title: Darkroom

text: In most darkrooms, an enlarger, an optical apparatus similar to a slide projector, that projects light through the image of a negative onto a base, finely controls the focus, intensity and duration of light, is used for printmaking. A sheet of photographic paper is exposed to the light coming through the negative, resulting in a positive version of the image on the paper.


title: Darkroom

text: When making black-and-white prints, a safelight is commonly used to illuminate the work area. Since the majority of black-and-white papers are sensitive to only blue, or to blue and green light, a red- or amber-colored light can be safely used without exposing the paper.


title: Darkroom

text: Color print paper, being sensitive to all parts of the visible spectrum, must be kept in complete darkness until the prints are properly fixed. A very dim variation of safelight that can be used with certain negative color materials exists, but the light emitted by one is so low that most printers do not use one at all.


title: Darkroom

text: Another use for a darkroom is to load film in and out of cameras, development spools, or film holders, which requires complete darkness. Lacking a darkroom, a photographer can make use of a changing bag, which is a small bag with sleeved arm holes specially designed to be completely light proof and used to prepare film prior to exposure or developing.


title: Darkroom

text: During exposure, values in the image can be adjusted, most often by "dodging" (reducing the amount of light to a specific area of an image by selectively blocking light to it for part or all of the exposure time) and/or "burning" (giving additional exposure to specific area of an image by exposing only it while blocking light to the rest). Filters, usually thin pieces of colored plastic, can be used to increase or decrease an image's contrast (the difference between dark tones and light tones). One method of photographic printing, called "split filter printing," is where the photographer determines two separate exposure times using two separate filters (typically a 0 or 00, and a 5) to create a single print. This method allows the photographer to achieve a broad tonal range, with detailed highlights and rich blacks. After exposure, the photographic printing paper (which still appears blank) is ready to be processed.


title: Darkroom

text: Photographers generally begin printing a roll of film by making a contact print of their negatives to use as a quick reference to decide which images to enlarge. Some large format photographers, such as Edward Weston, make only contact prints of their large (4x5", 5x7", 8x10" or larger) negatives.


title: Darkroom

text: The paper that has been exposed is processed, first by immersion in a photographic developer, halting development with a stop bath, and fixing in a photographic fixer. The print is then washed to remove the processing chemicals and dried. There are a variety of other, additional steps a photographer may take, such as toning.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: The Bolivarian Revolution is a political process in Venezuela that was led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). The Bolivarian Revolution is named after Simón Bolívar, an early 19th-century Venezuelan revolutionary leader, prominent in the Spanish American wars of independence in achieving the independence of most of northern South America from Spanish rule. According to Chávez and other supporters, the Bolivarian Revolution seeks to build an inter-American coalition to implement Bolivarianism, nationalism and a state-led economy.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: On his 57th birthday, while announcing that he was being treated for cancer, Chávez announced that he had changed the slogan of the Bolivarian Revolution from "Motherland, socialism, or death" to "Motherland and socialism. We will live, and we will come out victorious."


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: As of 2018, the vast majority of mayoral and gubernatorial offices are held by PSUV candidates, while the opposition Democratic Unity (MUD) coalition won two thirds of parliamentary seats in 2015. Political hostility between the PSUV and MUD have led to several incidents where both pro-government and opposition demonstrations have turned violent, with an estimated 150 dead as a result in 2017. Several opposition figures have been subject to politically motivated detentions.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Following the death of Chávez in 2013, the revolution has gone into social decline and the political and economic situation in Venezuela has rapidly deteriorated.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Simón Bolívar has left a long lasting imprint on Venezuela's history in particular and South America in general.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: As a military cadet, Hugo Chávez was "a celebrant of the Bolivarian passion story". Chávez relied upon the ideas of Bolívar and on Bolívar as a popular symbol later in his military career as he put together his MBR-200 movement which would become a vehicle for his 1992 coup-attempt. A fall in oil prices in the mid-1980s caused an economic crisis to take hold in Venezuela, and the country had accrued significant levels of debt. Nevertheless, the administration of the left-leaning President Jaime Lusinchi was able to restructure the country's debt repayments and offset an economic crisis but allow for the continuation of the government's policies of social spending and state-sponsored subsidies. Lusinchi's political party, the Democratic Action, was able to remain in power following the 1988 election of Carlos Andrés Pérez as president.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Pérez proposed a major shift in policy by implementing economic reforms recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measures taken by Pérez included privatizing state companies, tax reform, reducing customs duties, and diminishing the role of the state in the economy. He also took measures to decentralize and modernize the Venezuelan political system by the direct election of state governors, who had previously been appointed by the president. The most controversial part of the economic reform package was the reduction of the gasoline subsidies, which had long maintained domestic gasoline prices far beneath international levels and even the production costs. In response to the government's economic reforms and the resulting increase in the price of gasoline and transportation, a wave of protests and riots known as El Caracazo started on 27 February 1989 in Guarenas, spreading to Caracas and surrounding towns. The weeklong clashes resulted in the deaths of hundreds of people, mostly at the hands of security forces and the military.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Chávez and his Fifth Republic Movement party won the 1998 elections and initiated the constituent process that resulted in the Venezuelan Constitution of 1999.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: "Chavismo" policies include nationalization, social welfare programs (Bolivarian missions) and opposition to liberalization reforms (particularly the policies of the IMF and the World Bank). According to Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan socialism accepts private property, but this socialism seeks to promote social property too. "Chavismo" also supports participatory democracy and workplace democracy. In January 2007, Chávez proposed to build the communal state, whose main idea is to build self-government institutions like communal councils, communes and communal cities.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: According to the United States Army Combined Arms Center: A few year after Chávez rose to power in 1999, he began implementing a political-strategic plan he called the 'Bolivarian Revolution,' which threatened Latin American peace. Chávez's plan was characterized by a hostile and confrontational posture toward the United States, actions designed to export Chávez's autocratic, socialist model to other countries of the region, and a foreign policy that embroiled Venezuela in international-level conflicts.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Chávez was seen as a leader of the "pink tide," a turn towards left-wing governments in Latin American democracies. Analysts have pointed out additional anti-American, populist and authoritarian-leaning traits in those governments.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Chávez refocused Venezuelan foreign policy on Latin American economic and social integration by enacting bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements, including his so-called "oil diplomacy", making Venezuela more dependent on using oil (its main commodity) and increasing its longterm vulnerability. Though Chávez inspired other movements in Latin America to follow his model of "chavismo" in an attempt to reshape South America, it was later seen as being erratic and his influence internationally became exaggerated, with the pink tide beginning to subside in 2009.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: The social programs (called "missions" in Venezuela) that came into being during the term of Hugo Chávez sought to reduce social disparities and were funded in large part by oil revenues. The sustainability and design of the welfare programs have been both praised and criticized. Specific examples of social programs are listed below.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Plan Bolívar 2000 was the first of the Bolivarian Missions enacted under of administration of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. According to the United States Department of State, Chávez wanted to "send the message that the military was not a force of popular repression, but rather a force for development and security". The United States State Department also commented that this happened "only 23 days after his inauguration" and that he wanted to show his closest supporters "that he had not forgotten them". The plan involved around 40,000 Venezuelan soldiers engaged in door-to-door anti-poverty activities, including mass vaccinations, food distribution in slum areas and education. Several scandals affected the program as allegations of corruption were formulated against Generals involved in the plan, arguing that significant amounts of money had been diverted.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: The mission was to provide comprehensive publicly funded health care, dental care and sports training to poor and marginalized communities in Venezuela. "Barrio Adentro" featured the construction of thousands of iconic two-story medical clinics—"consultorios" or doctor's offices—as well as staffing with resident certified medical professionals. "Barrio Adentro" constitutes an attempt to deliver a "de facto" form of universal health care, seeking to guarantee access to quality and cradle-to-grave medical attention for all Venezuelan citizens. As of 2006, the staff included 31,439 professionals, technical personnel, and health technicians, of which 15,356 were Cuban doctors and 1,234 Venezuelan doctors. The Latin American branch of the World Health Organization and UNICEF both praised the program. Although positive outcomes have come from the mission, there have been some struggles as well. In July 2007, Douglas León Natera, chairman of the Venezuelan Medical Federation, reported that up to 70% of the modules of Barrio Adentro were either abandoned or were left unfinished. In 2014, residents in Caracas also complained of the service despite large funding from the Venezuelan government.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Mission Habitat's goal is the construction of thousands of new housing units for the poor. The program also seeks to develop agreeable and integrated housing zones that make available a full range of social services—from education to healthcare—which likens its vision to that of New Urbanism. According to Venezuela's "El Universal", one of the Chávez administration's outstanding weaknesses is the failure to meet its goals of construction of housing. Chávez promised to build 150,000 houses in 2006, but in the first half of the year completed only 24 percent of that target, with 35,000 houses.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: The Mission involves a state-run company called Mercados de Alimentos, C.A. (MERCAL), which provides subsidised food and basic goods through a nationwide chain of stores. In 2010 Mercal was reported as having 16,600 outlets, "ranging from street-corner shops to huge warehouse stores", in addition to 6,000 soup kitchens. Mercal employs 85,000 workers. In 2006, some 11.36 million Venezuelans benefited from Mercal food programs on a regular basis. At least 14,208 Mission Mercal food distribution sites were spread throughout Venezuela and 4,543 metric tons of food distributed each day. In recent times, customers who had to wait in long lines for discounted products say that there were a lack of products in Mercal stores and that items available at the stores change constantly. Some customers complained about rationing being enforced at Mercal stores due to the lack of products. In some cases, protests have occurred due to the shortages in stores.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: The program uses volunteers to teach reading, writing and arithmetic to the more than 1.5 million Venezuelan adults who were illiterate prior to Chávez's election to the presidency in 1999. The program is military-civilian in nature and sends soldiers to—among other places—remote and dangerous locales in order to reach the most undereducated, neglected and marginalized adult citizens to give them regular schooling and lessons. On 28 October 2005, Venezuela declared itself a "Territory Free of Illiteracy", having raised in its initial estimates the literacy rate to around 99%, although the statistic was changed to 96%. According to UNESCO standards, a country can be declared "illiteracy-free" if 96% of its population over age 15 can read and write.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: According to Francisco Rodríguez and Daniel Ortega of IESA, there has been "little evidence" of "statistically distinguishable effect on Venezuelan illiteracy". The Venezuelan government claimed that it had taught 1.5 million Venezuelans to read, but the study found that "only 1.1m were illiterate to begin with" and that the illiteracy reduction of less than 100,000 can be attributed to adults that were elderly and died. David Rosnick and Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research responded to these doubts, finding that the data used by Rodríguez and Ortega was too crude a measure since the Household Survey from which it derived was never designed to measure literacy or reading skills and their methods were inappropriate to provide statistical evidence regarding the size of Venezuela's national literacy program. Rodríguez responded to Weisbrot's rebuttal by showing that Weisbrot used biased, distorted data and that the illiteracy argument Weisbrot used showed the exact opposite of what Weisbrot was attempting to convey.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Following the death of Hugo Chávez, his successor Nicolás Maduro faced the consequences of Chávez's policies, with Maduro's approval declining and protests in Venezuela beginning in 2014. The Chávez and Maduro administrations often blamed difficulties that Venezuela faced on foreign intervention in the country's affairs.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: As of 2016, Bolivarian Venezuela suffered from hyperinflation and a dramatic loss of jobs and income (consumer prices rose 800% and the economy contracted by 19% during 2016), widespread hunger (the "Venezuela's Living Conditions Survey" (ENCOVI) found nearly 75% of the population had lost an average of at least 8.7 kg in weight due to a lack of proper nutrition) and a soaring murder rate (90 people per 100,000 had been murdered in Venezuela in 2015 compared to 5 per 100,000 in the United States according to the Observatory of Venezuelan Violence).


