Professional wrestling career.

Independent circuit (1990–1992; 1994–1998).

Gill made his debut on the American independent scene as a part of a masked tag team with Barry Hardy called The Lords of Darkness, with Hardy billed as Agony and Gill billed as Pain. On August 2, 1991, they defeated Cream Team (Dino Casanova and Rip Sawyer) to become the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation's first ever Tag Team Champions. The Lords participated in two of three 40-man battle royals held in 1992.

World Wrestling Federation (1991–1994).

Gill (sometimes teaming with Barry Hardy) became a jobber with the WWF in 1991 usually appearing on "WWF Superstars of Wrestling" and "WWF Wrestling Challenge" losing to the likes of The Undertaker, Kamala, High Energy, The Texas Tornado, Sgt. Slaughter, Jim Duggan, The Bushwackers and The Beverly Brothers. Gill and Hardy competed in a battle royal becoming the second version of The Executioners and took part in a 40-man battle royal won by Tatanka. Gill and Hardy then went back to their real names and began competing on "Monday Night Raw" as well as "WWF Superstars" against several other tag teams losing to the likes of The Quebecers and The Steiner Brothers. One night they fought as The Toxic Turtles (dressed up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) and won a victory over jobbers, but the gimmick was cut off. The Executioners split in early 1994, and Hardy left the company on April 18. Gill then began competing as an enhancement talent, losing to the likes of Mr. Perfect, 1-2-3 Kid, Razor Ramon, Doink, The British Bulldog, Tatanka and Adam Bomb. He left the company soon after.

Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE.

J.O.B. Squad (1998–1999).

In 1998, Gill made his return to the World Wrestling Federation at Survivor Series as Mankind's mystery opponent. Vince McMahon seemingly facilitated Mankind's route to victory in a tournament for the vacant WWF Championship as he appeared to be McMahon's favorite to win. McMahon built up the suspense before the entrance by referring to Gill as a wrestler with an unmatched win/loss record. Although the statement was implied that Mankind's opponent won more than lost in his career, the exact opposite was true, and Gill was squashed by Mankind.  He later joined The J.O.B. Squad with Al Snow, Scorpio and Bob Holly. During this time, Gill became notable for "ending Marc Mero's career" when Mero challenged him to a match, announcing to the crowd that he would retire from wrestling if he could not beat Gill. Gill won the match with some help from the J.O.B. Squad, and Mero left the WWF, although he did not legit retire.

Light Heavyweight Champion (1998–2000).

On November 17, 1998, Gill won the Light Heavyweight Championship after defeating Christian on "Raw". After successful defenses against Matt Hardy and Marc Mero, Gill was given his most notable gimmick: "Gillberg," a parody of rival promotion World Championship Wrestling's top star Goldberg. When he became Gillberg, the original plan of the bookers was reputedly to have him lose 173 consecutive matches, parodying Goldberg's winning streak of 173 matches. The Gillberg character parodied numerous other aspects of Goldberg's character, such as his entrance being accompanied by the pre-recorded sound of a crowd chanting "Gillberg" (which was an allusion to WCW's alleged use of pre-recorded chants in Goldberg's usual entrance) and stage hands that would hold up sparklers (parodying Goldberg's pyrotechnics) and then spray the entrance way with fire extinguishers. He also had a dotted line "tattoo" on his right arm (parodying Goldberg's tribal tattoo) and would use the catchphrase "Who's First?" in reference not only to Goldberg's catchphrase "Who's Next?", but also to the fact that Gill would lose to each and every one of his opponents.  Gill made his Royal Rumble debut in 1999, but was immediately eliminated by Edge. Gill's only victory as Gillberg came on the February 8, 1999, edition of "Raw" when he defeated Goldust with help from former J.O.B. Squad member The Blue Meanie, who was feuding with Goldust at the time. He competed for the WWF Championship against Triple H in a losing effort on the August 31, 1999, edition of "SmackDown!".  While he still came to the ring with the belt, the Light Heavyweight Championship was all but forgotten as Gill seldom defended the title on television or at house shows. After being off of WWF television for several months, Gill returned on the February 13, 2000, episode of "Sunday Night Heat" for one final match in order to lose the championship to the debuting Essa Rios. Upon losing the title, Gill's reign ended at 15 months, making him the longest reigning Light Heavyweight Champion in WWF history. After leaving the WWF, Gill continued to use the Gillberg gimmick on the independent circuit, most prominently for Maryland Championship Wrestling.

Part-time appearances (2003–2017).

When Goldberg came to WWE in 2003, his first feud was against The Rock, who on the April 21, 2003 episode of "Raw" brought in Gill, once again under his Gillberg gimmick, to mock Goldberg. After beating up The Rock's security guards, who were trying to apprehend him for interrupting a concert "dedicated" to him, Gillberg attacked Goldberg, which prompted Goldberg to begin choking him. The Rock then attacked Goldberg from behind, after which both Gillberg and The Rock quickly ran out of the arena to avoid further conflict.  On December 10, 2007, Gill, now sporting two new tattoos on his left deltoid, returned to WWE television under his Gillberg name and gimmick for the 15th Anniversary of "Raw". During the show, he participated in a 15-man battle royal against fourteen other former Raw wrestlers, but was the first man eliminated only a few seconds into the match by every other competitor.  In 2016, Gill returned to WWE, where he made a brief appearance on "The Edge and Christian Show". Gillberg made a surprise appearance on the February 13, 2017 episode of "Raw", coming to the ring in place of Goldberg before being attacked by Kevin Owens.

Return to the independent circuit (2018–2020).

On February 28, 2018, Gill won the IWC High Stakes Championship from independent wrestler Bulk Nasty. He was later challenged by James Ellsworth for a title-match on March 17, which Gill lost. On April 1, 2018, Gill teamed with Ellsworth to win the ACW Tag Team Championships. On February 28, 2020, Gill wrestled his last match against Ellsworth at an Adrenaline Wrestling show, winning the match.

Personal life.

Gill is married and has two adult children and a granddaughter. Gill operated an independent wrestling school in Severn, Maryland named Gillberg's Pro Wrestling Academy that opened in July 2010.

Duane Gill (born July 10, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the Attitude Era under the ring name Gillberg, a parody of then-rival promotion World Championship Wrestling's top star Goldberg. During his tenure in the WWF, Gill became a one time Light Heavyweight Champion. He would go on to hold the title for 15 months, becoming the longest reigning Light Heavyweight Champion as recognized by WWE. Gill retired on February 28, 2020.


Biography.

Early years in politics.

From 1908 he appeared in politics in opposition to the government of President Porfirio Díaz. He was one of the first supporters of Francisco I. Madero, whom he accompanied in his presidential campaign. He was director of revolutionary forces in Coahuila, and a federal deputy. During the election of 1910, Díaz had Madero (the opposition candidate) and 6,000 of his supporters jailed. González was arrested with Madero. Madero was able to escape and issued a call for armed revolt. González later joined him and fought in the battles of Casas Grandes and Ciudad Juárez.  After Madero assumed the presidency, González was his personal assistant and a member of his general staff. When Madero and Vice-President José María Pino Suárez were murdered, González went to the north, joining the forces of Francisco Villa. He was promoted to general and he participated in the most important battles of the revolution against the Huerta regime. These included the battles of Torreón, San Pedro de las Colonias, Paredón, Saltillo and Zacatecas.

Federal positions.

He was the personal representative of Villa in the Aguascalientes Convention, where he was one of the most outstanding figures. He was chosen to preside at the Convention, and was one of the editors of the "Manifiesto" that the Convention published on November 13, 1914.  On the fall of Conventionalist President Eulalio Gutiérrez, he was chosen by the Convention as Gutiérrez's replacement. As a Conventionalist, he was in opposition to the Constitutionalist president, Venustiano Carranza. González's term of office ran from January 16, 1915 to June 10 of the same year. On the latter date, by agreement of the Convention, he turned over power to Francisco Lagos Cházaro and reentered private life in Mexico City.  The victory of the Constitutionalists forced him into exile, where he remained several years, until after the death of Carranza. Years later he collaborated in the administration of General Manuel Ávila. He was coauthor of the books "La Batalla de Torreón" (1914) and "Apuntes para la Historia" (1914), which recounted the events of the Mexican Revolution. He died in 1962.

Roque González Garza (Saltillo, Coahuila, March 23, 1885 – November 12, 1962 in Mexico City) was a Mexican general and acting president of the Republic from January to June 1915.


Publication history.

The Magdalena first appeared in "The Darkness" #15 (June 1998) and only appeared in two brief series. The Magdalena has been featured in "The Darkness", "Witchblade", "Tomb Raider", and "Vampirella", and in its own series of twelve issues from April 2010 to April 2011.

Fictional character biography.

The Magdalena is the title of a series of women descended from Jesus Christ via his marriage to Mary Magdalene. The Magdalena inherits great powers from the royal bloodline and acts as a warrior in the defence of the Catholic Church.  The Roman Catholic Church has been the Magdalena's employer since the Middle Ages, raising her from childhood and training her until she is ready to carry out her role. The Inquisition, a secretive and powerful council of cardinals, oversees the Magdalena's activities and decides her missions.

Sister Rosalia.

Sister Rosalia was a former Magdalena who died when she was 33 years old. She was raped as a teenager by a masked assailant. She became pregnant as a result of the assault and gave birth to a girl. The child was stolen from her and raised in an unidentified convent.  In her last mission, she was sent to investigate vampirism in France. She was informed that vampirism is a retrovirus that forces vampires to consume blood to restore their hemoglobin. She decided that they were not evil and aided their escape. She was killed by the soldiers of the Inquisition, the Garduna, for trying to prevent them from slaughtering the vampires. It was hinted that Rosalia might have been infected with the virus and would rise three days after her death, mirroring the Resurrection of Jesus.

Sister Mariella.

Mariella, the adult daughter of Rosalia, was sent to kill Jackie Estacado with the Spear of Destiny, but unbeknownst to her she still wasn't fully trained and wasn't able to differentiate between right and wrong. After the Sisters of the Order of Magdalene performed the ritual which gave Mariella the ability to divine a person's sins, she and her Sisters were overpowered and defeated by Jackie, who made an example of them by crucifying them in the church. After recovering from her crucifixion and the fight with Jackie, Mariella learned where the Spear of Destiny was and prepared to retrieve it. While doing so, she encountered the Angelus and Appolonia Francetti in the Amazon rainforest and was again left to die after Appolonia used a portion of the Darkness' power to subdue her.

