Lily Irene Jackson

Lily Irene Jackson (September 17, 1848 – December 9, 1928), was an American artist and arts organizer active in West Virginia who specialized in paintings of animals.
Biography.
Lily Irene Jackson was born in Parkersburg, West Virginia to Carrie C. Glime Jackson and John Jay Jackson, Jr., an attorney and later a federal judge. She had one sibling, her brother Benjamin. Her uncle Jacob B. Jackson was a governor of West Virginia and another uncle, James Monroe Jackson, was a Congressman. According to a letter written in 1868 by U.S. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, Jackson (then 20) was "a little deaf". She lived in the family home, 'Carrinda', her entire life.
Jackson studied art in New York, and both her paintings and her sculpture were praised by critics. She is best known as a painter of animals and as an arts organizer.
In 1887, she organized the Parkersburg Art Society and was elected its first president. In 1892, she organized contributions by West Virginia women to the state’s exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. She exhibited two of her own oil paintings at the fair: "Watching and Waiting" and "Anticipation", both with dogs as subjects. "Anticipation" featured two then-famous St. Bernard dogs: one owned by actor Sarah Bernhardt, and another from New York that had recently sold for the large sum of $6000 (roughly $150,000 in 2015 dollars). "Watching and Waiting", which featured a pair of Jackson's own dogs (a pointer and a setter) hung in the Board Room of the Women's Building at the fair.
In 1917, Jackson published a chapbook of poetry, "From One Who Loves You".
Jackson died in Parkersburg in 1928 of diabetic coma.
Legacy.
Jackson's work is held by the Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History, the West Virginia State Museum, and other institutions. She was the subject of a 2004 exhibition at the Parkersburg Art Center.


Love, Death and the Devil

Love, Death and the Devil () is a 1934 German drama film directed by Heinz Hilpert and Reinhart Steinbicker and starring Käthe von Nagy, Albin Skoda and Brigitte Horney. It is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's story "The Bottle Imp".
The film's sets were designed by the art director Otto Hunte and
Willy Schiller. The following year UFA's French subsidiary released a French-language version of the film "The Devil in the Bottle".


Why We Hate

Why We Hate is a six-part documentary television series which is an "exploration into the human condition of hatred and how we can overcome it." It was directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard and produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Alex Gibney's Jigsaw Productions. It was released on the Discovery Channel on October 13, 2019.
On June 17, 2020, it was announced that a TV special titled "Why We Hate: The Reckoning" would premiere four days later.
Production.
Spielberg has long been interested in an exploration of humanity's capacity for hatred and how it can be overcome. According to Spielberg, "Getting to the root of the human condition is something I find not only fascinating, but absolutely necessary in understanding who we are. With the team in place, we delve into historical and modern-day stories of hate, traveling around the globe to uncover its mystery in others and in ourselves. If we understand why we act the way we do, we can change the way we act. That is what we are uniquely capable of as human beings." "Why We Hate" has been in development for the past four years.


Dough (film)

Dough is a 2015 British-Hungarian movie.
Plot.
Nat Dayan, the owner of a Jewish bakery, hires Muslim African immigrant Ayyash Habimana to work in the shop. Ayyash drops marijuana into the dough to hide it, but then the marijuana gets mixed in.


Le Clown au Cirque

Le Clown au Cirque is a tempera and pen and ink on board painting by Belarusian-French artist Marc Chagall created in 1980.
Description.
The painting depicts floating clowns amid the circus ring in the middle of the performance. The subject of circus was dear to the artist. Chagall often returned to the circus as a subject matter in his artworks. He considered clowns, acrobats and actors as tragically human beings who are like characters in certain religious paintings.
Among other Post-Impressionist and Modern painters who featured the circus in their works are Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Rouault, Van Dongen and Léger.


Hawkins Bolden

Hawkins Bolden (1914–2005) was an American artist known for his "scarecrow" assemblages made from pots, pans, leather belts, rubber hoses and other found materials.
Early life.
Born in the Bailey’s Bottom section of Memphis, Tennessee, a childhood accident left Bolden blind at the age of eight.
Career.
In 1997, Bolden participated in the show "Passionate Visions of the American South" opening at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Bolden was one of four subjects of the 2011 documentary "Make", which also included Ike Morgan, Royal Robertson and Judith Scott (artist). The American Visionary Art Museum contains permanent collections of his works. Bolden’s scarecrows are included in the collections of The Smithsonian Museum of Art, The High Museum, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art.


The Death of Hyacinthos

The Death of Hyacinthos, sometimes referred to as The Death of Hyacinth, is an oil painting completed by Jean Broc in 1801. This is Broc's most famous work and is considered to be drawn from the "Metamorphoses" by Ovid. It is a depiction of the dead Hyacinthos cradled by his lover, the Greek god Apollo. In front of them is the discus which caused Hyacinth's death, which was thrown by Apollo himself. The discus had been blown off course by the west wind Zephyrus, who was also in love with young Hyacinthos and was jealous of Apollo. From Hayacinthos' blood sprang the Hyacinth flower which bears his name.
It presently belongs in the collection of Poitiers and is often displayed at the Musée Sainte-Croix.
Description.
The painting displays Apollo, recognizable by his red cape and lyre, cradling Hyacinth as he stumbles. Beside Apollo's feet is the discus which caused Hyacinth's death. The Zephyrus, or west wind, blows Apollo's cape. Around the figure's feet are scattered flowers. In the background is a small grouping of trees, and a body of water (either a lake or river) and a mountain.
History.
"The Death of Hyacinthos" was exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1801. It was most likely exhibited again at the Paris Salon of 1814, piece number 155, under the title "Hyacinthos wounded". Later, it was purchased by baron Horace Demarçay (1813–1866), and was donated to the museum at Poitiers by his widow in 1899. Since then, it has been exhibited in several exhibitions:
Influences.
The theme of The Death of Hyacinth has been touched upon by various other artists.
Thematic analysis.
Charles Paul Landon wrote the following analysis of the painting's theme for the Paris Salon of 1802:
This theme (which has already been briefly described in volume 2, page 23, in the section regarding the plaster model by Callamard) represents the death of Hyacinthos, Apollo’s favorite, while playing discus with the god. The young man is struck with a fatal blow; he is dying in Apollo’s arms, who changes him into the flower that bears his name (see previously referenced page). Egyptian mythology, on which the Greeks probably founded their entire religious system, tells us that Apollo, son of Zeus, was gifted with extraordinary beauty, such that the sun was named after him. This prince, who was equally commendable for his spiritual qualities as for his external beauty, was the first to teach science and art to the Egyptians. He joined with Neptune to found the city of Troy, and then went to the Island of Delos where he stayed for a time before finally settling in the city of Delphi. There he had a temple and a palace built. He taught the Greeks the value of civilization. He subtly instilled in them the principals of morality through music; giving proven advice to whoever sought his counsel; predicting the different movements of the planets, the rising and setting of the moon, lunar eclipses, solar eclipses. The simple and crude folk saw their prince as an extraordinary man; Apollo took advantage of their credulity to rule them with even greater influence, and always with wisdom. Apollo’s past in Egypt is limited to the simple tale: we know from which Prodigies. The Greeks would considerably embellish it. According to the legend, Apollo is the son of Jupiter and Leto, and the brother of Artemis. His first exploit is the defeat of the snake Python. He kills the Cyclops who had forged the lightning that the master of the gods used to kill his son Asclepius. Chased from the heavens; he seeks refuge with Admetus who entrusts him with his herds. During his stay on Earth, Apollo invents the lyre, skins Marsias alive who had dared challenge him to a contest of music, and made Midas grow donkey ears for having awarded victory to Pan. Apollo, after having lost his herd to Mercury who had taken it away from him by surprise, leaves the service of Admetus, joins that of Laomedon, joins up Neptune to mold the bricks and build the walls of Troy. They received no salary for their work. Laomedon reaps the reward for his ingratitude: a terrible plague ravages his lands. Apollo tries to forget his misdeeds with mortal love. He alternately burns with desire for Daphne, Clytia, Coronis, and Cyrene. His misfortunes soften the ire of Jupiter, who brings him back to the heavens and restores his divinity and his powers. The god of poetry, music, eloquence, medicine, omens and the arts, he presides over the concerts of the Muses; at times he lives with them on Mount Parnassus, or Mount Helicon, or Mount Pieris, or on the banks of the Permesse and the Hypocrène; at times lending his charm to the gods' feasts with the gentle chords of his lyre. This painting was exhibited at the 1801 Salon and received an honorable mention from the art jury.


Coat of arms of Bavaria

The coat of arms of Bavaria has greater and lesser versions.
It was introduced by law fully by 5 June 1950:
Meaning.
The modern coat of arms was designed by Eduard Ege, following heraldic traditions, in 1946.
History.
Bavaria was one of the stem duchies of the Eastern Franconian Empire and the Holy Roman Empire. The House of Wittelsbach, which ruled in Bavaria for about eight centuries, used the coat "lozengy" from 1242, later quartering it with the lion of the Electorate of the Palatinate.
Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806, and in 1835 a new coat of arms was created, similar to today's but representing some regions by different coats of arms.
The first known coat of arms of the House of Wittelsbach was "azure, a golden fess dancetty". When Louis I married Ludmilla, the widow of Albert III, Count of Bogen, he adopted the coat of arms of the counts of Bogen together with their land. The number of lozenges varied; from the 15th century 21 were used, increasing to 42 when Bavaria became a kingdom in 1806.
Lit: Wilhelm Volkert; "Die Bilder in den Wappen der Wittelsbacher" (Wittelsbach und Bayern, Köln, 1980)
Coat of arms of Kraiburg.
In the eleventh century the counts of Kraiburg, a branch of the counts of Sponheim originating in what is today Rhenish Hesse, acquired land in Upper and Lower Bavaria. In 1259, after the death of the last male member of the family, the county was sold to the dukes of Bavaria. The coat of arms of the family was the "Lion of Sponheim", although the charge was not a lion but a "panthier" (pronounced as in French), a mixture of a dragon and a lion. Nowadays, the fire-spitting panthier/panther is the coat of arms of the city of Ingolstadt. The coat of arms created for the Kingdom of Bavaria in 1835 included the panthier.


