Starlight Sequence

The Starlight Sequence is a showstopper from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Starlight Express". It is performed by Rusty, a young, naive Steam Locomotive and the Starlight Express, a magical Steam Locomotive that comes at midnight to help Steam Locomotives in need. Rusty, who wants to compete in the world championship railway races, has lost self belief because Greaseball and Electra have been taunting him, and his coach, Pearl has dumped him for faster locomotives. In this number, the Starlight Express, sent by Rusty's father, Poppa, has come to tell Rusty that true power comes from within.
Music.
The music was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and is in the key of E major. It is a highly thematic number, starting with Rusty alone. The tune to Rusty's number, Starlight Express plays. Then, as the Starlight Express, joins, he sings the tune of Only You, a theme not yet heard at this point. He gives Rusty his message through the verse. Rusty then comes back with the Starlight Express theme, to say he doesn't understand. The Starlight Express continues the theme Rusty is singing to explain. Rusty, realising what he is being told, joins the Starlight in the Only You theme, later used by Pearl when she realises that she loves Rusty.
Lyrics.
Lyrics are by Richard Stilgoe.
The original title for the number was 'I am the Starlight'.
Choreography/Blocking.
Broadway/London.
It starts with Rusty, sat alone, centre stage. He would call out the words 'Starlight Express', and he would stand, as the Starlight came to stand behind him. The Starlight Express would be played by the actor who played Poppa, and so he would come on in that costume. Rusty, however, would never turn to see him, and would always be looking up, perhaps based on the idea of a Shoulder Angel. When they both sang the 'Only You' theme, Rusty would go onto his knees, and the Starlight take his hands and raises them above him. The Starlight skates away, leaving Rusty feeling powerful.
Bochum.
It starts with Rusty, sat alone, centre stage. He would call out the words 'Starlight Express'. The Starlight Express, again played by the actor who played Poppa, would not come on, but speak from offstage. When they both sang the 'Only You' theme, Rusty stands and raises his hands above him. He would pick up his helmet at the end.
US/UK tours.
It starts with Rusty, sat alone, centre stage. He would call out the words 'Starlight Express'. The Starlight Express, would sing as an OV, rather than appearing onstage. This time, however, "Rusty" can see the Starlight, rather than the audience, and looks directly above them, to a light shining down on him, with 'stars' shining all around. When they both sing the 'Only You' theme, Rusty is lifted into the air amongst the stars, coming down to pick up his helmet at the end.


Zero Woman

Zero Woman () is a Japanese film and video exploitation series with ten entries dating from 1974 to 2007. The series chronicles the adventures of a woman Rei, who, working for a fictional Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department secret agency called "Zero Division", goes undercover to infiltrate and assassinate drug kingpins, mercenaries, and various criminals and their henchmen. The original film may have been the inspiration for Luc Besson's 1990 film "La Femme Nikita".
Series.
 was released by the Toei studio in May 1974. Along with "" and its sequels, it was part of Toei's "Pinky Violence" series of sexploitation films made in response to the success of the Nikkatsu studio's Roman Porno titles. The film starred Miki Sugimoto as Rei who is released from prison to become the deadly assassin Zero Woman for a secret government agency. Also featured are Eiji Gō, Tetsurō Tamba, Hideo Murota and Yōko Mihara. The film was directed by Yukio Noda and like the "Female Convict Scorpion" series was based on a manga by Tōru Shinohara.
Possibly due to the success of the 1990 "La Femme Nikita" and the 1993 American film rendition of the Nikita story, "Point of No Return", in the mid-1990s, a movie and a series of low-budget straight-to-video V-cinema releases based on the original "Zero Woman" appeared. A different actress played Rei in each of the productions. The January 1995 movie, was directed by Koji Enokido and starred Naoko Iijima (as Rei) and Tokuma Nishioka.
From 1995 to 2004, seven V-cinema works were released:
In 2007, the pink film studio Shintōhō Eiga released the tenth entry in the series, , directed by Ken'ichi Fujiwara and starring Atsuko Miura as Rei. Also in the cast were Sasa Handa, Masaki Miura and Hiromitsu Kiba. The film was released theatrically by Shintōhō on May 26, 2007 and a DVD edition was published by the Take Shobo company in July 2007.


