title: Fun Size

text: Wren suspects that Albert might be at a local Captain Chicken restaurant on Euclid Avenue, a fictional pirate-themed fast food chain. Again they arrive too late to find him, almost running him over while fleeing Mike Puglio before he is rescued by Denise, a college girl dressed as a "Galaxy Scout" (a fictional anime character). Remembering Fuzzy's description of Jörgen, Albert stows away in his convertible. Wren, Roosevelt, and Peng drive off looking for Albert, and now April, who later calls from Aaron Riley's party with the false impression that she has found Albert. Wren, Roosevelt, and Peng arrive at the party, and the earlier duel with Puglio gives Peng some level of social acceptance.


title: Fun Size

text: Wren receives a phone call from Jörgen, who is holding Albert hostage at his house, and threatens to turn him over to the police for pulling the stunt with Fuzzy, unless she gives him a ransom of $400 in cash, which she doesn't have. After Jörgen gives her his address, Wren desperately runs through the streets of Cleveland trying to find his house. Arriving there and telling Jörgen she doesn't have the money, he calls the police but puts them on hold when Wren finds out that he is a fan of the Beastie Boys, and offers to give him the collectible jacket she inherited from her late father which was left behind by Mike D as a substitute for cash. Jörgen seems interested in her offer, but he calls the police until Fuzzy breaks in to rescue the boy and his older sister by throwing fireworks throughout the house. Jörgen is injured in the explosion.


title: Fun Size

text: Wren and Albert visit the cemetery where their father is buried and place a plastic pumpkin with flowers on his grave. Albert thanks Wren for finding and rescuing him, just before their mother picks them up and drives them home. Roosevelt also states that he will get a part-time job at Captain Chicken to raise money for the chicken statue's repairs. Joy then allows Roosevelt and Wren to kiss. Meanwhile, April wakes up to find herself in the arms of Peng, and after looking around for witnesses decides to make out with him again. Fuzzy meets Denise, who asks him out on a date. Fuzzy also reveals that his real name is Manuel. Later, Albert reveals that he secretly has been pulling prank phone calls on both his mother, sister, and his sister's friend for six months, which includes the uploading of a video to Wren's Facebook page, making fun of Wren's bug dance and "explaining rap".


title: Fun Size

text: In January 2011, it was announced that Josh Schwartz would direct the film as his feature film directorial debut. By the spring of 2011, the lead role had been offered to Victoria Justice, and Jane Levy had entered talks for her role in the film, with Paramount announcing initial plans for the project to be shot in Minnesota. The location was changed to Michigan and later to Cleveland, Ohio. When the production moved to Cleveland, a home was scouted and selected in Cleveland, Ohio. In June 2011, Chelsea Handler entered negotiations to co-star in the film. The film was released on October 26, 2012. Director Josh Schwartz discounted Internet claims that he was playing a convenience-store clerk. "No," he said shortly before the movie opened. "I get asked about it a lot, but that's an IMDb mistake. There are convenience-store clerks in the movie – just none played by me!"


title: Fun Size

text: A music video of Carly Rae Jepsen's "This Kiss" was shown prior to the film's release in theaters and Fun Size's star Thomas McDonell make a cameo on music video . "Fun Size" opened at #10, earning $4.1 million over its first weekend at 3,014 theaters and averaging about $1,361 per venue. The film earned $11.4 million and is the lowest grossing wide released film from Nickelodeon Movies. "Fun Size" was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 19, 2013.


title: Fun Size

text: "Fun Size" received negative reviews from critics, several of whom criticized the adult humor and sexual content despite the film's Nickelodeon pedigree. Rotten Tomatoes reports that of 25% of 73 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 4/10. The consensus states: "It occasionally shows surprising flashes of wit, but "Fun Size" is too safe and formulaic – not to mention unfunny – to survive comparisons to the '80s teen movies it eagerly imitates." On Metacritic, the film has an aggregated score of 37/100 based on 25 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".


title: Fun Size

text: Adam Graham of "Detroit News" gave this film a score of C and said that "it feels like a project that was pitched for the CW but watered down for Nickelodeon audiences. In the end, everyone loses." Jen Chaney of "The Washington Post" gave this film a score of 1/4, calling it "a 90-minute theatrical release from Nickelodeon Productions that, if anything, should have aired as a half-hour Nickelodeon special." David Martindale of "Dallas Morning News" gave the film a C+, saying, "like a 'fun size' chocolate bar, it's just empty calories. It's a momentary pleasure, instantly forgotten." Mike McCahill of "The Guardian" described the film as a "smarmily opportunistic "Adventures in Babysitting" throwback". Claudia Puig of "USA Today" gave the film 1.5/4 stars and wrote: "There's little fun to be had in this foolish Halloween comedy that generates many more eye rolls than laughs." Alison Willmore of "The A.V. Club" gave the film a grade of D+, writing: "Justice is a pretty, personality-free screen presence, while the more interesting cast members, like Levy and Handler, are stuck in shrill, unsympathetic roles."


title: Fun Size

text: On the positive side, Sheri Linden of "The Hollywood Reporter" enjoyed the film and wrote, "Though it doesn't always hit the hilarity target, this tween-targeted romp strikes a sweet-but-not-sappy balance." Alonso Duralde of "TheWrap" wrote: "Screenwriter Max Werner and director Josh Schwartz clearly have several well-worn copies of Adventures in Babysitting between them, but they keep the gags coming at a brisk pace." Stephanie Zacharek of NPR wrote: "The fun to be had in "Fun Size..." is neither gigantic nor minuscule; it's just about fun size, which is probably enough." Miriam Bale of the "New York Daily News" gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "By the end of this romp, "Fun Size" actually accomplished something charming: sentimentality without normality."


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: "Mario Party" is a party video game featuring six playable characters: Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Yoshi, Wario, and Donkey Kong. In the game's frame story, Mario and his friends argue about which of them is the "Super Star", a figure upon whom the entire world can rely. To settle their dispute, they set out for adventure to determine which of them is most worthy of the title. The gameplay is presented in the form of a traditional board game, and includes six game board maps themed after each of the playable characters. Two additional board maps become available later in the game. "Mario Party" includes multiplayer compatibility; each game on a board map consists of four players, including at least one human player and up to four. Any character who is not controlled by a human will instead be controlled by the game as a computer-controlled character. The skill level of the computer-controlled characters can be individually adjusted between "Easy", "Medium", or "Hard". After the players and board map have been determined, the player chooses how long the board map game will last: "Lite Play" consists of 20 turns, "Standard Play" consists of 35, and "Full Play" consists of 50. Upon starting a board, players each hit a dice block to determine turn order, with the highest number going first on each turn and the lowest number going last.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: The goal of "Mario Party" is to collect the most stars within the allotted amount of turns. Stars must be purchased from Toad with coins, which can be earned through a selection from one of 50 mini-games that is played once at the end of each turn. The first player initiates a turn by rolling a dice block that determines how many spaces they will advance on the board, ranging from one to ten spaces. Each board map has a variety of spaces. Plain blue and red spaces cause the player who lands on one to respectively gain or lose three coins; the amount of coins is doubled to six during the final five turns. Blue spaces labeled with a star will initiate a single-player mini-game. Blue "!" spaces result in a Chance Time game, in which selected characters must give or exchange coins or stars; the player who landed on the space is given three blocks to hit, determining which characters and prize will be involved. Green "?" spaces result in an event occurring on the board map; each board features different events which can help or hinder certain players. Red spaces marked with an insignia of Bowser's head will cause Bowser to appear and hinder the player's progress. Blue spaces labeled with a mushroom give players a chance to either take another turn right away or lose their subsequent turn. Aside from Toad, other characters on the map include Boo, Koopa Troopa and Bowser. Boo can steal coins or a star from another player on behalf of any player who passes him; stealing coins is free, but stealing a star costs 50 coins. Koopa Troopa is stationed at the starting point on board maps and will give ten coins to each player who passes him. Bowser will inconvenience players who pass him by forcibly selling them a useless item. On some boards, Toad's location will change after he sells a Star.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: After all four players have made a movement on the board, a mini-game is initiated. The type of mini-game that is played is determined based on the color of space that each player landed on. Players that have landed on a green space will be randomly assigned to "blue" or "red" status before the mini-game is selected. If all players have landed on the same color of space, a 4-player mini-game is played. Other color variations result in either a 1 vs. 3 or 2 vs. 2 mini-game. The specific mini-game is then selected via roulette. Mini-game titles are normally highlighted in green, though some titles are highlighted in red; the winner of any given mini-game receives coins, and in red-highlighted games, the losers will lose coins. Another turn is initiated following the end of a mini-game, and the process is repeated until the allotted number of turns have been completed. After the end of the last turn, the winners of three awards are announced, with each winner receiving one additional star; the first two awards are given to the player(s) who collected the most coins in mini-games and throughout the board map game, and the third is given to the player(s) who landed on the most "?" spaces. The winner of the game, the "Super Star", is then determined by the number of total coins and stars collected by each player. If two or more characters have acquired the same amount of coins and stars, the winner will be determined with a roll of the dice block.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: The game's main menu includes a "Mushroom Bank" at which coins received by the human player during gameplay are deposited. The Mushroom Bank will initially carry 300 coins. Coins can be used to purchase mini-games at the "Mini-Game House", which can then be played at any time outside of normal board games. The Mini-Game House includes the "Mini-Game Stadium" mode, in which four players compete on a special board map consisting only of blue and red spaces. Coins are neither gained nor lost from these spaces, and coins are only earned by winning mini-games. The winner of Mini-Game Stadium is determined by whoever accumulates the highest number of coins by the completion of the allotted turns. Coins can also be used at the main menu's "Mushroom Shop", where items can be purchased and stored at the Mushroom Bank. These items can be toggled on or off for use during games, where they will randomly take effect when any character rolls the dice block. Such effects include special dice blocks with only high or low numbers. Other items remove Koopa Troopa or Boo from the board.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: The game includes the single-player Mini-Game Island mode, in which one human player must play through each mini-game. The player has four lives and progresses through a world map with the completion of each mini-game, while losing a mini-game results in the loss of a life. If the player loses all lives, the game ends, and the player must resume from the last save point. If the player completes all the mini-games in Mini-Game Island, up to three bonus mini-games are unlocked.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: "Mario Party" received "generally favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Critics considered "Mario Party" much more enjoyable when playing with other people through the game's multiplayer option. Joe Fielder of "GameSpot" said, "The games that are enjoyable to play in multi-player are nowhere near as good in the single player mode. Really, it's that multi-player competitive spark of screaming at and/or cheering for your friends that injects life into these often-simple little games, and without it, they're just simple little games." Peer Schneider of "IGN" took a similar stance, saying that it was the interaction between players rather than the interaction with the game that made "Mario Party" fun. James Bottorff of "The Cincinnati Enquirer" wrote, "Playing by yourself requires you to sit through the painfully slow moves of each of your computer opponents." Dr. Moo of "GameRevolution" wrote that playing alone "is terribly boring, and realistically scrounging up 4 people to play "Mario Party" is harder than it sounds". He added that the game had "great intentions, but unsatisfying delivery," calling it "a tedious and often frustrating experience". Reviewers for "Game Informer" wrote negatively about "Mario Party" and its mini-games. Scott Alan Marriott of "AllGame" was also dissatisfied with most of the mini-games, and criticized the random luck involved. He stated that "Mario Party" had a good concept but was somewhat disappointing, concluding that most players would be unsatisfied with the short mini-games and simple gameplay.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: The music was praised, although the graphics received a mixed response. Critics believed the game would have appeal for young children. "Electronic Gaming Monthly"s authors gave the game individual scores of 8.5, 8.5, 8.5, and 9 each, totaling 8.625 of 10. In Japan, "Famitsu"s standard quartet of reviewers scored it 8, 8, 7, and 8, totaling of 31 of 40.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: Within the first 2 months of its U.S. release, "Mario Party" was among the top 5 most rented video games. It was also the fourth best-selling video game of April 1999.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: The popularity of "Mario Party" spawned a large series of sequels and spinoffs. Direct sequels are "Mario Party 2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", and "10". Minor versions are "Mario Party Advance", "Mario Party DS", "", and "Mario Party-e". The arcade version of "Mario Party 5", "Super Mario Fushigi no Korokoro Party", was released in Japan only. "" was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2016, and "" in 2017. "Super Mario Party" was released on Nintendo Switch in October 2018. The frequent sequels have been criticized as unoriginal, because many ideas have been recycled throughout the series. Content from the original "Mario Party" was remastered in "Mario Party Superstars" for the Nintendo Switch, released on October 29, 2021.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: In "Mario Party", certain minigames require rotation of the Nintendo 64 controller's analog stick at top speed. Some players reportedly got blisters, friction burns, and lacerations from rotating the stick with palms instead of using thumbs because of the uncomfortable design of the analog stick and it is faster to beat the minigames that way.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: Although no lawsuits were filed, around 90 complaints were received by New York's attorney general's office and Nintendo of America eventually agreed to a settlement, which included providing gloves for injured players and paying the state's $75,000 legal fees. At the time, providing the estimated 1.2 million gloves could have cost Nintendo up to $80 million.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: As a result of the controversy, "Mario Party" was not re-released via the Virtual Console on Wii and Wii U, with "Mario Party 2" released instead. The game would not be re-released until November 2, 2022 via Nintendo Switch Online.