Karl Slover

Karl Slover (September 21, 1918 – November 15, 2011) was an Slovakian-born American actor best known as one of the Munchkins in "The Wizard of Oz" (1939). Only three other adult Munchkin performers remained alive at the time of Slover's death.
Early years.
Slover was born as Karl Kosiczky on September 21, 1918, in Prakovce, Slovakia (then Prakfalva, Kingdom of Hungary). Diagnosed at an early age with pituitary dwarfism, Slover was barely two feet tall by his eighth birthday. Dwarfism was not a family trait; his father stood six feet six inches, and his mother was just a few inches shorter. Slover's father went to great lengths to make Slover taller, including and taking him to Hungary, where doctors fixed stretchers to his arms and legs.
Career.
When Slover was just nine years old, his father sent him to work for a traveling show based out of Berlin, Germany. After working with the show for several years, Slover moved to the United States where he joined another traveling show. It wasn't long before Slover began appearing in films like "The Terror of Tiny Town", "Block-Heads", "Bringing Up Baby", and "They Gave Him a Gun".
Slover was working in Hawaii when his circus manager sent him to Hollywood, where little people were needed for an upcoming film called "The Wizard of Oz". At the age of 21 and standing just 4 feet 4 inches, Slover played the parts of four Munchkins in the movie; the first trumpeter, a soldier, one of the sleepy heads, and was among those who sang "Follow the Yellow Brick Road".
His "Oz" co-stars, The Matina Triplets whose names were Bela "Ike", Lajos "Leo", and Matjus "Mike" were originally from Budapest. They also appeared in the film as Munchkins.
After filming "Oz", Slover began working for the 'Original World Famous Singers Midget Show' where he sang and danced throughout the United States. When the show ended in 1942, Slover joined the Royal American Carnival in Tampa, Florida. At this time he took the last name Slover, the last name of his stage manager.
Later years.
Slover remained very active in his later years and participated in several celebrations related to "The Wizard of Oz". Every June, Slover attended festivities celebrating Judy Garland's birthday at the Judy Garland Museum & Birthplace in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. In November 2007, Slover joined seven other surviving munchkins in Hollywood where honorary mayor Johnny Grant unveiled a star dedicated to the munchkins on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Death.
Slover died on November 15, 2011, at age 93. He was a lifelong bachelor, and resided at an assisted living facility in Dublin, Georgia, at the time of his death. His interment was in Rentz's cemetery. At the time of Slover's death, three other munchkin actors were still alive from "Oz": Jerry Maren, Margaret Williams Pellegrini and Ruth Robinson Duccini.


John Higton

John Higton (2 April 1775 – 23 December 1827) was an English animal painter, who exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts. He was a friend of Edward Dayes and Thomas Campbell, and his patrons included Lord Sedley (Henry Venables-Vernon, 3rd Baron Vernon) and George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick
Early career.
John Higton was born in Virginia in 1775, the son of John Higton, Sr. His father was a cotton planter and Loyalist, who served in Cornwallis' Central Division. John Higton, Sr. was granted land in Godmanchester, Quebec, but returned to Britain with Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, and became a cotton merchant, establishing John Higton & Co in London and Manchester. While Higton considered himself an Englishman, he looked back on his boyhood in North America with fondness. He would recount his earliest memories were as a Hammerman assisting the Blacksmiths of the Division's Ordnance Corps tend the forge and horses.
Higton was privately educated, and was encouraged to paint from an early age by his father, who he succeeded in business. He was a follower of Edward Dayes, however it is thought he was given support to develop his own style and exhibit his paintings by Mr. Wheble, the editor of "The Sporting Magazine", who said of him in 1813, whilst commenting on J. M. W. Turner and John Constable, that: "Portraits of Dogs at Ampthill Park - Both of these performances have merit. The last is to us, who have watched the improving style of Mr. Higton, a proof that perseverance and study will always be sure to succeed."
At around this time Higton also sketched/painted noted Pugilist and Corporal of Horse John Shaw, of the 2nd Life Guards, who life modelled for notable artists of the day, such as Sir Edwin Landseer, Benjamin Haydon, and William Etty. Shaw would go on to be exalted for his martial feats at the Battle of Waterloo, where he lost his life.
Marriage and maturity.
John fell in love with Mary Sheldon, the cousin of John Sheldon who was at that time Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Academy, and they were married in 1794. They lived in Southwark, London, and attended church at St Mary's, being acquainted with William Blake. Higton was well known to a number of publishers including Wheble and his friend John Nichols.
John and Mary had seven children, their oldest son John was born in 1795. He was raised with the expectation that he would run the family business. Of their other sons only William Higton lived to old age, whilst Richard, engraver & watercolourist, died in his mid thirties. In later life John and Mary are known to have been friends of Thomas Campbell, whose father had lived in Virginia and may have been a family friend, and his biographer William Beattie for whom Turner executed the plates.
By 1819 Mr. Brewster, Higton's business partner, had run up personal debts of £74,000. Brewster filed for bankruptcy, and his creditors turned to Higton to satisfy the debt. Higton contested joint liability, but was forced to sell his house on Cornhill, and family home and offices in Blackfriars and probably the Cotton Mill on Ancoats Lane, Manchester. This was detrimental to Higton's activity as an artist, and possibly his health. He died on 23 December 1827, being buried in the family plot at St Mary's, Newington.
Patronage.
Higton's patrons included Lord Sedley, for whom he executed a number of paintings, particularly relating to dogs, and George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick. It had also been speculated that John FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory was also a Patron given Higton's painting of Dogs at Ampthill Park. It was thought that Higton was introduced to George Greville by Lord Sedley, a friend of Charles Francis Greville. However it is now understood that Greville's wife, Henrietta Vernon, was a cousin of Lord Sedley (later Venables-Vernon) via her father Richard Vernon, and the half sister of John FitzPatrick, Lord Gowran (later 2nd Earl of Upper Ossory) via the first marriage of her Mother (Lady Evelyn Leveson-Gower). Therefore, Higton's portraits of Warwick Castle, combined with those of Dogs belonging to George Greville, Lord Sedley, and John Fitzpatrick, perhaps reflect a more intimate relationship with the family, and their circle, than was understood. The Greville's were acquainted to John Sheldon, Wheble and Nichols who were also Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London.


A Little Piece of Heaven (film)

A Little Piece of Heaven is a 1991 American made-for-television family drama film directed by Mimi Leder, written by Betty Goldberg, starring Kirk Cameron, Chelsea Noble, Lacey Chabert, Jenny Robertson, Ron McLarty, Jussie Smollett, and Cloris Leachman. It originally premiered December 2, 1991 on NBC.
Plot.
Will Loomis (Kirk Cameron) is living with his mentally handicapped sister Violet (Jenny Robertson) after their parents have died. She wants a young child to play with, so Will drugs and kidnaps a child from the local orphanage, and later, when his sister says she doesn't like the boy and demands her brother gets her a girl, Will kidnaps a girl from an abusive home.
The children are told they have died and are in heaven. Will and Violet try to make their farm "a little piece of heaven" for the kids, while the authorities wonder what has happened to the missing children.
Awards.
Emmy Awards
Young Artist Awards


Domenico Tojetti

Domenico Tojetti (1807–1892) was an Italian American painter.
Born in Rocca di Papa, near Rome, the artist frequented the Roman circle of the Torlonia Princes, providing frescos in the ballroom of Villa Torlonia under the direction of his teacher, Francesco Coghetti.
The artist provided also frescoes in the churches of Rome, including the Basilica di San Paolo fuori le Mura and Sant'Agnese fuori le Mura. In this period he developed friendships with Constantino Brumidi, who moved to the United States in 1852, and with Leonardo Massabò.
Domenico Tojetti had a son in 1849. Virgilio Tojetti was born in Italy. He studied under his father and later in Paris under Gerome and Bouguereau. Virgilio became known for his frescos and genre scene paintings and exhibited widely. He painted murals in the Savoy Hotel, Hoffman House and others in New York City.
In 1867 Tojetti moved with his family to Guatemala, then Mexico, and finally to San Francisco, California, where he produced paintings for churches, public and private buildings.
He died in San Francisco in 1892.


The Paying-out Machinery in the Stern of the Great Eastern

The Paying-out Machinery in the Stern of the Great Eastern is a watercolor by British artist Robert Charles Dudley. The work is available in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Description.
Dudley's watercolor depicts a large piece of cable-laying machinery on the rear deck of the iron sail steamer "SS Great Eastern". The machinery was used to lay (also referred to as "paying out") the first transatlantic undersea cable. Upon its completion in 1866, the cable allowed telegraph messages to be sent across the Atlantic; these took minutes to travel between North America and Europe as opposed to the 10 days it took for contemporary mail carriers to make the crossing.


The Bushwackers (film)

The Bushwhackers is a 1952 American Western film directed by Rod Amateau and starring John Ireland, Wayne Morris, Lawrence Tierney, Dorothy Malone, Lon Chaney Jr. And Myrna Dell.
Plot.
Tired of killing, war veteran Jefferson Waring rides west, but in Missouri he sees "squatters" mowed down by men working for rich, ruthless Artemus Taylor.
He spends the night at Independence newspaperman Peter Sharpe's place, but is jailed when daughter Cathy Sharpe finds this total stranger in her room. The local marshal, John Harding, is just one of many men on Taylor's payroll.
Peter's business is threatened by banker Stone unless he takes Taylor's side against "squatters" settling in the region. The blind and wheelchair-bound Taylor and ambitious daughter Norah are secretly aware that railroad surveyors are considering laying tracks nearby, so they want all the land for themselves.
Jeff decides to leave. Norah and henchman Ding Bell intercept him; Norah shoots at him but misses. They take him to see Artemus, who tells a vocally reluctant Bell to take Jeff off to a remote canyon and murder him. Under Norah's instructions, Artemus's chief thug Sam Tobin goes after them to murder both; he wounds Jeff and kills Bell, but not before Bell hits him with a fatal shot. A doctor treats Jeff's wounds but Marshall Harding turns up and charges Jeff with the two killings.
When the situation escalates and two of Taylor's thugs gun down Peter Sharpe, Jeff breaks out of jail and organizes a group of settlers to resist Taylor's planned big attack. The settlers slaughter Taylor's thugs; Taylor dies of a heart attack; Norah, having shot and she thinks killed banker Justin Stone in order to get some getaway money, is killed by him as she leaves. Jeff stays in town to run the paper with Cathy.