Buddy film

The buddy film is a subgenre of adventure and comedy film in which two people—often both men—are put together and on an adventure, a quest, or a road trip. The two often contrast in personality, which creates a different dynamic onscreen than a pairing of two people of the opposite gender. The contrast is sometimes accentuated by an ethnic difference between the two. The buddy film is commonplace in American cinema; unlike some other film genres, it endured through the 20th century with different pairings and different themes.
Male–male relationships.
A buddy film portrays the pairing of two people, often the same sex, historically men. A friendship between the two people is the key relationship in a buddy film. The two people often come from different backgrounds or have different personalities, and they tend to misunderstand one another. Through the events of the buddy film, they gain a stronger friendship and mutual respect. Buddy films often deal with crises of masculinity, especially related to class, race, and gender. "American Masculinities: A Historical Encyclopedia" explains, "[Buddy films] offer male movie–going audiences an opportunity to indulge in a form of male bonding and behavior usually discouraged by social constraints." Ira Konigsberg wrote in "The Complete Film Dictionary", "Such films extol the virtues of male comradeship and relegate male–female relationships to a subsidiary position."
Female–female friendships.
A female buddy film is similar to a buddy film except that the main characters are female, and it is centered on their situation. The cast may be mainly female depending on the plot. "The female buddy film is a recent trend in mainstream cinema. However, "Thelma and Louise" in the early ‘90s had a similar popular impact to "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid", paving the way for onscreen female friendships such as those in "Waiting to Exhale" and "Walking and Talking," and the relationship between Evelyn Couch and Ninny Threadgoode in "Fried Green Tomatoes".
Hybrid genres.
Buddy films are often hybridized with other film genres, such as road movies, Westerns, comedies, and action films featuring cops. The "threats to [the] masculinity" of the male–male relationship depend on the genre: women in comedies, the law in films about outlaw buddies, and criminals in action films about cop buddies.
History.
Pre-1930s.
The buddy film is more common to cinema in the United States than cinema in other Western countries, which tend to focus on male–female romantic relationships or an individual male hero. Film historian David Thomson observes that buddy films are rare among British and French films, "You just wouldn't see three Englishmen behave the way American men do, who are truly happiest when they are together with other men." Portrayal of male bonding in the United States traces back to 19th-century author Mark Twain's characters Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer as a "good boy-bad boy combo", as well as Huck Finn and the slave Jim in Twain's 1884 novel "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Vaudeville acts in early 20th century United States often featured male pairs.Another example could be 1881's "The Prince and the Pauper" with Prince Edward and Miles Hendon.
1930s to 1960s: Comedy duos.
From the 1930s to the 1960s in the United States, male comedy duos often appeared in buddy films. Laurel and Hardy and Abbott and Costello were popular in the 1930s and 1940s. Laurel and Hardy starred in films like "Sons of the Desert" (1933), and Abbott and Costello starred in films like "Buck Privates" (1941). Another comedy duo was Wheeler & Woolsey, who starred in "Half Shot at Sunrise" (1930). Bing Crosby and Bob Hope starred together in the 1940 Paramount Pictures film "Road to Singapore", which led to other 1940s buddy films that the "Los Angeles Times" described as "escapist wartime fantasies". Hope and Crosby starred together in a series of films that lasted to the 1960s. Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a popular duo in the 1950s, and Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon were famous in the 1960s, starring in the hit 1968 film "The Odd Couple".
A major departure from the more comic buddy films of the era was Akira Kurosawa's 1949 Japanese film "Stray Dog", starring Toshirō Mifune and Takashi Shimura. It was a more serious police procedural film noir that served as a precursor to the buddy cop film genre.
1960s to 1970s: Responses to feminism and society.
Throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, the feminist movement and "a widespread questioning" of social institutions influenced buddy films. The films explored male friendships more dramatically and encouraged individualism—particularly to be free from women and society. Critics like Molly Haskell and Robin Wood saw the decades' films as "a backlash from the feminist movement." Philippa Gates wrote, "To punish women for their desire for equality, the buddy film pushes them out of the center of the narrative... By making both protagonists men, the central issue of the film becomes the growth and development of their friendship. Women as potential love interests are thus eliminated from the narrative space." The buddy films of these decades were also hybridized with road movies. The decades' buddy films included "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), "Easy Rider" (1969), "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot" (1974), and "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975). The "Los Angeles Times" said films like "Scarecrow" (1973) and "All the President's Men" (1976) reflected the "paranoia and alienation" felt in the era. Beyond Hollywood, a notable buddy road movie of that era was the Bollywood "Curry Western" film "Sholay" (1975), which was the highest-grossing Indian film of all time.
Biracial buddy films emerged in the 1970s and 1980s; Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder initiated the movement with "Silver Streak" (1976) and "Stir Crazy" (1980). Eddie Murphy was a key actor in biracial buddy films, starring in "48 Hours" (1982) with Nick Nolte and in "Trading Places" (1983) with Dan Aykroyd. Throughout the 1980s, the individual roles in biracial buddy films are reversed. The "racial other... is too civilized" while the white man "is equipped for survival in... the urban landscape".
1980s: Action films and biracial pairings.
The 1980s was a popular decade for action films, and the genre that "blended masculinity, heroism, and patriotism into an idealized image" was hybridized with buddy films. Following the Civil Rights Movement, black advancement was also reflected in more common biracial pairings. In this decade, the buddy cop film took the place of the buddy road movie. Action films with biracial pairings include the 1982 film "48 Hours" starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte and the 1987 film "Lethal Weapon" starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover.Another combination of the action film and the buddy film in the 1980s and another biracial reversal was the 1988 film "Die Hard" in which Bruce Willis's heroic character John McClane is supported by the black cop Al (played by Reginald VelJohnson).
1990s: New approaches to the genre.
In the early 1990s, the masculine figure in films became more sensitive, and some buddy films "contemplated a masculinity that required sensitive relations between men". Such films included "The Fisher King" (1991) and "The Shawshank Redemption" (1994). The decade also saw new approaches to the genre. The 1991 film "Thelma & Louise" featured a female pairing of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon, and the 1993 film "The Pelican Brief" featured a male–female platonic pairing of Julia Roberts and Denzel Washington. The 1998 film "Rush Hour" featured a nonwhite male pairing of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, which the "Los Angeles Times" said symbolized color blindness in American cinema.
Biracial buddy films continued in the 1990s and 2000s and were combined with different genres, such as "White Men Can't Jump" (1992), "Bulletproof" (1996), "Gridlock'd" (1997), "National Security" (2003) and "The Bucket List" (2007).
Also in the 1990s and 2000s, John Woo's Hollywood films imported the "wuxia" "themes of loyalty and trust" from his previous Hong Kong-produced films to create different takes on male bonding. Kin–Yan Szeto writes in "The Martial Arts Cinema of the Chinese Diaspora", "[In] his third Hollywood film, "Face/Off"... Woo manages to deploy and politicize themes of homosociality with the possibility of contesting hegemonic masculinity that consolidates kinship and family." Woo's 2001 World War II film "Windtalkers" depicted two buddy pairs, with each pair indicating inequality through ethnicity (white American soldiers protecting Navajo code talkers but ready to kill the talkers to protect the code). Szeto explains, "Woo uses the twin buddy pairs to explore the shifting meanings and multiple possibilities in interracial bonding, rather than simply recuperating and empowering dominant positions for white heterosexual men."
Television series.
"Lethal Weapon" was adapted into a television series which ran from 2016 to 2019. The 2021 series "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" has many of the features of the buddy film genre, and is influenced by films like "48 Hrs.", "The Defiant Ones", "Lethal Weapon" and "Rush Hour".


La Circe (Ziani)

La Circe is a 1665 opera by Pietro Andrea Ziani to a libretto by Cristoforo Ivanovich (1620-1689). It was first performed for the birthday of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I in Vienna in 1665. It was revived by Ars Minerva in San Francisco in 2017.


Skull Heads

Skull Heads (also known as Devious) is a 2009 drama/horror film written, produced and directed by Charles Band and distributed by his company Full Moon Features. The film revolves around an emotionally backward young woman who lives in a castle in Italy with her mother and her aggressive father, along with a dark secret hidden within the castle.
Plot.
In the basement of their castle in Rome, Italy, Naomi Arkoff is tortured on a rack by her father Carver, "this" time for having a cell phone. Untying her, he warns that next time her punishment won't be slow and painful. She runs upstairs screaming: "I can run faster than you!" over and over.
The next afternoon, Carver's wife Lisbeth questions what he did to Naomi. At lunch Carver tells his mentally retarded half brother Peter that the lamb they're eating is Sophia, for whom Peter has an affection. Naomi cheers him up with her toy horse. Lisbeth takes a tray of food upstairs to her father and reads Edgar Allan Poe's "From Childhood's Hour" to him. She alerts him that his guardian angels are in the room, shown to be small creatures with big skulls.
Naomi tells Lisbeth she wants to get away to college and meet people and do exciting things. Lisbeth tries to dissuade her, telling about Naomi's grandmother who went to see the circus when Lisbeth was a baby and didn't come back. When Lisbeth was a teenager the circus returned and Lisbeth saw her mother in the circus performing acrobatics. Lisbeth finds an iPod under Naomi's pillow, but allows Naomi to keep it so long as her father doesn't know.
The next morning Kimi, L.J., and Jensen arrive, Hollywood producers scouting locations. Carver tears up Kimi's business card telling Uncle Peter to escort them out. Naomi gathers up the card, sneaks a cell phone from a delivery boy, and invites the trio to dinner.
Having calmed her father over having guests, everyone settles for the meal when they hear something. The family explains it's "the protectors". The Romans buried the dead in catacombs and built the castle above to guard against grave robbers. The "Skull Heads" are born of witchcraft to protect the dead from violation.
Leaving after a tour of the castle, the film crew are revealed to actually be art thieves. The next morning, preparing to torture Naomi, Carver finds Peter trying to have sex with the maid Claudia. He beats Peter out of the room but has Claudia keep her pants down as he unzips himself. That night, Kimi, L.J. and Jensen sneak in and start stealing items.
Jensen finds and releases Naomi from the rack. As they're about to escape, they run into Carver and Lisbeth. Arguing over the right decision for Naomi, Lisbeth explains that Naomi is not only Carver and Lisbeth's daughter, but also their niece as Carver and Lisbeth are brother and sister. Naomi is a little retarded because she is inbred and confused over her identity. Suddenly, Lisbeth and Carver are shot by Kimi, who then forces Jensen and Naomi back into the basement.
Kimi has Naomi tie Jensen to the rack for betraying his partner, then presses a button causing the rack to run automatically and locks Naomi in a trap. L.J. and Kimi continue grabbing the valuables they had earmarked. The Skull Heads resurrect the bodies of Carver and Lisbeth as zombies and have them go after the thieves. Carver and Lisbeth corner L.J. and Kimi at the castle doors where they start eating off their faces, spraying blood all over the walls.
Peter releases Naomi and Jensen. Jensen follows Naomi upstairs to get her grandfather and is shocked to find he has been dead for quite some time. Suddenly, his body rises up and surprises Jensen, revealing one of the Skull Heads controlling his body. Jensen runs back downstairs, grabs Kimi's gun, shoots at Carver and Lisbeth and runs outside, shutting the doors behind him. Just as he thinks he is safe, a screaming Naomi opens the doors, grabs Jensen and pulls him back in, slamming the doors behind her.


