History.

Formation and early success.

Better Than Ezra was formed in 1988 by vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin, lead guitarist Joel Rundell, bassist Tom Drummond, and drummer Cary Bonnecaze. All four members were attending Louisiana State University at the time of Better Than Ezra's formation. Better Than Ezra's first public performance was at Murphy's in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also in 1988. Though many theories abound, the band refuses to disclose the origin of its name. One theory is that it comes from a line in Ernest Hemingway's memoir "A Moveable Feast", in which Hemingway describes a particularly annoying sound as "...no worse than other noises, certainly better than Ezra learning to play the bassoon." Drummond once told a reporter that the meaning of the band's name is “so lame you wouldn’t even want to print it.” It has also been said that the name came into being when the then nameless band entered a battle of the bands in competition with a group named Ezra. Needing a name to register they simply said that they were better. Fans of the group often refer to themselves as Ezralites.  Better Than Ezra circulated a demo cassette tape later in 1988, the "Chimes Street Demo". While not an official release, this demo is sought-after by the band's fans, and traded by collectors. In 1990 the band released a cassette-only album, "Surprise".  Joel Rundell, the band's lead guitarist, died by suicide on August 8, 1990. The remaining three members of the band took some time off to reassess its future following Rundell's death. However, Griffin, Drummond and Bonnecaze reunited Better Than Ezra as a trio by the end of 1990. The trio continued playing house parties and fraternity shows across southern United States during the early 1990s.  The band released its first nationally distributed album "Deluxe" in 1993 on its own indie label, Swell Records, which caught the attention of major record labels and radio. Better Than Ezra signed with Elektra Records in 1995. Elektra Records rereleased "Deluxe" in 1995 and the single, "Good", reached the No. 1 position on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart which helped push the album to platinum record status by the end of 1995.  Success came quickly to Better Than Ezra. Tom Drummond commented later in a 1998 interview with CNN, "It took us seven years to get signed, and then seven weeks to get to No. 1." when describing the overnight success of "Deluxe" and its single "Good."

1996–2000.

After "Deluxe"'s major label release, original drummer Cary Bonnecaze left the band in 1996. He was replaced by drummer Travis McNabb, formerly of the band Vigilantes of Love, who was tapped to play on the band's upcoming album, "Friction, Baby". Bonnecaze's departure set off a series of lawsuits and counter-suits between Bonnecaze and Better Than Ezra. Bonnecaze, who took his suit to the United States District Court in New Orleans, argued that the band owed him money "based on his role in fortifying the band's reputation," according to "Rolling Stone". He asked for approximately $1 million in damages. A settlement was reached between the band and Bonnecaze on August 5, 1999. The exact terms of the settlement were not released at the time, though Better Than Ezra's manager John Isbell was quoted as saying that Bonnecaze received "way less" than the one million dollars he had originally requested.  Better Than Ezra released their second major label album, "Friction, Baby", in 1996 through Elektra Records. The album produced the hits "Desperately Wanting" and "King of New Orleans". "Friction, Baby" was not as commercially successful as "Deluxe", but has sold almost 500,000 units as of 1999.  The trio began work on their third major release, "How Does Your Garden Grow?", soon after the end of touring for "Friction, Baby". The album was recorded between mid-January and late-April at a studio in New Orleans. The album was produced by record producer Malcolm Burn, who had formerly produced Iggy Pop and U2, and released on August 25, 1998. The album was described as "experimental" and a significant departure from their previous two albums. Griffin described the album in 1998 as "guitar driven... rhythmic." Likewise, Tom Drummond described the band's thinking on its third major album, "We thought the third album was a very important record, because generally a band either makes or breaks on the third record. We wanted it to be a record that didn't necessarily sound like what people expected." Despite the emphasis on guitar experimentation, two tracks, "One More Murder" and "Je ne m'en souviens pas" contain no guitars.  The single "At the Stars" debuted, and peaked, at number 78 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. The band was dropped by Elektra Records following the release of "How Does Your Garden Grow?" in 1999.

2000–2008.

The band released the B-Sides and rarities collection "Artifakt" on its own "Ezra Dry Goods/Fudge" label in 2000. "Artifakt" was only sold online and at concerts. Tom Drummond, the band's bassist, noted in 2002, "It's basically an album full of rarities."  Better Than Ezra, now no longer with Elektra Records, signed with the Beyond Records label and began work on new material. Drummond explained the reasoning for choosing a smaller label, "We decided we wanted to be big fish in a small pond instead of a little fish in a big pond. We just wanted to be with a label who wanted success as much as we did."  Griffin, Drummond and McNabb spent 18 months working on "Closer", their follow-up album to 1998's "How Does Your Garden Grow?" and their first new material since being dropped by Elektra Records. The album was recorded in New Orleans in the band's own studio, which allowed the members to focus on creating music rather than rental costs per day. "Closer" was mixed in Los Angeles by Better Than Ezra and the album's producer, Brad Wood. However, the band felt that some tracks needed scratching. Producer Brad Wood's management company recommended DJ Swamp, who had previously worked with Beck, to mix several tracks. The use of a DJ for two of the album's tracks, the first single "Extra Ordinary" and "Recognize", marked a departure for the band, who hadn't previously employed a DJ before.  "Closer" was released on August 7, 2001. Better Than Ezra launched a tour in support of the album on July 26, 2001. The first single off the album, "Extra Ordinary", which had been mixed by DJ Swamp, was inspired by an AC/DC song. The album's promotion hit a snag after its record label, Beyond Records, went out of business in 2002 shortly after "Closer"'s release. Beyond Record's bankruptcy left "Closer" out of print for several years. In June 2009, Better Than Ezra announced that it had acquired the rights to "Closer" and would re-release it in the Fall of 2009 with two new previously unreleased tracks, "Simple Song" and "Screwed Up and Beautiful."  In June 2001, Better Than Ezra filmed a series of commercials for ESPN's "College GameDay". The promo features the band while sports analyst Lee Corso crowd surfs to the stage, where he continues his sports reporting.  On September 28, 2004, the band simultaneously released their first live concert DVD, as well as an official live album, both entitled "Live at the House of Blues, New Orleans" through Sanctuary Records. The DVD and album were filmed and recorded at two separate shows at the House of Blues in New Orleans during the summer of 2004.  A Greatest Hits collection was released on March 15, 2005, through Rhino Entertainment, a division of the Warner Music Group.  Better Than Ezra's sixth studio album entitled "Before the Robots" (Artemis Records), was released on May 31, 2005. In 2005, "Desperate Housewives" creator Marc Cherry used the band's song "Juicy" as the background music for the second season of the show's promotional advertisements, which Griffin credited with bringing attention to the album. The song "Juicy" has also been heard in the background in commercials for Applebee's restaurants.

2009–present.

Longtime drummer Travis McNabb left Better Than Ezra in February 2009 and their last performance together was Family Gras in Metairie, Louisiana. The primary reason given for his departure was the demand on his time by country and bluegrass group, Sugarland, with whom McNabb had previously been touring for some time. The split was amicable, with bassist Tom Drummond saying, "It's bittersweet. He's fantastic. We're still good friends, and there are no hard feelings. We'll miss him. But this is an opportunity he needed to take." Announced at the same time was McNabb's replacement, New Orleans-based drummer Michael Jerome, formerly of the band Pleasure Club. In addition, Better Than Ezra announced the May 12, 2009 release date for their seventh studio album, entitled "Paper Empire", which is produced by Warren Huart and singer Kevin Griffin. The first single, "Absolutely Still" was released for iTunes purchase on March 17.  On January 22, 2010, American country-pop singer Taylor Swift covered "Breathless" at a performance on "", a charity telethon to benefit the victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake.  On May 22, 2013, Griffin confirmed that the band plans to release their first new album since 2009 later in the year.  On February 10, 2014, it was announced that the band had signed with The End Records for the release of their eighth studio album. The album, "All Together Now", was released on September 9, 2014.  On August 29, 2014, the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of "Surprise", was released. According to original drummer Cary Bonnecaze, "The family of Joel Rundell (our original guitarist who passed away in 1990) and I own the original recording, and we thought that with 2014 being the 25th anniversary of its original release, it would be a good time to release it."  On June 1, 2018, BTE released a new track called “GRATEFUL” via "The End Records".

Band members.

Current members Former members  Touring members

Discography.

Studio albums

Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana, and signed with The End Records. The band formed in 1988 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and consists of Kevin Griffin (vocals and guitar), Tom Drummond (bass guitar), Michael Jerome (drums), and James Arthur Payne Jr. (guitar, keyboards). The band has released eight studio albums, most recently 2014's "All Together Now". They are best known for their 1993 multi-platinum album "Deluxe" and the 1995 single "Good", which reached number 1 on the "Billboard" Modern Rock Tracks chart.

Better Than Ezra je americká rocková skupina, založená v roce 1988 ve městě New Orleans v Louisianě. Původní sestava se skládalo ze čtyř členů; zpěváka a kytaristy Kevina Griffina, kytaristy Joele Rundella, baskytaristy Toma Drummonda a bubeníka Caryho Bonnecaze. Rundell ze skupiny odešel v roce 1990 a následně skupina hrála pouze v triu. V roce 1996 ze skupiny odešel Bonnecaze a nahradil jej Travis McNabb, kterého v roce 2009 nahradil Michael Jerome.


Taxonomy and evolution.