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: According to Human Rights Watch To silence critics, the government has conducted widespread arrests and other repression. Since 2014, we have been documenting the violent response of security forces to protests, with beatings and arrests of peaceful demonstrators and even bystanders and torture in detention. The Venezuelan Penal Forum, a nongovernmental group that provides legal assistance to detainees, counts more than 90 people it considers political prisoners.According to the "International Policy Digest", "[t]he Bolivarian revolution is a failure not because its ideals were unachievable but because its leaders were as corrupt as those they decry", with the Bolivarian government relying on oil for its economy, essentially suffering from Dutch disease. As a result of the Bolivarian government's policies, Venezuelans suffered from shortages, inflation, crime and other socioeconomic issues, with many Venezuelans resorting to leave their native country to seek a better life elsewhere.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Following the Bolivarian Revolution, many wealthy Venezuelans have sought residence in other countries. According to "Newsweek", the "Bolivarian diaspora is a reversal of fortune on a massive scale" where the reversal is a comparison to when in the 20th century "Venezuela was a haven for immigrants fleeing Old World repression and intolerance". "El Universal" explains how the "Bolivarian diaspora" in Venezuela has been caused by the "deterioration of both the economy and the social fabric, rampant crime, uncertainty and lack of hope for a change in leadership in the near future."


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: In 1998, the year Chavez was first elected, only 14 Venezuelans were granted asylum in the United States. In just twelve months in September 1999, 1,086 Venezuelans were granted asylum according to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. It has been calculated that from 1998 to 2013 over 1.5 million Venezuelans, between 4% and 6% of the Venezuela's total population, left the country following the Bolivarian Revolution. Many of former Venezuelan citizens studied gave reasons for leaving Venezuela that included lacking of freedom, high levels of insecurity and lacking opportunity in the country. It has also been stated that some parents in Venezuela encourage their children to leave the country in protection of their children due to the insecurities Venezuelans face. This has led to human capital flight occurring in Venezuela.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: In November 2018, UNHCR (the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and the IOM (International Organization for Migration) said the number of refugees had risen to 3 million, most of which had gone to other Latin American countries and the Caribbean.


title: Bolivarian Revolution

text: Bolivarianism was emulated in Bolivia and Ecuador, which experienced crises of political parties. According to a 2017 study, Bolivarianism failed to spread further through Latin America and the Caribbean "in nations where political parties and democratic institutions remained functioning, and where the left and civil society valued democracy, pluralism, and liberal rights due to brutal autocratic experiences". The study also found that "the fear of Bolivarianism also led to a coup against president Zelaya in Honduras".


title: Gender variance

text: Gender variance or gender nonconformity is behavior or gender expression by an individual that does not match masculine or feminine gender norms. A gender-nonconforming person may be variant in their gender identity, being transgender or non-binary, or they may be cisgender. In the case of transgender people, they may be perceived, or perceive themselves as, gender-nonconforming before transitioning, but might not be perceived as such after transitioning. Transgender adults who appear gender-nonconforming after transition are more likely to experience transphobic discrimination.


title: Gender variance

text: People who exhibit gender variance may be called "gender-variant", "gender-nonconforming", "gender-diverse," or "gender-atypical". The terms "gender variance" and "gender-variant" are used by scholars of psychology, psychiatry, anthropology, and gender studies, as well as advocacy groups of gender-variant people themselves. The term "gender-variant" is deliberately broad, encompassing such specific terms as "transsexual", "butch" and "femme", "queen", "sissy", "tomboy", "femboy", "travesti", or "hijra".


title: Gender variance

text: The word "transgender" usually has a narrower meaning and different connotations, including an identification that differs from the gender assigned at birth. GLAAD (formerly the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)'s Media Reference Guide defines "transgender" as an "umbrella term for people whose gender identity or gender expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth." Not all gender-variant people identify as transgender, and not all transgender people identify as gender-variantmany identify simply as men or women. Gender identity is one's internal sense of their own gender; while most people have a gender identity of a boy or a man, or a girl or a woman, gender identity for other people is a more complex experience.


title: Gender variance

text: Furthermore, gender expression is the external manifestation of one's gender identity, usually through "masculine", "feminine", or gender-variant presentation or behavior.


title: Gender variance

text: In Australia, the term "gender-diverse" or, historically, "sex and/or gender-diverse", may be used in place of, or as well as, "transgender". Culturally-specific gender diverse terms include "sistergirls" and "brotherboys", for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Ambiguities about the inclusion or exclusion of intersex people in terminology, such as "sex and/or gender-diverse", led to a decline in use of the terms "sex and/or gender-diverse" and "diverse sexes and genders" (DSG). Current regulations providing for the recognition of trans and other gender identities use terms such as "gender diverse" and "transgender". In July 2013, the Australian National LGBTI Health Alliance produced a guide entitled "Inclusive Language Guide: Respecting people of intersex, trans and gender diverse experience" which clearly distinguishes between different bodily and identity groups.


title: Gender variance

text: Multiple studies have suggested a correlation between children who express gender nonconformity and their eventually coming out as gay, bisexual, or transgender. In multiple studies, a majority of those who identify as gay or lesbian self-report gender nonconformity as children. However, the accuracy of some of these studies have been questioned. The therapeutic community is currently divided on the proper response to childhood gender nonconformity.


title: Gender variance

text: One study suggested that childhood gender nonconformity is heritable. Studies have also been conducted about adults' attitudes towards nonconforming children. There are reportedly no significant generalized effects (with the exception of few outliers) on attitudes towards children who vary in gender traits, interests, and behavior.


title: Gender variance

text: Children who are gender-variant may struggle to conform later in life. As children get older and are not treated for the mismatch between their minds and bodily appearance, this leads to discomfort, and negative self-image and eventually may lead to depression, suicide, or self-doubt. If a child is nonconforming at a very young age, it is important to provide family support for positive impact to family and the child. Children who do not conform prior to age 11 tend to have an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation as a young adult. A 2012 study found that both children who will be heterosexual and children who will have a minority sexual orientation who expressed gender nonconformity before the age of 11 were more likely to experience abuse physically, sexually, and psychologically.


title: Gender variance

text: Roberts et al. (2013) found that of participants in their study aged between 23 and 30, 26% of those who were gender nonconforming experienced some sort of depressive symptoms, versus 18% of those were gender-conforming. Treatment for gender identity disorders (GID; now known as "gender dysphoria") such as gender variance have been a topic of controversy for three decades. In the works of Hill, Carfagnini and Willoughby (2007), Bryant (2004), "suggests that treatment protocols for these children and adolescents, especially those based on converting the child back to a stereotypically gendered youth, make matters worse, causing them to internalize their distress." Treatment for GID in children and adolescents may have negative consequences. Studies suggest that treatment should focus more on helping children and adolescents feel comfortable living with GID. There is a feeling of distress that overwhelms a child or adolescent with GID that gets expressed through gender. Hill et al. (2007) states, "if these youth are distressed by having a condition deemed by society as unwanted, is this evidence of a disorder?" Bartlett and colleagues (2000) note that the problem determining distress is aggravated in GID cases because usually, it is not clear whether distress in the child is due to gender variance or secondary effects (e.g., due to ostracization or stigmatization). Hill et al. (2007) suggests, "a less controversial approach, respectful of increasing gender freedom in our culture and sympathetic to a child's struggle with gender, would be more humane."


title: Gender variance

text: Gender nonconformity among people assigned male at birth is usually more strictly, and sometimes violently, policed in the West than is gender nonconformity among people assigned female at birth. However, a spectrum of types of gender nonconformity exists among boys and men. Some types of gender nonconformity, such as being a stay-at-home father, may pass without comment whereas others, such as wearing lipstick and skirts, may attract stares, criticism, or questioning. Some cultures are more tolerant than others of such differences.