Oxburgh Hangings

The Oxburgh Hangings are needlework hangings that are held in Oxburgh Hall, made by Mary, Queen of Scots and Bess of Hardwick. The hangings were made between the years 1570 and approximately 1585. An accomplished needlewoman, Bess of Hardwick joined Mary at Chatsworth House for extended periods in 1569, 1570, and 1571, during which time they worked together on the hangings. At that time Mary was imprisoned, in the custody of the Earl of Shrewsbury. The hangings' design was devised at her request. The Oxburgh Hangings consist of green velvet hangings, each with a square centerpiece with octagonal panels of emblems of plants and animals surrounding it. The hangings have been made into a wall hanging, two bed curtains and a valance, although these were probably not the original arrangement of the needlework, but instead most likely an arrangement sewn together in the late 17th century. There is also a group of 33 embroideries which are the remains of another hanging. The panels in the hangings, of which there are over a hundred, were made in cross stitch on canvas and applied to a green velvet background, and the designs of the panels were mostly based on four continental emblem books which Mary had; the panel designs were copied from wood-cut illustrations by well-known authors such as Claude Paradin, Conrad Gessner, and Pierre Belon. Some of the panels' emblems include a phoenix (the symbol of Mary's mother Marie of Guise), and a dragon and a unicorn. The panels made by Mary have her monogram, the letters MA superimposed on the Greek letter phi, and the panels made by Bess have the initials ES.
The hangings are now part of the Victoria and Albert Museum, although they are on permanent long-term loan at Oxburgh Hall.


German underground horror

German underground horror is a subgenre of the horror film, which has achieved cult popularity since first appearing in the mid-1980s.
Horror films produced by the German underground scene are usually trademarked by their intensity, taking on topics that are culturally taboo such as rape, necrophilia, and extreme violence. Films that glorify violence are not technically illegal in Germany, but certain titles are banned by the government and Zollkriminalamt. Distribution, import, or creation of specific films can constitute steep fines.
History of German underground horror.
In an attempt to shed its violent image, horror films were very rarely made in Germany after the fall of the Third Reich. Movies such as "Horrors of Spider Island", "The Blood Demon", and "The Head" were filmed and released in the decades following World War II, but to very little success.
In 1987, filmmaker Jörg Buttgereit wrote and directed "Nekromantik". Two years later, amateur filmmaker Andreas Schnaas made the movie "Violent Shit" for a reported $2000. Released as Germany's first direct-to-video film, it was a modest hit amongst fans of independent horror. Both films were banned by the German government, but their popularity influenced other filmmakers such as Olaf Ittenbach to bring Germany's underground horror film scene further into the media spotlight.
Since then, many other filmmakers have emerged from the German underground horror scene, including Uwe Boll and Timo Rose. Uwe Boll is notable as the only underground German director who has gone on to a career in big budget cinema.
Ratings' effect on German underground horror.
Once a film has been rated by the German ratings board, that is its rating for both cinema and video releases. It is legal to have two versions of a film. Often, there is a cut "FSK 16" version (equivalent to the R-rating by the MPAA) released in cinemas and an uncut "FSK 18" version (equivalent to an NC-17 rating) on video. Films rated "FSK 18" are not stocked by all video shops, which affects rentals of violent German horror.
In Germany, there is also a category above "FSK 18" entitled "indiziert" or "on the index". "Indizierte" films are treated the same way as pornography. Distribution companies, cinemas, and video shops cannot advertise these films, nor can they be openly on display—unless a shop is open to "adults only". However, it is legal to sell and buy such material. Many video rental stores have back rooms or basements for such merchandise.
Examples of "indizierte" films include "Cannibal Ferox", "Cannibal Holocaust", "Last House on the Left", "From Dusk Till Dawn", and Dario Argento's "Profondo Rosso" (Deep Red). Several of these films were released uncut in Germany, but were subject to the limitations listed. Others were edited and then released as "indiziert".
Some movies, e.g. "Braindead", are completely banned in Germany (mostly for glamorizing violence), as it is illegal even to sell them to adults. These movies are "indiziert" as well as "beschlagnahmt" ("judicially confiscated"). While selling these kinds of media is strictly prohibited, it is legal to buy or own such movies.


Medici porcelain

Medici porcelain was the first successful attempt in Europe to make imitations of Chinese porcelain, though it was soft-paste porcelain rather than the hard-paste made in Asia. The experimental manufactory housed in the Casino of San Marco in Florence existed between 1575 and 1587 under the patronage of Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Surviving examples are extremely rare, and the great majority of the 60-70 examples are in museums.
A painted mark of Brunelleschi's dome and a capital letter appear on the underside of some pieces; others bear the Medici "palle", the balls that are the Medici heraldic charge. Never a commercial venture, Medici porcelains were sometimes given as diplomatic gifts; for example, surviving pieces bear the arms of Philip II of Spain.
History and Manufacture.
Giorgio Vasari reported in the 1568 edition of his "Vite" that Bernardo Buontalenti was currently at work on discovering the art of porcelain, but there is no sign that he was successful. The first successes were finally reported in 1575 by the Venetian ambassador Andrea Gussoni, who mentioned in his brief to the "Serenissima" that Francesco discovered the means of making "the porcelain of India," (i.e. the East Indies). Gussoni mentioned in particular the four qualities that made porcelain desirable, apart from its exotic rarity:
However, the entire project was ultimately relatively short-lived; the high-firing temperature pushed sixteenth century technical capability to its limit, resulting in exorbitant production costs. There are no references to Medici porcelain manufacture securely dated after Francesco's death in 1587.
The body of Medici porcelain ware is a type of soft-paste porcelain, composed of white clay containing powdered feldspar, calcium phosphate and wollastonite (CaSiO3), with quartz. The glaze contains calcium phosphate, indicating that the middle-eastern technique of using calcined bone to make an opaque white glaze was adopted. The result is translucent but slightly glassy in feel. Following the precedents of classic Chinese blue and white porcelain, decorations were painted in underglaze blue, which resulted in a range of hues when fired—from a bright cobalt blue (such as a flask in the National Gallery of Art) to grey (such as the bottle detail at right). Some pieces have outlines traced in manganese.
Body shapes are adapted from maiolica ceramics and silver models; they range from the largest basins and ewers, chargers and plates, to the smallest cruets. Decorative motifs are executed in imitation of Chinese blue-and-white wares, or of Turkish İznik ceramics, or more rarely in imitation of maiolica "grottesche" ornament. Both Chinese and Turkish ceramics had been represented in the Medici family collections for over a century; for example, one prized possession of the family was a gift from the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt who sent Lorenzo de' Medici "large vessels of porcelain, the like of which has never been seen" in 1478.
Legacy.
When Francesco died, his younger brother Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici inherited the position of Grand Duke. Ferdinando brought his prized Chinese and Medici porcelains back with him to Florence from the Villa Medici in Rome, along with his paintings and treasured Roman antiquities. But with the ubiquity of European soft-paste and hard-paste porcelains in the eighteenth century, the Medici heirs in the House of Lorraine came to value less and less the imperfect Medici porcelains, with their minute firing cracks and bubbled glazes. In 1772 an auction in the Palazzo Vecchio of objects from storage dispersed the Medici porcelains conserved in Tuscany. The venture disappeared from history until interest revived after the mid-nineteenth century. The 1588 inventory drawn up after Francesco's death listed 310 pieces. Today only some sixty or seventy pieces are known to survive.
The next successful European attempt to make soft-paste porcelain would come from the Rouen manufactory in France, in 1673.