Patience.

The third and current Magdalena is known as Patience, created by writer Brian Holguin. Patience was in her novitiate but she left her convent suddenly, forcing the Inquisition to send an agent, Kristof, to track her down when her time came to assume the role of the Magdalena.  Kristof found Patience living on the streets with a homeless girl named Rowan Barry. Kristof became Patience's mentor and gave her basic training. Patience was initially hesitant but later accepted her destiny when Rowan was abducted by agents of an evil force. The events lead to a disagreement with Kristof and the Inquisition, prompting her to declare herself independent of their control. She remains allied with them only when their goals do not conflict with her ethics.  Patience appeared again when Sara Pezzini, an officer of the New York City Police Department and wielder of the Witchblade, was attacked by a bloodthirsty demon posing as a young woman. Patience helped her to drive away the demon.

Benedetta Maria Ferro.

Benedetta was a Magdalena of Spanish descent who tried to stop Jackie Estacado's ancestor, Miguel Estacado, from obtaining a treasure meant for the Pope. During her battle with Estacado, she was fatally wounded before plunging the Spear of Destiny into the hull of Estacado's ship. Before her death, Miguel took the spear, intending to return it to the Holy See, and left her to die, a decision he later regretted.

Powers and abilities.

Each Magdalena has the innate ability to see into the human heart and show people the error of their ways in order to give them the chance to redeem their sins. Additionally, each Magdalena wields the Spear of Destiny, the spear that pierced the side of Christ, as a weapon against demons and evil magic.

Planned movie.

A movie was planned by Top Cow in 2008. In July 2009, it was announced that Ryûhei Kitamura would direct with Holly Brix writing. Jenna Dewan and Luke Goss were set to star. The project never came to fruition.

The Magdalena is an American comic book superheroine character created by Joe Benitez, David Wohl and Malachy Coney for Top Cow Productions.


Early life.

He graduated in 1985 from the School of Fine Arts in Tehran, majoring in graphic design. He went on to get a second degree and majored in painting from the Tehran University of Art and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1992. Upon graduating until 1993 he was the Editor of the visual section of Sureh Monthly Magazine. In 1993, he founded Reza Abedini Studio an independent design consultancy and art direction studio.

Design.

His design influences include Aleksander Rodchenko, Ikko Tanaka, Sani'ol Molk Ghafari, Roman Cieslewicz and Mirza Gholam-Reza Esfahani.  Abedini has won dozens of national and international design awards. In 2006, he received the Principal "Prince Claus Award" in recognition of his personal creativity in the production of special graphic designs, as well as for the personal manner in which he applies and redefines the knowledge and accomplishments of Iran’s artistic heritage, thus making them highly interesting. The award also focuses attention on the diversity of both the historical and the modern Iranian culture, recognizing the impact of graphic design as an influential international means of communication.  Abedini is a member of the Iranian Graphic Designers Society since 1997, he was a member of jury at several biennials throughout the world. His name is listed in "Meggs" History of Graphic Design, as one of the world's outstanding post digital graphic designers.

Academic career.

Since 1996, he has been a Professor at the University of Tehran in graphic design and visual culture. He previously was a visiting Assistant Professor of graphic design and visual culture at the American University of Beirut.

See also.

Other Iranian Prince Claus Award winners

Reza Abedini (, born 1967 in Tehran) is an Iranian graphic designer and a professor. His works keep a modern theme as he blends traditional Islamic patterns, calligraphy and culture. He combines simple illustrations with poetic typography and elegant layouts, exploring the beauty of the Persian language. He is also an art critic, independent art director with "Reza Abedini Studio" and the editor-in-chief of Manzar magazine in Iran.


Career.

Bellamy is primarily a rock 'n' roll and country-and-western singer. In the late 1950s, he played in a band and later a duo with Alan Klein. Bellamy decided to audition for a group formed by Joe Meek that was advertised in the music press. It was this audition that determined that Bellamy would play rhythm guitar for the Tornados, who were firstly a session band for Meek. However, the group reached new heights with their instrumenal "Telstar", which reached number one all over the world and was the first British rock song to be a number-one single in the United States. Bellamy wrote one of The Tornados' tracks, "Ridin' the Wind", which also was a hit single in the USA.  Bellamy left the Tornados in 1963 when it became necessary to cease touring because of problems with his lower spine. After medical treatment, he worked with Don Charles, who had set up his own recording company with Alan Caddy named "Sound Venture". Bellamy continued doing session work in London until 1972, working with arrangers and producers such as Burt Bacharach, George Martin, and Ivor Raymond. Bellamy re-recorded "Telstar" with his own record company "SRT" in 1975 with members of the original Tornados.

Rough Terrain.

In late 1997 he formed a Devon-based band, called Rough Terrain, who played at local events in the UK. The members were:  Bellamy began working in the building industry of Devon in 1984. He retired to Costa Blanca, south of Alicante, Spain, in 2004 and formed the rock band Freeway.  The 2009 feature film "Telstar" portrays the young Bellamy, played by actor Alan Scally.  After returning to UK in late 2010 Bellamy formed a band in Devon called The Lyrics. The members are: George Bellamy - Rhythm guitar/vocals (Previous colleague) Jodie West - vocals/percussion Terry Stacey - drums/vocals Jamie Milne - lead guitar/vocals Jon Milne - bass guitar/technicals

George Bellamy (born 10 August 1941) is an English musician, singer and former rhythm guitarist for The Tornados. He is the father of Matt Bellamy, frontman of British rock band Muse.


Playing career.

Norway.

Soltvedt started his professional career at Viking in Stavanger in 1987 and was a member of the team who won the Norwegian Cup in 1989 and the Tippeligaen in its inaugural year, 1991.  In 1992, he joined mid-table club Brann. At the end of his first season he was voted the club's "most popular" player. During his time at Brann, the club finished each season in 6th or 7th place in the league. His extremely dedicated style, his innocent and somewhat naïve personality and the fact that many of his goals were scored as a midfielder made him immensely popular. Just before the start of the 1995 season, however, he was sacked by Brann's board for "illoyality", the board refusing to elaborate on this. This prompted a demonstration from fans supporting Soltvedt.  After three seasons at Brann, he moved to Rosenborg where he was able to share in more success, claiming the Tippeligaen championship in 1995 and 1996 as well as winning the Norwegian Cup in 1995. Trond Egil was also part of the Rosenborg team who beat AC Milan 2-1 away at the San Siro to advance to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

England.

His success in Norway brought him to the attention of English clubs and after an unsuccessful trial at Stoke City, Gordon Strachan signed him for Coventry City for a fee of £500,000 in July 1997.  After two seasons at Coventry City, he was then signed by Southampton under Dave Jones in August 1999 for £300,000. He was a "tall, elegant midfielder who added an air of calm authority whenever he played". He made his Saints debut as a substitute in a 4-2 victory over Newcastle United on 15 August 1999, helping to set up Mark Hughes for the final goal. He made a total of 24 appearances in the 1999-2000 season, playing in midfield alongside Matthew Le Tissier and Marians Pahars as Saints struggled both in defence and in attack, finishing in the lower half of the table. Soltvedt missed a large part of the last few months of the season with persistent groin problems.  After replacing Jones as Southampton's manager, Glenn Hoddle soon transferred Soltvelt to Sheffield Wednesday, initially on loan before making the deal permanent in March 2001 for an appearance-based fee which had the potential to rise as high as £200,000.  He remained at Sheffield Wednesday for three seasons and was appointed team captain. Unfortunately, he was unable to prevent Wednesday being relegated at the end of the 2002-03 season, when he was released, returning to Norway to play in the lower leagues.

Trond Egil Soltvedt (born 15 February 1967) is a Norwegian former footballer who played as a midfielder. After playing for Viking, Brann and Rosenborg in Norway, he played in England with Coventry, Southampton and Sheffield Wednesday before he retired. Soltvedt was capped four times playing for Norway.


Fictional character biography.

Langford "Happy" Terrill.

Prior to the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" reboot, Happy Terrill is originally described as having been exposed to lightning and sunlight at the same time while ballooning, and gains energy-based super-powers. He is able to emit energy from his body, and use it to fly through the air.  According to "Jess Nevins' Encyclopedia of Golden Age Superheroes", "The Ray fights the Hindu mystic Bela Jat, Cadava the Crumbler, the Mongol warrior Khan, and the pied piper of crime, Stradivarius."  His post-Crisis origin is more involved. Before World War II, the government established a secret group known as RONOL (Research on the Nature of Light). One RONOL member, Dr. Dayzl, theorized that the light that originated millennia ago where Earth now orbits would eventually circumnavigate the universe and return as a dangerous, conscious entity.  The only way to stop the "Light Entity", Dayzl believed, was to talk to it. Tricking a reporter named Happy Terrill into joining them, Dayzl and his assistants staged an upper atmosphere ballooning "accident", making certain Terrill was exposed to a genetic "light bomb". Dayzl calculated that Terrill's offspring would be a unification of human and light energy, a potential liaison to the Light Entity. Unaware of the truth, Terrill used his resulting powers to become the super-heroic Ray. Simultaneously, RONOL lost government backing due to Dayzl's unorthodox beliefs. Dayzl's fate remains unknown.  In 1950, after learning the truth, Terrill vowed to quit his Ray identity. Happy and his first wife, had a child named Joshua. For a time Joshua accompanied Ray on missions as his sidekick "Spitfire". However, Joshua was prone to violent outbursts; he was placed in suspended animation in the 1950s only to wake up again in the future, still only 10 years old. After a brief association with his old team the Freedom Fighters in the 1970s, he had married and settled down. Everything seemed normal until Happy saw his newborn son glowing with crackling energy in the hospital nursery. Happy was convinced Dayzl's theories were correct. He now knew his son would one day have the power to confront the Light Entity. Not wanting to put his wife through torment, Happy told her that the baby had died and then set up his son with a foster father (Happy's brother Thomas).  In the 2008 "Freedom Fighters" series, Terrill is asked by Uncle Sam to ask Neon the Unknown for help. When Neon, completely detached from humanity, refuses, Terrill drinks from the waters of his oasis, becoming a new Neon the Unknown, known simply as "Neon".

Ray Terrill.

Ray Terrill was told he was hypersensitive to light and exposure to sunlight would kill him. Privately tutored in his window-darkened home, Ray's most earnest wish was for normalcy. The media called him Night Boy. His only friend during his formative years was his neighbor, Jennifer Jurden. When he was 18, at his supposed father's deathbed, Ray learned his life was a lie. He was not allergic to light, nor did he have to live in darkness. Most disturbing of all, he discovered his true father was the 1940s war-time super-hero, the Golden Age Ray.