title: Gender variance

text: This is a comparatively recent development in historical terms, because the dress and careers of women used to be more heavily policed, and still are in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia (where they are regulated by the law). The success of second-wave feminism is the chief reason for the freedom of women in the West to wear traditionally-male clothing such as trousers, or to take up traditionally-male occupations such as being a medical doctor, etc. At the other extreme, some Communist regimes such as the Soviet Union made a point of pushing women into traditionally male occupations in order to advance the feminist ideology of the state for example, 58% of Soviet engineers were women in 1980 but this trend went into reverse after the collapse of the Soviet Union.


title: Gender variance

text: Gender nonconforming transgender people in the United States have been demonstrated to have worse overall health outcomes than transgender individuals who identify as men or women.


title: Gender variance

text: Gender norms vary by country and by culture, as well as across historical time periods within cultures. For example, in Pashtun tribes in Afghanistan, adult men frequently hold hands, without being perceived as gay, whereas in the West this behavior would, in most circumstances, be seen as proof of a homosexual relationship. However, in many cultures, behaviors such as crying, an inclination toward caring for and nurturing others in an emotionally open way, an interest in domestic chores other than cooking, and self-grooming can all be seen as aspects of male gender nonconformity. Men who exhibit such tendencies are often stereotyped as gay. Studies found a high incidence of gay males self-reporting gender-atypical behaviors in childhood, such as having little interest in athletics and a preference for playing with dolls. The same study found that mothers of gay males recalled such atypical behavior in their sons with much greater frequency than mothers of heterosexual males.


title: Gender variance

text: For women, adult gender nonconformity is often associated with lesbianism due to the limited identities women are faced with at adulthood. Notions of heterosexual womanhood often require a rejection of physically demanding activities, social submission to a male figure (husband or boyfriend), an interest in reproduction and homemaking, and an interest in making oneself look more attractive for men with appropriate clothing, make-up, hairstyles and body shape.


title: Gender variance

text: Lesbian and bisexual women, being less concerned with attracting men, may find it easier to reject traditional ideas of womanhood because social punishment for such transgression is not effective, or at least no more effective than the consequences of being openly gay or bisexual in a heteronormative society (which they already experience). This may help account for high levels of gender nonconformity self-reported by lesbians.


title: Gender variance

text: Gender theorist Judith Butler, in her essay "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and Feminist Theory", states: "Discrete genders are part of what humanizes individuals within contemporary culture; indeed, those who fail to do their gender right are regularly punished. Because there is neither an 'essence' that gender expresses or externalizes nor an objective ideal to which gender aspires." Butler argues that gender is not an inherent aspect of identity, further stating, "...One might try to reconcile the gendered body as the legacy of sedimented acts rather than a predetermined or foreclosed structure, essence or fact, whether natural, cultural, or linguistic".


title: Gender variance

text: The overwhelming majority of non-binary respondents ... identified as having a sexual minority sexual orientation, which is also consistent with findings from other research. This substantial overlap between non-binary gender and sexual minority status is intriguing and supports the conceptualization that "non-traditional" gender identities (i.e., outside the gender binary) and sexual orientation are distinct yet interrelated constructs.


title: Gender variance

text: Among adults, the wearing of women's clothing by men is often socially stigmatized and fetishized, or viewed as sexually abnormal. However, cross-dressing may be a form of gender expression and is not necessarily related to erotic activity, nor is it indicative of sexual orientation. Other gender-nonconforming men prefer to simply modify and stylise men's clothing as an expression of their interest in appearance and fashion.


title: Gender variance

text: Gender-affirmative practices recognize and support an individual's unique gender self-identification and expression. Gender-affirmative practices are becoming more widely adopted in the mental and physical health fields in response to research showing that clinical practices that encourage individuals to accept a certain gender identity can cause psychological harm. In 2015, the American Psychological Association published gender-affirmative practice guidelines for clinicians working with transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Preliminary research on gender-affirmative practices in the medical and psychological settings has primarily shown positive treatment outcomes. As these practices become more widely used, longer-term studies and studies with larger sample sizes are needed to continue to evaluate these practices.


title: Gender variance

text: Research has shown that youth who receive gender-affirming support from their parents have better mental health outcomes than their peers who do not.


title: Gender variance

text: Gender-affirmative practices emphasize gender health. Gender health is an individual's ability to identify as and express the gender(s) that feels most comfortable without fear of rejection. Gender-affirmative practices are informed by the following premises:


title: Gender variance

text: Mental health practitioners have begun integrating the gender-affirmative model into cognitive behavioral therapy, person-centered therapy, and acceptance and commitment therapy. While taking different approaches, each therapeutic modality may prove beneficial to gender-variant people looking to self-actualize, cope with minority stress, or navigate personal, social, and occupational issues across the lifespan.


title: Gender variance

text: Gender expectations, like other social norms, can vary widely by culture. A person may be seen as expressing an atypical gender role when their gender expression and activities differ from those usually expected in that culture. What is "typical" for one culture may be "atypical" for another. People from cultures who conceptualize gender as polar opposites on a binary, or having only two options, may see cultures with third gender people, or fluid gender expressions, and the people who live in these gender roles, as "atypical".


