title: Westgate Resorts

text: In January 2014, Westgate Resorts filed dozens of new lawsuits against many of its former employees who were involved with this class action lawsuit, claiming that it deserves to recover previously paid sales commissions. According to the Orlando Sentinel, many of those included in these new lawsuits feel that these new legal actions are "...retaliation for the award granted to the defendant in a class action lawsuit," and one of the lawyers representing the former Westgate employees is quoted as saying that the action is "unconscionable".


title: Westgate Resorts

text: On January 20, 2009, Westgate Resorts Ltd. was found guilty and had to settle with the US Government for its violations of the Telemarketing Sales Rule ("Rule"), 16 C.F.R. Part 310, including the National Do Not Call Registry provisions. As part of its settlement with the US Government, it had to pay a $900,000 fine.


title: Westgate Resorts

text: In 2004, Central Florida Investments and David Siegel were sued by former Westgate employee Dawn Myers. In 2008, they were found liable for battery after a trial in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The jury awarded $5,378,863.14 but the judge reduced the award to $610,469.84: $103,622.09 in compensatory damages and $506,847.75 in punitive damages. This award arose from Myers's claim of battery under state law, but her claims of sexual harassment were found to be time-barred. In January 2010, The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal and cross-appeal, affirming the district court's verdict.


title: Westgate Resorts

text: On January 10, 2012, David Siegel and Westgate Resorts, Ltd filed a lawsuit in Florida against the Sundance Institute and the filmmakers of "The Queen of Versailles", claiming that Sundance's published film description was defamatory. On January 23, 2013, the United States District Court Judge Conway of the Middle District of Florida, ordered a stay of the lawsuit pending arbitration. In her order, Judge Conway called the testimony previously offered by Mr. Siegel during court hearings, "inconsistent and incredible and thus lacking weight".


title: Westgate Resorts

text: The matter was subsequently heard before an arbitrator for the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) in June 2013. On March 13, 2014, the arbitrator awarded in favor of the filmmakers, Lauren Greenfield and Frank Evers, including an order that David Siegel and Westgate Resort pay $750,000 to the filmmakers.


title: Westgate Resorts

text: The arbitrator wrote in the award, "Having viewed the supposedly egregious portions of the Motion Picture numerous times, [the Arbitrator] simply does not find that any of the content of the Motion Picture was false." The arbitrator also wrote that Westgate had failed to show how it was damaged from the documentary. Finally, the arbitrator wrote that Westgate "did not remotely establish the type of malice required for a defamation claim on behalf of a public figure."


title: Westgate Resorts

text: CEO David Siegel, a Republican, sent an email in the fall of 2012 to all of his employees suggesting that he might "reduce the size of this company" if Obama were to win the 2012 presidential election. The email was widely interpreted by the media as a threat to the employees about possible layoffs if Barack Obama were to be re-elected.


title: Westgate Resorts

text: Siegel admitted in the documentary "The Queen of Versailles" as to possibly illegal activities in Florida during the 2000 United States elections, which he claims were singularly responsible for getting George W. Bush into the White House.


title: Drew Timme

text: Drew Timme (; born September 9, 2000) is an American college basketball player for the Gonzaga Bulldogs of the West Coast Conference (WCC).


title: Drew Timme

text: Timme grew up in the northern Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas and attended J. J. Pearce High School. As a junior, he averaged 27.7 points, 17.9 rebounds and 4.3 assists and was named the District 8-6A Most Valuable Player and second team All-State by USA Today. Timme committed to playing college basketball for Gonzaga in November of his senior year after considering offers from Texas A&M, Texas, Michigan State, Illinois, Arizona and Alabama.


title: Drew Timme

text: Timme spent most of his true freshman season as a key reserve for the Bulldogs, occasionally starting. Timme was named to the WCC All-Freshman team. Timme scored a season high 20 points in a 90–60 win over Saint Mary's on February 8, 2020. He tied for the team lead with 17 points scored in the Bulldogs' 2020 WCC tournament championship game win over Saint Mary's. Timme averaged 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, shooting a team-high 61.8 percent from the field.


title: Drew Timme

text: Coming into his sophomore season, Timme was named to the Preseason All-WCC team as well as the watchlist for the Karl Malone Award. On November 27, 2020, he had 28 points and 10 rebounds in a 90–67 win against Auburn. Timme averaged 19.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, helping lead Gonzaga to the title game. He earned first-team All-WCC honors as well as winning the Karl Malone Award.


title: Drew Timme

text: On November 13, 2021, Timme scored a career-high 37 points and added seven rebounds and three assists in an 86–74 win against then fifth-ranked Texas. At the close of the season, Timme was named WCC Player of the Year He also smoked Alabama about 5 mins ago in Birmingham.


title: Drew Timme

text: Timme's father, Matt Timme, played college basketball at Southern Methodist University, followed by a brief stint playing professionally in Europe. Drew's mother Megan, whom Matt married not long after he returned from Europe, played tennis at Stephen F. Austin State University.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng (; 5 March 999 – 3 July 1062), commonly known as Bao Gong (), was a Chinese politician during the reign of Emperor Renzong in China's Song Dynasty. During his twenty-five years in civil service, Bao consistently demonstrated extreme honesty and uprightness, with actions such as sentencing his own uncle, impeaching an uncle of Emperor Renzong's favourite concubine and punishing powerful families. His appointment from 1057 to 1058 as the prefect of Song's capital Kaifeng, where he initiated a number of changes to better hear the grievances of the people, made him a legendary figure. During his years in office, he gained the honorific title Justice Bao () due to his ability to defend peasants and commoners against corruption or injustice.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng today is honored as the cultural symbol of justice in Chinese society. His largely fictionalized "gong'an" and "wuxia" stories have appeared in a variety of different literary and dramatic mediums (beginning with "The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants"), and have enjoyed sustained popularity. In mainstream Chinese mythology, he is often portrayed wearing a judge's zhanjiao futou hat and a crescent moon on his forehead. Some Chinese provinces later deified Judge Bao, equating him to the benevolent war god Guan Gong.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng was born into a scholar family in Shenxian (), Hefei, Luzhou (present day Feidong County near Hefei, Anhui). Bao's family was in the middle class, his father Bao Lingyi () was a scholar and an official, while his grandfather Bao Shi Tong () was a commoner. Though Bao's parents could afford to send him to school, his mother had to climb up mountains to collect firewood just before she gave birth to him. As Bao grew up among low working class, he well understood people's hardships, hated corruption and strongly desired for justice.


title: Bao Zheng

text: At the age of 29, Bao passed the highest-level imperial examination and became qualified as a Jinshi. Bao was appointed as magistrate of Jianchang County, but he deferred embarking on his official career for a decade in order to care for his elderly parents and faithfully observe proper mourning rites after their deaths.


title: Bao Zheng

text: During the time Bao looked after his parents at home, Liu Yun (), Magistrate of Luzhou who was renowned as an excellent poetic and fair-minded officer, usually visited Bao. Because the two got along well, Bao obtained great influence from Liu Yun in respect of the love for people.


title: Bao Zheng

text: After the passing of his parents, Bao Zheng, then 39, was appointed magistrate of Tianchang County not far from his hometown. It was here that Bao first established his reputation as an astute judge. According to an anecdote, a man once reported that his ox's tongue had been sliced out. Bao told him to return and slaughter the ox for sale. Soon another man arrived in court and accused the first man of privately slaughtering a "beast of burden", an offense punishable by a year of penal servitude. Bao bellowed: "Why did you cut his ox's tongue and then accuse him?" In shock, the culprit had to confess.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In 1040, Bao Zheng was promoted to the prefect of Duanzhou (modern Zhaoqing) in the south, a prefecture famous for its high-quality inkstones, a certain number of which were presented annually to the imperial court. However, Bao discovered that previous prefects had collected far more inkstones from manufacturers than the required tribute—several dozens of times more—in order to bribe influential ministers with the extras. Bao abolished the practice by telling manufacturers to fill only the required quota.


title: Bao Zheng

text: When his tenure was up in 1043, Bao left without a single inkstone in his possession. It was in Duanzhou that he wrote this poem:


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng returned to the capital and was named an investigating censor in 1044. For the next two years in this position, Bao submitted at least 13 memoranda to Emperor Renzong of Song on military, taxation, the examination system, and governmental dishonesty and incompetence.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In 1045, Bao was sent to the Liao dynasty as a messenger. During an audience, a Liao official accused the Song of violating the peace by installing a secret side door in the border prefecture of Xiongzhou, so as to solicit defectors from Liao for intelligence. Bao retorted: "Why is a side door required for intelligence?" The Liao subject could not respond.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Emperor Renzong's favourite consort had been Concubine Zhang, whom he had wanted to make empress but could not because of opposition by his (unknown to him, fake) mother, Empress Dowager Liu. Nevertheless, the concubine's uncle Zhang Yaozuo () was quickly promoted within a few years from minor local posts to high office, including the state finance commissioner (). On July 12, 1050, Bao and two other censors together presented a memorandum, which in strong language accused Zhang of mediocrity and shamelessness, even attributing natural disasters to his appointments. Probably annoyed, Emperor Renzong not only did nothing to Zhang Yaozuo, he awarded Consort Zhang's sister with a title four days later. But Bao did not give up. In another memorandum submitted by himself alone, he wrote:


title: Bao Zheng

text: Partly to appease protests by Bao and others, the emperor relieved Zhang Yaozuo from the state finance commissioner, but instead appointed him a concurrent four-commissioner position: commissioner of palace attendant, military commissioner of Huainan, Qunmu military commissioner-in-chief (), and commissioner of Jingling Palace (). In a memorandum dated December 26, Bao voiced his strong protest and wrote:


title: Bao Zheng

text: In the next court meeting to authenticate these posts, there was a heated argument in court led by seven ministers including Bao, which resulted in the removal of commissioner of palace attendant and commissioner of Jingling Palace from Zhang's appointment. A few decades later, Zhu Bian (朱弁, 1085–1144) wrote a humorous account in his "Anecdotes from Quwei" (), which probably contributed to the development of future legends:


title: Bao Zheng

text: During his years in the government service, Bao had thirty high officials demoted or dismissed for corruption, bribery, or dereliction of duty. In addition, as the imperial censor, Bao avoided punishment despite many other contemporary imperial censors having been punished for minor statements.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In 1057, Bao was appointed the magistrate of the capital city of Bian (present day Kaifeng). Bao held the position for a mere period of one year, but he initiated several material administrative reforms, including allowing the citizens to directly lodge complaints with the city administrators, thereby bypassing the city clerks who were believed to be corrupt and in the pay of local powerful families.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Although Bao gained much fame and popularity from his reforms, his service after the tenure as Magistrate of Bian was controversial. For example, when Bao dismissed Zhang Fangping (), who concurrently held three important offices, Bao was appointed to these offices as Zhang's successor. Ouyang Xiu () then filed a rebuke against Bao.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao had also been the Minister of Finance. Despite his high rank in the government, Bao led a modest life like a commoner.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Apart from his intolerance of injustice and corruption, Bao was well known for his filial piety and his stern demeanor. In his lifetime, Bao gained the name "Iron-Faced Judge" () and it was also said among the public that his smile was "rarer than clear waters in the Yellow River".