title: Mario Party (video game)

text: Minigames using stick rotation returned in "". In "Mario Party Superstars", a disclaimer is placed on the rules screen for the two mini games that use stick rotation warning players to not use their palms to turn the stick to avoid hand injury and stick damage. A similar warning appears for the Nintendo Switch Online version of "Mario Party" when starting the game.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car produced in the United Kingdom from 1958 until 1971. The Sprite was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, two days after that year's Monaco Grand Prix. It was intended to be a low-cost model that "a chap could keep in his bike shed", yet be the successor to the sporting versions of the pre-war Austin Seven. The Sprite was designed by the Donald Healey Motor Company, with production being undertaken at the MG factory at Abingdon. It first went on sale at a price of £669, using a tuned version of the Austin A-Series engine and as many other components from existing cars as possible to keep costs down.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: When the Mk. II Sprite was introduced in 1961 it was joined by a badge-engineered MG version, the Midget, reviving a model name used by MG from the late 1920s through to the mid 1950s. Enthusiasts often refer to these later Sprites and Midgets collectively as "Spridgets." The MG-badged version of the car continued in production for several years after the Austin-Healey brand ceased to exist.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Sprite quickly became affectionately known as the "frogeye" in the UK and the "bugeye" in the US, because its headlights were prominently mounted on top of the bonnet, inboard of the front wings. The car's designers had intended that the headlights could be retracted, with the lenses facing skyward when not in use; a similar arrangement was used many years later on the Porsche 928. But cost cutting by BMC led to the flip-up mechanism being deleted, therefore the headlights were simply fixed in a permanently upright position, giving the car its most distinctive feature. This gave the car its appeal as a result of its much loved cute appearance. The body was styled by Gerry Coker, with subsequent alterations by Les Ireland following Coker's emigration to the US in 1957. The car's distinctive frontal styling bore a strong resemblance to the defunct American 1951 Crosley Super Sport. 48,987 "frogeye" Sprites were made.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The problem of providing a rigid structure to an open-topped sports car was resolved by Barry Bilbie, Healey's chassis designer, who adapted the idea provided by the Jaguar D-type, with rear suspension forces routed through the bodyshell's floor pan. The Sprite's chassis design was the world's first volume-production sports car to use unitary construction, where the sheet metal body panels (apart from the bonnet) take many of the structural stresses. The original metal gauge (thickness of steel) of the rear structure specified by Bilbie was reduced by the Austin Design Office during prototype build, however during testing at MIRA (Motor Industry Research Association) distortion and deformation of the rear structure occurred and the original specification was reinstated. The two front chassis legs projecting forward from the passenger compartment mean the shell is not a full monocoque. The front sheet-metal assembly, including the bonnet (hood) and wings, was a one-piece unit, hinged from the back, that swung up to allow access to the engine compartment.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The 43 bhp, 948 cc OHV engine (coded 9CC) was derived from the Austin A35 and Morris Minor 1000 models, also BMC products, but upgraded with twin 1 inch SU carburettors. The rack and pinion steering was derived from the Morris Minor 1000 and the front suspension from the Austin A35. The front suspension was a coil spring and wishbone arrangement, with the arm of the Armstrong lever shock absorber serving as the top suspension link. The rear axle was both located and sprung by quarter-elliptic leaf springs, again with lever-arm shock absorbers and top links. The road wheels were 13" and all cars were invariably fitted with Dunlop crossply tyres, usually their Gold Seal model in the 5.20x13 size, although later frogeyes shipped to North America wore 5.60x13 Dunlop crossplies. There were no exterior door handles – the driver and passenger were required to reach inside to open the door. There was also no boot lid, owing to the need to retain as much structural integrity as possible, and access to the spare wheel and luggage compartment was achieved by tilting the seat-backs forward and reaching under the rear deck, a process likened to potholing by many owners, as the space available was dark but cavernous.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: A car was tested by the British magazine "The Motor" in 1958. It had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0– in 20.5 seconds. Fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £678, including taxes of £223.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The BMC Competitions Department entered Austin Healey Sprites in major international races and rallies, their first major success coming when John Sprinzel and Willy Cave won their class on the 1958 Alpine Rally. In 1959, the Sprite was introduced to the US market by winning its class in the 12-hour race at Sebring, Florida. Private competitors also competed with much success in Sprites. Because of its affordability and practicality, the Austin-Healey Sprite was developed into a formidable competition car, assuming many variants by John Sprinzel, Speedwell and WSM. Many owners use their Austin Healey Sprites in competition today, fifty years after its introduction.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Mark II announced at the end of May 1961 used the same 948 cc engine (engine code 9CG), but with larger twin 1 inch SU carburettors, increasing power to 46.5 bhp. A close-ratio gearbox was fitted. The bodywork was completely revamped, with the headlights migrating to a more conventional position in the wings, either side of a full-width grille and a conventional bonnet. At the rear, styling borrowed from the soon-to-be-announced MGB gave a similarly more modern look, with the added advantages of an opening boot lid and conventional rear bumper bar. The addition of the boot lid required the introduction of squared-off rear wheel arches to retain enough metal in the rear structure to give good rigidity. The result was a much less eccentric-looking sports car, though at the expense of some 100 lbs extra weight. In contrast to the 'frogeye', the later cars are often collectively referred to as square-bodied Sprites by enthusiasts.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: An MG version of the car was introduced in May 1961 as 'the new Midget,' reviving a model name which had been a great success for the MG Car Company in the 1930s and again as the T-type Midget in the period from 1945 to 1955. The Midget was to prove more popular with the public than the Sprite and by 1972 had completely supplanted it within the BMC range. In October 1962, both Sprites and Midgets were given a long-stroke 1098 cc engine (engine code 10CG), which was also fitted in single carburettor form to the Austin A40 and Morris Minor 1000 (which nevertheless remained the Minor 1000). A strengthened gearbox with Porsche (baulk-ring) synchromesh was introduced to cope with the extra power – 56 bhp. Front disc brakes were also introduced at the same time and wire wheels became an option. 31,665 Mark II Sprites were made.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: Innocenti also produced their own version of the Sprite, using the standard production underframe (initially shipped out from England), but with Italian styling by the American Tom Tjaarda, then working at Carrozzeria Ghia. The Innocenti 950 spider and later 1100 spider were produced from 1961 until 1968.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: A car with hardtop tested by the British magazine "The Motor" in 1961 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0– in 20.0 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car, which was to de-luxe specification cost £705 including taxes of £208.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Sprite Mark III was announced in March 1964. It was also marketed as the MG Midget Mark II. Differences between the two were again restricted to minor trim detailing. Although still 1098 cc, the engine had a stronger block casting, and the size of the crankshaft main bearings was increased to two inches (engine code 10CC).