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Shaun Peter Murphy (born 10 August 1982) is an English professional snooker player who won the 2005 World Championship. Nicknamed "The Magician", Murphy is noted for his straight cue action and his long potting.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Born in Harlow, Essex and raised in Irthlingborough, North Northamptonshire, Murphy turned professional in 1998. His victory at the 2005 World Championship was considered a major surprise as he was only the third qualifier to win the title after Alex Higgins and Terry Griffiths. His other ranking tournament victories came in the 2007 Malta Cup, the 2008 UK Championship, the 2011 Players Tour Championship Grand Final and the 2014 World Open, while he reached a second World Championship final in 2009, a third in 2015 and a fourth in 2021. He has also won seven non-ranking tournaments, including the 2015 Masters, which completed his career Triple Crown.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy has won over £4 million in prize money and has compiled more than 500 century breaks in his professional career. His highest world ranking was number three, which he maintained for three seasons following 2007–08.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: On 12 November 2017, Murphy won the Champion of Champions title beating Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. At the 2019 World Snooker Championship, Murphy became only the second person to perform a whitewash at the world championships, defeating Luo Honghao 10–0 in the opening round.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Born on 10 August 1982 in Harlow, England, Murphy began playing snooker at the age of eight after his parents bought him a snooker table for Christmas. He made his first century break at the age of 10 and practised at the Rushden Snooker Centre, where players such as Stephen Hendry, Mark Williams, and Ken Doherty have also played. At the age of 13, he secured a five-year £5,000-a-year sponsorship deal with the Doc Martens shoe company and stated his ambitions of winning the World Championship and becoming world number one. He turned professional in 1998 at the age of 15.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy was coached by Steve Prest until the 2006–07 season. He also received guidance from Willie Thorne and Ray Reardon, and when he was 15 he was given Reardon's old cue by his father.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy began his career on the UK Tour in 1998 (renamed the Challenge Tour in 2000), at the time the second-level professional tour. He was runner-up in the fourth event on the UK tour for the 1997–98 season and, for the 2000–01 season, won the third and fourth events on the Challenge Tour, topping the Order of Merit rankings.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In 2000, he received the World Snooker Newcomer of the Year award and one of six Young Player of Distinction of the Year awards from the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association. In 2000, he won the English Open Championship.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy won his first professional tournament at the 2000 Benson & Hedges Championship, defeating Mark Davis 6–1 in the semi-final, and Stuart Bingham 9–7 in the final, recovering from 2–5 down. Although he was not yet on the first-level main tour, this victory brought qualification for the Masters—a prestigious non-ranking invitation tournament with places for members of the top 16, the winner of the qualifying tournament, and a limited number of wildcards. In the 2001 tournament, he showed promise in his first televised match, defeating world number 15, Marco Fu, and building a 4–1 lead over seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry, before losing the match. He made his first maximum break in the 2001 Benson & Hedges Championship.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy first reached the final stages of a ranking event at the 2002 World Championship, hosted at the Crucible Theatre, where he lost 4–10 to Stephen Hendry in the first round. In the 2002–03 season, he reached the final stages of the Scottish Open, where he was defeated 3–5 by Drew Henry in the first round, and the World Championship, where he lost 9–10 against Ken Doherty on the final black in the first round.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: For the 2003–04 season, Murphy was ranked number 64 and qualified for the final stages of three ranking tournaments. In the LG Cup, he defeated Steve Davis 5–4 in the second round, before losing 2–5 to John Higgins in the third. After the victory over Davis, Murphy said "This is one of the greatest days in my snooker career." In the British Open, he defeated Dave Harold 5–1 in the first round, before losing to Paul Hunter 2–5 in the second round.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In the Players Championship—the new name of the Scottish Open—he lost 3–5 to eventual champion Jimmy White in the second round. He failed to reach the World Championship, losing a qualifying match 7–10 against Stuart Pettman, in which Pettman was docked a frame for arriving late.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy was ranked number 48 for the 2004–05 season<ref name="04/05"></ref> and reached the final stages of four ranking events. In the Grand Prix—the new name of the LG Cup—he lost 2–5 to Stephen Maguire in the first round. This was followed by his first ranking semi-final, at the British Open, where he was whitewashed 0–6 by John Higgins. In the Malta Cup, he lost 2–5 to Matthew Stevens in the first round.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: He won two qualifying matches to reach the main stage of the 2005 World Championship and then defeated former world champions Higgins 13–8, Steve Davis 13–4, and Peter Ebdon 17–12 to reach the final where he faced Stevens, the world number six. After trailing 6–10 at the end of the first day (the World Championship final is played over two days), he made a comeback to level the score at 16–16. He then made two frame-winning breaks to lift the title. His 11 century breaks were the most in that year's tournament.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy's victory was considered a major surprise. His pre-tournament odds were 150–1, and before his win he was considered an underachiever. He became only the third qualifier to win the World Championship (or to reach the final) after Alex Higgins in 1972 and Terry Griffiths in 1979. Aged 22, Murphy was the second-youngest player to win the World Championship, following Stephen Hendry who first lifted the title when he was 21. No previous world champion had played as many matches (seven) to lift the title, and he was the lowest-ranked player, at number 48, to win the tournament. No player had won the World Championship as his first ranking event win since Joe Johnson in 1986. Murphy's run in the tournament earned him the nickname "The Magician" and the tournament doubled his previous career prize money, with which he purchased a house and a Mercedes-Benz. After his win, in July 2005, he married his fiancée Clare.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: For the new season, Murphy improved his ranking to number 21, which would not usually guarantee qualification for ranking events. However, as world champion he qualified automatically for every tournament in the season as the number two seed (and number one seed for the 2006 World Championship). He was invited to play in the Premier League Snooker, a non-ranking tournament with a 25-a-second shot clock, but he went out in the round-robin stage.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: He reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural, non-ranking Northern Ireland Trophy before being defeated 4–5 by Neil Robertson. In the first three ranking events of the season—the Grand Prix, the UK Championship, and the Malta Cup—Murphy reached the last 16, losing final-frame matches to Stuart Bingham, Robertson, and Graeme Dott, respectively. After his loss to Bingham, he complained about having to play his match on an outside table, given his world champion status. In the revival of Pot Black, a single-frame knockout tournament not staged since 1991, he was defeated in the final by Matthew Stevens. Murphy was awarded Sportsman of the Year at the BBC East Midlands Sports Awards in December 2005.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: At the Masters, Murphy lost 4–6 to John Higgins in the quarter-finals, but reached his second ranking final in the Welsh Open, losing 4–9 to Stephen Lee. In the World Championship, he reached the quarter-finals, but fell victim to the so-called "Crucible curse", where no first-time champion has successfully defended the title at the Crucible Theatre, when he was defeated 7–13 by Peter Ebdon.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: For the next season, Murphy moved to number five in the world rankings, entering the elite top 16 for the first time, and thereby automatically qualifying for the final stages of ranking tournaments and receiving an automatic invitation to the Masters.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In the Northern Ireland Trophy (a ranking event in this season), he lost 4–5 to Stephen Lee in the quarter-finals, and in the UK Championship, he lost 3–9 to Alan McManus in the second round. A 3–6 defeat by Stephen Hendry in the quarter-finals of the Masters was followed by his second ranking title, when he defeated Ryan Day 9–4 in the final of the Malta Cup. After the victory, he said it was a relief to get rid of the one-hit wonder label. In his next match, a victory over Jamie Cope in the Welsh Open, he scored centuries in four consecutive frames, becoming only the second player to do so (after John Higgins in the 2005 Grand Prix final) and the only person to achieve this in a best-of-nine-frames match. He went on to lose 3–5 to Stephen Maguire in the quarter-finals. In the World Championship, Murphy defeated Matthew Stevens 13–12 in the quarter-finals—recovering from 5–11 down and knocking Stevens out of the top 16—before losing 16–17 against Mark Selby in the semi-finals.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: For the 2007–08 season, Murphy was ranked number three, his highest-ever ranking, and reached at least the semi-finals of five ranking events but without winning any.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In the inaugural Shanghai Masters, he was defeated 2–5 by Ian McCulloch in the first round. He reached the final of the 2007 Pot Black tournament, where he was defeated by Ken Doherty. In the Grand Prix, he reached the semi-finals, where he lost 5–6 against Ronnie O'Sullivan, despite an earlier 5–2 lead. Further semi-finals followed at the Northern Ireland Trophy and the UK Championship, where he was defeated on both occasions by Stephen Maguire, 5–6 and 5–9, respectively, making it three consecutive semi-final losses. Before the UK Championship, Murphy was provisionally ranked world number one. He successfully defended his Malta Cup title (that year the tournament was not a ranking event) with a 9–3 victory over Doherty in the final. In the China Open, he defeated Mark Selby 6–3 in the semi-finals—his sixth semi-final appearance in the past seven ranking events—but lost 9–10 to Maguire in the final.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Before the World Championship, Murphy was again provisional world number one. As one of the favourites for the championship, he reached the second round where he lost 4–13 to Ali Carter. After his loss, Murphy criticised the state of the tables.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy maintained his number three ranking for the 2008–09 season. He won the non-ranking Paul Hunter Classic, defeating Mark Selby 4–0 in the final, but lost in the first round of the first four ranking tournaments, including a 4–5 defeat by world number 47 Mike Dunn in the Bahrain Championship. Murphy and his wife separated in October, after three years of marriage.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Despite the four consecutive first-round losses—which had been attributed to the split from his wife—he claimed his third ranking title at the UK Championship, defeating Marco Fu 10–9 in a low-quality final, in which he fluked a pink in the deciding frame that was effectively match ball. The victory meant that Murphy joined Steve Davis, Alex Higgins, Terry Griffiths, John Parrott, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan, Mark Williams, John Higgins and Peter Ebdon as one of only ten players to have won both the World title and the UK title.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In the World Championship, there were concerns that Murphy's estranged wife would serve him divorce papers during play of his first-round match against Andrew Higginson. He defeated Higginson 10–8 without incident, although his wife's parents were present in the arena and were asked to leave. He went on to defeat Fu 13–3, Hendry 13–11, and Neil Robertson 17–14, to earn a place in his second world final with two-time world champion Higgins as his opponent. In the final, he trailed 5–11 after the first day, and was beaten 9–18 by Higgins. On the first day of the final, a newspaper published a "kiss and tell" story involving Murphy.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy maintained his number three ranking for a third year in the 2009–10 season. He successfully defended his Paul Hunter Classic title, defeating White 4–0 in the final. He won the Premier League Snooker with a 7–3 win against O'Sullivan in the final, ending the latter's run of five consecutive wins in the tournament.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: He reached the semi-finals of the first ranking tournament, the Shanghai Masters, before losing 5–6 against Liang Wenbo. This would be his only run to the semi-finals or better in a ranking tournament that season. In the UK Championship, as the defending champion, he lost 5–9 to eventual winner Ding Junhui in the second round. After the match, Murphy complained about Ding leaving the arena too often after frames, saying "I can't believe anyone needs to go to the toilet after every single frame." He reached the quarter-finals of the Masters, where he lost 4–6 against Mark Williams. In the Welsh Open and the China Open, he lost his first-round matches to Matthew Stevens and Nigel Bond, respectively. In the World Championship, he defeated Gerard Greene and Ding, but lost 12–13 against Ali Carter in the quarter-finals, despite leading 8–4. This was the first season in which he did not reach a final or better of a ranking tournament since the 2003–04 season.