William Becknell

William Becknell (1787 or 1788 – April 30, 1865) was an American soldier, politician, and freight operator who is credited with opening the Santa Fe Trail in 1821, which became an early major transportation route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. It served as a vital commercial highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880. Becknell had used long-established trails made by Native Americans and Spanish and French colonial explorers and traders for years before his trip.

French colonists in St. Louis had a monopoly on trade with Santa Fe, which was granted by the Spanish crown before the Louisiana Purchase. When Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821, it opened up trade to its territories; residents of Santa Fe were eager for more trade goods. In 1822, Becknell altered his route to Santa Fe in order to find a trail more suitable for wagon trains so that he could enable transport of more trade goods. Earlier travelers had ridden on horseback trailing packhorses. By 1825, he assisted a surveyor with the federal government in mapping the trail to make it available for commercial and military use.

Early life

William Alexander Becknell was born in the Rockfish Creek area of Amherst County, Virginia to parents Micajah and Pheby (Landrum) Becknell. Conflicting sources say his year of birth was 1787 or 1788. Young Becknell's father and grandfather were veterans of the American Revolution, as were two uncles who died in the war.

Becknell married Jane Trusler in 1807 in Virginia. In 1810 the young family migrated to the new Missouri Territory, homesteading west of present-day St. Charles. During the War of 1812, Becknell served in the United States Mounted Rangers under Captain Daniel Morgan Boone, son of the famed explorer. He participated in several engagements, including the Battle of Credit Island and the defense of Fort Clemson, near St. Louis. In the latter engagement, he took control of the defense after senior officers fell. For this he was promoted to the rank of Captain, and was long known as Captain Becknell. Following his discharge from Federal service in June 1815, Becknell moved west to the area known as the Boonslick in central Missouri.

Jane Becknell died of unknown circumstance around the time of her husband's military discharge, possibly in childbirth.  In January 1817 the widower married again, to Mary Cribb. According to U.S. Census Bureau records, Becknell was the father of at least five children in total: Mary Jane born in 1815, John Calhoun born in 1817, William Alexander Jr. also born in 1817, Lucy born in 1818, and Cornelia born in 1827. Becknell supported his family by working as a ferryman on the Missouri river and by managing the Boone's Lick Salt Works. In early 1820 he purchased 180 acres in Howard County, Missouri and moved the family there.

Trailblazer
In 1821 William Becknell faced substantial debt. He had bought out the Boone family interest in the aforementioned salt works around 1818. In 1820 Becknell ran unsuccessfully for the Missouri Legislature and borrowed money to finance the campaign. The Panic of 1819 took its toll on his business activities by limiting the amount of credit and hard currency available. Owing creditors more than $1,200 dollars ($20,000 in today's money), Becknell was briefly jailed until a friend posted bail. The judge in the case gave Becknell until early 1822 to pay his creditors or face more jail time.

Under pressure, Becknell left Franklin in September 1821 on an extended trading trip, including hunting for furs, as the fur trade was still lucrative. He bought $300 worth of trade goods for his trip. According to an advertisement Becknell placed in the Missouri Intelligencer newspaper, his intent was "for the purpose of trading for horses and mules and catching wild animals of every description." Becknell and his group were not the only ones searching for a convenient trade route to Santa Fe, but that fall they were the first to arrive, in mid-November 1821. Becknell's timing was near perfect.

Mexico had recently become independent of Spain. It lifted the ban against trade with outsiders. French colonists from St. Louis had traded with Santa Fe when both were still under Spanish rule before the Louisiana Purchase. The Chouteau brothers of St. Louis had been given a monopoly with the Spanish for trade in Santa Fe, and this trade contributed to the wealth of the river city.

The people of Santa Fe were eager for the variety of goods Becknell offered from his string of pack horses. They were willing to pay high prices, with some cotton cloth and calico bringing the then-unheard of sum of three dollars a yard. After a month of trading, Becknell and his party left Santa Fe on December 13 with their saddlebags overflowing with silver. His investment of $300 in trading goods had returned approximately $6000 in coin.

Reaching Missouri in January 1822, Becknell almost immediately began planning his next trading trip to Santa Fe. For his second journey, he chose to haul trade goods by wagon instead of pack horse. He had to slightly alter his original route to accommodate the width of wagons and draft teams. The wagon train left Franklin in May 1822 and suffered considerable hardship, with both animals and people nearly dying of thirst in the parched Cimarron Desert. The 'train' arrived in Santa Fe forty-eight days later. The second trip proved to be even more profitable than the first. Taking an estimated $3,000 in goods to Santa Fe, Becknell's party returned with a profit of around $91,000 dollars. They paid some of that total as dividends to shareholders who had helped fund the trip, and even the smallest investor reaped great returns.

Becknell made a third profitable trip to Santa Fe in 1824. The following year in 1825, he helped map the trail for surveyors hired by the U.S. Congress. For his efforts in opening up an improved route for regular traffic and military movement, William Becknell became known as the Father of the Santa Fe Trail

Later life
In 1827 Becknell was appointed as a Justice of the Peace for Saline County, Missouri. The following year he was elected to the first of two terms in the Missouri House of Representatives. Retaining his rank of Captain, Becknell served in the Missouri state militia during a Native American uprising in 1829 and again during the 1832 Black Hawk War.

In 1835 Becknell sold all his Missouri property and business interests and moved to present-day Red River County, Texas in northeast Texas. During the Texas War of Independence, Becknell organized and led a cavalry unit known as the Red River Blues. Later he would serve briefly as a Texas Ranger and as a member of the legislature in the newly established Republic of Texas.

Becknell died on April 30, 1865, at his home. He is buried in a private family cemetery. US 82 passes by the site a few miles west of Clarksville, Texas.


Marcus Minucius Rufus

Marcus Minucius Rufus (died August 2, 216 BC) was a Roman consul in 221 BC. He was also Magister Equitum during the dictatorship of Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus known as Cunctator.

He was a political enemy of Fabius Maximus. He was against his delaying defensive strategy during the Second Punic War. While the Carthaginians had been busy at Geronium, Fabius had left Minucius in charge of the Roman army with instructions to follow the "Fabian strategy" and journeyed to Rome to observe some religious duties. Minucius, who had always advocated a more forward strategy against Hannibal, moved down from the hills after a few days and set up a new camp in the plain of Larinum to the north of Geronium. The Romans then began harassing the Carthaginian foragers from their new camp as Minucius sought to provoke Hannibal into battle. Hannibal in response moved near the Roman camp from Geronium with two thirds of his army, built a temporary camp and occupied a hill overlooking the Roman camp with 2,000 Numidian spearmen. The mobility of the Carthaginians was restricted at this time as their cavalry horses were being rested. This had also deprived Hannibal of his best weapon against the Romans, a fact which would come into play soon.

Minucius promptly attacked and drove back the spearmen posted on the hill, and then moved his camp to the top of the captured hill. The stage was set for a confrontation, with the initiative resting with Minucius. The Roman commander, for all his rashness, handled the situation with skill and shrewdness to manipulate the events to his advantage. After that he was named co-commander to Fabius. However Minucius finally accepted his commands after Fabius saved his life during Hannibal's attack at Geronium.

Marcus Minucius Rufus was killed in the Battle of Cannae.

Notes and references

Rufus, Marcus


Get Skintight

Get Skintight is the third studio album by the American rock band The Donnas, released in 1999 (See 1999 in music) on Lookout!.

As of 2005 it has sold 58,000 units in United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Track listing
All songs written by Brett Anderson, Torry Castellano, Maya Ford and Allison Robertson except as noted.
"Skintight" – 2:36
"Hyperactive" – 2:15
"You Don't Wanna Call" – 4:01
"Hook It Up" – 2:36
"Doin' Donuts" – 1:36
"Searching the Streets" – 2:58
"Party Action" – 2:22
"I Didn't Like You Anyway" – 3:57
"Get Outta My Room" – 2:21
"Well Done" – 2:35
"Get You Alone" – 2:21
"Hot Boxin'" – 2:31
"Too Fast for Love" (Nikki Sixx) – 3:29
"Zero" – 2:28

Personnel
 Donna A. (Brett Anderson) – vocals
 Donna R. (Allison Robertson) – guitar, vocals
 Donna F. (Maya Ford) – bass guitar
 Donna C. (Torry Castellano) – drums, percussion, vocals

Production
Producers: Jeff McDonald, Steve McDonald
Engineer: Robert Shimp
Mixing: The Donnas, Robert Shimp
Mastering: John Golden
Layout design: Chris Appelgren


Matheson, New South Wales

Matheson, New South Walesis  civil parish of Manara County and a rural locality of Central Darling Shire in far western New South Wales.

Matheson is located at 32°49′35″S 144°12′59″E and the area is hot and arid and as such there are no settlements with Matheson but the nearest town is Ivanhoe 3 kilometers to the south east.


Meet the Mormons

Meet the Mormons is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Blair Treu and produced by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). The film documents the lives of six devout Mormons living in the United States, Costa Rica, and Nepal. The LDS Church donated all net proceeds from the theatrical release of the film to the American Red Cross.

Production
The film was originally designed for viewing in the Legacy Theater in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City, but after screenings with test audiences, LDS Church leadership decided to release the film first in theaters across the United States. According to Jeffrey R. Holland, the film is "not a proselytizing effort but informative" and is an "opportunity to share who Mormons really are". The film is financed and distributed by the LDS Church, a first for the church. It is shot in documentary format and will be translated into 10 languages.

American singer-songwriter and actor David Archuleta sang the track "Glorious" for the film.

Featured people
The film features Jermaine Sullivan, "The Bishop", and his family. Sullivan is an African-American who is an academic counselor at the University of Phoenix. He was bishop of a ward in Atlanta, Georgia when the film was made, and now serves as a stake president. The film also covers Sullivan's wife and children. Darius Gray was among the associates of Sullivan interviewed.

"The Coach", Ken Niumatalolo, head football coach at the United States Naval Academy.

"The Fighter", Carolina Muñoz Marin, an MMA fighter from Costa Rica who had a chance to go pro international, but she and her husband decided it would separate their family too much.

"The Humanitarian", Bishnu Adhikari, a man from Nepal, with a degree in engineering who is the country director for Choice Humanitarian in Nepal. The organization works to improve the living situation in rural parts of Nepal.

