Overview.

After the release of the Byrds' "(Untitled)" album, the band continued to tour extensively throughout late 1970 and early 1971 in support of the record. With the band's career experiencing a revival of commercial fortunes, the Byrds elected to continue working with Terry Melcher, who had produced the band's two previous albums. Unfortunately, the grueling pace of the band's touring schedule meant that they were under-prepared for the recording of their next album, with little or no time to develop the material that they intended to include. Sessions for "Byrdmaniax" commenced on October 6, 1970, just three weeks after the release of "(Untitled)", and continued throughout January and March 1971, with the band recording twelve new songs as well as revisiting an outtake from the "(Untitled)" sessions, "Kathleen's Song". The album's pre-release working title was "Expensive", a tongue-in-cheek reference to the bloated costs incurred during the recording of the album, but ultimately this was dropped in favor of the less opulent sounding "Byrdmaniax".

Music.

Among guitarist Roger McGuinn's songwriting contributions to the album was the modal acoustic ballad "Pale Blue" (co-written with drummer Gene Parsons). The song's title can be seen as a metaphor for a mood, while its romantic lyrics deal with the conflicting themes of freedom and security. With its melancholy sense of longing, folksy instrumentation, and sensitive lead vocal performance, "Pale Blue" is often regarded by critics as being one of the most successful musical statements on the album as well as something of a lost classic among the Byrds' oeuvre. Another McGuinn-penned song included on "Byrdmaniax" was the commercially unsuccessful, quasi-gospel single "I Trust" (re-titled as "I Trust (Everything Is Gonna Work Out Alright)" for the single release). The song's title and lyrical refrain was inspired by McGuinn's personal catchphrase, "I trust everything will turn out alright", which itself had been borrowed by the guitarist during the mid-1960s from the best-selling book "The Power of Positive Thinking" by Norman Vincent Peale.  McGuinn's other compositional contributions to "Byrdmaniax" were two songs that he had written with lyricist Jacques Levy for the pair's aborted Broadway musical, "Gene Tryp". Of these, "Kathleen's Song" had originally been intended for a scene in which the song's eponymous heroine patiently waits for Gene Tryp, her lover, to return home from his travels. "Kathleen's Song" had, in fact, been recorded in June 1970 during the recording sessions for "(Untitled)" but had been omitted from that album at the eleventh hour, due to a lack of space. As a result, there are promo copies of "(Untitled)" known to exist that list the song (under the abbreviated title "Kathleen") on the album sleeve. The Byrds returned to "Kathleen's Song" in January and March 1971, undertaking additional recording work in order to ready the track for release on "Byrdmaniax". The second "Gene Tryp" song included on the album was "I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician", a whimsical ragtime pastiche that had been written for a scene in the musical in which the hero, Gene Tryp, runs as a presidential candidate. The song found a second lease of life away from the confines of "Gene Tryp", however, when its satirical lyrics found favor with America's radical youth, who were rebelling against the Nixon administration during the early 1970s.  "Byrdmaniax" also included a pair of novelty songs penned by the band's bass player, Skip Battin, and his songwriting partner Kim Fowley. The first of these, "Tunnel of Love", was an organ driven Fats Domino pastiche, while the second, "Citizen Kane", served as a wry comment on Hollywood life and its celebrity legacy during the 1940s and 1950s. Unfortunately, the inclusion of these two songs, along with McGuinn and Levy's jaunty "I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician", caused the album to suffer from an overabundance of pastiche and whimsy. A third Battin–Fowley song, "Absolute Happiness", was more serious, with its dramatic lyrics providing a Buddhism-inspired meditation on positive values and the power of nature.  The album's opening track, "Glory, Glory", was borrowed by drummer Gene Parsons from the repertoire of The Art Reynolds Singers, just as "Jesus Is Just Alright" on "Ballad of Easy Rider" had been. Despite featuring a striking piano part and strong gospel backing vocals, the song lacked the immediacy of "Jesus Is Just Alright", as producer Terry Melcher admitted in a 1977 interview: "We were aiming to cut another 'Jesus Is Just Alright', but we didn't make it. Larry Knechtel played piano on this cut but it was too fast. The whole thing was a mess." The album also included a bluegrass instrumental named "Green Apple Quick Step", written by Parsons and lead guitarist Clarence White, which featured guest musicians Eric White, Sr. (Clarence's father) on harmonica and Byron Berline on fiddle. White also brought the Helen Carter song "My Destiny" to the recording sessions, having first learned it during his days as a bluegrass musician. White elected to sing lead vocal on the track but unfortunately his nasal voice and the band's lackluster musical backing gave the recording a fatalistic and dirge-like quality. The final track on "Byrdmaniax" was a rendition of "Jamaica Say You Will", written by the then unknown Jackson Browne and featuring a Clarence White vocal performance that is widely regarded as one of his best on a Byrds' album.  In addition to the eleven songs included on the original LP, at least two outtakes from the album sessions are known to exist: a recording of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman"—which had also been attempted during the "(Untitled)" recording sessions—and a cover of ex-Byrd Gene Clark's "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better". Both songs remained in the Columbia vaults for almost 29 years, before finally being released in 2000 as bonus tracks on the Columbia/Legacy reissue of "Byrdmaniax". The version of "Just Like a Woman" recorded for the album in 1971 represented the last Dylan song that the Byrds would record until "Paths of Victory", during the 1990 reunion sessions that were included on "The Byrds" box set. A third outtake from the album sessions that is rumored to exist is the Parsons–White composition "Blue Grease". This song was included in a pre-release track listing for the album that was published in the Byrds' fanclub newsletter, "The Byrds Bulletin", in early 1971. However, the track failed to appear on the album and may not have even been recorded by the band, since there is no mention of it in the Columbia files or in contemporary studio documentation.

Post-production.

Following the completion of recording sessions for the album in early March 1971, the Byrds headed out on tour again, leaving Terry Melcher and engineer Chris Hinshaw to finish mixing the album. In the Byrds' absence, Melcher and Hinshaw brought in arranger Paul Polena to assist with the overdubbing of strings, horns, and a gospel choir onto many of the songs, at a reported cost of $100,000 and allegedly without the band's consent. When the band heard the extent of Melcher's additions they protested to Columbia Records, campaigning to have the album remixed and the orchestration removed but the record company held firm, citing budget restrictions, and the record was duly pressed up and released.  For his part, Melcher defended his actions by explaining that the band's performances in the studio were lackluster and that the orchestration was needed to cover up the album's musical shortcomings. In a 1977 interview with the Byrds' biographer Johnny Rogan, Melcher attempted to illustrate the situation in the recording studio during the making of the album and also explain his rationale for the orchestral additions: "Several members of the group were involved in divorces and they were hiding from their wives. It was complete bedlam in the studio. Everyone had too many problems. There was a lack of interest on everybody's part. I was trying to save the album, but it was a mistake. I should have called a halt." Melcher also succinctly highlighted his lack of confidence in the quality of the material that the band had recorded: "I think the orchestration was a big mistake, but the songs were weak." As for not obtaining the band's consent for the overdubs, Melcher explained "I admit that I wasn't in consultation with them a lot and I didn't really deal with Clarence, Battin or Parsons on these matters. But I'm sure it was inconceivable that McGuinn did not know about the orchestration."  The band themselves were far from happy with the album and upon its release, were vocal in press interviews about their dissatisfaction. Even two years later, Clarence White complained to journalist Pete Frame that "Terry Melcher put strings on while we were on the road, we came back and we didn't even recognize it as our own album." Gene Parsons disowned the album completely, describing it as "Melcher's folly" and commenting in interviews that the band were all appalled by what they heard when they returned from touring. McGuinn actually defended Melcher somewhat by indicating in an interview with the English journalist Keith Altham that the album had been taken away from the producer at the last minute and given to an engineer in San Francisco to remix. However, the production credits on the original LP sleeve do not support McGuinn's claim and Melcher later stated that he had no recollection of the album being mixed by anyone other than himself. In more recent years, McGuinn has conceded to journalist David Fricke that the album's shortcomings were not down to Melcher's over-production alone: "We were just idling artistically, the album sounds like we really weren't concentrating on doing good work, good art."

Release and reception.