The island fox shares the genus "Urocyon" with the mainland gray fox, the species from which it is descended. Its small size is a result of insular dwarfism, a form of allopatric speciation. Because the island fox is geographically isolated, it has no immunity to parasites and diseases brought in from the mainland and is especially vulnerable to those that the domestic dog may carry. In addition, predation by the golden eagle and human activities devastated fox numbers on several of the Channel Islands in the 1990s. Four island fox subspecies were federally protected as an endangered species in 2004, and efforts to rebuild fox populations and restore the ecosystems of the Channel Islands are being undertaken. Radio collars are being attached to foxes in an effort to track and locate the young foxes. To date these efforts have been largely successful.  There are six subspecies of the island fox, each of which is native to a specific Channel Island, and which evolved there independently of the others. The subspecies are:  Foxes from each island are capable of interbreeding, but have genetic and phenotypic distinctions that make them unique; for example, the subspecies have differing numbers of tail vertebrae.  The small size of the island fox is an adaptation to the limited resources available in the island environment. The foxes are believed to have "rafted" to the northern islands between 10,400 and 16,000 years ago. Initially, fox populations were located on the three northern islands, which were likely easier to access during the last ice age — when lowered sea levels united four of the northernmost islands into a single mega-island (Santa Rosae) and the distance between the islands and the mainland was reduced — it is likely that Native Americans brought the foxes to the southern islands of the archipelago, perhaps as pets, or hunting dogs. Other names for the island fox include "coast fox", "short-tailed fox", "island gray fox", "Channel Islands fox", "Channel Islands gray fox", "California Channel Islands fox" and "insular gray fox".

Description.

The island fox is significantly smaller than the gray fox and is the smallest fox in North America, averaging slightly smaller than the swift and kit foxes. Typically, the head-and-body length is, shoulder height, and the tail is long, which is notably shorter than the tail of the gray fox. This is due to the fact that the island fox generally has two fewer tail vertebrae than the gray fox. The island fox weighs between. The male is always larger than the female. The largest of the subspecies occurs on Santa Catalina Island and the smallest on Santa Cruz Island.  The island fox has gray fur on its head, a ruddy red coloring on its sides, white fur on its belly, throat and the lower half of its face, and a black stripe on the dorsal surface of its tail. In general the coat is darker and duller hued than that of the gray fox. The island fox molts once a year between August and November. Before the first molt pups are woolly and have a generally darker coat than adult foxes. A brown phase, with the grey and black fur of the body replaced by a sandy brown and a deeper brown, may occur in the San Clemente Island and San Nicolas Island populations. It is unclear if this is a true color phase, a change that occurs with age, or possibly a change that occurs because of interactions with Opuntia cactus spines that become embedded in the pelt.

Reproduction.

The island fox typically forms monogamous breeding pairs, which are frequently seen together beginning in January and through the breeding season, from late February to early March. The gestation period is 50–63 days. The female island fox gives birth in a den, a typical litter having one to five pups, with an average of two or three. Pups are born in the spring and emerge from the den in early summer; the mother lactates for 7–9 weeks. Sexual maturity is reached at 10 months, and the females usually breed within the first year. Island foxes live for 4–6 years in the wild and for up to 8 years in captivity.

Ecology and behavior.

Its preferred habitat is complex layer vegetation with a high density of woody, perennially fruiting shrubs. The fox lives in all of the island biomes including temperate forest, temperate grassland and chaparral, with no island supporting more than 1,000 foxes. The island fox eats fruits, insects, birds, eggs, crabs, lizards, and small mammals, including deer mice. The fox tends to move around by itself, rather than in packs. It is generally nocturnal, although with peaks of activity at dawn and dusk. Activity also fluctuates with the season: It is more active during the day in summer than it is in winter.  The island fox is not intimidated by humans, although at first may show aggression. It is quite easy to tame and is generally docile. The island fox communicates using auditory, olfactory and visual signals. A dominant fox uses vocalizations, staring, and ear flattening to cause another fox to submit. Signs of dominance and submission are visual, such as facial expression and body posture. Its main vocalizations are barking and growling. The island fox marks territory with urine and feces.

Conservation status and Federal Protection.

In March 2004, four subspecies of the island fox were classified as a federally protected endangered species: The Santa Cruz island fox, Santa Rosa island fox, San Miguel island fox and the Santa Catalina island fox. As of 2013, the IUCN lists the entire species as near threatened, an improvement from its previous status of "critically endangered". A decline in island fox populations was identified in the 1990s. On San Miguel Island, the decline began in 1994, with the population falling from 450 adults to 15 by 1999. Similar population declines were discovered on Santa Cruz Island. On the Santa Cruz Island the population decreased from 2,000 adults in 1994 to less than 135 in 2000, and on Santa Rosa Island where foxes may have numbered more than 1,500 in 1994, but were reduced to 14 animals by 2000. In 2004, there were 38 San Miguel island foxes, all in captivity; 46 foxes in captivity on Santa Rosa Island and 7 in the wild (golden eagle predation prevented the release of captive foxes into the wild); Santa Cruz Island had 25 captive foxes and a stable wild population of around 100 foxes.  Golden eagle predation, discovered when foxes were radio-collared and monitored, proved to be the cause of the high mortality rates. The golden eagle was an uncommon visitor to the Channel Islands before the 1990s according to data gathered by Dr. Lyndal Laughrin of the University of California Santa Cruz Island Reserve, and the first golden eagle nest was recorded on Santa Cruz Island in 1999. Biologists propose that the eagle may have been attracted to the islands in the 1960s after the decline of the bald eagle. The golden eagle replaced the bald eagle and began to feed on feral pigs following the decimation of the local bald eagle population due to DDT exposure in the 1950s — the bald eagle would have deterred the golden eagle from settling on the islands while it subsisted on fish.  The feral pigs on Santa Rosa were exterminated by the National Park Service in the early 1990s, which removed one of the golden eagle's food sources. The golden eagle then began to prey on the island fox population. Feral pigs on Santa Cruz Island and deer and elk on Santa Rosa Island were introduced almost 70 years prior to island fox decline, therefore, the golden eagle most likely did not seek these animals as alternative prey. This has occurred most likely as a result of a process known as "apparent competition": In this process, a predator, like the golden eagle, feeds on at least two prey, for example, the island fox and feral pigs. One prey item is adapted to high predation pressure and supports the predator population (i.e. pigs), whereas the other prey item (i.e. the island fox) is poorly adapted to predation and declines as a consequence of the predation pressure. It has also been proposed that the complete removal of golden eagles may be the only action that could save three subspecies of the island fox from extinction. However, the pigs on Santa Cruz Island were killed by the Nature Conservancy under the idea that they drew the eagles to the foxes.  Introduced diseases or parasites can devastate island fox populations. Because the island fox is isolated, it has no immunity to parasites and diseases brought in from the mainland and are especially vulnerable to those the domestic dog may carry. A canine distemper outbreak in 1998 killed approximately 90% of Santa Catalina Island's foxes, reducing the population from 1,300 to 103 in 2000. A vaccination program has been initiated to protect Catalina Island foxes from canine distemper. After several years of carefully trapping the foxes and vaccinating them against distemper and rabies, their population has reached 1,717 in 2015, surpassing the pre-disease population of about 1,300. Scientists believe the distemper virus was introduced by a pet dog or a raccoon from the mainland that hitched a ride on a boat or a barge. To eliminate the risk of disease, pets are not permitted in Channel Islands National Park.  Diminished food supply and general degradation of the habitat due to introduced mammal species, including feral cats, pigs, sheep, goats, and American bison, the latter having been introduced to Catalina Island in the 1920s by a Hollywood film crew shooting a Western, also has had a negative effect on fox populations.  The foxes threaten a population of the severely endangered San Clemente Island loggerhead shrike in residence on San Clemente Island. The island fox population has been negatively affected by trapping and removal or euthanasia of foxes by the United States Navy. Since 2000, the Navy has employed different management strategies: Trapping and holding foxes during the shrike breeding season, the installation of an electric fence system around shrike habitats, and the use of shock collar systems. With the gradual recovery of the shrike population on San Clemente Island, the Navy no longer controls the foxes.  The populations of Santa Cruz island foxes, San Miguel island foxes, and Santa Rosa island foxes have dramatically rebounded from lows in 2000 of 70 for the Santa Cruz foxes and 15 each on San Miguel and Santa Rosa Islands. The Catalina Island Conservancy runs a captive breeding program on Catalina Island. On September 14, 2012, the US Fish and Wildlife Service released a draft recovery plan for the San Miguel island fox, Santa Rosa island fox, Santa Cruz island fox, and the Santa Catalina island fox. By 2012, the Catalina Island Conservancy determined that there were 1,500 Santa Catalina island foxes and the population was stable. As of 2015, there were 520 native foxes on San Miguel and 874 on Santa Rosa, according to the group Friends of the Island Fox. The number of foxes on Santa Cruz Island had risen to 1,750. The US Fish and Wildlife Service recommended delisting Santa Cruz, San Miguel and Santa Rosa island foxes in a major success of the Endangered Species Act. However, they are recommending that the Santa Catalina island be reclassified from endangered to threatened, because of the threat of diseases on this heavily visited island.  Two other subspecies on San Nicolas and San Clemente are not endangered. There were 263 foxes on San Nicolas and 1,230 on San Clemente.  Because the Channel Islands are almost entirely owned and controlled by either the Catalina Island Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy, or the federal government, the fox has a chance to receive the protection it needs, including constant supervision by interested officials without the ongoing threat of human encroachment on its habitat.  The fox did not persist on Anacapa Island because it has no reliable source of fresh water; Santa Barbara Island is too small to support the food needs of a viable fox population.  Rene Vellanoweth, an archaeologist, believes that inbreeding depression can be managed by mixing the different island fox subspecies populations much as the indigenous peoples did, by moving them from island to island, creating a higher genetic diversity and assisting them in recovery.

The island fox ("Urocyon littoralis") is a small fox that is native to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. There are six subspecies, each unique to the island it lives on, reflecting its evolutionary history. Island foxes are generally docile, show little fear of humans, and are easily tamed. Island foxes played an important role in the spiritual lives of native Channel Islanders. Island foxes have been likely semi-domesticated as pets, used as pelts, or for other functions, like pest control.

Liška ostrovní ("Urocyon littoralis") je malý druh lišky, obývající ostrovy Channel Islands u pobřeží Kalifornie. Dnes existuje 6 poddruhů těchto lišek, každá endemická pro jeden ostrov.