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: A new (slightly) curved-glass windscreen was introduced with hinged quarterlights and wind-up side windows. Exterior door handles were provided for the first time, with separate door locks. Though the car could now be secured, with a soft-top roof the added protection was limited. The rear suspension was modified from quarter-elliptic to semi-elliptic leaf springs, which gave a more comfortable ride for a near-negligible weight penalty as well as providing additional axle location, the upper links fitted to the quarter-elliptic models being deleted. Though scarcely sybaritic, these changes helped the Sprite and Midget compete with the recently released Triumph Spitfire. 25,905 Mark III Sprites were made.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The next upgrade was presented at the London Motor Show in October 1966. Besides receiving the larger 1275 cc engine (which disappointed enthusiasts by being in a lower state of tune than that of the Mini-Cooper 'S'), the Mark IV and its cousin the Mark III MG Midget had several changes which were more than cosmetic. Most notable is the change from a removable convertible top, which had to be stowed in the boot, to a permanently affixed, folding top of greatly improved design, which was much easier to use. Separate brake and clutch master cylinders were fitted, as car manufacturers' thoughts began to turn to making their products safer. On US market versions the larger engine sacrificed some of its performance from 1968 on, through the use of smog pumps and other modifications to comply with federal emission control requirements. 1969 was the final year the Sprite was exported to the US. At the same time reversing lamps were made a standard fitment and the cars' electrical system was switched to negative earth and powered by an alternator rather than a dynamo. This was also the first year that reclining seats were fitted.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: A facelift was carried out for the 1970 model year (beginning in September 1969) after Austin-Healey (and MG) became part of British Leyland. These largely cosmetic revision were to update the appearance of the car (now 10 years old) and minimise the difference between the Sprite and Midget versions to reduce production costs; both cars now had the same cosmetic features, differing only in their badges. Alongside a new range of body colours, both cars now had the same grille, based on the plainer square-mesh design of the MkII-onwards Sprite but now finished in satin black with the addition of a chrome embellisher. The body sills were painted satin black with a chrome strip between them and the upper bodywork and the name "SPRITE" was applied in chrome capital letters on the sill just behind the front wheelarch (MG Midgets had their own badge in the same style). Slimmer bumpers were fitted, with those at the rear changing to two quarter-bumpers with the gap in the middle filled by a square number plate. Rubber-capped overriders were standard fitments front and rear. The seats were now a slimmer, flatter design with a more modern upholstery pattern. Some body colours could now be ordered with the option of the seats, door trim and floor carpets in beige rather than the standard black. 1970-model year Sprites were fitted with new cast-alloy looking ventilated wheels although they were still made of steel. However, the option for wire-spoke wheels remained. As launched the 1970 Sprites had their windscreen frames and windscreen wiper arms painted 'anti-dazzle' matt black as was popular on modern American muscle cars and rally cars of the era but these features were expensive to produce and unpopular with buyers so only a few hundred cars were produced before these reverted to the original polished metal appearance. 22,790 Mark IV Sprites were made.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Healey connection was discontinued in 1971, so the final 1,022 Sprites built were simply Austin Sprites. This was a cost-cutting move of Donald Stokes', enabling British Leyland to stop paying royalties to the Donald Healey Motor Company. There was no direct successor, as BL's extensive range already contained the MG Midget, which was identical to the Sprite except for badging, and the similarly dimensioned and priced Triumph Spitfire.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Sprite (and its MG Midget sibling) have been successful club level race cars since their launch and continue to race in various events to the present day. International events were entered throughout the 1960s and surprisingly good results were achieved, including a 12th-place finish at Le Mans in 1965. The works cars began with use of a commercially available fibreglass-bodied Sprite (with a Falcon body) before utilising lightweight body panels of standard appearance. By the mid-60s, use was made of the wind-tunnel at Longbridge. Barry Bilbie (the chassis designer) utilised the results to produce a streamlined body, built in Birmabright alloy at Healey's Warwick workshops by Bill Buckingham and Terry Westwood. These cars were powered by BMC's Courthouse Green's tuned engines and eventually produced a reliable 110 bhp, which enabled a top speed of around 150 mph on the Mulsanne Straight. One-off gearboxes were also made at Courthouse Green, with MGB gearboxes modified with an externally mounted 5th gear and overdrive in some cases. BMC works entries recorded class wins at Sebring with drivers including Stirling Moss, Bruce McLaren and Steve McQueen, as well as competing in the Targa Florio and Mugello sports car races.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: Sprites were imported into Australia in completely knocked down (CKD) kit form and assembled by the Pressed Metal Corporation at Enfield, in New South Wales. Models assembled in Australia included the Mk 1, 2, 2A, 3 and 3A.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: At the 1960 Turin Auto Show, BMC's Italian partner Innocenti showed a small Spider built upon Sprite underpinnings. The car was the first design of Tom Tjaarda's, drawn for Carrozzeria Ghia. Ghia's partner firm OSI built the bodyshells, when the car entered production in early 1961. The original Innocenti 950 Spider had the Frogeye's 948 cc engine with , 624 of these were built. Later in 1961 an uprated was installed. In February 1963 the 1098 cc "S" model was introduced, this also had front disc brakes to cope with the extra power. The 1100 has and could also be fitted with a removable hardtop. The Spider wasn't a mere reshelling, as the entire bulkhead was moved forward to provide longer doors and a more modern look. Unlike the spartan Frogeye, the Spider also had wind-up windows and a permanent windscreen. 4,790 of the 950 Spiders were built, and 2,074 of the 1100 cc Spiders.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Innocenti Spider originally sold well in Italy, with production running at 13 cars per day in 1962, but it had a hard time competing against the cheaper Sprite in export markets. As more modern competitors arrived and as the British-built Sprite was modernised, sales dropped precipitously, with only 63 cars built in 1965. Thus, Innocenti presented the reworked Innocenti Coupé in September 1966, still with the same 1100 engine as seen in late Spiders. The badging on the car simply read "Innocenti C". The Coupé's all-new bodywork was wider and longer than the Spider's, and the wheelbase was extended by 150 mm to . The floorpan was reworked to allow for the seats to be mounted lower than in a Sprite, making the cabin less cramped. It was competitively priced in the Italian market, slotting nicely between the smaller Fiat 850 Coupé and the bigger Fiat 124 Sport Spider. Only 794 were built when production ended in 1968.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Lenham Motor Company of Kent, founded in 1960, was, and still is, one of the once many "cottage industry" automotive companies providing specialist conversions based upon commercial brand platforms. Best known for its Spridget coupé conversions and the big-Healey based Lenham Healey (a replica of the Healey Silverstone), the firm also produced hard-tops for Jaguar E-types, Triumphs, the Jensen-Healey, the Lotus Elan and for the MGB.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Tifosi Rana Frogeye Sprite replica retains a significant amount of the character and appeal of the original version by using the MG Midget as its basis. As the MG Midget traces its roots directly back to the original Austin Healey ‘Frogeye’, the Tifosi replica perhaps merits the sobriquet "Spridget" even more than the originals. They are supplied and/or built by Halls Garage near Bourne in Lincolnshire, home of the now defunct BRM Formula 1 racing cars.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Tifosi Rana replica has a fibreglass body with upgrades such as external door handles and wind-up windows as standard. A "Custom package" allows a purchaser to specify various choices of engine, transmission suspension, paint and trim.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: Keith Brading started Frogeye Car company on the Isle of Wight in the 1980s. The first examples of these cars were restoration kits which used a ladder frame chassis to do away with the often rusted-out original body shell. Brading was known to Geoffrey Healey through a mutual friend and because he, at one stage, owned the two prototype 3000 coupes.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: Geoffrey Healey notes that Brading's re-design of the "Frogeye" was shortly to receive approval from Donald Healey, calling the concept "brilliant", and after some modifications, "just the vehicle to carry the Healey approval".


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The last sports car to have his father's approval benefited from Geoffrey Healey's direct input until his unexpected death in 1994 and the car he used is still owned by Keith Brading. Another “engineering superstar” who also contributed to the Healey Frogeye development was John Ackroyd who designed Thrust2, which held the world land speed record from 4 October 1983 to 25 September 1997.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: The Frogeye Car Company was a sideline to Keith Brading's main business, and no cars have been manufactured since 1998.


title: Austin-Healey Sprite

text: On 24 May 2008, the official UK golden anniversary of the introduction of the Austin Healey Sprite, "Spridget 50The Big Party" was held at the British Heritage Motor Centre at Gaydon, Warwickshire. Up to 1000 Sprites, Midgets and derivatives were in attendancea record number. The event was jointly organised and promoted by the UK's Midget and Sprite Club, Healey Drivers Club, MG Owners Club, Austin Healey Club and MG Car Clubthe first time an event of this size has been supported by all of the marque-representing clubs.


title: Samsung Galaxy Tab A8

text: The Samsung Galaxy Tab A8 is a tablet computer by Samsung. It was announced on December 15, 2021 and released on January 17, 2022. It comes in four combinations: 4G Cellular/Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi only and each of these with either 32GB, 64GB, or 128GB internal storage. It accepts MicroSD cards up to 1TB. Available colors are Gray, Pink Gold, and Silver.


title: Samsung Galaxy Tab A8

text: Miscellaneous: USB 2.0 Type-C, Bluetooth 5.0, 3.5mm Stereo plug, 7040mAh battery, 246.8 x 161.9 x 6.9 mm