Stan Silver.

The reformed Freedom Fighters have a member called the Ray who has similar powers to the Terrills. The new Ray is Stan Silver, and he was described by Justin Gray as being "capable of turning his body into a living laser light" and "the playboy of the group". Stan likes to show off in front of the media.  Working as a foreign correspondent for the Washington Sun, Silver was exposed to upper atmosphere radiation while covering a story, thus gaining power over various forms of light. Recruited by S.H.A.D.E., Silver begins using his powers in the service of his government. He is, however, something of a womanizing egomaniac in his civilian persona. Silver later defects from S.H.A.D.E. to join Uncle Sam's new group of Freedom Fighters.  In "Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters" #6, Silver reveals that he is a double agent still loyal to S.H.A.D.E. He turns on his teammates and kills the Invisible Hood. Immediately after, the colors of his "costume" were inverted, becoming blue instead of yellow.  In "Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters" #7, he battles his former teammates and is defeated by Ray Terrill, and is sent back to Father Time. He is later seen outside the White House with S.H.A.D.E.'s other super-soldiers, who join Father Time in the timestream after the battle ends.

Lucien Gates.

In September 2011, The New 52 rebooted DC's continuity. In this new timeline, a character named Lucien Gates was introduced as the Ray in a mini-series titled "The Ray", written by Palmiotti and Gray with art duties by Jamal Igle. It did not feature any of the previous incarnations of The Ray but instead centered around a new character by the name of Lucien Gates. Remarks made by Lucien referencing Langford's origin and his use of the Ray title in his debut issue indicate that he is not the first hero to be called The Ray as far as the newly rebooted DC universe is concerned. The mini-series debuted in December 2011.  Lucien Gates is a Korean-American San Diego County lifeguard who, while on duty, was caught in the path of a particle beam. The beam, accidentally fired from a solar energy cannon commissioned by an unnamed government agency, mutated a number of living organisms before striking Gates. The resulting energy transforms him into an energy manipulator, able to fly at superhuman speed, fire various energy beams, and create illusions. Gates is also a Korean-American adoptee.  Distinctively, Gates cannot direct his flight as is common for airborne superheroes, instead traveling in a straight line as a literal ray of light. To change direction, he must strike a reflective surface, though it does not appear he is bound by the normal mechanics of specular reflection and can "reflect" at any angle (perhaps more akin to a swimmer kicking off from the edge of a pool than true reflection). When necessary, he can reduce his speed and even hover.

Powers and abilities.

All versions of the Ray can absorb, store, and process pure light and use the energy to fly and create dazzlingly strong and powerful bursts of light. In his Golden Age appearances, Happy Terrill was able to manipulate other forms of energy such as electricity and magnetism.  The Terrills were also capable of manipulating and controlling light externally to create illusions and even solid light constructs, as well as render themselves invisible.  Later in Happy's career (while mentoring/antagonizing his son), he was shown to have a greater mastery of his abilities. For example, by using "solid light vibrations", essentially resonating the target's inner ear, he was able to approximate telepathic communication.  Ray Terrill is capable of converting his body completely into light energy. No physical harm can come to him in this form.  Stan Silver's full abilities and powers are largely undocumented. As noted above, he is apparently "capable of turning his body into a living laser light".  Lucien Gates can not become immaterial; rather the light forms a protective armor. In order to fly, Gates bounces off of reflective surfaces. His thought processes calculate hundreds of options, allowing him to redirect his path at light speed.

Reception.

In "American Comic Book Chronicles: 1940-1944", comics historian Kurt Mitchell writes that the Golden Age strip "showcased Fine's growing mastery of lighting effects, as well as the wild fight scenes and memorably ugly villains that had by now become trademarks of his style."

In other media.

Miscellaneous.

The Ray appears in Justice League Unlimited tie in comic #17.

The Ray is the name of four fictional superheroes in the DC Comics Universe. The first Ray was Langford "Happy" Terrill, a Quality Comics character. When DC Comics later purchased Quality Comics, Happy Terrill was retconned as a member of the Freedom Fighters on Earth-X. The character, created by artist Lou Fine, first appeared in "Smash Comics" #14 (Sept 1940) and continued in the book until issue #40 (Feb 1943).


Career.

Film.

Karvan began screen acting in 1983 when she appeared in the film "Molly". In 1987, she went on to appear in Phillip Noyce's "Echoes of Paradise" and appeared alongside Judy Davis in Gillian Armstrong's "High Tide" that same year.  When she was 17 years old Karvan secured a leading role in the Australian comedy/caper film "The Big Steal".  In 1993, Karvan won an FCCA (Film Critics Circle of Australia) Award for Best Actress for her role in "The Heartbreak Kid". She has starred alongside fellow Australian actors such as Guy Pearce in "Flynn" (1991) (playing the young fiancee of Errol Flynn) and "Dating the Enemy" (1996), Ben Mendelsohn in "The Big Steal" (1990) and Hugh Jackman in "Paperback Hero" (1999). She was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actress in the 1999 film "Passion".  In 2006, she had a role in "Footy Legends", a film about rugby league. She also played the role of Hailey's (Joanna Levesque) mother in the American film "Aquamarine". That year, Karvan appeared in "" as Sola Naberrie, the older sister of Padmé Amidala. She also filmed scenes for "", but her scenes were cut and appear only on the DVD release.  She also co-starred with Jim Caviezel in "Nature's Grave", directed by Jamie Blanks in 2008. In 2009, she voiced in the film "$9.99". She appeared in the 2009 film "Daybreakers", a vampire thriller co-starring Ethan Hawke and Sam Neill and filmed on the Gold Coast. She also starred in "33 Postcards", released in 2011 and Long Weekend.

Television.

In 1996, Karvan was awarded her first Australian Film Institute award for Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama for the "GP" episode titled "Sing Me a Lullaby". She won the award again in 2005 and 2007 for her role as Frankie Paige in the television series "Love My Way". As a producer of "Love My Way", Karvan received further AFI awards in 2005, 2006 and 2007 for Best Television Drama Series.  Karvan has won Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress three times. First in 2003 for "The Secret Life of Us", then in 2006 for "Love My Way", and again in 2010 for "Saved".  In August 2010, Karvan co-created, produced and starred in the series "Spirited". She plays a Sydney dentist, Suzy Darling, who has left her husband and moved into a penthouse in a building which she discovers is haunted by the ghost of a 1980s British rock musician, Henry (Matt King).  Karvan was cast in the first eight-part season of "Puberty Blues", a television series shown on Channel Ten in Australia in 2012. It is an updated version of the 1981 film "Puberty Blues". In 2014, she returned to season two of the show. In 2013, Karvan starred in the ABC miniseries "The Time Of Our Lives" as Caroline.  In 2016 Karvan starred opposite Guy Pearce in "Jack Irish", for ABC TV, as character Sarah Longmore, while in 2017 she starred as lead character Josephine Newton in "Newton's Law", once again for ABC TV.

Stage.

Karvan has also appeared on stage in a production of "Summer of the Seventeenth Doll".

Personal life.

Her surname comes from her stepfather, who was a Greek immigrant and whose surname was originally Karvouniares before anglicizing it to Karvan. When she was 8 she lived in Bali for a year with her mother and brothers. After returning from Bali, Karvan's family moved to King's Cross where her father owned the nightspot Arthur's.  Karvan lives with Jeremy Sparks. They have two children, a daughter Audrey (born in 2001), and a son Albie (born on 18 May 2006). She is also stepmother to singer Holiday Sidewinder, Sparks' daughter from a previous relationship with Australian actress Loene Carmen.

Claudia Karvan (born 1972) is an Australian actress, best known for her roles in the television series "The Secret Life of Us", "Newton's Law" and "Love My Way". She was also a producer and writer on "Love My Way".


Music.

T-Pain, who laced the first single, is only one of the many featured guests throughout the album. Timbaland, who produced the second single "Elevator", is also featured on the track. Rick Ross, and Trey Songz made appearances as well. Lil Wayne has also been added to the list with assistance by young Memphian, Jamil Smith, while Sean Kingston appears on the J. R. Rotem-produced "Roll" the concept was created, and co-written by Compton rapper Spitfiya, from The Bullets Production Team, Various other guests include Birdman, Brisco. The third single is "In the Ayer" featuring will.i.am. The fourth single was scheduled to be "Money Right" featuring Brisco, and Rick Ross, but was canceled due to the release of his upcoming second studio album R.O.O.T.S. His second collaboration with T-Pain, "I Bet", his collaboration with Trina, named "Bout It" and as well as his second collaboration with Sean Kingston named "OG", all three didn't make the final track list, but were recorded. As for production, J. R. Rotem, DJ Montay, and Timbaland all provided tracks for "Mail on Sunday", among others.

Critical reception.

"Mail on Sunday" garnered mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 54, based on 12 reviews.  Steve 'Flash' Juon of "RapReviews" praised the album for containing great production and tracks that are potential singles but found the artist on said album lacking in identity, concluding with, "When you try to come up with positive comparisons to other artists, you realize just how derivative Flo Rida is. He's a little bit Twista, a little bit Trick Daddy, and a whole lot Nelly. None of those things are negative, but the fact he can't distinguish himself from any of them isn't a positive. I'd like to see Flo Rida convince me why he's special with his next album - until then he's just another MC with a well produced album who came out of a cookie cutter hitmaking mold." Joseph Barracato of "Entertainment Weekly" also praised the production for having "ferocious beats" and "infectious hooks" but gave credit to Flo Rida for delivering female anatomy metaphors in a creative way. "Billboard" writer Jeff Vrabel said that, "Flo Rida's flow is an engaging/ringy-dingy/he-sounds-like-Nelly thing. But his hooks can be rock-solid ("Ack Like You Know") and his interest in gleaming synthesizerism (opener "American Superstar" comes into "Tubular Bells" territory, really) helps set him off from the legions of rappers clawing over each other to break out of the South."  AllMusic's Andy Kellman said that, "Though Flo Rida has his own identity – for all the tough talk and the automotives fixation, he does come off as big-hearted, and he could just as easily make an R&B album – and covers more bases than what is typical from other mainstream-yet-street rap albums of 2007 and 2008, he's not nearly as distinctive as any of his predecessors." Robert Christgau graded the album as a "dud", indicating "a bad record whose details rarely merit further thought." "Rolling Stone"s Christian Hoard found the album trying hard to replicate the success of "Low" but found the tracks to be "generic pop rap" and both the production and vocal delivery "standard-issue." Wilson McBee of Slant Magazine criticized the record's tired use of party tracks, phoned in contributions, and misogynistic lyrical content, concluding that "unless he can once again catch the coattails of T-Pain or some other hit-magnet, odds are that he’ll be beginning his descent back into anonymity very soon."