Arthur Heyer

Arthur Heyer (28 February 1872, Haarhausen, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, German Empire – 1931, Budapest, Hungary) was a German-Hungarian painter who primarily painted animals.
Life.
Heyer was born in Haarhausen, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1872 as the second son of local schoolteacher Georg Hermann Heyer and his wife Friederice. In 1875, the family moved to Gotha, where Heyer spent his schooldays.
On the basis of his artistic talents, he attended, from 1890 to 1895, Unterrichtsanstalt des Kunstgewerbemuseums Berlin. His teacher was Max Friedrich Koch. During this period, he also published first drawings in various newspapers, especially in the newspapers which were published at the time as a supplement and directed by Eugen Richter. In 1892 and 1895, he conducted study trips to Transylvania, where he came into contact with the local Hungarian culture. In 1896, he moved to Budapest and earned his living with book illustrations. In 1900, he became a naturalized Hungarian citizen, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In 1906, he held his first exhibition in Budapest, followed by numerous others. In 1909, he also had two exhibitions at his earlier home in Thuringia, the Grand Ducal Museum in Weimar and the Kunstverein Gotha. In 1911, he received the Hungarian Count Andrássy Prize. After several exhibitions, including at the Vienna Künstlerhaus and the Glaspalast in Munich, he was appointed professor there in 1915. In 1929, the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest acquired his self-portrait. In 1931, he died in Budapest at the age of 59 and received a state funeral at Kerepesi Cemetery.
Works.
In addition to his early satirical drawings, Heyer also painted animal pictures, especially cats. There are numerous pictures, often commissioned by the artist, in which Turkish Angora cats, painted in many shades, are depicted in naturalistic terms. For this reason he was also called "Cat-Heyer". In addition, there are numerous pictures of other animals, such as deer, hares, pheasants, chickens,and dogs (mainly his dog Mucki). Today these are often distributed as art prints or posters.
In 1919, he also published two children's books with verses of animals supplemented by verses: "Im Wunderwald", "ein Märchen" and "Niki, eine drollige Hundegeschichte".


Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin

Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin, or Yevgraf Semyonovich Sorokin (; 18 December 1821, Nekrasovskoye (Bolshie Soli) – 1892, Moscow) was a Russian artist and teacher; known for historical, religious and genre paintings.
Biography.
His first exposure to art came from an icon painter in Yaroslavl. After a period of apprenticeship, a local priest who liked his work suggested that he create a painting of Peter the Great discovering the artist, Andrey Matveyev, for an upcoming visit by Tsar Nicholas I. This painting was presented to the Tsar, who was sufficiently impressed to issue an order that Sorokin should study at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts.
In 1841, he entered the Academy under the supervision of Alexey Tarasovich Markov. The following year, he was already receiving praise from the Academy Council. He won several silver medals and, in 1847, was awarded a gold medal for his rendering of Daniel in the lions' den. Two years later, his painting of the folk hero, Ian Usmovets, won him a gold medal and a stipend to study abroad. He was in Spain from 1851 to 1854 and Italy from 1855 to 1859. In between, he toured Western Europe; visiting Egypt and Syria as well. Some of the works he created in Spain are among his best-known.
In 1859, he returned home and was appointed a teacher at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he remained until his death. In 1861, he was named an "Academician" and created an iconostasis for the new Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris. Later, he worked at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, where he also created an iconostasis and completed some images that had been left unfinished by Fyodor Bruni. For that work, he was promoted to "Professor" in 1878. His exact date of death is apparently unrecorded.


Headington Shark


My Missing Valentine

My Missing Valentine () is a 2020 Taiwanese romantic comedy film written and directed by , and starring Liu Kuan-ting, Patty Lee. The film was released in Taiwan on September 18, 2020, and it was selected for Open Cinema of the 25th Busan International Film Festival on October 29. It received 11 nominations at the 57th Golden Horse Awards, winning Best Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Film Editing and Best Director for Chen.
Synopsis.
Hsiao-chi (Patty Lee) does everything so quickly that she's always one step ahead of others. She works in the post office and a bus driver comes to post a letter every day. Hsiao Chi is turning thirty soon and longs for love. Finally, on the eve of Valentine's Day, a hot guy asks her out, but to her astonishment, she wakes up the next morning and finds that the Valentine's Day has mysteriously passed.


Madonna of the Cat (Romano)

Madonna of the Cat is a 1522-1523 oil on wood painting by Giulio Romano, now in the National Museum of Capodimonte in Naples.
It draws on the pyramidical compositions of Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael and takes its name from the domestic cat in the foreground, which allows it to be identified with a work known as "il quadro della gatta" (the painting of or with the cat) by Vasari, who saw it in Mantua in 1566. The same cat recurs in the artist's 1524-1525 "The Lovers".
The work was probably produced for Federico Gonzaga while the artist was still in Rome and thus formed part of the Gonzaga collection for a time. In the late 16th century it is recorded in the collection of Barbara Sanseverino, a noblewoman from Parma and lover and confidant of Vincenzo I Gonzaga. The Farnese family confiscated artworks from several local nobles and thus the work entered the Farnese collection from Sanseverino's collection in 1612. It was one of the works inherited by Charles of Bourbon around 1737 and was then moved to Naples, where it remains.


Saint Jerome in Meditation (Caravaggio)

Saint Jerome in Meditation (c. 1605) is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, now in the Museum of Montserrat, next to the Monastery of Santa Maria, Montserrat (Museu del Monestir de Santa Maria).
Saint Jerome, hermit, Father of the Church, and responsible for the translation of the Bible into Latin, (the Vulgate Bible) was a popular figure in Caravaggio's time, and the artist painted him at least eight times (only three survive). Whether this was from personal choice or at the request of patrons is unknown, but it gave Caravaggio the opportunity to explore the potential - from an artist's perspective - of aged and wrinkled flesh. Jerome is shown here contemplating one of his symbols, the skull, a reminder of the inevitability of death and the vanity of worldly things.
The painting is probably from the Giustiniani collection (the collection of Caravaggio's patron the banker Vincenzo Giustiniani and his brother the cardinal Benedetto). Benedetto built up a large collection of religious works by the artist, and a St Jerome of the same dimensions as this one is in the Giustiniani inventory of 1638.
Caravaggio biographer Peter Robb points out that the brooding, introverted mood of this painting is strikingly similar to that of "John the Baptist", now in Kansas City at the Nelson Atkins Museum, painted at about the same time.


Lion of Amphipolis

The Lion of Amphipolis () is a 4th-century BC tomb sculpture in Amphipolis, Macedonia, northern Greece. According to Oscar Broneer and archaeologist Dimitris Lazaridis, the first person excavating in the area in the 1960s, it was set up in honor of Laomedon of Mytilene, an important general of Alexander the Great, king of Macedon.
History.
The finding of the monument is connected to the modern history of Macedonia in Greece, as the first parts of it were found initially by Greek soldiers during the First Balkan War that had camped in the area during 1912-13. They were followed by British soldiers a few years later in 1916, during World War I, who also discovered significantly large parts of the monument. The British tried to steal the pieces, but a Bulgarian attack prevented their plans.
In the early 1930s, during works for drying part of the Lake Kerkini nearby, there was a discovery of an ancient bridge and close to it within the mud of the river further, very large pieces of the marble lion. In 1937, and thanks to Lincoln MacVeagh, the US ambassador in Greece at the time, there was a private initiative along with support and funds from the Greek government to restore the Lion of Amphipolis, which eventually came to be in its current form. The whole process has been documented thoroughly by Oscar Broneer in his book "The Lion of Amphipolis" published in 1941.
Description.
Although in seated position, the lion is larger and bulkier than the one erected at Chaeronea and has a height of more than 4 meters in its main body. Taking into account the base, it is taller than 8 meters. The head has a width of 2 meters. Its craftsmanship shows a work of the 5th or first half of 4th century B.C. As to when it was erected, there is no agreement between experts as there is no mention of it in ancient sources.
There was recent speculation that the lion used to be on top of the Kasta Tomb. but this theory has now been discounted.


Pin Cushion (film)

Pin Cushion is a 2017 English-language film written and directed by Deborah Haywood, her feature film debut. "Pin Cushion" premiered as the opening film of International Critics' Week at the 74th Venice International Film Festival and was released in the United Kingdom on 13 July 2018.
Plot.
Mother Lyn and daughter Iona (a.k.a. Dafty One and Dafty Two) are excited to be starting a new life in a small Midlands town. Determined to make a success of things after a tricky start at a new school, the gawky Iona becomes ‘best friends’ with Keeley, Stacey and Chelsea. Used to having Iona to herself, Lyn feels left out and tries unsuccessfully to make her own friends starting with Belinda, her sour-faced neighbour. As much as Lyn and Iona pretend to each other that things are going well, Iona struggles with schoolmates who act more like 'frenemies' than friends, and Lyn is treated with varying degrees of indifference by neighbours and a supposed support group.
Production.
"Pin Cushion" was filmed in Haywood's home town of Swadlincote, South Derbyshire, with locations including the interior of Gresley Old Hall in Church Gresley, the interior and exterior of The Pingle Academy, the exterior of the Town Hall, and in West Street to the High Street in the town centre, and a scene filmed in Burton Queen's Hospital. The house the main characters move into can be found in Hastings Road, Swadlincote.
Haywood chose to shoot part of the film at her old school because she "had such an awful time there. Before the film I used to close my eyes when I would drive past, now when I drive past I have great memories of making a film there." The graffiti written about her in the past had been painted over in the intervening years.
Reception.
"Pin Cushion" has received positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89%, based on 36 reviews with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Pin Cushion" explores the prickly dynamics of mother-daughter relationships and female friendships, led by striking work from leads Lily Newmark and Joanna Scanlan." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The film was described by "The Guardian" as an "ecstasy of black comic misery and cartoon horror".


The Crowning with Thorns (Caravaggio, Prato)

The Crowning with Thorns was the subject of two paintings by the Italian master Caravaggio. The first version, dated to around 1604–1605, is now in the Cassa di Risparmi e Depositi of Palazzo degli Alberti, Prato (Tuscany). The attribution to Caravaggio is disputed.
On June 25, 1605, Caravaggio wrote out, in his own hand, a contract to paint "a picture of the same size and value as the one I have already done for him of Christ's crowning", which restricts the "Crowning" to a period prior to this date. There is no firm evidence for a more precise dating, but the figure of Christ has been clearly influenced by the Christ in Rubens' altarpiece of "The Crowning with Thorns" in the Church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Rome, completed in April 1602. The recipient of both the "Crowning with Thorns" and the "Ecce Homo" — the painting to which the contract relates — was Massimo Massimi, a wealthy financier and art collector in the circle of Caravaggio's patron, marquis Vincenzo Giustiniani. The actual date is disputed — John Gash places it in 1601–1603.
Stylistically the painting is based on Rubens's altarpiece for the pose of Christ and on Titian's treatment of the same subject (now in the Louvre) for the soldier with the staff behind Christ. But Caravaggio has reverted to the compact, symmetrical approach employed by 15th-century artists, visible in, for example, the work of Hieronymous Bosch in "Christ Mocked". The gestures which define the situation are restrained and understated—the almost imperceptible actions of the tormentors focus attention on Christ, who looks up, his bound hands slightly raised almost in forgiveness.