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Compulsive buying disorder (CBD), or oniomania (from Greek ὤνιος "ṓnios" "for sale" and μανία "manía" "insanity"), is characterized by an obsession with shopping and buying behavior that causes adverse consequences. According to Kellett and Bolton, compulsive buying "is experienced as an irresistible–uncontrollable urge, resulting in excessive, expensive and time-consuming retail activity [that is] typically prompted by negative affectivity" and results in "gross social, personal and/or financial difficulties". Most people with CBD meet the criteria for a personality disorder. Compulsive shopping is classified by ICD-10 (F63.8) as an "impulse control disorder, not otherwise classified." Several authors consider compulsive shopping rather as a variety of dependence disorder.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: According to German physician Max Nordau, French psychiatrist Valentin Magnan coined the term "oniomania" in the 1892 German translation of his "Psychiatric Lectures" ("Psychiatrische Vorlesungen"). Magnan describes compulsive buying as a symptom of degeneration. In his book "Degeneration" (1892), Nordau calls oniomania or "buying craze" a "stigma of degeneration". Emil Kraepelin described oniomania as of 1909, and he and Bleuler both included the syndrome in their influential early psychiatric textbooks. However, little interest was taken in CBD until the 1990s, and, even in the 21st century, compulsive shopping can be considered a barely recognised mental illness.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: CBD is frequently comorbid with mood, anxiety, substance abuse and eating disorders. People who score highly on compulsive buying scales tend to understand their feelings poorly and have low tolerance for unpleasant psychological states such as negative moods. Onset of CBD occurs in the late teens and early twenties and is generally chronic. Compulsive buying disorder usually mainly affected young people as several reports put in that most interviewees reported to be in the range of 17.5 to 19 years. The phenomenon of compulsive buying tends to affect women rather than men. The aforementioned reports on this matter indicated that the dominance of the majority group is so great that it accounts for about more than 90% of the affected demographic. Zadka and Olajossy, suggest the presence of several similar tendencies between consumer type mannerism and pathologic consumption of psychoactive elements. These tendencies include a constant need to consume, personal dependence, and an affinity to lack of sense of control over self-behavior. Additionally, Zadka and Olajossy stated that one could conclude that individuals ailing from this disorder are often in the second decade to fourth decade of their lives and exhibit mannerisms akin to neurotic personality and impulse control disorders.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: CBD is similar to, but distinguished from, OCD hoarding and mania. Compulsive buying is not limited to people who spend beyond their means; it also includes people who spend an inordinate amount of time shopping or who chronically think about buying things but never purchase them. Promising treatments for CBD include medication such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and support groups such as Debtors Anonymous.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Research revealed that 1.8 to 8.1 percent of the general adult population have CBD and that while the usual onset is late adolescence or early adulthood, it is often recognized as a problem later in life.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Compulsive Buying Disorder is tightly associated with excessive or poorly managed urges related to the purchase of the items and spending of currency in any form; digital, mobile, credit or cash.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Four phases have been identified in compulsive buying: anticipation, preparation, shopping, and spending. The first phase involves a preoccupation with purchasing a specific item or with shopping in general. The second phase the individual plans the shopping excursion. The third phase is the actual shopping event; while the fourth phase is completed by the feelings of excitement connected to spending money on their desired items.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: The terms compulsive shopping, compulsive buying, and compulsive spending are often used interchangeably, but the behaviors they represent are in fact distinct. One may buy without shopping, and certainly shop without buying: of compulsive shoppers, some 30 percent described the act of buying itself as providing a buzz, irrespective of the goods purchased.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: CBD often has roots in early experience. Perfectionism, general impulsiveness and compulsiveness, dishonesty, insecurity, and the need to gain control have also been linked to the disorder. From a medical perspective, it can be concluded that impulsive control disorder is attributed to the yearning of positive stimulus. The normal method of operation in a healthy brain is that the frontal cortex regulation handles the activity of rewarding. However, in individuals with behavior disorders, this particular system malfunctions. Scientists reported compulsive buyers have significant changeable activity in this area of the brain.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Compulsive buying seems to represent a search for self in people whose identity is neither firmly felt nor dependable, as indicated by the way purchases often provide social or personal identity-markers. Those with associated disorders such as PTSD/CPTSD, anxiety, depression and poor impulse control are particularly likely to attempt to treat symptoms of low self-esteem through compulsive shopping.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Others, however, object that such psychological explanations for compulsive buying do not apply to "all" people with CBD.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Social conditions also play an important role in CBD, the rise of consumer culture contributing to the view of compulsive buying as a specifically postmodern addiction, particularly with regard to internet buying platforms.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Readily available credit cards enable casual spending beyond one's means, and some would suggest that the compulsive buyer should lock up or destroy credit cards altogether. Online shopping also facilitates CBD, with online auction addiction, used to escape feelings of depression or guilt, becoming a recognizable problem.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: What differentiates CBD from healthy shopping is the compulsive, destructive and chronic nature of the buying. Where shopping can be a positive route to self-expression, in excess it represents a dangerous threat.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: A social psychological perspective suggests that compulsive buying may be seen as an exaggerated form of a more normal search for validation through purchasing. Also, pressures from the spread of materialist values and consumer culture over the recent decades can drive people into compulsive shopping.<ref name="Dittmar/Halliwell, p. 97">Dittmar/Halliwell, p. 97</ref>


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Companies have adopted aggressive neuromarketing by associating the identification of a high social status with the purchasing of items. They strive to bring out such an individual as a sort of folk hero for having the ability to buy several items. As a result, according to Zadka and Olajossy, the act of shopping is then associated with the feeling of being of a higher social status or that of one climbing the social ranks. Zadka holds that these companies are taking advantage of the frailties of peoples' egos in an attempt to get them to spend their money.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: While initially triggered by a perhaps mild need to feel special, the failure of compulsive shopping to actually meet such needs may lead to a vicious cycle of escalation, with them experiencing the highs and lows associated with other addictions. The 'high' of the purchasing may be followed by a sense of disappointment, and of guilt, precipitating a further cycle of impulse buying. With the now addicted person increasingly feeling negative emotions like anger and stress, they may attempt to self-medicate through further purchases, followed again by regret or depression once they return home, leading to an urge for buying more. The aforementioned symptoms are aggravated further by the availability of money through access to credit cards and easy bank loans.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: As debt grows, the compulsive shopping may become a more secretive act. At the point where bought goods are hidden or destroyed, because the person concerned feels so ashamed of their addiction, the price of the addiction in mental, financial and emotional terms becomes even higher.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Individuals who can be considered addicted to shopping are observed to exhibit repetitive and obsessive urges to go buy items, especially when in the vicinity of an environment that supports this venture, such as a mall. In such locations, they mostly purchase things that are cheap and of low value mainly just to satisfy the urge to spend. Normally, these items end up being returned to the shop they were brought from or just disposed of entirely after a while. However, according to Zadka and Olajossy, this rarely works as these individuals are known to have low self-esteem.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: The consequences of compulsive buying, which may persist long after a spree, can be devastating, with marriages, long-term relationships, and jobs all feeling the strain. Further problems can include ruined credit history, theft or defalcation of money, defaulted loans, general financial trouble and in some cases bankruptcy or extreme debt, as well as anxiety and a sense of life spiraling out of control. The resulting stress can lead to physical health problems and ruined relationships, or even suicide.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Treatment involves becoming conscious of the addiction through studying, therapy and group work. Research done by Michel Lejoyeux and Aviv Weinstein suggests that the best possible treatment for CBD is through cognitive behavioral therapy. They suggest that a patient first be "evaluated for psychiatric comorbidity, especially with depression, so that appropriate pharmacological treatment can be instituted." Their research indicates that patients who received cognitive behavioral therapy over 10 weeks had reduced episodes of compulsive buying and spent less time shopping as opposed to patients who did not receive this treatment (251).


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Lejoyeux and Weinstein also write about pharmacological treatment and studies that question the use of drugs on CB. They declare "few controlled studies have assessed the effects of pharmacological treatment on compulsive buying, and none have shown any medication to be effective." (252) The most effective treatment is to attend therapy and group work in order to prevent continuation of this addiction.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Hague et al. reports that group therapy rendered the highest results as far as treatment of compulsive buying disorder is concerned. He states that group therapy contributed to about 72.8% in positive change in the reduction of urges of compulsive spending. Additionally, he notes that psychotherapy may not be the treatment of choice for all compulsive buying disorder patients since the suitability of the treatment method to the patient is also an important consideration. He holds that the treatments of the disorder are required to provide a certain reflection of the context in which this phenomenon manifests.


title: Compulsive buying disorder

text: Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as fluvoxamine and citalopram may be useful in the treatment of CBD, although current evidence is mixed. Opioid antagonists such as naltrexone and nalmefene are promising potential treatments for CBD. A review concluded that evidence is limited and insufficient to support their use at present, however. Naltrexone and nalmefene have also shown effectiveness in the treatment of gambling addiction, an associated disorder.


title: TISM

text: TISM (an acronym of This Is Serious Mum) are a seven-piece anonymous alternative rock band, formed in Melbourne, Australia on 30 December 1982 by vocalist/drummer Humphrey B. Flaubert, bassist/vocalist Jock Cheese and keyboardist/vocalist Eugene de la Hot Croix Bun, with vocalist Ron Hitler-Barassi joining the group the following year. These four members have formed the core of the band since their inception, with the line-up being rounded out by guitarists Leak Van Vlalen (1982-1991), Tokin' Blackman (1991-2004; died 2008) and Vladimir Lenin-McCartney (2022-present), as well as backing vocalists/dancers Les Miserables and Jon St. Peenis.


title: TISM

text: Noted for their dark humour, sarcastic delivery and melodic songwriting, the seven members of TISM appear in public as a pseudonymous, semi-paramilitary collective masked in a variety of balaclavas (usually as part of a more elaborate costume), and are known for their "chaotic" appearances in Australian media, often frustrating interviewers with absurd non sequiturs and tongue-in-cheek nihilism. Their catalogue is replete with references to popular culture, particularly literature, music and Australian rules football; their (usually derogatory) references to celebrities have sometimes incurred controversy and even censorship.


title: TISM

text: They developed and enjoyed a large underground/independent following throughout the 1980s and 1990s, issuing a number of singles, albums, videos, a short-lived line of comics, and a book ("The TISM Guide to Little Aesthetics"). Backed by the successful singles "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River" and "Greg! The Stop Sign!!", their third album, "Machiavelli and the Four Seasons", reached the Australian national top 10 in 1995, won Best Independent Release at that year's ARIA Music Awards, and was certified Gold in January 1996.