Sales.

"Mail on Sunday" debuted at number four on the US "Billboard" 200 chart, selling 86,000 copies in its first week. As of May, 2009, the album has sold 390,000 copies in the US. It has been certified silver for sales in the UK.

Mail on Sunday is the debut studio album by American hip hop recording artist Flo Rida, and was released on March 18, 2008 under Atlantic, and Poe Boy Entertainment. It spawned three singles; the first, "Low" was number one on the U.S. "Billboard" Hot 100 for 10 weeks. The second, and third singles, "Elevator", and "In the Ayer", were successful as well, being top 20 hits. "Roll" featuring Sean Kingston was not an official single, but it managed to peak at number 59 on the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and number 43 on the Canadian Hot 100 due to digital sales in both countries.


Life.

Born in Valencia, Asencio began his musical training as a boy with his father. After studying violin in Castellón de la Plana with Emilio Bou, he moved to Barcelona to pursue studies at the "Academia Frank Marshall" with Frank Marshall and Enric Morera i Viura. He also studied privately in that city with Joaquín Turina and Ernesto Halffter. He also studied conducting in Paris and Milan.  Asencio began composing in the early 1920s, and his first major success was the ballet " Fuego de Fiesta" (1926). His earlier music displays an evident influence of the composer Manuel de Falla. In 1932 he founded the Conservatorio de Música de Castellón de la Plana with violinist Abel Mus. In 1934 he helped formed the "Grupo de los Jóvenes", a group of talented young musicians in Valencia whose members also included Vicente Garcés and Ricardo Olmos among others.  In 1943 Asencio married one of his pupils, the composer and painter Matilde Salvador. They became one of the most influential artistic couples in the Valencia music scene. Asencio, who was technically better prepared than his wife, worked with her in orchestrating many of her works, including her opera "Vinatea" which premiered at the Liceu in 1974.  In 1953 Asencio joined the music faculty at the Valencia Conservatory where he taught for many years. Among his notable pupils was composer José Evangelista. He died in Valencia after a long illness.

Music.

Asencio's best-known works for the guitar are "Elegía a Manuel de Falla" (1946), "Sonatina" (1949), "Collectici Íntim" (1965), and "Dipso" (1973). He also wrote music for several successful ballets, most notably "La casada infiel" (1949) which is considered his best work in that genre. A number of the songs from that ballet were later transcribed by the composer for the guitar. He also wrote a considerable amount of orchestral music, including "Preludio a la Dama de Elche" (1949); "Sonada alegre" (1954); "Llanto a Manuel de Falla" (1955), and "Danzas Valencianas" (1963).

Vicente Asencio y Ruano (29 October 1908 – 4 April 1979) was a Spanish composer. He is perhaps best known for his works for guitar of which guitarists Andrés Segovia and Narciso Yepes were notable exponents.


History.

Crossroads opened on February 17, 1974 with anchor stores John A. Brown, Dillard's, Montgomery Ward, and JC Penney. The name Crossroads Mall was chosen because it lies at the major intersection of I-35 and I-240, a major crossroads of the city. At the time of its opening, it was one of the largest construction projects to have ever taken place in the state of Oklahoma, and also was among the ten largest shopping malls in the United States. A 1974 a Daily Oklahoman newspaper article heralded the shopping mall as "the most magnificent enclosed and air-conditioned shopping mall in the Southwest." Before the mall's closure, the mall contained approximately 36 stores and services. It also has a very large trade zone outside of the mall building itself with numerous retailers, and restaurants, including two hotels and a movie theater. Crossroads Mall had been one of the more popular shopping establishments in the city for well over twenty years. It is noted as one of the primary reasons for the suburban flight of retail shoppes from Downtown Oklahoma City, which is now beginning to show an increase of retail shops following the Metropolitan Area Projects Plan.

Decline.

In 2001 Montgomery Ward closed its doors due to bankruptcy. Even with its popularity, in its over 30-year history Crossroads lacks any substantial renovations or retail growth. The expansion of shopping centers in Moore and along I-240 west of the mall has also contributed to a dramatic decline in the number of shoppers. Crossroads Mall is situated in an area of increased gang activity, leading to an increase in crime and safety issues. Teen loitering had increasingly become a problem to the point that on October 26, 2006, the mall imposed a weekend curfew prohibiting teens younger than 18 years of age from shopping after 6 PM on Fridays and Saturdays unless they were accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. It was anticipated that by imposing the curfew, the mall would become more family friendly.  Throughout the late 2000s, all four anchor stores, among with other small stores, eventually vacated the mall, as a result of the 2008 economic downturn and increased gang activity. A few years later, on October 10, 2011, YouTube user miah022 uploaded a video taking a tour of the soon-to-become dead mall, passing the vacant anchor stores Dillard's, JCPenney, Macy's and Steve & Barry's, as well as some stores and restaurants that are still opened at the time the video was uploaded. This included Eyemasters (a trade name of Visionworks), Finish Line, Inc., Journeys, Champs Sports, Victoria's Secret, Frederick's of Hollywood, Zales Jewelers, Regis, The Laughing Fish, Eastern Treasures, L'Patricia, Hat World, Claire's, Touchtell Wireless, 5-7-9, GameStop, Chinex, Hot Spot Pizza (formally a Sbarro Pizza location), Sam's Optical, an unknown Samsung/T-Mobile US booth, Bath & Body Works and rue21. A lot of stores are relocated to Oklahoma City's other shopping malls, and this had become a serious problem, because this was probably a failed attempt to bring back everything the mall had from the start. A lot of the aforementioned stores and restaurants were closed prior to the mall's 2017 closing.  The property was foreclosed upon in April 2009 and it fell under the ownership of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York due to the Bear Stearns bailout. The mall was part of a portfolio of Bear Stearns assets, including $5.5 billion in commercial loans, that the Fed used to secure $29 billion to lend to JPMorgan Chase to buy Bear Stearns. According to Price Edwards & Co.’s 2010 Oklahoma City Mid-Year Retail Market Summary report, Crossroads Mall was 75 percent vacant. On September 14, 2011, the mall was purchased by Raptor Properties, LLC for $3.5 million, far below the $24 million asking price. Although the sale only included, as several other parts of the property were previously sold to other investors.

Incidents.

A young man opened fire on May 27, 2006, injuring a teen before the man was shot and killed by an off-duty sheriff's deputy.  On November 26, 2008, following reports that individuals in a vehicle travelling on Interstate 240 had pulled a gun on the driver of another vehicle, a police helicopter followed the vehicle of the suspected gunmen as it drove into the mall parking lot where one suspect, or suspects, exited the vehicle and ran into the entrance of Dillard's. Police surrounded the mall's entrances and exits and were also able to surround the suspects' vehicle. Two suspects were subsequently arrested, including the alleged gunman Brandon Gunn. A third suspect was detained, but not arrested. The mall was not evacuated and there were no reports of injuries.

Re-branding & future renovations.

In April 2013, Raptor Properties announced plans to re-brand Crossroads Mall in a similar fashion to the revitalized La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas by attracting businesses that serve the local Hispanic community. On April 24, 2013, Raptor announced that the new name of the mall would be Plaza Mayor at the Crossroads. They also announced future renovations that would have included space for a grocery store, a nightclub and a rodeo arena seating 3,500 spectators. The mall's entrances and bathrooms would have also been remodeled and the carousel moved to make way for a new stage and entertainment area, complete with $100,000 worth of new sound and lighting equipment. Before the mall closed, these plans were never fully realized. As of June 2017, Plaza Mayor's website is occupied only by a banner telling visitors the site has been suspended, and directing the "customer" to check their email, possibly indicating another abandonment of work in the area. On September 29, 2017, CRM Properties announced that they had abandoned plans to rehabilitate the mall, and would close it permanently on 31 October 2017.

Crossroads Mall (also known as Plaza Mayor) was a super regional shopping mall and trade area located in south Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States.


Biography.

Born to a Jewish family in New York City, Weinberg served in the US 6th Army Group as an infantryman during World War II. He was severely wounded in combat in France and spent over a year recovering in a US military hospital. He attended Cornell University, the University of Arizona, and the University of California at Los Angeles. In 1948, Weinberg founded the Larwin Company serving as its CEO until he retired. By the late 1960s, Larwin Company became one of the largest privately owned housing companies in the United States until merging it into CNA Financial Corporation where it became one of the three largest housing producers with annual development of 8,000 residential units. He went on to serve as a Member of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of CNA from 1969 to 1980. In 1950, Weinberg founded Com-Air Products, Inc. which designed, manufactured, and assembled the hydraulics, pneumatics and fuel assemblies used in jet engines and aircraft.  In 1970, Weinberg, Herman Sarkowsky, and Robert Schmertz paid $3.7 million to secure an NBA expansion team for Portland. Weinberg became president of the Trail Blazers in 1975, replacing Sarkowsky, who turned his attention to the NFL's Seattle Seahawks. Two years later, the Trail Blazers won an NBA championship. Weinberg served as team president until 1988, when he sold the team to Paul Allen. The Trail Blazers honored Weinberg in 1992 by retiring a #1 jersey with his name. Five players have since received permission from Weinberg to wear #1: Rod Strickland, Derek Anderson, Jarrett Jack, Armon Johnson and Ike Diogu.  In addition to his work in basketball and real estate, Weinberg has served as president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. He was awarded the Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.  Weinberg's wife Barbi was a founder of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Weinberg died on January 1, 2019 at age 92.

External links.

Larry Weinberg (January 23, 1926 – January 1, 2019) was an American real estate developer who was one of the founders of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers.


Skyscreamer.

The ride consists of two telescopic gantry towers mounted on a platform, feeding two elastic ropes down to a two-person passenger car constructed from an open sphere of tubular steel. The passenger car is secured to the platform with an electro-magnetic latch as the elastic ropes are stretched. When the electromagnet is turned off, the passenger car is catapulted vertically with a g-force of 3–5, reaching an altitude of between and.  The passenger sphere is free to rotate between the two ropes, giving the riders a chaotic and disorienting ride. After several bounces, the ropes are relaxed and the passengers are lowered back to the launch position.