Plot.

Nineteen year old Jared (Corey Spears) arrives in Los Angeles from a small town in Georgia seeking a different life. When he arrives in L.A., he rents a room in a youth hostel that's furnished with bunk beds and already has one occupant, a male prostitute who needs to use their room to have sex with his clients some times. Jared of course doesn't like this arrangement but it's all he has at the moment.  Jared finally lands a job as a sitter and caregiver to the blind Mrs. Haines (Rocki Cragg). He is hired by her son Matthew (Steve Tyler), who is a movie executive, because he wants someone to spend time with his mother so he won't have to.  Jared meets Robert (Josh Jacobson) at the hostel. Robert is an openly gay teen who soon shows his attraction to Jared. Robert is very comfortable being gay, which leaves Jared feeling the opposite about his own sexual orientation.  The film takes a further twist when Matthew asks Jared to move in with his mother, Mrs. Haines, so that he can also look after her at night. Because of the living situation at the hostel with his prostitute roommate, Jared agrees to move into Mrs. Haines' home. Soon after Jared moving in, it doesn't take long before Matthew gets Jared drunk and the two have sex. After Matthew decides not to give Jared a telephone message from Robert, and after Matthew fails to mention anything about his lover at home, Andrew (Bryan Shyne), to Jared, Jared is faced with a difficult decision. Should he continue his relationship with Matthew or should he leave, ultimately being either homeless and jobless again?

The Journey of Jared Price is a gay-themed coming-of-age 2000 film written, produced and directed by Academy Award winner Dustin Lance Black and starring Corey Spears, Josh Jacobson, Rocki Cragg, and Steve Tyler. "The Journey of Jared Price" was Black's first feature film.

The Journey of Jared Price (tj. "Cesta Jareda Priceho") je americký hraný film z roku 2000, který režíroval Dustin Lance Black podle vlastního scénáře. D. L. Black získal v roce 2008 "Oscara" za nejlepší původní scénář k filmu "Milk". "The Journey of Jared Price" byl jeho prvním celovečerním filmem.


History.

Britny Fox formed in 1986 in Philadelphia. The band was originally fronted by lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist "Dizzy" Dean Davidson. The band also featured Billy Childs on bass, former Cinderella guitarist Michael Kelly Smith on lead guitar and former Cinderella drummer Tony Destra on drums. The idea for the band's name was inspired by Davidson, who named the band in honor of a Welsh ancestor. They were described on a compilation as "trashy Victorian glam".  Thanks to their connections to Cinderella, the band was able to secure a major recording contract. However, just as things were beginning to look bright for the band, they soon dimmed. Tony Destra was killed in a car accident in 1987. Facing a tour, they hired drummer Adam West (aka Adam Ferraioli) temporarily until landing what turned out to be long-term drummer, John DiTeodoro (Johnny Dee), who had been the drummer for the band Waysted.  The band released a demo in 1986 titled "In America", which drummer Tony Destra played on, and a demo in 1987 titled "Rock Is Gonna Fight", which drummer Adam West played on. The band's self-titled debut album, released in 1988, was one of the most successful premieres of the 1988–89 season, selling gold (500,000+ copies) and bringing more than 625,000 fans to their 130+ shows opening for Poison and Warrant. They also won Metal Edge Magazine's 1988 Reader's Choice Award for Best New Band. After the release of the band's second album in 1989, "Boys in Heat", Davidson departed, and formed the band Blackeyed Susan. He was replaced by Las Vegas native Tommy Paris aka Don Jillson formerly of the band Jillson. Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde and Poison drummer Rikki Rockett guested on the band's third album, "Bite Down Hard", which was released in 1991. However, the popularity of glam metal was on a decline around the time of the album's release due to the rising popularity of the alternative rock/grunge movement. Britny Fox disbanded in 1992 for various reasons.  Britny Fox reunited in 2000 with the same line-up before their disbandment, and released a fourth studio album, "Springhead Motorshark", in 2003. The band toured the US and Europe in 2007 and 2008. Guitarist Tommy Krash and former White Lion drummer Greg D'Angelo was supposed to join at that time, but he broke his foot during rehearsal and was replaced by Henry Now. During this time Billy Childs and Tommy Krash began recording an acoustic album with select Britny Fox songs. Time ran out before the start of the 2007 tour and the CD was never finished. Tommy Krash released this CD in 2019 under the name Tommy Krash and Friends, BRITNY FOX the Acoustic Sessions. The CD included Billy Childs and Tommy Paris as well as other special guests.  As of late 2007, Britny Fox reformed under original bassist Billy Childs. The other former members of this line-up were lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Jamie Fletcher, lead guitarist Greg Polcari, and drummer Henry Now.  Bassist Billy Childs had a minor but billed role in the horror film "Incest Death Squad" (2009). Childs is currently playing bass in the North American Led Zeppelin tribute band Get The Led Out, "The American Led Zeppelin".  In 2010, "Dizzy" Dean Davidson unsuccessfully attempted to reunite the surviving members of the original line-up.  On April 25, 2015, the band announced that they had reunited with bassist Billy Childs, drummer Johnny Dee, long-time singer/rhythm guitarist Tommy Paris and new lead guitarist Chris Sanders as their line-up and that they are recording a new album. This lineup played six shows in 2015 and eight shows in 2016, but none since. Their last performance, on a Monsters of Rock cruise in October 2016, ended with several dozen mostly middle-aged women dancing wildly to the song "Girlschool." In a 2017 interview, Childs stated that the album project had been abandoned, but he stopped short of saying that the band had broken up. In 2018, Sanders joined Britny Fox's rival band Ratt.

Britny Fox is an American glam metal band from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania area, initially active from 1985 to 1992 then subsequently reforming from 2000 to 2008 and then again reforming in 2015. They are best known for their music video for "Girlschool" and their minor hit "Long Way to Love" (U.S. No. 100). Bassist Billy Childs has been the only band member to be a part of each of the band's many lineups.

Britny Fox byla americká glam metalová kapela, aktivní v letech 1985–1992 a 2000–2008. K nejznámějším písním patří "Girlschool" a "Long Way to Love".


Plot.

In 1940, C.W. Briggs (Woody Allen) is an insurance investigator in New York City who is highly successful, owing to his many connections and ability to think like a criminal. His work does not impress Betty Ann Fitzgerald (Helen Hunt), an efficiency expert who butts heads with C.W. over his old-fashioned views. Her advice is usually followed, however, because she secretly is in a relationship with her boss, Chris Magruder (Dan Aykroyd), who constantly reassures her that they will be free to pursue their relationship in public once he finalizes his divorce with his wife.  While attending a dinner with some employees, Voltan (David Ogden Stiers), a stage magician calls on Betty Ann and C.W. to be in his hypnotism act. Using the words "Madagascar" and "Constantinople" on them, respectively, as trigger words to put them in a trance, the two are given the suggestion that they are newlyweds who are madly in love before being reawakened. When C.W. returns home for the evening, he receives a call from Voltan, who uses C.W.'s trigger word to put him back in a trance and orders him to steal jewels for him. C.W. has no recollections of these crimes after he is woken up and is determined to prove himself by solving the crimes. He starts investigating Betty Ann on the grounds of her suspicious behavior (actually related to her affair with Chris) and sneaks into her house one evening. There, he witnesses Chris telling her that he has reconciled with his wife and will not have a divorce. When Magruder leaves, Betty Ann becomes drunk in a fit of depression and tries to jump out of a window. C.W. stops her and spends the night keeping her from other self-destructive activities.  Eventually, investigations start picking up evidence pointing to C.W., leading to his arrest. He manages to escape to Betty Ann's place, where she grudgingly hides him. Thinking that C.W. is no longer available, Voltan calls Betty Ann, using her trigger word of "Madagascar" to put her in a hypnotic state and steal for him. On her return, still in a trance, the subliminal suggestion of being in love leads her to seduce C.W. Eventually his co-workers and friends George Bond (Wallace Shawn) and Alvin "Al" (Brian Markinson) recall the initial hypnotism and realize that it is the cause of the robberies. George, an amateur magician, frees C.W. of the trigger word and restores his memories. C.W. realizes what has happened and goes back to Betty Ann's apartment to find her missing. He then realizes that she must have been hypnotized again and manages to locate the site where the still-hypnotized Betty Ann is delivering the jewels to Voltan. Voltan discovers C.W. and holds him at gunpoint. However, C.W. deduces that a small-time criminal like Voltan would not have the nerve to do something as drastic as murder. Voltan tries escaping, but the police catch him shortly after. The still-hypnotized Betty Ann expresses her love for C.W. who takes advantage of her state to passionately kiss her before erasing her memories of the event.  Back at work, the employees talk about Betty Ann and Chris going on a romantic getaway. C.W. goes to Chris to inform him of his resignation. An apologetic Chris understands and lets him know that if C.W. leaves, the company will give him his blessing and if he stays, Chris will give him a raise. He also promises C.W. that if he stays, he will make sure that Betty Ann will no longer interfere with his work, letting him know that he intends on forcing her to retire after they get married, as he does not want his wife to be working with him. This visibly disturbs C.W., who then heads to Betty Ann's office to let her know of his resignation and say goodbye. The two have a parting drink during which Betty Ann playfully insults C.W. a few more times and he expresses his amazement that an intelligent woman like Betty Ann would be with Chris, stating that she refuses to be vulnerable even at the price of finding true love and happiness. Outside, Al says that he will quit if C.W. does, and the rest of the staff hail him as a hero. C.W. dismisses his success as luck. When Al notes that hypnotism can make people do things that they do not want to do, George reveals that a hypnotized would not do anything that they would not when in a normal state, leading everyone to realize that both C.W. and Betty Ann have secret criminal instincts. Al then privately gets C.W. to admit that he loves Betty Ann. At Al's urging, C.W. decides to go after Betty Ann, who is about to leave for Paris with Chris. C.W. proceeds to propose to Betty Ann, confess his love for her, and convince her that she loves him, too. She repeatedly rejects and insults C.W. while Chris tries to get C.W. to leave. As Betty Ann and Chris are about to leave, a desperate C.W. uses her trigger word to hypnotize Betty Ann. Betty Ann, who is now in an amorous state, dreamily tells Chris that she is staying with C.W. and announces that the two are getting married, confessing to C.W. that she fell in love with him the moment that they met. A frantic Chris runs to stop his divorce while Al presents C.W. with the jade scorpion as a gift. C.W. and Betty Ann decide to go to her apartment to have sex. As they are leaving, Al notes that it was lucky that George forgot to deprogram Betty Ann, but George reveals that he had done that the night before. Meanwhile, Betty Ann continues to gush out her love for C.W., and C.W. promises her that he will be able to make her love him for real. Betty Ann notes that anything is possible, pointing out that she was able to make C.W. fall in love with her without using his trigger word. At that moment, he realizes that Betty Ann is no longer hypnotized and finds her grinning knowingly. Understanding that she is going with him willingly, the two head off with Betty Ann putting her arm around him.