title: Bao Zheng

text: Due to his fame and the strength of his reputation, Bao's name became synonymous with the idealized "honest and upright official" (), and quickly became a popular subject of early vernacular drama and literature. Bao was also associated with the god Yanluo (Yama) and the "Infernal Bureaucracy" of the Eastern Marchmount, on account of his supposed ability to judge affairs in the afterlife as well as he judged them in the realm of the living.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng had two wives, Lady Zhang () and Lady Dong (). Bao had one son, , born 1033, and two daughters with Lady Dong. His only son Bao Yi died in 1053 at a relatively young age while being a government officer, two years after his marriage to Lady Cui (). Bao Yi's son, Bao Wenfu (), died prematurely at the age of five.


title: Bao Zheng

text: However, when a young maid Lady Sun () in Bao Zheng's family became pregnant, Bao dismissed her back to her hometown. Lady Cui, Bao Yi's wife, knowing that the maid was pregnant with her father-in-law's child, continued to send money and clothing to her home. Upon the birth of Lady Sun's son named Bao Yan (包𫄧) (1057 - 1105), Lady Cui secretly brought him to her house to foster him. The following year, she brought him back to his biological father, thus enabling the continuation of Bao's family line. Bao Zheng and his wife rejoiced, and they renamed their new son to .


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Yi's wife Lady Cui was greatly praised in the official sources for her devotion to the protection of family line. This story was very influential to the formation of the legend that Bao Zheng was raised by his elder sister-in-law, whom he called "sister-in-law mother" ().


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao died in the Capital City of Kaifeng (present day Kaifeng, Henan) in 1062. It was recorded that he left the following warning for his family:


title: Bao Zheng

text: Any of my descendants who commits bribery as an official shall not be allowed back home nor buried in the family burial site. He who shares not my values is not my descendant.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao was buried in Daxingji in 1063. His tomb was rebuilt by officials of the Huaixi Road in 1066. Lady Dong died in 1068 and was buried next to him.


title: Bao Zheng

text: During the Cultural Revolution, the Baogong Temple in Baohe Park of Hefei City was looted, and the Bao Zheng statue was ruined. The Bao Zheng portraits preserved by the generations of his descendants and the Baoshi Genealogy () were burned.


title: Bao Zheng

text: The relevant personnel set up a relic rescue effort "Bao Cemetery Clearing and Excavation Leading Group" () to excavate and clean up the cemetery. They unearthed Bao Zheng's remains and the two newly discovered tombstones with Chinese engravings in forms of () and (). It was found that the tombstones of Bao Zheng and Lady Dong had been displaced due to destruction. In addition, the tomb of the eldest son and his wife, the tomb of the second son and his wife, and the tomb of the grandson Bao Yongnian () were also excavated and cleaned up. The excavation group handed back the remains of Bao Zheng and his family to their descendants.


title: Bao Zheng

text: One day in August 1973, the remains of Bao Zheng and his family were carried out in 11 wooden coffin boxes and transported back to Dabaocun (), the hometown of Bao Zheng. However, the local commune secretary there would not allow their ancestors' remains to be buried on the grounds, otherwise they would be destroyed immediately.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng's descendants, in fear that the remains of Bao Zheng and his family would be destroyed, with the help of a fellow 34th generation descendant Bao Zunyuan (), secretly hid them elsewhere without knowing what to do. The remains, consisting of 34 Bao Zheng's bone fragments, would later be sent to Beijing for forensics research before they were returned to the newly reconstructed cemetery.


title: Bao Zheng

text: The Bao Gong Cemetery () was reconstructed next to the Bao Gong Temple in Hefei in the forested area of Henan in 1985 and was completed in 1987 to preserve the remains of Bao Zheng and artifacts from the former tombs. As for exact location for the rest of Bao Zheng and his family remains, his descendants kept tight-lipped.


title: Bao Zheng

text: 33th generation: Bao Huacheng (包华成), Bao Huazhang (包华章), Bao Huabing (包华兵), Bao Huajun (包华军), Bao Huaxiu (包华秀), Bao Shengdong (包胜东), , ,


title: Bao Zheng

text: 34th generation: , Bao Xi (包玺), Bao Dan (包丹), Bao Huifang (包慧芳), Bao Yong (包勇), Bao Zunyuan (包遵元), Bao Zunxin


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng's stories were retold and preserved particularly in the form of performance arts such as Chinese opera and pingshu. Written forms of his legend appeared in the Yuan Dynasty in the form of Qu. Vernacular fiction of Judge Bao was popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. A common protagonist of gong'an fiction, Judge Bao stories revolve around Bao, a magistrate, investigating and solving criminal cases. When Sherlock Holmes was first translated into Chinese in the Qing Dynasty, the Chinese called Sherlock “the English Judge Bao.”


title: Bao Zheng

text: In the Yuan Dynasty, many plays (in the forms of "qu" and "zaju") have featured Bao Zheng as the central character. These plays include:


title: Bao Zheng

text: Also discovered from this period include some ballads which had been translated by Wilt L. Idema in 2010.


title: Bao Zheng

text: The 16th-century novel "Bao Gong An" by An Yushi () (partially translated by Leon Comber in 1964) increased his popularity and added a detective element to his legends.


title: Bao Zheng

text: The 19th-century novel "The Seven Heroes and Five Gallants" by the storyteller Shi Yukun () (partially translated by Song Shouquan in 1997 as well as Susan Blader in 1997) added a wuxia twist to his stories.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In "Pavilion of Ten Thousand Flowers" (), "Five Tigers Conquer the West" (), "Five Tigers Conquer the South" () and "Five Tigers Conquer the North" (), four serial wuxia novels composed by Li Yutang () during Qing Dynasty, Bao Zheng, Di Qing and Yang Zongbao appear as main characters.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In "What the Master Would Not Discuss" (), a Qing Dynasty biji by Yuan Mei (), Bao Zheng as well as the belief that he was able to judge affairs of both human beings and supernatural beings is featured.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In opera or drama, he is often portrayed with a black face and a white crescent shaped birthmark on his forehead.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In legends, because he was born dark-skinned and extremely ugly, Bao Zheng was considered cursed and thrown away by his father right after birth. However, his virtuous elder sister-in-law, who just had an infant named Bao Mian (), picked Bao Zheng up and raised him like her own son. As a result, Bao Zheng would refer to Bao Mian's mother as "sister-in-law mother".


title: Bao Zheng

text: In most dramatizations of his stories, he used a set of guillotines (鍘刀, "lever-knife"), given to him by the emperor, to execute criminals:


title: Bao Zheng

text: He was granted a golden rod () by the previous emperor, with which he was authorized to chastise the current emperor. He was also granted an imperial sword () from the previous emperor; whenever it was exhibited to the persons surrounding, irrespective of their social classes, they must pay respect and compliance to the person exhibiting the sword as if they were the emperor (unless the person has an object of equal power). Each of Bao Zheng's guillotines were authorized to execute the corresponding social-ranked person without first obtaining approval from the emperor, though any interference from the emperor would stop the process.


title: Bao Zheng

text: He is famous for his uncompromising stance against corruption among the government officials at the time. He upheld justice and refused to yield to higher powers including the Emperor's Father-in-Law (), who was also appointed as the Grand Tutor () and was known as Grand Tutor Pang (). He is depicted to have treated Bao as an enemy. Although Grand Tutor Pang is often depicted in myth as an archetypical villain (arrogant, selfish, and cruel), the historical reasons for his bitter rivalry with Bao remain unclear.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng also managed to remain in favour by cultivating a long-standing friendship with one of Emperor Renzong's uncles, the Eighth Imperial Prince () and Prime Minister Wang Yanling ().


title: Bao Zheng

text: In many stories Bao is usually accompanied by his skilled bodyguard Zhan Zhao () and personal secretary Gongsun Ce (). Zhan is a skilled martial artist while Gongsun is an intelligent adviser. When Sherlock Holmes was first translated into Chinese - Watson was compared to Gongsun Ce. There are also four enforcers named Wang Chao (), Ma Han (), Zhang Long (), and Zhao Hu (). All of these characters are presented as righteous and incorruptible.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Due to his strong sense of justice, he is very popular in China, especially among the peasants and the poor. He became the subject of literature and modern Chinese TV series in which his adventures and cases are featured.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In modern Chinese, "Bao Gong" or "Bao Qingtian" is invoked as a metaphor or symbol of justice. There is a chain of cafes selling baozi in Singapore called Bao Today (Bao Jin Tian), which is a pun on Bao Qingtian (Justice Bao).


title: Bao Zheng

text: In the Thai language, "Than Pao" (ท่านเปา; "Lord Bao") has become a colloquial term for a judge. The Royal Institute of Thailand recorded the term in the "Dictionary of New Words, Volume 2", published in 2009. Furthermore, the word "Pao" is used colloquially by the sports media to mean a referee in a game, especially a football match.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Stephen Chow also made a spin-off movie based on Bao Zheng called "Hail the Judge" and titled "Pale Face Bao Zheng Ting" in Chinese. In the movie Chow plays a descendant of Bao Zheng called "Bao Sing" living during Qing Dynasty, whose family lost its once glorious prestige due to generations of incompetence and corruption.


title: Bao Zheng

text: Bao Zheng briefly appears in the novel "Iron Arm, Golden Sabre" and sponsors young Zhou Tong's entry into the military as an officer.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In March 2012, Frederic Lenormand, author of 18 "Judge Dee's New Cases" (Fayard 2004–2011), published at Editions Philippe Picquier "Un Thé chez Confucius" ("A Tea with Confucius"), first novel of his new series, "The Judge Bao Cases".