Michigan Avenue (Chicago)

Michigan Avenue is a north-south street in Chicago which runs at 100 east on the Chicago grid. The northern end of the street is at Lake Shore Drive on the shore of Lake Michigan in the Gold Coast Historic District. The street's southern terminus is at Sibley Boulevard in the southern suburb of Harvey, though like many Chicago streets it exists in several disjointed segments.
As the home of the Chicago Water Tower, the Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park, and the shopping on the Magnificent Mile, it is a street well known to Chicago natives as well as tourists to the city. Michigan Avenue also is the main commercial street of Streeterville. It includes all of the Historic Michigan Boulevard District and most of the Michigan–Wacker Historic District, including the scenic urban space anchored by the DuSable (Michigan Avenue) Bridge.
History.
The oldest section of Michigan Avenue is the portion that currently borders Grant Park in the Chicago Loop section of the city. The name came from Lake Michigan, which until 1871 was immediately east of Michigan Avenue. The street at that time ran north to the Chicago River and south to the city limits. Originally, Michigan Avenue was primarily residential, and by the 1860s, large homes and expensive row houses dominated Michigan Avenue.
At no point is Michigan Avenue currently called Michigan Boulevard, but prior to the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the street was officially known as Michigan Boulevard and often referred to as "Boul Mich". But in the 1900-1907 Ads for the Chicago Musical College, the address was referred to as "202 Michigan Boul." As recently as the 1920s, North Michigan Avenue (especially the Magnificent Mile) was referred to as "Upper Boul Mich". Paris's Boulevard Saint-Michel is the original Boul Mich.
North of the Chicago River today's Michigan Avenue was known as Pine Street. In 1866 a small portion of Pine Street was "vacated" and moved further west of the original Pine street location to accommodate the installation of the new pumping station's standpipe. This standpipe, engineered to regulate water pressure, would be housed within architect William W. Boyington's castle structure (Water Tower) that still stands on that site today. In 1869 the Board of Public Works began paving Pine Street from Chicago Avenue to Whitney street (today, Walton street) the northern terminus, with Belgian wood blocks also known as Nicolson pavement.
Pine Street was renamed to Lincoln Park Boulevard as far south as Ohio Street when the street connected with Lake Shore Drive in the early 1890s, and then became part of Michigan Avenue, which already had the name Michigan Avenue (Michigan Boulevard before the Great Chicago Fire in 1871) south of the Chicago River. Both the North and South Michigan Avenues were joined physically with the opening of the Michigan Avenue bridge in 1920. In 1926, after years of clogged automobile traffic, the water tower and pumping station were separated by realigning Michigan Avenue to run between them.
In the Great Fire of 1871, all buildings on Michigan Avenue from Congress Street north to the river were destroyed. Immediately after the fire, the character of Michigan remained residential, but the street no longer was directly on the lake shore, as after the Fire, wreckage from the burnt district was used to fill in the inner harbor of Chicago, beginning the landfills that by the 1920s had moved the lake shore more than a quarter-mile east of its original shoreline, creating space for an expanded Grant Park. Beginning in the 1880s, the expansion of the central business district replaced houses on Michigan Avenue so that today, Michigan's character is primarily commercial north of 35th Street.
The first city showcase on Michigan Avenue was the Exposition Building, which was built on the current site of the Art Institute, the east side of Michigan at Adams, in 1874. By the 1890s, an imposing wall of buildings was constructed on the west side of Michigan Avenue downtown, including the Auditorium Building and the main branch of the Chicago Public Library (now the Chicago Cultural Center). As the east side of Michigan Avenue downtown was developed as a park, the wall of buildings lining the west side of Michigan Avenue across from the park became the nucleus of the city's skyline.
In 1924, the first traffic lights in Chicago were installed on Michigan Avenue after John D. Hertz fronted the city $34,000 for the purchase, installation, and maintenance.
Historically, Illinois Route 1 and U.S. Route 41 were routed on Michigan Avenue. Illinois Route 1 has been truncated to Chicago's south side and U.S. Route 41 is now routed on Lake Shore Drive.
Route.
North Michigan Avenue and the Magnificent Mile.
Michigan Avenue originally ended at the Chicago River, and what is now Michigan Avenue north of the river was originally named Pine Street, after scattered pine trees originally found in its vicinity. As early as 1891 plans were proposed to extend Michigan Avenue north across the river. An early plan called for a tunnel to link Michigan Avenue south of the river with Pine Street, and in 1903 an editorial in the "Chicago Tribune" newspaper proposed a new Bascule bridge across the river at Michigan Avenue.
This plan was further elaborated upon in Daniel Burnham's 1909 Plan of Chicago, and in 1911 a plan was selected that included the widening of Michigan Avenue from Randolph Street to the river, replacing the Rush Street bridge with a new bridge at Michigan Avenue and the construction of a double-decked boulevard along Pine Street as far as Ohio Street. When the Michigan Avenue Bridge was completed, Pine Street was renamed Michigan Avenue. At its north end it merges into Lake Shore Drive near the Drake Hotel.
Today, the area north of the Chicago River is referred to as the "Magnificent Mile", or sometimes simply the Mag Mile. It contains a mixture of upscale department stores, restaurants, high-end retailers, office buildings and hotels, and caters primarily to tourists and the affluent. The area also has a high concentration of the city's advertising agencies and major media firms, including the "Chicago Tribune".
It is the home of Chicago's famous Water Tower landmark, Water Tower Park with its historic clock, as well as the eight-level Water Tower Place shopping center which grew up next door to, and overshadowed, the comparatively diminutive landmark. North of the shopping center can be found the famous John Hancock Center, the art deco Palmolive Building (also known as the "Playboy" Building) and the lavish Drake Hotel. The entire mile is noted for its spectacular Christmas displays. At the northern edge of this district can be found the One Magnificent Mile building; Chicago Landmark East Lake Shore Drive District, an extremely expensive and exclusive one-block area of real estate running east from North Michigan Avenue and facing directly onto Lake Michigan; and the on-ramp to northbound Lake Shore Drive.
From the River southwards.
For a few blocks on both sides of the Chicago River, the road is double-decked, including the bridge over the river. The lower level north of the river is where the famous Billy Goat Tavern is located, and south of the river it intersects with Lower Wacker Drive. On the upper lever, tall office buildings and hotels line both sides of the Avenue, until Millennium Park.
The portion of Michigan Avenue opposite Grant Park is the Chicago Landmark Historic Michigan Boulevard District. Major cultural institutions, such as the Chicago Cultural Center, Symphony Center, and the Auditorium Theater are located here, as are many late 19th and early 20th century skyscrapers. In 2009, the Chicago Cultural Mile Association was created to bring "awareness of the unique strengths and diverse offerings available to visitors" in this portion of Michigan Avenue.
The Art Institute of Chicago is across the boulevard, in Grant Park along the Avenue. Several large historic hotels are located just south of Ida B. Wells Drive, including the Hilton Towers Chicago (formerly, the Stevens Hotel), the Congress Plaza Hotel and the Blackstone Hotel. Between them is the Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies.
The Avenue extends south into Near South Side, Chicago and beyond – past what was once the notorious Levee District, the graceful homes of the Prairie Avenue District, the historic Second Presbyterian Church, the former home of the legendary Chess Records at 2120 South Michigan and the site where the Lexington Hotel, a hideout of Al Capone, once stood.
South of Cermak Road is the Motor Row District, a historic strip along Michigan Avenue that was home to many early 20th century automobile "palaces." A point of interest in this area is the former Illinois Automobile Club, which later was used as the home of the Chicago Defender, a prominent African-American Chicago newspaper at 2400 South Michigan. A little bit further south is Bronzeville, a historic black community in Chicago. Points of interest include the historic Mercy Hospital and Medical Center, the Illinois College of Optometry and the South Side Community Art Center.
The intersection of Michigan Avenue and 35th Street is home to two important local institutions. On the northwest corner is De La Salle Institute, a Catholic high school which was attended by future Chicago mayors Richard J. Daley, Richard M. Daley, and Michael Bilandic. On the southwest corner is the Chicago Police Department Headquarters. Michigan Avenue continues through the South Side and dead ends at 63rd Street, just north of a rail yard and parking lots.
The Avenue continues heading south at 66th Street to Marquette Road, where it moves a half-block to the east back into alignment with the run north of 63rd Street. It then continues south to 89th Street where it dead ends once again for a housing subdivision and a railroad line. It resumes at 91st Street heading south through the working class Roseland community, featuring a large commercial strip along Michigan between 111th and 115th streets. The street dead ends again at 127th Street just before the Cal-Sag Channel. It begins again in the south suburb of Riverdale before finally terminating at Sibley Boulevard or IL RT-83.
Transportation.
The Chicago "L" Red Line's Chicago and Grand stations are useful for reaching the Magnificent Mile. Both the Monroe and Jackson stations are close to the Art Institute, as are Loop stations on the Brown, Pink, Orange, and Green Lines. Millennium and Van Buren Street Stations are located along Michigan Avenue serving the Metra Electric and South Shore Lines. The avenue is also traversed by a multitude of bus routes and taxi cabs primarily in the Downtown and Magnificent Mile areas.