"Byrdmaniax" was released on June 23, 1971 in the United States (catalogue item KC 30640) and August 6, 1971 in the United Kingdom (catalogue item S 64389). Although the album was issued in stereo commercially, there is some evidence to suggest that mono copies of the album (possibly radio station promos) were distributed in the UK. As well as being issued in the standard stereo format, "Byrdmaniax" was also released in 1971 as a Quadraphonic LP in Japan on the CBS Sony label (catalogue item SOPL-34001). The quadraphonic version of the album features a noticeably different mix to the standard stereo version.  The album peaked at #46 on the "Billboard" Top LPs chart, during a chart stay of ten weeks, but failed to chart in the UK. A single, "I Trust (Everything Is Gonna Work Out Alright)" b/w "(Is This) My Destiny", was released ahead of the album on May 7, 1971 in the UK, to coincide with a European tour, but it did not chart. A second single taken from the album, "Glory, Glory" (b/w "Citizen Kane"), was released on August 20, 1971 and reached #110 on the "Billboard" chart but again failed to chart in the UK. The striking album cover artwork, featuring a set of silver "death masks"—one for each member of the band—was designed by Virginia Team and Grammy Award-winning Columbia Records' art director, John Berg. These foreboding plaster facemasks, which were created by artist Mary Leonard and photographed by Don Jim, have been regarded by some critics as an accurate visual representation of the lifeless music on the album and the declining state of the band in 1971.  Upon its release, "Byrdmaniax" was greeted positively by the UK music press but received scathing reviews in the U.S. Richard Meltzer's review in the August 1971 edition of "Rolling Stone" magazine was particularly vicious, with Meltzer describing the album as "increments of pus". The same review also described the McGuinn–Levy composition "I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician" as a song that was "degenerating into namby pamby innocuous mickey mouse with latent-blatant political content". Meltzer concluded his withering attack by deriding the Byrds themselves as "a boring dead group." In the UK, Roy Hollingworth's review in the August 14, 1971 edition of "Melody Maker" was more positive and described the album as "one sweet length of bursting Byrds sunshine, so perfect in quality and quantity you'd feel an absolute heel to ask for more." "Record Mirror" was also enthusiastic in its praise of the album, describing it as "another fine album by the Byrds." However, not all British reviews of "Byrdmaniax" were positive, with Richard Green of the "NME" noting that "When the true history of rock comes to be written, the Byrds will get a deserved place of honour on the strength of tunes like 'Mr. Tambourine Man', 'Eight Miles High', and 'So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star'. Hopefully the writer will not have listened to "Byrdmaniax" or he may drastically alter his opinion." Green was also critical of Terry Melcher's use of strings and horns on many of the tracks, concluding that "Orchestration is all very well for some bands, but not, on this showing, for the Byrds."  Today, "Byrdmaniax" is generally regarded as the Byrds' weakest album, as well as the least popular of any of the band's releases amongst their fanbase. Mark Deming, writing for the Allmusic website, has summed up the album by concluding "Not an awful album, but Byrdmaniax is hardly the pleasure it could have been in the hands of a more tasteful production team." In his 2000 review for "The Austin Chronicle", Raoul Hernandez gave the album a rating of three stars out of five, commenting ""Byrdmaniax" may be as disjointed as reviews claimed at the time, but most of these same critics didn't like "Sweetheart of the Rodeo" either, and if the Gram Parsons-blessed classic is ground zero for 'country rock' then "Maniax" is full-blown 'gospel rock'." "Rolling Stone" senior editor David Fricke remarked in 2000 that "Byrdmaniax" suffered not just from Melcher's inappropriate orchestration, but also from being a Byrds' album that is almost totally bereft of the Byrds' signature sound. According to Fricke, the familiar chime of McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker guitar is lost beneath the overbearing strings and the band's trademark harmonies are also largely absent from the album.  "Byrdmaniax" was remastered at 20-bit resolution as part of the Columbia/Legacy Byrds series. It was reissued in an expanded form on February 22, 2000 with three bonus tracks. These bonus tracks included an outtake version of Gene Clark's "Think I'm Gonna Feel Better", sung by Clarence White (who had also played guitar on Clark's original 1967 solo recording of the song); a stripped-down alternate version of "Pale Blue"; and a rendition of Bob Dylan's "Just Like a Woman". The remastered reissue also includes, as a hidden track, an alternate version of "Green Apple Quick Step", which is sometimes known by the alternate title "Byrdgrass". "Byrdmaniax" was again reissued in Japan in the Blu-Spec High Definition audio format on February 14, 2014. Bonus tracks Include the Mono promotional single version of 'Glory, Glory', a live version of 'I Trust', the previously released bonus tracks of 'Think I'm Gonna Feel better' and 'Just Like A Woman', and a newly uncovered studio song 'Nothin' To it'. The disc comes in a cd-sized gatefold paper sleeve album replica (Mini LP) with obi strip and booklet insert of notes (mostly in Japanese). Actual track durations are given in the booklet insert.

Personnel.

NOTES:

Byrdmaniax is the tenth album by the American rock band the Byrds. It was released in June 1971 on Columbia Records ("see" 1971 in music) at a time of renewed commercial and critical success for the band, due to the positive reception that their two previous albums, "Ballad of Easy Rider" and "(Untitled)", had received. The album was the second by the Byrds to feature the Roger McGuinn, Clarence White, Gene Parsons, and Skip Battin line-up of the band and was mostly recorded in early 1971, while the band were in the midst of an exhausting tour schedule. As a result, the band had little time to hone their new songs before recording commenced and thus, much of the material on the album is underdeveloped. "Byrdmaniax" was poorly received upon release, particularly in the United States, and did much to undermine the Byrds' new-found popularity.

Byrdmaniax ist das zehnte Musikalbum der US-amerikanischen Folk-Rock-Band The Byrds. Es erschien am 23. Juni 1971 auf dem Label Columbia Records. Nachdem die Byrds sich mit "Ballad of Easy Rider" und "(Untitled)" wieder von dem Misserfolg des von Fans und Kritikern gleichermaßen schlecht aufgenommenen "Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde" erholt hatten, erlaubten sie sich mit "Byrdmaniax" einen weiteren Flop. In den Vereinigten Staaten erreichte das Album #46 der Pop-Charts, aus denen es sich recht schnell wieder verabschiedete, in Großbritannien kam es nicht zu einem Charteintritt des Albums. Die schlechten Kritiken und Verkaufszahlen hatte das Album wohl den orchestralen Arrangements und dem Gospelchor zu verdanken, die Produzent Terry Melcher und Arrangeur Paul Polena dem Album beimischten, und im Gegensatz zu den eher sparsam instrumentierten früheren Alben der Band standen.


Early life.

Slory was born in Paramaribo, Suriname, where he lived until he was seven years old. Slory's father is a former player of the Surinamese football club S.V. Robinhood and the Suriname national football team, where he played as an attacking midfielder. Slory left Suriname when his mother started to study in the Netherlands.  In the Netherlands Slory first lived in Zaandam, North Holland. After two months the family moved to Heemskerk, North Holland. When Slory was in the Netherlands for almost a year, a friend of his mother signed him up for his first amateur football club.

Club career.

Youth career.

Slory started his youth career at local Heemskerk club ODIN '59. Soon he joined Stormvogels, a regional club with teams playing on the highest national youth levels. Eventually he got the option to join a professional side. The Dutch Eerste Divisie clubs AZ and Telstar, both based in North Holland, were interested in the youngster. Slory decided to play for Telstar. Main reason for his decision was the fact there were already friends of him playing for the club from Velsen.  At the age of 15, Slory was almost sent away from the club. Mainly thanks to his coach, Toon Gerrits, the youngster changed positively: "I had an evaluation talk with Toon Gerrits. We had a good talk and after that my development went sky high. I still thank him for that."

Stormvogels Telstar (2000–2005).

First steps (2000–2003).

Slory joined Telstar's first team squad in the season 2000–01, but did not play a single match for the first team. In 2001, Telstar merged with Slory's previous amateur club, Stormvogels, which resulted in a name change; Stormvogels Telstar.  At the age of 18, Slory made his professional debut in the Dutch Eerste Divisie on 18 August 2001. Slory replaced Orlando Smeekes in the 73rd minute of the home match against Excelsior (1–3). On 4 November 2001, Slory was named in the starting line-up of the home match against HFC Haarlem (0–1) for the first and only time of the season. Slory played nine matches in his first season, without scoring any goals. After a promising debut season, Slory had a disappointing follow-up season. In the season 2002–03, Slory only made two appearances in the club's first team.

Breakthrough (2003–2005).

Slory had his breakthrough in the season 2003–04. On 5 September 2003, Slory scored his first professional goals in the home match win against Heracles Almelo (2–1). After replacing Luciano van Kallen in the 44th minute, Slory scored both goals for Stormvogels Telstar. Slory played 35 Eerste Divisie matches for Stormvogels Telstar, in which he scored 12 goals.  Slory slowly grew out to be an important player for the club from Velsen. In the season 2004–05, Slory played 31 league matches, scoring 9 goals. As Slory's ambition went beyond the club's, Slory was ready for a new challenge. On 21 February 2005, Excelsior announced the transfer of the 22 years old winger. Slory signed a two-year deal with the third club of Rotterdam. Feyenoord was also part of the agreement, as the Eredivisie club had the first option on the player.

Excelsior (2005–2007).

Unexpected promotion (2005–2006).

At Excelsior, Slory quickly became a first team regular and had a successful 2005–06 season. On 12 September 2005, Slory made his Excelsior debut in the away match against Cambuur Leeuwarden (0–1). One week later, on 19 September 2005, Slory scored his first goal for Excelsior in the home match against FC Emmen (3–0).  Under the management of Mario Been, Excelsior unexpectedly battled for the Eerste Divisie championship. On 31 March 2006, Excelsior won the home match against championship favorite VVV-Venlo (3–1), securing the Eerste Divisie 2005–06 title. Slory scored the equalizer and played an important role in Excelsior's Eredivisie promotion, by scoring 14 goals in 36 matches.

Relegation battle (2006–2007).

After Excelsior's surprise promotion, the Rotterdam club was an almost certain relegation candidate for the season 2006–07. The club had the lowest Eredivisie budget and only few players with Eredivisie experience. However, Slory impressed in the early weeks of the season, scoring five goals in the first ten matches and also had four assists to his name. Slory made his Eredivisie debut on 19 August 2006, in the home match against Roda JC (0–1). Slory scored his first goal on the highest level one week later on 26 August 2006, in the away match against RKC Waalwijk (1–1).  Due to Slory's impressive start of the season, the winger was watched by scouts from various domestic and foreign clubs. However, on 27 October 2006, Feyenood prompted to confirm they were using their option to sign the youngster in the summer. On 21 December 2006, it was announced Slory would join Feyenoord at the end of the season, signing a two-year deal.  Slory continued his impressive run at Excelsior by scoring goals in important matches, including the 1–1 equalizer in the away match against his new club's arch rivals Ajax (2–2). The winger also scored in the home trashing against Heracles Almelo (6–1) and twice in the away match against ADO Den Haag (2–2), both clubs also fighting against relegation. On 29 April 2007, the last Eredivisie match day, Excelsior played against Eredivisie leader AZ. Slory's excellent dribble in the 20th minute caused AZ goalkeeper Boy Waterman to make a foul. The goalkeeper got sent off and Excelsior received a penalty kick, which was finished by Luigi Bruins. Excelsior eventually won the match 3–2, which caused AZ to lose the Eredivisie title to PSV.  Excelsior finished the Eredivisie on a 16th place, which meant they had to compete in the promotion/relegation playoffs. After wins against BV Veendam, with two goals from Slory in the second leg, and RBC Roosendaal, with Slory scoring the winning goal in the second leg, Excelsior remained in the top tier.