title: TISM

text: TISM split following their first live performance in December 1983; every live show since has been considered a "reunion" concert. The band split again in late 2004 following the release of their sixth album, "The White Albun" (a three disc set which also contained two DVDs). Their last single, "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me", became a minor hit in Germany the following year (due in no small part to the viral popularity of the song's animated music video).


title: TISM

text: Following an almost 18 year hiatus, TISM reformed in June 2022, returning to the stage for a series of three "secret" shows in Melbourne throughout November, prior to their appearances on the line-up of Good Things festival in December.


title: TISM

text: In December 1982, Humphrey B. Flaubert (Damian Cowell – drums and lead vocals) and Eugene de la Hot-Croix Bun (Eugene Cester – keyboards and backing vocals), previously members of a group called I Can Run, recorded a nine song demo tape titled "Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance" with guitarist Jock Cheese (Jack Holt – guitar, bass and backing vocals) under the name This Is Serious Mum. The line-up would soon expand to include Ron Hitler-Barassi (Peter Minack – vocals) and Leak Van Vlalen (Sean Kelly – guitar) by the following year.


title: TISM

text: This Is Serious Mum continued to record private home-made demos (with titles including "Hooked on Crap" and "It's Novel! It's Unique! It's Shithouse!") throughout 1983, producing over one hundred songs within twelve months. This period of activity culminated in the band's first public appearance, at the Duncan McKinnon Athletics Reserve in the small suburb of Murrumbeena on 6 December 1983. The so-called "Get Fucked Concert" was considered an "artistic and commercial failure", causing the band to split up; thus giving the show the dubious honour of simultaneously being the band's debut "and" farewell, and making every subsequent performance a "reunion" show.


title: TISM

text: TISM returned to home-made recordings in February 1984. During this period they briefly experimented with dark ambient and industrial music, before returning to their former style. On 25 November 1984, the band performed their first "reunion" show at the University of Melbourne. At the show they released a self-titled demo tape which they recorded earlier that year at the home studio of Serious Young Insects drummer Mark White. Only eleven copies of the demo (which featured examples of their brief flirtation with industrial music) were made available at the show; all had sold by the time the band finished their short set.


title: TISM

text: By 1985 TISM were playing regularly around Melbourne. They released their debut single, "Defecate on My Face", in 1986; a 7" vinyl record packaged in a 12" sleeve with all four sides glued shut. The song is also found (in an unlisted "country" version) on the mini-album "Form and Meaning Reach Ultimate Communion". Their next single, "40 Years – Then Death", was released in 1987 on transparent vinyl in a clear plastic sleeve with no cover art or labels. TISM's first radio-friendly single, despite the obscure packaging, was received well.


title: TISM

text: TISM's debut album "Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance" was released in 1988, as a double vinyl release in an embossed gatefold sleeve. The first record contained twelve of TISM's most popular tracks, and the second was a collage of interviews, bedroom recordings and live "diatribes" from Ron Hitler-Barassi. "Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance" entered the lower reaches of Australia's mainstream Top 50, as did the single "Saturday Night Palsy", the following year. The group appeared on the long-running variety TV program "Hey Hey It's Saturday" performing the single; during this appearance three additional seven-person line-ups joined the initial seven members of the band onstage, leading to a total of twenty-eight "members" of TISM miming the song by the end of the performance.


title: TISM

text: In 1989, TISM self-published a book compiling lyrics, interviews and press releases titled "The TISM Guide To Little Aesthetics", however the book could not be released until early 1990 as TISM, having been threatened with legal action for libel, were required to censor the book, which they did by hand with a mixture of white-out and permanent marker (also placing stickers reading "CENSORED DUE TO LEGAL ADVICE" on the cover of each copy). Despite this, some uncensored copies exist, and a document with the censored content is available.


title: TISM

text: In 1990, TISM entered negotiations with CBS Records and Phonogram Records and were signed by the latter. In April that year, the band began work on what would become their next album with producer Laurence Maddy. When Phonogram released "Hot Dogma" in 1990, it failed to reach the commercial charts, and TISM were fired six months later due to management issues, despite owing the label tens of thousands of dollars. "Hot Dogma" is the first release to use the acronymic form of the band's name exclusively.


title: TISM

text: Over two nights in May 1991, the band were filmed live and released the video "Incontinent in Ten Continents". These performances were the last for guitarist Leak Van Vlalen.


title: TISM

text: In mid-1991, TISM signed with independent record label Shock Records and re-issued "Great Truckin' Songs of the Renaissance", as well as the EP "Gentlemen, Start Your Egos" 1991; a compilation of tracks previously unavailable on CD. TISM, with producer Tony Cohen, released the EP "Beasts of Suburban" in 1992. A new guitarist, Tony Coitus (later Tokin' Blackman) joined the group onstage for the first time on 23 January 1992. Two new backing dancers also joined, inheriting their stage names from their predecessors.


title: TISM

text: The 1993 EP, "Australia The Lucky Cunt" was the group's most controversial release to date. Courts issued an injunction order of the CD when the Ken Done Society threatened legal action over the artwork, which parodied Done's signature style and depicted a koala sucking a syringe. The matter was settled for an undisclosed amount of money "fairly close to the amount that Radiohead spends on buying friends", and the EP was re-released with a new cover graphic and title: "Censored Due To Legal Advice". During 1994, TISM sometimes played under the names "The Frank Vitkovic Jazz Quartet", "Machiavelli and the Four Seasons" (which would later be used as an album title) and "Late for Breakfast".


title: TISM

text: TISM's third album, 1995's "Machiavelli and the Four Seasons", was their biggest success; a shift from alternative rock to synth-driven techno and dance, which retained the band's usual vocal melodies and loud guitars. Three of its singles reached Triple J's Hottest 100, two of them in the top 10 in 1995. The album was certified gold and won the ARIA Award for Best Independent Release. Success exposed TISM to mainstream Australian radio and television, most of which was perplexed by the band's guerrilla approach to interviews and lack of interest in the music industry.


title: TISM

text: On 27 April 1995 the band appeared on the RMITV show "Under Melbourne Tonight" and performed "Protest Song" and "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River". In June, Humphrey B. Flaubert and Ron Hitler-Barassi appeared as guest programmers on the long-running late night music program Rage, where they aired clips by artists such as The Wiggles, the Bay City Rollers and Leif Garrett. A four CD box set, "Collected Recordings 1986-1993", was released in December, and steady record sales allowed extensive tours of Australia and New Zealand.


title: TISM

text: In 1996 TISM toured on the Big Day Out, during which Hitler-Barassi was either absent or wheelchair-bound due to a detached retina and broken arm caused by a stage dive he performed at the Pacific Hotel, Lorne, Victoria prior to the tour. Later the same year, TISM toured England, the group's sole Northern Hemisphere excursion.


title: TISM

text: Taking a year off from touring, TISM spent 1997 working on their next album with producer Lachlan Magoo. The album, "www.tism.wanker.com" was released in 1998. The first official music video for the album, "I Might Be a Cunt, but I'm Not a Fucking Cunt" was rarely broadcast. Returned and Services League of Australia head Bruce Ruxton wrote a letter of complaint to Shock Records describing it as "... Dropping [Australia's standards] through the floor into the proverbial sewer." The letter was published on TISM's official website at the time, alongside the single's press release.


title: TISM

text: "www.tism.wanker.com" sold well, thanks in part to an extensive Australian tour with Regurgitator, then at the height of their popularity, and The Fauves; however, sales were low compared to "Machiavelli and the Four Seasons"s success and TISM's contract with Shock ended by mutual agreement.


title: TISM

text: Following the 1998 tour, TISM signed with Festival Mushroom Records, which re-released their entire back catalogue (except for "Hot Dogma", their previous singles and the bonus discs for "Machiavelli" and "wanker.com") on CD.


title: TISM

text: Their first and only official album with Festival Mushroom Records was "De RigueurMortis", released in 2001. It débuted at No. 24 on the ARIA chart and No. 3 on the Alternative ARIA Chart. Flaubert predicted on Triple J radio that the album would "plummet out of the top 40 like a stone"; – the following week, it was not on the list. Touring became less thorough than in previous years, though no less active – at the closing of the Punters Club, the band ended up naked and tore the ceiling down during the gig.


title: TISM

text: In early 2002, the track "Honk If You Love Fred Durst" was released as a single. In 2002, Festival Mushroom Records released "tism.bestoff.", a best of compilation which included their greatest hits, two new tracks and a disc of remastered Bedroom Recordings. The compilation was their third, and last, release with Festival Mushroom Records, as TISM's contract had ended. Finding themselves with no record label again, TISM returned to touring.


title: TISM

text: On 6 January 2003, bassist Jock Cheese released a solo album, "Platter", on Shock Records. The album was co-written by Cheese with Ron Hitler-Barassi and Humphrey B. Flaubert, and contained the full version of "Unfair", a track previously excerpted as the introduction to "De RigeurMortis". Guitarist Tokin' Blackman contributes classical guitar to one track; otherwise most of the album's instruments were recorded by Cheese.


title: TISM

text: On September 26, TISM held a special one-off concert at the Hi-Fi Bar in Melbourne, presented as the "Save Our TISM" telethon, in which they solicited donations from the public to keep them from breaking up; despite apparently receiving the desired amount, the band "split" at the end of the show. The performance was filmed and released as part of the three-disc CD/DVD package "The White Albun" in 2004 by Madman Entertainment. Despite the "split", TISM continued to perform in order to promote the release of "The White Albun", which also included the group's sixth (and to date, final) studio album, and an additional DVD containing a short documentary, the band's music videos, and a collection of home videos. The three disc set received good reviews; however, was not eligible for ARIA chart tracking.


title: TISM

text: At the band's penultimate concert on 13 November 2004, Hitler-Barassi delivered a diatribe saying that the band had "lost the election" and made references to Guy Sebastian winning that year's season of "Australian Idol". This show was followed by the band's last live performance for almost two decades, at the Earthcore festival later in the month. Following this show, TISM - quietly and without fanfare - disbanded.