title: Bao Zheng

text: An unlicensed Nintendo side-scrolling/platform game for Famicom, entitled Bāo Qīngtián (), also known as "Justice Pao", was made in Taiwan by ex-Sachen developers and published by Ka Sheng in 1996.


title: Bao Zheng

text: In the Marvel comic series "New Universal", Young Judge Bao is one of the characters in an in-universe comic book.


title: Bao Zheng

text: "Les éditions Fei" also publishes a series of French-language comics about Bao Zheng. As of August 2010, two volumes have been printed.


title: Bao Zheng

text: A 16-volume Japanese manga series "Hokusō Fūunden" (), partly adapting the 1993 TV series, was serialized in the magazine "Princess GOLD", published by Akita Shoten, from May 2000 to May 2008.


title: Thillalangadi

text: Thillalangadi () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film directed by M. Raja. A remake of the 2009 Telugu film "Kick", it stars Raja's brother Jayam Ravi along with Tamannaah, and Shaam, who reprises his role from "Kick", and a supporting cast including Prabhu, Suhasini Maniratnam, Vadivelu, Santhanam, and Sanchita Shetty. The film features a soundtrack composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, whilst S. Thaman's original score has been reused. The film, produced by Raja's father Editor Mohan and to be distributed by Sun Pictures, released on 23 July 2010.


title: Thillalangadi

text: "Thillalangadi" depicts the story of Krishna (Jayam Ravi), a brilliant student who has excelled in all aspects of life but loves to have an adventure in his life and would do anything just to experience this kick (addiction).


title: Thillalangadi

text: Krishna is a happy-go-lucky youth who excels in every field but always does strange and dangerous things to obtain a certain "kick" – a thrill or excitement that he craves. One such activity is secretly double-crossing his childhood friend Das while helping him elope. At this point, he meets Nisha, who is shocked at his recklessness and writes him off as crazy. Krishna sets his sights on Nisha and woos her in a very unorthodox way; he begs her "not" to fall in love with him. After a host of comical situations involving Krishna's caring but easygoing parents, local thugs, and an ever-present comic relief Jackson, Nisha accepts Krishna's love. However, she sets a condition: Krishna must stay in a well-paying job (he had resigned from other jobs due to lack of "kick"), and only then will she agree to marry him. Krishna accepts but soon resigns again for the same reason and tries to hide it from Nisha. When Nisha finds out, she breaks up with him and leaves him for good.


title: Thillalangadi

text: Some months later, Nisha's parents arrange for her to meet a prospective suitor in Malaysia. Though reluctant, she meets the suitor Krishna Kumar, a tough but honest policeman. She narrates the story of her affair with Krishna, and Krishna Kumar reveals that he is tracking a dangerous thief who has stolen large amounts of money from wealthy (mostly corrupt) politicians. At Malaysia, Nisha, her sister, and Jackson run into Krishna again but learn that he has lost his memory and cannot remember his past life. Nisha sees this as an opportunity to start their relationship again from scratch. However, it is revealed that Krishna is not really suffering from amnesia; he has faked his condition by convincing an amnesiac that he is a doctor, and tricked him into diagnosing his condition falsely. Nisha is upset but realizes that it was done due to his love for her, and she has hidden her own feelings from him. They reconcile.


title: Thillalangadi

text: Meanwhile, it is revealed that the thief whom Krishna Kumar has been tracking is Krishna. His motives are simple; he steals ill-gotten money from politicians to pay for operations of children suffering from cancer. After manipulating various people, such as an MLA, and stealing from them, he is finally caught in the act by Krishna Kumar. Krishna is still unfazed, celebrating his failure at a street party. He dares Krishna Kumar to catch him in his final crime: stealing money from the minister. After many harrowing stunts, Krishna pulls it off successfully. Krishna Kumar is demoted from his job for his failure and is shocked to learn that his replacement is Krishna, who promises to "guard" the minister's remaining money. Knowing what is in store for the politicians, Krishna Kumar leaves with a new respect for his foe.


title: Thillalangadi

text: After the Telugu film "Kick", directed by Surender Reddy and starring Ravi Teja, Ileana D'Cruz and Shaam, which was released in early May 2009, went on to become highly successful at the box office, 'Editor' Mohan, father of M. Raja and Jayam Ravi, purchased the remake rights for the Tamil version, paying an "astronomical amount", less than one month later. While Mohan himself would produce the film, Mohan's elder son, M. Raja, was made the director, directing again his brother Jayam Ravi, who would later bag the lead role in the film. It is, noticeably, the fifth "remake project" of this combo, featuring 'Editor' Mohan as the producer, M. Raja as the director and Jayam Ravi as the lead actor, after "Jayam", "M. Kumaran Son of Mahalakshmi", "Something Something ... Unakkum Enakkum" and "Santosh Subramaniam".


title: Thillalangadi

text: For the lead role, played by Ravi Teja in the original version, several popular actors, including Vijay and Madhavan were considered and approached. As per reports, this film was planned to be Vijay's 51st film, which, however, turned out to be not true. Finally, Jayam Ravi was hired for the role, teaming up once again with his father and brother.


title: Thillalangadi

text: The lead female role, originally played by Ileana D'Cruz, was eventually won by Tamannaah. Initially, the crew had planned to sign Ileana for the same role in Tamil as well and approached her, but her father is said to have refused the offer as he didn't want his daughter to play the same role again. Also actress Bhanu, who had starred in the films "Thaamirabharani" and the very recently released "Azhagar Malai", was approached for the role. However, she, too, reused the offer as she felt the role was too glamorous and she wouldn't fit the role. Whilst all his earlier remakes had the actress, who played the role in the original film, in the Tamil version as well, M. Raja, for the first time, was not able to sign the actress of the original Telugu version.


title: Thillalangadi

text: Meanwhile, Shaam, who played a vital role in the Telugu version, took up the same the role in Tamil, whilst Prabhu was hired for a "significant role" and Vadivelu and Santhanam were hired for the film's comedy portions. Prabhu Ganesan would be playing the role of Ravi's father, which was played by Sayaji Shinde in the original version. It was said, that yesteryear actor Karthik was initially considered and approached for the role, before Prabhu Ganesan was finally confirmed. Suhasini Mani Ratnam was hired to enact Ravi's mother character. Unlike in Raja's earlier remakes, which all had music scored by the composer who scored the original version and the same songs as well (except for "M. Kumaran Son Of Mahalakshmi"), composer Yuvan Shankar Raja was hired for the musical score this time, replacing Thaman, who composed the music of "Kick". Apart from Vadivelu and Santhanam, the film stars an array of comedians such as Livingston, Mayilsamy, Kanja Karuppu, Manobala, Thyagu and Sathyan as well.


title: Thillalangadi

text: The film was formally launched on 19 August 2009 at AVM Studios. The first shot, featuring Jayam Ravi and Tamannaah, was directed by S. Shankar, with actor Vijay giving the inaugural clap shot. The launch was attended by many prominent people from the Tamil film industry as Tamil Film Producers Council chief Ramanarayanan, KRG, Abirami Ramanathan, S. A. Chandrasekhar, R. B. Chowdhary, Ram Kumar, Kasthuri Raja, PL Thenappan, actor Karthi and actress Khushbu among others.


title: Thillalangadi

text: The film was shot at various locations, including Chennai (India), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Bangkok (Thailand) and Singapore. The crew, including director Raja, Jayam Ravi, manager Senthil, cinematographer B. Rajasekar and art director Milan had been looking for locations in Malaysia in August 2009, after which the film shooting began. At first, shooting was held in Chennai for nearly 20 days, following which the crew flew to Malaysia, where a major portion of the film was to be shot, where the original film was shot as well. By mid-November, the crew had completed a 30-day schedule in Malaysia. The shoot in Malaysia involved an action sequence, filmed by three cameras simultaneously, which was shot on busy roads with special permissions from the local police authorities and a song sequence featuring Ravi and Tamannaah. Shooting was held also at the famous Petronas Twin Towers and on the Singapore-Malaysian railway line. During the 30-day filming, the September 2009 Sumatra earthquakes occurred, which the team luckily survived. In late January 2010, a special song ("Solpechu Ketkadha Sundari"), widely publicized as the "360 degree song" was shot. It was filmed using a Nero motion control camera that revolves on a 360 degree angle set, which was handled by an Australian specialist Scott and would later look like a single shot. This song, choreographed by Shobi, which would feature 15 Jayam Ravis and 5 Tamannaahs, was completed in around 45 hours, on which alone nearly Rs. 75 lakhs was said to be spent.


title: Thillalangadi

text: The "Thillalangadi" soundtrack is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, working together with director M. Raja for the first time. The soundtrack album features 7 songs, two of which have been reused from the original version, composed by Thaman, as per Raja's wish. The lyrics are penned by Na. Muthukumar and Viveka. The audio was released on 2 July 2010 at the Sun TV studios and premiered on Sun Music in the evening. The background score was taken from the original, scored by Thaman. It comprises the first time working together of two legendary singers K.S.Chitra and Shreya Ghoshal. This duo got a nomination for best Playback Singing on Filmfare Awards South.


title: Thillalangadi

text: The film had a solo release on 23 July 2010, opening to mixed and negative reviews unlike the original Telugu version.


title: Thillalangadi

text: Whilst a reviewer from Sify.com rated the film as "average" film and added that it is "boring", a reviewer from Behindwoods.com gave 2.5 out of 5, describing the film as an "enjoyable entertainer". Pavithra Srinivasan from Rediff.com cited the film as a "ridiculous pot-boiler" and criticised Jeyam Ravi's lacking punch and wafer-thin story line, giving the film a mere 1.5 out of 5. A critic from Times of India also criticised the film saying that it "lacks that light touch needed to carry off the candyfloss content" as well as Jayam Ravi's performance describing his character as "a ham of what is simply a ridiculously featherweight character". A critic from Chennai Online said "the film somehow manages to entertain with comedy elements".


title: Pebbles (film)

text: Pebbles (Tamil: Koozhangal) is a 2021 Indian Tamil-language drama film directed by debutant P. S. Vinothraj. The film was produced by Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara under the Rowdy Pictures banner. Featuring music composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, the film had cinematography handled by Jeya Parthipan and Vignesh Kumulai and was edited by Ganesh Siva.


title: Pebbles (film)

text: "Pebbles" was screened at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam held in Netherlands on 4 February 2021, where it received the Tiger Award at the festival. It was selected as the Indian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, but was not nominated. and will also be screened at 52nd International Film Festival of India in 'Indian Panorama' section, feature film category.