"The Candy Bomber", Gail Halvorsen, the United States Air Force pilot best known as the "Berlin Candy Bomber" who dropped candy to children during the Berlin airlift from 1948 to 1949.

"The Missionary Mom", Dawn Armstrong, her story is chronicled from the birth of a son when she was a teenager, abandonment by his biological father, meeting her current husband - who had both her oldest son and her deceased next oldest son sealed to him when they were married in the temple, to her oldest son leaving to serve a mission.

Release
Meet the Mormons was released on October 10, 2014, in the United States by Purdie Distribution and Excel Entertainment. The LDS Church donated all net proceeds from the theatrical release of film to the American Red Cross. Beginning January 2015, the LDS Church began showing the film in all of its visitors' centers and historical sites.

Theme song
The theme song from the documentary was "Glorious" originally written and recorded by Stephanie Mabey. It is found in her album Wake Up Dreaming released on August 1, 2012.

For the film version, the song was sung by David Archuleta, a finalist in season 7 of American Idol. The Archuleta version was released as a single in English language accompanied by a music video. An alternative Spanish version as "Glorioso" was also released again sung by Archuleta.

Reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 18% based on 11 reviews, with an average rating of 5.2 out of 10. On Metacritic the film has a score of 29 out of 100 based on reviews from 6 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

The film has been criticized as propaganda. Critics felt the documentary lacked information about Mormon history, its tenets, and its controversies. Producer Jeff Roberts responded to these reviews saying, "Most reviewers wanted the movie to be controversial, but we wanted to tell stories about those who make up our base." Some reviewers praised the movie for its "slick" cinematography.

The film grossed $2,509,808 in its opening weekend, placing it outside the top 10. , it is listed 34th in revenue-producing documentary films.


Manche (disambiguation)

Manche is a French department in Lower Normandy.

Manche or La Manche may also refer to:
 English Channel ()
 Daniel Manche (born 1993), American child actor
 French frigate Manche (1806)
 La Manche, Newfoundland and Labrador, a former community in Canada
 La Manche Provincial Park, in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
 Manche Ch'ol, a former Maya people
 Manche Sanchez, a character on the television series Prison Break
 Neck (music), part of musical instruments, particularly used in French music


Manzil (1995 film)

Manzil is a 1995 Maldivian drama film directed by Mariyam Shauqee and Arifa Ibrahim. Produced by Shauqee, the film stars Abdulla Munaz, Aishath Shirani, Mariyam Nisha and Arifa Ibrahim in pivotal roles.

Premise
An intelligent and honest orphan, Zahidha (Aishath Shirani) moves out of her sister's house unable to tolerate their verbal abuse and settles as a maid at Arifa Ibrahim's house where she befriends her only daughter, Nazima (Mariyam Nisha). As days pass by, her commitment to work is noted by the house owner and the elder son, Nadheem (Abdulla Munaz) while she is bullied by the younger son, Waheed (Mohamed Aboobakuru).

Cast
 Abdulla Munaz as Nadheem
 Aishath Shirani as Zahidha
 Mariyam Nisha as Nazima
 Mohamed Aboobakuru as Waheed
 Fathimath
 Arifa Ibrahim
 Ibrahim Shakir
 Zareena Yoosuf
 Hawwa Enee
 Gamini
 Suneetha Ali as Jeeza

Soundtrack


Denver Heights, West Virginia

Denver Heights is an unincorporated community in Marshall County, West Virginia.


Aroga hulthemiella

Aroga hulthemiella is a moth of the family Gelechiidae. It is found in northern Iran.


Zero Tolerance (1999 film)

Zero Tolerance () is a Swedish action film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 29 October 1999, directed by Anders Nilsson. It is the first film in the series about police officer Johan Falk (Jakob Eklund) and is followed by Executive Protection in 2001 and The Third Wave and 2003.

Plot
Johan Falk, a Gothenburg police officer and former member of Nationella insatsstyrkan, gets involved in a shooting on Christmas Eve. He saves the life of a little girl but is then drawn into a stream of events and he ends up being the accused. In the search for the truth he sees no other way than to take the law into his own hands, and becomes hunted by his own colleagues.

Cast (selection)
Jakob Eklund - Johan Falk
Peter Andersson - Leo Gaut
Lennart Hjulström -  Ola Sellberg
Sonny Johnson -  Thorsen
Marie Richardson - Helen Andersson
Fredrik Dolk - Peter Kroon


Timpa Lake

Timpa Lake is a small alpine lake in Elmore County, Idaho, United States, located in the Sawtooth Mountains in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.  The lake is accessed from Sawtooth National Forest trail 479 along Timpa Creek Creek.

Timpa Lake is in the Sawtooth Wilderness, and a wilderness permit can be obtained at a registration box at trailheads or wilderness boundaries.  It is downstream of Chickadee Lake, Surprise Lake, Confusion Lake, and Low Pass Lake.


Cristovam Roberto Ribeiro da Silva

Cristovam Roberto Ribeiro da Silva (born 25 July 1990), simply known as Cristovam, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a right back for Guarani, on loan from Paraná.

Club career
On 27 June 2013, FK Senica signed Cristovam together with his teammate Hiago on one-year loan with option to buy from Brazilian club Arapongas. He made his debut for FK Senica on 13 July 2013 against FC Spartak Trnava, Senica defeated Spartak Trnava 2-1. On 29 December 2017, Cristovam joined K League 1 club Suwon Samsung Bluewings.

Cristovam joined Ceará for the 2019 season.


Viktor Gozhy

Viktor Spiridonovich Gozhy (; born 10 July 1946, in Ukraine) is a Russian politician, former First vice-chairman of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast. He is the next in the line of succession after the Chairman of the Government, Nikolay Mikhaylovich Volkov.


Dar Gol (disambiguation)

Dar Gol is a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran.

Dar Gol () may also refer to:
 Dar Gol-e Seyyed Hasan, Kermanshah Province
 Dar Gol-e Seyyed Salim, Kermanshah Province
 Dar Gol-e Teymaz, Kermanshah Province
 Dar Gol, Lorestan


Bouteflika

Bouteflika is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Abdelaziz Bouteflika (born 1937), Algerian president 1999-2019
 (born 1958), Abdelaziz' brother and one of his advisors


Tryvannstårnet

Tryvannstårnet is a 118-metre (387 feet) tall broadcasting tower near Oslo, located 529 metres (1,736 feet) above mean sea level on the summit of Tryvannshøyden hill overlooking lake Tryvann.

Tryvannstårnet was built in 1962 and has an observation deck at a height of 60 metres (197 feet), from which, weather conditions permitting, the view extends to the border with Sweden and Gaustatoppen mountain. The observation deck was closed in 2005 because of new fire safety regulations which would have required expensive modifications which coincided  with rapidly declining visitor numbers. In the 1980s and 1990s annual visitor numbers averaged 100,000, but in the last year it was open to the public, only 25,000.

There is a large underground shelter beneath Tryvannstårnet.


Edward O'Brien, 14th Baron Inchiquin

Edward Donough O'Brien, 14th Baron Inchiquin KP (14 May 1839 – 9 April 1900) was the holder of a hereditary peerage in the Peerage of Ireland, as well as Chief of the Name of O'Brien and Prince of Thomond in the Gaelic Irish nobility. In 1862, he was appointed High Sheriff of Clare.

Born the eldest son of Lucius O'Brien, 13th Baron Inchiquin and Mary Fitzgerald. He took the title in March 1872, upon the death of his father, and was appointed a Knight of the Order of St. Patrick on 5 August 1892.

He married firstly Emily Holmes-á Court, the daughter of William Holmes-á Court, 2nd Baron Heytesbury, and together they had four children; Geraldine Mary O'Brien (1863-?), Lucius William O'Brien, 15th Baron Inchiquin (1864-1929), Murrogh O'Brien (1866-1934), and Edward Donough O'Brien (1867-1943).

He then married Ellen Harriet, the daughter of Luke White, 2nd Baron Annaly, with whom he had a further ten children. One daughter, Beatrice, married Guglielmo Marconi, the radio pioneer.


First Greceanîi Cabinet

The First Greceanîi Cabinet  was the Cabinet of Moldova from 31 March 2008 to 10 June 2009. It was the first government led by Zinaida Greceanîi who was Prime Minister of Moldova from 2008 to 2009.

Cabinet of Minister

The composition of the cabinet of was as follows:

External links
 Government of Moldova


Marko Mirgorodský

Marko Mirgorodský (born 4 November 1998) is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2013. He competes in the C1 event and is once World U23 Champion (2017) and twice World Junior Champion (2015 & 2016).

Mirgorodský won a silver medal in the C1 team event at the 2018 European Canoe Slalom Championships, alongside Michal Martikán and Alexander Slafkovský.


French ship Conquérant (1746)

The Conquérant was originally launched in 1746 on a design by François Coulomb the Younger. She was taken out of service in March 1764 and rebuilt at Brest as a Citoyen class 74-gun ship of the line of the French Navy.

She took part in the Battle of the Nile, where she was armed with only 18- and 12-pounders, and crewed by a mere 400 men, under captain Dalbarade. Second ship in the vanguard of her line, Conquérant sustained fire from the passing British ships sailing to attack the centre of the French fleet. She was particularly targeted by HMS Audacious and Goliath, who reduced her to a hulk before 19:00. Immobilised, hopelessly overgunned and undermanned, her captain mortally wounded, Conquérant struck her colours and was seized by a boarding party from Audacious.

She was subsequently recommissioned in the Royal Navy under the same name.

External links

Naval Database


Tanwé-Hessou

Tanwé-Hessou is an arrondissement in the Zou department of Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Zogbodomey. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique Benin on February 15, 2002, the arrondissement had a total population of 7,512.


The Accidental Spy

The Accidental Spy is a 2001 Hong Kong martial arts action film, starring Jackie Chan and directed by Teddy Chan. Filming took place in Seoul, Hong Kong, Istanbul and Cappadocia, Turkey.

Although it is a Hong Kong film, much of the dialogue is in English, particularly during communications between the Chinese characters and the Korean and Turkish characters. Despite having a fairly serious and dark plot in some parts, it still features some humour, as is typical of Chan's films.

Plot
A news reporting team cover a story in an Anatolian village where many people have seemingly died from pneumonia while a team of scientists try to find a cure. A terrorist group disguised as farmers attack and kill everyone there. Some days later, a former North Korean spy shows up at the South Korean embassy in Istanbul.