title: TISM

text: In 2005, TISM released the single "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" in the German market. Sony/BMG Germany expressed interest in the song when its animated clip by Bernard Derriman became a viral hit, thanks to bloggers and sites such as YouTube. The single reached the German commercial charts.


title: TISM

text: In October 2006, TISM were inducted into the EG Hall of Fame, at which they made an appearance and "a hilariously irreverent speech". When asked about the current status of TISM at the time, Humphrey B. Flaubert remarked "we are slowly moving towards our deaths".


title: TISM

text: In early 2005, Damian Cowell (the former Humphrey B. Flaubert) formed a country and western band called Root!, producing a series of demos under the name "DC Root". The project continued until 2010, producing two albums and an EP. Cowell followed Root! with The DC3, featuring Root! guitarist Henri Grawe. The project, which released its first single "I Was the Guy in TISM" in 2010, continued until 2013, producing two albums. Following The DC3, Cowell formed Damian Cowell's Disco Machine, which to date has produced three albums.


title: TISM

text: On 9 April 2008, James "Jock" Paull (best known as TISM's long-time guitarist Tokin' Blackman) died of cancer. In October 2009, the majority of TISM's back catalogue was re-released on iTunes with bonus material. In March 2010, a "21st century mix" of their single "Shut Up – The Footy's on the Radio" was released on iTunes. The 21st century mix features Humphrey B. Flaubert on vocals and Jock Cheese on guitars, and had wholly new lyrics. In April 2012, former guitarist Sean Kelly (aka Leak Van Vlalen) performed a series of songs live with satirist/musician Kieran Butler as "RealiTISM". Kelly has continued to play TISM material live in years since.


title: TISM

text: In 2015, appetite for a TISM reunion began to build after Australia was formally invited to join that year's Eurovision Song Contest. According to two competing Change.org petitions, TISM was 37 times more popular a choice for Australia's Eurovision representative than Kylie Minogue, with the petition for TISM receiving over 14,000 signatures in support. Flaubert refused to comment at the time, however suggested that "if a giant multinational with [a] horrendous human rights record was to give me a huge cheque I'll dob in my grandmother". Australia's representative for the 2015 Eurovision song contest was ultimately Guy Sebastian with the song "Tonight Again", which came in fifth place.


title: TISM

text: Australia has continued to participate in Eurovision in the years since, with TISM occasionally being suggested as Australia's representative - including in 2018 by the future 31st Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese. Albanese, a known TISM fan, also featured "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River" in a DJ set at the Corner Hotel in Richmond in June 2016. In September 2017, Albanese described TISM as having "a bit of dark humour, I think it's fair to say... but they were just great fun."


title: TISM

text: In response to the growing demand for a TISM reunion, in April 2015 Damian Cowell said "if TISM came back, it would be shithouse. That's the answer... to that question. I think that's sort of the point that eludes most bands that make a comeback. They don't ask that question, 'will it be shithouse or not?' And because they don't ask that question, they go out and it's shithouse."


title: TISM

text: On 22 January 2020, TISM released their back catalogue on Spotify. In February, a proposal from Melbourne politician David Limbrick to rename the Mordialloc Freeway to the "TISM Mordialloc Freeway" was rejected by the Victorian government. On 10 April, "Live at the Corner Hotel 30 May 1988", a recording of a concert at that venue which had previously circulated as a bootleg, was released digitally by the Australian Road Crew Initiative as a benefit for music employees put out of work by the COVID-19 pandemic.


title: TISM

text: On 14 October 2020, a press release credited (for the first time in 12 years) to Ron Hitler-Barassi was published at www.tism.net.au. It concluded by saying that TISM would begin a CD and vinyl reissue campaign with former head of Shock Records, David Williams. The reissue campaign began 21 December with the release of a recording of TISM's last live performance at the 2004 Earthcore festival, titled "On Behalf of TISM I Would Like To Concede We Have Lost the Election", and a transparent vinyl disc containing almost two hours of silence (pressed at Abbey Road Studios), titled "The TISM Omni-Album". These were TISM's first vinyl releases in 30 years, and first physical releases since their final studio album, "The White Albun", in 2004.


title: TISM

text: On 17 November 2020, a vinyl single featuring a cover of AC/DC's "For Those About to Rock" was released in a variety of editions, featuring cover art designed by four of the band's members. The song had been recorded in the 1990s for an AC/DC tribute album but was never released, although excerpts had circulated in the TISM fan community for many years. The single's B-side was "Let's Hang Around the Shopping Centre", another unreleased song dating to the post-"www.tism.wanker.com" era. The release of the single was also accompanied by the first release of official TISM T-shirts (featuring two of the aforementioned cover designs) in 16 years.


title: TISM

text: TISM's reissue campaign continued in 2021 with the June release of the Record Store Day exclusive limited edition 7" single "Mistah Eliot – He Wanker", featuring an unreleased version of "Kill Yourself Now and Avoid the Rush" on the B-side, and in July, the first wide release of their 1984 self-titled demo "This Is Serious Mum" on vinyl and CD, and "Punt Road", a 1987 rehearsal session, also on vinyl and CD. In September a compilation of the group's remixes, "Collected Remixes", was issued on vinyl only. In November, the mini-album "Form and Meaning Reach Ultimate Communion" was reissued on vinyl and, for the first time, on CD.


title: TISM

text: On 15 June 2022, TISM were announced as one of the headlining acts on the 2022 edition of Good Things festival, and were said to be playing their first performances since 2004 exclusively as part of the festival. Shortly following this announcement, TISM founders Humphrey B. Flaubert and Ron Hitler-Barassi made their first media appearances in sixteen years, providing interviews to the Music Feeds and The Guardian, as well as Double J and ABC Radio in Sydney and Melbourne, and almost immediately prompting a (tongue-in-cheek) feud with Regurgitator, who were also appearing at Good Things.


title: TISM

text: A lavish box set edition of their first single "Defecate on My Face" (containing the 7" single along with an additional 12" record and CD) was released in August 2022, alongside a compilation of the band's A-sides, "Collected Versus: The Complete TISM Singles", on CD and vinyl. The CD edition of "Collected Versus" contains the remix compilation "Collected Remixes" on the second disc, and features liner notes from former Rolling Stone Australia Editor Tyler Jenke. An alternate edition of "Collected Versus" was released for the American market in early November, with a different second disc, titled "Kill Americans - A TISM Primer", featuring a selection of album tracks.


title: TISM

text: On 17 October, former guitarist Sean Kelly (Leak Van Vlalen) confirmed he was not rejoining TISM, as the band required a guitarist who could comfortably cover both Kelly's parts and those of the late James "Jock" Paull (or Tokin' Blackman). Shortly afterwards it was announced (via the launch of an official Instagram page) that TISM's new guitarist was named Vladimir Lenin-McCartney.


title: TISM

text: Three weeks ahead of Good Things, on 12 November 2022, the reunited TISM held their first concert in 18 years, an hour long secret show (billed as "Open Mic Tryouts") at the Croxton Bandroom in Thornbury. A second secret show (billed as "Banjo Paterson-Lakes") followed the weekend after, at the Prince Bandroom in St. Kilda, on 19 November. Later that night, Flaubert and Hitler-Barassi made their second appearance on the music program Rage, again providing an eclectic and eccentric series of programming choices, such as a 1970s Four Corners report on the middle class, and tracks by the Crazy Frog, Mark "Jacko" Jackson and Jim Steinman.


title: TISM

text: On 25 November, "www.tism.wanker.com" was reissued on CD and limited edition blue coloured vinyl, preceding an expanded seven disc vinyl box set edition expected in 2023. A two-disc limited coloured vinyl edition of the live album "Machines Against the Rage" was also released on the same date. The following day, TISM performed their third secret warm-up show at 170 Russell in Melbourne, billed as "Rex Oedipus and Jack 'Elephant' Titus".


title: TISM

text: TISM played all three dates of the Good Things festival over the 2nd to 4th December, in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. During these three shows, the band were outfitted in silver costumes with large helium balloons attached; a group of tradesmen also appeared onstage during the set and erected a set of foam letters reading "TISN".


title: TISM

text: On 14 December DRW Entertainment put t-shirts sold at the Good Things shows up for sale on their website, and sent an email announcing the sale to subscribers, which closed with: "The Reunion Tour concluded with 3 dates at the Good Things Music Festival in December 2022. …or did it? Yes it did. …or did it?"


title: TISM

text: TISM members are pseudonymous and anonymous, and wear balaclavas during all their public appearances. However, most of their names have been revealed (see below).


title: TISM

text: St. Peenis also played saxophone on earlier recordings. Cheese plays guitar on various recordings and live shows, and Blackman arranged orchestral sections on "The White Albun" (2004). Flaubert programs rhythms and samples, and has occasionally played acoustic drumkits live.


title: TISM

text: There has been more than one person performing under the Les Miserables name, as confirmed by Sean Kelly (Leak Van Vlalen) during the "RealiTISM" video.


title: TISM

text: TISM have never officially revealed their names, instead choosing to use pseudonyms on their records and in interviews, all the while concealing their faces. Usually this involves the wearing of a balaclava, but outrageous costumes have been created for the purpose, including Ku Klux Klan uniforms made of newspaper, silver suits with puffy arms and legs to mimic an inflated cask wine bladder, giant foam paintings worn on the head, large foam signs bearing the name of a Beatle, fat 'businessman' suits, and eight-foot-high inflatable headpieces among others.


title: TISM

text: Who TISM are beneath the masks has been the cause of much speculation by fans, with one theory contending that TISM is composed of members of other bands who do not want their fans to find out: popular targets of this theory include Painters and Dockers, Machine Gun Fellatio and even The Wiggles. A theory based on the band's tour schedule's roughly coinciding with school holidays, and the fact that the Ringwood Secondary College Choir and Orchestra feature in the filmclip to Thunderbirds Are Coming Out, proposes that TISM are school teachers. Another common theory, based on the high incidence of Australian rules football references in their lyrics, is that they are or were players in the AFL, however Humphrey B. Flaubert has stated that "We're actually not AFL, we're more violent and crappy... so you're looking at the VFL there."