title: Pebbles (film)

text: The story is of the film based on a real incident of director Vinothraj's family which inspired him to direct the film. Vinoth stated that he spent a lot of time looking for an arid landscape, which was required for the story and was finally found in Arittapati, near Melur in Madurai. The whole film was shot at Arittapati in 30 days. The mountains in the 13 villages where the film was shot are thousands of years old and the villages which Vinoth explored, as a part of the story, too developed on its own. The biggest challenge of shooting the film is mostly the humid weather, for which he stated that "As sunlight was crucial for the story, we would start shooting every day after 10am and wind up by 3pm. We would watch the rushes in the evening and that would give us the motivation for the next day."


title: Pebbles (film)

text: S. Srivatsan of "The Hindu" wrote in his review stating "There has never been a Tamil film that has captured the vastness of rural life in a more austere, art-house fashion. PS Vinothraj knows what are all the basics of filmmaking that is lacking, even in the works of celebrated filmmakers." Baradwaj Rangan of "Film Companion South" wrote "Despite the many tragedies in the scenario (both natural and man-made), the film doesn’t beg for our sympathies. Only at the very end do we feel a twinge."


title: Pebbles (film)

text: Pebbles was premiered at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam held in Netherlands on 4 February 2021. The film was officially selected at the North American premiere of New Directors New Films Festival which held on 28 April to 8 May, and also selected at the Jeonju International Film Festival held in South Korea from 29 April to 8 May. The film was also screened at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles held on 20 to 27 May, and at the Kyiv Molodist International Film Festival held from 29 May to 6 June. "Pebbles" is India's official entry to Oscars 2022. 14 films were shortlisted for this year's India's official entry to the Oscars 2022. Among the 14 films were Malayalam film Nayattu, Tamil film Mandela and Hindi film Sardar Udham. Shaji N Karun, the chairperson of the 15-member selection committee watched the 14 films in Kolkata. Reportedly, the decision to select "Pebbles" for the Oscars 2022 was unanimous. However, the film wasn't nominated for the award.


title: Dionysia

text: The Dionysia (, , ; Greek: Διονύσια) was a large festival in ancient Athens in honor of the god Dionysus, the central events of which were the theatrical performances of dramatic tragedies and, from 487 BC, comedies. It was the second-most important festival after the Panathenaia. The Dionysia actually consisted of two related festivals, the Rural Dionysia and the City Dionysia, which took place in different parts of the year. They were also an essential part of the Dionysian Mysteries.


title: Dionysia

text: The Dionysia was originally a rural festival in Eleutherae, Attica ( – "Dionysia ta kat' agrous"), probably celebrating the cultivation of vines. It was probably a very ancient festival, perhaps not originally associated with Dionysus. This "rural Dionysia" was held during the winter, in the month of Poseideon (the month straddling the winter solstice, i.e., Dec.-Jan.). The central event was the "pompe" (πομπή), the procession, in which "phalloi" (φαλλοί) were carried by "phallophoroi" (φαλλοφόροι). Also participating in the "pompe" were "kanephoroi" (κανηφόροι – young girls carrying baskets), "obeliaphoroi" (ὀβελιαφόροι


title: Dionysia

text: – who carried long loaves of bread), "skaphephoroi" (σκαφηφόροι – who carried other offerings), "hydriaphoroi" (ὑδριαφόροι – who carried jars of water), and "askophoroi" (ἀσκοφόροι – who carried jars of wine).


title: Dionysia

text: After the "pompe" procession was completed, there were contests of dancing and singing, and choruses (led by a "choregos") would perform dithyrambs. Some festivals may have included dramatic performances, possibly of the tragedies and comedies that had been produced at the City Dionysia the previous year. This was more common in the larger towns, such as Piraeus and Eleusis.


title: Dionysia

text: Because the various towns in Attica held their festivals on different days, it was possible for spectators to visit more than one festival per season. It was also an opportunity for Athenian citizens to travel outside the city if they did not have the opportunity to do so during the rest of the year. This also allowed travelling companies of actors to perform in more than one town during the period of the festival.


title: Dionysia

text: The City Dionysia ("Dionysia ta en Astei – Διονύσια τὰ ἐν Ἄστει", also known as the Great Dionysia, "Dionysia ta Megala – Διονύσια τὰ Μεγάλα") was the urban part of the festival, possibly established during the tyranny of Peisistratus in the 6th century BC. This festival was held probably from the 10th to the 16th of the month Elaphebolion (the lunar month straddling the vernal equinox, i.e., Mar.-Apr in the solar calendar), three months after the rural Dionysia, probably to celebrate the end of winter and the harvesting of the year's crops. According to tradition, the festival was established after Eleutherae, a town on the border between Attica and Boeotia, had chosen to become part of Attica. The Eleuthereans brought a statue of Dionysus to Athens, which was initially rejected by the Athenians. Dionysus then punished the Athenians with a plague affecting the male genitalia, which was cured when the Athenians accepted the cult of Dionysus. This was recalled each year by a procession of citizens carrying "phalloi".


title: Dionysia

text: The urban festival was a relatively recent invention. This ceremony fell under the auspices of the Archons of Athens, rather than the basileus, to whom religious festivals were given when the office of archon was created in the 7th century BC.


title: Dionysia

text: The archon prepared for the City Dionysia as soon as he was elected, by choosing his two "páredroi" (πάρεδροι, "reeves", literally: "by the chair") and ten "epimelētai" (ἐπιμεληταί, "curators") to help organize the festival. On the first day of the festival, the "pompē" ("pomp", "procession") was held, in which citizens, metics, and representatives from Athenian colonies marched to the Theatre of Dionysus on the southern slope of the Acropolis, carrying the wooden statue of Dionysus Eleuthereus, the "leading" or "eisagōgē" (εἰσαγωγή, "introduction"). As with the Rural Dionysia, they also carried phalloi, made of wood or bronze, aloft on poles, and a cart pulled a much larger phallus. Basket-carriers and water and wine-carriers participated in the "pompe" here, as in the Rural Dionysia.


title: Dionysia

text: During the height of the Athenian Empire in the mid-5th century BC, various gifts and weapons showcasing Athens' strength were carried as well. Also included in the procession were bulls to be sacrificed in the theatre. The most conspicuous members of the procession were the "chorēgoí" (χορηγοί, "sponsors", literally: "chorus leaders"), who were dressed in the most expensive and ornate clothing. After the "pompē", the "chorēgoí" led their choruses in the dithyrambic competitions. These were extremely competitive, and the best flute players and celebrity poets (such as Simonides and Pindar) offered their musical and lyrical services. After these competitions, the bulls were sacrificed, and a feast was held for all the citizens of Athens. A second procession, the "kōmos" (κῶμος), occurred afterwards, which was most likely a drunken revelry through the streets.


title: Dionysia

text: The next day, the playwrights announced the titles of the plays to be performed, and judges were selected by lot: the ""proagōn"" (προαγών, "pre-contest"). It is unknown where the "proagōn" originally took place, but after the mid-5th century BC, it was held in the Odeon of Pericles on the foot of Acropolis. The "proagōn" was also used to give praise to notable citizens, or often foreigners, who had served Athens in some beneficial way during the year. During the Peloponnesian War, orphaned children of those who had been killed in battle were also paraded in the Odeon, possibly to honour their fathers. The "proagōn" could be used for other announcements as well; in 406 BC the death of the playwright Euripides was announced there.


title: Dionysia

text: Following the "pompe", the Theatre of Dionysus was purified by the sacrifice of a bull. According to tradition, the first performance of tragedy at the Dionysia was by the playwright and actor Thespis (from whom we take the word "thespian") in 534 BC. His award was reportedly a goat, a common symbol for Dionysus, and this "prize" possibly suggests the origin of the word "tragedy" (which means "goat-song").


title: Dionysia

text: During the fifth century BC, five days of the festival were set aside for performance, though scholars disagree exactly what was presented each day. At least three full days were devoted to tragic plays, and each of three playwrights presented his set of three tragedies and one satyr play on the successive days. Most of the extant Greek tragedies, including those of Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles, were performed at the Theatre of Dionysus. The archons, "epimeletai", and judges ("agonothetai – ἀγωνοθἐται") watched from the front row.


title: Dionysia

text: The other two days of the festival were likely devoted to dithyrambic contests until 487/6 BC, when comic poets were officially admitted to the agons and eligible for their own prizes. Each of five comic writers presented a single play (except during the Peloponnesian War, when only three plays were performed), though it is unknown whether they were performed continuously on one day, or over the course of the five-day festival. Until 449 BC, only dramatic works were awarded prizes in the agon, but after that time, actors also became eligible for recognition. It was considered a great honour to win the comedic prize at the City Dionysia, despite the belief that comedies were of secondary importance. The Lenaia festival, held earlier in the year, featured comedy more prominently and officially recognized comic performances with prizes in 442 BC.


title: Dionysia

text: Impressive tragic output continued without pause through the first three quarters of the fourth century BC, and some scholars consider this time a continuation of the classical period. Though much of the work of this period is either lost or forgotten, it is considered to owe a great debt to the playwright Euripides. His plays, along with other fifth-century BC writers, were often re-staged during this period. At least one revival was presented each year at City Dionysia. It has been suggested that audiences may have preferred to see well-known plays re-staged, rather than financially support new plays of questionable quality; or alternately, that revivals represented a nostalgia for the glory of Athens from before the devastation of the Peloponnesian War. Nevertheless, plays continued to be written and performed until the 2nd century BC, when new works of both comedy and tragedy seem to have been eliminated. After that point drama continued to be produced, but prizes were awarded to wealthy producers and famous actors rather than the long-dead playwrights whose work was being performed.


title: Dionysia

text: Another procession and celebration was held on the final day, when the judges chose the winners of the tragedy and comedy performances. The winning playwrights were awarded a wreath of ivy.


title: Dionysia

text: The festival has inspired people through the present day, as a celebration of humanity (see Nietzsche's or Aristotle's take) and an exposition of culture. The University of Houston's Center for Creative works produces and performs an adaptation each spring. The purpose of the enterprise is to educate and entertain, and adaptations occasionally go beyond Greek theater for inspiration (for example, the 2013 Spring adaptation of the Iliad, titled "Ilium"). Collaborators flock from all over America and the productions themselves are quite popular, selling out on all ticketed venues.