Luke Takamura

 is a Japanese musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as guitarist of the heavy metal band Seikima-II from 1987 to 1999, and for various temporary reunions since. From 2002 to 2020, he was the lead singer and guitarist of the rock trio Canta. Luke was voted the tenth greatest Japanese guitarist in a 2019 poll held by goo.
Career.
Luke joined Seikima-II in February 1987, replacing guitarist Jail O'Hashi. Like the other members, Luke adopted the stage persona of an Akuma ("demon") from the futuristic hyper-evolved dimension Makai ("demon world"), where he was the former Staff General of Military Authorities. They all wear face paint and elaborate stage outfits. The band preaches a demonic religion called Akumakyō through heavy metal music to conquer the Earth. Luke released nine studio albums with them, and is their most credited songwriter. In accordance to their fictional "prophecy" and after completing their "world conquest", Seikima-II disbanded at the end of the century on December 31, 1999 at 23:59:59. They sold over 10 million records, and have had limited time-reunions in 2005, 2010, and 2015.
While still in Seikima-II, Luke released a solo album in 1991. In 1995 he joined the short-lived supergroup Kings, with Shuichi Aoiki (Night Hawks) on vocals, Taiji Sawada (X, Loudness) on bass and Satoshi "Joe" Miyawaki (44 Magnum, Spread Beaver) on drums. He released the instrumental album "A Sight For Sore Eyes" in 2001 under the name TOYO (Totally Oval Yellow Outbreak). The following year, Luke formed the rock band Canta with Seikima-II drummer Raiden Yuzawa and Animetal bassist Masaki. After 18 years, Canta disbanded in 2020 after a farewell tour.
Since 2007, Luke has supported Toshihiko Takamizawa of The Alfee both in the studio and in live performances. Their group of guitarists is called and also includes Anchang (Sex Machineguns) and Koji (La'cryma Christi). Luke contributed to Masatoshi Ono's 2011 album "The Voice -Stand Proud!-", playing guitar on covers of Airplay's "Stranded" and "Open Arms" by Journey. He also provided guitar for the song "Chateau de Sable" on the 2016 album "Fate" by Mary's Blood.


Cavalleria rusticana discography

This is a discography of "Cavalleria rusticana", an opera by Pietro Mascagni. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 17 May 17, 1890. There have been over 100 full-length recordings of "Cavalleria rusticana" published since it was first recorded in Germany in 1909. Mascagni himself has conducted the opera in two recordings, the best-known of which is the 1940 EMI recording made to mark the 50th anniversary of the opera's premiere. The performance by the La Scala orchestra and chorus with Lina Bruna Rasa as Santuzza and Beniamino Gigli as Turiddu also has a spoken introduction by Mascagni. Originally released as an LP, it is available on CD under several historical recording labels, including Naxos.
Further reading.
For extensive annotated discographies of "Cavalleria rusticana", see:


Torquay pottery

Torquay pottery or Torquay ware refers to pottery made in Torquay, Devon, England, using local clay, at one of fifteen or so local potteries chiefly serving the tourist trade, but also supplying high-end retailers such as Liberty of London.
The commonest form was mottoware - pottery such as plates or jugs decorated with inspirational or humorous text, often written in a Devon dialect, and thus known as Devon mottoware. Some items were produced in Cornish dialect, for "export" to, and sale in, Cornwall. Novelty items with no functional use were also produced, but are rarer.
The first pottery, the "Watcombe Terra Cotta Clay Company" (later Watcombe Pottery; acquired in 1901 by the nearby Aller Vale Pottery), was established in 1875 by G. J. Allen, after he discovered a particularly fine clay in the grounds of Watcombe House.
Other potteries included the Longpark Pottery (1883; originally the "Longpark China and Terracotta Works"), in the Long Park district, which closed in 1957; Lemon & Crute; Torquay Terra-Cotta Company; and the St. Marychurch Pottery.
Notable potters included Blanche Georgiana Vulliamy.
A Torquay Pottery Collectors' Society, established in 1976, encourages the study and collection of such wares. The society organised an exhibition, "Torquay Pottery: A Local Story" at Newton Abbot Town Museum in 2001. a North American Torquay Society was formed in 1990, for the same purpose.


Emili Teixidor

Emili Teixidor i Viladecàs (22 December 1932 – 19 June 2012) was a Spanish writer, journalist and pedagogue. His most notable works include "Ocell de foc" and "Pa negre", the book that inspired the movie "Black Bread".


Paula Winokur

Paula Colton Winokur (1936–2018) was an American artist. Winokur was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. She attended Tyler School of Art, where she was a student of Rudi Staffel, and where she met her future husband, Robert Winokur. She was one of the leading ceramic artists in the United States from the 1970s until her death in 2018.
Paula Winokur is best known for the work she made during the 1990s through the 2010s which had an environmental focus. From the 1970s to the early 2000s, Winokur taught ceramic art at Arcadia University (originally Beaver College), Glenside, PA. In 2002 she was elected to the American Craft Council College of Fellows.