Feyenoord (2007–2010).

False start (2007–2009).

Slory's 2007–08 season initially started on 15 June 2007. Before even playing a single minute for Feyenoord, arch rivals Ajax made an offer on the new Feyenoord winger. However, Slory remained at Feyenoord as new Feyenoord coach Bert van Marwijk refused any cooperation.  On 19 August 2007, Slory made an unlucky debut for Feyenoord in the Eredivisie season opening match. Slory was part of Feyenoord's starting line-up in the away match against FC Utrecht (0–3), but collided with opposing goalkeeper Franck Grandel after 17 minutes. The winger broke a metatarsal bone and was sidelined for almost two months. While Slory was recovering from his injury, Feyenoord decided to offer Slory a new contract. On 4 October 2007, Feyenoord extended Slory's contract with a year. Slory's new contract ends summer 2010, with an option for another year.  Slory returned on the pitch on 11 November 2007, in the Klassieker, Feyenoord's home match against Ajax (2–2). Slory came in as a substitute in the 69th minute, but missed two immense opportunities to score face to face with Ajax goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg in extra time. As a result of the heavy rivalry between the two sides, a threatening note was delivered at Slory's home address after the match: "You better score the third opportunity, otherwise you must move!". Slory reported the threat to the police. On 2 December 2007, Slory scored his first Eredivisie goal for Feyenoord in the home match against Heracles Almelo (6–0).  Due to injuries and personal difficulties, Slory only played 17 matches in his first Feyenoord season. The same problems haunted the player in the season 2008–09. Slory already missed the complete pre-season program due to a hamstring injury, while he strained a muscle in his other leg in his first Eredivisie match of the season, causing Slory to be out for another six weeks. Slory appeared in 20 Eredivisie matches, scoring only one goal.

Last chance (2009–2010).

For the season 2009–10, former Excelsior coach Mario Been returned on Slory's path, as he was appointed as the new Feyenoord coach. After two disappointing seasons full of injuries, it was Slory's last chance at the club from Rotterdam. However, Slory had a controversial start of the season. On 17 July 2009, Slory was involved in a fight with teammate Karim El Ahmadi on a pre-season training in Óbidos, Portugal. The day after the fight, Slory apologized in front of all his teammates and technical staff.  During the start of the season, Slory quickly became a first team regular. With four goals in thirteen matches, the right winger performed well above expectation. Despite the good start of the season, minor incidents continued to occur and Slory slowly lost his place within the first eleven. On 25 October 2009, Slory was substituted during half time in Feyenoord's home match against VVV-Venlo (1–0) due to disciplinary reasons after arguing with Feyenoord midfielder Denny Landzaat. On 22 November 2009, Slory was fined for signing autographs at a school in Barendrecht, while he was reportedly ill and unable to attend the club's training session. Combined with Slory's expiring contract, the player was free to join a new club during the winter transfer period.

West Bromwich Albion (2010).

On 1 February 2010 he signed for English Championship side West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer. Slory made his debut for West Brom, coming on as 52nd-minute substitute in their 3–2 away win at Blackpool on 3 February 2010. Slory made his home debut for the Baggies in a 2–0 win over Scunthorpe United on 9 February.  He made his first start of the season on 16 February in a 1–1 draw with Cardiff City away. Slory made 6 league appearances for West Bromwich Albion during the 2009/10 season with only one start and the rest coming off the bench.  On 5 May 2010 he was released by West Bromwich Albion who decided against adding to the wingers 5-month contract

Levski Sofia.

On 30 August 2010, Slory arrived in Bulgaria and on the next day (31 August 2010), Slory officially signed his contract, after successfully passing the medical tests. The contract is for 2 years. Slory did not succeed in establishing himself as first choice in the Sofia team's line-up and eventually cancelled his contract with the Bulgarian side.

Adelaide United.

On 20 December 2010, it was announced that Slory had signed as a guest player for A-league side Adelaide United, a contract which allows him to make a maximum of 10 appearances for the club. However, he is ineligible to play until the international transfer window opens in January. Adelaide United has also left the door open for the possibility of Slory staying on beyond the end of the 2010/11 A-League season. Slory recently revealed to the media that he has extended his contract to the end of the 2011/12 season but it is yet unknown if it is definite. On 2 February 2011, Slory made his first official appearance for the team.  Due to a heated disagreement with manager Rini Coolen, it was claimed that Slory would walk away from United. Coolen, who dropped Slory for the Round 7 match against Wellington Phoenix at Eden Park was said to have done so because of the row. It is believed that Slory would also "walk away from the game" and retire from professional football, due to the row. Adelaide United confirmed the reports that Slory intended to retire from football on 22 November 2011. Slory claims he has lost the passion and commitment to football, and hopes to return to the Netherlands and start up a business.

Return to Netherlands.

Slory returned to Netherlands and played with amateur clubs BVV Barendrecht and VDL Maassluis, while completing his coaching course. More than 3 years after he last playing professionally, he signed an 18-month professional contract with Eredivisie club FC Dordrecht in January 2015, after having trained with the club since August 2014.

International career.

Slory was born in Surinam, a former Dutch territory, and was eligible to represent either the Surinam national team or the Netherlands national team, he chose to represent the Netherlands like many other Surinamese born footballers such as Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf and Jimmy Hasselbaink.  As a result of his excellent performance at Excelsior in the Eredivisie season 2006–07, Slory received an invitation by the Netherlands coach Marco van Basten. Slory joined the Dutch national team on their trip through Asia in the summer of 2007.  Slory played two matches for the Netherlands. On 2 June 2007, Slory made his international debut in the friendly match against South Korea in Seoul (0–2). After a foul on Slory, the Netherlands received a penalty kick in the 32nd minute of game, which was scored by Rafael van der Vaart. Slory played his second and last match for the Netherlands on 6 June 2007, as the Netherlands beat Thailand in Bangkok (1–3).

Honours.

Excelsior  Feyenoord

Andwélé "Andy" Cedric Slory (born 27 September 1982) is a Dutch footballer who plays as a right winger. After his professional debut for Stormvogels Telstar at the age of 18, Slory promoted to the Eredivisie with his next club Excelsior. In the Eredivisie, Slory had an impressive season with Excelsior. Slory became the club's top scorer with 12 goals, made his debut in the Netherlands national football team and earned a transfer to Feyenoord. Due to injuries, Slory had a difficult start at Feyenoord, but became a first team regular in the season 2009–10. Later he played in England, Bulgaria and Australia, then retired from playing professionally for 3 years until he joined FC Dordrecht in 2015.

Andwélé Cedric Slory (* 27. September 1982 in Paramaribo) ist ein ehemaliger niederländischer Nationalfußballspieler mit surinamischen Wurzeln. Seine Profi-Laufbahn begann Slory im Jahr 2000 bei Stormvogels Telstar in der Eerste Divisie. 2005 wechselte er zu Excelsior Rotterdam. Er war mit 14 Toren maßgeblich am Aufstieg der Rotterdamer in die Eredivisie beteiligt. In der Saison 2006/07 schoss er 12 Tore und erregte so die Aufmerksamkeit von mehreren Scouts, u. a von Feyenoord Rotterdam, Ajax Amsterdam, AZ Alkmaar und PSV Eindhoven. Zur Saison 2007/08 wechselte er zum Stadtkonkurrenten Feyenoord.


Design and location.

Above the fountain bowl situated in Joyce Kilmer Park, bounded by the Grand Concourse, Walton Avenue, 164th Street, and 161st Street, a life-size figure of Lorelei rises, supported on a base; the monument stands at the southern end of the Joyce Kilmer Park and is near 161st Street and the Grand Concourse, across from the Bronx County Courthouse. Three mermaids sit in the fountain bowl resting at the base, which is supported by three volutes. Located on the front side of the base, between two volutes, is a relief of a profile portrait of Heine. Below that is the signature of the poet. The figure to the left of the relief, symbolizing poetry, sits to the right of the figure symbolizing satire; on the back is a figure signifying melancholy. Between the three figures are three dolphin heads. In addition to the Heine-portrait, there is a depiction of a naked boy with dunce-cap pointing his pen at a dragon, symbolizing humor. On a third relief, a sphinx hugs "a naked young man in the kiss of death".  The Lorelei is dressed, according to Herter's biographer Brigitte Hüfler, in a non-contemporary garb. In her cleavage, she wears a necklace, and her embroidered jacket is pulled over the hips.  The figure symbolizing poetry is the only one of the three figures that faces the relief of Heine. It also faces towards a rose, which is supposed to express a particularly intimate relationship between poetry and Heine. From the right of the Heine-relief is the figure of satire, which turns her upper body towards Heine. In the back of the monument is positioned the "melancholy". The hair of the figure is long and unadorned, and she looks down sadly.  The reliefs on the barrel bridge the space between the auxiliary figures and the Lorelei. The Sphinx is holding a naked young man and gives him probably the kiss of death, because the Riddle of the Sphinx has not been resolved. The humorous relief signifying killing a dragon could be interpreted as a matter of prejudice and public opinion. Heine's relief is embraced with a palm and a spruce twig.