Critical reception.

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 45%, based on 122 reviews, with the site's critical consensus rating, "The writing for "Scorpion" is not as sharp as Woody Allen's previous movies as most of the jokes fall flat." Metacritic gives the film an average score of 52 out of 100, based on 31 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".  Allen himself seems to be in relative agreement with some critics, remarking that it is perhaps his worst movie. Allen has said he felt he let down the rest of the cast by casting himself as the lead. He explained that part of the problem was the period setting and the set building expense which made it too expensive to go back and re-shoot anything. Allen re-shot the entirety of his 1987 drama "September" after he felt he got the casting wrong. Allen remarked he offered the role of C.W. Briggs to both Jack Nicholson and Tom Hanks, but had to take it when both refused.  With its production budget of $33 million, it is Allen's most expensive film. In relation to most of his most successful productions, the film fared poorly in American theaters with ticket sales of over seven million dollars. Its worldwide gross was $18.9 million. However, in the ten years since its release, it is beginning to enjoy a new generation of cult status comedic recognition. Roger Ebert wrote, "There are pleasures in the film that have little to do with the story. Its look and feel is uncanny; it's a tribute to a black-and-white era, filmed in color, and yet the colors seem burnished and aged. No noir films were shot in color in the 1940s, but if one had been, it would have looked like this. And great attention is given to the women played by Hunt, Berkley and Theron; they look not so much like the women in classic film noir as like the women on film noir posters—their costumes and styles elevate them into archetypes. Hunt in particular has fun with a wisecracking dame role that owes something, perhaps, to Rosalind Russell in "His Girl Friday"."

Tribute.

French singer-songwriter Dimie Cat pays a tribute to the film in the song "Woody Woody", from her album "ZigZag".

The Curse of the Jade Scorpion is a 2001 American crime comedy film written, directed and starring Woody Allen. The cast also features Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd, Elizabeth Berkley, John Schuck, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers and Charlize Theron. The plot concerns an insurance investigator and an efficiency expert who are both hypnotized by a crooked hypnotist into stealing jewels. The film bears much more in common with Allen's earlier screwball comedy films than with other films made by him around the same time.

Prokletí žlutozeleného škorpióna () je americká kriminální komedie z roku 2001, napsaná a režírovaná Woodym Allenem, který si také zahrál hlavní roli.


Personal and early life.

Tom Pryce was born on 11 June 1949 in Ruthin, Denbighshire, Wales, to Jack and Gwyneth Pryce. Jack had served in the Royal Air Force as a tail-gunner on a Lancaster bomber before joining the local police force. Gwyneth was a district nurse. Pryce's older brother, David, died at the age of three leaving Tom an only child for much of the time he was growing up, although his parents did foster a young girl called Sandra for a while. Pryce, known to his friends as Mald, attended Nantglyn Primary School, Denbighshire. The family later moved to Towyn, Denbighshire, due to Jack's job.  Pryce took an interest in cars while driving a baker's van at the age of 10, before informing his parents that he wanted to be a racing driver. During an interview with Alan Henry in 1975, he stated that he had wanted to become a pilot, but thought he was not intelligent enough. Like many future Formula One drivers, Pryce had a childhood racing hero. In his case it was Lotus's Scottish driver Jim Clark. Pryce's mother recalled that he was very upset when Clark died at the Hockenheimring in April 1968. His father noted that "he was very upset when Jochen Rindt was killed, too". After he left school at 16, Pryce's mother insisted that he take an apprenticeship as a tractor mechanic at Llandrillo Technical College, giving him "something to fall back on", as she put it, if his career as a racing driver was unsuccessful.  In 1975 Pryce married Fenella, more commonly known as Nella, whom he met at a disco in Otford, Kent in 1973. Following the death of her husband, Nella went on to run an antiques store in Fulham, London with Janet Brise, the widow of Tony Brise, who died in a plane crash in 1975 with fellow racing driver, Graham Hill and later moved to France.

Helmet design.

Tom Pryce's helmet design was, in comparison to later drivers', simple and restrained. His helmet was plain white all over until 1970. At that year's race at Castle Combe, his father asked Pryce to make his helmet stand out more so that he could easily identify him in a pack of cars. Pryce added five black vertical lines to his helmet, placed just above his visor. From that time the only change to this design was the addition of a Welsh flag to the side of his helmet in 1974.

Career.

Pre-Formula One.

1969–1971: Early years.

Pryce's first steps into motor racing came at the Mallory Park circuit in Leicestershire when he was 20. Pryce was put through his paces by Trevor Taylor, an ex-Team Lotus driver and old teammate of Pryce's childhood hero Clark. He later became a star in the Formula 5000 series. From there, Pryce went on to compete in the "Daily Express Crusader Championship", a series run by "Motor Racing Stables" for racing school pupils using Lotus 51 Formula Ford cars. Races alternated between the Brands Hatch and Silverstone circuits; Pryce made his début at the former. "The races were £35 a time. But I sold my Mini and my parents offered all the help and encouragement I could wish for" Pryce recalled to Alan Henry.  The prize for the overall winner of the series was a Formula Ford Lola T200 worth £1,500. The series was decided at the last round, held at Silverstone, the day before the 1970 Formula One International Trophy. Pryce qualified on the third row for the race, which was held in rain. Jack Pryce remembered that his son was rubbing his hands in delight: "he always loved racing in the rain". The early part of the race was led by a driver called Chris Smith but then heavy rain started and Pryce was able to catch up with Smith and overtake him before winning by a comfortable margin. He was given his Lola by Sir Max Aitken.  Pryce took his new car to Brands Hatch, where he was allowed to house it in one of the old stables at the bottom of the paddock. Pryce soon abandoned his farming career and moved to a guest house in West Kingsdown, near the Brands Hatch circuit. Pryce continued to make a name for himself during 1971, entering a new twin-seater Sportscar category called Formula F100, which he won with what was described by motorsports author David Tremayne as "embarrassing ease". He then moved up to Formula Super Vee, driving the then-choice Royale RP9, for Team Rumsey Investments, and soon made his Formula Three début for the same manufacturer at Brands Hatch.

1972–73: Lower formulae.

In that race at Brands Hatch, Pryce took an unfancied Royale RP11 to first place in the Formula Three support race for the 1972 Formula One Race of Champions against many established Formula Three drivers such as Roger Williamson, Jochen Mass and James Hunt. So large was Pryce's advantage at the end of the race, many of the other teams voiced an opinion that Pryce's car had run the race underweight; it turned out that the circuit's weighbridge certificate had expired and everyone's cars had been underweight. Pryce retired from the leading group in the following two rounds at Oulton Park and Zandvoort, and then during practice for the support race of the 1972 Monaco Grand Prix his car came to a stop at "Casino Square" after a wire had come loose. He had exited his car to correct the problem when Peter Lamplough lost control of his car and struck the Royale RP11. Pryce was knocked into a shop window and broke a leg.  The Welshman was back in action two weeks after his incident in Monaco. Pryce also ran in the Formula SuperVee series, winning the series by a comfortable margin, "I won just about every race I went in for" Pryce recalled. A run with Royale's Formula Atlantic works team was also in store for Pryce during 1972, where he took pole position for the final three rounds of the championship and won the final round at Brands Hatch.  He continued racing in Formula Atlantic in 1973, winning three races. Royale soon had plans to enter Formula Two, such was the Welshman's talent. The ambition to run in the Formula Two championship was planned to be financially fuelled by a Liechtenstein driver, Manfred Schurti. These plans only resulted in one of Royale's F2 cars being built before the project was scrapped and Bob King, the head of Royale, left the company.  Following an invitation to test one of his cars, Pryce found himself racing in the Formula Two series with Ron Dennis's "Rondel Racing" outfit. His best result for the team came at the Norisring where he was leading the race until a brake failure meant he had to give up first place to teammate Tim Schenken. At the end of 1973, Pryce won the Grovewood Award for his efforts during the year. Jack Pryce recalled that his son did not want to win the award, as he thought it was "a jinx on a driver's career".

Formula One.

1974: Token.

At the age of 25, Pryce graduated to Formula One, the highest category of circuit racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body, joining the newly formed Token Racing team. The team was created by Tony Vlassopulos and Ken Grob after the original Token team closed down in 1973 due to a lack of financial backing which had led to the end of the previous "Rondel Racing" outfit. Pryce was given the seat thanks to his backing from Titan Properties, and what David Tremayne described as "evident promise". Pryce made his début for the team at the BRDC International Trophy, a non-championship Formula One event held at Silverstone, but lack of an airbox and an engine cover, along with his shortage of experience in the car, made him the slowest driver of the 16 competitors during qualifying: 26 seconds slower than James Hunt's Hesketh in pole position. The Welshman retired 15 laps into the race with a gear linkage problem. Pryce's World Championship début came at the 1974 Belgian Grand Prix, where he qualified in 20th place, 3 seconds slower than the fastest time set by Clay Regazzoni. Once again, he failed to finish, completing 66 laps before retiring after a collision with Jody Scheckter's Tyrrell.  Pryce was refused entry to the 1974 Monaco Formula One Grand Prix, as he was deemed "inexperienced". Tony Vlassopulos decided to prove a point and replaced normal Formula 3 driver Buzz Buzaglo, with Pryce for the supporting Formula Three race, driving for "Ippokampos Racing", in a March 743, which he won by 20.8 seconds.