Phil Fondacaro

Phil Fondacaro (born November 8, 1958) is an American actor and stuntman. Standing 3'6", Fondacaro is best known for his performance in the horror comedy "Bordello of Blood", as well as his roles in the fantasy films "The Black Cauldron", "Troll" and "Willow". He also had several prominent television roles, such as a recurring role as Roland on the TV series "Sabrina the Teenage Witch".
Career.
Fondacaro began acting in 1981, with the film "Under the Rainbow". Fondacaro appeared in 1983's "Return of the Jedi", the third "Star Wars" film, as an Ewok, the only one to have a death scene. In 1985, he voiced Creeper in Disney's "The Black Cauldron". In 1986, he portrayed the invisible friend of a young Michael Gerber in the Disney Sunday Movie "Fuzz Bucket", and also appeared in the fantasy film "Troll". In 1987, he portrayed "Sir Nigel Pennyweight" in the cult horror film "Ghoulies II". In the same year, he appeared as "Greaser Greg" in "The Garbage Pail Kids Movie", a theatrical adaptation of the popular trading cards series, performing the character in a costume while voice actor Jim Cummings provided the voice, and he played the Devil's diminutive minion in "The Yattering and Jack" episode of "Tales from the Darkside." In 1988's "Willow", he appeared alongside Warwick Davis, one of his "Star Wars" co-stars.
Other prominent roles of Fondacaro's include "Hooded Dwarf" in "Phantasm II", Cousin Itt in "Addams Family Reunion", the villain's butler in "Blood Dolls", the female vampire's "master" in the horror comedy "Bordello of Blood", a shady con man in "Land of the Dead", a vampire hunter in "Decadent Evil", and a dramatic turn as a dwarf with an average-sized son in "A Clown's Prayer", an episode of "Touched by an Angel". He also played a dwarf with an average-sized daughter in the "" episode, "A Little Murder". He also had a recurring role on "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" as "Roland". He also starred in the 1993 children's film" Double, Double, Toil and Trouble" alongside Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, as Oscar.
Personal life.
Fondacaro is married to Elena Bertagnolli, who was the manager of late actor Verne Troyer. Fondacaro's brother Sal is also an actor, having appeared in "Under the Rainbow", "Return of the Jedi", and "Invaders from Mars", all with his brother.


Westminster Scholars War Memorial

The Westminster Scholars War Memorial, also known as the Crimea and Indian Mutiny Memorial, is an 1861 memorial designed by George Gilbert Scott, installed near Westminster Abbey in Broad Sanctuary, London, United Kingdom.
Description.
The statue at the top, carved by J. R. Clayton, depicts St George slaying the dragon. It also features statues of St Edward the Confessor, Henry III, Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, carved by J. Birnie Philip. Its base is flanked by four lions. An inscription on the memorial's north side reads,
Its south side displays the text
An inscription on its west side reads,
The opposite (east) side's inscription says,


Bali Bombings Memorial, London

The Bali Bombings Memorial is a permanent memorial in central London to victims of the 2002 bombings in Bali, Indonesia. It was designed by Gary Breeze and the carving was undertaken by Martin Cook and Gary Breeze. It was unveiled on 12 October 2006, the fourth anniversary of the bombings, by the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, at a ceremony attended by relatives and friends of the 28 British victims.
The memorial commemorates the victims of all nationalities, with those from Britain listed apart at the centre of the inscription, which covers one side of a Portland stone wall. Standing near this wall is a granite globe with 202 doves carved across its surface. Martin Cook explained its symbolism thus: "All of the 202 doves are unique, to represent each life lost and as symbols for peace. The globe shows how the victims came from all parts of the world and how indiscriminate terrorism is".
The memorial is located at Clive Steps, near the King Charles Street entrance of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office building, and faces St. James's Park. A site near the Foreign Office was requested by the United Kingdom Bali Bombings Victims' Group, as a reminder to the British government of its failure to give adequate warning of the terrorist threat in Indonesia prior to the bombings. The government gave £100,000 towards the cost of the memorial.
The commission was facilitated by Memorials by Artists, part of the Lettering and Commemorative Arts Trust charity.


The Golden State Entering New York Harbor

The Golden State Entering New York Harbor is an 1854 painting (oil on canvass, 26" x 48' or 66 cm x 121.9 cm) of an American three-masted clipper merchant ship by Fitz Henry Lane (1804-1865). Lane was an American lithographer and a maritime painter who lived most his life in the New England fishing city of Gloucester, Massachusetts, north of Boston, Massachusetts, on Cape Ann. The painting is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Early history and creation.
Although Lane spent much of his life in Massachusetts, he had a strong incentive during the early 1850s to spend time in New York City, a busy seaport full of activity for a maritime artist. First, Lane's work was being sold through exhibitions at New York galleries. Second, Lane was hired by Chambers & Heiser, a New York merchant shipping line, to provide the dramatic image of the company's new vessel, the "Golden State". The ship, built for travel to California – during the California Gold Rush – around Cape Horn during a period when transcontinental land crossings across North America were not reliable, was launched in 1853, the same year that Westervelt was elected Mayor of New York City.
For Lane, the work in 1854 on "The Golden State Entering New York Harbor" was a repeat commission. Chambers & Heiser had brought him to New York during the previous year to paint the company's clipper ship "Sweepstakes".
Description and interpretation.
"The Golden State Entering New York Harbor" is rich in detail. As noted by the Fitz Henry Lane Online Project of the Cape Ann Museum (Cape Ann is the rocky cape north of Boston on which Gloucester sits), the painting shows New York City in the background, as seen from New Jersey. A steamship is shown just past the bow of the "Golden State". A variety of vessels plies New York Harbor. As he was hired by the owner of "Golden State" for his second commission, Lane was incentivized to show energy and a plethora of vessel types, all adding up to the idea that New York was foremost world harbor.
Four stylistic characteristics are seen in "The Golden State Entering New York Harbor".
First, "Golden State" evidences the luminism style of American landscape painting in the 1850s through the 1870s. Luminism uses careful attention to light in landscapes, aerial perspective, and concealment of visible brushstrokes to emphasize tranquility. Water is often calm and reflective; the sky is often soft and hazy. The Hudson River school typifies luminicsm in art.
Second, "Golden State" shows strong influence onto Lane's work from Robert Salmon (1775-1845), an English artist who lived in Boston and was the preeminent marine painter of his time. His studio was near Lane's lithography shop in Boston, where Lane lived during his early adult years. The Fitz Henry Lane Online Project notes, "[W]e have no direct evidence of contact or a teacher-student relationship. Lane's early works are so indebted to Salmon they have been confused with his in the past. In this case [i.e., "Golden State"], the wind-whipped waves diagonally patterned across the canvass are very much like Salmon's style, as are he light-and-dark patterns of the cloud and a tumultuous harbor scene crowded with vessels."
Third, "Golden State" shows a turn by Lane from landscapes and shoreline structures to maritime activity. Lane's commissions in New York City from Chambers & Heiser led to larger and more detailed, busier paintings. Additionally, Lane had established a market for his art in Boston; he wanted his New York exhibitions to add to his business success.
Fourth, "Golden State" as well as "Sweepstakes" are the only two known paintings of Lane in which he signed his full name. On "Golden State", the signature reads: "Fitz Henry Lane, Gloucester, Mass. A.D. 1854." The Fitz Henry Lane Online Project speculates that Lane wanted his new clients in New York City to remember all his painting details.
Later history and influence.
The ship "Golden State" was sold in 1855 to A.A. Low & Brother, the clipper and old China trade business owned by Abiel Abbot Low. "Golden State" was wrecked at Cape Elizabeth, Maine, in 1886.


Bruce Hall (photographer)

Bruce Hall is a legally blind photographer and parent of twins with severe autism. Some of his work is stored in the Library of Congress. Hall has stated that he takes pictures in order to be able to see the world more clearly.
Hall has about 5% normal eyesight and severe nystagmus. Fast accurate focusing is his number one priority, and he uses many unique workarounds to achieve the ability to take pictures. Hall's favorite photography subjects are underwater photography, nature photography, and pictures of his twin boys. He strongly advocates for awareness for the challenges surrounding severe autism.
"Immersed".
"Immersed: Our Experience With Autism" is a book written by Bruce and Valerie Hall about their children with severe autism. Jill Escher in a review wrote that they took "the Carrie Fisher approach and rather than trivializing or minimizing the tragic dimensions of their boys’ disorders or pretending to speak for all with “autism,” the talented duo steadfastly tell their own truth." Psychologist David Royko wrote about how the book focuses on the difficulties of severe autism, and that it was good for politicians and policy makers. However, the book also discusses the love and joy of their family. Advocate Amy S.F. Lutz also noted that the book portrays the happy moments, and the difficulties of severe autism.


Margaret Raia

Margaret Raia (1929 – August 17, 2003), also known as Margie Raia, was an American actress with dwarfism, best known for her role as one of the Munchkin villagers in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz". During production, MGM officials discovered that Raia was underage and as a result she was expelled from the set halfway through filming. Her brother, Matthew Raia, also appeared as a munchkin in the film.
Early life.
Raia was born in Long Island, New York in 1929.
Career.
Raia was a dwarf actress in The Wizard of Oz. Raia was a munchkin villager.
Personal life.
On August 17, 2003, Raia died from a brain seizure in Port Richey, Florida. Raia was 73.