Slingshot.

The Slingshot manufactured by "Funtime" uses steel cables and a patented spring propulsion device rather than elastic ropes. It can use up to 720 specially designed springs, enabling the ride to propel passengers up to high at speeds up to 160 km per hour.

Safety and possible injury.

In August 1998, Jérôme Charron died in a reverse bungee ride accident at the Ottawa Exhibition in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada when he was hurled 40 m into the air before plummeting to his death as his harness had detached. In February 2000, the firm responsible for the ride, Anderson Ventures, was fined $145,000 for this incident.  Ordinarily, the bungee cord is changed to adjust the body weight of different riders. The operator in Ottawa instead used a lead between the carabiner and the bungee cord for this purpose. Using a lead is faster than changing the cord, so more rides can be offered; however, using a lead is less safe than switching bungee cords. The problem occurs when the lead cord wraps around the carabiner, tightens and through friction undoes the twisting safety mechanism that keeps the carabiner locked. In this case, the operator was using dual carabiners. On the bounce back up, the lead cord tightened, causing both carabiners to open. This fact was discovered by the Ottawa Police who investigated the death. A video of the incident depicts it. Provincial inspectors had inspected the ride just 4 days before the incident and approved it, but did not see the lead because it was in a nearby box.

The reverse bungee (also known as catapult bungee, slingshot, or ejection seat) is a modern type of fairground ride that was invented by Troy Griffin in c. 1978. The ride grew a following and is now one of the best known rides. Many installations also utilize a reverse-mounted camera that records passengers during their experience, typically available for purchase after completing the attraction.


Career.

College.

Laventure played college soccer at Seton Hall University, where in four seasons he scored 14 goals and assisted on 12. He was named to the Big East first team after recording eight goals and six assists in 2004. After his senior season he was invited to the 2005 MLS Player Combine which led to him joining the MetroStars reserve team.

Professional.

Laventure signed a developmental contract with the New York Red Bulls on April 12, 2006. He made his MLS debut July 8, 2006 as a substitute in a game against FC Dallas, and scored his first professional goal on July 19, 2006 - a spectacular 30-yard chip over Columbus Crew goalkeeper Noah Palmer which won him the Goal of the Week Award. Laventure started his first game for the Red Bulls against the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Second Division in the U.S. Open Cup.  Laventure was released by the Red Bulls on March 17, 2008, and subsequently joined Newark Ironbound Express in the USL Premier Development League for the 2008 PDL season. Laventure scored 9 goals in 13 games in his first season for Ironbound, helping the team reach the post-season playoffs at the first attempt.

International.

In 2007, Laventure was called up to the Haitian national team, but did not play for the country. In 2008, he was called up again, and started two matches against El Salvador in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Personal.

In November 2006 he, along with his then-New York Red Bulls team mates Seth Stammler and Jozy Altidore, accompanied Haitian-born Grammy Award winning musician Wyclef Jean on a six-day service trip to Haiti for Jean's charitable organization, Yéle Haiti.

Jerrod Laventure (born January 15, 1983 in Middle Island, New York) is an American-born Haitian footballer currently playing for Jersey Express in the USL Premier Development League.


History.

Early history.

The Shors as a people formed as a result of a long process of intermixing between the Turkic, Ugrian, Samoyedic and Ket-speaking tribes. Their culture and origins are similar to those of the northern Altay people and some of the ethnic groups of the Khakas. The region where the Shors currently reside was Turkicized under the influence of the Yenisei Kirghiz during the medieval period. The Shors resulted from this ethnic mixing and adopted Turkic speech (the Shor language) as a result. Shor tribes began to become a distinct people around the 8th and 9th centuries CE. The Mongol conquest of the Altai-Sayan region in the 13th century added another layer of cultural influence over the local population and their languages. The region subsequently fell under the influence of the Oirats from the late 14th century to the early 17th century. Although Mongol control of the area was nominal, many of the languages (including Shor) contains significant amounts of Mongol loanwords. The Shors were a valuable asset to the Yenisei Kirghiz and Oirats as suppliers of ironware. Their ability to smelt iron from ore was a feat that only one other indigenous Siberian people (the Yakuts) were able to do before the Russian advance to the area.

Early modern history.

In the early 17th century, the Shors and their territory were conquered by the Russians. In the 18th century, Russian settlers began to move in to the area. The Shors' niche as producers of ironware for the Oirats, Altaians, and Kirghiz was soon eroded by the Russian traders. The Russians had more advanced products to offer and this ended Shor blacksmithing. Atop of this, Russian officials subjected the Shors to pay "yasak" in the form of furs. This resulted in most Shors abandoning their old occupations and villages to move to nearby towns so they can make a better living as hunters. However, they lived in squalid conditions. The use of nettle-fibre or wild hemp for clothing, primitive implements, and techniques continued on towards the 20th century.

Modern history.

The Shors were little affected by the Russian Revolution and its civil war until the Bolsheviks took the region in 1920. In 1929, the Shor National Region was formed but was quickly dissolved in 1939. The okrug (district) was disbanded because the Soviet authorities believed its existence might hinder the development of the iron and coal industries in the region. These minerals became important to the state after deposits were discovered in the Kuznetsk Basin in the 1930s. This discovery led to a new wave of Russian settlers and workers to the region and began displacing the Shors. The authorities considered the Shors to be numerically insignificant and that disenfranchising them would not be consequential to the state. The Shors greatly suffered as a result. They were driven out of their farms and villages and forced to work in the coal mines. The population of the Shors declined and the urban Shors struggled with alcoholism, drug addiction, suicide, and high lethal accident rates. Traditional Shor culture began to wane. The liberalization of Soviet rule beginning in the 1980s led to a Shor cultural revival and the establishment of many cultural and linguistic institutions (like the creation of The Association of Shor People in the 1990s). The current situation of the Shors is not free of issues however. Many Shors do not know their native language and show indifference to their traditional culture. Illness, discrimination, environmental racism, high death rates but low birth rates, drug and alcohol addiction, and the possibility of the Shors being swallowed up by the dominant Russian culture in the near future are other issues the modern Shors face.

Religion.

Christianity.

The Shors were originally practitioners of shamanism and animism but were converted to Russian Orthodox Christianity during Russian rule since the early 17th century. Conversions occurred rapidly after the establishment of the Altai Spiritual Mission in the 1830s. Most present Shors are Russian Orthodox Christians.

Shamanism.

Despite the conversion of Christianity among the Shors, shamanism has had and still is very important and influential to modern Shor spirituality. Shor Shamanism and its "kam" (shamans) have suffered persecution since Russian colonization of the region especially from the 17th to 20th centuries. The establishment of the Altai Spiritual Mission in the region resulted in the severe persecution of shamanism and the kam. Christian missionaries routinely lambasted Shor shamanism as being a dark cult and the kam as servants of the devil. There was many forced conversions to Christianity as well. During the soviet era, the authorities frequently designated the kam and others as enemies of the state and sentenced them to camps or even death. Graves, drums, ritual clothing, and more were burned or desecrated during this period. Shor shamanism saw a revival starting in the late 1980s and is considered a vital part of modern Shor identity.

Culture.

Economy.

The Shors were mainly engaged in hunting, fishing, some primitive farming, and pine nut picking. Blacksmithing and iron ore mining and melting were also important (hence, the name "Blacksmithing Tatars"). The lifestyle of the Shors changed significantly following the October Revolution of 1917. Most became skillful farmers, cattle-breeders, or industrial workers.

Family and clan structure.

The Shors were able to retain much of their ancient clan structure over the years. Each clan was traditionally led by a chief. Chiefs were elected in large clan gatherings. These gatherings was where important decisions, conflicts, and other issues were settled. Features of their society included matrilocal marriages, exogamy, a classisfactory system of kinship terms, and the belief in certain taboos that revolve around the former. Clans routinely organized communal hunts and shared the spoils equally among themselves. However, this clan system eroded beginning in the mid-nineteenth century under the Russian influence of separating families into individual units. A family now relied on a money economy and this soon resulted in wealth disparity and differentiation in Shor society.

Environment.

Environmental activist Alexander Arbachakov won a Whitley Award for his work preserving sustainable communities in Shor territory. The coal, iron, gold, and timber resources of the region are extracted by companies that show little regard to the Shors and the environment of the area. The Shors receive no direct financial benefits for the extraction of these minerals on their land. This has made some Shor feel attacked as minerals are often taken from places the Shors consider sacred.

Music.

Throat-singing is an ancient and traditional form of music in Shor culture. Epic stories about heroes and deities are popular and often accompanied by singing and the use of a kai-komus (two-stringed wooden instrument).

Education.

The first educational institution for the Shors was a missionary school that were established in the village of Kuzedevo around 1860. After 1867, the most talented graduates had the chance to continue their education at the College of Catechism in Kazan. However, the literacy rates of the Shors remained very low. The Soviets opened up ten schools and a children's home in 1921–22 in the village of Kabyrza. Within ten years, the number of schools in the region increased. Libraries and clubs were opened to abolish illiteracy. By 1932, a college to train teachers had 300 students and 70 of them were natives. By 1936, 114 schools (100 primary and 14 secondary) existed in the area. The use of Shor in the 1920s and the rising educational standards of the Shors led to an intellectual growth of the people. Scientists, teachers, doctors, writers, journalists, and clerks were represented within the Shors. Shor intellectual culture began to decline after the dissolution of the Shor National Region in 1939 and the removal of Shor as a language of instruction in schools in 1943. The teacher's college was closed while Shor intellectuals were repressed or killed fighting in the Great Patriotic War. The post-war period proved stagnant for Shor intellectual culture. The resurgence of the Shor identity beginning in the 1980s has led to a recent revival for traditional Shor culture and the establishment of new educational programs for native teachers, students, and the younger generation.

Shor mythology.

Creation myth.