title: Dionysia

text: The New York Classical Club, through Fordham University's Classics Department, stages a competition every April wherein groups of high school students produce unique adaptations of the same play. The competition aims to engage the themes and style of the ancient plays with renewed vigor and an accessible, thought provoking frame. Several notable schools from the area participate, including Stuyvesant and Regis. Adaptations are cut to twenty minutes, and source plays have included "The Bacchae" by Euripides and the entire collection of Ovid's "Metamorphoses".


title: Dionysia

text: Educational charity The Iris Project holds a Dionysia Festival every year with Year Eight students from Cheney School, who adapt and modernise Aristophanes plays. The festival is usually hosted at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.


title: Dionysia

text: Modern followers of Hellenism celebrate Dionysia as a holiday and use a version of the Attic calendar to calculate it.


title: 24: Redemption

text: 24: Redemption is a television film based on the series "24". "Redemption" takes place almost four years after the sixth season and two months before the seventh season in real time between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm (Sangala Time Zone) on Inauguration Day in the United States. The main setting is Sangala, a fictional African country, where ex-Counter Terrorist Unit Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) tries to find peace with himself, and works as a missionary with Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle), who built the Okavango school to aid war orphans. Bauer is served a subpoena to appear before the United States Senate regarding human rights violations, but refuses to go, and a shadow organization among the United States government aids General Benjamin Juma (Tony Todd) and his militia in a coup d'état. Juma's militia attempts to kidnap the children from the school and Jack has to decide whether or not to give himself up to American authorities in order to keep the children safe.


title: 24: Redemption

text: The film was written by executive producer Howard Gordon and was directed by Jon Cassar. The film's genesis originated with the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which delayed the seventh season for a year thus leaving a gap in the series during 2008. It first aired on November 23, 2008, on Fox in the United States, and was released to DVD on November 25. Two versions of the film were released to DVD, the original broadcast version and an extended director's cut. The original airing was seen by just over 12 million Americans, and received widespread critical acclaim, and was praised for showing a more human side to Bauer. "24: Redemption" was nominated for a Golden Globe as well as five Emmy Awards. The majority of "Redemption" was filmed on location outside Cape Town, South Africa since it was difficult to mimic authentic African scenery in America.


title: 24: Redemption

text: 44 months after the events of Day Six, a young boy in the African nation of Sangala is kidnapped at night, indoctrinated, and drafted along with other boys into a rebel militia led by General Benjamin Juma (Tony Todd) so they could take part in a coup d'état, which is being funded by an American shadow organization led by Jonas Hodges (Jon Voight).


title: 24: Redemption

text: While ex-Counter Terrorist Unit Agent Jack Bauer performs missionary work at the Okavango school in Sangala owned by Carl Benton (Robert Carlyle), United States Embassy official Frank Trammel (Gil Bellows) serves him a subpoena to appear before the Senate regarding torture charges, but Bauer refuses to go. Upon hearing the embassy will cut funding to Benton's school if it continues to protect him, he decides to leave.


title: 24: Redemption

text: Meanwhile, several children playing soccer are ambushed by Juma's rebel soldiers and kidnapped for conscription. When two boys run away, the soldiers open fire, killing one. Benton learns that the rebels are planning to attack his school. He calls Bauer, who hides the children in an underground shelter, and kills several rebels before getting captured and tortured. Benton is able to ambush the remaining soldiers, and Bauer kills the leader, Youssou Dubaku (Zolile Nokwe). His brother, Iké (Hakeem Kae-Kazim) hears of his death and plots revenge, while Bauer and Benton leave with the children to get to the American embassy in the capital before the final helicopter evacuates the country.


title: 24: Redemption

text: In Washington, D.C., stockbroker Chris Whitley (Kris Lemche) is ordered by the conspirators who fund Juma's militia to erase all information that would incriminate them. Instead, he calls his friend Roger Taylor (Eric Lively), the son of President Elect Allison Taylor (Cherry Jones), for help. After Roger hears of the conspiracy, Whitley returns to his home to forward the files, only to be stopped by Hodges' men Halcott and John Quinn (Sebastian Roche) who take the information, kill Whitley and bury the body in concrete.


title: 24: Redemption

text: Benton, Bauer and the boys are spotted by Iké's helicopter. While they flee into the forest, Benton steps on a land mine. With little time to disarm it, Benton urges Bauer to leave, so he can buy time. When he is surrounded by Iké and his men, Benton takes his foot off the trigger and detonates the mine, killing himself and the rebels, though Iké survives. Bauer and the children continue to the capital, where he defeats another rebel ambush. At the gates of the embassy, Trammel denies the children entry and blackmails Bauer into surrendering for the children's safety. He reluctantly accepts, thus sacrificing his freedom. While Taylor is inaugurated President, Bauer and the children evacuate, leaving chaotic Sangala behind.


title: 24: Redemption

text: While the majority of the characters are introduced, there are still a small number of original cast who appeared in the past, namely Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Jack Bauer and Bob Gunton, who plays Ethan Kanin from the sixth season and appears as the outgoing Secretary of Defense and new White House Chief of Staff. Powers Boothe continues to play Noah Daniels, the outgoing president. Peter MacNicol reprises his role as Tom Lennox from the sixth season also.


title: 24: Redemption

text: In Sangala, Robert Carlyle plays Carl Benton, an old friend of Jack Bauer, who runs a school for rescued war orphans. Carlyle suggested that there is a very close friendship between Benton and Bauer, since he seems to let Benton come closer to him than others. Towards the end of the film, he sacrifices himself in order to buy time for Bauer and the children to escape. Gil Bellows plays Frank Tramell, a U.S. State Department official who is ordered to subpoena Bauer. Native South African actor Sean Michael plays Charles Solenz, a UN aid worker helping at Benton's school, and later abandons Benton and the children, claiming that the United Nations is "neutral" in the Sangala conflict.


title: 24: Redemption

text: Siyabulela Ramba plays Willie, one of the war orphans under the care of Benton, who befriends Bauer. Ramba felt an emotional connection with Sutherland during filming, and believes their friendship shows through onscreen. Isaach De Bankolé plays Ule Matobo, the prime minister of the nation, who is forced to evacuate the country during the coup. Among the antagonists in Sangala are General Benjamin Juma (Tony Todd), a former dictator and leader of the People's Freedom Army responsible for genocide in Sangala, and Iké Dubaku (Hakeem Kae-Kazim), one of Juma's lieutenants in the coup. Zolile Nokwe plays Youssou Dubaku, Iké's younger brother.


title: 24: Redemption

text: In Washington, Cherry Jones plays Allison Taylor, the first woman to be inaugurated President of the United States. Colm Feore plays Allison's husband and First Gentleman Henry Taylor. Eric Lively plays Roger Taylor, the First Son and son of Taylor, and appears alongside Carly Pope as his girlfriend, Samantha Roth, and Kris Lemche, who plays friend Chris Whitley. Among the antagonists in Washington are Jon Voight, who plays Jonas Hodges, a "very serious villain" involved in a Blackwater-type organization, as well as Mark Kiely, who plays Secret Service Agent Edward Vossler.


title: 24: Redemption

text: The film was conceived as a result of the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, which delayed the seventh season for an entire year; the producers were exploring ways to get back on the air earlier. Ideas included airing webisodes or mobisodes. According to the President of Entertainment at Fox, "We were going to be off the air for a while and how do you bridge that gap. We thought about doing something online and after talking with [executive producer] Howard Gordon we decided to do it on air." The working title for the film was "24: Exile", until the change to "24: Redemption".


title: 24: Redemption

text: In an interview, Kiefer Sutherland revealed that "Redemption" was inspired by the Rwandan genocide and the U.S. Government's response to it. "The truth is, one of the things that was said in the prequel, which I think has been a massive problem with how the Western world has dealt with Africa, no one can justify going there, because they have no viable reason – meaning oil or money. Here [the president's] response is a human one. We can stop a genocide. I think that that's something that Bill Clinton apologized for not doing with Rwanda and we centered a show around that."


title: 24: Redemption

text: On April 30, producers began scouting locations in Africa in order to film the feature in the upcoming weeks. The original plan was to shoot three days worth of scenes in Africa and then have Simi Valley, California fill in for the location. After realizing it would be difficult to fake, it was decided to shoot the majority of the film on location in Cape Town, South Africa. Filming took place from June 4 to June 20 with the final scenes being shot in Los Angeles, California. By July 13, principal shooting of the film had been completed and post-production had begun.


title: 24: Redemption

text: Before release of "Redemption", an exclusive six-minute clip was shown to fans at San Diego Comic-Con, 2008, which showed Bauer escorting a group of African children to the U.S. embassy and becomes involved in a gunfight on a crowded street. On September 21, 2008, another trailer was soon uploaded by Fox, focusing more on the conflict in Africa and how Jonas Hodges is involved in the conflict. It premiered on November 23, 2008 in the U.S. with the DVD released two days later. Fox also released an extended creator's cut of the feature. Other extras include an audio commentary, "Making of" and "Children of War" featurettes, a brief summary of the sixth season, an alternate Season 7 trailer featuring scenes from the first thirteen episodes, and the first sixteen minutes of the Season 7 premiere. In the United Kingdom, the film premiered on November 24 on Sky1, one day after first airing in America. It was later released in the UK on December 1, 2008 with both the original and extended versions on DVD. In Australia, "Redemption" aired on November 24, 2008 on the Seven Network. The DVD was later released on February 11, 2009.


title: 24: Redemption

text: "Redemption" was placed the second most viewed Fox release on the week it aired, behind "House"; "Redemption" drew a total of 12.121 million viewers, with a Nielsen rating of 7.0, 4.0/9 among adults aged 18–49. "Redemption" was the highest-rated scripted program of the night, and was 3rd overall for the 8:00 pm to 11:00 pm time slot, behind the American Music Awards and Sunday Night Football. It aired on Sky 1 in the UK, and received an average of 405,000 viewers, nearly triple the regular number of viewers for the series.


title: 24: Redemption

text: The film garnered widespread critical acclaim reviews from film critics. It holds an 80% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews. Alessandra Stanley of "The New York Times" gave the film a positive review, stating that Redemption is "a more sober, stripped-down version of "24", and that's refreshing," and that it was the first time a terrorist threat did not take place in Southern California, and the depiction of the conflict in Sangala is highly realistic and compelling. Stanley also said that a two-hour version of "24" proves that downsizing isn't always a bad thing. Mary McNamara of the "Los Angeles Times" praised the film, acknowledging the producers taking on board the criticism and moral issues regarding the use of torture, and stated that a group of innocent young children running for their lives "instantly ratchets up a story's emotional level."