Vodun art

Vodun art is associated with the West African Vodun religion of Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana. The term is sometimes used more generally for art associated with related religions of West and Central Africa and of the African diaspora in Brazil, the Caribbean and the United States. Art forms include "bocio", carved wooden statues that represent supernatural beings and may be activated through various ritual steps, and "Asen", metal objects that attract spirits of the dead or other spirits and give them a temporary resting place. Vodun is assimilative, and has absorbed concepts and images from other parts of Africa, India, Europe and the Americas. Chromolithographs representing Indian deities have become identified with traditional Vodun deities and used as the basis for murals in Vodun temples. The Ouidah '92 festival, held in Benin in 1993, celebrated the removal of restrictions on Vodun in that country and began a revival of Vodun art.
Background.
The term "Vodun" covers a number of cults dedicated to different deities in the same pantheon, or to spirits, natural forces or ancestors, either disembodied or resident in fetishes.
Each cult has specific rites, sacred objects, esoteric "deep knowledge", priestly hierarchies and initiation processes.
In the precolonial period in Dahomey the system of cults was closely related to the ruling structure.
"Vodun" is also used in a loose sense for religions of various societies from Dahomey, western Nigeria and southwestern Zaire.
People from these countries were taken as slaves to Brazil and the Caribbean where they continue to practice religions derived from Vodun.
The Haitian Vodou religion combines elements of the classical religions of Dahomey, Yorubaland and Kongo.
Various art historians have argued that Vodun is assimilative, taking foreign objects and interpreting them to meet indigenous needs.
Modern Vodun arts continue to draw in symbolic and material elements from other parts of Africa, Europe, India and African America.
West African Vodun religious objects were at first viewed by outsiders simply as religious fetishes. Later they became valued as art objects, and then as symbols of the African diaspora.
They have been interpreted as modern art and also as traditional art.
It is said that Pablo Picasso was inspired by traditional West African sculpture when he made his proto-cubist painting "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon".
With the Ouidah '92 festival, Vodou art has become a symbol of national identity in Benin.
Art forms.
Bocio.
Suzanne Blier's "African Vodun. Art, Psychology, and Power" (Chicago, 1995) was the most complete English-language account of African "vodun" objects when it was published, based on a summer of fieldwork in Abomey, Benin and nearby towns. It discusses the religious artifacts of the Fon people and their neighbors in Benin and Togo, called "bocio" or "bocheaw" (empowered bodies) and the associated "vodun" beliefs and practices.
Blier says the "bocio" are mainly "counter aesthetic", the opposite of what the Fon would consider pleasing or beautiful. They are designed to attract and hold powerful forces through which the owner can achieve goals such as controlling others, attaining well-being, harming enemies or protecting against destructive forces sent out by enemies.
Typically the "bocio" are wood carvings enhanced with medicines that are packed inside them or attached in packets, and with paint and objects such as horns, beads or chains.
Often they are bound, clothed or pegged to hold in the magical powers.
The "bocio" objects are linked to gods, forest spirits or the dead, or to animals or plants that have properties associated with these beings.
"Bocio" are activated or empowered by assemblage, speech, saliva, heat in the form of pepper and alcohol, knotting and offering to the higher power or deity.
Some have pointed bases so they can be driven into the earth, the source of power for the trickster deity Legba. These can only be activated once.
Others may have plinth bases and may be activated more than once.
Indian art.
The coastal regions of what are now Benin and Togo have long been open to external ideas and images that have been absorbed into the local culture, and are reflected in the elastic structure of Vodun religion and art. In the late 1950s Indian chromolithographs started to be incorporated in Vodun art.
In Vodun belief all Indian spirits come from the sea; "India" and the sea are the same concept.
Chromolithographs representing Indian gods and printed in India, England or Nigeria have been widely distributed in West Africa since the 1950s.
Much the most popular image is that of the snake charmer. This image, derived from a painting of a performer in a German circus, has been identified as an image of the local water spirit and seductress Mami Wata. Other images of other Indian gods have been identified with other local spirits.
In the 21st century the artist Joseph Kossivi Ahiator of Ghana has been much in demand as an India spirit temple painter in Benin, Togo and Ghana. When commissioned to paint a Vodun temple he refers to his collection of chromolithographs, to the images in his dreams and to the dreams and desires of the owner of the temple.
Ahiator often visits India in his dreams, or on the beach, and Indian images are clearly recognizable in his temple murals.
The temple of Gilbert Attissou, a prominent Vodun priest in Aného, Togo has bas-relief figures of Shiva and Lakshmi on either side of the doorway, and has an "India" shrine with walls decorated with Mami Wata, Lord Shiva, Lakshmi and other deities.
The shrine is dedicated to Nana-Yo, one of the Vodun names for Shiva. Attissou was also drawn to the Indian gods and their power to control the sea from an early age, and used to spend many hours on the beach, where he made long visits to "India".
Asen.
"Asen" is a general term for movable metal objects that attract the spirits of the dead and of the deities called "vodun" and temporarily hold them.
They vary greatly in form and size.
Ancestral asen, which honor the dead, are authentic ritual sculptures in the sense that they are made by African artists for religious purposes and not for the tourist trade. However, they seem to have first appeared only in the late precolonial period. At first they were adopted by the rulers of Dahomey from the Yoruba people, used as ancestral altars to enhance the prestige of the dynasty. After the French established colonial rule and abolished the monarchy, "asen" were adopted by all levels of society in Benin.
Ouidah festival.
The First International Festival of Vodun Arts and Cultures was held in Ouidah, Benin in February 1993, sponsored by UNESCO and the government of Benin. It celebrated the transatlantic Vodun religion, and was attended by priest and priestesses from Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil and the United States, as well as by government officials and tourists from Europe and the Americas. Some of the art commissioned for the festival is displayed at sites in the city, including work by the Benin artists Cyprien Tokoudagba, Calixte Dakpogan, Theodore Dakpogan, Simonet Biokou, Dominique Kouas, and Yves Apollinaire Pede, and work of the African Diaspora artists Edouard Duval-Carrié (Haiti), José Claudio (Brazil) and Manuel Mendive (Cuba).


The Story of Piera

The Story of Piera () is a 1983 Italian drama film directed by Marco Ferreri. Hanna Schygulla won the award for Best Actress at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.
Plot.
The film starts in one of the new towns of Latina with the birth of Piera, daughter of the somewhat unbalanced Eugenia and her apparently sane husband Lorenzo, who has a job with the PCI. Eugenia's behaviour at home and in public becomes increasingly erratic and when on top of this Lorenzo loses his post, the strain puts him into a mental hospital. Piera leaves school to work for a dressmaker and pursues her dream of acting, eventually breaking into television and theatre. Interleaved with her outside life we see her sexual development, from kissing neighbourhood boys to a lesbian relationship while she is in hospital with breathing problems and finally to adult men. While Piera is maturing as a woman and as an actress, Eugenia is deteriorating and has to be locked away. The film ends with Piera taking her mother out for the day to a deserted beach, where the two women undress and hug each other tightly in a moment of natural tenderness.


Waiting... (film)

Waiting... is a 2005 American independent comedy-drama film written and directed by Rob McKittrick (in his directorial debut) and starring Ryan Reynolds, Anna Faris, and Justin Long. McKittrick wrote the screenplay while working as a waiter.
The script was initially sold in a film deal to Artisan Entertainment, but was released by Lions Gate Entertainment (which purchased Artisan in 2003). Producers Chris Moore and Jeff Balis of Live Planet's "Project Greenlight" fame also took notice of the project and assisted. The film made over US$6,000,000, more than twice the budget of the film, in its opening weekend.
Plot.
Dean (Justin Long) has been a waiter at a restaurant called Shenaniganz for four years since graduating from high school, and has not earned a degree during his four years at a community college. When Dean learns from his mother that a former high school classmate, Chett (Travis Resor), now has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering, he begins to rethink his directionless life.
Dean's roommate and co-worker, Monty (Ryan Reynolds), is in exactly the same situation, but has accepted that his future lies with the restaurant. Monty is put in charge of training Mitch (John Francis Daley), a newly hired waiter who is constantly interrupted throughout most of the film before he can speak, usually by Monty. Also working with Dean is Calvin (Robert Patrick Benedict), a hopeless romantic who cannot urinate in public, and Dan (David Koechner), the uptight manager who is grooming Dean as his protégé. Rounding out the staff are 17-year-old hostess Natasha (Vanessa Lengies), abrasive waitress Naomi (Alanna Ubach), waitress (and Monty's ex-girlfriend) Serena (Anna Faris), Dean's girlfriend and fellow waitress Amy (Kaitlin Doubleday), stoner busboys T-Dog and Nick (Max Kasch and Andy Milonakis), head chef Raddimus (Luis Guzman), the insane, unsanitary chef Floyd (Dane Cook), lesbian bartender Tyla (Emmanuelle Chriqui), and the pensive and philosophical dishwasher Bishop (Chi McBride).
The waiters preoccupy themselves with endless gossip, complaining about the customers, seeking covert revenge on particularly rude or annoying patrons, and playing a special kind of game which involves flashing genitalia at a fellow worker (the "Penis Showing Game," which was referred to informally as the "penis game" in some movie reviews, including the "Toronto Star" and "BBC" in film reviews from 2005 and 2006 respectively). Each employee has his or her own problems and stories, which are interwoven with the ebb and flow of business.
Minutes before the restaurant closes, Chett and his girlfriend come in for dinner and leave Dean a generous tip out of pity. This prompts Dean to quit his job, turning down an assistant manager position Dan offered him at the beginning of the film to seek a more promising future.
When the shift ends, the staff head to a party at Monty and Dean's house. At the party, Monty, who has a predilection for sleeping with teenage girls, is able to resist having sex with Natasha, although he says they will have sex the following Wednesday, when she will be 18. Calvin attempts to fix his relationship problems, and Mitch finally speaks, angrily ranting about his coworkers and quitting. He concludes by giving them all "The Goat" from the "Penis Showing Game", which Raddimus had told him earlier would instantly grant him god-status. Monty swears his undying allegiance to Mitch, telling Dean he's been "replaced." The film ends with the staff talking about the incident with Mitch, and Dan showing up at a disgruntled customer's house after Natasha gave him the wrong address to the party on purpose.
Production.
"Waiting..." was filmed in New Orleans; Jefferson Parish, Louisiana; and Kenner, Louisiana.
Critical reception.
"Waiting..." received mixed to mostly negative reviews. , the film holds a 30% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 92 reviews with an average rating of 4.18 out of 10; the site's consensus states: ""Waiting"... is a gross-out comedy that's more gross than comic." Metacritic gave the film a 30/100, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Roger Ebert gave the film a 1.5 stars out of 4 claiming that ""Waiting..." is melancholy for comedy". Despite negative reviews from critics, "Waiting..." has garnered a small cult following.
Box office.
The film grossed over double its budget during the opening weekend with $6,021,106 in 1,652 theaters. It opened at #7 in the U.S. box office. Its total gross was $18,637,690 with $16,124,543 within the U.S. and $2,513,147 in foreign markets.
Soundtrack.
The original score for the film was composed by Adam Gorgoni. A soundtrack was released and is available only through the iTunes Store. The track listing is as follows:
The film also included songs by The Rattlesnakes, The New Pornographers, Reaching Forward, Spoon, REO Speedwagon, Peaches, Leftfield, Goldfinger, Spin Doctors, Sunday's Best, High Speed Scene, and Large Pro.
Sequel.
A direct-to-DVD sequel to "Waiting..." titled "Still Waiting..." was released on February 17, 2009. The second film is about another Shenaniganz location dealing with new competition from a Hooters-like sports bar called TaTa's Wing Shack run by Calvin from the first movie.


The Seine at Argenteuil (Sisley)

The Seine at Argenteuil is an 1872 painting by Alfred Sisley, now in the Musée Faure in Aix-les-Bains. It was acquired by the doctor and art-lover Jean Faure, who left it to the city.