History.

Origins.

In the autumn of 1887, a committee for the establishment of a Heine Memorial was formed in Düsseldorf. The aim of the initiative was to unveil the monument to the 100th birthday of the poet, in 1897. The Munich-based poet Paul Heyse participated in a call to the committee, and, among other things, wrote to the "Düsseldorf Gazette" on November 2, 1887 in Düsseldorf Gazette. Following Düsseldorf's lead, other German cities formed committees to support the project. Even in New York there was interest in the project. The Austro-Hungarian Empress and Heine admirer, Elisabeth, also joined the Düsseldorf committee, and sent 50,000 marks toward the construction of the monument under the condition that the Berlin sculptor Ernst Herter would build it. In December 1887, Herter provided some designs for the monument.  The efforts of the Düsseldorf city council made progress. On March 6, 1888, the Düsseldorf City Council decided to build a Heine monument at a tie of eleven to eleven votes, including the vote of the Mayor Heinrich Ernst Lindemann, who was also a member of the Memorial Committee. The City Council was thus as divided as the German public, since the announcement of the monument plans sparked fierce debate. At the time of the vote, Herter already had a first plan for the monument, in that it was to contain a canopy. Since the Empress did not like this design, in May 1888 two further proposals came about: one depicting Heine sitting on a pedestal, the other with the current Lorelei fountain. The designs were submitted on June 30, 1888. While Elisabeth preferred the Heine-figure, Düsseldorf preferred the Lorelei Fountain.  Opposition to the monument formed almost immediately after the plans were released in the autumn of 1887. That year, two pamphlets were published, directed against Heine. In addition, several writers and newspapers wrote pieces defaming Heine. However, among some German journalists and writers, Heine was still popular and his plan was still supported.  By January 1889, the Empress withdrew her support. The project was thus temporarily shelved because public donations netted only 15,000 marks. However, since Herter had estimated a cost of 32 to 40,000 marks to build the monument, the artist now began to collect donations for the monument in its own right, but his efforts were unsuccessful. Important supporters also resigned from the Düsseldorf Memorial Committee, including Paul Heyse and Mayor Lindemann. Due to limited funding, the Committee decided to grant Herter the contract for another draft. In December 1892, the Committee and sculptor signed a contract for the pedestal.

Monument placement.

Based on the City Council's decision in March 1888, the Committee announced on January 5, 1893 that the Heine monument was to be completed in 1895 and then erected in the courtyard. However, on January 24, 1893, the construction permit was withdrawn since it was not covered by city laws, and also because of prevailing antisemitism in the German Empire at the time. The Committee filed a lawsuit against the city for not allowing the construction of the statue in the courtyard. After Düsseldorf rejected the monument, the cities of Mainz and Frankfurt then both wanted to install the monument in their city. In particular, the Mayor of Mainz, Georg Oechsner, wanted to establish the Lorelei Fountain in Mainz. The Mainz City Council, on July 10, 1893, authorized the erection of the monument, but the plan to put the monument in Mainz was strongly opposed. During that time, Oeschner was ousted as mayor and new City Council members were elected, so that on October 31, 1894, the monument was rejected by a large majority.  Since plans to establish the monument in Frankfurt had failed, places to erect it outside Germany were considered. Beginning on April 14, 1893, a New York-based German singing society, the Arion Society of New York City, expressed interest in the monument. Herter received an official request from New York City's government and supposedly went to work immediately on the new site in New York.  However, in New York, the monument's construction did not go smoothly. It was not only the monument itself, but also due to the fact that the German immigrants wanted to put it up at the Grand Army Plaza entrance to Central Park, at corner of 5th Avenue and 59th Street, where a monument to Chester A. Arthur had just been rejected in 1893. Although prominent German-Americans, such as the former US government official Carl Schurz, supported the project, toward the end of 1895, there were some complications with the construction. The Arion Society began to describe the design as "dry, weak and unconventional". The New York City Parks Department had also asked the government of Düsseldorf whether the monument had been refused in the latter only for political, and not also for artistic, reasons.  "The New York Times" described the monument as an "example of academic mediocrity, worthy of erection, but not worthy of erection as our chief municipal ornament". Due to the large opposition to the monument in Grand Army Plaza, alternate places to put the monument were considered, such as Brooklyn and Queens in New York City, or even in Baltimore, Maryland. On March 10, 1896, members of the Democratic Party brought the project directly to the New York City Council without specifying a precise location. Simultaneously, at the suggestion of Republican Party, New York State had created an art commission on March 4, 1896, which decided to place the monument in the Bronx. The monument was unveiled on July 8, 1899, at East 164th Street and Grand Concourse in the Bronx, to a crowd of 4,000 to 6,000 people, with Herter attending in the crowd.

Vandalism and rehabilitation.

The monument was, from the start, the subject of frequent abuse and vandalism; although the monument was guarded by police, in 1900, the mermaids' arms were cut off. Women of the Christian Association of Abstinence described the monument as "indecent" in a court case in February 1900; other sources considered the monument as a "pornographic spectacle". In 1940, the fountain was moved to the northern end of the park and partially repaired In the following decades, the vandalism subsided, but later, the heads of the female characters were cut off again, the monument sprayed all over with graffiti. In the 1970s, the fountain was considered the statue in New York most affected by vandalism and destruction.  Plans to completely restore and move the monument back to its original position were formed in 1987. The Municipal Art Society of New York launched an "Adopt a Monument" program, which rehabilitated about 20 monuments. However, because of the initially estimated cost of $275,000, the renewal was delayed. A visit to former North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Johannes Rau in September 1989 netted a 50,000 mark donation; later, $700,000 was raised through private donations. The fountain was reopened on July 8, 1999 at East 161st Street and the Grand Concourse, three blocks from its original location.

The Lorelei Fountain, also known as the Heinrich Heine Memorial, is located on East 161st Street in the Concourse section of the Bronx, New York City, near the Bronx County Courthouse. It is a white marble fountain dedicated to the memory of the German poet and writer Heinrich Heine. Heine had once written a poem devoted to the Lorelei, a feminine water spirit much like a mermaid that is associated with the Lorelei rock in St. Goarshausen, Germany. The monument was originally to be placed in Heine's hometown of Düsseldorf, but antisemitism and nationalist propaganda in the German Empire precluded the completion of the monument on Heine's 100th birthday in 1897. Instead, it was unveiled on July 8, 1899 in the presence of the sculptor, Ernst Herter, in the Bronx.

Das Heinrich-Heine-Denkmal im New Yorker Bezirk Bronx, im Englischen als "Loreley Fountain" bezeichnet, ist ein von Ernst Herter aus weißem Laaser Marmor geschaffener Loreley-Brunnen, der dem Andenken des deutschen Dichters und Schriftstellers Heinrich Heine gewidmet ist. Das Denkmal hätte ursprünglich in Heines Heimatstadt Düsseldorf aufgestellt werden sollen. Antisemitische und nationalistische Agitation im Deutschen Reich verhinderte jedoch, dass es zu Heines 100. Geburtstag im Jahre 1897 fertiggestellt und eingeweiht werden konnte. Stattdessen wurde es am 8. Juli 1899 im Beisein des Bildhauers im New Yorker Bezirk Bronx enthüllt.


Naming.

Commonly, an individual fluorotelomer alcohol molecule is named by the number of carbons that are fluorinated versus the number that are hydrocarbon-based. For example, 8:2 fluorotelomer alcohol would represent a molecule with 8 fluorinated carbons and a 2 carbon ethyl alcohol group. The structure of a fluorotelomer alcohol is most commonly F(CF)CHCHOH, where "n" is an even number.

Chemistry.

The synthesis of fluorotelomer alcohols requires a varying number of tetrafluoroethylene monomers that form an oligomer with a pentafluoroethyl iodide telogen. The fluorinated iodide then undergoes an addition with ethylene to form an organoiodine compound with increased synthesis possibilities. The terminal iodine is replaced by a hydroxyl group to yield the fluorotelomer alcohol. The fluorotelomer alcohol can then be used to produce acrylate polymers with the fluorotelomer alcohols attached via ester functional groups.

Environmental and health concerns.

Fluorotelomer alcohols are volatile and widely detected in air.  Acrylate polymers with fluorotelomer substituents are under investigation for their potential to degrade into environmental contaminants." FTOHs can also be used as intermediates in the production of surfactants.  Fluorotelomer alcohols can biodegrade to perfluorinated carboxylic acids, whichpersist in the environment and are found in the blood serum of populations and wildlife, such as the toxic PFOA and PFNA. The fluorotelomer alcohols 6:2 FTOH and 8:2 FTOH have been found to be estrogenic. The atmospheric oxidation of fluorotelomer alcohols can also result in anthropogenic perfluorinated carboxylic acids. In addition to perfluorinated carboxylic acids, fluorotelomer alcohols can degrade to form unsaturated carboxylic acids which have been detected in bottlenose dolphins. Fluorotelomer alcohols such as 4:2 FTOH, 6:2 FTOH, 8:2 FTOH, and 10:2 FTOH, have been identified as residuals in consumer products such as stain repellents, Zonyl FSE, and windshield wash, among others. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has asked eight chemical companies to reduce the amount of residuals, including fluorotelomer alcohols, from products.

Fluorotelomer alcohols, or FTOHs, are fluorotelomers with an alcohol functional group. They are volatile precursors to perfluorinated carboxylic acids, such as PFOA and PFNA, and other compounds.