Meanwhile in Hong Kong, Buck Yuen, an exercise equipment salesman, inadvertently foils a bank robbery and becomes a media celebrity. Later that night, a stranger called Manny Liu approaches Yuen and says that he is looking for men of Yuen's age and description on behalf of a terminally ill Korean man, Park Won-jung, who wants to pass his fortune to his long-lost son.

Yuen agrees and follows Liu's associate to South Korea to meet Park in a military hospital. Later, Yuen is approached by Carmen, a reporter, who asks him questions about Park. When Yuen returns to the hospital, he saves Park from a group of thugs and accepts Park's offer to play a "game" – if Yuen wins, he gets everything Park leaves behind for his biological son; if Yuen loses, he will still have fun. Park also gives Yuen a shiny crucifix similar to the one Yuen sees his parents holding in his dreams. After Park's death, Yuen scatters his ashes at his wife's grave and finds a message ("wait for me") engraved on the tombstone. After leaving the cemetery, Yuen and Carmen narrowly evade attacks from thugs. Yuen later realises that "wait for me" corresponds to a phone number of a bank in Istanbul.

In Istanbul, Yuen uses the crucifix, which turns out to be a stamp, to retrieve the contents of Park's safety deposit box. Shortly after leaving the bank, he encounters several robbers trying to steal his briefcase full of money. He holds off the robbers until the police show up and the robbers flee. While touring Istanbul, Yuen meets a mysterious Chinese woman, Yong, who has "wait for me" embroidered on her scarf. When Yuen asks her where she got her scarf, she arranges to meet him at a later date and time.

When Yuen is at a Turkish bath, he gets accosted by a group of thugs demanding that he hands over "the thing". After a long chase through the streets, Yuen finally escapes from them but shows up late for his meeting with Yong. Just then, Carmen and her colleague, Philip, approach Yuen and reveal to him that they are actually CIA agents. The "thing" that everyone is after is a biological weapon, Anthrax II, a more powerful version of anthrax. The weapon had already killed many people in Anatolia, which was chosen as a testing ground. Park developed brain cancer as a result of his involvement in the case. Yuen also learns that Zen, a crime lord, wants to buy the Anthrax II and had sent Yong to get close to Yuen to gather information.

Yuen meets up with Yong, who confirms she is working for Zen. Moments later, they are captured by a group of thugs and brought back to the Anatolian village. As the thugs are beating up Yuen to force him to tell them where the Anthrax II is, mercenaries attack the village and gun down all the thugs. In the ensuing chaos, Yuen escapes with Yong on a makeshift raft. They are picked up by Zen, who reveals that he sent the mercenaries to save them. Yuen also learns that Yong is a drug addict enslaved by Zen. Zen offers Yuen a new deal: more money and Yong's freedom in exchange for the Anthrax II. Although Yuen refuses, Zen still gives him time to find the Anthrax II.

Yuen recalls that there was a bible in the safety deposit box so he makes his way to a nearby church and meets a priest who knows Park. The priest leads Yuen to the basement where Park temporarily stayed; Yuen finds two vials of Anthrax II there and a note saying "game over". Yuen then reluctantly hands over the Anthrax II to Zen in exchange for Yong. It turns out later that Zen had double-crossed Yuen by giving Yong a fatal dose of drugs. After Yong dies at the train station, Yuen gets arrested and thrown into prison but Carmen and Ashley bail him out. Carmen, feeling sorry for Yong's death, secretly reveals to Yuen that the CIA is meeting Zen the next day to discuss buying the Anthrax II from him.

Yuen takes matters into his own hands and tries to stop Zen at the airport. While Zen and his henchmen flee in a car, Yuen chases them, fights them and manages to get back the Anthrax II. However, the car gets stuck to the rear of a tanker, which soon catches fire. The tanker has to keep moving at a certain speed or else it will explode. After Yuen manages to save the driver and his son, the tanker is heading straight towards the edge of a disused bridge. Just then, Manny Liu appears in a helicopter and tries to pull Yuen out but fails. Yuen leaps from the tanker and grabs hold of the plastic bridge barrier as he swings down. He rolls down a slope, sustains severe injuries from the fall, and becomes unconscious. Liu searches Yuen for the Anthrax II, finds it and leaves.

When Yuen regains consciousness in hospital later, he learns from Liu that his entire adventure was actually a CIA mission arranged to be performed by him as an informal, non-official agent (an "accidental spy"). He was chosen because of his background as an orphan, his sharp intuition and excellent fighting skills. The dream of his parents is actually an illusion created by Liu, who added drugs into Yuen's drink to put him into a hypnotic state.

In a post-credits scene, Yuen, now officially a spy, delivers a briefcase to a drug dealer in Italy and tips off the police to arrest him.

Cast
 Jackie Chan as Buck Yuen
 Eric Tsang as Manny Liu
 Vivian Hsu as Yong
 Wu Hsing-kuo as Lee Sang-Zen
 Kim Min-jung as Carmen
 Alfred Cheung as Park's lawyer
 Lillian Ho as Candice
 Cheung Tat-ming as Stan
 Joh Young-kwon as Park Won-jung
 Anthony Rene Jones as Philip Ashley

Reception
The Accidental Spy holds a 29% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 7 reviews.

Releases
Dimension (a sub-set of Disney) acquired the international distribution rights to the film (outside of Asia). Like many Jackie Chan films distributed by Disney, scenes were cut, foreign dialog was dubbed, and the music score was changed. However, Dimension made so many changes to the film that it almost changed the entire movie. For example:

 Buck Yuen's name was changed to Jackie Chan
 Zen's name was changed to Lee
 The Anthrax II was changed to "Opia Maxa", a new and more powerful form of opium. The context of the conflict between Zen and the Turkish villagers was changed to be a drug war between Korean and Turkish drug lords.
 In some cases, scenes were actually re-arranged. For example, in the HK cut, Buck Yuen and Manny's associate arrive at the South Korean hospital, they talk to the doctor, then Buck visits with Carmen Wong, and then Buck goes back to the hospital, fends off the thugs attacking his "father", and then converses with him. However, in the Dimension version, they arrive at the hospital, then "Jackie" talks to his father, then he visits Carmen Wong, and then he returns to the hospital, fends off the thugs, but Dimension added in a "flatline" sound effect, and used a scene of Mr. Park struggling to breathe to suggest that he died because of the thugs.
 A lot of dialog that was actually in English was dubbed over into foreign languages, creating a language barrier between "Jackie Chan" and other characters that didn't exist in the original Hong Kong version. A lot of English dialogue was dubbed over to change the plot.
 Buck's dialog is sometimes dubbed over by a voice that definitely doesn't belong to Jackie Chan, including scenes where he was speaking in English.

DVD
The film was first released on DVD by Universe Laser in Hong Kong. The release contains a non-anamorphic picture and a "making of" feature section. On 19 March 2009, Kam & Ronson released a remastered DVD with an anamorphic picture, 5.1 and DTS sound, but with no special features.

Blu-ray Disc
The film was released on Blu-ray Disc on 4 May 2009. This film is the first Hong Kong production by Jackie Chan to be released on Blu-ray Disc.

Box office
The film grossed HK$30,009,076 during its theatrical run in Hong Kong, and was Hong Kong's third biggest domestic release of the year.

Legacy
The scene of Buck's disguising while escaping from thugs was reproduced in Bollywood movie Thank You (2011), wherein Akshay Kumar's character, detective Kishan, also hides by twisting hanging materials around himself.

Awards and nominations
21st Hong Kong Film Awards (2002)
Won: Best Action Choreography (Tung Wei)
Won: Best Film Editing (Kwong Chi-leung)
Nomination: Best Sound Design (Kinson Tsang)
Nomination: Best Visual Effects


Go Harder

"Go Harder" may refer to:

"Go Harder", song by British boyband JLS from 4th Dimensions Tour
"Go Harder", song by Jaz-O
"Go Harder", song by Future from Pluto (Future album)


Edmonton Trappers

The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in Edmonton, Alberta. They were a part of the Triple-A level in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Their home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton.

The Trappers joined the PCL in 1981 when Edmonton businessman Peter Pocklington purchased the Ogden A's franchise from Utah trucker Dennis Job. The team's games were originally played in Renfrew Park (later called John Ducey Park). The Trappers were immediately popular with the community, often above the league average in attendance, attracting almost half a million fans every season. A total of 8 million fans came to see them play over the course of their 24-year existence.

In 1984, the Trappers (then the Triple-A affiliate of the California Angels) became the first Canadian franchise to win a championship. They were also the only team to win a PCL championship, and first to win any championship, under affiliation with the Angels. The manager was Moose Stubing.

In 1995, John Ducey Park was torn down and replaced by Telus Field where the Trappers celebrated three PCL titles in their last decade, most recently in 2002 under the affiliation of the Minnesota Twins. In 2003, the team became the major affiliate of the Montréal Expos. The Trappers were one of the most successful, longest running, and second-to-last affiliated team in Canada.

In 2004, future Montreal Expos and Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Scott Downs threw a no-hitter against Las Vegas on June 11. It was the first no hitter by a Trapper since August 8, 1996, when Aaron Small threw one against the Vancouver Canadians.

Edmonton qualified for playoffs for the last time in September 2003. They defeated the Portland Beavers to make the post-season, but were eliminated immediately by the Sacramento River Cats in a three-game sweep.

In October 2003, the Trappers' fate in Edmonton was sealed when the team, then owned by the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos, was sold to a group led by hall of famer Nolan Ryan and his son Reid. The sale shocked many fans in Edmonton. The Ryans moved the team after the 2004 season to Round Rock, Texas, a suburb north of Austin, and it was renamed the Round Rock Express. The last home game in Edmonton had a sizeable crowd against the Las Vegas 51s, but it was rained out after only one inning.

Notable former Trappers

Baseball Hall of Fame
  Bert Blyleven (player, 2011 induction)


Canon's Town

Canon's Town or Canonstown (Ordnance Survey) is a hamlet in west Cornwall, England, UK, situated on the A30 road in the civil parish of Ludgvan, between Penzance and Hayle. It is southwest of St Erth railway station. It is in the civil parish of St Erth


Albert Ayguesparse

Albert Ayguesparse (1900–1996) was a Belgian writer.