The universe was originally empty until the god Ul'gen created the three skies. He placed his son Paktan in the lowest sky. He then placed a spirit called Keikush in the middle sky while he and his wife Chaasin lived in the upper sky. Ul'gen's younger brother, Erlik, decided to create things himself. Erlik created the mountains, birds, and other animals. Meanwhile, Ul'gen created man but didn't know to make human souls and as a result the man he created was nothing more than a lifeless husk. He then set out on a journey in search of a soul and left a hairless dog to protect man in his absence. Erlik saw his chance and made his way to the man. The dog refused to let him pass but Erlik made a deal with the dog. If the dog lets him pass, he'll give him fur. Erlik passed and the dog's body grew fur. Erlik proceeded towards the lifeless man, spat on him, rubbed dirt on him, and left.  Ul'gen returned with his aim failed and saw the condition of the man and dog. The dog revealed what happened and Ul'gen wondered whether Erlik knew how to create souls. He summoned Erlik and he replied that he knew how to create souls. With no other options, Ul'gen agreed that Erlik would create the soul of man if he can have their souls. However, the body of man would belong to Ul'gen. Erlik used a tube made out of a hollow angelica stem and placed the tube in man's mouth. Erlik blew the soul through the tube and into man's body. Ul'gen soon wanted to banish Erlik from Earth but Erlik pleaded to Ul'gen to give him a corner of land for him to live in. Ul'gen raised his staff and a hole opened up where it was resting. Snakes, insects, and other creatures crawled out onto the Earth and Erlik climbed down the hole to the underworld.

The worldview of the Shors.

The Shors traditionally believed that the universe was divided into three levels which were:  All these realms were said to be populated by spirits, humans, animals, and other creatures. The three worlds were linked via the axis of the World Tree or Mountain. The top of the World Tree housed the Heavenly Realm whilst its trunk passed through the Middle Earth and its roots reached down to the Underworld. The World Mountain was divided similarly with its peak connected to the Upper World and the foot of the mountain to the Earth.

Divisions of the Heavenly Realm.

The Heavenly realm is further divided into nine "skies". By ascending order these include:

Spirits and deities.

Traditional Shor religion is rich with deities and spirits. Some of the most revered or feared include:  Other popular deities the Shors recognized (along with other Turkic peoples) included:

References.

Flag of the Shor people

Shors or Shorians (Shor "шор-кижи") are a Turkic ethnic group native to Kemerovo Oblast of Russia. Their self designation is "Шор", or "Shor". They were also called Kuznetskie Tatars (кузнецкие татары), Kondoma Tatars (кондомские татары), Mras-Su Tatars (мрасские татары) in some of the documents of the 17th and 18th centuries.


Gameplay.

The player directly controls one member of a five-man team, with the object of carrying a football over the opposing team's goal line. The playing area is littered with hazards such as pits, bushes and logs. A ball carrier who trips over any of these, or who is punched by an opponent, fumbles the ball. The field is also laden with weapons: axes, maces, nooses, scythes, spears, swords and torches. A player can pick up one of these by running over it. It will appear at the top of the screen next to the player's score as a "concealed weapon", several weapons may be carried at once and one may be carried over after a touchdown. The ball carrier can be "grappled", essentially a mass tackle into which multiple characters can jump. Having a concealed weapon as well as having more characters jump into the grapple greatly increases a team's chance of gaining or retaining possession, although weapons cannot be used if both team captains are in the grapple. A character who is injured by a concealed weapon is out of play until a touchdown is scored.  If one team gets too far behind in score in the second half of the game, a computer-controlled troll is added to the losing side to help even the odds, and behaves more aggressively than regular players. Additionally, the troll cannot be killed by weapons. Up to two trolls can be in play at a time during a standard game (one per side or two on one side). During a one player "Pro Pigskin" game, if the computer-controlled team continues to lose heavily even after a troll has been added or falls behind very quickly early on, an option for a "Troll Bowl" will appear. If selected the player will face an entire team of trolls with only human players on their own side.  Gameplay tips are given between periods and statistics are given at the end of the game. Statistics cover Goals Scored, Injuries Inflicted and Pigskin Possession Time. Before the game we can read about teams background. Both teams are renegades bands. The blue band is led by Thor Akenbak, and the red one's captain is Atilla DeSoil.

Scoring.

A touchdown is worth six points, with a one-point bonus for keeping possession of the ball for longer than a minimum time. (Approximately 10 seconds)  It is possible to gain very high scores by eliminating most of the opposing team and then maintaining possession of the ball for as long as possible. Since a period can only end on a change of possession, a player can keep gaining single possession points well after the period clock has run out.

Controls.

Pigskin has two pass buttons, a punch button, and a button for selecting the team's strategy ("Block", "Scatter" and "Bad Attitude" when the player's team is in possession of the ball; "Get Ball", "Man-to-Man" and "Bad Attitude" when the opponent has it).

Sega Genesis version.

There is no scythe and torch. The music is shorter and plays at a lower volume. The game features soundbites from Atlanta Falcons coach Jerry Glanville. There is a hidden sound test.

Offers.

At one time, the makers of "Pigskin 621 A.D." offered tickets to the Super Bowl as part of a sweepstakes promotion associated with the arcade game. The game also advertised a free players handbook available by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to a specified post-office box.

Development.

Designers Jeff Nauman and Brian Colin had previously worked on the Midway Games "Arch Rivals" and "Rampage", which are referenced in the game's tagline "Ancient Archrivals on a Rampage."  "Pigskin" is the last of only seven games made for Midway's MCR-68k system before completely switching over to newer TMS34010 based systems.

Pigskin 621 A.D. is an arcade game released in 1990 by Bally Midway. One player can battle the computer, or two players can battle head-to-head. Two teams compete to score as many touchdowns as possible in the tradition of American football, but actual play is more similar to rugby football.


Improvements.

The 20D features a new sensor and a greater megapixel count (8.2 megapixels instead of 6.3) and retains the Canon 1.6x crop factor. The 20D supports USB 2.0. The 20D has a larger buffer and can shoot more frames per second. It also uses the E-TTL II flash metering system and uses the DIGIC II image processor.  The EOS 20D (with appropriate firmware updates) can also accept the Canon Wireless File Transmitter WFT-E1/E1A for fast file transfer to a remote file server, either through an ethernet cable or a Wi-Fi network.

Resolution.

The Canon EOS 20D has several resolution settings:

Features.

The 20D is the first Canon prosumer camera to use the EF-S lens mount; the first Canon EOS camera to use the mount was the 300D (the Digital Rebel in North America).

EOS 20Da.

Canon released the EOS 20Da on 14 February 2005 in Japan. It is a variant of the 20D designed for astrophotography. On 1 June 2005 Canon announced that the 20Da would be made available worldwide.  The main differences between the 20Da and 20D are the replacement of the "hot mirror" infra-red (IR) filter which covers the CMOS sensor on the 20D and live view mode.  In conventional photography, the IR filter is used to make the spectral response of the CMOS sensor more like that of the human eye. In this way, the pictures gathered by the sensor more closely resemble the world as we see it. In astro-photography, many objects of interest emit strongly in the red H-α line, which is heavily attenuated by the IR filter on the 20D. The IR filter of the 20Da passes 2.5 times more light at around this 656 nm wavelength as the filter of the 20D, allowing more fine detail to be revealed in long exposures of emission nebulae. As a side effect, the color balance is slightly altered in normal daylight photography.  It is extremely difficult to focus an extremely dim image with a reflex viewfinder; locking the mirror up and opening the shutter (live view) was introduced in the 20Da to address this issue. When used the camera provides a live image of the center of the field of view to allow focusing on a bright star. Live view for this application requires a lens which supports fully mechanical focus in manual mode, and is not suitable for normal daytime use.  Reviews report that image noise in the 20Da is lower than in the 20D, and equivalent to that of the 5D MkII.  The EOS 20Da was discontinued when the 30D was introduced in 2006. Canon produced no similar model for astrophotography for years, resulting in many astrophotographers making similar aftermarket modifications to later Canon models.  In April 2012, Canon announced the EOS 60Da which is the successor to the EOS 20Da.

Firmware.

The latest firmware available for the 20D (and believed to be the final update) is version 2.0.3, made available 23 August 2005, which improves the communication reliability with some CF cards and other minor changes.

The Canon EOS 20D is an 8.2-megapixel semi-professional digital single-lens reflex camera, initially announced on 19 August 2004 at a recommended retail price of US$1,499. It is the successor of the EOS 10D, and was succeeded by the EOS 30D in August 2006. It accepts EF and EF-S lenses and uses an APS-C sized image sensor.


Professional career.

Kansas City Royals.

Oakland traded him to Kansas City in, along with Mike Wood, as part of a three-way trade that sent Carlos Beltrán to the Houston Astros, Octavio Dotel from the Astros to the Athletics, and John Buck from the Astros to the Royals. Although he had been one of the most highly regarded prospects in the Oakland organization, he became available when the Athletics were able to sign Eric Chavez to a long-term contract.  Royals management did not expect Teahen to make the opening-day roster in ; however, after hitting.344 in spring training and after injuries sidelined potential third basemen Chris Truby and Chris Clapinski, the Royals announced Teahen would be their regular third baseman for 2005, and he made his major-league debut on April 4, 2005.  His first hit was a triple and he hit 4 homers in his last 17 games of 2005. Teahen hit.240 in his rookie season with KC. In, he hit.290 with 18 home runs and 69 RBIs. During July, he raised his performance level with 10 home runs and 35 RBIs during the 38 games ending August 2. He continued to hit well, but suffered an injury and had to have season-ending surgery on September 8.  Going into the season, Teahen moved from third base to right field because of the arrival of young prospect Alex Gordon. His HR total dropped alarmingly to only 7 homers, after hitting 18 the year prior. During the season, he hit two inside-the-park home runs (leading the majors), bringing his total for 2008 to 14 HRs.  While in Kansas City, Teahen was a spokesman and fundraiser for a program that gave children with physical or mental challenges the chance to play baseball. Since Teahen obtained dual Canadian-American citizenship in 2005, he was able to play for the Canadian team in the 2009 World Baseball Classic. In, he hit.271 with a career-high 34 doubles, 12 home runs and 50 RBI in 144 games with Kansas City. He made 99 starts at third base, 31 in right field and three at second.

Chicago White Sox.

On November 5, 2009, Teahen was traded by the Royals to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for infielders Chris Getz and Josh Fields. He later received the 2009 Hutch Award for his efforts on and off the field.  On December 8, Teahen and the White Sox agreed to a three-year, $14 million deal.

Toronto Blue Jays.

On July 27, 2011, Teahen was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays with Edwin Jackson for Jason Frasor and Zach Stewart. The Blue Jays designated him for assignment on January 9, 2012. He was released on January 17. In his one season with the Blue Jays, Teahen played in 27 games, mostly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement, and hit.190 with 1 home run and 3 RBI.

2012–2013.