Fluortelomeralkohole (FTOH) sind eine zu den polyfluorierten Tensiden gehörende Stoffgruppe. Die allgemeine Summenformel lautet CF(CF)CHCHOH, wobei "n" nur ungerade sein kann.


History.

The franchise was granted in 1969–70 as the Rosemont National. In 1971, they moved from Rosemont to Laval to become the Laval National, and later the Laval Voisins. In 1985, they became the Laval Titan, and in 1994, they became the Laval Titan Collège Français following a merger with the Verdun Collège Français, and then in 1998, they moved to Bathurst. The "Acadie" term in the team name refers to the city's surroundings, where the Acadian population is a majority.  The franchise has won five President's Cups, one of which (in 1999) came during the team's tenure in Bathurst. In the Memorial Cup that year, the team finished winless in the round-robin. The most famous player that has come through the organization would undoubtedly be Mario Lemieux, who was drafted in 1984 by the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lemieux played for the team during its tenure in Laval. Other famous franchise alumni include Mike Bossy, Gino Odjick and Vincent Damphousse. Notable NHL alumni from Bathurst include Patrice Bergeron, François Beauchemin, Bruno Gervais and Roberto Luongo.  In the 1999–2000 season, the Titan had the first female to be drafted by a QMJHL team, Charline Labonté, a 17-year-old Quebec goaltender who spent parts of two seasons with the team.  In 2018, the team won its first Memorial Cup championship, defeating the Regina Pats in the centennial edition of the tournament, coached by Mario Pouliot.  The Titan play in the smallest market in the Canadian Hockey League. With a population of 13,424 residents, the city of Bathurst is smaller than Swift Current, Saskatchewan, home of the WHL's Swift Current Broncos. After their Memorial Cup win in 2018, coach Mario Pouliot made this comment: "Being the smallest market in the entire CHL, it's a huge accomplishment for us. Four years ago we started from the bottom and we ended up tonight with the Memorial Cup..."

Relocation speculation.

On February 7, 2009, the Titan franchise was given a 30-day relocation application extension by the QMJHL Board of Governors. Morrissette decided to sell the team to his daughter Annie Morrissette-Hébert and his son Stéphane Morrissette. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Léo-Guy Morrissette bought back control of the team from his children at their request. He retained ownership of the team through to April 2013. Local investors including NHL player Sean Couturier purchased the team. At the time of the sale, the team was reported to be worth just over $3 million.

Players.

Retired numbers.

List of retired numbers from 1969 to present.

The Acadie–Bathurst Titan are a major junior ice hockey team based in Bathurst, New Brunswick, Canada. They are members of the Telus Maritimes Division in the Telus Conference of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The team plays its home games at the K. C. Irving Regional Centre. The team won the 2018 Memorial Cup.

Der Titan d’Acadie-Bathurst ("engl." Acadie-Bathurst Titan) ist eine professionelle kanadische Junioren-Eishockeymannschaft aus Bathurst, New Brunswick, die in der Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec (LHJMQ) spielt. Seine Heimspiele trägt das Franchise im K. C. Irving Regional Centre aus.


Presentation.

The main symptoms involve involuntary blinking and chin thrusting. Some patients may experience excessive tongue protrusion, squinting, light sensitivity, muddled speech, or uncontrollable contraction of the platysma muscle. Some Meige's patients also have "laryngeal dystonia" (spasms of the larynx). Blepharospasm may lead to embarrassment in social situations, and oromandibular dystonia can affect speech, making it difficult to carry on the simplest conversations. This can cause difficulty in both personal and professional contexts, and in some cases may cause patients to withdraw from social situations.  The condition tends to affect women more frequently than men.

Symptoms.

Oromandibular Symptoms  Blepharospasm symptoms  In addition, in some patients, the dystonic spasms may sometimes be provoked by certain activities, such as talking, chewing, or biting. Particular activities or sensory tricks may sometimes temporarily alleviate OMD symptoms, including chewing gum, talking, placing a toothpick in the mouth, lightly touching the lips or chin, or applying pressure beneath the chin.

Diagnosis.

Meige's is commonly misdiagnosed and most doctors will not be familiar with this condition due to its rare incidence. Usually, a neurologist specializing in psychomotor disorders can detect Meige's. There are currently no technological diagnostic tools to detect Meige's, as it cannot be identified using blood chemistry analysis or radiological imaging, such as MRI or CT scans. A patient presenting with signs of OMD alone may be misdiagnosed as suffering from TMJD.  Patients with idiopathic Meige's syndrome do not quickly respond to anticholinergic drug treatments, a diagnostic sign that can help differentiate it from acute dystonia, which does respond to anticholinergic drugs.

Upper and lower dystonia types.

The Greek word "blepharon" means "eyelid". Spasm means "uncontrolled muscle contraction". The term blepharospasm ['blef-a-ro-spaz-m] can be applied to any abnormal blinking or eyelid tic or twitch resulting from any cause, ranging from dry eyes to Tourette's syndrome to tardive dyskinesia. The blepharospasm referred to here is officially called benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) to distinguish it from the less serious secondary blinking disorders. "Benign" indicates the condition is not life-threatening, and "essential" is a medical term meaning "of unknown cause". It is both a cranial and a focal dystonia. Cranial refers to the head and focal indicates confinement to one part. The word dystonia describes abnormal involuntary sustained muscle contractions and spasms. Patients with blepharospasm have normal eyes. The visual disturbance is due solely to the forced closure of the eyelids.  Oromandibular dystonia (OMD) is a form of focal dystonia that affects varying areas of the head and neck including the lower face, jaw, tongue and larynx. The spasms may cause the mouth to pull open, shut tight, or move repetitively. Speech and swallowing may be distorted. It is often associated with dystonia of the cervical muscles (Spasmodic Torticollis), eyelids (Blepharospasm), or larynx (Spasmodic Dysphonia).  In patients with OMD, involuntary contractions may involve the muscles used for chewing (masticatory muscles). These may include the thick muscle in the cheek that closes the jaw (masseter muscle) and the broad muscle that draws back the lower jaw and closes the mouth (temporalis muscle). Some patients may also experience involuntary contractions of the wide muscle at the side of the neck (platysmal muscle). This muscle draws down the corner of the mouth and lower lip or other muscle groups.

Treatment.

In some cases Meige's syndrome can be reversed when it is caused by medication. Botulinum toxin injections can be helpful for the blepharospasm and for masseter spasm.

Meige's syndrome is a type of dystonia. It is also known as Brueghel's syndrome and oral facial dystonia. It is actually a combination of two forms of dystonia, blepharospasm and oromandibular dystonia (OMD).

Das auch als Idiopathische orofaziale Dyskinesie, Blepharospasmus-oromandibuläre Dystonie oder Brueghel-Syndrom bezeichnete Meige-Syndrom ist eine seltene neurologische Erkrankung. Benannt wurde es nach dem französischen Neurologen und Kunsthistoriker Henry Meige (1866–1940), einem Schüler von Jean-Martin Charcot, der das Krankheitsbild 1910 ausführlich beschrieb. Die Bezeichnung als "Brueghel-Syndrom" bezieht sich auf das Gemälde "Der Gähner", das dem flämischen Maler Pieter Brueghel dem Älteren zugeschrieben wird.


Internationale Filmfestspiele von Venedig 2007

Juries.

The international juries of the 64th Venice International Film Festival were composed as follows:  Main Competition ("Venezia 64")  Horizons ("Orizzonti")  Opera Prima ("Luigi de Laurentiis" Award for a Debut Film)  Short Film Competition ("Corto Cortissimo")

Official selection.

In competition.

The competitive section of the official selection is an international competition of feature films in 35mm and digital HD format, running for the Golden Lion.

Out of competition.

Shown below are new works by authors who were honored in past festivals, as well as movies shown in the midnight time band.

Horizons.

New trends of cinema with full-length films in 35mm and digital format, and documentary-movies.

Short film competition.

The following films in 35mm, whose length does not exceed 30 minutes, were selected for the short film competition (Corto Cortissimo):

Secret History of Italian Cinema 4.

Special monographic sessions dedicated to the secret story of Italian cinema. This is the fourth part of the retrospective, initiated at the 61st edition of the festival; the patron of this edition, focused on Italian Spaghetti Western, was the director Quentin Tarantino.

New Versions Restored.

As a pre-opening event of this future section, the restored Digital Cinema version of David Wark Griffith’s "Intolerance" (1916) was screened as a world premiere, in collaboration with the Le Giornate del Cinema Muto di Pordenone. "Venice Classics" which features restored classic films and documentaries on cinema, started as a new section in 2012, at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.

Autonomous sections.

Venice International Film Critics' Week.

The following feature films were selected to be screened as "In Competition" for the 22nd Venice International Film Critics’ Week:

Venice Days.

The following films were selected for the 4th edition of Venice Days (Giornate Degli Autori) autonomous section:

Awards.

Official selection.

The following Official Awards were conferred at the 64th edition:  In Competition ("Venezia 64")  Special Awards  Horizons awards (Premi Orizzonti)  Short Film awards (Corto Cortissimo Lion)

Autonomous sections.

The following official and collateral awards were conferred to films of the autonomous sections:  Venice International Film Critics' Week  Venice Days (Giornate Degli Autori)

Other collateral awards.

The following collateral awards were conferred to films of the official selection:

Notes.

The prize awarded to Cate Blanchett was received by Heath Ledger on behalf of the actress, who could not be present.

The 64th annual Venice International Film Festival, held in Venice, Italy, opened on 29 August 2007, with Joe Wright's "Atonement" and closed 8 September 2007. Host of the event was Italian actress Ambra Angiolini. The Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to American director Tim Burton. Once again all the films running the contest were shown for the first time as world premieres in keeping with the festival tradition since the Second World War.