1974–77: Shadow.

1974.

Following his drive in Monaco, and a short spell in Formula Two, Pryce was signed by Shadow as replacement for Brian Redman, who had in turn replaced Peter Revson. Pryce made his début for the team in the 1974 Dutch Grand Prix. He qualified in 11th position, less than 0.4 seconds slower than his teammate, Jean-Pierre Jarier, who was in his second full season of Formula One competition. Pryce retired on the first lap of the race after a collision with James Hunt at the first corner broke his Shadow DN3's rear suspension. Pryce qualified third in his second Grand Prix for the team, in France, 0.32 seconds slower than Niki Lauda's pole position time but nearly half a second quicker than Jarier. Once again, Pryce's race ended at the first corner, when minor contact with Carlos Reutemann's Brabham deflected Pryce's Shadow into the path of James Hunt. The second collision between the two British drivers in as many races eliminated them both. Later in the season, Pryce received 100 bottles of champagne for finishing fastest in the practice session for the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. He went on to qualify on the fourth row of the starting grid.  Pryce scored the first point of his career in the 1974 German Grand Prix at the challenging Nürburgring circuit. After finishing 6th from 11th on the grid, he then qualified in 16th for the next Grand Prix in Austria, but spun off on lap 22, ending his race. He qualified in 22nd place for the Italian Grand Prix, and finished 12 places higher. His season ended with an engine failure in Canada, and the Shadow severely off the pace in Watkins Glen. At the end of the season Pryce was equal 18th in the Drivers' Championship with Graham Hill and Vittorio Brambilla.

1975.

At the start of the 1975 season, Pryce's future was subject to much speculation. Rumour linked him with a drive at Lotus, the team run by Colin Chapman, who had been keeping an eye on Pryce's progress throughout 1973 and 1974. At the time, Lotus was experiencing financial difficulties and reports suggested that Shadow and Lotus would swap Pryce and Swede Ronnie Peterson. The trade was viewed as a good acquisition for both teams, as Pryce was considered a driver of the same ability as Peterson, but would cost Lotus less, while Peterson could attract sponsorship to the relatively new Shadow team. The deal never materialised, although Shadow team manager Alan Rees claims that it came very close to being completed.  Pryce's Shadow teammate, Jean-Pierre Jarier, out-qualified him in the early part of the 1975 season, as the French driver had the new Shadow DN5 car, while Pryce was in the older DN3. It was not until the third round, the South African Grand Prix, that Pryce was able to use a DN5. The team's fourth race of the season was the non-championship Race of Champions held at Brands Hatch. Pryce qualified on pole position and, following a poor start, passed Peterson and Jacky Ickx before closing an eight-second gap to race leader Jody Scheckter, whose engine failed while Pryce harried him, letting Pryce through to become the first Welshman to win a Formula One race. Pryce showed other signs of promise during the season, most notably in Monaco and Silverstone where he qualified on the front row of the grid, the latter being in pole position. Pryce also achieved his first World Championship podium finish, in extremely wet conditions at the Austrian Grand Prix and finished in the points four more times. The highest of those came in Germany where he finished fourth, despite the fact that while he was running second behind Carlos Reutemann fuel had been leaking into the cockpit of his DN5 during the final laps around the very long Nürburgring, reportedly "searing his skin and almost blinding him with fumes". The Welshman later received the "Prix Rouge et Blanc Jo Siffert award", named after the Swiss Formula One driver, for this achievement.  At the end of December 1975, Pryce and Dave Richards, future head of the Prodrive motorsports engineering company, entered a Lancia Stratos in the Tour of Epynt, a rally event contested by many established rallying names. Pryce needed little persuasion to team up for the one-off event on home soil with Richards, both of whom were from Ruthin. Pryce crashed into a bridge into the first stage, but still competed in the afternoon stages after his car was rebuilt.

1976.

Once the 1976 Formula One World Championship season got under way Pryce instantly added a second podium finish to his tally, at the first round in Brazil. This came at the expense of continuing teammate Jarier, who was caught out by oil on the track from James Hunt's McLaren. Both Shadows enjoyed reasonable competitiveness during the next two races at Kyalami and Long Beach. Changes in car regulations, meaning that teams had to lower their airboxes and mount the cars' rear wings further forward, along with revised Goodyear tyres, meant the Shadow DN5B lost much of its competitiveness; Pryce still achieved a second points scoring finish of the season in Britain. The new Shadow DN8 was not introduced until the twelfth round at Zandvoort, where Pryce qualified the new car in third, and finished the race only one place lower in fourth: it was the last points scoring finish of his career. The Welshman finished his last full season 12th in the Drivers' Championship with 10 points, 59 points behind World Champion James Hunt.

1977.

Jarier left Shadow before the start of the 1977 Formula One season, for ATS, and was replaced by Italian Renzo Zorzi. Zorzi was later rated by Jackie Oliver, part of the managerial team at Shadow, as "the worst driver we [the Shadow team] ever had". The new signing brought in sponsorship from Italy, easing Shadow's financial position. Pryce started the first race of the year in Argentina in ninth place and stayed with the leading group until a gear linkage failure on the 45th lap of the 52 lap race. Following a long pit stop to fix the fault, he was not classified. Pryce qualified 12th for the second round in Brazil, but on lap 34 retired from the race, while running in second place, as the result of an engine failure.

Legacy.

In 2016, in an academic paper that reported a mathematical modeling study that assessed the relative influence of driver and machine, Pryce was ranked the 28th best Formula One driver of all time.

Death.

Tom Pryce began his final race weekend, the 1977 South African Grand Prix at Kyalami, by setting the fastest time in the Wednesday practice session, held in wet weather. Pryce posted a time of 1 minute 31.57 seconds with the next best, the eventual 1977 World Champion Niki Lauda, one second slower. The weather dried up prior to the Thursday session, and he slipped back down the grid to fifteenth place, almost two seconds slower than James Hunt's pole position time.  Pryce made a poor start to the Grand Prix in his DN8 and by the end of the first lap was in last place. Pryce started to climb back up the field during the next couple of laps, overtaking Brett Lunger and teammate Renzo Zorzi on lap two, and Alex Ribeiro and Boy Hayje the following lap. By lap 18 Pryce had moved from 22nd to 13th place.  On lap 22, Zorzi pulled off to the left side of the main straight, just after the brow of a hill and a bridge over the track. He was having problems with his fuel metering unit, and fuel was pumping directly onto the engine, which then caught fire. Zorzi did not immediately get out of his car as he could not disconnect the oxygen pipe from his helmet.  The situation caused two marshals from the pit wall on the opposite side of the track to intervene. The first marshal to cross the track was a 25-year-old panel beater named William (Bill). The second was 19-year-old Frederik "Frikkie" Jansen van Vuuren, who was carrying a fire extinguisher. George Witt, the chief pit marshal for the race, said that the policy of the circuit was that in cases of fire, two marshals must attend and a further two act as back-up in case the first pair's extinguishers were not effective enough. Witt also recalled that both marshals crossed the track without prior permission. The former narrowly made it across the track, but the latter did not. As the two men started to run across the track, the cars driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck and Pryce came over the brow of a rise in the track.  Pryce was directly behind Stuck's car along the main straight. Stuck saw Jansen van Vuuren and moved to the right to avoid both marshals, missing Bill by what Tremayne calls "millimetres". From his position Pryce could not see Jansen van Vuuren and was unable to react as quickly as Stuck had done. He struck the teenage marshal at approximately 270 km/h (170 mph). Jansen van Vuuren was thrown into the air and landed in front of Zorzi and Bill. He died on impact, and his body was badly mutilated by Pryce's car. The fire extinguisher he had been carrying smashed into Pryce's head, before striking the Shadow's roll hoop. The force of the impact was such that the extinguisher was thrown up and over the adjacent grandstand. It landed in the car park to the rear of the stand, where it hit a parked car and jammed its door shut.  The impact with the fire extinguisher wrenched Pryce's helmet upward sharply. Death was almost certainly instantaneous. Pryce's Shadow DN8, now with its driver dead at the wheel, continued at speed down the main straight towards the first corner, called "Crowthorne". The car left the track to the right, scraping the metal barriers, hitting an entrance for emergency vehicles, and veering back onto the track. It then hit Jacques Laffite's Ligier, sending both Pryce and Laffite head-on into the barriers. Jansen van Vuuren's injuries were so extensive that, initially, his body was identified only after the race director had summoned all of the race marshals and he was not among them.  The eventual race winner was Austrian Niki Lauda, his first win since his near fatal accident during the 1976 German Grand Prix. At first he announced it was the greatest victory of his career, but when told on the victory podium of Pryce's death, he said that "there was no joy after that".

Aftermath.

Pryce's death was met with great grief from all those who knew him during his career, especially his wife Nella, his parents Jack and Gwyneth and the Shadow team. His body was buried at St Bartholomew's Church in Otford, near Sevenoaks, Kent, the same church where he and Nella were married two years earlier.  Pryce's performances in a Formula One car earned him much respect amongst the F1 paddock. David Tremayne named his son after the Welshman. The Tom Pryce Award, also known as the Tom Pryce Trophy, was instigated, and is given annually to Welsh personalities who have made an outstanding contribution to motoring or transport.  During its re-design the Anglesey Circuit in North Wales named the Tom Pryce Straight after a request from Ruthin Town Council. Eddie Knipe, a South African living in Sevenoaks, sought permission from Nella Pryce to approach the Ruthin Town Council to commemorate her late husband. Having gained her consent and that of Tom's parents, a trust was established in 2006 under the chairmanship of David Richards (Prodrive, ex BAR) to create a memorial to Tom Pryce in Ruthin. Neil Dalrymple, a local artist was commissioned by Ruthin Town Council in 2008 to design an plaque and in February 2009, an auction of Formula One pit passes to fund its manufacture was announced. The memorial was unveiled on 11 June 2009, on what would have been Pryce's 60th birthday.