Teahen signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals on February 6, 2012. Teahen spent the 2012 season with the Nationals Triple-A affiliate Syracuse Chiefs. According to the International League transactions page, Teahen declared free agency on November 2, 2012.  On November 26, 2012, Teahen signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. He started the 2013 season with the Reno Aces, but was released by the Diamondbacks at his request on May 20.  The Texas Rangers signed Teahen to a minor league deal on May 23, 2013,  On June 17, 2013 he signed a contract to play for the York Revolution in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball.  Teahen signed a minor-league contract with the San Francisco Giants on February 15, 2014. This contract did not include an invitation to major league spring training. He was released on March 19.  On December 15, it was reported that Teahen had retired.

2017.

On January 24, 2017, it was announced that Teahen would play in the semi-professional Italian Baseball League after signing with the Padua team.

Personal life.

Mark married Lauren McClain on December 31, 2010. They have three children. They also have three dogs, Espy, Ribi, and Ricki B. Espy has an account on Twitter.

Mark Thomas Teahen (born September 6, 1981) is an American-Canadian former professional baseball infielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and Toronto Blue Jays. He graduated from Yucaipa High School in 1999 and attended St. Mary's College in California. Teahen was drafted 39th overall in the 2002 draft by the Oakland Athletics with a sandwich pick between the first and second rounds. He was one of the featured players in the book "Moneyball", which claimed that he had the potential to become the next Jason Giambi.


Plot summary.

Kelvin "Kelley" Morse and Jasper Arnold become involved in a car race and accidentally damage a restaurant owned by Samantha Cavanaugh's parents. Both are sentenced to perform community service by repairing the damage. Although Kelley comes from a wealthy family and Jasper's parents are working-class, they soon find themselves fighting over the same girl, Samantha. While Jasper and Samantha have been dating publicly for years, in secret, Kelley and Samantha begin to spend time together. They soon find that they have more in common than they imagined, and they fall in love. Eventually, Jasper learns of their interlude and doesn't like it. During a trip to Kelley's home in Boston, Kelley reveals to Samantha that his mother killed herself. Samantha brings Kelley into the house and they sleep together. In the morning, after Sam makes Kelley breakfast, Kelley's father arrives and informs him he must attend college early and give up his fling with Samantha. Upon returning to the small town, Samantha's parents soon learn that their daughter's osteosarcoma has relapsed, which was initially discovered after a track injury, and now has only a few months to live. Samantha tells Kelley that she thinks everyone has their own heaven and it is made of a combination of all the things we loved in life. She says that his mother has Kelley with her in her heaven. When Kelley learns the awful truth, he must decide if he should obey his father's wishes and go to college or stay by the side of the first girl he's ever loved. In the end he returns to be with Samantha during her final months of life. At her funeral, Kelley recites a passage from a poem he and Sam loved. The film closes with a shot of Samantha running through a field in her version of heaven.

Reception.

Box office.

The film opened at #5 at the North American box office, making $4.5 million USD in its opening weekend.

Critical response.

"Here on Earth" received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes it has an approval rating of 17% based on reviews from 69 critics. On Metacritic the film has a score of 25% based on reviews from 24 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".  Mick LaSalle of the "San Francisco Chronicle" praised Leelee Sobieski for her performance.  Roger Ebert criticized the film for its sentimentality. Paul Cullum of L.A. Weekly called the film "Complete and utter horseshit."

Soundtrack.

The single from the movie "Where You Are" by Jessica Simpson & Nick Lachey is a success and top 22 at the US Mainstream Top 40.  "Black Balloon" by Goo Goo Dolls and "Breakout" by Foo Fighters are played during the film, but do not appear on the soundtrack album.

Here on Earth is a 2000 American romantic drama film directed by Mark Piznarski from a screenplay by Michael Seitzman. The film stars Chris Klein, Leelee Sobieski, and Josh Hartnett. The original music score was composed by Kelly Jones and Andrea Morricone.


Characteristics.

In line with the traditional structure of Korean ships, the panokseon had a U-shaped hull and a flat keel. This feature was due to the nature of the Korean coastal waters, which have a large tidal range and flat, expansive tidal plains. A flat keel enables a ship to sit comfortably on the tideland when the tide is out, after coming ashore or inside a wharf at high water. It also ensured greater mobility and a shallow draft and in particular allowed a ship to make sharp changes of direction at short notice. This panokseon was one of the main reasons why Admiral Yi was able to employ the Crane Wing formation at the Battle of Hansan Island with great success.  Panokseons were propelled by both sails and oars. Of the two basic types of sail, square and lateen, the square gives a strong performance downwind but struggles windward, whereas the fore-and-aft lateen excels against the wind, though requiring a large crew to handle it. In the West, square sails were used in the galleys of Ancient Greece and the Viking longships, and the fore-and-aft variety as early as the Mediterranean dromons of the Middle Ages. When the Age of Discovery began in the fifteenth century, multiple-masted ships equipped with both types of sails eventually appeared. In Korea fore-and-aft sail equipped ships had been in use since the eighth century. The panokseon and turtle ship therefore had two masts by default, and their position and angle could easily be managed so that the sails could be used in all winds, whether adverse or favorable.  The ships had two to three levels stacked up on top of each other. By having multiple levels the rowers at the bottom were relatively safe, and marines at the top would have a height advantage over the enemy, firing down upon them and avoiding boarding of the ship. The upper deck had a tower in the middle of the ship that would be used for command and observation. The deck of the panokseon was broad and flat, making it ideal for the installation of cannons.  Panokseons came in different sizes, the largest vessels estimated to range between and in length. The ship usually had 8 to 10 oars on each side, 50 to 60 oarsman and sailors and another 125 marines (i.e. fighting men).

Construction.

Because of the rough waters around Korea's coast, as well as the sudden changes in tides and currents, Korean boats throughout history had to be strong. Korean ship building tradition created simple, but very structurally sound vessels. Throughout Korea's naval history, strength and power was emphasized rather than speed.  Two types of woods were used to construct panokseon: pine for the hull and oak for the pegs and masts. Oak is a strong but heavy wood, so its use on ships was limited to the frame. Pine was also strong, but much lighter. Pine was usually allowed to season incompletely so that it would bend flexibly and not become too stiff. Despite its advantages pine had many knots and had to be cut thickly, thus the panokseon were built using thicker timbers. Instead of iron nails panokseons were held together by means of oak pegs, matching indentations, and interlocking teeth. This meant that as its boards absorbed water and expanded the fasteners did not rust, thus accounting for greater integrity of the hull.

Weapons.

Panokseons had on board several varieties of cannon, such as those named Heaven, Earth, Black and Yellow. Heaven was the largest cannon with the greatest range and the most common cannon on the ships. Earth was a smaller cannon and Black and Yellow were smaller still. The Heaven cannon fired "daejŏn" (a long, thick arrow in the shape of a rocket) with a range of, as well as "jeolhwan" (cannon shot) which could travel up to a distance of. Wangu, a kind of mortar, which fired stones or shells with a radius of, was also used by the Korean navy. Hwachas were also used on panokseons.  Another noteworthy aspect of Korea’s heavy fire-arms is that they were not all invented to meet the sudden emergency of war. These weapons in fact made their appearance some 200 years prior to Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98). Thanks to the efforts of Choe Museon, a general and a chemist, Korea began manufacturing and developing gunpowder and powder-based weapons. Korean cannons first saw action in 1380 against a large fleet of Japanese pirate ships, and were found to be a great success.  In the 15th century, under the lead of Sejong the Great, who was himself a pioneer of scientific research, the performance of these heavy artillery improved dramatically. Having built a cannon range next to the Royal Court, and after much experimentation and study, King Sejong finally increased the extent of the cannons’ firepower from to. Naval cannons were also developed at this time and among them, Heaven, Earth, Black and Yellow cannon were later employed by Yi Sun-sin. The development of artillery steadily continued after King Sejong, and saw the invention of the "bigyeokjincholloe", a timed grenade that flung out hundreds of metal shards upon explosion, and the "dapoki", a machine capable of firing many arrows at once. One of the types of cannons were arrows with a pipe filled with gunpowder.

Comparison to Japanese warships.

The differences between the Panokseon and Japanese ships were significant. Japanese equivalents were the large Atakebune class and the medium Sekibune-class ships. In contrast to the Panokseon, the hulls of the Japanese vessels had sharp, V-shaped bows. A sharp underside was favorable for swift or long-distance travel in the open seas because of lower water resistance (thus these ships had faster cruising speeds). Since this variety of hull had a deep draft (penetrates deeper into the water), however, the ship’s turning radius was considerably large and changing direction was therefore a lengthy process. In addition, ships with larger drafts have a more difficult time of navigating narrow and shallower waters. Japanese ships were thus vastly less maneuverable than the panokseon in Korea's narrow channel waters.  The medium-sized Sekibune ships, smaller craft and most Japanese transport ships had a single mast and could only sail in favorable winds. The Atakebune was an exception in that it had two masts, but the main parts of its vessels were square-rigged and their sails were again limited to use in favorable winds.  It is worthwhile also to compare the hulls of the two nations’ respective warships, and their relative strength. The panokseon used thick, high density boards, giving an overall sturdiness to the ship’s structure. Japanese warships were structurally weaker, due to the thin, lower density timber used to build them, particularly cedar and fir. These were light weight woods and because they didn't have as many knots as pine, could be cut thinner. The Sekibune in particular, being the standard warship of the Japanese fleet, was built to be as light as possible, increasing its speed at the expense of structural integrity. This is consistent with traditional Japanese naval tactics of the time, which emphasized boarding enemy ships and engaging their crews in hand-to-hand combat.  Another major difference was the use of iron nails versus the use of wood pegs to hold the ship together. Korean ships were held together by interlocking teeth in the wood and wood pegs. The Japanese warships, on the other hand, relied on iron nails which, as time passed and corrosion and rust set in, eventually weakened the hull.  This difference in structural integrity also determined the number of cannons that could be carried on board. Because the Japanese ships lacked the strength to withstand the recoil of cannon, even the largest ship class, Atakebune, could carry only four at most (six if there were two smaller breech loading swivel guns). A Sekibune could only carry two. A panokseon could carry at least 20 cannons, but usually carried more (maybe up to 50). Since the hulls of Korean warships were strong enough, moreover, they were able to carry a large number of long-range cannons. These could be installed with ease on the large upper-deck of panokseon ships, and their angle configured at will to increase the range. Since the Japanese warships only allowed for a very limited number of cannons, their sailors mainly used muskets, which had a range of 100–200 m (330–660 ft) and Japanese naval commanders were sure that a volley of musket bullets would clear the enemy ships and allow for the grapple and board method.  The traditional and main naval strategy employed by the Japanese was that of "grapple-and-board", whereby sailors would attempt to board an enemy ship and fall to sword fighting on the decks. This method was mainly used because Japanese soldiers excelled at melee combat and because their ships were very fast. The Japanese Navy's concept of sea battle was therefore one of a fight between crews rather than the vessels themselves. This was the most common naval strategy in the world during this time, and was also used by the Spanish and the home fleets of the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean of the day. The Korean Navy, however, utilizing superior warships and firepower, engaged in a more modern, distanced kind of naval warfare. During Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, a vast number of Japan's transports and warships were destroyed by Admiral Yi Sun-shin's leadership and strategies, superior firepower, and knowledge of strategic points on what amounts to a home field advantage.