Bibliography

Essays
 Machinismes et culture
 Magie du capitalisme

Poetry
 Neuf offrandes claires (1923)
 Le Vin noir de Cahors (1957 - Prix Engelman)
 Langage

Novels
 La main morte
 Notre ombre nous précède (Prix Rossel 1952)
 Une génération pour rien (1954 - Prix triennal du roman).


Fulton Creek (Ohio)

Fulton Creek is a stream in the U.S. state of Ohio.

Fulton Creek was named for one Mr. Fulton, a pioneer who disappeared near this creek and was not heard from again, despite an extensive search.


Reuben Davis House

The Reuben Davis House, also known as Sunset Hill, is a U.S. national historic place located in Aberdeen, Mississippi. It is an impressive two-story antebellum mansion that was constructed between 1847 and 1853. Well known as the former residence of Reuben Davis, a prominent attorney, statesman, and author, the property has important historical connections for both the town of Aberdeen and Mississippi.

History

Design and construction
The Reuben Davis House is an imposing example of the Greek Revival style that was popular in the prosperous South during the mid-19th Century. The original structure was built in 1847 by D.F. Alexander and then remodeled and expanded by William Cunningham in 1853. The house expresses major stylistic references to Asher Benjamin's The Practical House Carpenter (1830) and Practice of Architecture (1833).

Location
The city of Aberdeen was incorporated in 1837. According to an article featured in the Aberdeen Examiner, the city is described as containing more antebellum homes than any other Mississippi town of a comparable size. In the mid 19th-century, the community grew from the development of a cotton port on the Tombigbee River. The town was made the county seat in 1849 and had a population of approximately 5,000 by the 1850 census. However, the prosperity and economic growth declined after 1850 when the Mobile and Ohio Railway Company constructed a line eight miles west of the town.

Reuben Davis
Reuben Davis (January 18, 1813 – October 14, 1890) was a prominent figure in 19th century Mississippi. He served as a prosecuting attorney for Mississippi's sixth judicial district from 1835 to 1839, and a judge of the high court of appeals in 1842. During the Mexican–American War he was a colonel in the Second Regiment of Mississippi Volunteers. In 1855 he was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives and in 1857 to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Congress. In 1861 he withdrew from this position to become the Monroe County candidate for the state secession convention. That same year he became a Mississippi representative to the Confederate Congress in Richmond, Virginia. During the Civil War he was a brigadier general in the Confederate Army. Following the Civil War, Davis returned to Aberdeen to resume his law practice. He purchased Sunset Hill in 1869. It was at this residence that Davis raised his family (with his second wife) and wrote the historical reference Recollections of Mississippi and Mississippians. He remained at Sunset Hill until his death in 1890 and was buried at the Odd Fellows Cemetery. His wife died 22 years later, in 1912. Prior to her death, she had requested that her body be laid in state on top of the grand piano in her parlor and surrounded with roses; a wish which was honored.

Modern times
Over the next 36 years, the property changed owners multiple times. One of the owners, from 1937 to 1943, was a grandniece of Reuben Davis, Mrs. Edmonia Nichols. During the 1940s the house was utilized as an apartment complex and its condition deteriorated. In 1948 the property and the one acre on which it now stands was sold to Drs. Chester and Catherine Brummett. In 1961 Sunset Hill was sold to Mr. & Mrs. W. Emerson Jones. The Jones' made substantial improvements and renovations during their ownership of the property.

The U.S. Department of the Interior added Sunset Hill (listed as the Reuben Davis House) to The National Register of Historic Places in November 1978. The Mississippi Department of Archives and History officially designated Sunset Hill as a Mississippi Landmark in February 1987. The house was sold in 1992, and again in 1997 to its current owners.  Additional renovations have taken place over the last 15 years, including restoration of the Reuben Davis office.

Architecture
The architecture of Sunset Hill is described with great detail in the National Register Form:

Tourism
Given its rich history and cultural significance, Sunset Hill attracts a number of visitors each year. The home was featured in the 2013 Aberdeen Pilgrimage and Christmas Holiday Home Tour. In the future, the residents may open select bedrooms to the public as a "bed and breakfast."

Gallery


Rosières-en-Haye

Rosières-en-Haye  is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.
It hosted an important Air Base (the Toul-Rosières Air Base) that has been converted in 2012 in the largest photovoltaic power plant of Europe at that time.


Fougaron

Fougaron is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.

Population


Clypeostoma elongatum

Clypeostoma elongatum is a species of sea snails, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Chilodontidae (formerly in the family Trochidae, the top snails).

Description
The size of the shell varies between 7 mm and 24 mm.

Distribution
This marine species occurs off the Philippines and Indonesia.


The Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data is a quarterly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by AIP Publishing on behalf of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The objective of the journal is to provide critically evaluated physical and chemical property data, fully documented as to the original sources and the criteria used for evaluation, preferably with uncertainty analysis. The editors-in-chief are Donald R. Burgess, Jr, and Allan H. Harvey.

Abstracting and indexing
The journal is abstracted and indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded and Current Contents/Physical Chemical and Earth Sciences. According to the Journal Citation Reports, the journal has a 2018 impact factor of 4.684.


Xining Xiaoqiao railway station

Xining Xiaoqiao Railway Station is a railway station on the Qingzang railway. It serves the city of Xining and is located 3 km from Xining Railway Station.


Sports broadcasting contracts in New Zealand

This article refers to sports broadcasting contracts in New Zealand. For a list of other country's broadcasting rights, see Sports television broadcast contracts.

Association football

Football
From 2019 until 2023, the match aired on Sky Sport also available on beIN Sports platforms due to Sky-beIN four year partnership contract.

Leagues

A-League: Sky Sport
W-League: Sky Sport
English Premier League: Spark Sport
English Football Leagues: beIN Sports
La Liga: beIN Sports
Segunda División: YouTube (regular season) & beIN Sports (play-offs)
Serie A: Sky Sport
Ligue 1: beIN Sports
New Zealand Football Championship: Sky Sport (finals coverage only)
Bundesliga: beIN Sports
Scottish Premiership: beIN Sports
J-League: Rakuten TV (3 live matches per week)
Major League Soccer:beIN Sports (through 2022), ESPN
National Women's Soccer League: ESPN
USL Championship: ESPN

Domestic Cups

English FA Cup: Sky Sport
FA Community Shield: Sky Sport
EFL Cup: beIN Sports
IRN-BRU Cup: beIN Sports
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup: ESPN
FFA Cup: beIN Sports
Chatham Cup: Sky Sport (final only)
Kate Sheppard Cup: Sky Sport

International Club Competitions

UEFA Champions League: Sky Sport (through 2021)
UEFA Europa League: Sky Sport (through 2021)
UEFA Super Cup: Sky Sport (through 2021)
UEFA Youth League: UEFA.tv
UEFA Women's Champions League: beIN Sports (exclusive coverage for PSG matches), Sky Sport (final only)
CONMEBOL Libertadores: beIN Sports (through 2022)
CONMEBOL Sudamericana: beIN Sports (through 2022)
CONMEBOL Recopa: beIN Sports (through 2022)
FIFA Club World Cup: Sky Sport (2019 and 2020)
International Champions Cup: beIN Sports
Florida Cup: beIN Sports

International Matches

World Cup Qualifying: Sky Sport, beIN Sports
European Championship qualifying: Sky Sport
Other International Matches: Sky Sport, Prime

International Tournaments
FIFA World Cups (through 2022)
Men's:
FIFA World Cup: Sky Sport, Prime (Selected matches only)
FIFA U-20 World Cup: Sky Sport
FIFA U-17 World Cup: Sky Sport
Women's:
FIFA Women's World Cup: Sky Sport, Prime (New Zealand matches only)
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup: Sky Sport
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup: Sky Sport
UEFA
UEFA Euro 2020: Sky Sport
UEFA Nations League: Sky Sport
2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship: UEFA.tv
2019 UEFA European Under-19 Championship: UEFA.tv
2019 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship: UEFA.tv
2019 UEFA European Under-17 Championship: YouTube
2019 UEFA Women's Under-17 Championship: YouTube
Copa América 2019: beIN Sports
Africa Cup of Nations 2019: beIN Sports
 WAFU Nations Cup: ESPN
 Toulon Tournament: ESPN

Beach Soccer

 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup: Sky Sport (2019 and 2021)

Futsal

International tournaments

 FIFA Futsal World Cup: Sky Sport
 UEFA Futsal Euro: TBA (2022)
 UEFA Under-19 Futsal Euro: UEFA.tv
 UEFA Women's Futsal Euro: UEFA.tv (final four only)

International Club Competitions

 UEFA Futsal Champions League: UEFA.tv (final four only)

Athletics
 IAAF Golden League:
 Sky Sport:  Highlights, plus some live coverage.
 Grenada Invitational: ESPN

Australian rules football
 Australian Football League
Sky Sport: One live game per week, plus weekly highlights.

Badminton

 BWF: OVO Mobile (2019–2021)

Baseball

 Major League Baseball (Regular season, Playoffs and World Series): ESPN.
 College baseball: ESPN
 Little League World Series: ESPN
 World Baseball Classic: ESPN
 USA Softball International Cup: ESPN

Basketball
 National Basketball League: Sky Sport
 National Basketball League (Australia):
 Sky Sport has one game every Thursday night; live coverage of Semifinal, and Grand Final.
 National Basketball Association: ESPN, Spark
 Women's National Basketball Association: ESPN
 College basketball: ESPN
 NBA Summer League: ESPN
 NBA G League: ESPN
 The Basketball Tournament: ESPN

Cricket
 International Cricket:
 Sky Sport:  Shows All New Zealand Home and away matches also shows Australian Home International, English Home International and India Home International fixtures.
 Prime Television:  Highlights and selected live coverage.  Free to air partner, showing what Sky allocates to it.
 Domestic Cricket:
 Sky Sport:  Live coverage of selected games, and highlights of some games.
 Prime Television:  Highlights and selected live coverage.