title: 24: Redemption

text: Brian Zoromski of "IGN" rated it "good", 7.5 out of a possible 10. Zoromski stated that the purpose of "Redemption" was to allow the introduction of new characters for the seventh season. He further praised the action scenes involving Bauer on his own, stating it as a "sort of Die Hard in Africa," and called the change of setting from Los Angeles a "refreshing change of pace". However, Zormski criticized the film for containing "cludgy dialogue and bland scenes", but suggested that it makes up for it with the action scenes and emotional scenes involving Bauer, allowing Sutherland to show his acting range. Oscar Dah; of "BuddyTV" stated that the film should make up for the critics' poor outing of the sixth season, and has said that the film works wonderfully as the start of the seventh season, and praised Robert Carlyle's performance.


title: 24: Redemption

text: In addition, some reviews had mixed responses. Simon Brew of "Den of Geek" rated "Redemption" 3 out of 5 stars, praising it for showing a more human side of Bauer, the acting of Cherry Jones as Allison Taylor, and named "Redemption" as a solid bridge between season six and seven. However, Brew was critical that it "plays no havoc" with the world of "24", and that it is "lacking at times in urgency". Gerard Gilbert of "The Independent" stated that the introduction of Jonas Hodges was promising, and praised Jon Voight's acting, as well as stating that the character is the one most to look forward to in the seventh season. Matthew Gilbert of "The Boston Globe" gave the film a negative review, giving it a 2 out of 10, calling it "un-fun", and stating that Bauer's character has not changed at all from past seasons, and asking, "When does a rogue hero [Bauer] become a tired joke? Based on this un-fun movie, I would say yesterday."


title: 24: Redemption

text: In total, the film itself and its lead actor, Kiefer Sutherland, were nominated for several awards, but none of them resulted in a win. Sutherland was nominated for this performance as "Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV Film" at the 66th Golden Globe Awards, an award which was won by Paul Giamatti for his performance in "John Adams". The TV film was also nominated with five Primetime Emmys, including four Creative Arts Primetime Emmys in its 61st ceremony. Sutherland was again nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his role as Jack Bauer, but lost to Brendan Gleeson for his role as Winston Churchill in "Into the Storm". Sean Callery was nominated for "Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special (Original Dramatic Score)", but lost to "Into the Storm" composer Howard Goodall. Scott Powell was nominated for "Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries or a Movie", which was won by Lee Percy and Brian A. Kates for "Taking Chance". William D. Dotson, Catherine M. Speakman, Jeffrey R. Whitcher, Pembrooke Andrews, Shawn Kennelly, Daryl Fontenault, Melissa Kennelly, Jeffrey Charboneau, Laura Macias and Vincent Nicastro were nominated for "Outstanding Sound Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special", but lost to the crew of "Generation Kill". Lastly, William Gocke, Colin McFarlane, Michael Olman and Kenneth Kobett were nominated for "Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Miniseries or a Movie", which was won again by the crew of "Generation Kill". Sutherland was also nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie but once again lost to Paul Giamatti in "John Adams". "Redemption" was also nominated for the Satellite Award for Best Television Film but lost to the BBC docudrama "".


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: The black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), or black-capped night heron, commonly shortened to just night heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. In Australasia it is replaced by the closely related nankeen night heron, with which it has hybridized in the area of contact.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: The black-crowned night heron was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his "Systema Naturae". He placed it with herons, cranes and egrets in the genus "Ardea" and coined the binomial name "Ardea nicticorax". It is now placed in the genus "Nycticorax" that was introduced in 1817 by the English naturalist Thomas Forster for this species. The epithet "nycticorax" is from Ancient Greek and combines "nux", "nuktos" meaning "night" and "korax" meaning "raven". The word was used by authors such as Aristotle and Hesychius of Miletus for a "bird of ill omen", perhaps an owl. The word was used by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gessner in 1555 and then by subsequent authors for a black-crowned night heron.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: In the Falkland Islands, the bird is called "quark", which is an onomatopoeia similar to its name in many other languages, like "qua-bird" in English, in Dutch and West Frisian, in Czech, in Ukrainian, in Russian, in Vietnamese, in Indonesian, and in Quechua.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: Adults have a black crown and back with the remainder of the body white or grey, red eyes, and short yellow legs. They have pale grey wings and white under parts. Two or three long white plumes, erected in greeting and courtship displays, extend from the back of the head. The sexes are similar in appearance although the males are slightly larger. Black-crowned night herons do not fit the typical body form of the heron family. They are relatively stocky with shorter bills, legs, and necks than their more familiar cousins, the egrets and "day" herons. Their resting posture is normally somewhat hunched but when hunting they extend their necks and look more like other wading birds.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: Immature birds have dull grey-brown plumage on their heads, wings, and backs, with numerous pale spots. Their underparts are paler and streaked with brown. The young birds have orange eyes and duller yellowish-green legs. They are very noisy birds in their nesting colonies, with calls that are commonly transcribed as or .


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: The breeding habitat is fresh and salt-water wetlands throughout much of the world. The subspecies "N. n. hoactli" breeds in North and South America from Canada as far south as northern Argentina and Chile, "N. n. obscurus" in southernmost South America, "N. n. falklandicus" in the Falkland Islands, and the nominate race "N. n. nycticorax" in Europe, Asia and Africa. Black-crowned night herons nest in colonies on platforms of sticks in a group of trees, or on the ground in protected locations such as islands or reedbeds. Three to eight eggs are laid.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: This heron is migratory in the northernmost part of its range, but otherwise resident (even in the cold Patagonia). The North American population winters in Mexico, the southern United States, Central America, and the West Indies, and the Old World birds winter in tropical Africa and southern Asia.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: A colony of the herons has regularly summered at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. for more than a century. The birds also prominently live year-round in the shores around the San Francisco Bay, with the largest rookery in Oakland. Their ever presence at Oakland's Lake Merritt and throughout the city's downtown area, as well as their resilience to the urban environment and displacement efforts, have led to them being named Oakland's official city bird.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: There are two archaeological specimens of the black-crowned night heron in Great Britain. The oldest is from the Roman London Wall and the more recent from the Royal Navy's late medieval victualling yards in Greenwich. It appears in the London poulterers price lists as the Brewe, a bird which was thought to have been the Eurasian whimbrel or Glossy ibis, which has now been shown to refer to the black-crowned night heron, derived from the medieval French "Bihoreau". Black-crowned night heron may have bred in the far wetter and wider landscape of pre-modern Britain. They were certainly imported for the table so the bone specimens themselves do not prove they were part of the British avifauna. In modern times the black-crowned night heron is a vagrant and feral breeding colonies were established at Edinburgh Zoo from 1950 into the 21st century and at Great Witchingham in Norfolk where there were 8 pairs in 2003 but breeding was not repeated in 2004 or 2005. A pair of adults were seen with two recently fledged juveniles in Somerset in 2017, which is the first proven breeding record of wild black-crowned night herons in Great Britain.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: These birds stand still at the water's edge and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night or early morning. They primarily eat small fish, leeches, earthworms, mussels, squid, crustaceans (such as crayfish), frogs, other amphibians, aquatic insects, terrestrial insects, lizards, snakes, small mammals (such as rodents), small birds, eggs, carrion, plant material, and garbage and refuse at landfills. They are among the seven heron species observed to engage in bait fishing; luring or distracting fish by tossing edible or inedible buoyant objects into water within their striking range – a rare example of tool use among birds. During the day they rest in trees or bushes. "N. n. hoactli" is more gregarious outside the breeding season than the nominate race.


title: Black-crowned night heron

text: A thorough study performed by J. Sitko and P. Heneberg in the Czech Republic in 1962–2013 suggested that the central European black-crowned night herons host 8 helminth species. The dominant species consisted of "Neogryporhynchus cheilancristrotus" (62% prevalence), "Contracaecum microcephalum" (55% prevalence) and "Opistorchis longissimus" (10% prevalence). The mean number of helminth species recorded per host individual reached 1.41. In Ukraine, other helminth species are often found in black-crowned night herons too, namely "Echinochasmus beleocephalus", "Echinochasmus ruficapensis", "Clinostomum complanatum" and "Posthodiplostomum cuticola".


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson. It is the sixth single from Jackson's sixth solo album, "Thriller" (1982). The song was written by James Ingram and Quincy Jones.


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was released on September 19, 1983. The single charted at number 10 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and number 46 on the Hot Black Singles chart, becoming the sixth top 10 hit from the album. In the UK, the song reached a peak position of 11. The single was most successful in Belgium, charting within the top 10 at number 6. The song has been covered and sampled by numerous artists, including Monica, Justin Guarini, and Kanye West. The original demo was also remixed by Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am for "Thriller 25".


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was never performed live by Jackson. In a rehearsal for the Dangerous World Tour, however, Jackson sang a small part of the demo version, describing it as "something I wrote that I haven't recorded yet."


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: Quincy Jones came up with the original title for the song after his wife, Peggy Lipton, brought lingerie with the words "pretty young thing" on it. From there, Jones asked several songwriters to write a song around the title. Jackson and musician Greg Phillinganes co-wrote and recorded a demo, which was presented to Jones by Phillinganes. That version is featured on "The Ultimate Collection" (2004). Jackson recalls that his version with Phillinganes wasn't what Jones was looking for. "Quincy wanted a fast song. Mine was mid-tempo." When James Ingram presented his demo, Jones said "that's it," and sent Ingram home to finish the lyrics. Jones then suggested they extend the bridge and add a chant section, resulting in Jones receiving a co-writer's credit. Jackson says he loved the version Ingram and Jones came up with, stating that he liked the "code" in the lyrics and the fact that words like "tenderoni" were fun rock 'n' roll-type words that couldn't be found in the dictionary.


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: Producer Quincy Jones allowed his long-time sound engineer Bruce Swedien to choose a large-diaphragm Shure SM7 dynamic microphone for Jackson's voice. The choice was unusual, as the microphone was more often seen in radio stations. For backing vocals, Swedien positioned Jackson at different distances from the microphone to record each track, to get a thicker sound.


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: James Ingram later described working with Jackson and Jones as being in "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". "It's almost like I got the chance to go to Oz and Quincy was the Wizard of Oz and Michael Jackson was who he was dealing with in his world. Their work ethic is unbelievable." He noted how Jones would fall asleep on the board, waking up to answer a question. "He works in the Alpha state a lot", Ingram added. Two of Jackson's sisters, Janet and La Toya, provided backing vocals in the guise of the P.Y.T.s. The two sisters sang "na na na" back at their brother towards the end of the song. According to the official sheet music at Musicnotes.com, "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" is in the key of B minor. It has a tempo of 126 beats per minute, making it one of Jackson's fastest songs.