Panokseon ("board roofed" ship) was an oar and sail propelled ship that was the main class of warship used by Joseon during the late 16th century. The first ship of this class was constructed in 1555. It was a ship made of sturdy pine wood, and was instrumental in the victories over the numerically superior Japanese Navy during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–98). Admiral Yi Sun-sin (1545–98) of the Joseon navy employed them alongside turtle ships during the war with great success.


Background and family life.

Narokobi was born around 1943 in Wautogik village, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea, to his father Anton (Kukum) Narokobi and mother Maria Mokoi and was the second eldest of five siblings. His siblings were Veronica, Apolonia, Caroline and Camillus. Camillus his younger and only brother is intending to stand for the Wewak Open seat. Camillus is also a lawyer in his own right at the family law firm, Narokobi Lawyers. Narokobi's father Anton was taught by pioneer Catholic missionaries and became one of the early catechists who served the people of Boiken and Dagua villages through teaching the Catholic faith. Narokobi was a widower, having lost his wife Regina to breast cancer in 2007. He had 7 children: Vergil, Daniel, Anna, Justina, Ottonia, Benedine and Regina (twins). His son Vergil is also a lawyer and after completing a bachelor's degree in law with honours at the University of Papua New Guinea, he went on to do his Masters in law at Cambridge University. His daughter Anna has also recently completed her degree in law in Australia.  Few paper records exist of Narokobi's early life, but it appears that he started primary education at around the age of ten or twelve, roughly around 1952. He began school at the Dagua Catholic Mission and then attended Brandi High School in Wewak, East Sepik Province. In 1959 he was taught by Michael Somare who later became the first Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea. From Brandi High School he went on to matriculate at the then Kerevat Senior High School in East New Britain Province, where he met another future Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Rabbie Namaliu. In 1966 Narokobi went off to Australia where he undertook a degree in law at the University of Sydney, where he received an LLB in 1972. In that same year he was made a barrister in the New South Wales. Narokobi was amongst the first few Papua New Guineans to receive education abroad. In those days, preparations were underway for Papua New Guinea to gain political independence from Australia. Soon after completing his law degree, Narokobi was recruited to become the Permanent Consultant to the Constitutional Planning Committee that was chaired by his former teacher Michael Somare. Narokobi thus had a personal hand in the writing of what became the Constitution when Papua New Guinea gained independence in 1975.  Narokobi died in March 2010 after a brief illness. Prime Minister Michael Somare paid tribute to him as "a humble man who dedicated his life to the development of a legal regime that incorporates Melanesian values".

Political career.

After Papua New Guinea gained independence, Narokobi held several jobs including serving as the legal advisor to the provincial government in his home province, East Sepik, he also worked as a private lawyer, a lecturer in law at the University of Papua New Guinea and had a stint as an acting judge in the Papua New Guinea National and Supreme Courts. He has published a number of papers and articles which are scattered in various journals and several books including "The Melanesian Way"; "Life and Leadership in Melanesia " and "Lo Bilong Yumi Yet" and a short book of fiction entitled "Two Seasons".  Narokobi aligned with a team of like minded Papua New Guineans to start their Melanesian Alliance Party. The original founders of this Party include John Momis, John Kaputin and Moi Avei. John Momis was the Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Planning Committee which recruited Narokobi as their Permanent Consultant. Narokobi became actively involved in politics when he decided to contest the national elections in 1982 where he ran an unsuccessful campaign against his former teacher Michael Somare for the East Sepik Regional Seat. Learning from his failed election in 1982, Narokobi entered Parliament in 1987 after toppling Tony Bais in the Wewak Open Electorate. He enjoyed three terms as the Member for Wewak and was defeated in the 2002 elections. As a lawyer and thinker, Narokobi was a firm believer in human rights, a staunch advocate of Melanesian philosophy and identity, and he supported strongly the call for a free and independent West Papua. He was also a devout and a highly respected member of the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea.

References.

2. Extract from Bernard Narokobi's "The Melanesian Way"  3. Extract from Utula Samana's "Papua New Guinea: Which Way?" re. Narokobi's influence

Bernard Mullu Narokobi (1943 – March 2010) was a Papua New Guinean politician, jurist, and philosopher. He was serving as the Papua New Guinean High Commissioner to New Zealand prior to his death. Between 1987 and 1997 he represented his Wewak Open Electorate as a Member in the Papua New Guinea's National Parliament. During his time as a Member of Parliament (MP), he served as the Minister for Justice (1988–1992) in the government led by the then Prime Minister Rabbie Namaliu; Agriculture Minister (1992–1994) under the leadership of Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan led government; and Opposition Leader between 1998 and 2002, and Speaker of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, until he lost his seat to the then Wewak MP Kimson Kare during the 2002 elections. He was displaced as a minister in the Chan government for failing to vote in favour of constitutional reforms in the provincial system of government.


The author.

Silvana De Mari, born in 1953 in Caserta, Italy, is a writer, psychotherapist, and doctor. She lives in Turin with her family. She has a private psychotherapy practice, and formerly worked as a surgeon in both Italy and Ethiopia. "L'ultimo elfo", her third children's book, was the first to be translated into English. It has also been translated into French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, and several other languages.

Plot summary.

In a two-part tale, the reader embarks on a journey of humor, sorrow, and tenderness, within a story of cultures colliding, highlighting a young orphaned elf, the last on earth, named Yorsh, full name Yorshkrunsquarklejolnerstrink. His village has been destroyed by torrential rain, and he finds himself living in a world plagued by intolerance, shrouded in darkness, hungry, cold, and wet. Upon meeting and being reluctantly befriended by a hunter named Monser and Sajra, a woman, Yorsh learns of a prophecy and of his importance in saving the world of this Dark Age. To fulfill the prophecy and bring the world into an age where the sun will shine again, he must first find another bereaved creature: the last dragon. Upon discovering the dragon, Yorsh decides to stay and keep him company.  The second part of the story takes place thirteen years later; the dragon dies leaving him with an egg. Yorsh takes upon the task of raising the young dragon. Yorsh, coming to miss deeply his companions the hunter and the woman, journeys back to the old village to find their daughter Robi, and learns of the hanging they endured for protecting him. Saddened, Yorsh decides he will protect the young orphaned Robi. Deciding to leave, the elf, young dragon, and Robi move to a new country, forming a new constitution to govern the population of their new world, “No one can hit anybody... And you can’t hang people, either.”

Sequels.

The story of Yorsh continues in "L'ultimo orco" "(The Last Ogre)", published in Italy in 2005. Further books in the saga are "Gli ultimi incantesimi" "(The Last Spells)" (2008) and "L'ultima profezia" "(The Last Prophecy)" (2010). The sequels have not as yet been published in English language editions.

Selected editions.

Italian  French  Spanish  Latvian  English  Portuguese  German  Lithuanian

Quotation.

"The Human was extremely tall. On its head it had yellowish hair coiled like a rope. It had no hair on its face. And yet his grandmother had been very categorical about that. Humans have hair on their faces. It's called a beard. Its one of the many things that distinguish them from elves. The little elf concentrated, trying to remember, then it came to him.  "You must be a female man," he concluded triumphantly.  "The word is woman, fool," said the human.  "Oh, sorry, sorry, woman-fool, I be more careful, I call right name, woman-fool"..."

The Last Dragon is a children's fantasy novel by Silvana De Mari, first published in Italy in 2004 under the title "L'ultimo elfo". Set in a post-apocalyptic world, it follows the journey of the last elf as he seeks out the last dragon so that the world can be renewed. Translated into English by Shaun Whiteside, it was published in the US by Miramax Books in 2006. It has also been published in the UK as The Last Elf.


Family.

Peña is the son of Tony Peña and the brother of Francisco Peña. His uncle, Ramón Peña, pitched for the Detroit Tigers in 1989.

Playing career.

Atlanta Braves.

A non-drafted free agent, Peña was signed on July 21, 1999 by the Atlanta Braves. He made his big league debut with Atlanta on April 13, 2006. His first Major League hit came on April 21 at Washington against the Nationals. He appeared in 40 games for the Braves, batting.227 with a home run and three RBIs in 44 at-bats.

Kansas City Royals.

On March 23, 2007, Peña was traded to Kansas City for pitching prospect Erik Cordier. In Peña's first game as a Royal, he hit two triples. Peña finished 2007, his first full season, at.267/.284/.356 with two homers and 47 RBIs. He also hit seven triples and stole five bases. Pena lost his job as a regular starter in the middle of 2008. From June through the end of 2008, Pena mainly entered games as a defensive replacement. Pena made his major league pitching debut on July 21, performing mop-up duty in a 19–4 blowout loss to the Detroit Tigers. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout of Iván Rodríguez. Pena made 75 plate appearances in 46 games through the last four months of the 2008 season and was designated for assignment by the Kansas City Royals on July 16, 2009.

San Francisco Giants.

On December 11, 2009, Peña, signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants to try to be a pitcher and was placed with the Richmond Flying Squirrels, the Giants' AA team.

Boston Red Sox.

On January 5, 2011, he signed a minor-league deal with the Boston Red Sox.

Vaqueros Laguna.

Pena was released by the Vaqueros Laguna on June 16, 2016.

Saraperos de Saltillo.

On June 19, 2016, Peña signed with the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican Baseball League.

Olmecas de Tabasco.

On May 19, 2017, Peña was released by the Olmecas de Tabasco of the Mexican Baseball League.

Second Stint with Royals.

On May 30, 2017, Peña signed a minor league deal with the Kansas City Royals.  Manager of the AZL Royals during 2019 season

Tony Francisco Peña (born March 23, 1981) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. Peña played shortstop until the 2009 season, when he converted to pitching.