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: After three seasons ranked world number three, Murphy dropped to number seven for the 2010–11 season. He won the Wuxi Classic, a non-ranking tournament held in China, defeating Ding Junhui 9–8 after recovering from 2–8 down. He progressed to the semi-finals of the Paul Hunter Classic, the first European event of the season's Players Tour Championship minor-ranking series, but lost 2–4 to eventual winner Judd Trump. Murphy won the Brugge Open, the second European event of the series, defeating Matthew Couch 4–2 in the final. He then reached the final of the Ruhr Championship, but lost 2–4 against John Higgins. Murphy finished first on the Players Tour Championship Order of Merit, but could not defend his Premier League Snooker title, as he lost 1–7 to Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final. He reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship, where he lost to eventual runner-up Mark Williams 8–9.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy lost in the first round of the Masters 3–6 against Jamie Cope, in the second round of the German Masters 2–5 against Joe Swail, and in the first round of the Welsh Open 0–4 against Matthew Stevens. He won his fourth ranking title in March 2011, with a 4–0 victory over Martin Gould in the finals of the Players Tour Championship. The following week, he also reached the final of the Championship League, but lost 1–3 against Stevens. He progressed to the semi-final of the China Open, where he lost 1–6 against Trump. Murphy's last tournament of the season was the World Championship, where he lost in the second round 10–13 against O'Sullivan.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy began the 2011–12 season ranked number seven. He could not defend his Wuxi Classic title, as he lost 3–6 against Ali Carter. Murphy reached the semi-finals of the Australian Goldfields Open, but lost 2–6 against eventual champion Stuart Bingham. At the Shanghai Masters Murphy reached the quarter-finals, but lost 4–5 against Mark Selby. Murphy's next tournament was the Brazil Masters, where he defeated Graeme Dott 5–0 in the final. Murphy also participated at the Premier League and ended the league stage with two wins and four losses. As a result, he did not advance to the play-off. Murphy then reached the quarter-finals of the UK Championship, but lost 3–6 against Ricky Walden. He also participated at the Players Tour Championship, where his best results came at the Warsaw Classic and the Kay Suzanne Memorial Trophy, where he reached the quarter-finals, but lost 3–4 against Neil Robertson and 2–4 against Matthew Stevens respectively. He finished number 37 on the Order of Merit, and could not qualify to the Finals to defend his title.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy reached his first Masters final, but lost 6–10 against Robertson. Murphy then reached the semi-finals of the next two ranking tournaments, but lost 0–6 against Stephen Maguire at the German Masters, 2–6 against Ding Junhui at the Welsh Open. He then lost in the quarter-finals of the World Open 0–5 against Mark Selby. Murphy ended the season with two first round losses. He lost 2–5 against wild-card Lu Ning at the China Open and 8–10 against Jamie Jones at the World Snooker Championship.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy began the 2012–13 season ranked number six. The first tournament for Murphy was the Wuxi Classic, where he lost in the first round 1–5 against Ken Doherty. Murphy's next tournament was the Six-red World Championship, where he finished first in Group E with four wins out of five matches and advanced to the knock-out stage. There he defeated James Wattana, Barry Hawkins, Dominic Dale and Judd Trump to reach the final, but lost 4–8 against Mark Davis. He then reached the quarter-finals of the Australian Goldfields Open, but lost 4–5 against Peter Ebdon. Murphy went one better in the next two ranking tournaments, as he reached the semi-finals of the Shanghai Masters and the International Championship, but lost 3–6 against John Higgins and 5–9 against Neil Robertson respectively. Murphy than reached the final of the 2012 UK Championship courtesy of two tight victories. The first against teenager Luca Brecel in the quarter-finals, after Brecel twice had the chance to pot the final pink and black to win the match, then against Ali Carter in which Murphy recovered from 4–8 down and 0–32 in points behind in the deciding frame to win 9–8. He was ultimately defeated by good friend Mark Selby 6–10 in the final. He also participated at the Players Tour Championship, with his best result coming at the third English event, where he reached the semi-finals, but lost 0–4 against Marco Fu. He finished number 29 on the Order of Merit, and couldn't qualify to the Finals.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy began the year by reaching the semi-finals at the Masters, but lost 2–6 against Robertson. He then reached the quarter-final of the German Masters, but lost 4–5 against Robertson. In the first round of the 2013 World Snooker Championship, Murphy defeated Martin Gould 10–5 to advance to the second round, where he faced Graeme Dott, winning 13–11. In the quarter-final, he faced Trump in a tense match that went to a deciding frame, after Trump won five consecutive frames from 7–12 down to level at 12–12. Trump ultimately prevailed in a nervy last frame to go through to the semi-final.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy's 2013–14 season began with a shock 1–5 defeat by Alex Davies in the qualifying round of the 2013 Wuxi Classic. The tournament was the first to use a new format that required top-16 players to compete in qualifiers.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Between August 2013 and January 2014, Murphy lost 3 stones (42 pounds or 19 kg) in weight, due to a new diet and fitness regime. He stated that one of his health and fitness goals was to improve his stamina and concentration at the table.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In group two of the 2014 Championship League, he made his second official maximum break in his round-robin match against Mark Davis.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In the first round of the Masters, Murphy came back from 2–4 behind to defeat Ding Junhui 6–4. He produced another comeback in the quarter-finals, where he trailed Marco Fu 1–4 before winning five frames in a row to clinch a 6–4 victory. He faced defending champion Mark Selby in the semi-finals, but lost 1–6.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In February 2014, while playing Jamie Jones in the last 16 of the minor-ranking Gdynia Open, Murphy made his second 147 break of the season and the third of his professional career. He went on to win the tournament, defeating Fergal O'Brien 4–1 in the final to capture his first title in 29 months. The following month, he defeated Selby 10–6 in the final of the World Open, winning the fifth ranking title of his career and his first ranking title in three years.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: At the World Championship, Murphy defeated Jamie Cope 10–9 and Marco Fu 13–8 to reach the quarter-finals, where he faced defending champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. Murphy was defeated 3–13 with a session to spare.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy won the Bulgarian Open in October, with a 4–2 victory over Martin Gould in the final. Two weeks later, he reached the final of the General Cup but lost 6–7 against Ali Carter. In November, he won the Ruhr Open by defeating Robert Milkins 4–0 in the final. In the second frame of this match, he achieved the fourth maximum break of his career after missing out on the maximum on two previous occasions earlier that day—in a match against Joe Swail where Murphy made a break of 129 before missing the blue ball, and in a match against Mark Williams where the maximum attempt ended on a break of 122 as he missed the green ball. In 2014, Murphy became the first player to make three maximums in a calendar year.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: At the Masters in January, he defeated Mark Selby, Stephen Maguire, and Mark Allen en route to the final against Neil Robertson. Murphy won the match 10–2, completing his career Triple Crown.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In the World Championship, seeded eighth, Murphy beat Robin Hull 10–3, Joe Perry 13–5, Anthony McGill 13–8, and Barry Hawkins 17–9, to reach his third World Championship final where he met tenth seed Stuart Bingham. Despite leading 3–0 and 8–5, Murphy fell behind 11–14 in the third session; after fighting back to level the score at 15–15, he lost the next three frames and the final 15–18.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: At the UK Championship, Murphy defeated Ashley Hugill, Zhou Yuelong, and Ben Woollaston to reach the last 16, but then lost 4–6 to Marco Fu. In defence of his title at the Masters, he was knocked out in the first round by Mark Allen, losing 4–6. Murphy's only ranking title this season came at the World Grand Prix in March. With wins over Michael White, Martin Gould, Liang Wenbo, and Ding Junhui, he met Stuart Bingham in the final—a repeat of the previous year's World Championship final—and claimed the victory this time by winning 10–9. At the World Snooker Championship, Murphy suffered a shocking first-round exit, losing 8–10 to Anthony McGill.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: After beating the likes of Dominic Dale and Luca Brecel, Murphy reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship but lost 2–6 to the eventual champion Mark Selby. He faced another first-round exit at the Masters, this time losing heavily to Barry Hawkins 1–6. In March 2017, Murphy won his seventh ranking title, and his first of the season, by beating Judd Trump 4–2 in the Gibraltar Open final. At the World Snooker Championship, his 10–8 victory over Yan Bingtao earned him a place in the second round, where he was defeated by Ronnie O'Sullivan 13–7.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy reached the final of the China Championship in August, with victories over Zhang Anda, Ken Doherty, Anthony Hamilton, Stephen Maguire, Zhou Yuelong, and Ali Carter, but he was defeated 5–10 by Luca Brecel in the final. Later that month, he reached the second ranking tournament final of the season, the Paul Hunter Classic, this time losing 2–4 to Michael White. In November, he won the invitational Champion of Champions tournament for the first time, beating Mark King, White, and Brecel on the way to the final, before claiming a 10–8 victory over Ronnie O'Sullivan. The pair faced each other again in the final of the UK Championship in December, but this time Murphy lost 5–10.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: At the Masters, he avoided another first-round exit by beating Carter 6–4, though it was a hard-fought victory as Carter recovered from a 0–4 deficit to pull up to 4–5 behind. However, Murphy was knocked out of the tournament in the next round by Judd Trump, losing 4–6. He reached his third ranking final of the season at the Players Championship in March. After defeating Kyren Wilson, Anthony McGill, and Mark Williams, he met Ronnie O'Sullivan in the final for the third time this season; trailing 3–6 at the end of the afternoon session, he eventually lost the match 4–10. At the end of the season, Murphy suffered another shocking first-round exit at the World Snooker Championship, losing 9–10 to Jamie Jones.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In December 2018, Murphy was defeated by world number 124 Chen Feilong in the first round of the UK Championship. Despite taking an early lead of 3–1, Murphy lost the next five frames and lost the match 3–6. He bounced back later that month and reached the final of the Scottish Open after winning against the likes of Michael Holt, Kyren Wilson, and Judd Trump to face Mark Allen in the final. After trailing 3–6, Murphy won four frames out of the next five to level the match at 7–7, but Allen eventually claimed the title by winning 9–7. In January 2019, Murphy lost 2–6 to Barry Hawkins in the first round of the Masters. At the World Snooker Championship, Murphy whitewashed debutant Luo Honghao in the first round, winning 10–0, which is the biggest defeat in Crucible history. But he was knocked out of the tournament by Neil Robertson in the next round, losing 6–13.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: In August 2019, Murphy won against the likes of Yuan Sijun, Yan Bingtao, Neil Robertson, Graeme Dott, and Mark Allen to face Judd Trump in the final of the International Championship. After trailing 0–5 at the beginning, Murphy eventually lost the match 3–10. In September, Murphy also reached the final of the Shanghai Masters, an invitational tournament, after beating Lyu Haotian, Mark Williams, Jack Lisowski, and Mark Allen. He suffered another defeat in the final against Ronnie O'Sullivan, this time losing 9–11. He defeated Williams in the final of the China Championship later that month and captured his first ranking title since winning the Gibraltar Open in March 2017. At the UK Championship, Murphy lost 4–6 to Eden Sharav in the first round, despite taking an early lead of 3–1. In January 2020, Murphy progressed to the semi-finals of the Masters for the first time since winning the title in 2015 after defeating Trump and Joe Perry, but he eventually lost 3–6 to Ali Carter. In February 2020, Murphy claimed his ninth ranking title after thrashing Kyren Wilson in the final of the Welsh Open. He made three century breaks and three more breaks over 70 to win 9–1. At the World Snooker Championship, Murphy had another first round exit after losing to Noppon Saengkham 4–10.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy reached the semi-finals of the European Masters in September, knocking out the defending champion Neil Robertson at the quarter-final stage, but was then himself defeated 3–6 by Mark Selby. He made a quarter-final appearance at the Masters in January where he was defeated by the same scoreline by Stuart Bingham.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Defending his title at the Welsh Open in February, Murphy was defeated in the quarter-finals by Stephen Maguire in a ninth-frame decider after taking an earlier 4–3 lead. Murphy met Mark Selby in the final of the World Championship in a repeat of the European Masters semi-final seven months earlier; he lost 18–15. This was the fourth time that Murphy reached the final.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: On 24 November, following his first-round loss to amateur player Si Jiahui in the 2021 UK Championship, Murphy commented, "he [Si] played like a man who does not have a care in the world, because he does not have a care in the world. It is not fair, it is not right. I am not picking on him as a young man, he deserved his victory. Amateurs should not be allowed in professional tournaments, the end. This is our livelihood. This is how I put food on the table. This is how I earn money. Since turning professional at 15, I have earned the right to call myself a professional snooker player. He hasn't done that. He shouldn't be on the table."