Cycling
 Tour de France: Sky Sport

eSports
 Madden Club Championship: ESPN
 Madden Bowl: ESPN
 EXP Pro-Am APEX Legends
 EXP Invitational APEX Legends at X Games

Extreme Sports
 X Games: ESPN

Field hockey
Men's and Women's Hockey World Cups: Spark
Men's and Women's Hockey Pro Leagues: TVNZ (All Black Sticks matches only), Spark

Golf
 Australian Open: Sky Sport
 The Open Championship: Sky Sport
 Ryder Cup: Sky Sport
 European Tour: Sky Sport
 PGA Tour: Sky Sport
 U.S. Open: Sky Sport
 U.S. Masters: Sky Sport
 New Zealand PGA Championship: TV3
 World Golf Championships : Sky Sport
 World Cup : Sky Sport
 New Zealand Open : Sky Sport
 LPGA Tour : SKY Sport (New Zealand)
 Evian Masters : Sky Sport (New Zealand)

Gridiron football
 National Football League:
 ESPN: NFL Network games, two Sunday afternoon games, Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football. All play-off games.
 Sky Sport: One live game every Monday night in HD (where available)
 Super Bowl: ESPN
 College football: ESPN
 XFL: ESPN

Horse-racing

 All New Zealand domestic race meetings: Trackside
 All international race meetings: Trackside
 Selected thoroughbred and harness meets: Prime
 Melbourne Cup: Trackside, Prime
 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival: Trackside

Ice Hockey
 National Hockey League: ESPN

Lacrosse
 Major League Lacrosse: ESPN

Mixed Martial Arts
 Ultimate Fighting Championship: ESPN  (Fight Night and PPV preliminaries)

Motor racing
 FIA Formula One: Spark
 Porsche Supercup: Spark
 Formula 2: Spark
 Formula 3: Spark
 Formula E: TVNZ (live), Three (highlights)
 IndyCar Series: Sky Sport
 AMA Supercross Championship: ESPN
 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship: Sky Sport (Includes support categories)
 Dunlop Super2 Series: Sky Sport (Live with Supercars Championship) Three (Delayed)
 NZ Touring Cars Championship: Three (delayed coverage)
 DTM: Three (highlights)
 WTCC: Three (highlights)
 World Rally Championship: Spark
 World Rallycross Championship: Spark
 MotoGP: Sky Sport
 Superbike World Championship: Sky Sport
 Speedway Grand Prix: Sky Sport (delayed coverage)
 NASCAR: Sky Sport
 BTCC:Three (delayed coverage)

Multi-discipline events
 Commonwealth Games: TVNZ
 Summer Olympics: Sky Television, Prime
 Winter Olympics: Sky Television, Prime
 Paralympics 2016: TVNZ

Netball
 ANZ Premiership:
Sky Sport (live coverage of all games, elimination final and grand final)
 INF Netball World Cup:
Sky Sport (2019)
 International Netball:
Sky Sport (live coverage)
 Beko Netball League:
Sky Sport (live coverage of all games)
 Suncorp Super Netball:
Sky Sport (live coverage of all games)

Poker
 World Series of Poker: ESPN

Rowing
 World Rowing Championships: Sky Sport
 Rowing World Cup: Sky Sport

Rugby league
 National Rugby League:
 Sky Sport: Live coverage of all games sometimes only show one live game on Sunday and show the other delayed
 Prime: Delayed coverage of Warriors games
 New South Wales Cup:
 Sky Sport: All Warriors home games live, plus any games available from Fox Sports
 State of Origin:
 Sky Sport: Live Coverage
 Prime: Delayed coverage
 Super League:
 Sky Sport
 Rugby League Challenge Cup:
 Sky Sport
 Four Nations:
Sky Sport: Live Coverage
 Prime: Delayed coverage of selected games

Rugby union
 Rugby World Cup: TVNZ & Spark (2019)
 The Rugby Championship:
Sky Sport: Live coverage of all games
Prime: Delayed coverage of All Blacks tests
 Super Rugby:
Sky Sport: live coverage of all games
Prime: Delayed coverage of one game per weekend on Saturday Night. They also show highlights of all games and one full game.
 College 1st XV coverage
Sky Sport Live and delayed coverage and highlights of televised matches during the week.
 Currie Cup: Sky Sport
 European Rugby Champions Cup: TVNZ & Spark
 Mitre 10 Cup:
Sky Sport: Live coverage of all games
Prime: Delayed coverage of two games per weekend, Live coverage of selected games and highlights of all games on Sunday afternoon
 Six Nations Championship: Sky Sport
 Gallagher Premiership: Sky Sport
 Pro14: Sky Sport
 Anglo-Welsh Cup: Sky Sport

Swimming
 FINA World Aquatics Championships: Sky Sport
ISL: Spark

Tennis
 Australian Open: Sky Sport
 French Open: Sky Sport
 The Championships, Wimbledon: TVNZ
 U.S. Open: ESPN
 ATP Finals: ESPN
 ATP Tour Masters 1000: ESPN
 ATP Tour 500: ESPN
 Next Generation ATP Finals: ESPN
 WTA Tour: Spark Sport
 ASB Classic: Sky Sport
 Laver Cup: ESPN
Davis Cup: Sky Sport
Fed Cup: Sky Sport


SV Borussia-Preußen Stettin

SV Borussia Preußen Stettin was a German association football club from the city of Stettin, Pomerania Province (today Szczecin, Poland).

The club was established in 1937 after a merger of 1. Stettiner Borussia-Poseidon and SC Preußen Stettin.

After two seasons in the Gauliga Pommern (I) the team was demoted to the Bezirksliga, but returned to the top flight after one season, only to again be immediately sent down. They also played in the final Gauliga season (1944–45) which was cancelled after just three matches as World War II was drawing to a close. After the conflict all German teams in Stettin disappeared as the territory became part of Poland.


Ernest Nister

Ernest Nister (1841–1906) was a publisher and printer of  movable books for children and paper ephemera such as greeting cards, post cards, and calendars. He was born in Darmstadt, Germany and later had an office in London. He refined the techniques used in the design of "magic windows," "dissolving picture," and pop-up books, publishing them from his firm based in Nuremberg, a toy-making center of the nineteenth century.

Types of books

Although not the first to invent pop-up books, he was the first to invent automatic pop-up books. Before Nister, pop-ups had to be manually maneuvered into an upright position.
"Pop-up books" is a term sometimes applied to other movable books, volvelles, tunnel books, pull tabs,  and other varied forms of paper engineering; similar techniques such as die cutting and embossing are often also used in greeting cards. Children's books with movable parts are subject to the play of children and may not work properly after heavy use. Older mechanical books in library or personal collections can be preserved by professional conservators. The older original first edition books by Ernest Nister can be found in antiquarian book stores and the archives of Library rare book collections.

Editing
 It is not known exactly how much of his own drawing he contributed to the illustrations of the books he edited and printed, but he would sometimes remove an artist's name and replace it with his own. Louis Wain, known for his anthropomorphic cats, was one of the illustrators who worked for Nister. In 1894, Beatrix Potter sold a series of verses and illustrations to Nister for his Changing Pictures series.

Marketing
In addition to the German books, an English version was produced for Nister's London office and an American version, working with Edward Payson Dutton, for Dutton Publishing, his American publisher. Vintage chromolithographically printed postcards of Father Christmas by Nister are now sold on Etsy, Amazon, AbeBooks and eBay.


Duke Ding of Qi

Duke Ding of Qi (; reigned c. 10th century BC) was the second recorded ruler of the ancient Chinese state of Qi during the Western Zhou Dynasty.  His personal name was Lü Ji (呂伋) and ancestral name was Jiang (姜).

According to classical Chinese texts such as the Records of the Grand Historian and Zuo Zhuan, Duke Ding succeeded his father Lü Shang, Duke Tai of Qi, who was said to have been a centenarian.  Duke Ding supposedly served King Kang of Zhou along with other major vassal state rulers including Xiong Yi, viscount of Chu, Count Kang of Wey (衞康伯), Xie, Marquis of Jin and Boqin, Duke of Lu.  However, most modern historians believe Duke Ding was in fact the fifth-generation descendant of Duke Tai, and he could not have served King Kang of Zhou.

After Duke Ding died, he was succeeded by his son Duke Yǐ of Qi.

Family
 Parents:
 Shang (; 1156–1017 BC), known as Jiang Ziya; ruled as the Great Duke of Qi () from 1046–1026 BC
 Wives:
 The mother of Crown Prince Dexing and Prince De
 Sons:
 Prince Heng (), the progenitor of the Nie () lineage
 Served as the Minister of War of Wey
 Fourth son, Crown Prince Dexing (), the progenitor of the Cui lineage and the father of Count Mu of Cui ()
 Prince De (; d. 933 BC), ruled as Duke Yǐ of Qi from 974–933 BC
 A son who ruled as the Count of Yi ()


2017–18 Rensselaer Engineers women's ice hockey season

The Rensselaer Engineers represented Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in ECAC women's ice hockey during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey season.

Offseason

Recruiting

2017–18 Engineers

Schedule

|-
!colspan=12 style="background:#F7001F;color:white;"| Regular Season


Berolina

Berolina is the New Latin female personification of Berlin and the allegorical female figure symbolizing the city. One of the best-known portraits of Berolina is the statue that once stood in Alexanderplatz.

Statue

In 1871, emperor William I ordered an  Berolina statue in Belle-Alliance-Platz (today's Mehringplatz), to glorify the homecoming victorious troops of the Franco-Prussian War.

Another statue was designed in 1889 by the sculptors Emil Hundrieser (1846–1911) and Michel Lock (1848–1898) as a decorative element for the state visit of King Umberto I of Italy. The Berolina figure was produced in plaster and was placed on Potsdamer Platz. The statue of  showed a woman with a crown of oak leaves. The inspiration allegedly was from a painting in the Rotes Rathaus city hall that featured cobbler's daughter Anna Sasse.

Later, in 1895, the gypsum figure by Hundrieser was copper-melted and unveiled in Alexanderplatz on December 17. Weighing five tonnes, it was placed in front of the site where Hermann Tietz erected his department store in 1904.

The statue was damaged in the barricade fights of the German Revolution of 1918–19. It had to be removed during the construction of the U5 underground line in 1927, but was set up again in 1933. The nearby Berolinahaus, built in 1929–32 according to plans by Peter Behrens, was named after the statue. Finally dismantled on 26 August 1942, it was probably melted down in 1944 for war purposes. A model is preserved at the Märkisches Museum.

In 2000, an association named "Wiedererstellung und Pflege der Berolina e.V." (Recreation and Maintenance of Berolina eV) was created with the aim to rebuild the statue.

Name
Many Berliner companies are named "Berolina". A leading German film studio of the 1950s was called Berolina Film. In the past, there were several radio and television broadcasts in which reference was made the city's personification. Today, it is the popular name of central Berlin Police radio.