Buckingham Fountain

Buckingham Fountain is a Chicago Landmark in the center of Grant Park, and between Queen's Landing and Congress Parkway. Dedicated in 1927, it is one of the largest fountains in the world. Built in a rococo wedding cake style and inspired by the Latona Fountain at the Palace of Versailles, it is designed to allegorically represent nearby Lake Michigan. It operates from April to October, with regular water shows and evening color-light shows. During the winter, the fountain is decorated with festival lights.
History.
The fountain area is considered Chicago's front door, since it is located in the center of Grant Park, the city's front yard near the intersection of Columbus Drive and Ida B. Wells Drive. The fountain itself represents Lake Michigan, with four sets of sea horses (two per set) symbolizing the four states—Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Indiana—that border the lake. The fountain was designed by beaux arts architect Edward H. Bennett. The statues were created by the French sculptor Marcel F. Loyau. The design of the fountain was inspired by the "Bassin de Latone" and modeled after Latona Fountain at Versailles.
The fountain was donated to the city by Kate Sturges Buckingham in memory of her brother, Clarence Buckingham, and was constructed at a cost of $750,000. The fountain's official name is the "Clarence Buckingham Memorial Fountain". Kate Buckingham also established the Buckingham Fountain Endowment Fund with an initial investment of $300,000 to pay for maintenance. Buckingham Fountain was dedicated on August 26, 1927.
In August 2016, in a partnership with the City of Chicago, the Chicago Parks District and Everywhere Wireless, the Buckingham Fountain viewing area joined many Chicago beaches and the Museum Campus in providing free Wi-Fi to visitors.
Operation.
Many tourists and Chicagoans visit the fountain each year. The fountain operates daily 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. from mid-April through mid-October, unless below freezing weather conditions dictate otherwise. Water shows occur every hour on-the-hour and last 20 minutes. During shows, the center jet shoots up vertically to , and after dusk shows are choreographed with lights and music. The last show begins at 10:00 p.m. nightly.
The fountain is constructed of Georgia pink marble and contains of water. During a display, more than are pushed through its 193 jets. The bottom pool of the fountain is in diameter, the lower basin is , the middle basin is and the upper basin is . The lip of the upper basin is above the water in the lower basin.
The fountain's pumps are controlled by a Honeywell computer which was previously located in Atlanta, Georgia, until the 1994 renovation when it was moved to the pump house of the fountain. The fountain's security system is monitored from Arlington Heights (a Chicago suburb).
Renovations.
In 1994, the fountain received a $2.8 million restoration to its three smallest basins which developed leaks due to Chicago's harsh winters.
The latest renovation project on Buckingham Fountain began in September 2008. This three-phase project will modernize aging internal systems in the fountain and restore deteriorated features. Funding is a combination from the Buckingham endowment, city and park district funds and a grant from the Lollapalooza music festival which is held annually near the fountain.
Phase I was dedicated April 3, 2009. This phase included permeable pavers to surround the fountain. This replaced the crushed stone that was used since the fountain was constructed. The pavers make a safer and smoother surface and complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Phase II began in the winter of 2009. This phase included the demolition of the fountain table, installation of extensive underdrainage system, new landscaping, site lighting, signs, site furnishings, sewer system, selective demolition within or adjacent to the fountain's outer basin, repairs of some existing cast-in-place concrete elements and installation of new cast-in-place elements. Work was not completed due to lack of funds and the Chicago Park District has not announced when it expects to finish this phase.
Phase III updates have not been scheduled until Phase II projects are completed. This phase will include the restoration of Buckingham Fountain and fountain table, the construction of a new equipment room with selective demolition, structural construction and repair, masonry restoration and repair, mechanical and electrical work, bronze restoration and repair and installation of site improvements and amenities.
In popular culture.
Entertainment.
Buckingham Fountain was featured in the title sequences of TV shows "Married... with Children" and "Crime Story".
The fountain was the starting point for the television show "The Amazing Race 6" in 2004 and was featured in a task 13 years later on "The Amazing Race 29".
The fountain can be seen for a handful of seconds about nine minutes into the 1983 film "National Lampoon's Vacation" as the Griswolds are pulling out of Chicago.
It is also seen when the French criminals arrive in Chicago to do the job for their boss in the 2003 comedy "Crime Spree".
It is also shown in the TV show "Shameless".
The fountain appeared on the fourth and sixth seasons of "The Great Food Truck Race".
Features twice in the film Undertow 1949
Confusion with Route 66.
Buckingham Fountain is often mistaken for the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 66, but in fact it is not. The original eastern terminus was at the intersection of Jackson Boulevard and Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago. In a later alignment, the terminus was moved east two blocks to the intersection of Jackson Drive and Lake Shore Drive after the latter was designated as U.S. Route 41. It remained there until the eastern terminus of Interstate 55 was completed at Lake Shore Drive, and then that also became the eastern terminus of Route 66 until I-55 completely replaced the route in Illinois and Route 66 was decommissioned. Nevertheless, many people still associate Buckingham Fountain with the start of Route 66, even though it had not been built yet when the route opened on November 11, 1926 — whereas the Fountain of the Great Lakes in the South Garden of the Art Institute of Chicago, which has been at that intersection since 1913, actually preceded Route 66 by 13 years and Buckingham Fountain by 14 years.


Harry Monty

Hymie Liechtenstein (April 15, 1904 – December 28, 1999), better known as Harry Monty, was an American actor of Polish descent, dwarf actor and stuntman, whose most notable role was as a Munchkin and a winged monkey in the "Wizard of Oz".
Professional career.
Film.
Monty began his career in vaudeville, and appeared in various films from the 1930s to the 1970s, often uncredited. He appeared in "Wizard of Oz" in 1939 as a Munchkin, and also as one of the Winged Monkeys. He later said he considered his role as a Munchkin to be the most important of all his roles on stage and film in his 50 year career. His other film roles were in movies including "Hellzapoppin"', "The Court Jester", "Planet of the Apes", "Papillon", a production of "Swiss Family Robinson", "Three Ring Circus", "Hello, Dolly!", and as a rotoscope reference actor in the 1978 animated film "The Lord of the Rings".
He also served as a stuntperson in the films "Tarzan Finds a Son!", "Bad Bascomb", "River of No Return", and "Earthquake".
Television.
Monty also appeared in the television series "Lost in Space", "Bonanza", "Bewitched", and "H.R. Pufnstuf".
Monty died in December 1999 at the age of 95.


Emblem of Brunei

The national emblem of Brunei is featured prominently on the flag of Brunei. It was adopted in 1940. There are five main components to the national emblem: the flag, the royal parasol (ceremonial umbrella), the wings, the hands, and the crescent.
Below the crescent is a banner; both are inscribed with yellow lettering in Arabic:
Design.
All elements on the emblem are red. On some versions they have black outlines; others have colourless outlines.
Personal emblem of the Sultan.
After the Constitution was enacted in 1959 the Sultan of Brunei adopted a different emblem from the emblem of state, in that the two hands were superseded by two golden "sejant" cats ("kuching emas"). At his coronation in 1968, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah used a crown ("mahkota") with an original design due it is based on the brocade turbans used by previous sultans. It is made of precious metal, decorated with pendilia and a sarpech consisting of a crescent-and-ten-pointed star and topped with a seven-pointed ornament.
About 1999 a highly elaborate achievement was adopted. It maintained the inscribed crescent, since that time "vert", and the winged umbrella as core elements but the Sultan's crown was added over them. This set is surrounded by a garland of ears paddy "or" and is displayed the name of God (Allah) in "chief". On the yellow standard of the Sultan, the emblem is all red.
In this emblem, تبارك الذي بيده الملك is written.


The Flagellation of Christ (Cimabue)

The Flagellation of Christ is a panel painting by 13th-century Italian artist Cimabue, in egg tempera and gold leaf on a poplar panel, dated to c.1280. It has been held by the Frick Collection in New York since 1950, and is the only painting by Cimabue in the US. The Frick Collection acquired the painting from the Knoedler gallery in Paris in 1950. Previously, it had been owned by the antiques dealer M Rolla at the end of the 19th century, inherited by G Rolla, and then sold to the art dealer Eduardo Moratilla.
The painting depicts the flagellation of Christ, an episode in the Passion. In the painting, Christ, naked but for a loincloth, is bound to a marble column that rises up the centre of the scene, dividing it into two halves. He is being flogged by two figures, one to either side, in clothing of jarringly cheerful colours. The anguished Christ regards the viewer calmly. Tall city buildings in the background are depicted with Byzantine reverse perspective frame the scene. The figure of Christ is heavily influenced by that in Cimabue's "Santa Croce Crucifix", whilst the torturers in bright clothing recall the Siennese school and the stylised background buildings the Roman school, the latter influence already taken on by Cimabue's workshop in the "Lives of the Apostles" in the Upper Basilica at Assisi.
The panel measures . It is one of three panels known from the "Diptych of Devotion", a polyptych depicting the passion of Christ, which probably had two wings each with four panels, eight in all. The physical condition of the paint at the edges of "Flagellation of Christ" panel indicate that it was at the lower-right corner of a larger composite work. Two other scenes by Cimabue, painted on wood panels of similar size, have been identified as parts of the same polyptych: "Virgin and Child with Two Angels" in the collections of the National Gallery in London (discovered in Suffolk in 2000) and "Christ Mocked", discovered in France in 2019.
Attribution of the work has been problematic since it came to the attention of art historians in the 1950s. It was initially attributed it to another Sienese artist Duccio, but others suggested Cimabue or his workshop. The uncertainty was resolved after the discovery and attribution of the similarly-size "Virgin and Child with Two Angels", definitively attributed to Cimabue, which led to a reattribution of the "Flagellation of Christ" from Duccio to Cimabue. The two panels were exhibited together in Pisa and London in 2005, and at the Frick Collection in 2006. A third panel, "Christ Mocked", was found in France in 2019, and auctioned for €24 million.
External Links.
Cimabue and Early Italian Devotional Painting, Frick Collection, exhibition in 2006.
"Two Cimabue Panels Reunited in US for the First Time in Cimabue and Early Italian Devotional Painting, October 3 through December 31, 2006", press release, Frick Collection.
Cocktails with a Curator, by Xavier Salomon, posted March 5, 2021.