No One Is Alone (song)

"No One Is Alone" is a song by Stephen Sondheim from the musical "Into the Woods", performed toward the end of Act II as the piece's penultimate number.
Production.
During the show's tryouts at the Old Globe theatre, this song was absent. The LA Times recounts: "At that point, there was simply a spot in the 'Woods' script that said 'quartet for Cinderella, Red Riding Hood, Baker and Jack.' During intermission at a Wednesday evening performance, Sondheim showed up with 'No One Is Alone.' He played it for the cast after the show that night, and it was part of the score by Friday. The next day Sondheim and Lapine left for New York." There was initially an issue over whether the song had been inspired by a preexisting poem. James Lapine explained to LA Weekly that he killed the Baker's Wife in Act II because in real life tragedies happen to human beings, and quoting "No One Is Alone," "Sometimes people leave you halfway through the woods". Stephen Sondheim liked the duality of the title, which trumped the alternate title of "No Man Is An Island".
In 1994, lyrics from the song was emblazoned on a signed charity t-shirt for the Minnesota AIDS Project.
Rob Marshall recounted a story where he heard President Barack Obama quote the song during a speech at the 10th anniversary of 9/11, which inspired him to direct the film version of the stage musical. Half of the number was cut for the film.
Context.
In the musical, this song is sung during Act II, as the four remaining leads (Baker, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack) try to understand the consequences of their wishes, and begin to decide to place community wishes over their own.
The song serves a dual purpose to demonstrate that even when life throws its greatest challenges, you do not have to face them alone and there are still people who love you, and secondly that each of your actions are not made in a bubble and that you are not guaranteed to be the protagonist of your own story.
Critical reception and analysis.
In 1987, Frank Rich of The New York Times described the song as "cathartic" and "beautiful", and thought the song's "terrifying opening admonition" of "mother cannot guide you" as a callback to the frantic rant in the "Gypsy" number "Rose's Turn". In 2014, the publication's Stephen Holden suggested that the song was a " double-edged lullaby" due to "acknowledg[ing] that everyone is ultimately alone" while asserting that the "shared understanding of that isolation makes life bearable". The LA Times thought the song was "remarkable". While claiming that the song has the potential to come across as "unearned sentimentality", Vanity thought the crew of the original stage version managed to turn the song into an "affirmation of the newfound society of sorts that represents a clearing in the woods". "New York Magazine" thought the song was the closest to being a self-contained tune, as opposed to the others which come across as musical "foreplay". The Cambridge Companion to the Musical suggests the song is a "benevolent anthem to outsiders".
The LA Times also commented on the switch from "individually sought wish-fulfillment" to "togetherness" that becomes realised in this song. Chris Bay described the song as a "magnificent double duet" in his essay "A Look Behind Into the Woods". In Don Whittaker and Missy Wigley's essay "Once Upon a Time to...Happily Ever After", cited the song's universal theme that permeates throughout Sondheim's work, from Bobby in Company to George in Sunday In The Park With George to Fosca in Passion. Into The Woods cinematographer Dion Beebe asserted that the song accurately sums up the struggles and challenges of life: "you will lose people in the Woods as you go and your expectations will change as you experience the joys and sadness of life." The book "You Could Drive a Person Crazy: Chronicle of an American Theatre Company" stated that the second meaning of the reassuring and positive song, which is a warning and caution for how one's actions affect others, "raises this show out of the ordinary". The book "Sondheim and Lloyd-Webber: The New Musical" and "New York Magazine" both suggest the song has an aural resemblance to The Candy Man. The song has the form of AABA. The song is frequently compared with You'll Never Walk Alone from Carousel, which "You've Got to Have a Dream: The Message of the Musical" rejects"." In analysing how the second act relies on a sense of accumulated community wisdom, "Reading Stephen Sondheim: A Collection of Critical Essays" draws ties between this song and an earlier number called It Takes Two, which was originally included as a reprise in the Act II finale in the pre-Broadway tryouts.
Bustle ranked the song at #2 in a ranked list of songs from the film version. The book "Walking in the Wonder: A Memoir of Gratitude for a Lifetime of Miracles"' states the number is the "hit song" of the show.
Covers.
The song was covered in the "Glee" episode "Bash", in which Kurt's friends rally around him after he is the victim of a gay bashing.
Jazz artist Cleo Laine recorded a version of the song for her album "Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim", which secured Jonathan Tunick the 1988 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)/Best Background Arrangement.
The film version of the song was nominated for an OFTA Film Award for Best Music, Adapted Song, along with two other numbers from the production.
Judy Collins recorded a cover of the song on her album "A Love Letter to Sondheim" in 2017.
The American jazz composer Fred Hersch composed a piece "No One Is Alone" for "" inspired by the Sondheim song.
The song was performed by Mandy Patinkin as Satan in the Touched By An Angel episode "Netherlands" when he tempts Monica to climb to the top of a cliff and jump off.


Mugithi

Mugithi music is a form of music originated by the Kikuyu people of Kenya but enjoyed by other ethnic groups within Kenya and even some non-Kenyans in countries with a large Kenyan diaspora such as the United Kingdom.
It is usually sung by a single singer and accompanied by guitars (either acoustic or usually quite highly pitched electric guitars). Songs are always sung in the Gikuyu language.
The music tackles a wide range of subjects and includes a good degree of social commentary and sometimes political comment.
The singers are distinctive for their adoption of the styling of Country music singers that had an influence on the development of the music in previous decades. Singers like the lateSalim junior have become household names. Others like Mike Rua are big kenyan benga artists. The mugithi artists have in recent times redone and recorded old kikuyu benga music to accommodate newer audiences.
When the song 'Mugithi' is sang, the people in the audience usually make a line and dance while walking around. Mugithi is a Common phenomena in weddings, dowry events, local night clubs and other celebrations. The name mugithi means train hence the dancing style involving holding on to each others hips wriggling as they go in circles. The first mugithi song was a gospel song 'mugithi uyu wa matuini' translated from English song Glory train


Triangle at Rhodes


Gavino Contini

Gavino Contini (in Sardinian, "Gavinu Còntene") ((12 December 1855 – 24 July 1915)) was a Sardinian poet, was probably the greatest exponent of improvised poetry of Sardinia, certainly the most beloved.
Life and work.
He was born in Siligo in a modest house in the oldest part of the village. After attending three years of elementary school, he devoted himself to work in the fields with his father, but he had always cultivated her passion for reading history books and poetry.
In 1875 was enlisted in the Corps of the Royal Guard and was stationed in Rome. In a poetry contest for Victor Emmanuel II's birthday was awarded in recognition of his art, a life annuity.
Forced by illness in 1890 left the Corps and returned to Siligo where he lived with his sisters Raimonda and Anatolia, and from that moment he devoted himself entirely to poetry.
Find more about Gavino Contini.
wikisource


Chin Ka-lok

Chin Ka-lok, sometimes credited as Chin Kar-lok (Chinese: 錢嘉樂, Pinyin: Qian Jiale, born 6 August 1965), is an actor, action choreographer and television presenter.
Chin was born in Hong Kong, the younger brother of actor and stunt performer Chin Siu Ho. He is a former member of Sammo Hung's Stuntman Team. Chin began working as a stuntman at the age of 16.
In 1985, he made his film debut in Sammo Hung's "Heart of Dragon" as one of Jackie Chan's SWAT Team buddies. In 1988 Chin replaced his brother Siu Ho in the 4th installment of "Mr. Vampire". After starring in "The Green Hornet" and "Drunken Master II" in 1994, he began doing non-action roles alongside action. In 1995 he played a demon destroyer/centipede demon/scholar in "Journey to the West". In 1997, he directed his only film, "97 Aces Go Places".
Aside from films, he is the co-host of "The Super Trio Show", a Hong Kong variety show, along with Jerry Lamb and Eric Tsang.
As a fan of cars and racing, he starred in a comedic short as a street racer/drifter. However, when he took part in a 2005 TVB telethon, he performed donuts in the same 350Z as seen in the film with Lee San San standing in the center as a cone. Then, in 2003 he starred the film "Star Runner" as "Senior Ho", a veteran fighter for the team Kong Ching.


Cyzicene epigrams

The Cyzicene epigrams are a collection of nineteen numbered Greek epigrams, each accompanied by a short prose preamble, which, together with a one-sentence introduction, constitute the third and shortest book of the "Palatine Anthology". The epigrams are supposed to have been inscribed somewhere on the columns of the temple of Apollonis at Cyzicus, a monument which no longer exists. Apollonis was the wife and queen of Attalus I, first king of Pergamon, and the mother of two sons, Eumenes and Attalus, when she died in the mid-second century BC, her sons built a temple in Apollonis' home town of Cyzicus, and dedicated it to her.
According to the one-sentence introduction, each epigram was, apparently, a kind of subtitle for a relief decorating each column of the temple, illustrating a scene from Greek mythology. The prose preamble, taking the place of the carved image, provides a description of it. As befitting a temple built by sons to honor their mother, the preambles describe scenes of love between mothers and sons.
The author and date of the collection is unknown.