In 1980s, the "Berolina" music awards was organized, sponsored by the TV networks ARD, ZDF and ORF, and hosted in a television show by Thomas Gottschalk on 27 August 1987 with a total of 15 musicians and bands.

Several songs, poems, and plays are named "Berolina"; as for example, works by Kurt Tucholsky, Günter Neumann, Ulli Herzog, and Alexander von Bentheim.

The Main belt asteroid 422 Berolina, is also named after the city in that way.

Photogallery


Hilton Mexico City Reforma

Hilton Mexico City Reforma is a five-star luxury hotel in Mexico City, Mexico, overlooking Alameda Central. The hotel is operated by the Hilton Hotels chain (formerly the Sheraton). It was built in 2004. It is situated in the heart of the old city on Avenida Juárez, in close proximity to Hidalgo Metro Station. It has been popular with business travellers since its establishment in 1985. It has 457 bedrooms, and has several restaurants, including the Mexican eatery El Cardenal.  It was the venue for Wikimania 2015. It has a convention centre with a capacity of 5,000 people.


Barnaby's Tower

Barnaby's Tower stands at the southeast corner of the city walls of Chester, Cheshire, England.  It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building.

The tower probably dates from the 13th century, and it was damaged in 1644–46 during the Civil War.  When the city walls were converted into a raised walkway between 1702 and 1708, the tower was converted to form a feature at this corner.  It has been repaired on occasions since, and in 1879–80 was altered at the expense of one of the city councillors.

The tower is constructed in coursed red sandstone rubble, and stands on a stony outcrop.  It forms a three-sided projection from the walls, its top being level with the walkway, and is decorated with mock crenellation. There is no evidence of any chamber at a lower level.


Yiya Murano

María de las Mercedes Bernardina Bolla Aponte de Murano (20 May 1930 - 26 April 2014), better known as Yiya Murano, and also referred to as the Poisoner of Monserrat was an Argentinian serial killer and swindler. Convicted of three murders, she was imprisoned for 16 years before being sent to an elderly care facility to serve out the remainder of her sentence, due to her advanced age.

Murders
Nilda Gamba, a neighbor of Murano's died on 10 February 1979. On 19 February, Murano's friend, Leila Chicha Formisano de Ayala, died. Murano owed money to both women, and both bodies showed signs of cyanide poisoning.

On 24 March 1979, Murano's cousin, Carmen Zulema del Giorgio de Venturini, fell and died on the stairs of a building on Hipólito Yrigoyen Street, where she lived.  Zulema's death was initially attributed to cardiac arrest. Zulema's daughter found that a promissory note worth 20 million Argentine peso ley was missing from her mother's belongings. The building's doorman said that Murano arrived for a visit carrying a mysterious package (which was later discovered to contain masas finas), and had casually asked for a copy of the keys to Zulema's apartment keys, saying, "I need her notebook to warn her relatives".  Murano entered her cousin's apartment and left quickly, carrying papers and a jar. She complained loudly: "My God, it's my third friend to die in a short time!" During the autopsy, examiners discovered cyanide in Zulema's body. Investigators discovered the poison in the jar mentioned by the doorman, and in the masas finas.

Arrest
On 27 April 1979, the police arrested Murano at her home on Mexico Street. In 1980, she was found unconscious in the prison where she was being held; later, they removed one of Murano's lungs.

Murano was convicted in 1985, during the Trial of the Juntas. She insisted upon her innocence, saying: "I never invited anyone to eat."

Murano was released from prison after 16 years. It was learned that she sent the judges who released her a box of chocolates as a token of her appreciation.

Media
Argentinian writer Marisa Grinstein included Murano in her book Mujeres Asesinas (Killer Women). In 2006, an episode of the Canal 13 television series of the same name featured a recreation of Murano's crimes. At the end of the episode, the real Yiya Murano appeared and proclaimed her innocence, citing evidence.

The second season of Mujeres Asesinas, the Mexican adaptation of the series, featured an episode based on Murano entitled "Tita Garza, Swindler," starring Patricia Reyes Spindola.


Hesamabad, Zanjan

Hesamabad (, also Romanized as Ḩesāmābād; also known as Asmawa and Hīssamābād) is a village in Zarrineh Rud Rural District, Bizineh Rud District, Khodabandeh County, Zanjan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 1,817, in 350 families.


Microcrambon

Microcrambon is a monotypic moth genus of the family Crambidae described by Stanisław Błeszyński in 1970. Its single species, Microcrambon paphiellus, described by Achille Guenée in 1862, is endemic to Réunion and Seychelles.


Dois (album)

Dois (English: Two) is the second studio album by Brazilian rock band Legião Urbana. It was released in July 1986.

Release history
Renato Russo originally intended Dois as a double-disc album named "Mitologia e Intuição" ("Mythology and Intuition"), including some material later recorded for Que País É Este, but EMI-Odeon denied the proposal.
Unlike Legião's previous album, heavily influenced by post-punk instrumentation and themes, Dois shows a wider palette of styles and influences such as folk rock and blues, including "Eduardo e Mônica", a ballad said by Russo to be largely inspired by Bob Dylan; "Música Urbana 2", a spiritual sequel to one of Russo's Aborto Elétrico composition ("Música Urbana" was recorded by Capital Inicial on their debut album); "Fábrica", a classic concert-opener; "Quase sem Querer"; and "Índios", according to Russo, a "suicide song".

In 2007, the Brazilian edition of Rolling Stone magazine featured Dois in the 21st position on a list of the 100 greatest Brazilian albums. On September 2012, it was elected by the audience of Radio Eldorado FM, of Estadao.com e of Caderno C2+Música (both the latter belong to newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo) as the third best Brazilian album ever. By the time of the album's release, the newspaper also said: "You bite it and see there is meat there. Bleeding. The little taste of Smiths on side A, with lyricist and vocalist Renato Russo singing a lot on Daniel na Cova dos Leões or Tempo Perdido, actually just prepares the ground for the punch of side B, as in Metrópole and Fábrica."

Track listing

Covers
Argentine punk band Attaque 77 covered "Fábrica". They would also later cover another Legião Urbana song, "Perfeição", from O Descobrimento do Brasil.

Trivia
 During the initial seconds of opening track "Daniel na Cova dos Leões", a badly tuned radio can be heard. Excerpts of Legião's song "Será", as well as the anthem of the Socialist International, can be faintly heard playing.
 "Andrea Doria" is named in reference to the SS Andrea Doria which shipwrecked near the shores of New York in July 25, 1956. 51 people died in the disaster, and many Italian paintings were lost in the sea.
 An alternate version of the track "Química" appears in the cassette edition of the album as a bonus track.
 The title of '"Índios"' features quotes, and is in reference to "Heroes" by David Bowie.

Personnel
Dado Villa-Lobos: Guitars
Renato Russo: Vocals, keyboards, bass guitar (tracks 3 and 4), acoustic guitar (track 4)
Renato Rocha: Bass guitar
Marcelo Bonfá: Drums and percussion


Ken Karcher

Kenneth Paul Karcher (born July 1, 1963) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at East Central Community College, a position he has held since January 2013. Karcher served in the same capacity at Liberty University from 2000 to 2005, compiling a record of 21–46.

Early life and playing career
Out of Shaler Area High School, in Pennsylvania, Karcher was a highly recruited quarterback and eventually went to the University of Notre Dame. While there, he was a third-string quarterback behind Blair Kiel. He decided to transfer after two years to Tulane University, where he finished out his collegiate playing career.

Karcher went undrafted by NFL teams, and bounced around training camps before going to the Denver Broncos. He played in a total of four NFL games; three of those games came when he played as a replacement player while many other NFL players were on strike. The Broncos retained him for the rest of the year, and Karcher backed up John Elway while the team played in Super Bowl XXII. Karcher continued to play for the Broncos for one additional season, in 1988.

's NFL off-season, and despite severely limited duty Ken Karcher held at least 2 Broncos franchise records in front of more famous Broncos quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and John Elway, including:
 Completions: rookie game (25 on 1987-10-18 @KAN )
 Pass Yds/Game: rookie season (209.3 in 1987)

Coaching career
Karcher began his coaching career in 1991 as an assistant coach at the University of North Texas, where he coached the Mean Green quarterbacks and receivers. The next year, he was hired by head coach Galen Hall as the passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Orlando Thunder of the World League of American Football. Following the suspension of the World League, Karcher returned to the college ranks as an assistant on Johnny Majors' coaching staff at the University of Pittsburgh. During his first season, he served as the Panthers' pass offense coordinator and quarterbacks coach, sharing coordinator duties with run offense coordinator Charles Coe. In March 1994, Majors put Karcher in sole charge of the offense, promoting him to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He held that position for the next three years, until Majors resignation at the end of the 1996 season.

In 1997, Karcher rejoined Galen Hall in the revamped World League, this time as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the Rhein Fire, based in Düsseldorf, Germany. He helped lead the Fire to the first winning season in the team's three-year history. Rhein finished in first place with a record of 7–3, but lost to the Barcelona Dragons in World Bowl '97. Under his tutelage, quarterback T. J. Rubley earned all-World League honors and was named the league's offensive most valuable player. Karcher's offense led the league in rushing yards (1,555) and ranked second in total offense (3,253). The offensive line set a league record by holding their opponents to only one sack the entire regular season.

Collegiate coaching
Karcher was named the sixth head football coach at Liberty University on February 18, 2000.

At Liberty, Karcher's teams underachieved. Despite this, Liberty chancellor Jerry Falwell resigned him to a 5-year contract after the 2004 season.  But, he would only last one more season.  After a 1–10 campaign in 2005, Karcher was fired.  His final coaching record at Liberty was 21–46, with a 6–8 record in conference play (including two straight second places finishes).

As a coach, Karcher stressed building character in his players through football. One such player was Samkon Gado, a reserve while playing at Liberty.  Karcher helped Gado get his foot in the door of an NFL team, and within the year Gado was the starting running back for the Green Bay Packers.

After his dismissal from Liberty, Karcher was the offensive coordinator at Fellowship Christian High School in Roswell, Georgia, where he led the Paladins to their first-ever winning season and a deep run in the Georgia state playoffs. He also served as the school's athletic director, and taught a 9th grade Bible class at Fellowship Christian School.