The Final Wish

The Final Wish is a 2018 mystery-horror film written by Jeffrey Reddick, Jonathan Doyle and William Halfon and co-produced by Jeffrey Reddick, directed by Timothy Woodward Jr. and starring Lin Shaye and Michael Welch. The movie is distributed by Cinedigm Entertainment Group. "The Final Wish" was released on October 17, 2018 at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival.
Plot.
Aaron Hammond is forced to return home when his father suddenly dies. While dealing with grief and trying to support his mother, Kate, he finds an urn in his father's belongings. He soon finds that the object is capable of making wishes and desires come true. What he doesn't know is that the price for this may be too high to pay.
Release.
Reception.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, "The Final Wish" has an approval rating of 73% based on eleven reviews, with an average score of 6.28/10. Frank Ochieng from the "SF Crowsnest" gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars and stated: "Wish is strangely contemplative in its attempt to shine an eerie light on the mysteries of death and estrangement. Woodward's gory gem is more of the psychological horror variety as it adequately taps into the realm of a messy mindset gone haywire." Noel Murray, reviewing for the newspaper "Los Angeles Times", opined, "By the time 'The Final Wish' gets to the much more effective suspense sequences - and the enjoyably perverse twists - it's too little and too late." Jennie Kermode from the online magazine "Eye for Film" gave the movie 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote: "Focused primarily on psychological horror but also dealing out a fair number of shocks and scares, The Final Wish is a well-crafted film that's likely to appeal to a broad range of genre fans."


Two Moons (collage)

Two Moons is a 2010 mixed media collage by artist India Cruse-Griffin located on the Eskenazi Health campus, near downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, and is part of the Eskenazi Health Art Collection.
Description.
"Two Moons" is a 2010 mixed media collage by artist India Cruse-Griffin, which depicts a couple holding various objects, standing in front of two houses and several trees, while two moons float in the sky. The work, which measures 24" x 25", framed, is made from collaged paper gathered from magazines, upon which Cruse-Griffin then paints, often allowing the underlying magazine paper to show through. While her subjects are often clear and straightforward, this collage technique serves as a reminder of the accumulation of lived experience.
Historical information.
Acquisition.
"Two Moons" was acquired by Eskenazi Health as part of a re-imagining of the organization's historical art collection and to support "the sense of optimism, vitality and energy" of its new campus in 2013. In response to its nationwide request for proposals, Eskenazi Health received more than 500 submissions from 39 states, which were then narrowed to 54 finalists by an independent jury. Each of the 54 proposals was assigned an area of the new hospital by Eskenazi Health's art committee and publicly displayed in the existing Wishard Hospital and online for public comment; more than 3,000 public comments on the final proposals were collected and analyzed in the final selection. "Two Moons" is credited "in honor of Greg Kelleher, Lisa E. Harris, M.D."
Location.
"Two Moons" is currently displayed in the Robert & Gina Laikin Surgery Registration & Waiting Room on the third floor of Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital.
Artist.
Indiana-based artist India Cruse-Griffin received her BS in Art Education from Ball State University. She has exhibited extensively, including at the Richmond Art Museum, Indiana University East, the Northern Indiana Arts Association, Indiana State Museum and the National Black Fine Art Show held annually in New York. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the Indiana State Museum, the Indiana Governor’s Residence, Indiana University, Richmond Community Schools, the Richmond Art Museum and Reid Memorial Hospital in Richmond. Cruse-Griffin teaches art at Richmond Senior High School, where she won two Teacher of the Year awards in 2010-2011.