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy has clashed with Stephen Maguire, another of the 2000 Young Players of Distinction, on several occasions. At the start of their 2004 Grand Prix match, there was an incident that resulted in Maguire being docked the opening frame. After they had shaken hands at the outset of the first frame, Maguire asked referee Johan Oomen for permission to leave the arena and retrieve his chalk, which he had forgotten. While Maguire was away, the referee and Murphy spoke before tournament director Mike Ganley arrived on the scene and docked Maguire a frame for technically not being ready to start at the scheduled time, which angered and surprised Maguire. Murphy refutes that the docking of the frame was down to him speaking to the referee. Maguire won the match 5–2 and later commented: "Rules are rules but I've never heard of anything like that happening before".


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Further incidents came in subsequent years. During the 2006 World Championship, Maguire said "I don't want to be a fat world champion", a perceived reference to Murphy. After beating Murphy in the 2007 Welsh Open, Maguire said of the chalk incident, "That put the icing on the cake, but we've always had a rivalry. I dislike him and I think he dislikes me. I try hard to beat everyone, but it would have hurt more if I'd lost to him." Murphy currently leads the head-to-head 14–11.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy has been outspoken about several other of his rivals, criticising them for having too many toilet breaks and complaining about table conditions among other things. Murphy also makes collective criticisms of his fellow professionals for not attending events and has branded other players' concerns over prize money as a joke.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy is noted for his straight cue action—which Steve Davis once called "the best cue action I've ever seen"—his long potting, and his breakbuilding. Phil Yates wrote in 2008 in "The Times" that Murphy has improved his tactical game since his World Championship victory. He has compiled more than 500 century breaks and has made five maximum breaks. His career earnings amount to more than £3 million.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy was born in Harlow and grew up in Irthlingborough. He was home-schooled from age 13 after being bullied at school, and his parents split up when he was 14. He lived with his father Tony, a former professional golfer, and did not see his mother again until he was 19. During the 2007 World Championship, it was reported that he had developed a rift with his father, who was a member of the World Snooker board. He said that they had not spoken in over a year, but that he would willingly speak to his father again if the other called him.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy moved to Rotherham during the 2004 season to be with his fiancée, Clare, whom he married in July 2005. Murphy's wife filed for divorce in 2009 on the grounds of infidelity after "The People" newspaper published an exposé revealing he had spent the night with an escort girl he had met at a religious youth group. Murphy's then manager, Brandon Parker, issued a statement confirming that Murphy had slept with the woman but denied he had been unfaithful, stating that Murphy did not have sex with her. He also dated Claire Chorlton, who was first introduced to the viewing public backstage during the final of the 2012 UK Championship.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy became engaged to his girlfriend Elaine, after proposing marriage at a restaurant in her native Ireland during Christmas 2014. The couple married in June 2016, and have since had a son. The family moved to Dublin, Ireland in 2018.


title: Shaun Murphy

text: Murphy became a Christian at the age of 15, after meeting a religious family on holiday. Murphy is well known for his charitable nature, having spent some of the summer of 2006 doing aid work in Zimbabwe with his then wife, Clare. He also donated one-tenth of his 2005 World Championship winnings to the church, and at the 2012 World Snooker Championship Murphy donated £100 to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity for every century he made.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city is noted for its main feature, Ripon Cathedral, which is architecturally significant, as well as the Ripon Racecourse and other features such as its market.


title: Ripon

text: The city was originally known as "Inhrypum". Bede records that Alhfrith, king of the Southern Northumbrian kingdom of Deira, gave land at Ripon to Eata of Hexham to build a monastery and the abbot transferred some of his monks there, including a young Saint Cuthbert who was guest-master at Ripon abbey. Both Bede in his Life of Cuthbert and Eddius Stephanus in his Life of Wilfred state that when Eata was subsequently driven out by Alhfrith, the abbey was given to Saint Wilfrid who replaced the timber church with a stone built church. This was during the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria, a period during which it enjoyed prominence in religious importance in Great Britain. It was for a period under Viking control, and later suffered under the Normans. After a brief period of building projects under the Plantagenets, the city emerged with a prominent wool and cloth industry. Ripon became well known for its production of spurs during the 16th and 17th centuries, but would later remain largely unaffected by the Industrial Revolution.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon is the third-smallest city in England and the smallest in Yorkshire, by population. According to the 2011 United Kingdom Census it had a population of 16,702, an increase on the 2001 United Kingdom Census figure of 15,922. It is located south-west of Thirsk, south of Northallerton and north of Harrogate. As well as its racecourse and cathedral, Ripon is a tourist destination because of its proximity to the UNESCO World Heritage Site which consists of the Studley Royal Park and Fountains Abbey.


title: Ripon

text: During its pre-history the area which later became Ripon was under the control of the Brigantes, a Brythonic tribe. Three miles (5 km) north at Hutton Moor there is a large circular earthwork created by them. The Romans did not settle Ripon, but they had a military outpost around five miles (8 km) away at North Stainley. Solid evidence for the origins of Ripon can be traced back to the 7th century, the time of the Anglian kingdom of Northumbria. The first structure built in the area, known at the time as Inhrypum, was a Christian church dedicated to St Peter, with the settlement originating in the year 658. This was founded by a Northumbrian nobleman known as Wilfrid, who later became Archbishop of York; he was granted the land by King Alhfrith.


title: Ripon

text: The earliest settlers were stonemasons, glaziers and plasterers that Wilfrid brought over to help construct the Ripon monastery, from Lyon in Francia and Rome which was then under Byzantine rule. The years following the death of Wilfrid are obscure in Ripon's history. After the invasion of the Great Heathen Army of Norse Vikings in Northumbria, the Danelaw was established and the Kingdom of Jórvík was founded in the Yorkshire area. In 937 Athelstan, then King of England, granted the privilege of sanctuary to Ripon, for a mile around the church. One of his successors was less well-disposed: after the Northumbrians rebelled against English rule in 948, King Edred had the buildings at Ripon burned. Prosperity was restored by the end of the 10th century, as the body of Saint Cuthbert was moved to Ripon for a while, due to the threat of Danish raids.


title: Ripon

text: After the Norman conquest, much of the north rebelled in 1069, even trying to bring back Danish rule; the suppression that followed was the Harrying of the North, which resulted in the death of approximately one-third of the population of the North of England. Ripon is thought to have shrunk to a small community around the church following the suppression. The lands of the church were transferred to St Peter's Church at York as the Liberty of Ripon and it was during this time that a grand Collegiate Church was built on top of the ruins of Wilfrid's building. Eventually developed in the Gothic style, the project owed much to the work of Roger de Pont L'Evêque and Walter de Gray, two Archbishops of York during the Plantagenet era. During the 12th century Ripon built up a booming wool trade, attracting Italian trade merchants, especially Florentines, who bought and exported large quantities.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon's proximity to Fountains Abbey, where the Cistercians had a long tradition of sheep farming and owned much grazing land, was a considerable advantage. After English people were forbidden from wearing foreign cloth in 1326, Ripon developed a cloth industry which was third in size in Yorkshire after York and Halifax. Due to conflict with Scotland, political emphasis was on the North during the time of Edward I and Edward II, as Scottish invaders attacked numerous northern English towns. Ripon had a wakeman to make sure the residents were safely home by curfew and law and order was maintained, yet it was forced to pay 1,000 marks to the Scots to prevent them from burning down the town on one occasion.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon, which relied heavily on its religious institutions, was badly affected by the English Reformation under the Tudor king Henry VIII. The Abbot of Fountains, William Thirske, was expelled by Henry and replaced; Thirske went on to become one of the leaders of the Pilgrimage of Grace popular rising. The people of Northern England were quite traditional in their beliefs and were unhappy about Henry's intention to break with Rome; the Pilgrimage of Grace was the manifestation of this sentiment. The revolt failed and Henry followed through with the break from Rome and the Dissolution of the Monasteries, which included Fountains Abbey.


title: Ripon

text: After Mary, Queen of Scots, fled Scotland to Northern England she stayed at Ripon on her journey. The mainly Catholic North supported her, and there was another popular rising known as the Rising of the North; this began six miles (10 km) away at Topcliffe and was led by Thomas Percy, the 7th Earl of Northumberland and Charles Neville, the 6th Earl of Westmorland. The rebels stayed at Ripon on 18 November 1569, but the rising eventually failed resulting in 600 people being executed, 300 of whom were hanged at Gallows Hill in Ripon during January 1570.


title: Ripon

text: Plans were drawn up to make Ripon a centre of education, a "University of the North", to rival Oxford and Cambridge. Although chief advisers Lord Burghley and Archbishop Sandys supported the idea, Elizabeth I did not follow it through. The scheme was revived in 1604 by Sandys' widow Cicely, under the patronage of Anne of Denmark and Bess of Hardwick without success.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon replaced its old textiles industry with one for the manufacture of spurs during the 16th century. They were so widely known that they gave rise to the proverb "as true steel as Ripon Rowels". At the time, spurs did not just serve as functional riding accessories, they were also fashionable; an expensive pair was made for King James I when he stayed at Ripon in 1617. It was James who granted Ripon a Royal Charter in 1604 and created the first Mayor of Ripon. After the Bishops' Wars in Scotland, a treaty was signed at Ripon in 1640 to stop the conflict between Charles I and the Scottish Covenanters. Although Ripon was not in the main line of fighting which was to the east, it remained loyal and royalist during the English Civil War. There was an incident in 1643, when parliamentarian forces under Thomas Mauleverer entered Ripon and damaged the Minster, but John Mallory and the royalist forces soon settled the matter after a skirmish in the Market Place. The royalists were eventually defeated in the Civil War and Charles I spent two nights as a prisoner in Ripon. Oliver Cromwell visited the city twice on his way to battle, once on the way to the Preston and also on the way to the Battle of Worcester.