Die 64. Internationalen Filmfestspiele von Venedig ("64. Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica") fanden vom 29. August bis zum 8. September 2007 statt. Eröffnet wurde das weltweit älteste Filmfestival, das neben den Internationalen Filmfestspielen von Cannes und der Berlinale gleichzeitig zu den bedeutendsten zählt, mit Joe Wrights "Abbitte". Die wichtigste der fünf Sektionen des Festivals war der internationale Wettbewerb, in dem 23 Filme um den Goldenen Löwen konkurrierten.


Background.

Wallachen appears to have originally come from the Bohemian area. It goes under various other names depending on the region, for example in the area of Grafenau it is also called Säbeln. Other spelling variants include Walachen or Wallachern. According to Rohrmayer in 2015, after Schafkopf and Watten, Wallachen is probably still the most widely played card game in Old Bavaria (especially East Bavaria) and therefore an indispensable part of Bavarian pub culture.

Cards.

Like Schafkopf, Wallachen is played with German playing cards of the Bavarian pattern. These are usually marketed as "Tarock/Schafkopf" packs of 36 cards. The Sixes are removed as in Schafkopf and Grasobern.

Aim.

The aim is to win six or more tricks out of a total of ten. Players usually play for small sums of money, but they may also keep score by using counters or recording points.

Card ranking.

Trick-taking power.

For trick-taking the cards rank as follows (from highest to lowest): Sow ("Sau") (Deuce, marked "A") > King > Ober > Unter > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7.

Trumps.

In the normal game, the card led to the first trick determines the trump suit for the hand. Within the trump suit cards rank as shown above and all trumps outrank other suit cards. There are no trumps in "Bettel" and "Mord".

Playing.

Dealing.

Dealer shuffles the pack, offers it to middlehand to cut and then deals ten cards each, either in two packets of 5 or in two packets of 4 and one of 2 or in three packets of 3, 4 and 3 cards respectively. Two cards are then dealt to a "start". Each player has a doubling token such as a coin or matchbox in front of them. After the first 3 cards have been dealt to each player, the deal is paused while players look at these cards, and any player may 'double' ("doppeln") the stake by pushing their token forwards. For example if all three players do this the stake is multiplied by 8 for this deal.

Auction.

The player to the left of the dealer, forehand, begins the auction by announcing whether to will "play" ("ich spiele") or "pass" ("weiter"). If forehand plays and the other two players agree and forehand does not raise the bid, forehand becomes the declarer and has to take six tricks to win. If, however, the next player in clockwise order, middlehand, also wants to play, he has to outbid forehand by announcing "Seven" ("Sieben"), which commits him to taking at least seven tricks. Forehand may respond by equalling middlehand's bid with "me too" or "hold" ("Selber" or "ich halte"). Forehand and middlehand continue to bid until one gives up by saying "pass". Next, the dealer has the opportunity to outbid the highest bid so far. The highest bidder becomes the declarer and plays against the other two 'defenders'.  Once the bidding reaches the point where two players both bid ten tricks, the next highest bid is a Bettel. Bettel in turn can be outbid by Mord, the highest contract.  Once the declarer (or soloist) has been determined, he may pick up the two cards from the "start", choose the most favourable hand and discard two cards, face down, back to the "start". The "start" plays no further part in the game.  It is possible that the two cards from the "start" change the soloist's tactics or even undermine them. On the one hand, he may decide to stick with the number of tricks he first announced. On the other hand, he may increase the number of tricks bid, or change his contract to Bettel or Mord (the latter is called "Kini" in some regions). In Bettel, the player must not take a single trick, in Mord he must take all of them. So Bettel corresponds to Bettel in Schafkopf or to Null in Skat; Mord corresponds to the Tout from Schafkopf.  From lowest to highest the possible bids are: Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Bettel, Mord.

Raising the game value.

Before the end of the first round, players may raise the game value by announcing "Kontra" or "Re". Each Kontra or Re doubles the stakes. For Bettel and Mord there is a higher pre-agreed tariff.

Playing.

Once the declarer has decided whether to play the announced game or switch to Bettel or Mord, he discards two unwanted cards to the "start" and leads to the first trick. The soloist always leads, regardless of his position with respect to the dealer. The led card determines the trump suit. The two defenders must play a trump if they have one. Generally "Farbzwang" applies, i.e. the led suit must be followed. In addition, players must try to win the trick if possible, either with a trump or with a suit card; this is called "Stichzwang". Whoever wins the trick leads to the next trick. Players may ask to see the last trick taken by their opponent(s).  In some places, the defenders may indicate a blank card by tapping clearly audibly on the table when discarding the only or last remaining card of a suit.

Scoring.

After all the cards have been played, the tricks are counted. The soloist must take at least as many tricks as announced in order to win. If he wins, he receives the pre-agreed stake from each of the defenders for each trick taken. If the soloist loses, he has to pay the stake for the announced number of tricks to each defender. The game score is calculated as follows: payment = the agreed stake per trick x number of tricks. This game value may, however, be doubled before the game starts through the announcements of "Kontra" and "Re" and/or the "Doppeln".  If no player wants to 'play', forehand becomes the soloist. Alternatively, each player may pay an additional stake into the 'pot' for the winner of the next game.

Strategy.

The difficulty in Wallachen is in accurately estimating the number of tricks that one can take and then bidding correctly. In addition, the soloist must discard the right cards after picking up the "start".

Similarities.

Wallachen is quite similar to Austrian Préférence, indeed Geiser states that Préférence is called Walàcheln or Walàchen in Bavaria. However, a major difference appears to be that there is no suit hierarchy in Wallachen. By contrast, Bavarian Tarock is superficially similar with respect to the dealing of cards and the auction, but is a point-trick game, not a plain-trick game.

Wallachen or Walachen is an Old Bavarian card game which used to be very popular in eastern Bavaria. Although, by 2012, it had become a rarer sight at pub tables, there have been more recent moves to revive it. Wallachen is a relatively simple three-hander that is easy to learn. As a result, like Grasobern, it has a relatively relaxed character without the mental demands of Schafkopf or the psychological stress of Watten.

Wallachen ist ein vergleichsweise einfaches und leicht erlernbares Kartenspiel für drei Personen. Es wird/wurde bevorzugt in Ostbayern gespielt. Wallachen wird heute kaum noch gespielt und ist somit vom Aussterben bedroht.


Musicmatch.

Musicmatch is the former company (founded in 1997) that developed the Musicmatch Jukebox software. Jukebox was added to the software name when the dynamic playlist feature-set was added to the software. Subsequent products included "Musicmatch Radio", "Musicmatch Music Store", and "Musicmatch On Demand". The original Musicmatch name and brand were developed by Creative Multimedia and were part of a series of media-oriented online resources, including Moviematch.  On September 14, 2004, Yahoo! announced that it would acquire Musicmatch. The acquisition was completed on October 19, 2004, for a reported price of US $160 million.  In September 2008, Yahoo! Music Jukebox went out of business.

Yahoo!

As of Musicmatch 10.1, Yahoo! branding was incorporated. The former logo has been replaced by a pure Yahoo! purple logo, and the Y! Music logo replaces the location of the Musicmatch logo elsewhere in the product. The Music Store now uses Yahoo! IDs for authentication. Version 10.1 of the Jukebox is no longer available on the Musicmatch website; however, older versions can be downloaded. In its place, the website now offers the Yahoo! Music Jukebox. In mid-2007 Yahoo! began migrating Musicmatch users to the Yahoo! Music Jukebox with plans to discontinue the Musicmatch service on August 31, 2007. A group of Musicmatch users disappointed with the changes that Yahoo! made was formed as a result of this migration.  Yahoo has disabled the Super tagging function that automatically analyzes songs and assigns tag elements (Artist, Album, Track Name and Number). However, Musicmatch 10.1 can still be used to modify tags for a single song or groups of songs and then rename files based on those tag elements. The software remains highly functional for tagging and organizing music.  In an attempt to get Musicmatch Jukebox users and owners to upgrade to Yahoo Music Jukebox, Yahoo used the Musicmatch Update software to add a nagware screen to the existing Musicmatch install. This screen was installed for Musicmatch 9 and 10 users whether or not they checked the "Check for upgrades" box in programs setting. When Yahoo modified the Musicmatch installation, it would nag to upgrade by September 2007 every time the program ran. On installs with this nagware activated, this screen continued to appear, even though September 2007 is well past and Yahoo has dropped the entire product line.

Partnerships.

Musicmatch Jukebox was provided on most Dell consumer computers as Dell Jukebox by Musicmatch. As such, the branded version contains Dell logos, integration with Dell Digital DJ, and integration with Dell's Media Experience product, and a co-branded music store (Dell Music Store).  Musicmatch Jukebox was also provided to Earthlink customers as Earthlink Jukebox by Musicmatch. It is similar to the Dell product, except that it is still based on the older Musicmatch Jukebox 9.0 product. The effect of the Musicmatch/Yahoo! merger on this co-branding agreement is unknown at this time.

Apple iPod and Musicmatch.

When Apple released iTunes in January of 2001 for free it destroyed the payware business model of Musicmatch Jukebox for Mac, resulting in the rapid layoff of the Mac development team.  On July 17, 2002, Apple introduced the first iPod for Windows, which included the Musicmatch Jukebox to manage the user's music library and transfer music to the iPod. With the introduction of iTunes for Windows on October 16, 2003 they stopped bundling the Musicmatch software.

Software.