References.

Notes Footnotes Bibliography  All Formula One race and championship results are taken from:

Thomas Maldwyn Pryce (11 June 1949 – 5 March 1977) was a British racing driver from Wales, famous for winning the Brands Hatch Race of Champions, a non-championship Formula One race, in 1975 and for the circumstances surrounding his death. Pryce is the only Welsh driver to have won a Formula One race and is also the only Welshman to lead a Formula One World Championship Grand Prix: two laps of the 1975 British Grand Prix.

Thomas Maldwyn Pryce (11. června 1949, Ruthin, Wales, Spojené království – 5. března 1977, Kyalami, Jihoafrická republika) byl britský jezdec Formule 1 původem z Walesu, který se proslavil vítězstvím v Závodě šampionů a v nemistrovském závodě Formule 1. Pryce je jediným velšským vítězem závodu Formule 1 i držitelem pole position a také jediným Velšanem v historii, který byl v závodě F1 ve vedení – dvě kola Grand Prix Velké Británie 1975.


Early life.

Born in 1972, Sitek grew up in Columbia, Maryland, together with his brothers. His mother worked in public education with a degree in child psychology and, according to Sitek, "was pretty good about letting me and my brothers explore things. So much so that [she] let me start a hardcore band and practice in our house when I was 14". Sitek developed an interest in music at an early age influenced by his "aunt Paula [who] sneaked out of the house [to see] Jimi Hendrix in the 1960s, and was really into Talking Heads and Blondie".  Dave Sitek once worked in a coffee shop with future TV on the Radio bandmate Kyp Malone and Grizzly Bear bassist Chris Taylor.

Selected discography.

Production work.

Sitek produced the album "Anywhere I Lay My Head" for actress Scarlett Johansson, released in May 2008. Sitek also co-produced the debut album "Antidotes" by Foals and the debut EP of Chicago band Aleks and the Drummer titled "May a Lightning Bolt Caress You" self released by the band in June 2008.  He works with several Brooklyn acts, having recently remixed the song "Disco Lights" for Apollo Heights and produced albums for Dragons of Zynth and Telepathe.  Though Sitek has collaborated with several Brooklyn-based indie bands, he looks upon the indie music movement with skepticism. In an interview with the Danish music magazine "Soundvenue", he explained that he is dissatisfied with the opportunistic turn music has taken, referring to the self-promoting indie bands moving to Brooklyn only to claim that they are from "the creative mecca" in order to get the attention of music magazines. This may explain why Sitek has settled down on the West coast in Beverly Hills, California. He explained, "People can't hide themselves out here. Everyone looks after his own interests. It's a very egocentric city. But I don't care what 'indie people' think. Those bands complaining about other bands selling out, got their iPod filled up with illegal music." On his solo project Maximum Balloon, Sitek collaborates with many of his old friends (among these are Karen O, David Byrne and Kyp Malone from TV on the Radio), whom he claims are still interested in creating beautiful songs, not only songs that the music magazines want to write about, which, he thinks, keeps music interesting.

David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Beady Eye, and Weezer, and produced free jazz-influenced remixes of songs by artists such as Beck and Nine Inch Nails, and has contributed a solo track to the Red Hot Organization "Dark Was the Night" charity compilation. He is also a photographer and painter.

David Andrew Sitek (* 6. září 1972) je americký hudebník a hudební producent, člen indie rockové skupiny TV on the Radio. Spolupracoval se skupinami Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration a Beady Eye. Produkoval remixy ovlivněné jazzem umělcům jako jsou Beck a Nine Inch Nails. Podílel se na kompilačním albu "Dark Was the Night", vytvořenému k charitativním účelům organizací Red Hot Organization. Nazpíval cover písně „With a Girl Like You“. Věnuje se taktéž fotografování a malbě.


Life and career.

Early life and career beginnings.

Mandy Grace Capristo was born on 21 March 1990 in Mannheim, the daughter of an Italian father, Vittorio Capristo, and a German mother, Carmen. She grew up in Bürstadt. Her older brother, Anthony, was born in 1986. Her parents separated when she was in her early teens. Capristo was four when she began gymnastics, dance, and piano lessons. Three years later, she enrolled in dancing. In 2001, Capristo's music teacher entered her for the "Kiddy Contest" in Austria. She won the competition with her song "Ich wünsche mir einen Bankomat", which subsequently appeared on the number-one compilation album "Kiddy Contest, Vol. 7" (2001). Capristo appeared in shows such as "Tabaluga Tivi" or "1, 2 or 3" and in 2002 she recorded the song "Mosquito" for another "Kiddy Contest" album.

2006–2010: Monrose and modeling.

In 2006, Capristo decided to participate in the German television show "Popstars" on the ProSieben network. At the finale, the audience chose Capristo via televoting to become the final member of the girl band trio Monrose alongside Senna Guemmour and Bahar Kızıl. The group's debut single "Shame" peaked at number one on the German Singles Chart and became one of the best-selling singles of the year, resulting in a sales total of 200,000 copies Europe-wide. The group released their debut album "Temptation" in December 2006, which debuted on the charts at number one and was certified two times platinum by Media Control Charts in 2007. Since 2006, the girl group released four studio albums, "Temptation", "Strictly Physical", "I Am" and "Ladylike" which entered the charts in the Top 10. Their singles "Shame" and "Hot Summer" have charted at number one. Overall, they released eleven singles, which seven of eleven reached the Top 10 in the German Charts. In 2008, they won their first Comet Award for Best Single with "'Hot Summer" and in 2009 for the best band. In June 2010 she featured on the German cover of FHM Magazine and posed in the same calendar.  On 25 November 2010 Monrose announced that the group would split and each focus on their solo projects. The last official TV appearance Monrose had was on 27 February 2011 with their single "Like a Lady" at the finale for cycle 3 of Austria's Next Topmodel.

2011-2016 Solo career.

After the disbanding of Monrose Capristo confirmed in an interview that she already started recording for her first album in November 2010. In May 2011 she performed two songs off her first album. One track called "Be You", it will be the B-Side of her first single and it was written for the Be-Yu Cosmetics. The other song is called "Overrated" which will also appear on the album. Because of a cooperation with Peter Maffay they recorded the song "Die Zeit hält nur in Träumen an" (German) and performed on 8 October at "Wetten, dass..?", in October 2012 the singer went on Tabaluga-Tour with Peter Maffay. The single with Peter debuted at number 86 in the German Charts.  In March 2012, Mandy announced her first solo single "The Way I Like It" written and produced by David Jost, would be released on 13 April. Her first album was to be called "Grace". The album was released on 27 April under her new record label EMI and Starwatch Entertainment. As her second single she released a song called "Closer" written by Robin Grubert and Martin Tingvall.  She also took part on 14 March 2012 with professional dancer Stefano Terrazzino at the dance show Let's Dance, the German version of Dancing with the Stars. The second and last single from the album was "Closer" (released 31 August 2012).  In 2016 she changed her artist name to Grace Capristo and released her single "One Woman Army" written by American songwriter and producer PJ Bianco, P. Bentley, Aimée Proal and Caprito to moderate success. On 28 October 2016 she also released a song called "Ricorderai l'Amore (Remember The Love)" with Italian singer Marco Mengoni.

Artistry.

Music and voice.

Capristo has published songs in English; only for the Tabaluga project and the feature film "Rapunzel" has she sung in German. She also sang the song "Grace" in Italian, although she does not speak that language. A complete production of their songs was used in acoustic versions. 2016 she also released a track called "Ricorderai l'Amore (Ricorderai l'Amore)" with Italian singer Marco Mengoni where she sung an Italian part. Capristo said, "I feel most comfortable with English, because I personally think that my voice sounds at its best. Although German is my native language, I feel more comfortable in English." In addition, she added: "It is very important that I decide my projects." In a review of the album "Grace" the music magazine Laut.de wrote: ""Grace" is a nice debut-intentioned work, but which, unfortunately, proves that the chick from Monrose-targeted new style does not get paid on album length. [...] "It Don't Matter" and the acoustic session was the best, without all the trappings actually show her vocal talent." CD Bewertungen.de: "Her fans can look deep into her soul and makes clear that a lot is just smoke and mirrors as well as a "Star" has its problems, is lonely, has been violated." The British magazine "Popjustice" wrote: "We love it in a very deep and pure way, of course, but we were hoping Mandy's album "Grace" would contain so many extraordinary tunes that we could make one of them a Big Song instead. "The Way I Like It" gets its time in the sun after all, and that's not a completely bad thing because it is, of course, a cracker.

Influences.

Capristo called Beyoncé Knowles as her musical influence, and her idol. Thus she sang If I Were a Boy at the Comet music award. She also called Whitney Houston as another influence, for their sake she has begun to sing. She also said: "Destiny's Child have accompanied me all my life, and so I made my first steps into the music. I also hear India Arie and Sade Adu. Eventually, she wants to work with them. Other musical influences are Rihanna and Nicole Scherzinger. In addition, she got experience with Peter Maffay and learn from him the major foundations for her solo career.

Advertising contracts.

2007 Capristo signed an advertising contract with Gillette Venus. That same year, Capristo modeled for the fashion brand Ed Hardy. 2008 Capristo filmed commercials for ProSieben. There, she presented the We Love Collection, a cooperation with Otto. In October 2008, Capristo was the testimonial for the Nintendo DS game Just 4 Girls. The following year, Capristo modeled for the Otto catalog and was on the cover. In spring of 2010 she had completed a two-year contract with the cosmetics brand BeYu and modeled in 2011 for the brand at the Mercedes Fashion Week in Berlin.

