionary. Their slogan was "Support the Qing! Destroy the Foreigner!". Initially feared as a possible threat by the Chinese government, they slowly gained the support of influential politicians in Beijing, who saw the Boxers as a movement that could be used to eliminate foreign influence in China.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: In early 1900 the Boxer movement spread rapidly north from Shandong into the countryside near Beijing. Boxers burned Christian churches, murdered Chinese Christians and intimidated Chinese officials who stood in their way. Two missionaries, Protestant William Scott Ament and Catholic Bishop Favier, reported to the diplomatic ministers (Ambassadors) about the growing threat. American Minister Edwin H. Conger cabled Washington, "The whole country is swarming with hungry, discontented, hopeless idlers." Requesting a warship to be stationed offshore of Tianjin, the nearest port to Beijing, he reported, "Situation becoming serious." On May 30, the diplomats, led by British Minister Claude Maxwell MacDonald, requested that foreign soldiers come to Beijing to defend the legations and the citizens of their countries. The Chinese government reluctantly acquiesced, and the next day more than 400 soldiers from eight countries disembarked from warships and traveled by train to Beijing from Tianjin. They set up defensive perimeters around their respective missions.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: On June5 the Boxers cut the railroad line to Tianjin and Beijing became isolated from other foreign settlements. On June11 a Japanese diplomat, Sugiyama Akira, was murdered by soldiers of Gen. Dong Fuxiang and the next day the first Boxer, dressed in his finery, was seen in the Legation Quarter. The German Minister, Clemens von Ketteler, and German soldiers captured another Boxer. In response, that afternoon thousands of Boxers burst into the walled city of Beijing and burned most of the Christian churches and cathedrals in the city, murdering many Chinese Christians and several Catholic priests. The Boxers accused Chinese Christians of collaborating with the foreigners. American and British missionaries and their converts took refuge in the Methodist Mission and American marines repulsed an attack there by the Boxers. Soldiers at the British embassy and German legations shot and killed several Boxers.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: In mid-June the Chinese government was still indecisive about the Boxers. Some officials—Ronglu, for example—counseled the Empress Dowager that the Boxers were "rabble" who would be easily defeated by foreign soldiers. On the other side of the question were anti-foreign officials who advised cooperation with the Boxers. "The Court appears to be in a dilemma," said Sir Robert Hart. "If the Boxers are not suppressed, the Legations threaten to take action—if the attempt to suppress them is made, this intensely patriotic organization will be converted into an anti-dynastic movement." The event that irrevocably pushed the Chinese government to the side of the Boxers was the attack by foreign warships on the Taku Forts on June 17. The attack was made to try to maintain communications with Tianjin and aid an army under the command of Adm. Edward Seymour in its attempt to march to Beijing during the Seymour Expedition and reinforce the Legations.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: On June 19 the Empress Dowager sent a diplomatic note to each of the legations in Beijing informing them of the attack on Dagu and ordering all foreigners to depart Beijing for Tianjin within 24 hours. Otherwise, said the note, "China will find it a difficult matter to give complete protection." Upon receipt of the note, the diplomats convened and agreed it would be suicidal to leave the Legation Quarter and travel to the coast in an unfriendly countryside. The next morning, June 20, Baron von Ketteler, the German Minister, proposed to take up the matter with the Zongli Yamen, the Chinese Foreign Ministry, but he was murdered by a Manchu officer, Capt. En Hai of the Hushenying, while en route to the meeting. With this, the Ministers informed all their citizens in Beijing to take refuge in the Legation Quarter. Thus began the 55-day siege.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The British, American, French, German, Japanese, and Russian military guards each took responsibility for the defense of their respective legations. The Austrians and Italians abandoned their isolated legations. The Austrians joined the French and the Italians collaborated with the Japanese. The Japanese and Italian force established defense lines in the Fu – a large mansion and park where most of the estimated 2,812 Chinese Christians taking refuge were housed. The American and German Marines held positions on the Tartar Wall behind their legations. The 409 foreign soldiers had the job of defending a line that snaked through of urban terrain. The great majority of foreign civilians took refuge in the British Embassy, the largest and most defensible of the International Legations despite the burning of Peking University in an effort to damage the British Legation, which was only a few feet away. A census of civilians counted 473 foreign civilians in the Legation Quarter: 245 men, 149 women, and 79 children. About 150 of the men volunteered to participate, to a greater or lesser extent, in the defense. The civilians included at least 19 nationalities of which British and Americans were the most numerous. Large numbers of Chinese Christians were conscripted for labor, especially for building barricades.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The British Minister Claude MacDonald was selected as the commander of the defense and Herbert G. Squiers, an American diplomat, became his chief of staff. The guards of the different countries, however, operated semi-independently and MacDonald could only suggest, not order, coordinated action. The guards were not well armed. Only the American Marines had sufficient ammunition. The defenders had three machine guns. The Italians had a small cannon. An old cannon barrel was found in the Legation Quarter and from it a serviceable artillery piece was constructed that the Americans called "Betsy" and others called "the International".