The Jukebox has a skinnable graphical interface and allows users to manage a catalogue of digital music, as well as CD and stream-based audio. It has a fairly advanced AutoDJ but has been noted as having a longer boot-up time than other players. The Plus version includes faster rip and burn times, exportable tables and tech support, as well as a "Super-Tagging" function that fetches for tags and album art and attaches them to the song file, allows you to customize the art and tags for any files in a directory, or rename files based upon the tags already stored in the files. These features, and others, were meant to be incentives to upgrade from the free version, which lacks them. The upgrade is done by entering a serial number which must pass a local validity test.  Musicmatch 7 added the ability to record from "Mixer In" if a full duplex sound card is installed. Musicmatch (versions 9 and earlier) is well equipped to transfer LP records and streaming audio to MP3 as it has the ability to listen for silences of customizable level (percentage of original volume) and duration (in seconds). This allows Musicmatch to split a ripped LP into tracks automatically and to stop recording after playback of a stream was complete. A delayed recording start was also of benefit when recording streams.  Many long-time Musicmatch users never updated to Yahoo Musicmatch preferring to stay with Musicmatch 9 or 10. Starting with Musicmatch 10, several key features began to be removed. While 10 added several features related to listing online radio through Musicmatch services, a bug eliminated the ability to split tracks when recording from Mixer-in. The Yahoo Musicmatch version dropped the much favored'super-tagging' feature. Registration keys for Musicmatch Jukebox Plus still function. However no new versions of Musicmatch (or Yahoo! Jukebox) are available for download. Yahoo! now offers Rhapsody in partnership with RealNetworks.  When Windows 7 was released, users had come to find that the newer versions of MusicMatch were no longer compatible with this OS release because of an error recognizing one of the critical DLL files. The simplest workaround is to load MusicMatch 7.5 as the DLL files in the older version are compatible with all versions of Windows 7. Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) does support version 9 of Musicmatch.  Old versions of MusicMatch 10 still work with Windows 8 up to 10. Version 9 had problems when it first started and it was replaced very quickly with version 10. With the original MusicMatch Jukebox version 10 you can rip, burn, and play music, although the demo version has a burn limit.

"Mic in track".

Earlier versions of MusicMatch Jukebox would give a default filename of Mic in track (as well as Line in track and Mixer in track) to user recordings. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Mic in track files began appearing on file-sharing networks such as Napster, usually without the knowledge of their creators. Because of the unique name, voyeurs could easily search for the files and listen to audio of unknowing individuals performing karaoke or joking around with friends. Several websites are devoted to cataloging and featuring their favorite Mic in track files.

Y!Music Musicmatch Jukebox, a remake of the original Musicmatch Jukebox made by Musicmatch, Inc., was an audio player that managed a digital audio library. It contained an online music store, Internet radio, CD playback and ripping software, and other features commonly found in jukebox software.

MusicMatch Jukebox war ein Mediaplayer und Audioripper des US-amerikanischen Unternehmens "MusicMatch" für das Windows-Betriebssystem. Die Software entstand 1997. Unter Windows war die MusicMatch-Jukebox zudem Grundvoraussetzung für die Synchronisation von iPod-Geräten der 1. und 2. Gerätegeneration des US-amerikanischen Unternehmens Apple. Mit der Veröffentlichung einer Windows-Variante der Audiosoftware iTunes im Jahre 2003 beendete Apple jedoch die Kooperation.


History.

Construction started in 1986 and the reactor achieved criticality for the first time in April 1994.  An accident in December 1995, in which a sodium leak caused a major fire, forced a shutdown. A subsequent scandal involving a cover-up of the scope of the accident delayed its restart until May 6, 2010, with renewed criticality reached on May 8, 2010. In August 2010 another accident, involving dropped machinery, shut down the reactor again. As of June 2011, the reactor has only generated electricity for one hour since its first testing two decades prior. As of the end of 2010, total funds spent on the reactor amounted to ¥1.08 trillion. An estimated ¥160–170 billion would be needed to continue to operate the reactor for another 10 years.  As of 2014, the plant had cost ¥1 trillion ($9.8 billion).  A final decision on the project (e.g. to decommission or extend funding) was due by end 2016, and a decision to close the facility was made in December 2016.  In December 2017 the Japan Atomic Energy Agency applied for approval of its decommissioning plan by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. Decommissioning and dismantling are planned to be completed by 2047 and is expected to cost ¥375 billion.

Detailed history.

1995 sodium leak and fire.

On December 8, 1995, the reactor suffered a serious accident. Intense vibration caused a thermowell inside a pipe carrying sodium coolant to break, possibly at a defective weld point, allowing several hundred kilograms of sodium to leak out onto the floor below the pipe. Upon contact with air, the liquid sodium reacted with oxygen and moisture in the air, filling the room with caustic fumes and producing temperatures of several hundred degrees Celsius. The heat was so intense that it warped several steel structures in the room. An alarm sounded around 7:30 p.m., switching the system over to manual operations, but a full operational shutdown was not ordered until around 9:00 p.m., after the fumes were detected. When investigators located the source of the spill they found as much as three tons of solidified sodium.  The leak occurred in the plant's secondary cooling system, so the sodium was not radioactive. However, there was massive public outrage in Japan when it was revealed that Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC), the semigovernmental agency then in charge of Monju, had tried to cover up the extent of the accident and resulting damage. This coverup included falsifying reports and the editing of a videotape taken immediately after the accident, as well as issuing a gag order that aimed to stop employees revealing that tapes had been edited.

2010 Restart.

On November 24, 2000, Japan Atomic Energy Agency announced their intention to restart the Monju reactor. This decision was met with resistance by the public, resulting in a series of court battles. On January 27, 2003, the Nagoya High Court's Kanazawa branch made a ruling reversing its earlier 1983 approval to build the reactor, but then on May 30, 2005, Japan's Supreme Court gave the green light to reopen the Monju reactor.  The nuclear fuel was replaced for the restart. The original fuel loaded was mixed plutonium-uranium oxide with plutonium content of around 15–20%, but by 2009, due to natural radioactive decay, the fuel had only half of the original plutonium-241 content. This made achieving criticality impossible, requiring fuel replacement.  The restart was scheduled for October 2008, having been moved back five months. A restart date of February 2009 was again delayed due to the discovery of holes in the reactor's auxiliary building; in August 2009 it was announced that restart might be in February 2010.  In February 2010, JAEA obtained official approval to restart the reactor from the Japanese Government. The restart was definitely scheduled for the end of March. In late February, JAEA requested Fukui Prefecture and Tsuruga City for deliberations aimed at resuming test operation. Having obtained the go ahead from both entities, JAEA started criticality testing, after which it took some months before commercial operation could resume – as for any new nuclear plant.  Operators started withdrawing control rods on May 6, 2010, marking the restart of the plant. The Fukui Prefecture governor, Issei Nishikawa asked the METI for additional stimulus to the prefecture including an expansion of the Shinkansen in turn for the restart of the plant. Monju achieved criticality on May 8, at 10:36 AM JST. Test runs were to continue until 2013, at which point the reactor could have started to feed power into the electric grid, beginning "full fledged" operation.

2010 "In‐Vessel Transfer Machine" falling accident.

On August 26, 2010, a 3.3-tonne "In‐Vessel Transfer Machine" fell into the reactor vessel when being removed after a scheduled fuel replacement operation. On October 13, 2010, an unsuccessful attempt was made to retrieve the machine. The JAEA tried to recover the device used in fuel exchange but failed as it had become misshaped, preventing its retrieval through the upper lid.  The JAEA began preparatory engineering work on May 24, 2011 to set up equipment to be used to retrieve the IVTM that fell inside the vessel. The fallen device was successfully retrieved from the reactor vessel on June 23, 2011.

2012 Sodium-heater failure.

On Sunday 2 June 2012 the sodium heater, which keeps the sodium molten as a secondary coolant, ceased operating for half an hour from about 4:30 p.m. The power supply was checked, but insufficient information in the service manual, caused the heater to stop, causing a fall of about 40 C from 200 C of the sodium temperature. Under the internal rules of JAEA, the failure was regarded a too minor incident to report it to the authorities, but the next day the Nuclear Regulation Authority and local governments were informed about the incident. However it was not made public.

2013 New Director of the JAEA appointed.

On 31 May 2013 science and technology minister Hakubun Shimomura announced that Shojiro Matsuura, (77 years) the former chairman of the Nuclear Safety Commission, would be the next president of JAEA on Monday 3 June. In this function he would reorganize the JAEA, with safety as a top priority.  Former functions of Matsuura: Present functions:

Omitted safety inspections.

During safety inspections conducted by the NRA between 3 and 21 June 2013, it was revealed that the safety inspections on another 2,300 pieces of equipment had been omitted by JAEA. In 2014 more uninspected equipment was discovered, and more than 100 improper corrections to inspection records found, leading to concerns that inspection reports were being falsified. Again in 2015 it was discovered that regular degradation assessments measuring the thickness of sodium cooling pipes had not been carried out since 2007.

Further incidents.

On 16 February 2012 NISA reported that a sodium-detector malfunctioned. About 3 p.m local time the alarm went off. Additionally, a ventilator that should cool a pipe stopped. According to NISA no leakage was found, and there was no damage to the environment. Repairs were planned.  On 30 April 2013 an operating error rendered two of the three emergency generators unusable. During the monthly testing of the emergency diesel generators, staff forgot to close six of the twelve valves they had opened before testing, releasing thick black smoke. JAERI reported it to the Nuclear Regulation Authority as a breach of security regulations.  On Monday 16 September 2013 before 3 a.m. the data transmission of the reactor stopped to the government's Emergency Response Support System. Whether this was caused by Typhoon Man-yi, the powerful typhoon that went through Japan that day, was unknown. At that moment it was not possible to restore the connection, because the reactor site in Tsuruga was inaccessible due to mudslides and fallen trees caused by the typhoon.  On August 3, 2016, it was discovered that an alert triggered on November 19, 2015, when the quality of the water in a spent nuclear fuel rod pool deteriorated, was ignored until April 2016 and rectified only the next month.