In 2008, Karcher accepted a position as the quarterbacks coach with the University of Toledo. He helped the Rockets in an upset win over the Michigan Wolverines, although the squad finished 3–8.

In January 2009, head coach Ron English hired Karcher as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Eastern Michigan University. The Eagles finished that year with a 0–12 record, and Karcher's offense ranked 116th out of 120 teams in total yards (3,340).  Since then, EMU has improved, posting a 2–10 record the following year and a 6–6 record in 2011. EMU regressed in 2012 and finished the year 2–10. After the season, in which the Eagles finished near the bottom of the conference offensive statistics, Karcher left the program.

Head coaching record

College

Personal life
Karcher is married to the former Pauline Termini and they have four children, daughters Kelly and Katie, and sons Austin and Clay.


The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford (the Migration Observatory) is a project providing analysis of immigration and migration issues affecting the United Kingdom. It is a part of the Oxford University's Centre on Migration Policy and Society (COMPAS) and was launched in March 2011 with the broad aim of improving public discourse on migration in the UK by looking at key migration issues. They break this mission into two parts: one part of their mission is "to inform media, public and policy debates" while a second part is "to generate high quality research on international migration and public policy issues".

Impact
The Migration Observatory’s outputs are used by the media in the UK and its staff are often quoted in the media on issues regarding immigration.

Funding
The Migration Observatory is a project of COMPAS, a multidisciplinary research centre at Oxford University. Funding for the Observatory comes from Unbound Philanthropy, the Barrow Cadbury Trust, the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Economic and Social Research Council.


Sonic Unleashed

Sonic Unleashed is a 2008 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series. The story follows Sonic as he attempts to restore the world after his nemesis Doctor Eggman shatters it with a powerful laser to unleash Dark Gaia, an ancient evil, while dealing with having become a "Werehog", a werewolf-esque transformation, which he gains after coming into contact with the energy of Dark Gaia. Gameplay features two distinct styles, with each being played either during daytime or nighttime. Daytime stages incorporate Sonic's traditional platforming and trademark speed, with a combination of behind-the-back third-person viewpoints and 2D side-scroller platforming; gameplay seamlessly transitions between these two views. Night-time levels see Sonic transform into the Werehog; gameplay slows down to accommodate greater platform play, and involves combat against waves of enemies using the Werehog's brute strength.

The game's development began in 2006, after the creation of its game engine, the Hedgehog Engine. It was initially conceived as a sequel to Sonic Adventure 2, but developer Sonic Team began to introduce enough new innovations that separated it from previous games, and it was renamed Unleashed. The Werehog gameplay was conceived to help introduce newer gamers unfamiliar with the Sonic franchise to the series. The game's existence was first brought to light when Sega trademarked the Unleashed name in March 2008, and shortly after, images and a gameplay video were leaked. Three versions of the game were developed: one by Sonic Team for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, one by Sonic Team and Dimps for the Wii and PlayStation 2, and one by Gameloft for mobile phones. Sonic Unleashed was released in the west in November 2008, and in Japan the following month.

Public anticipation for Sonic Unleashed was high, as video game journalists saw it as a possible return to Sonic's platforming roots. While it was commercially successful—selling 2.45 million units—critical reception was mixed. Reviewers praised certain elements, such as the sense of speed in daylight stages and the graphics and audio that make up the environments, but criticized others, such as the Werehog game mechanic, as well as several gameplay and design concepts. Many felt Unleashed was not the game to reinvigorate the series. Sonic Unleashed was delisted from retailers in 2010, following Sega's decision to remove all Sonic games with below-average Metacritic scores from sale. Despite this, the game was released on the PlayStation Network in April 2014 and on PlayStation Now in March 2017, and was also given Xbox One backwards compatibility on November 29, 2018.

Gameplay

Sonic Unleashed is a platform game in which the player controls the titular Sonic the Hedgehog in two modes: fast-paced levels that take place during daytime, showcasing and using Sonic's trademark speed as seen in previous games in the series, and slower, night-time levels, during which Sonic transforms into the Werehog, and gameplay switches to an action-based, brawler style of play, in which Sonic battles Gaia enemies (those created by the main enemy in the game, Dark Gaia). Each level takes place on a particular continent, each of which is based on a real-world location. In sections of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of the game, the player may choose to advance the time of day in order to play as either Sonic or the Werehog; in the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, time is advanced automatically.

Daytime levels focus on Sonic's speed, and to this extent, sees the player control Sonic through fast-moving stages containing both 2D and 3D styles of gameplay. 2D sections are reminiscent of the Mega Drive/Genesis-era Sonic games, where the player controls Sonic in a side-scrolling fashion, while 3D sections see the camera placed behind Sonic, so the player may move in all directions. In addition to moves available in past games, such as the Homing Attack, new moves are also introduced. For instance, a new sidestep feature known as the Quick Step is available, allowing Sonic to dodge left and right, and a Drift feature, which allows Sonic to make tighter turns without slowing down. The game also features a gameplay mechanic previously used in the Sonic Rush series called the Sonic Boost, which greatly increases Sonic's speed, allowing him to smash through objects, destroy enemies instantly, or even access different level paths. In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, an on-screen "Ring Energy" meter displays how much boost is available. The amount of boost remaining may be increased by collecting more rings, and is decreased by using the Boost. In contrast, the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions of the game represent available Boost using bars, which may be added by performing "Action Chains", destroying multiple enemies in quick succession through the use of homing attacks, or by collecting rings. Japanese game company Dimps helped design some of the stages.

Nighttime levels feature slower-paced, action-oriented levels, in which Sonic transforms into the Werehog, a beast form that has great strength and stretchable arms. Gameplay here sees the player use a variety of melee and combo attacks to defeat large numbers of enemies, collect items, and move items around to advance through the level, and use his stretchable arms to cling to distant objects; simple puzzle elements are also featured. Collecting rings in these levels replenishes the Werehog's health, while a special move, Unleashed Mode, allows the Werehog to channel his energy into increasing the power of his attacks for a short time. Nighttime levels are adjusted in the Wii version to allow greater use of the Wii Remote, such that players may control the arms of the Werehog by using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk in order to grab onto objects and proceed in the levels. The Wii version of the game also expands upon the ratio of nighttime levels to daytime, with more than three times as many nighttime levels (twenty-five in all). After nighttime levels are completed, Dark Gaia Points are gained, allowing access to bonus moves.

In addition to these two gameplay types, Sonic Unleashed also features hubworlds, in which the player may reveal, as well as advance, the story of the game. Hubworlds operate differently depending on the version of the game being played; the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature fully interactive, explorable 3D hubworlds, similar to those in Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Adventure, in which townspeople may be interacted with and side quests may be undertaken, in order to gain experience or unlock items, such as artwork, videos and music tracks. In contrast, the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions feature menu-based map systems, in which players simply click on areas to talk to townspeople and find information. Within both day and nighttime levels are medals that Sonic may collect, two types of which exist: Sun and Moon. In the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, collecting these medals allows the player to level up Sonic's Sun and Moon stats, and these must be increased to reach new stages in the game, with a certain number of Sun medals for Hedgehog levels, and a certain number of Moon medals for Werehog levels. Because only the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions feature playable hubworlds, these are also the only versions in which Sun and Moon medals may be found by exploring the towns, talking to the citizens, and completing side quests. In the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions, Sun and Moon medals are earned after completing stages and clearing their objectives. The medals are used to open up doors in Gaia gates, which can earn bonus content.

Plot
In a cold open, Sonic is pursuing his nemesis, Doctor Eggman, bounding around a fleet of spaceships. After the defeat of several of his robots, Sonic transforms into Super Sonic and corners Eggman on the main spaceship. However, Eggman traps the hedgehog using a powerful new ray weapon which drains the power of the Chaos Emeralds, causing them to turn grey and useless. He then uses the Emeralds' energy to fire an enormous laser and unleash a powerful beast, Dark Gaia, from the center of the planet, which has devastating consequences, shattering the planet into seven pieces. In addition, the ray and drained Chaos Emeralds have the unforeseen side-effect of transforming Sonic into a "Werehog" — a beast form with greater strength and abilities — at night. Eggman ejects Sonic into space, who then lands safely onto the planet below.

After landing along with the Emeralds, Sonic encounters a friendly creature who appears to suffer amnesia. Assuming he has caused it with his fall, Sonic decides to assist him in his quest to find out who he is, and the creature becomes a guide for the player; Sonic soon gives him the nickname Chip. Sonic's quest begins, and with the help of some old friends, such as Amy and Tails, he attempts to solve the crisis by traveling the world's continents, finding Gaia Temples that will restore the Emeralds' power, in order to return the world, and himself, to normal.

After six out of the seven continents are returned to normal, Chip is able to regain his memory; he is in fact Dark Gaia's opposite, Light Gaia. Since the beginning of time, the two of them had been in a cycle where Dark Gaia would break the planet apart, and Light Gaia would put it back together. Chip was released along with Dark Gaia, but because both of them were released prematurely, he lost his memory, and Dark Gaia was broken apart. They are able to place the last Chaos Emerald in the shrine on the final continent at Eggman's new empire, "Eggmanland", but are interrupted by him; Sonic then defeats Eggman who is using a robot that utilizes Dark Gaia's power. During the battle, the three sink into the core of the Earth and encounter Dark Gaia. Eggman orders Dark Gaia to destroy Sonic, but it turns on him, knocking him away with one of its tentacles, and absorbs the power that turned Sonic into a Werehog, curing Sonic of lycanthropy.

Dark Gaia then attacks Sonic and Chip, but Chip protects Sonic and calls all of the Gaia temples together to form the Light Gaia Colossus and fight Dark Gaia. The Gaia Colussus seemingly destroys Dark Gaia, but Dark Gaia is not finished with them or the Earth yet, and consumes the entire world in darkness, becoming Perfect Dark Gaia in the process. Chip then gives the restored Chaos Emeralds to Sonic, allowing him to turn into Super Sonic and continue their fight, until he finally destroys it; Dark Gaia sinks back into the planet, but the battle takes its toll on Super Sonic. Chip saves Sonic by throwing him to the surface, before returning himself to the inside of the planet; he leaves behind his necklace and some parting words. Sonic places the necklace on his hand as a bracelet to remind him of their adventure together before speeding off with Tails, flying alongside him on the coastline in the Tornado plane.