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The foreigners ransacked the Legation Quarter for food and other supplies. Food and water were adequate, although the foreigners without private food stocks subsisted on a steady diet of horsemeat and musty rice. However, the Chinese Christians, especially the Catholics, had a much harder time of it and by the end of the siege were starving. The Protestant missionaries took care of their converts, but the Chinese Catholics were mostly neglected. Medical supplies were scarce but a sizeable number of doctors and nurses, mostly missionaries, were present.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: American missionaries took over management of most necessities for life in the Legation Quarter, including food, water, sanitation, and health. MacDonald appointed Methodist Missionary Frank Gamewell as chief of the Fortifications Committee. Gamewell and his crew of "fighting parsons" were acclaimed for their defensive works surrounding the British Legation.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: About three miles distant from the Legation Quarter a similar siege took place at the Beitang or North Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church. 33 priests and nuns, 43 French and Italian soldiers, and more than 3,000 Chinese Christians held off the Chinese army and Boxers. There was no communication during the siege between the Beitang and the Legation Quarter. In addition to Boxers, the cathedral was also attacked by Metropolitan Banner Manchus. Manchu Prince Zaiyi's Manchu bannermen in the Tiger and Divine Corps led attacks against the Catholic cathedral church. Manchu official Qixiu 啟秀 also led attacks against the cathedral.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: For several days after June 20—the official beginning of the siege—neither the foreigners inside the Legation Quarter nor the Chinese soldiers outside it had any coherent plan for defense or attack. The number of Chinese soldiers ringing the legations is uncertain, but numbered in the thousands. On the west were the Gansu Muslim soldiers of Dong Fuxiang and on the east were units of the Peking Field Army. The overall commander of the Chinese forces was Ronglu—who was anti-Boxer and disapproved of the siege. Chinese policy equivocated between belligerence and conciliation during the 55-day siege. Several attempts by Ronglu to effect a cease-fire failed because of suspicions and misunderstandings on both sides.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The Chinese first attempted to massacre the foreigners in the Legation Quarter by using fire. For several days at the beginning of the siege they set fires in the buildings around the British Legation. On June 23, most of the buildings of the Hanlin Academy, the national library of China, and its books, many irreplaceable, burned. Both sides blamed the other for its destruction. The Chinese Army then turned its attention to the Fu, the refuge for most of the Chinese Christians, and the domain of Lt. Col. Goro Shiba, the most admired military officer in the siege. Shiba, with his small group of Japanese soldiers, mounted a skillful defense against the Chinese who advanced behind walls built ever-closer to the Japanese, threatening to surround them in a vise-like grip. British soldiers were often detailed to reinforce the Japanese during attacks and all admired Shiba's work. The most desperate fighting took place near the French Legation, where 78 French and Austrians and 17 volunteers were under assault in convoluted urban terrain, in which the front lines were only from each other. The French also feared that Chinese sappers were digging tunnels for mines beneath their positions.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The Germans and the Americans occupied perhaps the most crucial of all defensive positions: the Tartar Wall. Holding the top of the tall and wide Wall was vital. If it fell to the Chinese, they would have an unobstructed field of fire into the Legation Quarter. The German barricades faced east on top of the wall and west were the west-facing American positions. The Chinese advanced toward both positions by building barricades ever-closer. It was a claustrophobic existence for the soldiers on the wall. "The men all feel they are in a trap," said the American commander, Capt. John T. Myers, "and simply await the hour of execution." Added to the daily advances of the Chinese were the nightly serenades of rifle and artillery fire and firecrackers designed to keep the foreigners awake and alert. "From June 20 to July 17 we had nightly attacks," said a missionary woman. American Minister Conger said "that some of them, for furious firing, exceeded anything he experienced in the American Civil War." The hard-pressed Legation guards saw their numbers diminish daily with casualties.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The Chinese were divided on the prosecution of the siege. The anti-Boxer faction, headed by Ronglu, and the anti-foreign faction, headed by Prince Duan, squabbled at the Chinese court. Cixi, the Dowager Empress, vacillated between the two. She declared a truce for negotiations on June 25, but it endured only a few hours. She declared a cease-fire on July 17 which lasted for most of the remainder of the siege. As a sign of good will, she sent food and supplies to the foreigners. The disagreements among the Chinese occasionally resulted in altercations and violence between Boxers and soldiers and between different units of the Imperial army.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The most critical threat to the survival of the foreigners came in early July. On June 30 the Chinese forced the Germans off the Tartar Wall, leaving the American Marines alone in its defense. At the same time a Chinese barricade advanced to within a few feet of the American positions and it became clear that the Americans had to abandon the wall or force the Chinese to retreat. At 2:00 am on July 3 the foreigners launched an assault against the Chinese barricade on the wall with 26 British, 15 Russian and 15 Americans under the command of American Capt. John T. Myers. As hoped, the attack caught the Chinese sleeping; about 20 of them were killed and the survivors expelled from the barricades. Two American Marines were killed and Capt. Myers was wounded and spent the rest of the siege in the hospital. The capture of Chinese positions on the Wall was hailed as the "pivot of our destiny" by one of the besieged. The Chinese did not attempt to regain or advance their positions on the Tartar Wall for the remainder of the siege.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: Sir Claude MacDonald said July 13 was the "most harassing day" of the siege. The Japanese and Italians in the Fu were driven back to their last defense line. While the Fu was under heavy attack, the Chinese detonated a mine beneath the French Legation, destroying most of it, killing two soldiers and pushing the French and Austrians out of most of the French Legation. Frank Gamewell began digging bombproof shelters as a last refuge for the besieged. The end seemed near.


title: Siege of the International Legations

text: The next day, a conciliatory message received from the Chinese raised hopes, but those hopes were dashed on July 16 when the most capable British officer was killed and journalist George Ernest Morrison was wounded. However, American Minister Conger carried on a communication with the Chinese government and on July 17 firing died down on both sides and an armistice began.