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was released on September 19, 1983, as the sixth single from "Thriller". The single charted at no. 10 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 and no. 46 on the Hot Black Singles chart, becoming the sixth Top 10 hit from "Thriller". In the United Kingdom, the song reached a peak position of 11. It was most successful in Belgium, charting within the Top 10 at no. 6. The single was placed at no. 14 in the Netherlands. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" charted at number 24 in Canada and peaked at number 51 in Germany.


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: Response to "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was mixed to positive. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic thought that it was "frizzy funk." Eric Henderson of "Slant Magazine" believed that "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was a "lush disco paradise." However, "Rolling Stone" reviewer Christopher Connelly, while discussing the album in a review, stated that the song "isn't up to the spunky character of the other tracks." Connelly mentioned that one of Jackson's weaknesses was "a tendency to go for the glitz," and cited the song as one example of this. Davitt Sigerson, from the same magazine, also agreed with Connelly, calling it one of "Thriller"'s "forgettables". Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" called the song "fluff", and believed that the other songs from the album were what made "Thriller" such a hit.


title: P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

text: For "Thriller 25", The Black Eyed Peas frontman and producer will.i.am remixed the demo version of "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" which Michael Jackson and Greg Phillinganes had co-written. The producer commented on Jackson and the project: "You always just dream of meeting him, let alone working with him. I wouldn't have believed it. I grew up in the projects in East Los Angeles and "Thriller" was filmed about two blocks from my house, but my mother was really strict and she wouldn't let me go to the factories—she didn't care who was filming a video there; but I'm on the 25th anniversary, 25 years later—that's pretty awesome." Entitled "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) 2008", the remix was well received by "Rolling Stone". The publication described the track, along with "The Girl Is Mine 2008", as being one of the best songs on the album. They noted that will.i.am "updates the songs' original sound to make them dancefloor-worthy 25 years after their release."


title: Sura (film)

text: Sura () is a 2010 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film written and directed by S. P. Rajkumar, starring Vijay in the titular role along with Tamannaah, Vadivelu, and Dev Gill in supporting roles. The film, produced by Sangili Murugan and distributed by Sun Pictures features film's soundtrack and score was composed by Mani Sharma. Cinematography was handled by M. S. Prabhu and N. K. Ekambaram respectively and editing was handled by Don Max. The film was the 50th film of Vijay.


title: Sura (film)

text: The story revolves around a fisherman who fights against a cruel, greedy and corrupt minister in order to save the lands which is used to build homes for his fishermen hamlet. The rest of the film is about how Sura manages to build lands for his hamlet and destroy the plans of minister. The film, which commenced production in November 2009 in Kerala, was released worldwide on 30 April 2010. The film fared well in overseas box office has collected $897,597 but underperformed domestically. Producer Sangili Murugan reported to the media that the film Sura recovered only its budget in its film run. In 2020, "Sura" film was re-released in Kerala state.


title: Sura (film)

text: In survey taken for week 45 (4-10 November 2017), Sony Max Hindi TV channel increased its viewership by 25% after Hindi dubbed film Sura telecast. The film became popular in Indonesia, and cited it as an Indian Aquaman.


title: Sura (film)

text: Sura was born and brought up in YaazhNagar, a fisherman hamlet in coastal Tamil Nadu, in the company of his friend AmbarLa alias Umbrella. Meanwhile, he comes across young woman Poornima, who chooses to end her life, unable to cope up with the death of her pet dog Ramesh. Poornima is attracted to Sura, due to his good deeds and they fall for each other. Samuthira Raja / Sundaram is a cruel, greedy and corrupt minister, who wants to usurp Sura's hamlet to build a fair, but his attempts to usrup the hamlet are resisted by Sura. Sundaram hatches a conspiracy to bump off Sura with the help of his ministerial post and authority and sues him.


title: Sura (film)

text: Sura takes them on single-handedly and destroys Sundaram's intention and helps his fishermen to regain their own houses. However, Sundaram is plotting revenge against Sura for usurping his money. He plants a bomb and Sundaram catches Sura. Sundaram reveals that he planted a bomb in Sura's hamlet. Sura tells that their hamlet's inauguration chief guest is actually Sundaram's wife, much to Sundaram's shock. Sundaram deactivates the bomb where he is killed by Sura, who Sundaram, thus rendering peace to the hamlet.


title: Sura (film)

text: After the completion of "Vettaikaaran" (2009), Vijay announced that his 50th film was to be named as "Urimaikural" named after M. G. Ramachandran starrer of same name but it was titled as "Sura". Many directors were considered for the 50th film of Vijay: Selvaraghavan, S. P. Rajakumar, K. V. Anand, Dharani, Prabhu Deva, Siddique, Raja Mohan, R. Madhesh, K. S. Ravikumar and Perarasu. Perarasu was initially selected as director, but later opted out. S. P. Rajkumar, who directed "Azhagar Malai" (2009) was selected as director. Prior to this, S. P. Rajkumar previously worked in Vijay starrer "Once More" (1997) as a dialogue writer.


title: Sura (film)

text: In May 2009, Tamannaah was confirmed to play a role in the film. Originally, Pasupathi was selected to portray the negative role but he was replaced by Dev Gill who appeared in Telugu film "Magadheera" (2009), after Vijay was impressed by his performance in that film.


title: Sura (film)

text: The shooting of the film commenced in Kerala in November 2009 and was continued in different places in Tamil Nadu like Marakkanam, Villupuram, Mamallapuram, Chennai, Alleppey, and Pondicherry. The shoot continued on 21 October and canned a few stunt sequences on the Uppaneri Bridge near Marakkanam Salt Lake. Vijay fought with villain Dev's gang for almost three days. After a three-day gap, the shoot resumed in Prasad Studios and the song "Thanjavur Jillakari" was shot at AVM Studio on 27 October. The unit created a slum set at East Coast Road. A song was shot at Ooty. During the shooting, cameraman M. S. Prabhu and Rajakumar had a misunderstanding and he was replaced by N. K. Ekhambharam. Ekambaram reveals that one of the fight sequences, which were shot in the high seas in Tuticorin at 2 am, was choreographed by Kanal Kannan and has stuntmen from Bangkok. Ekambaram says that he has used high speed cameras considering the risks involved in shooting in the seas. The opening song has been pictured in a scenic location in Dhanushkodi.


title: Sura (film)

text: The soundtrack of the film, composed by Mani Sharma, was released on 29 March 2010 at Lady Aandal Venkat Subbarao School. The prominent guest list includes Sundar C, Sibiraj, Riyaz Khan and Uma Riyaz Khan, Ramanarayanan, K S Ravikumar, Parthiban, Vadivelu, Sonia Agarwal, Srikanth along with the lead stars of the film and the technical crew. Kabilan reveals that lyrics for all songs from the film were written even before "Vettaikaran" was released. The album features six songs all of which have been reused from his previous films. "Vetri Kodi Yethu", "Vanga Kadal Ellai", "Siragadikkum Nilavu", "Thamizhan Veera Thamizhan", "Thanjavoor Jillakkari", and "Naan Nadanthal Athiradi" are based on the Telugu songs "Inthe Inthinthe", "Nuvvasalu", "Tagilinadi Rabba", "Hut Hutja", "Bommali" and "My Name Is Billa", respectively.


title: Sura (film)

text: The film's release was originally slated to 23 April 2010, but was eventually postponed and released on 30 April 2010. It was also released in Hindi under the same title by Goldmines Telefilms in 2017.


title: Sura (film)

text: Behindwoods gave it two and a half stars, declaring it "Sura is a usual Vijay fare ." The entertainment site Sify wrote that "Sura" proved that "conviction can bring any formula to life". Rediff gave 2 out of 5 stars and stated that "Give your brains a rest, and enjoy this mass masala entertainer". "Ananda Vikatan" rated the film 37 out of 100.


title: Lisa Sheridan

text: Lisa Sheridan (December 5, 1973 – February 25, 2019) was an American actress. Known mainly for her work on television, Sheridan was a regular cast member in cult favorites series such as, "FreakyLinks" and "Invasion".


title: Lisa Sheridan

text: Sheridan was born in Macon, Georgia, where she graduated from Mount de Sales Academy. She attended the Carnegie Mellon School of Drama in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.


title: Lisa Sheridan

text: On television, Sheridan portrayed Chloe Tanner on "FreakyLinks", Larkin Groves on "Invasion", and Vivian Winters in "Legacy". She also appeared on "Journeyman". She guest-starred in episodes of various other series, including three episodes each of "" and "Still the King". Sheridan’s last appearance was the lead role in the 2018 independent film "Strange Nature".


title: Lisa Sheridan

text: Sheridan was engaged to actor Ron Livingston until 2003. They met when they worked on the 2000 film "Beat".


title: Lisa Sheridan

text: Sheridan died on February 25, 2019, at the age of 45, at her home in New Orleans. Three months later, on May 3, the Orleans Parish Coroner's office determined the cause of death to be complications from chronic alcoholism, with Benzodiazepine abuse and a brain injury from an earlier fall being non-contributing factors.


title: Type 100 submachine gun

text: The was a Japanese submachine gun used during World War II and the only submachine gun produced by Japan in any quantity. It was made in two basic variants referred to by American and British observers as the Type 100/40 and the Type 100/44, the latter also known as the Type 100 (simplified). A small number of the earlier version were converted into using folding stock, sometimes referred to by the Allies as the Type 100 navy, which was made for parachutists.


title: Type 100 submachine gun

text: Japan was late in introducing the submachine gun to its armed forces. Although around 6,000 models of the SIG Bergmann 1920 (a licensed version of the German MP 18) and a few Solothurn S1-100s were purchased from Switzerland and Austria in the 1920s and 1930s, and were used in the invasion of China in 1937, mass production of a native submachine gun did not begin until 1944.