Development
Sonic Team began development of the game in 2006, after having begun work on the core technology, the Hedgehog Engine, in 2005. The title Sonic Unleashed was trademarked by Sega on March 12, 2008. Screenshots of cutscenes, artwork, and a video were leaked ten days later, with the title confirmed by Sega on April 3, 2008 with a small selection of screenshots and an updated video. The game was developed internally by Sonic Team in Japan. It was originally intended to be the third installment of the Sonic Adventure series and subsequently, at an early development stage, had the working title Sonic World Adventure, complete with a work-in-progress logo. However, the development team began to introduce enough new innovations to separate it from the Sonic Adventure games, and so a new title, Sonic Unleashed, was decided. It was then later revealed that the game's name in Japan would in fact remain Sonic World Adventure for its release there.

Sonic Team decided early on in the development process to reduce the number of characters present in the game, as well as to make Sonic the only playable character; this decision was taken to get more quality out of fewer characters. While it felt that these ideas combined with traditional Sonic gameplay was a good beginning, it also had to consider how to introduce newer gamers unfamiliar with the Sonic franchise to the series, and so the concept of the Werehog was born, in addition to exploring its own mythology and ideas for the story. Director Yoshihisa Hashimoto felt from the outset that there would be both praise and criticism, but hoped that long-term Sonic fans would understand and empathise with the ideas and direction the team had taken.

In terms of technology, Hashimoto remarked that the visual style was born out of desire to see a global illumination solution used for the game's lighting — that is, light reflecting from one object in the scene onto others. To this extent, development on the renderer for this process began, and the final solution allowed the developers to use distributed rendering over hundreds of computers to calculate lighting for each ten- to twenty-kilometer action stage in around two or three days. Characters, enemies and objects are then lit at run-time with Sonic Team's "Light Field" technology to blend them in with the surrounding pre-calculated lighting. Because the game was being developed for two levels of hardware capability depending on the target platform, two development "silos" were set up to work on two separate builds of the game: one for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 version utilizing the Hedgehog Engine, and one for the PlayStation 2 and Wii version, which instead utilizes a modified version of an existing, internal Sega engine. Hashimoto, who had never directed a Sonic game before, incorporated new features such as a "Quick Step" mechanic allowing players to dodge obstacles with the L and R triggers. Hashimoto sought to combine the best qualities of 2D and 3D Sonic gameplay and address the criticisms directed at previous 3D entries in the franchise. Additional code to dynamically adjust the speed of the game for different situations was used to properly balance its fast pace with traditional platforming elements.

As well as the unique motion-based gameplay mechanics, the Wii version of the game also supports the GameCube controller, and also the option of using the Classic Controller. The daytime levels for the Wii were altered to accommodate the motion control-based boost mechanic, while night-time levels include a mostly behind-the-back view and different platforming styles and combat mechanics. Developer Dimps, who had past involvement in the Sonic franchise, was involved in the design of the daytime areas for these versions. In addition, overall, the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions have fewer daytime levels than the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 counterparts.

Initially, it was stated that Unleashed was to be intended solely as a single-player experience, and would not offer any multiplayer or online modes. This was cast into doubt when references to online modes were alluded to around E3 2008, but later interviews re-iterated that Unleashed would have no online modes at all. However, downloadable content, including additional levels, would remain a possibility after the game's release. A demo version was released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on December 8, 2008 and on the US and EU PlayStation Stores on December 18 and 24, 2008, respectively. The demo does not contain any of the Werehog stages. On March 12, 2009 Sega released Sonic Unleasheds first downloadable content for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, consisting of four Chun-nan daytime stages and two night stages in addition to two new missions. Since then, more downloadable levels have been added: Spagonia, Holoska, Mazuri, Apotos, Shamar, Empire City and Adabat.

Speaking after the game's release, Sonic Team member and Sonic and the Black Knight director Tetsu Katano remarked that although he did not feel the Werehog concept was a mistake, time and resources were a limiting factor in the game's production. He also remarked that the Werehog may reappear in future games, or possibly in a sequel to Sonic Unleashed, should one be made.

Game developer Gameloft announced in May 2009 that it had secured a licensing agreement with Sega Europe Ltd. to produce Java versions of Sega properties, and that its first game would be a version of Sonic Unleashed for mobile phone platforms. It was released in June 2009 in Europe, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. The mobile version of Sonic Unleashed is strictly a side-scroller reminiscent of the original Genesis games, featuring new level designs and character abilities.

Music
The game's original soundtrack, Planetary Pieces: Sonic World Adventure Original Soundtrack, was released as a three-disc set in Japan on January 28, 2009. The theme track, "Endless Possibility", features Jaret Reddick of the American rock band Bowling for Soup. The ending theme music for the game is a slow tempo ballad, "Dear My Friend", and features singer Brent Cash.

Reception

Initial anticipation when the first media for Unleashed was revealed was high, as the demonstration videos hinted at a possible return of Sonic to his traditional platforming roots, especially because of the series' declining quality in recent years, and a number of poorly received games in the franchise that preceded it, such as the 2006 game, Sonic the Hedgehog.

Critical reception to Unleashed was mixed, with Metacritic aggregate scores of 60 and 54 out of 100 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions respectively, and 66 out of 100 for the PlayStation 2 and Wii versions. The added element of motion controls for the Werehog sections, as well as text-based hub worlds and better Werehog level design and camera system, were reasons cited for the higher review scores for the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of the game, though a few review websites, such as 1UP, gave the Wii version a lower score than its Xbox 360 and PS3 counterparts. Nevertheless, the game was a commercial success and sold 2.45 million units combined making it Sega's third bestselling game during their last fiscal year period of 2008.

Positive elements of Sonic Unleashed remarked upon by reviews include the environments, such as the "postcard-perfect architecture", and the graphics, with stages looking "absolutely gorgeous" and being "very pretty and lovingly animated", with one reviewer comparing them to a playable Pixar film. Praise was given to the technical competence of Sega's new Hedgehog Engine as a whole on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, with "bright cartoonish graphics that fly by without a stutter"; however, some complaints were raised about frame rate reduction when large numbers of enemies appeared during the Werehog sections. Although the Wii and PlayStation 2 versions do not use the Hedgehog Engine, graphics for these platforms were still praised for their high quality, with the game being nominated for Best Graphics Technology for the Wii by IGN in its 2008 video game awards. The soundtrack to the game was also praised as being an improvement on more recent installments in the series; use of an orchestral score, rather than rock as in more recent games, was appreciated.

A generally negative reaction was given by critics to the Werehog concept and corresponding night-time sections, which contributed greatly to the lower than expected review scores. Some reviewers compared the Werehog sections to God of War. Complaints stemmed from the game's change of speed, from high-speed daytime sections to the slower, night-time sections; the "pace-breaking combat levels" were described as "plodding", as well as "lethargic" and "combat-heavy". Further to the change of pace, the new style of gameplay that accompanies the night-time levels was widely criticized, involving "frustrating" platform elements and combat described as not "terribly interesting" and "boring", with "awkward" action sequences overall. Some reviewers felt that the Werehog as a concept did not mix well with the daylight areas and traditional Sonic gameplay; GamePros review described them as "dreadfully out-of-place", while IGN stated that they have "nothing to do with Sonic whatsoever", feeling that the Werehog was "being slapped on" to the Sonic experience.

In stark contrast to the Werehog sections, many reviewers found the daytime levels to be enjoyable, especially the "exhilarating" sense of speed they provide; with "the most satisfying gameplay of any Sonic title in years", the game "perfectly [captures] the feel of classic Sonic". Many also enjoyed the mixture of, and transition between, 2D and 3D sections. Indeed, many reviewers remarked that they would have appreciated the game more had it consisted solely of, and expanded upon, the daytime levels. GameSpot's review for the Xbox 360 version, however, argued that the controls were "unresponsive" in the daytime levels, and that most of them were "horribly designed", instead describing the Wii version as a "vastly superior experience", with its daytime levels praised for better control and design.

Aside from the criticism of Werehog levels, further aspects of the game were criticised, contributing to the mixed review scores. The quests that players must undertake in hub-towns were described as "inane" and "tedious", where "figuring out what happens next involves aimlessly wandering through towns and speaking to citizens, only to discover that most of them don't know what we're looking for". The story and overall tone of the game, including the new character Chip, were criticised, some remarking that it was too juvenile, or comparable to that of a Saturday morning cartoon.

Legacy
Archie Comics has made an adaptation of Sonic Unleashed featuring the opening cutscene and Sonic's transformation into the Werehog. A short CGI animated film was released to tie in with the game on November 21, 2008, Sonic: Night of the Werehog. The film was produced by Marza Animation Planet.

Sonic Unleasheds engine, the Hedgehog Engine, would later be refined for use with later games in the franchise, such as Sonic Generations (2011) and Sonic Forces (2017). The daytime gameplay style of Unleashed was re-used and expanded upon to become the defining gameplay of the franchise.

To celebrate the Sonic franchise's 20th anniversary, Sega released Sonic Generations, which re-made various stages and aspects from throughout the series. The console/PC versions of the game contain remakes of the "Rooftop Run" stage and the Egg Dragoon boss fight. The 2017 entry Sonic Forces also contains a re-imagined version of the Egg Dragoon boss.

Notes


Jim Chalmers (disambiguation)

Jim Chalmers is a Queensland politician and member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2013.

Jim Chalmers may also refer to:

 Jim Chalmers (New South Wales politician) (1901–1986), member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1947 to 1956
 Jimmy Chalmers (1877–1915), Scottish footballer


USS Jamestown

USS Jamestown may refer to any one of a number of United States Navy vessels.

 , was a sloop that served from 1844 until 1892
 , was a patrol gunboat that served from 1941 until 1946
 , was originally a Liberty ship (AG-166) completed in 1945, converted and renamed in 1963, and then redesignated in 1964 to AGTR-3.  Scrapped in 1970.


Triggerfinger (album)

Triggerfinger is the self-titled debut album of Belgian rock band Triggerfinger. Released on January 26, 2004 via Green L.F.ant Records, the album features the singles "Inner Peace" and "Camaro", the latter of which features guitar riffs based on the song Kashmir by English rock band Led Zeppelin.

Track listing

Personnel
Ruben Block - lead vocals, guitar
Paul Van Bruystegem - bass guitar, backing vocals
Mario Goossens - drums, backing vocals

External links
Band's official website