Social commitment.

2007 Capristo occurred on "Schau nicht weg!", a concert that is opposed to violence. It was a campaign of the magazine BRAVO, the young people should arrange to deal with issues such as social hot spots, violent conflict or bullying. 2008 Capristo was ambassador of the "Federal Foundation for Children's Hospice", supporting the Climate Change Programme Climate fashion as jury president. For this, the fashion designers made the clothes exclusively with environmentally friendly and sustainable materials. In addition, since 2011 Capristo was in the context of Germany's Relief for victims of famine in East Africa. Capristo said: "It is important for me, especially in this superficial world in which we live and to forget in this superficial business, we should make positive use.."

Personal life.

Capristo started dating German footballer Mesut Özil in 2013. The relationship ended in October 2014, following reports of Özil being involved with another woman. On 12 November 2015, Özil and Capristo appeared together at the Bambi awards ceremony in Berlin. An Instagram photo uploaded by Özil and Capristo used the hashtag #OziStoIsBack, suggesting that the couple are back together. However, in 2017, this confirms that Capristo and Özil are separated.

Mandy Grace Capristo (born 21 March 1990), also known mononymously as Mandy, is a German singer, songwriter, dancer, and model.

Mandy Grace Capristo (* 21. března 1990; Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Německo) je německá zpěvačka, skladatelka, tanečnice a modelka. Narodila se ve městě Mannheim, ve spolkovém státě Baden-Württemberg, ale vyrůstala ve městě Bürstadt, ve spolkovém státě Hessen. Poprvé se objevila na pěvecké a taneční soutěži v roce 2001, kdy vyhrála Kiddy Contest – pěvecká televizní relaity show pro teenagery v Rakousku, s písní “"Ich wünsche mir einen Bankomat"”.


Meaning.

"Les Sucettes" is, on the surface, a yé-yé-style song about a girl named Annie who likes aniseed-flavoured lollipops; much of the lyrical content plays up the homonyms of "Annie" and "anis" (aniseed).  But Gainsbourg's lyric also contains playful double meanings referring to oral sex, such as a line about barley sugar running down Annie's throat. The very noun for "lollypop" in French, "sucette", is the substantivised verb "sucer", sucking – so that the title and the refrain ("Annie aime les sucettes", Annie loves lollypops) are far more evocative in French than in the English translation. A possible translation to preserve the innuendo would be "Annie loves suckers". The song also features a direct double entendre, stating that Annie has lollipops "pour quelques pennies" (for a few pennies), which can also be heard as "pour quelques pénis" (for a few penises).

Music video.

A film clip for the song was directed by Jean-Christophe Averty for the TV show "Au risque de vous plaire". It featured props playing on the sexual references, with lollipops that were somewhat phallic rather than the traditional circle shape, interspersed with cutaways of young women suggestively sucking on lollipops.  Another video was filmed, featuring Gall herself in a schoolgirl uniform inside a house, singing the song.

Reaction.

Gall, aged 18, did not understand the double meaning of the song when she recorded it. By Gall's account she did not realize until later why the filming of the clip attracted so many visitors to the set.  She was extremely upset upon finally learning the truth about the song's double meaning — "mortified, hiding herself away for weeks, refusing to face anyone". Gall said that she had sung Gainsbourg's songs "with an innocence of which I'm proud. I was pained to then learn that he had turned the situation to his advantage, mocking me." In a 2001 television interview, Gall said that she felt "betrayed by the adults around me."  Gainsbourg called the song "the most daring song of the century" in an interview with the magazine "Rock and Folk".

Covers.

Kim Kay version.

Another version of the song was by the Belgian Eurodance singer Kim Kay. It was released in 2000 on EMI as the fourth single and as well as the opening track from her only compilation album, "Hits!" (2000). It is a Eurodance song that was written by Serge Gainsbourg and produced by Phil Sterman and Lov Cook.

"Les Sucettes" ("Lollipops") is a French pop song written by Serge Gainsbourg and first recorded by France Gall in 1966. One of Gall's biggest hits, it was an unusually risqué song for its time, though in performing it she was unaware of the fact.

Les sucettes ([le süset] "Lízátka") je francouzská píseň, kterou složil Serge Gainsbourg a nazpívala France Gallová, představitelka hudebního žánru yé-yé. Skladba trvající 2 minuty a 33 sekund vyšla na singlu v květnu 1966 u značky Philips Records a vyvolala skandál. Text pojednává o dívence jménem Annie, která se může utlouct po lízátkách s anýzovou příchutí (hříčka se shodně znějícími slovy "Annie" a "anis"). Známý provokatér Gainsbourg ovšem použil v tomto případě cucání lízátek jako metaforu felace. Zpěvačka ve svých osmnácti letech neměla o tomto skrytém významu ani tušení a když se jí později dostalo vysvětlení, docela se vyděsila.


History.

Agoda was co-founded by Michael Kenny and Robert Rosenstein. Prior to Agoda, Michael Kenny started two other hotel booking websites, PlanetHoliday.com and PrecisionReservations.com, but combined companies into Agoda in 2003, launching Agoda.com in 2005.  In 2007, Agoda was acquired by Booking Holdings (formerly The Priceline Group).  In July 2011, Agoda launched iOS and Android mobile apps for booking hotels.  In 2014, Booking Holdings acquired Qlika, an Israel-based startup focused on optimization of pay-per-click advertising, and the Qlika team joined Agoda to automate and scale its marketing systems.  In May 2016, Booking Holdings acquired WooMoo, a Taipei-based startup focused on mobile app prototyping, and the WooMoo team joined Agoda in Bangkok to work on mobile app development.  In May 2016, Agoda reviews began to appear on Google search results.  In 2017, Agoda began exploring non-hotel accommodations to try and appeal to millennials.  In 2018, CEO and co-founder Rob Rosenstein became the Chairman of Agoda and a Strategic Advisor to Booking Holdings. John Wroughton Brown, the COO, was promoted as the new CEO of Agoda, with Chief Product Officer Omri Morgenshtern, who joined the company as part of the Qlika acquisition, named as the new COO.  In April 2019, Agoda announced an interest in pursuing greater business emphasis in Israel and Europe, particularly expanding its Tel Aviv-based data science team, increase sales, and purchase promising Israeli startups.  In September 2019, Agoda began work with Digitas for data-driven content marketing across various Asian markets.  In October 2019, Agoda added a feature called Mix and Save, which allows customers to easily book a different room for every night of stay to get the best deal.  In October 2019, the site began selling flights.

Awards and accolades.

In 2015, Matthew Kepnes noted that Agoda is the best website for booking Asian hotels.  In 2016, Agoda was named the best online travel service by Singaporean lifestyle website AsiaOne's People's Choice Awards.  In 2017, Agoda was ranked the 2nd best hotel booking platform by Frommer's. They noted that it was the most-improved booking website of those mentioned thanks to its expansion from just being an Asian specialist website. They added that it is competitive with Booking.com, but misses the top spot because of middling domestic results and worse filters.  In 2018, it was awarded by the World Travel Awards for its booking app.  In 2019, "Viva Glam Magazine" included Agoda in its list of the best websites for booking a holiday vacation.  In 2020, Smarter Travel listed it among the best hotel booking sites.

Criticism.

Rewards program.

In 2015, USA Today deemed Agoda's reward program to be the worst out of the four booking sites it reviewed.

Hotel burglary incident.

In 2018, a customer who booked through the website had items stolen from her hotel room due to poor security. Agoda gave her a goodwill refund, but did not remove the hotel or allow her to post a review criticizing the hotel for legal reasons. A security consultant discussed how this policy reduces the number of negative reviews and that negative reviews are sometimes diluted.

Refusal to offer refund.

In 2017, Agoda initially refused to give a refund to a customer that booked a non-existent hotel. The incident gained traction on social media, and Agoda eventually paid a refund following a fraud complaint filed with the Thai government.

Failure to register in Taiwan.

In 2015, Agoda's Taiwanese operations were fined for breaches of not legally registering as a business in Taiwan and for failing to issue unified invoices.

Difficulty in leaving the platform.

In 2019, Agoda was criticized for difficulties with customers removing their homes from the website. The customers cited customer service issues.

Probe of hotel sites by United Kingdom.

In 2017, Agoda, among other hotel sites, was subject to a probe by the Competition and Markets Authority in the United Kingdom. The probe was related to "concerns about hidden charges, pressure selling tactics, misleading discount claims and the order in which results appear on the site pages." Agoda agreed to change how it operates in response to this probe.

Requests to drop illegal hotels.

In 2017, the Tourism Minister of Thailand called for Agoda among others to drop illegal and unregistered hotels. Agoda was the main target of criticism among those criticized, and its success is part of what drove the Ministry of Tourism & Sports to create a competitive hotel booking website. In 2018, Agoda cooperated with the Taipei City Government's request to remove illegal and unregistered Taipei hotels from its listings. Agoda faced legal action from the Turkish Travel Agencies Association due to alleged unfair competition in relation to the country's competition law. It faced a potential ban as part of this lawsuit.  In November 2018, South Korea's Fair Trade Commission issued a remedial order to Agoda on its refund policies following its noncompliance with a ruling they made.

Text messages to customers.

In 2018, a class action lawsuit in the U.S. accusing the company of spamming customers by sending them text messages confirming reservations and promoting the mobile app was dismissed, as the courts deemed them to be transactional messages, and thus no express written consent was required.

Reduction in hotel profits.

Agoda's Mix and Save feature leads to shorter stays, which increases hotel upkeep costs thereby reducing profits.

Agoda.com is an online travel agency and metasearch engine for hotels, vacation rentals, flights, and airport transfer. It is owned by Agoda Company Pte. Ltd., headquartered in Singapore, and a subsidiary of Booking Holdings.