Anywhere Festival

Anywhere Festival is an annual Brisbane based festival for performance anywhere but traditional theatre spaces. The first anywhere-but-in-a-traditional-theatre concept was brought to Brisbane in 2011 by creative director Paul Osuch and his partner, Ally McTavish. Their theory is that we need to take traditional story-telling out of theatre buildings and back to where life really takes place, in the community.
The festival – which holds performances anywhere but in a traditional theatre – began in 2011 with 4000 attendees and 31 productions. Since it began, the Anywhere Festival (they dropped the "Theatre" in 2015) has grown in size and popularity as it inhabited the nooks and crannies of this city of ours
The idea behind Anywhere is that the art of theatre should not be constrained by, well, a theatre nor by a time frame of two plus hours with interval, or even a genre.
The idea behind Anywhere Festival is that you don't - you shouldn't - have to go to a traditional theatre space to see theatre. You shouldn't have to pay a lot of money for tickets, and artists shouldn't be limited by space or cost or time. For 10 days this month, you can see exciting theatre in parks, backyards, bedrooms, lifts, trains and even on Twitter, not just in Brisbane but as far away as Toowoomba to the west, and Yandina to the north.
"The festival is about theatre anywhere but in a theatre," explains Paul Osuch, the mastermind behind the festival. He started Anywhere with his wife, Alex McTavish. "I could see people wanted exciting theatre that didn't have to happen in a theatre," he says. "What kicked it over the line was when English actor Ian McKellen couldn't find a theatre space in Brisbane to bring his acclaimed Waiting for Godot. I figured that if he had trouble getting into a Brisbane theatre there were probably a lot of less-well-known theatre producers with the same problem."
It wasn't just a lack of available theatre venues that prompted him to act. Osuch says he found many traditional theatre spaces were restrictive, both for audiences and artists, and smothered in an air of "elitism" that was turning people away.
"I find that most performances in a theatre space are just a little sterile. And parking's difficult, the drinks are generally overpriced and, as someone over the height of six foot, I'm not a big fan of theatre seating where I have to watch a show through the gap between my knees," he says. "I feel that the traditional theatre spaces stop more people going to experience it than it regularly attracts. It's been turned into this big thing with a huge infrastructure around it instead of it being something that people feel they can pop along to in their own neighbourhood or do themselves."
"Ultimately, the Anywhere Festival is about entertainment and theatre but it is also about encouraging businesses to engage with their community in a new way", says co-founder and creative producer, Alex McTavish." "It may seem like it is a simple arts festival but community and communion is what it's all about," she says.
The festival is held in Brisbane, Mackay, Frankston and Parramatta.
History.
The festival began in 2011 as the Anywhere Festival, Brisbane but became known as the Anywhere Festival in 2014 to expand its remit beyond traditional "theatre". It was created and directed by Paul Osuch and Alex McTavish.
In 2014, the first Anywhere Festival was presented in Frankston and in 2015 grew to include Brisbane, Mackay, Dysart, Middlemount, Moranbah Parramatta and Frankston.
In 2017, the festival expanded to Noosa and Sunshine Coast with Toni Wills and Nycole Prowse joining and Alex McTavish leaving the festival.
2011.
The 2011 Anywhere Festival included cabaret, circus, comedy, drama, site specific theatre and kids theatre features productions by Riot Stage, underground Productions, Black Fox Theatre, Divalution, Cracked Pavement, Rag Tag Productions, Somerset Mills Productions, Flipside Circus, Roundabout theatre, Queensland Arts Council, Gumball Theatre, Edge Improv, Spangles Aura Productions, Booster cushion, The Deconverters, Fractal Theatre, Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, Two Hours Traffic, Circa Zoolings, Cradle Productions, Michael Weston Organisation, Soapbox Theatre, Circa Zoo, allison Manson and Imploding Fictions.
2012.
The 2012 Anywhere Festival ran from 10 to 19 May 2012 and included the following organisations and theatre practitioners: Arts Queensland, Queensland Theatre Company, Brighton Fringe, Markwell Presents Cinematic Theatre Co, Underground Productions, The Alleyway Collective, Cradle Productions, ELaRT Productions, Hannah Taylor, Tease, Black Fox Theatre, La Petite Famille, 2Muse Productions, Egg Festivals Inc., Musica Viva, Arts Support, Sarah Reinking, La Boite, Stage On Screen, Metro Arts, Woodfordian Institute of Street Performances (WISP), SeeD Theatre, Fixate Productions, HolePunch, Synestheatre, Tessa Waters, Mager & Smythe, Lucy Ingham & Alexander Baden Bryce, Australian Actors Network, Jennifer Bismire, 8 Wing Theatre Co., Two Hours Traffic, heartBeast- vicious theatre ensemble, Flipside Circus, Queensland Wind Orchestra, Oxford Girl Theatre Project, Hidden Room, Edrich, Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble, Belles of Hell, Marcus Lilley Artist, Small Crown Productions, Sandra Carluccio, UQ Drama, Medley Theatre Company, Babushka, Circa.
2013.
The 2013 Anywhere Festival changed from a ten-day to twelve-day festival, running from 8 to 19 May.
2014.
The 2014 Anywhere Festival ran from 7 to 18 May and included 420 performances of 67 different productions over 27 suburbs of Brisbane. It featured cabaret, circus, comedy, drama, site specific theatre and kids theatre. Festival director Paul Osuch said this year's event, running May 7 to 18, would see pubs, hotels, shops, cafes, parks, churches, homes and even a garage serve as a venue for a range of theatre, dance, music, circus and comedy acts.
2015.
The 2014 Anywhere Festival ran from 7 to 24 May across Brisbane, Mackay, Mount Isa and Cairns.
2016.
The 2016 Anywhere Festival ran from 5 to 21 May 2016.
2017.
The 2017 Anywhere Festival ran from 4 to 21 May 2017 across Brisbane with Sunshine Coast and Noosa becoming part of the festival.
2018.
The 2018 Anywhere Festival ran for 18 days from 10-27 Mayacross Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Noosa. More than 500 artists and arts workers presented 370 diverse performances with cabaret, circus, comedy, drama, dance, poetry, music and site specific theatre all popping up in surprising places.
2019.
The 2019 Anywhere Festival ran from 9 to 26 May across Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Noosa with over 500 performances of 96 shows in 101 different towns and suburbs. The festival featured performances by Violet&Rose productions, Mixed Messages Productions, Independent Graduates from QUT, Magnetic North Theatre Company, Virag Dombay, Cello Dreaming, BYTE Theatre Company, Vulcana, Lightning Bolt Creative, Ritual Theatre, Victoria Posner, XYZ ARI in collaboration with Anthony Elliott Baker, Bec Redsell, Muses Trio, Screech Arts, Chris MartinTalk Is Free Theatre, Cycles in Sync, Linsey Pollak & Lizzie O’Keefe, Phoebe Hilton, Collectivist, Taylor Edwards and Rosa Sottile, Salted Pineapple Productions, Hayley Condon, Emma Lamberton + Brie Jurss, Lady Beard & Co., ThunderBear Productions, Luminescence, Tremayne Gordon, Minola Theatre, Amanda Cole and Kim Kirkman, Half Hitch, The Adwah Haswah Theatre Company of Wonder and Magic, The Humour Experiment, Wester-Dyer Productions, The Shadow Collective, Underground Productions, Riley Cope Creative, Relativity, 3bCreative, Spiral Dance Company, Sunshine Troupe Inc, Tim Ross and Kit Warhurst, Lonnie Gilroy, Senaai Chapple & Johanna Lyon, Aaron Ducker, Etch Events, Prathana Thevar-Brink, Maybe Mad Theatre Company, Moment of Inertia Productions, Gary Nostrils, Local Upstarts, Inc, Comedy Lounge, Shiny Tin Productions, The Big Crew, Ben Burns, Ben Keane and friends!, InsideOutside Theatre Company, Big Fork Theatre, Ruckus, Edge Improv, Toukie Wood, browbrow, Republic of Song, supported by Vulcana, SMacNifiCo, Alex Harper, Noah Milne, Planet Clare, Red Chair, Gabe Francis, The Singer’s Anatomy, Fools Theatre Company , The Owl’s Nest, Talk of the Town Storytelling Services, Chance Collective, Lightning Bolt Creative, Sho Eba, Gemma Elsom & Joseph Wilson- The Drama Merchant, Red Robin Entertainment, The Smooth End of the Pineapple, Sharon Moore, Little Seed Theatre Company, The Reaction Theory, Fiona Bryant and co., Act/React, D.I.V.E. Theatre Collective, Scott Wings, Interim Theatre, Mira Ball Productions.
2020.
The 2020 Anywhere Festival was due to run 7 to 24 May 2020 and was cancelled due to COVID-19. An out of festival season was run between June to September featuring 21 productions across 32 towns and suburbs using online shows with Zoom and performances in driveways to meet social distancing and venue restrictions while theatres were unable to reopen. The driveway performance idea lead the way for the Brisbane Festival Street Serenade program, announced shortly after for a September season.