title: Type 100 submachine gun

text: While the western European imports were used, Japanese development of submachine guns had stalled. After earlier prototypes designed and built by the Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company, the Experimental Model 1 and Experimental Model 2 submachine guns, proved inadequate, new requirements were formulated in August 1937 by the Army. The new simpler design was based on the imported European "Bergmann type" submachine guns, which had been used effectively in both Battles of Shanghai by Japanese marines. This led to the development of the "Experimental Model 3 submachine gun" in 1938. The earliest version was known as Model 3A, but after some changes Model 3B was introduced in April 1939. It received generally positive results in testing and it was recommended to produce a batch of 200 weapons for military tests with infantry, cavalry, and reserve units. Further requirements were made for increased accuracy and a way to mount the standard Type 30 bayonet. A portion of the weapons for cavalry units were mounted with a bipod and a sight up to 1,500 meters to assess it capabilities in comparison with the bulky Type 11 light machine gun.


title: Type 100 submachine gun

text: In November 1939 came the release of the Type 3C, which included a double-slot muzzle brake. After almost full completion of the testing cycle of this version it was adopted by the Imperial Japanese Army in the summer of 1940 as the "Type 100 submachine gun" (known in western literature as the "Type 100/40"). However, no major order was made for the new weapon as the interest of the army had turned to the new 7.7 mm Type 99 light machine gun. There was no need for a "submachine gun" in the Imperial Army tactics. Under a low-priority military contract the Type 100 began to be deployed in August 1942, with numbers not exceeding 1,000 units, of which around 200 were converted to folding stock models for use by army paratroopers. These were converted (along with similar designs for Arisaka rifles) after trouble with weapons being dropped in bags separately from the paratroopers, such as in the Battle of Palembang, and were intended to be stored in a bag attached to the stomach of the jumper. The paratrooper version was referred to by the allies as the "Type 100 navy".


title: Type 100 submachine gun

text: Limited numbers of the early Type 100 model were delivered to the Solomon Islands in late 1942 for military trials. A small batch was delivered to Guadalcanal, but the rest of the shipments were sunk before reaching their targets. A few very early models, without the muzzle brake, but with a bipod and a sight up to 1,500 meters (the "cavalry variant" of the Model 3B), were captured by the British in the late stages of the Burma Campaign, brought in by Japanese reinforcements. Of the paratrooper variant, some were captured on Luzon during the Philippines Campaign.


title: Type 100 submachine gun

text: As the war continued, the demand for submachine guns increased greatly. In January 1944, under contract to the army, larger scale production of the Type 100 started. In connection with the lower quality "substitute standard" variants of other Japanese weapons to increase speed and reduce cost of manufacture, a number of changes were made to simplify the Type 100. This led to the later 1944 model of the Type 100, known in the west as the "Type 100/44". The 1944 variant was slightly longer, with simple iron sights and a greatly simplified muzzle brake consisting of two ports drilled in the barrel. The large bayonet mounting bar were eliminated, with the bayonet to be fitted to the barrel instead; consequently, the muzzle protruded more from its perforated jacket. Corners were cut in production, leaving many Type 100s with roughly finished stocks with roughly welded metal. The resulting weapon demonstrated good reliability with low recoil and satisfactory accuracy for close-range work. Some 7,500 were made produced in total.


title: Type 100 submachine gun

text: The later version Type 100s were used by special units of the Imperial Army and were encountered in the hands of paratrooper raiding units in the Philippines Campaign and in the Battle of Okinawa, notably used by the "Giretsu Kuteitai". After the war, a limited number was supplied by the American administration to arm the Japanese police.


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: James Russell Mercer (born December 26, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and musician. He is the founder, vocalist, lead singer-songwriter, and sole remaining original member of the indie rock group The Shins. In 2009, Mercer and producer Danger Mouse formed the side project Broken Bells, for which they released a self-titled album in March 2010, followed by "After the Disco" in 2014, and then Into the Blue in 2022. Mercer also has acted, appearing in Matt McCormick's feature film "Some Days Are Better Than Others", which premiered in 2010.


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mercer was raised Roman Catholic but he became an atheist at age 10. His father was in the United States Air Force. Because of his father's deployments he attended high school in both England and Germany; he lived in England from 1985 to 1990. According to Mercer: "You know, my dad was a musician. He would ... he sang in country western acts in nightclubs and things. And so, I grew up hearing a lot of music and seeing my father perform in the house and stuff.


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: He attended the University of New Mexico and studied chemistry for a time before dropping out, saying that although he enjoyed the subject matter, he was not cut out for it because his head was "too in the clouds for stuff like that."


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: In the early 1990s, Mercer belonged to a group called Blue Roof Dinner. In 1992, Mercer founded the band Flake Music (originally called Flake) with drummer Jesse Sandoval, keyboardist Marty Crandall, and bassist Neal Langford. Together they produced the well-received album "When You Land Here, It's Time to Return" touring with Modest Mouse and Califone.


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: Shortly after the release of "When You Land Here", in 1999, Mercer formed The Shins in Albuquerque as a side project. Mercer named the band The Shins after the family in the musical "The Music Man", a favorite of Mercer's father. The project began as a way to explore three-minute pop songs with conventional chord structure. Mercer recruited Sandoval to play drums and the two began performing as a duo. The Shins played with Cibo Matto and the American Analog Set with Mercer serving as the primary songwriter for the band. As The Shins rose to popularity, Flake Music eventually disbanded in 1999, leaving Mercer, Sandoval, and Langford, who joined after Flake Music's disbanding to focus completely on The Shins. In 2002, the band relocated to Portland, Oregon.


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: In 2007, Mercer sang backup vocals on the tracks "Florida," "Missed the Boat," and "We've Got Everything" on Modest Mouse's album "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank". Mercer has been credited with playing several instruments on The Shins' albums including guitar, bass, synthesizer, ukulele, banjo, harmonium, and percussion as well as beat and MIDI programming.


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: Mercer began collaborating with Danger Mouse in 2005 when he performed on the song "Insane Lullaby" featured on the Danger Mouse/Sparklehorse album , not released officially until July 2010. After working together on the album in September 2009, Mercer and Danger Mouse announced a new project called Broken Bells and on March 9, 2010 released their debut self-titled album, "Broken Bells". They also released a second album together on February 4, 2014, titled "After the Disco".


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: In 2010, Mercer acted in Matt McCormick's feature film "Some Days Are Better Than Others", playing the role of Eli, a directionless slacker. The film premiered at the 2010 SXSW Film and Music Festival. Also, in 2010, Mercer and Modest Mouse frontman Isaac Brock contributed original music to director Chris Malloy's "180° South", a documentary about adventurers in Patagonia. Mercer contributed two songs to the documentary and one was a cover of Neil Young's "Journey Through the Past."


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: Musical influences he has mentioned include The Smiths, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Beatles and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD).


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: Mercer married designer and home decorator Marisa Kula in April 2006 in a small ceremony on Waimanalo Beach in Hawaii, where Kula was born and raised. They had met when Kula, then a journalist, was assigned to interview Mercer for a story. They have three daughters together.


title: James Mercer (musician)

text: James has a Capricorn sun, with a Sagittarius moon, Capricorn rising, Capricorn mercury, Scorpio venus, and Scorpio mars.


title: Animal cognition

text: Animal cognition encompasses the mental capacities of non-human animals including insect cognition. The study of animal conditioning and learning used in this field was developed from comparative psychology. It has also been strongly influenced by research in ethology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary psychology; the alternative name cognitive ethology is sometimes used. Many behaviors associated with the term "animal intelligence" are also subsumed within animal cognition.


title: Animal cognition

text: Researchers have examined animal cognition in mammals (especially primates, cetaceans, elephants, dogs, cats, pigs, horses, cattle, raccoons and rodents), birds (including parrots, fowl, corvids and pigeons), reptiles (lizards, snakes, and turtles), fish and invertebrates (including cephalopods, spiders and insects).


title: Animal cognition

text: The mind and behavior of non-human animals has captivated the human imagination for centuries. Many writers, such as Descartes, have speculated about the presence or absence of the animal mind. These speculations led to many observations of animal behavior before modern science and testing were available. This ultimately resulted in the creation of multiple hypotheses about animal intelligence.


title: Animal cognition

text: One of Aesop's Fables was "The Crow and the Pitcher", in which a crow drops pebbles into a vessel of water until he is able to drink. This was a relatively accurate reflection of the capability of corvids to understand water displacement. The Roman naturalist Pliny the Elder was the earliest to attest that said story reflects the behavior of real-life corvids.


title: Animal cognition

text: Aristotle, in his biology, hypothesized a causal chain where an animal's sense organs transmitted information to an organ capable of making decisions, and then to a motor organ. Despite Aristotle's cardiocentrism (mistaken belief that cognition occurred in the heart), this approached some modern understandings of information processing.


title: Animal cognition

text: Early inferences were not necessarily precise or accurate. Nonetheless, interest in animal mental abilities, and comparisons to humans, increased with early myrmecology, the study of ant behavior, as well as the classification of humans as primates beginning with Linnaeus.


title: Animal cognition

text: Coined by 19th-century British psychologist C. Lloyd Morgan, Morgan's Canon remains a fundamental precept of comparative (animal) psychology. In its developed form, it states that:


title: Animal cognition

text: In no case is an animal activity to be interpreted in terms of higher psychological processes if it can be fairly interpreted in terms of processes which stand lower in the scale of psychological evolution and development.


title: Animal cognition

text: In other words, Morgan believed that anthropomorphic approaches to animal behavior were fallacious, and that people should only consider behaviour as, for example, rational, purposive or affectionate, if there is no other explanation in terms of the behaviours of more primitive life-forms to which we do not attribute those faculties.


title: Animal cognition

text: Speculation about animal intelligence gradually yielded to scientific study after Darwin placed humans and animals on a continuum, although Darwin's largely anecdotal approach to the cognition topic would not pass scientific muster later on. This method would be expanded by his protégé George J. Romanes, who played a key role in the defense of Darwinism and its refinement over the years. Still, Romanes is most famous for two major flaws in his work: his focus on anecdotal observations and entrenched anthropomorphism. Unsatisfied with the previous approach, E. L. Thorndike brought animal behavior into the laboratory for objective scrutiny. Thorndike's careful observations of the escape of cats, dogs, and chicks from puzzle boxes led him to conclude that what appears to the naive human observer to be intelligent behavior may be strictly attributable to simple associations. According to Thorndike, using Morgan's Canon, the inference of animal reason, insight, or consciousness is unnecessary and misleading. At about the same time, I. P. Pavlov began his seminal studies of conditioned reflexes in dogs. Pavlov quickly abandoned attempts to infer canine mental processes; such attempts, he said, led only to disagreement and confusion. He was, however, willing to propose unseen physiological processes that might explain his observations.