title: Ripon

text: By the time of the English Restoration, several strains of non-conformist Christian practices had appeared, although they were not common in Ripon, the majority of people being Anglicans with a Catholic minority. After the Revolution of 1688 which overthrew James II, there were Jacobite risings in the British Isles; some Riponmen were jailed in February 1746 upon "suspicion of corresponding with Prince Charles Edward Stuart". The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, preached in Ripon and a small community of followers was established. During the Georgian era Ripon, unlike several other cities, was not significantly affected by the Industrial Revolution despite the existence of various guilds. Although more widely known for his activities outside of Ripon, John Aislabie, during his time as Member of Parliament for Ripon, created the Studley Royal Park with its water garden and erected the Ripon Obelisk (designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor). Newby Hall was also created during this period by Christopher Wren.


title: Ripon

text: Communications were improved with the opening of Ripon railway station in May 1848. During the First World War a large military training camp was built in Ripon, the local community offering hospitality not only to soldiers' wives but to the Flemish refugees who became part of Ripon's community. The racecourse south-east of the city also served as an airfield (RFC Ripon) for the Royal Flying Corps (and latterly, the Royal Air Force). The racecourse was also used as a demobilisation centre for troops returning from France well into 1919.


title: Ripon

text: The town had a similar though smaller role during the Second World War and, in recognition of this, the Royal Engineers were presented with the Freedom of the City in 1947. Since the War, Ripon has gone through some remodelling and has grown in size; it attracts thousands of tourists each year who come to see its famous buildings with their long Christian heritage, nearby Studley Park, Ripon Racecourse, and in recent times the theme park Lightwater Valley.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon was the first Church of England diocese to be created after the English Reformation, as it was recognised that existing dioceses were unsuited for the large increases in population caused particularly by the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century in central England. It was deemed that new cathedral building on a national scale was not viable and so Ripon, containing a high status parish church, was created from the existing Chester and York dioceses in 1836, with the building promoted to cathedral status. Ripon council presumed this had elevated the town to the rank of city, and started referring to itself as such. The next diocese Manchester was promoted similarly, but doubts as to its use of the title were raised. With the subsequent clearer understanding of needing to petition the monarch, Manchester did so and obtained the status in 1853. Ripon was encouraged to follow suit, with its own status being recognised by the parliamentary City of Ripon Act in 1865.


title: Ripon

text: In 1974 Ripon borough (see Governance) was abolished and a parish council established as part of wider local government reform. The award of city status is typically granted to a local authority, whose administrative area is then considered to be the formal borders of the city, the grant in this case being removed at the same time and bestowed onto the parish. By this definition, the whole parish council area of Ripon, including its settlement and surrounding rural area containing a tiny portion of the Nidderdale AONB to the north west, is considered to be the limits of the city. It contains the third lowest population of all the cities in England, however it falls to seventh place when taking the whole of the UK into consideration. Using 2011 ONS census statistics, Ripon has the third smallest city council area but the fourth lowest urban area of any city in England.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon became a municipal borough of the West Riding of Yorkshire with its headquarters at Ripon Town Hall in 1835, and remained an independent borough until 1974. That year, following the Local Government Act 1972, the former area of Ripon borough was merged with Harrogate borough and several rural districts of the West Riding to form an enlarged Harrogate borough in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire.


title: Ripon

text: The lowest tier of governance in Ripon is the Ripon City Council, a parish council with twelve members, three for each of four wards. In 2019, four councillors are Conservative, and the rest are independent.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon was represented by the Member of Parliament for Yorkshire until it had its own parliamentary borough established on a permanent basis in 1553. Ripon was able to elect two MPs to represent its parliamentary borough; the right of election was vested not in the population as a whole, but in the burgesses (originally meaning freemen of the borough or freeholders) until the Great Reform Act of 1832. The next Reform Act which came into force at the 1868 election, reduced Ripon's representation from two MPs to one. Some of the more notable MPs of Ripon were John Aislabie, Frederick John Robinson and George Cockburn. The Reform Act of 1885 abolished the borough of Ripon, but the county constituency in which the town was placed as a result was named Ripon, and this continued as a single member constituency, albeit with some boundary changes, until it was abolished before the 1983 general election. Since 1983, Ripon has been part of the Skipton and Ripon constituency, a Conservative Party stronghold.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon lies at the confluence of two rivers; the Laver and the Skell, which meet in the west of the city. As they flow through the city, the Skell feeds water into the basin of Ripon Canal. East of the city, the Skell meets the River Ure, and both the Ure and canal head south-eastwards towards Boroughbridge. The Ure was the traditional boundary between the old West and North Ridings of Yorkshire.


title: Ripon

text: As the city is at the meeting point of three rivers, it has flooded often in the 20th and 21st century; notable floods have occurred in 1982, 1991, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2007. This prompted spending over £14 million on the building of flood defences for the city and a storage area upstream of the city which can hold of water.


title: Ripon

text: Much of the geology of the district is magnesian limestone, part of the Permian rocks which extend southwards from Darlington to Wetherby. The area has pockets of gypsum underlying the surface soils. Water has dissolved the gypsum leaving the area prone to sinkholes, especially north of the city and on the northern side of the Ure.


title: Ripon

text: Ripon is home to Ripon Grammar School which is a selective intake, state secondary school. The school claims to take roots from the school which was attached to the Collegiate Church, founded during the time of the Angle kingdom of Northumbria by Saint Wilfrid. The refoundation date for the school was during the reign of Queen Mary I in 1555. The school has several notable alumni, known as Old Riponians, including theologian Bishop Beilby Porteus, historian Bishop William Stubbs, fashion designer Bruce Oldfield and television presenter Richard Hammond. In the modern day the school hosts around 800 pupils, gaining engineering status in 2006, it receives favourable reports from the Ofsted, being either "good" or "outstanding". Opposite Ripon Grammar on Clotherholme Road is the non-selective Outwood Academy Ripon (formerly Ripon College, a secondary comprehensive school), which was also known as Ripon City School until 1999. It has around 630 pupils and is exceeding the national average of GCSE and A-Level results.


title: Ripon

text: On the site of the Old Ripon Racecourse in Whitcliffe Lane was St Olave's Preparatory School. This site was taken over by an independent co-ed preparatory school founded in 1960 called the Cathedral Choir School. The choir school closed in 2012 and the site has now had approval for the building of new residential dwellings. Ripon previously had higher education facilities in the form of the College of Ripon and York St John until 2001. This college had its roots in two Anglican teacher training colleges, which were founded in York in 1841 for men and 1846 for women. The women's college moved to Ripon in 1862. Over the next century, the colleges gradually diversified their education programmes. The colleges merged in 1974 to form the College of Ripon and York St John. The combined institution became a college of the University of Leeds in 1990. Between 1999 and 2001, all activities were transferred to York and the college received the name York St John University. One of York St John's buildings on its Lord Mayor's Walk campus was renamed 'Ripon' in June 2018 to commemorate Ripon Training College's "contribution to women’s education" over 123 years of service.


title: Ripon

text: Evolve, a small, inclusive post-16 college is based in the centre of Ripon, which works alongside Craven College, which is based in Skipton.


title: Ripon

text: On the outskirts of Ripon there is the specialist autism education school called Spring Hill. The school offers day and boarding places. Current pupil numbers are 22. These include 17 boys, 5 girls, and 6 boarders.


title: Ripon

text: Spring Hill is owned by Cambian group PLC which is a large UK provider of specialist provision for children and adults. Spring Hill was previously in the ownership of the charity Barnardos.


title: Ripon

text: The current headteacher is Samantha Campbell, the head of care is Rebecca Sharp, The deputy headteacher is Christine Sherman, the head of education is currently vacant and the transitions and admissions coordinator is currently vacant.


title: Ripon

text: Christianity is the largest religious affiliation in Ripon; 79.3% of the people in the area polled as part of the United Kingdom Census 2001 professed the Christian faith. Ripon Cathedral is the main religious building in the city and contains a tomb said to contain the bones of Saint Wilfrid who founded a monastery here and with it the town. The "Venerable" William Gibson is another noted local figure, a Catholic martyr who was one of the eighty-five martyrs of England and Wales.


title: Ripon

text: The Church of England is in the majority, with two parishes: the ancient Ripon Cathedral and Holy Trinity Church. Ripon was the episcopal see of the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds represented by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, created in 1836 with just Ripon in its title but adapted to include Leeds in 2000. In 2014 it became part of the Diocese of Leeds, with Ripon Cathedral serving as one of its three cathedrals of equal status. During the time of the kingdom of Northumbria there was a short-lived Diocese of Ripon, with Eadhedus the only bishop. There is also a Medieval chapel located on Magdalens Road, which was once part of a leper hospital. The Chapel of St Mary Magdalen is still used for regular worship and is a grade I listed building.


title: Ripon

text: There is a Roman Catholic parish in Ripon called St Wilfrid's; it is covered by the Diocese of Leeds in the Harrogate deanery and the church is an architecturally significant building. There are also around two places of worship for Methodism in Ripon.


title: Ripon

text: Market day is held on a Thursday, and there are 120 stalls. In celebration of the city's founder the "Wilfrid Procession" is held every year; it originated in the year 1108 when King Henry I granted the privilege of holding a fair for him. At the procession there are various decorated floats which make their way through the city with locals in costume. Part of the tradition represents the return of Wilfrid to Ripon, a decorated dummy (sometimes a man in costume instead) dressed as Wilfrid is sat on a horse, accompanied by two musicians with another man carrying St Wilfrid's hat around. Ripon also has dancing traditions such as the Long Sword dance and Morris dance.


title: Ripon

text: The market square is the site of the Ripon Obelisk, erected in 1702 by John Aislabie and was designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. It stands in height and is capped with a weathervane bearing a representation of the wakeman's horn. It is Grade I listed and reputed to be the oldest in England.