Agoda.com je online rezervační platforma nabízející ubytování v hotelech po celém světě, především v Asii. Její sídlo se nachází v Singapuru, jednotlivá oddělení jsou dislokována také v Bangkoku, Kuala Lumpur, Tokiu, Sydney, Hongkongu, Londýně, New Yorku a Budapešti, menší pobočky pak po celém světě v Asii, Africe, na Blízkém východě a v Severní a Jižní Americe.


History.

The district dates back to the Oberamt Esslingen, which was created when the previously free imperial city of Esslingen am Neckar became part of Württemberg in 1803. It was changed several times in the course of history. Since 1810 it belonged to the "Landvogtei Rothenberg" and from 1818 until it was dissolved in 1924 to the "Neckarkreis". In 1934 the "Oberamt" was renamed "Kreis Eßlingen" and the now termed "Landkreis Eßlingen" was enlarged by several municipalities of the dissolved "Oberamt Stuttgart" and the Kreise "Schorndorf, Kirchheim unter Teck and Göppingen" on 1 October 1938.  After several changes over the next century, it was converted into a district in 1938. Additionally, with the territorial Partition act on 24 April 1938, it was enlarged by adding several municipalities from the neighboring "Amtsoberamt Stuttgart", "Oberamt Schorndorf", "Oberamt Kirchheim" and "Göppingen".  On 16 October 1964 the state government allowed the change from the previous spelling to the current "Landkreis Esslingen."  In 1973, the district was merged with the district Nürtingen (without Grafenberg). In 1975, two municipalities (Leinfelden and Musberg) from the district Böblingen were added to give the district today's borders.  Since the completion of the municipality reform the "Landkreis Esslingen" yet consists of 44 municipalities, amongst them 13 towns and among those, in turn, six Major district towns (Esslingen am Neckar, Filderstadt, Kirchheim unter Teck, Leinfelden-Echterdingen, Nürtingen and Ostfildern). The districts largest town is Esslingen am Neckar, the smallest municipality Altdorf near Nürtingen. In 1980 German right-wing extremists of the "Deutsche Aktionsgruppen" committed a bomb attack on the administrative district office and the district administrators house.

Geography.

The district is cut into two halves by the river Neckar. The west part is part of the Filder plain, while the east is part of the mountains of the Swabian Alb ("Schwäbische Alb") and the Schurwald (part of the Swabian-Franconian mountain range).  At Plochingen the Fils flows into the Neckar river which leaves the district near Esslingen-Mettingen heading towards Stuttgart. With 229 m above sea level the water level of the Neckar near Mettingen represents the districts lowest Point. The highest point is located 830 m above SL in the Brucker Hölzle near Bissingen-Ochsenwang.

Places.

The list of localities in the district Esslingen consists of about 185 places (Cities, towns, villages, hamlets, smallholdings and dwelling places) as far as they are geographically separate.

Neighbouring districts.

The Landkreis Esslingen borders in clockwise direction starting in the North the Landkreise (districts) Rems-Murr-Kreis, Göppingen, Reutlingen and Böblingen as well as the Stadtkreis (urban district) Stuttgart.

Natural reserves.

The Landkreis Esslingen owns the following natural reserves. According to the reserves statistic of the Landesanstalt "für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden Württemberg (LUBW)" 2320,57 hectare of the districts area is under nature protection (3,62 %).

Demographics.

The numbers of inhabitants are census results (1) or official updates of the "Statistischen Landesamts Baden-Württemberg" (only main residence). The demographic development before 1973 includes the sums of the inhabitants of those municipalities which nowadays belong to the district Esslingen but prior belonged to other administrative units (Oberämtern, Landkreisen).  With almost 525,000 inhabitants the district Esslingen stands in 6th place in Germany, slightly behind the district Ludwigsburg which pushed him back from the 5th Position in the first quarter of 2007.

Politics.

The district is administered by the "Kreistag" (district council) and the "Landrat" (District Administrator).

Kreistag (district council).

The Kreistag is elected every 5 years by the districts eligible voters. The election on 25. Mai 2014 led to following provisional results. The official result was published by the statistical state Office towards the end of 2014.

Landrat (district Administrator).

The Kreistag elects the Landrat for a period of 8 years. The Landrat is the legal representative of the district as well as head of the Kreistag and its committees, but is not eligible to vote in those bodies. He leads the Landratsamt (courthouse) and is public servant of the district.  Among his responsibilities belongs the preparation of the district councils and ist committees sessions. He convokes the sessions, leads them and administers the decisions made there. His Proxy is the "Erste Landesbeamte".

Economy and Infrastructure.

In the "Zukunftsatlas 2016" the district Esslingen ranked 22nd out of 402 districts, municipal associations and district free cities in Germany and therefore belongs to the regions with "very high opportunities for the future".

Economy.

The most labour-intensive sectors in the district Esslingen are according to the states statistical office:

Transportation.

Air.

Stuttgart Airport lays on the eastern border of the city Leinfelden-Echterdingen. The runways are situated mostly on grounds belonging to Filderstadt-Bernhausen.

Public transport.

Since 1845 the eventual Württembergische Staatsbahn runs from Stuttgart to the district City Esslingen, since 1846 as far as Plochingen and 1847 as Filsbahn towards the crossing of the Swabian Albs in the direction of Geislinger Steige–Ulm.  In 1859 the Neckar-Alb-Bahn was attached starting in Plochingen towards Nürtingen–Reutlingen an. From this railway the Teckbahn of the "Kirchheimer Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft" branched off in Wendlingen (back then Unterbohingen) in 1864 and extended as far as Oberlenningen by the Staatsbahn in 1899. Another meanwhile defunct local branch line was the railway line Kirchheim (Teck) Süd–Weilheim (Teck, opened in 1908.  The Tälesbahn Nürtingen–Neuffen belongs to the Württembergischen Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft since its opening in 1900.  Over the course of 100 years a diverse public transport network developed on Filder plains at the southern border of Stuttgart, the Filderbahn-Gesellschaft. In Leinfelden-Echterdingen the S-Bahn (S2 and S3) to Stuttgart Airport put into operation between 1989 and 1993 uses partly the alignment of the line Vaihingen–Echterdingen put in use by the Deutsche Reichsbahn in 1920, from which in 1928 in Leinfelden a line branched off heading to Waldenbuch. The S2 line was extended from the Airport to Filderstadt-Bernhausen in the autumn of 2001.  In Echterdingen they linked to the line Möhringen–Neuhausen, built by the Filderbahn-Gesellschaft in metre gauge in 1897 and changed to Standard gauge in 1902. The part Möhringen–Echterdingen was replaced by a connection Möhringen–Leinfelden, which was built as an electric cross-country railway in meter gauge in 1928 and had been – parallel to the standard gauge line to Neuhausen – extended up to Echterdingen Ort. Since 1990 a standard gauge light rail called "Stadtbahn" (Line U5) runs only up to Leinfelden Bahnhof instead from where the S-Bahn carries on.  In Esslingen the tram Straßenbahn Esslingen am Neckar was inaugurated in 1912, which from 1919 on provided a link to the tram network of the Stuttgarter Straßenbahnen (SSB). It was replaced in 1944 through the trolleybus Esslingen am Neckar. In 1926 the interurban tram Esslingen–Nellingen–Denkendorf (END) was added, which did run up to the Filder until 1978 as well. Unlike the Filderbahn lines not from the west but rather from the northern side. Since 1929 it had a branch line from Nellingen towards Neuhausen.  Regarding the railways only two smaller sections have been defunct:  In the year 2000 the SSB opened the light rail Stuttgart–Nellingen.  Responsible for the public transport is the Verkehrs- und Tarifverbund Stuttgart (VVS).

Individual transport.

From west to east the Bundesautobahn 8, connecting Stuttgart and Ulm, is running through the district area. The most important Bundesstraßen are the B 10 Stuttgart–Ulm, the B 27 Stuttgart–Tübingen, the B 312 Flughafen–Reutlingen and the B 313 Plochingen–Reutlingen.

District institutions.

The district Esslingen is Provider of the following vocational schools: Friedrich-Ebert-Schule (industrial school) Esslingen, John-F.-Kennedy-Schule (commercial school) Esslingen, Käthe-Kollwitz-Schule (domestic Management school) Esslingen, Max-Eyth-Schule (industrial school) Kirchheim unter Teck, Jakob-Friedrich-Schöllkopf-Schule (commercial school) Kirchheim unter Teck, Philipp-Matthäus-Hahn-Schule (industrial school) Nürtingen, Otto-Umfrid-Schule (industrial school) Nürtingen, Albert-Schäffle-Schule (commercial school) Nürtingen and Fritz-Ruoff-Schule (domestic Management and agricultural school) Nürtingen, moreover the Rohräcker schools Esslingen (School for mentally disabled, physically disabled and speech impaired pupils and correspondingly with School kindergarten and also School for sick pupils with longer lasting Hospital treatment) and the Bodelschwinghschule for mentally impaired Nürtingenwith school kindergarten. In Dettingen unter Teck another school for mentally and speech impaired school with school kindergarten was constructed.  Additionally the district is shareholder of the medius KLINIKEN gGmbH. This association is carrier of the Paracelsus-hospital Ruit in Ostfildern-Ruit and the Hospital Kirchheim-Nürtingen with ist two sites Kirchheim unter Teck and Nürtingen. Both are academic teaching hospitals for the University of Tübingen.

Towns and villages.

Vereinbarte Verwaltungsgemeinschaften / Gemeindeverwaltungsverbände (municipal administration unions):

Esslingen is a "Landkreis" (district) in the centre of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from north clockwise) Rems-Murr, Göppingen, Reutlingen, Böblingen and the district-free city Stuttgart.

Zemský okres Esslingen (německy "Landkreis Esslingen)" je okres v německé spolkové zemi Bádensko-Württembersko, ve vládním obvodě Stuttgart. Okresním městem je Esslingen am Neckar. V roce 2013 zde žilo 512 279 obyvatel.