title: TISM

text: However, when TISM performed on "John Safran's Music Jamboree" in 2002 playing "(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River" on instruments from Greece, the song writers' names were revealed during the credit roll which read "'(He'll Never Be An) Ol' Man River' by Damian Cowell / Peter Minack / Jack Holt / James Paull / Eugene Cester ... Performed by TISM." Up until then, the songwriters' names were publicly available on the APRA/AMCOS database, but now the songwriting credits on the site just say "TISM" instead of the members' real names; Damian Cowell's real name is listed as one of the songwriters of ROOT!'s songs, however.


title: TISM

text: The song writers' names were also published later, alongside information on "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me" when it hit success in Sweden and Germany in 2004.


title: TISM

text: However, vigilant fans would have noticed the names some years earlier: Hitler-Barassi was photographed in 1993 at the opening night of Madame Butterfly, which was published on 4 April 1993; the book revealed the member to be Peter Minack, who later released a book of his own ("Campaigning With Grant") in 2000 about the American Civil War. The book contains thin references to TISM. In interviews about his book, Minack revealed he was a teacher, his father fought in World War II for the Germans, and that he is fanatical about the Richmond Football Club, explaining his stage moniker.


title: TISM

text: Guitarist Tokin Blackman's real name was James "Jock" Paull. Paull died of cancer on 9 April 2008 at the age of 50.


title: TISM

text: Eugene Cester was revealed in an "Age" column as being the uncle of Nic and Chris Cester of Melbourne's Jet, however, it did not state which member he is. It is believed that he is Eugene De La Hot Croix Bun.


title: TISM

text: On 28 March 2007, a Myspace page opened for a Melbourne band called Root! which the lead singer claimed to be "the friend of the uncle of the guys in Jet". The page also lists James Paull as a "friend". Humphrey B. Flaubert's real name is Damian Cowell, who performs in the band as D.C. Root.


title: TISM

text: In the Jock Cheese-penned song "Let's Club It to Death" from "Hot Dogma", Cheese mentions his real first name in the first verse ("My friends call me John / But you can call me Breaker Morant").


title: TISM

text: TISM are distinguished from other "joke" or "gimmick" bands by, among other things, their musical style. The band rarely, in any seriousness, state actual influences on the type of music they played, except that The Residents were a band which TISM "did" notice and "possibly" took some influence from. A clear link can be drawn from The Residents' 1977 promotional video "The Third Reich 'n' Roll", in which that group wore Ku Klux Klan uniforms made of newspapers (TISM did exactly this at their first gig). Other bands which may have influenced TISM are difficult to pinpoint, although a "Sydney Morning Herald" article on the band described them as "a cross between Skyhooks, Dave Warner, Talking Heads and The Residents".


title: TISM

text: In 2021, co-founder Humphrey B. Flaubert noted that part of the band's style was "never breaking out of character. Whether that character was 99% the real us, it was still a character. Listen to any interview and you'll get the sense that those guys are constantly 'on'. The persona never wanes. The metaphorical mask never drops. And while that may have annoyed some journalists, it's what set that band apart from every other band. It's what made that band's interviews more interesting for the listener than fucking Joe Blow going on about the creative inspiration behind his new album."


title: TISM

text: Recurring lyrical themes are present throughout TISM's catalog, the most common being death, violence, fame and prominent figures, drugs, including alcohol, and the Australian Football League. Many of TISM's lyrics are tinged in fatalism, mocking both the superficial and the sublime side of the human condition and the desire for people to be loved and respected (even just in the titles of such songs as "If You're Not Famous at Fourteen, You're Finished", "If You're Ugly, Forget It" and "Everyone Else Has Had More Sex Than Me").


title: TISM

text: TISM's early keyboard sound was provided by an Optigan which keyboardist Eugene de la Hot-Croix Bun ran through a flanger. They mainly use standard tuning; however, Eb tuning and drop D were employed in some songs. Jock Cheese's bass is prominent in the songs to a degree that head of Festival Mushroom Records, Michael Parisi, described the sound as "aggressive".


title: TISM

text: The band were sometimes criticised as unoriginal for continually opting for standard pop song structures. One reason for this is clarified in their book, "The TISM Guide To Little Aesthetics", in the following paragraphs, when asked why their ideas are post-modern but their music is not:


title: TISM

text: "Give me a pop-song, mate. Give me a fucking pop-song. Not only is it more fun, it's pretty fuckin' hard to write as well. You can bung in as many out-of-tune oboes as you want, but putting chords together so they sound pleasant isn't as simple as it might appear. It mightn't be the Sistine Chapel, but what is? Ollie fucking Olsen with his stupid feedback and cough mixture? The Jesus and Mary Chain, with their stupid feedback, and their stupid stage show with 800 powerful stupid lights and enough stupid dry ice to enhance their stupid stupidity up its own bullshit crappy teenage pretentious one dimensional dick witted puissant artistic enigma?


title: TISM

text: So ... what have you listened to for a good time that isn't, after all, a 'traditional' song? Still playing the Mike Oldfield records, huh? Still whipping "Yessongs" on for a good time? Wanna count on one hand how many people have fun at a Sonic Youth gig? I'm not supporting The Choirboys, old man, I'm just saying that the day some jumped-up over-paid self-important post-modernist cocksucker puts his foot upon his Fairlight computer in the middle of his 47-minute opus "The Silent Forgiveness of the Pig-God" and belts out the chords to "Johnny B. Goode" is the day I'll join you at the footlights of post-modernism.


title: TISM

text: The ARIA Music Awards are a set of annual ceremonies presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Ferdinando Trastámara d'Aragona, of the Naples branch, universally known as Ferrante and also called by his contemporaries Don Ferrando and Don Ferrante (2 June 1424, in Valencia – 25 January 1494, in Naples), was the only son, illegitimate, of Alfonso I of Naples. He was king of Naples from 1458 to 1494.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: He was one of the most influential and feared monarchs in Europe at the time and an important figure of the Italian Renaissance. In his thirty years of reign he brought peace and prosperity to Naples. Its foreign and diplomatic policy aimed at assuming the task of regulating the events of the peninsula in order not to disturb the political balance given by the Treaty of Lodi, to affirm the hegemony of the Kingdom of Naples over the other Italian states and to tighten through its diplomats and marriages of his numerous legitimate and natural children, a dense network of alliances and relationships with Italian and foreign sovereigns, earned him the fame and the nickname of Judge of Italy, in addition to being recognized as a generous patron.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: He issued various social laws that in fact undermined the excessive power of the Barons, favoring small artisans and peasants. This work of modernization and the resistance he put up against them led to the outbreak of the famous revolt which was subsequently suffocated.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Ferrante was forced to prove his worth several times before obtaining the throne of Naples. Not only as governor, but also as a military man, as he was forced to recapture his own kingdom, against all conspirators, and during his rule, the kingdom was under constant attack from powers such as the Ottoman Empire, France, the Republic of Venice and the Papal States. It can be said that, in general, almost his entire life was spent in war.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Recognized as one of the most powerful political minds of the time, Ferrante was gifted with great courage and remarkable political skills. Completely Italianized, he surrounded himself with numerous artists and humanists, completed the paternal building works in the city of Naples and erected new impressive buildings that still adorn it today.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: The skills of Ferrante and his diplomats, skilled in weaving alliances in order to achieve Neapolitan hegemony in the system of Italian states, the fruits of the sovereign's economic strategy with the introduction of the art of silk and printing, politics of promotion and cultural attraction, the severe exercise of power also through the repression of the conspiracy of the barons led the Kingdom of Naples, with intellectuals of the caliber of Pontano, Panormita and others, to participate as a protagonist in Humanism and the Renaissance. At that time it possessed the most powerful navy in the western part of the Mediterranean.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: His mother, Gueraldona Carlino, was probably a woman of Neapolitan origin who in December 1423 had accompanied Alfonso on his return to Spain, where she later married a certain Gaspar Reverdit of Barcelona .


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: In order to ensure a good future for his illegitimate son, his father Alfonso had called him to Naples. At the behest of the king, on 26 July 1438 the governor de Corella, the bishop Borgia and the young Ferrante, with their entourage of young Catalan gentlemen, set sail from Barcelona for Italy. Alfonso's purpose was to prepare his only son, albeit illegitimate, for the role of heir to the kingdom he was conquering. The whole company landed in Gaeta on 19 August, where Ferrante was reunited with his father, whom he hardly knew.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: A strong emotional bond soon developed between father and son, as Alfonso appreciated the young man's acute intelligence and courage, while Ferrante showed complete reverence for his parent. Alfonso on 9 September 1438 created Ferrante a knight on the Maddaloni field where René of Anjou-Valois, challenged to battle, did not appear.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: In Naples he had as teachers Valla, Panormita, Borgia and Gabriele Altilio, who taught him for many years. He also had as tutor Paris de Puteo who taught him law. When the Sacro regio consiglio, judicial "authority" of the kingdom, was established by Alfonso, he was assigned the position of president.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Following the death of his uncle Peter, in April 1439 Ferrante was appointed lieutenant general of the kingdom. On February 17, 1440, King Alfonso, by his own authority, legitimized and declared his son his heir to the throne of Naples and then, in January 1441, he secured the approval of the parliament of the barons of the kingdom that he had summoned in Benevento and which was then transferred to Naples. Still in parliament, Alfonso, worried about the succession, promoted a petition, in which the barons, knowing they were doing the king a great pleasure, proposed to establish Don Ferrante as his future successor, with the title of Duke of Calabria, usually given to the first-born of the king of Naples. Then Onorato Caetani, with the consent of all, kneeling before the king, he begged him to create Duke of Calabria and his future successor Don Ferrante, and the King with a cheerful face made him answer these words by the secretary:


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: After this, Don Ferrante Duke of Calabria and successor of the kingdom was shouted with great joy and, on March 3, 1443, the king, accompanied by his son and baronage, went to the Monastery of the Nuns of San Ligoro, where the mass was celebrated with public solemnity and, where Alfonso gave the sword in Ferrante's right hand, the flag in his left hand and placing the ducal circle over his head, ordered everyone to call him Duke of Calabria.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: The recognition of the rights of succession Ferrante was sealed by the Papal bull Regnans in altissimis issued by Pope Eugene IV in July 1443, and later confirmed in 1451 by Pope Nicholas V. Ferrante in 1444 married the heiress Isabella of Taranto, daughter of Tristan of Clermont and Catherine of Taranto, designated heir of Prince Giovanni Antonio Orsini Del Balzo of Taranto, his maternal uncle, who had no children. Isabella was also the niece of Queen Mary of Enghien who, having married Ladislaus I of Anjou, had therefore been queen of Naples, Sicily and the Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1406 to 1414.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: In June 1452 King Alfonso ordered to declare war on the Florentines, at the request of the Republic of Venice, to divert them from the help they gave to Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan; for which he sent his son Ferrante with six thousand horses and twenty thousand foot soldiers. Alfonso then concluded with the Venetians that he would attack the Florentines and the Venetian the Sforza.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Therefore, Ferrante left for Abruzzo, and was lovingly received for the whole kingdom. The Duke's army stopped at the Abbey of San Galgano, a very convenient place to have food from land and sea to survive. Then the Florentines (whose governor was Cosimo de' Medici) raised the flags of King Charles VII, King of France and urged that King René restart the enterprise for the reconquest of the Kingdom of Naples.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: At this time the plague began to spread in the camp of the army of the Duke of Calabria at Tumulo (a place conforming to the name for malaria), for which the Duke of Urbino and many other captains fell ill; therefore it was necessary for the Duke of Calabria to change camp and lead the army to Pitigliano.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: On 1 September Ferrante was informed that Foiano had already been taken. When winter came, the war in Tuscany ended. While the Duke of Calabria was staying in his camp for the Tuscan enterprise against the Florentines, Alfonso negotiated peace and signed a league with the Republic of Venice and Siena. On April 9, peace was declared between Doge Francesco Foscari for the Venetian and Duke Francesco Sforza.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Ferrante was ordered by Alfonso to leave Tuscany taking the road towards Abruzzo, and when he reached the borders of the Kingdom, he fired the Count of Urbino and the other captains.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: On 28 August 1454 he entered Naples, where he was received under a very rich baldachin with infinite joy by all the citizens.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: On February 15, 1455, the Roman cardinal Domenico Capranica came to Naples to negotiate and conclude the alliance and general league of princes and potentates of Italy with Alfonso at the request of the Pope. Alfonso, in his name and his son, made the agreement and signed the peace and friendship with the Duke of Milan and with the Florentines.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: As established by his father, Ferrante succeeded him on the throne of Naples in 1458, at the age of 35. When he came to power he had to face many problems: Charles, Prince of Viana, incited the Neapolitans to acclaim him king, the barons pushed King John of the Crown of Aragon to conquer the kingdom, and after the latter's refusal they resorted to John of Anjou, son of René, who claimed the kingdom of Naples and the Pope demanded moreover that the kingdom be devolved to his Holy See. Ferrante had to overcome all these powerful enemies to keep the kingdom strong.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Charles, prince of Viana, the son of King John II of Aragon, claimed that the illegitimate status of Ferrante precluded his ascension to king. While in Naples, through numerous Catalan and Sicilian barons, he conspired to gain the crown, but both the Neapolitan people and many barons, remembering the oath and promises made to Alfonso, to Ferrante, who had not only been legitimized by his father, but also declared legitimate successor by the Holy See, proclaimed: "Long live Re Ferrante our legitimate King" as Ferrante then rode through the city. When the Prince of Viana saw this display, he boarded a ship in Naples, abandoning his supporters, and fled to Sicily, with the Catalan barons who had not had fiefs in the kingdom from Alfonso.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Although he had overcome this obstacle, Ferrante still did not feel safe, since he did not yet have Callixtus III on his side, even though he had been his teacher and friend of his father before becoming Pope. The following day he sent ambassadors to the Pope to confirm the investiture of the kingdom, through the following letter.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: After having sent the ambassadors to Rome, Ferrante wanted to anticipate the investiture. After leaving Castel Nuovo he went to the cathedral of the city on horseback, accompanied by the barons of the kingdom, where he was received with applause by Cardinal Rinaldo Piscicello, Archbishop of the city, who, accompanied by the clergy, met with him in front of the church choir and immediately after they went to the stairs of the high altar, where kneeling, the Te Deum was sung. The cardinal blessed the new sovereign with a pontifical blessing and proclaimed him King of Naples. After the coronation the trumpets began to sound, while the people shouted: "Long live the King Ferrante". He then rode, accompanied with great magnificence by the baronage and the people towards the seven offices of the Kingdom, then returned to Castel Nuovo. Finding it closed, according to the rite he then called the castellan Arnaldo Sanz, and said to him: "Open", and he replied: "Are you King Don Ferrante thirsty, son of the happy memory of King Don Alfonso?" The King replied: "I am that." The Castellano then asked the barons if the new king was Don Alfonso's son and they all said yes. The Castellano then, in front of all the people, handed the keys of the castle to Ferrante, who returned them to him and ordered to keep the fortress well. After this, the people continued to shout: "Long live the King Don Ferrando".


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Pope Callixtus III however, was ill-disposed towards Ferrante; in a papal bull of 12 July, he declared the throne of Naples vacant, not recognizing the succession of Ferrante, because he was the son of a Moorish servant and therefore neither the legitimate nor natural son of Alfonso V of Aragon. In fact, Calixtus aimed to usurp the crown from Ferrante, and grant it to his own nephew, Pedro Luis de Borja, newly installed as Duke of Spoleto. Calixtus had notices posted in various places in the kingdom, where it was reported that upon Alfonso's death, the Kingdom of Naples had devolved to the Papal state. Calixtus offered amnesty to all those who had sworn loyalty to Ferrante, but he ordered all the clergy, barons, cities and peoples of the kingdom, under pain of excommunication, not to obey Ferrante or continue to swear loyalty to him.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Ferrante then called the barons and the people to the General Parliament, who swore loyalty to him, without any rancor. To oppose Pope's plan, in the presence of the nuncio, he wrote a response to the papal bull, stating that he was legitimate king by the grace of God, for the benefit of his father King Alfonso, by acclamation of the barons and cities of the Kingdom and thanks to the concessions of the two previous Popes: Eugene IV and Nicholas V. Ferrante, in this war against Callixtus was able to count on an alliance with the Duke of Milan, not only due the kinship between the two dynasties, but also a bond that existed between them. The pope, always implacable and obstinate, refused any intercession from other rulers; so much so that Ferrante decided to send ambassadors to the Pope in the name of the kingdom. The latter found the pope sick and therefore were never admitted to his audience.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: The advanced age, the many sorrows suffered and moreover the melancholy for having understood that King John II of Aragon would not have conquered the kingdom of Naples led the pope to his death in August 1458, without having achieved his goal.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Ferrante, relieved of the Pope's death, immediately sent Francesco II Del Balzo, Duke of Andria , and Antonio d'Alessandro, famous Jurisconsult, to ask for the investiture of the new Pope and to render him obedience. Accepted the audience, Pope Pius II did not want to neglect the interests of the Church: the investiture was granted him, but with many conditions: Ferrante had to pay the unpaid taxes, perpetually help the Pope with every request, return Benevento to the Church and Terracina, and other conditions agreed in the name of the Pope by Bernardo, Bishop of Spoleto and in the name of the King by Antonio d'Alessandro. All this was confirmed by the bull of Pius II, on November 2, 1458. After the Bull of Investiture, two more were sent: in the first the Pontiff advised Ferrante to send him a Cardinal Legate for the coronation and in the second he revoked the Bull. of Callixtus III made against the King.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Ferrante was solemnly crowned on February 4, 1459, in the Cathedral of Barletta and to thank the Pope, in 1461, he wanted Maria, his natural daughter, to marry Antonio Piccolomini nephew of Pius, giving her as a dowry the Duchy of Amalfi, the county of Celano and the office of Great executioner for her husband. The problems, however, were not over yet, in fact Ferrante's rival, John of Anjou, aspired to regain the throne of Naples, lost by his father in the war against Alfonso.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: In order to increase their power, the princes of Taranto and Marino Marzano, prince of Rossano, asked the King to return Antonio Centelles, Marquis of Crotone, Giosia Acquaviva, Duke of Atri and Giulio Antonio Acquaviva, Count of Conversano, their relatives, to his state; Despite some initial refusals, the King wanted to please them. These united barons decided to urge King John of Aragon to come and conquer the kingdom that belonged to him by legitimate succession after the death of his brother Alfonso V; but King John refused. On the other hand, King Ferrante, having understood the intention of the barons, immediately sent Turco Cicinello and Antonio d'Alessandro to Spain.To pray John not to lack love for his nephew the king, since he could say that the Kingdom of Naples was more his than the kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: These Ambassadors did not encounter much difficulty in propitiating the king, as even though he wanted to conquer Naples, he did not have the necessary military forces. However, they had great difficulty in settling another plague, because Queen Maria, who was the wife of King Alfonso V, died in Catalonia and left her dowries, amounting to four hundred thousand ducats, to the heir John II. King John claimed that the money should be taken from the treasury that Alfonso had left to the kingdom of Naples and the ambassadors agreed to give it to him in ten years.


title: Ferdinand I of Naples

text: Meanwhile, seeing his plan fail, the prince of Taranto attempted another enterprise: with the help of the barons and above all of Marino Marzano, who hated Ferrante mortally because the rumor had spread that the king had committed incest with his Eleonora Marino's sister and wife, they decided to call in 1459 John, Duke of Anjou, son of King René, who was still in Genoa, to convince him to undertake the enterprise of conquering the throne of Naples. The latter, having received the embassy of the invitation from Marco della Ratta, immediately had galleys and ships armed.