title: Ripon

text: The tradition of the Ripon Hornblower has endured since the year 886 and continues on to this day. It originates with the wakeman of Ripon, whose job in the Middle Ages was similar to that of a mayor, although he had more responsibilities in the keeping of law and order. Every day at 9:00 pm the horn is blown at the four corners of the obelisk in Ripon Market. The horn has become the symbol of the city and represents Ripon on the Harrogate borough coat of arms. There are three museums in Ripon collectively known as the "Yorkshire Law and Order Museums"; it includes the Courthouse, the Prison and Police and the Workhouse Museums.


title: Ripon

text: In terms of sport, the most noted field of participation is horse racing with the Ripon Racecourse. The sport has a long history in Ripon, with the first recorded meeting on Bondgate Green in 1664, while its current location has been used as a racetrack since 1900. Ripon staged Britain's first race for female riders in 1723. The city is also home to Ripon Rugby Union Football Club who were founded in 1886 and currently play in Yorkshire 2, the eighth tier of the English Rugby Union league.


title: Ripon

text: The city was previously served by Ripon railway station on the Leeds-Northallerton Line that ran between Leeds and Northallerton. It was once part of the North Eastern Railway and then London & North Eastern Railway. The Ripon to Harrogate Line was closed in the 1960s as part of the Beeching cuts. Today much of the route of the line through the city is now a relief road and although the former station still stands, it is now surrounded by a new housing development. The issue remains a significant one in local politics and there are movements wanting to restore the line. Reports suggest the reopening of a line between Ripon and Harrogate would be economically viable, costing £40 million and could initially attract 1,200 passengers a day, rising to 2,700.


title: Ripon

text: By road Ripon is well connected; it is accessible from the north and south via the A1(M) motorway which connects to Ripon by the B6265. Ripon is accessible from the east and west via the A61 which is the main road running through the city.


title: Ripon

text: Harrogate Bus Company's route 36 links the city to Harrogate and Leeds, and there are also regular bus routes to Boroughbridge, York, Thirsk, Northallerton, Leyburn, Richmond and others.


title: Ripon

text: The Ripon Canal was proposed by John Smeaton in 1766, to connect the city centre to part of the River Ure; it was used for the transportation of coal from the Durham coalfields into the city. Although abandoned in 1956, a conservationist campaign saw it partly reopened in 1988, and fully in 1996.


title: Crunch (exercise)

text: The crunch is an abdominal exercise that works the rectus abdominis muscle. It enables both building "six-pack" abs and tightening the belly. Crunches use the exerciser's own body weight to tone muscle and are recommended by some experts, despite negative research results, as a low-cost exercise that can be performed at home. According to experts like Canadian biomechanics researcher Stuart McGill, crunches are less effective than other exercises such as planks and carry risk of back injury.


title: Crunch (exercise)

text: An approved crunch begins with you lying down, one knee bent, and hands positioned beneath your lower back for support. "Do not hollow your stomach or press your back against the floor", McGill says. Gently lift your head and shoulders, hold briefly and relax back down.


title: Crunch (exercise)

text: McGill's further research however showed that both sit-ups and crunches are mediocre strength-building exercises and actually hurt many people.


title: Crunch (exercise)

text: In a crunch, unlike a sit-up, the lower back stays on the floor. This is said to eliminate any involvement by the hip flexors, and make the crunch an effective isolation exercise for the abdominals.


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: The Good, the Bad, the Weird () is a 2008 South Korean Western action film directed by Kim Jee-woon and starring Song Kang-ho, Lee Byung-hun, and Jung Woo-sung."" The film is inspired by the 1966 Italian Spaghetti Western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly".


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: The film premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and had a limited release in the U.S. on April 23, 2010. It received positive reviews with critics praising the action, the cinematography and the direction. The film marks the second collaboration between actor Lee Byung-hun and director Kim Jee-woon, who had previously collaborated on the action drama "A Bittersweet Life" (2005) and would later do so again in Kim's "I Saw the Devil" (2010).


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: In the desert wilderness of Manchuria in 1939, months before the beginning of the Second World War. Park Chang-yi, The Bad (Lee Byung-hun)—a bandit and hitman—is hired to acquire a treasure map from a Japanese official traveling by train. Before he can get it however, Yoon Tae-goo, The Weird (Song Kang-ho)—a thief—steals the map and is caught up in The Bad's derailment of the train. This involves the slaughter of the Japanese and Manchurian guards, and various civilians. Park Do-won, The Good (Jung Woo-sung)—an eagle-eyed bounty hunter—appears on the scene to claim the bounty on Chang-yi. Meanwhile, Tae-goo escapes, eluding his Good and Bad pursuers. A fourth force—a group of Manchurian bandits—also want the map to sell to the Ghost Market. Tae-goo hopes to uncover the map's secrets and recover what he believes is gold and riches buried by the Qing Dynasty just before the collapse of their government. As the story continues, an escalating battle for the map occurs, with bounties placed on heads and the Imperial Japanese Army racing to reclaim its map as it can apparently "save the Japanese Empire".


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: After a series of graphic shootouts and chases, a final battle erupts in which the Japanese army, Manchurian bandits, Do-won, Chang-yi and his gang are chasing Tae-goo all at once. The Japanese army kills most of the bandits. Do-won kills many Japanese soldiers and sets off an explosion that drives them away. Chang-yi's gang is slowly killed off and he kills those that attempt to leave the chase. Only Chang-yi, Tae-goo and Do-won make it to the "treasure". However, they find that it is nothing more than a boarded-over hole in the desert. Chang-yi recognizes Tae-goo as the "Finger Chopper"—a criminal that cut off his finger in a knife fight five years ago—and the man that Do-won had thought Chang-yi to be. Turning on each other in a final act of vengeance for the slights they suffered, they finally gun each other down after a prolonged Mexican standoff. The three lie in the sand, dying and alone, as the "useless hole" that they fought and died for suddenly and belatedly erupts with a geyser of crude oil. Do-won survives along with Tae-goo. With a newly raised bounty on Tae-goo, a new chase begins as he flees across the Manchurian desert.


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: Two versions of the film were released in cinemas: one being for the native Korean market and the other for international sales. The Korean theatrical cut is 136 minutes long and the international cut is 129 minutes long. The Korean ending is more "upbeat" than the international version, including several more minutes of footage. In the alternative ending, "The Weird", Tae-goo, gets up. He reveals the thick metal sheet he hid under his quilted jacket and limps over to demolish the corpse of Chang-yi, "The Bad". While doing so, he discovers diamonds in Chang-yi's pocket and giggles with delight before realising he's surrounded by the Japanese army. Inadvertently lighting a stick of dynamite, Tae-goo scares off the Japanese and dives for cover after realising it was lit. Over the credits, Tae-goo sets off to continue hunting for the treasure with his bounty multiplied sevenfold, while "The Good", Do-won, vindictively pursues him. The ending of the international version reflects the end that director Kim Jee-woon originally wanted.


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: In the United Kingdom, the British Board of Film Classification ordered five seconds of cuts to the cinema release due to scenes of horse falls judged to be animal cruelty that violated the Cinematograph Films (Animals) Act 1937.


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: The film was screened out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival on May 24, 2008. It also received screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, and the London Film Festival.


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: American distribution rights were acquired by IFC Films, who released it in theaters on a limited basis on April 23, 2010.


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" received generally positive reviews. Review aggregating website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 84% of 60 sampled critics gave the film positive reviews and that it got a rating average of 7.2 out of 10 stating that "Whilst never taking itself too seriously, this riotous and rollicking Sergio Leone-inspired Korean Western is serious fun." On Metacritic, it received generally favorable reviews with a total score of 69. "Variety" said that "East meets West meets East again, with palate-tingling results, in 'The Good the Bad the Weird', a kimchi Western that draws shamelessly on its spaghetti forebears but remains utterly, bracingly Korean" awarding the film 3.5 out of 5 stars. The A.V. Club gave it a B+ saying that "The story’s many advances and reversals can be hard to follow at times, but this isn’t really a movie where plot is paramount. Everything boils down to the action, and what that action means". The "New York Post" gave it a four star rating out of five stating that "The Good, the Bad, the Weird may owe a lot to other films but it is always fresh and never boring". "Empire" magazine gave it a three star rating out of five commenting that "A tangled narrative and damp -squib ending detract from an otherwise joyous Spaghetti Eastern Western." "Time Out" critic Tom Huddlestone stated that "This is filmmaking as rodeo ride: bruising and ultimately pointless, but thrilling as hell while it lasts" and awarded the film four out of five stars. "The Hollywood Reporter" gave it a positive review declaring the film "a jaunty, happy-go-lucky adventure that packs a fistful of dynamite in the spectacular showdown."


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: On the other hand, there were criticism directed towards the excessive violence and the simplicity of the script. In particular, the "Village Voice"s Nicolas Rapold mentioned that "Kim's filmmaking is generally cartoonish in a bad sense, as he squanders his set pieces, flashbacks, and other attention-getting with sometimes downright wretched staging" while "The Boston Globe" wrote that the film "goes for shallow pop instead of narrative depth. It's a lot of fun before it wears you out, and it wears you out sooner than it should." Additionally, Robert Abele from the "Los Angeles Times" mentioned that "Knives, explosions and knockabout humor have been added to taste. As vigorously staged as it all is -- sometimes confusingly, occasionally with camera-torqueing flair and impressive stuntwork -- the urge to thrill grows wearisome. Were audience members to be included as a collective character as well, they'd be 'The Tired'."


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: "The Good, the Bad, the Weird" earned in North America and in other territories, bringing the worldwide gross to . It was the second highest grossing Korean film in 2008 after "Scandal Makers", beating "The Chaser" and it is one of the highest grossing films of all time in South Korea.


title: The Good, the Bad, the Weird

text: The film was released on DVD on March 11, 2009. The Korean release contains a longer version of the film and the international release has a slightly shorter cut with English subtitles.