Dragonball Evolution

Dragonball Evolution is a 2009 American science fantasy action film directed by James Wong, produced by Stephen Chow, and written by Ben Ramsey. It is loosely based on the Japanese "Dragon Ball" manga and anime series created by Akira Toriyama, and stars Justin Chatwin, Emmy Rossum, James Marsters, Jamie Chung, Chow Yun-fat, Joon Park, and Eriko Tamura. In "Dragonball: Evolution", the young Goku reveals his past and sets out to fight the evil alien warlord Lord Piccolo who wishes to gain the powerful Dragon Balls and use them to take over Earth.
The film began development in 2002 and was distributed by 20th Century Fox. It is the first official live-action adaptation of the "Dragon Ball" manga. Both Toei and Funimation stated that they have no involvement with the live action film adaptation of "Dragon Ball".
"Dragonball: Evolution" was released in Japan and several other Asian countries on March 13, 2009, and in the United States on April 10, 2009. The film received negative reviews by both critics and "Dragon Ball" fans, particularly for its script, cast, and unfaithfulness to the source material. The film performed poorly at the box office, grossing only $9.4 million in North America and a worldwide total of $58.2 million against a budget of $30 million. The film was meant to be the first of a series, though all subsequent films were canceled.
Plot.
Two thousand years ago, the demon Lord Piccolo came to Earth, wreaking havoc along with his minion Ōzaru the Great Ape. Seven mystics created a powerful enchantment called the Mafuba and used it to seal Piccolo away; however, he breaks free in the present day, and with his ninja henchwoman Mai, begins to search for the seven Dragonballs – each one marked with stars numbering between one and seven – killing anyone in his path. He finds the first Dragonball in the possession of a peasant woman named Seki in an impoverished village. She relinquishes the Dragonball to save her daughter’s life, and Mai seemingly kills her.
On his eighteenth birthday, martial artist and high school senior Son Goku is given the four-star Dragonball by his grandfather, Gohan. Returning home from a party hosted by his crush Chi-Chi, Goku finds his home destroyed and his grandfather near death after Piccolo's failed attempt to acquire the Dragonball. Before he dies, Gohan tells Goku to seek out martial arts master Master Muten Roshi, who holds another one of the Dragonballs.
Goku then meets Bulma of the Capsule Corporation, who was studying the five-star Dragonball until it was stolen by Mai and has invented a locator for the Dragonballs. Goku offers Bulma his protection in exchange for her help in finding Roshi. They ultimately track him down in Paozu City, and he joins them in their search. Under Roshi's wing, Goku begins training his ki, knowing that they must get all the Dragonballs before the next solar eclipse when Ōzaru will return and join forces with Piccolo. In the midst of the group's search for the six-star Dragonball, they fall into a trap set by the desert bandit Yamcha, but Roshi convinces Yamcha to join by promising a portion of the royalties for Bulma's invention. Together, the group fight off an ambush by Mai and successfully acquire the next Dragonball.
As the group continues their quest, they visit The World Martial Arts Tournament where Chi-Chi is competing; she fights Mai in a match, and Mai uses the match to steal a sample of her blood. Chi-Chi briefly joins the group as they travel to a temple where Roshi consults his former teacher Sifu Norris and begins preparing the Mafuba enchantment so he can reseal Piccolo, while Chi-Chi helps Goku in his training to learn the most powerful of the ki-bending techniques: the Kamehameha Wave. During the night, Mai – having disguised herself as Chi-Chi using her shapeshifting abilities and the blood she stole earlier – steals the team's three Dragonballs, adding them to the ones that Piccolo already acquired. Chi-Chi is knocked unconscious in the fight, while Goku, Bulma, Yamcha, and Roshi go in pursuit of Mai and Piccolo.
With the Dragonballs successfully united, Piccolo arrives at the Dragon Temple and begins to summon Shenron the Eternal Dragon, but is stopped by the timely arrival of Goku's team. During the ensuing battle, Piccolo reveals to Goku that he himself is Ōzaru the Great Ape, having been sent to Earth as an infant to destroy it when he grew older. As the eclipse begins, Goku transforms into Ōzaru while Roshi attempts to use the Mafuba on Piccolo, but he doesn't have enough energy to finish the enchantment and Piccolo breaks free. Ōzaru chokes Roshi to death, but Roshi's dying words snap Goku back to his senses; he reverses his transformation and engages Piccolo in a final battle, seemingly defeating him with the power of the Kamehameha Wave. Goku then uses the Dragonballs to summon Shenron and requests that he restore Roshi back to life.
As the group celebrates, they realize the Dragonballs have now scattered, and Bulma declares that they must search for them again. Before they head out, Goku meets with Chi-Chi to apologize for knocking her unconscious and get to know her better, and they begin a sparring match to see which of them is stronger.
In a mid-credits scene, Piccolo is shown to have survived Goku's Kamehameha and is being cared for by the villager Seki, revealed to have been spared by Mai.
Production.
Development.
In 1995, Hong Kong action film star Jackie Chan, who was a fan of the series, had expressed some interest in adapting "Dragon Ball" into a live-action film. However, he said it would require "a lot of amazing special effects and an enormous budget."
In 2002, 20th Century Fox acquired the feature film rights to the "Dragon Ball" franchise. In the same year, Stephen Chow was approached to direct the film, and although he said he was deeply interested because he is a fan of "Dragon Ball", Chow declined the chance to direct. He, however, accepted a role as a producer via his company Star Overseas. Robert Rodriguez, Mark A.Z. Dippé and Zack Snyder were offered to direct but passed. 20th Century Fox then went on to send the script to writer/director James Wong who accepted. In 2007, James Wong and RatPac-Dune Entertainment co-founder Brett Ratner were announced as director and producer respectively, and the project was retitled "Dragonball". Ben Ramsey's first draft was deemed too expensive to shoot, and in the end, he wrote about five different drafts of the script following notes from the studio. James Wong wrote the last draft, again according to notes from the studio, but decided to remain uncredited as the co-screenwriter. Chow was a "Dragon Ball" fan, citing its "airy and unstrained story [which] leaves much room for creation", but explained he would only serve as a producer because he believes that he should only direct stories he had created.
Differing costs to produce the film have been reported. In January 2008, Marsters spoke to "TV Guide" that he was told the film had a budget of approximately $100 million. In April 2009, the Spanish television station Telecinco reported that the budget was $50 million.
Marsters would later claim that the film in fact was produced for $30 million.
Casting.
Justin Chatwin was selected to play the film's central character Goku. Ron Perlman was originally offered the role of the villain Lord Piccolo, but turned it down to work on "". James Marsters, who accepted the role, noted he was a fan of the original anime series, describing it as "the coolest television cartoon in the last 50,000 years [because] it's got a Shakespearean sense of good and evil." Summarizing the original concept of his Piccolo, he said the character was "thousands of years old and a very long time ago he used to be a force of good, but [he] got into a bad argument and was put into prison for 2000 years. It got him very angry, and he finds a way to escape and then tries to destroy the world." Originally, Piccolo was going to be depicted as a handsome creature, but Marsters and the make-up artist chose to give him a decrepit complexion to reflect his having been trapped for thousands of years. The first time the make-up was applied, it took seventeen hours and left Marsters with difficulty breathing. In subsequent applications, it generally only took four hours.
Stephen Chow originally wanted to cast Zhang Yuqi, with whom he worked on "CJ7", for the part of Chi Chi, but the role eventually went to Jamie Chung.
Filming.
Principal photography began on December 3, 2007, in Mexico City, Mexico. Locations included the Universidad Tecnológica de México.
From January 2, 2008, the crew shot at Sierra de Órganos National Park. The crew moved to Estado de México in March of that year for some shots at Nevado de Toluca. Shooting has also been scheduled at Los Angeles, California.
In adapting the "Dragon Ball" manga, the futuristic cities and flying vehicles were kept; however, the anthropomorphic creatures and talking animals (such as Turtle, Oolong, Puar,Shu, and Korin) were dropped.
Many of the locations are very Oriental, and there was some Aztec influence too, particularly from their temples.
It was thought that Rossum would wear a blue wig to resemble her anime counterpart, but it was ultimately decided that such a look was too unrealistic. Instead she had her natural brown with blue streaks. Chatwin did not wear a wig as the director felt Chatwin's hair resembled Goku's.
A large amount of "Dragonball Evolution" was shot in an abandoned jeans factory, also located in Durango, Mexico.
"Dragonball: Evolution" special effects were done by Amalgamated Dynamics, while the visual effects were done by Ollin Studios, Zoic Studios, and Imagine Engine.
Music.
On December 9, 2008, it was confirmed that the theme song would be "Rule" by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki. Also featured on the film's soundtrack is American pop artist Brian Anthony, whose remixed song "Worked Up" was released as a single in English territories, and is included on the home video releases as a bonus feature.
The film's soundtrack, "", was released in the United States on March 17, 2009 by Varèse Sarabande.
The score was composed by Brian Tyler, who recorded the score with an 82-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox. The score was met with positive reviews from music critics, who drew comparisons to Tyler's previous works.
Tie-ins.
The July 2008 issue of Jump Square published a manga inspired by the film by Daisuke Kadokuni.
Release.
Though an American film, "Dragonball: Evolution" was released in Japan and Hong Kong on March 13, 2009, nearly a month before its American release.
It was released in Australia on April 2 and in the United Kingdom on April 8.
Its release in its home country changed dates many times. Initially scheduled to be released in North America on August 15, 2008, it was later moved to April 2009 to allow time for additional filming and post-production work. The specific date then changed back and forth between April 10 and 8, with the final release date being April 10.
The marketing of the theatrical release included a viral "personal expressions" campaign created by digital agency Red Box New Media that ran on the Windows Live Messenger application. Alongside that campaign, Fox hired Picture Production Company to develop a PC/Wii flash game under the name "Can you Ka-Me-Ha-Me-Ha?"
This game was released just prior to the film in conjunction with another viral campaign that encouraged fans to send in their renditions of the fighting move.
Home media.
The film was released on Region 1 DVD and Blu-ray Disc in North America on July 28 and on Region 2 DVD and Blu-ray Disc in the United Kingdom on August 31. The Region 4 DVD and Blu-ray Disc was released in Australia on November 18.
Reception.
Box office.
On its opening weekend in the United States, the film grossed $4,756,488 from 2,181 sites. Box Office Mojo described this a "paltry", and noted that it was less than earned even though "Dragonball Evolution" opened at many more screens, and the gross was smaller than similar martial arts action films such as The Forbidden Kingdom or Bulletproof Monk. It also grossed far worse than Speed Racer and landed on 8th place at the box office behind , Fast & Furious, Monsters vs. Aliens, Observe and Report, Knowing, I Love You, Man, and The Haunting in Connecticut. In its second weekend, it dropped to 11th place. By the end of its run the film had a gross earning in the United States and Canada of $9,362,785 and an international gross of $48,865,675 for a combined worldwide box office gross total of $58,228,460.
Critical response.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film received a 15% approval rating based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 3.60/10. The site's consensus states, "Executed with little panache or invention, "Dragonball Evolution" lacks the magic that made the books on which it was based a cult sensation." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on reviews from 10 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade C+ on scale of A to F.
Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network, who was initially annoyed at fans of the franchise who criticised the film via leaked set shots and trailers before the film's release, gave the film an overall failing grade and stated "the fans were right." He criticised the film's lack of explaining plot elements, its hackneyed storyline and lackluster effort by the actors. "Variety"'s Russell Edwards found the film "passable", "pleasing if paint-by-numbers", noting it "doesn't take itself too seriously, but avoids campiness", that "the climactic clash between Piccolo and Goku offers a faithful CGI representation of the ethereal powers as drawn in the original manga" and that the climax offers an "impressive character twist for Goku that will warm the cockles of every young Jungian's heart." Luke Thompson of "E! Online" referred to the film as a "surreal mess" that would only make sense to fans of the original series. He questioned the use of a Caucasian in the main role and felt Chow Yun-Fat was "overacting like never before", but did consider it "fun in a train-wreck kind of way" and that while it was never boring it was also never "logical, coherent [or] rational".
Christopher Monfette of IGN gave the film a positive review, stating that it "is perhaps the most successful live-action film to date to utilize costume, production and audio design—not to mention some inspired fight choreography—to provide the flavor of anime without becoming overly cartoonish". He praised the main cast for "creating characters the audience can actually care about" and felt Chatwin was particularly likeable as Goku. "Slant Magazine"s Rob Humanick considered the film "uninspired" and implausible with an "aimlessly hyperactive construction and complete lack of substance" and "cobbled-together FX fakery". Reviewing the film for Australia's ABC Radio National, Jason Di Rosso stated the film was "lacking the visual panache of recent graphic novel adaptations". He agreed the film was uninspired and also felt it had dull "high school movie banter" dialog and was "cliché-ridden". "The Village Voice"s Aaron Hillis called the film a "loony live-action adaptation", but felt it was "more entertaining than it deserves to be" and would likely appeal to ten-year-old boys. Alonso Duralde of MSNBC found the film to be "both entertainingly ridiculous and ridiculously entertaining" and noted that "kids will have such a blast that you can turn this movie into the gateway kung-fu drug that makes them want to watch the earlier work of Stephen Chow and Chow Yun-Fat, that is if Stephen Chow and Chow Yun-fat had a Caucasian actor in the starring role." Jeffrey K. Lyles of "The Gazette" found the film to be "a fairly entertaining martial arts adventure for the younger audiences" and tolerable to adults. He felt Chatwin was ill-cast as Goku, and that director Wong failed to capture the "frenetic sense of the anime" in the action scenes, leaving them an effort to understand.
Creator response.
Before the film's release, "Dragon Ball" creator Akira Toriyama initially felt surprised by "Dragonball: Evolution" and suggested to his fans to treat it as an alternate universe version of his work. In an interview with the "Asahi Shimbun" on "", Toriyama revealed that he felt the Hollywood producers did not listen to him and his ideas and suggestions, and that the final version was not on par with the original "Dragon Ball" series, and felt the result was a movie he couldn't even call "Dragon Ball". When asked about the casting for Goku in 2013, Toriyama said that "nobody came to mind" for the role, but if "it were back when Jackie Chan was still young, I suppose I would have thought nobody could play Goku but him." Discussing the film in the 2016 "Dragon Ball 30th Anniversary "Super History Book"", Toriyama wrote: "I had put "Dragon Ball" behind me, but seeing how much that live-action film ticked me off..."
In 2016, writer Ben Ramsey apologized for the film, writing: "To have something with my name on it as the writer be so globally reviled is gut-wrenching. To receive hate mail from all over the world is heartbreaking. [...] I went into the project chasing after a big payday, not as a fan of the franchise but as a businessman taking on an assignment. I have learned that when you go into a creative endeavor without passion you come out with sub-optimal results, and sometimes flat out garbage. So I'm not blaming anyone for Dragonball [Evolution] but myself."
Accolades.
The film was nominated for a 2009 Spike TV Scream Award for "Best Comic Book Movie," but lost to "Watchmen". JoBlo.com nominated the film for its Golden Schmoes Awards in the category "Worst Movie of the Year" 2009.
Canceled sequels.
In an interview to "IGN", Justin Chatwin revealed that he signed for three films, though he expressed interest in making seven films. Chatwin also stated that Goku "only really gets interesting in the second film" and that the next films would feature elements from the "Dragon Ball Z" part of the franchise, likely delving further into his Saiyan origins, and incorporating his son Gohan and his arch-rival Vegeta, which he felt was "really exciting. It goes into the whole legend of "Dragonball"". A script for a sequel was being written before the film's release. Marsters said that he would have reprised his role in future films, having "every intention of fulfilling the arc of Piccolo in live-action", which he said it would feature Piccolo's reincarnation and redemption, which would merge Piccolo and his son Piccolo Jr. into one character. The film's poor commercial and critical performance caused any planned sequels to be canceled.
Disney obtained the international rights for the "Dragon Ball" franchise after acquiring 20th Century Fox, which reportedly includes the rights for a "Dragon Ball" live-action film.
Merchandise.
A film novelization, "Dragonball Evolution: The Junior Novel", was written by Stacia Deutsch and Rhody Cohon. Aimed at children ages 8–15, the novel was released by Viz Media on February 24, 2009. The same day, a series of chapter books for readers 7–10 was released.
The three volumes, subtitled "The Discovery", "The Search", and "The Battle" were also written by Deutsch and Cohan.
A 16-paged sticker book, "Dragonball: Evolution Sticker Book", followed on March 24, 2009. Released a week later on March 31, 2009 by Viz was a 22-page "Dragonball: Evolution Posterzine" featuring eleven posters, cast interviews, and merchandise previews.
On January 19, 2009, Namco Bandai Games and Fox announced a tie-in PSP video game, which was released in Japan on March 19 and North America on April 7. The game includes all of the major characters from the film and features various playing modes, including a local multi-player battle mode, production stills, and storyboards from the film.
The Hong Kong-based company Enterbay produced a 1:6-scaled line for "Dragonball Evolution". A 1:6 Goku figure was made along with Lord Piccolo. Bulma was planned to be the third figure of the series in addition to being the first female figure Enterbay has ever released. Prototypes of the Bulma figure were shown at Enterbay's blog but in November 2010, Enterbay confirmed that Bulma was canceled. Bandai America released a mass-market toy-line based on the movie in time for the theatrical release. The figures came in 4-inch, and 6-inch versions. Lastly, Japanese toy company MediCom created stylized Goku and Piccolo Be@rbrick toys to coincide with the release of the film.


Whalers (J. M. W. Turner)

Whalers is an 1845 painting by British artist J. M. W. Turner. Done in oil on canvas, the work depicts a whaling ship and her launches pursuing a whale. Originally created with the hope that collector Elhanan Bicknell would purchase it, the work is currently found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The painting depicts a wounded sperm whale thrashing in a sea of foam and blood. In the background is a ghostly three-masted whaling vessel.
The work is on view at The Metropolitan Museum's Gallery 808