Developments since Fukushima-Daiichi accident in March 2011.

In September 2011 the ministry of education, science and technology asked for the fiscal year of 2012 only 20 to 30 percent of the budget to maintain and manage the Monju reactor for the year 2011. The uncertainty about Japan's future energy policy caused the ministry to conclude that the project could not proceed.  The test run of the reactor, in which the reactor's output would be raised to 40 percent of its capacity by the end of March 2012, was postponed on September 29, 2011, by the Japanese Government because the uncertainty over the future of nuclear energy. After the disaster in Fukushima, the Atomic Energy Commission of Japan made a start with a review of Japan's long term energy policy. An outline of this policy would be published within 12 months. On September 30, officials of the Science and Technology ministry explained their decision not to start the test run at meetings in the city of Tsuruga and Fukui Prefecture.  The local Fukui edition of the Asahi Shinbun reported on June 22, 2012 that the reactor would restart in July 2012.  After it was revealed in November 2012, that regular safety checks had been omitted, the Nuclear Regulation Authority ordered JAEA to change its maintenance rules and inspection plans. JAEA had failed to perform periodical safety checks on nearly 10,000 out of 39,000 pieces of equipment at the plant before the deadlines were met. Half May 2013 not all details were worked out, and under the rules set by the NRA, it was not allowed to change nuclear fuel rods or move the control rods. Therefore, the restart of the reactor was not permitted.  On 16 May 2013 the NRA ordered JAEA President Atsuyuki Suzuki to comply with their decisions and planned a meeting on 23 May to explain their reasoning, making it very likely that the NRA would block the reactivation of the reactor. In reaction to this Suzuki told reporters, "It takes nearly one year for preparation and it is physically quite difficult (to restart the reactor before March 2013)." Because the criticism of the NRA on the sloppy safety controls Atsuyuki Suzuki resigned as President of JAEC on 17 May. Although the resignation was accepted by the government, the move was a surprise, because on May 16 Susuki had spoken on a meeting in the Japanese parliament, the Diet, and to the NRA secretariat and had pleaded to restore the public's trust in the JAEC. The NRA commented, that Suzuki's resignation had not solved fundamental problems and that there was a need to restructure the JAEA as an organization.  Suzuki (born 1942) was an authority on the nuclear fuel cycle, and became President of the JAEA in August 2010. Before this he was a professor at the University of Tokyo and the chairman of the former Nuclear Safety Commission. Yonezo Tsujikura, vice president of the JAEA, served as acting president until a successor was chosen.  At the end of the fiscal year 2011, a budget of was requested to continue the Monju project. This money would cover the costs of maintenance and the costs of the test run, planned in the summer of 2012. On 20 November a seven-member Japanese government commission decided that the future of the Monju reactor should be thoroughly reviewed before a decision could be made for this 2012 budget. Some members of the commission thought that there would be little public support for restarting the fast breeder project, and that it was uncertain that the reactor could be taken into commercial service in 2050 as originally planned. Other members said that the Monju project should be stopped completely, and that all efforts should be put into the international fusion reactor project ITER instead. Decisions about the 2012 budget would be taken after the discussions in a panel of cabinet members about the nuclear policy of Japan, including the fast breeder reactor project, would be complete.  Reports in 2012 indicated that plans to generate electricity at Monju would be abandoned, and the plant repurposed into a research centre for handling spent nuclear fuel.  On 29 May 2013, the NRA announced that JAEA was prohibited from restarting the fast breeder reactor, describing the safety culture at the plant as "deteriorated", because the problems at the plant were not addressed, and the staff were aware of the delayed inspections. The NRA said that before it could plan a restart of the reactor, JAEA must allocate appropriate funds and human resources to rebuild a maintenance and management system to prevent the recurrence of coolant leakages and other problems. The NRA also announced that an assessment would be made of whether geologic faults at the location of the Monju facility are active. It had similar plans for surveys at six facilities all over Japan.  On 2 March 2015 Noboru Hirose, a senior NRA official, told NHK at the beginning of a 3-week regular safety check that he could not say when test runs would be permitted to start. He would first need to examine how safety checks are conducted and whether adequate measures are in place to avoid a repeat of earlier problems. JAEA had hoped the ban would be lifted by the end of March 2015.

Seismic research in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

On 5 March 2012 a group of seismic researchers revealed the possibility of a 7.4M (or even more potent) earthquake under the Tsuruga Nuclear Powerplant. Before this date the Japanese governmental Earthquake Research Committee and Japan Atomic Power had calculated that the Urasoko fault under the plant, combined with other faults connected to it, was around 25 km long. and could cause a 7.2M quake and a 1.7 meter displacement. On top of this, the presence of the oceanic faults were not taken into account by NISA and JAP in the assessment of the safety of the Tsuruga nuclear power plant.  Analysis of sonic survey and other data provided by Japan Atomic Power analysed by a panel of experts of Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency showed the presence of multiple faults existing within 2 to 3 km from the Urasoko fault. According to Sugiyama, a member of this group of scientists, these faults were highly likely to be activated together, and this would extend the length of the Urasoko fault to 35 km.  Computer simulations calculating the length of a fault based on its displacement, showed the Urasoko fault to be 39 km long, a result close to the length estimated by the sonic survey data, and the fault could cause some 5 meter displacement when activated together with other faults.  Yuichi Sugiyama, the leader of this research group of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, warned that – as other faults on the south side of the Urasoko fault could become activated together – "The worst case scenario should be taken into consideration"  According to the experts there were many other faults located under one reactor on the west side of the Urasoku fault that could move also simultaneously. If this would be confirmed, the location of the Tsuruga nuclear plant would be disqualified.  On 6 March 2012 NISA asked Japan Atomic Power Co. to reassess the worst-case scenario for earthquakes at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant. What damage this could do to the buildings on the site, because the Urazoko fault, running around 250 meters from the reactor buildings, could have a serious impact on the earthquake resistance of the power plant. NISA was also planning to send similar instructions to two other nuclear power plant operators in the Fukui area: Kansai Electric Power Company, and Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Because the Mihama Nuclear Power Plant and the Monju fast breeder reactor could also be affected by a possible earthquake caused by the Urazoko fault.  On 17 July 2013 a commission of five experts led by NRA commissioner Kunihiko Shimazaki started the investigations on the geological activity of 8 zones of crushed rock under the reactor. Whether these old faults could move in conjunction with the active fault situated half a kilometer from the reactor site, and would constitute a hazard for the reactor safety. One of the experts, Chiba University professor Takahiro Miyauchi, did not take part in the two-day survey, but would visit the site afterwards. On Thursday 18 July Kunihiko Shimazaki told reporters, that his team could not yet reach a conclusion, further research was needed. Another acoustic survey of the grounds was planned by Japan Atomic Energy Agency and a geological examination to determine the age of the clay and stones in the faults. This could take a couple of months to finish, The assessment was planned at the end of August 2013.

Decommissioning plans.

On 21 October 2011 the Japanese government appointed a commission to study ways to cut wasteful expenditures, one possibility being decommissioning the Monju prototype fast breeder reactor. The Government Revitalization Unit took up this issue, because the calls to abolish this reactor were growing after the nuclear accident at Fukushima. As the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant made it difficult, if not impossible, to build new nuclear power plants, the government panel would also review subsidies for localities with atomic power plants as well as functions of related entities such as the Japan Atomic Energy Agency.  On 27 November, after a visit to the plant, nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono said that scrapping the Monju-fast-breeder reactor was an option that would be given serious thought. Politicians and private sector experts of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan made proposals for a thorough operational and budgetary review in the government's energy policy screening session earlier in the week before his visit.  On 21 December 2016, the Japanese government confirmed the closure and decommissiong of the Monju reactor, with the suggestion that this would cost at least ¥375 billion. The decommissioning of Monju is planned to take 30 years. The Japanese regulator, the Nuclear Regulation Authority, accepted the plan in March 2018. The phases of the plan are:

Other FBR programs in Japan.

Despite its intention to close the Monju facility, the Cabinet appeared to reaffirm its commitment to a fast breeder program of some kind, essential if Japan's stockpile of some 50 tonnes of plutonium is to be disposed of.  "Jōyō" is a test fast breeder reactor located in Ōarai, Ibaraki. The reactor was built in the 1970s for the purpose of experimental tests and the development of FBR technologies.  The successor to Monju was expected to be a larger demonstration plant to be completed around 2025, built by the newly formed Mitsubishi FBR Systems company. However, in 2014 Japan agreed to cooperate in developing the emergency reactor cooling system, and in a few other areas, with the French ASTRID demonstration sodium-cooled fast breeder reactor. As of 2016, France was seeking the full involvement of Japan in the ASTRID development.

The reactor has been inoperative for most of the time since it was originally built. It was last operated in 2010 and is now definitely closed.

Das Kernkraftwerk Monju (jap. ) ist ein inzwischen stillgelegter schneller Brutreaktor, der in der Stadt Tsuruga in der Präfektur Fukui liegt. Der Reaktor war der einzige schnelle Brüter Japans. Benannt ist Monju nach dem japanischen Namen des Bodhisattva der Weisheit Manjushri. Die Anlage gehört der Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Baubeginn war im Jahr 1985, die Inbetriebnahme erfolgte im Herbst 1994.