List of Webby Award winners

This is a list of the people, companies or websites that won the annual Webby Awards presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. The Webby Awards have been dubbed the "internet's highest honor".
1997.
1997 was the first year of the annual Webby Award event, which was the first-ever nationally televised awards ceremony devoted to the Internet. 700 people attended the event on March 6, 1997 at Bimbo's Night Club in San Francisco, California Whereas in later years the panelists were official members of International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, in 1997 the awards were chosen and given by IDG's "The Web Magazine", which appointed a panel to judge the competition.
1998.
The 1998 Webby Awards were held on March 6, 1998 at the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts, and were the first event ever to be broadcast live via the Web in 3D. The "People's Voice" awards, chosen by online poll, received 100,000 cumulative votes that year. The 1998 awards were sponsored by PC World Communications, the "San Francisco Chronicle" and other organizations. ABC News was the official website to "cybercast" the awards.
"The Web" magazine, which was hosting the awards, was closed down by its parent company IDG shortly before the awards, and the ceremony continued thereafter under the management of Tiffany Shlain, who IDG had hired in 1996 to coordinate the awards. The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences was constituted that year as the judging panel for the awards, continues to do so as of the 2007 awards.
1999.
The 1999 Webby Awards were held on March 18, 1999 at the Herbst Theater (War memorial Opera House) in San Francisco, with a post-award party at City Hall.
That year, Mayor Rudy Giuliani lobbied to move the ceremony to New York City, but San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown convinced the organization to remain in San Francisco by promising city support. Brown gave a speech at the ceremony and Marc Maron was the master of ceremonies. The event was noted for the famous incident in which a representative of Jodi.org, which had won in the arts category, called the event participants "Ugly corporate sons-of-bitches" in his acceptance speech and tossed his trophy to the audience. In 1999 the Webby Awards asked PricewaterhouseCoopers to help it tabulate and ensure security for the "People's Voice" winners, chosen by online voting.
2000.
The 2000 awards were the first time that organization requested submissions. Previously, nominees had been selected by an internal committee. The organization gave out awards in 27 categories voted on by a 350 member judges.
2003.
This year marked the first year the awards show was broadcast online, and it lasted 20 minutes. The organization provided 30 awards. NASA and eBay won the most honors.
2005.
Honorees at 9th Annual Webby Awards included:
Webby Awards winners included Mercedes-Benz USA (Automotive), Google (Best Practices), Merck (Health), and Skype (Telecommunications).
2006.
Honorees at 10th Annual Webby Awards included:
2007.
Honorees at 11th Annual Webby Awards included:
2008.
The 2008 Webby Awards took place on June 11, 2008 at the Citriani Restaurant event space on Wall Street in New York City.
Honorees at 12th Annual Webby Awards included:
2009.
Winners were honored at a ceremony hosted by Seth Meyers in New York City on June 8.
2010.
Honorees at 14th Annual Webby Awards included:
2011.
Winners were honored at a ceremony hosted by "Lisa Kudrow" in New York City on June 13 at the "Hammerstein Ballroom".
2012.
Honorees at 16th Annual Webby Awards included:
2013.
Honorees at 17th Annual Webby Awards included:
2014.
Honorees at 18th Annual Webby Awards included:
2015.
Honorees at 19th Annual Webby Awards included:
2016.
Honorees at 20th Annual Webby Awards included:
2017.
Honorees at 21st Annual Webby Awards included:
Notes.
In keeping with the awards themselves, winners are designated according to the website winning the award, although the winner is, technically, the web design firm that created the winning site and in the case of corporate websites, the designer's client. Web links are provided for informational purposes where the winning website or a follow-on remains available and can be found; the text used for the hyperlink is as listed on the past winner pages at https://web.archive.org/web/20081208183958/http://www.webbyawards.com/webbys/winners-1997.php and so on. Many older websites, however, no longer exist or are redirected to replacements and are so noted.
References.


Orfeo ed Euridice discography

The following discography for Gluck's opera "Orfeo ed Euridice" is mainly based on the research of Giuseppe Rossi, which appeared in the programme notes to the performance of the work at the 70th Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in 2007, under the title "Discografia – Christoph Willibald Gluck – Orfeo ed Euridice (Orphée et Eurydice)". Rossi's data has been checked against the sources referenced in the notes.
The discography gives the language of the recording as well as the version performed, although the recordings often mix different editions of the work or are even based on new ones created "from scratch." In the most significant cases, such mixed versions are described in detail. The term "pasticcio" (which has no negative connotation in this context) has been used for recordings where the different versions are inextricably mixed.
References.
Notes
Sources


John Hewson (artist)

John Hewson (1744 – 1821) was a textile artist. He trained in a cotton-printing factory in London, but moved to the United States on the advice of his friend Benjamin Franklin, and set up a calico printing factory in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His chintzes were used in American quilts, often as the centerpiece. In November 2014, a DNA test revealed Hewson to be the paternal fifth great-grandfather of American actress and comedian Tina Fey.
He is interred at Palmer Cemetery in Philadelphia.


The Daughter of Iorio

The Daughter of Iorio () is a 1904 play by the Italian writer Gabriele D'Annunzio. The play is written in verse and has elements of local dialect, proverbs and traditional rhymes from Abruzzo. It tells the tragic story of the love between a young female outcast and a shepherd who is being married off to a woman he does not love.
The play was written in 33 days in the summer of 1903, while D'Annunzio was working on "Halcyon". It premiered in 1904 at the Teatro Lirico in Milan, starring Irma Grammatica in the leading role. It was well received and has remained one of D'Annunzio's most performed plays.
Adaptations.
The play was the basis for Alberto Franchetti's 1906 opera "La figlia di Iorio". Ildebrando Pizzetti made another opera adaptation which premiered in 1954. The play was adapted for film twice in the silent era, in 1911 by S. A. Ambrosio as "Jorio's Daughter" and in 1917 by Edoardo Bencivenga as "La figlia di Jorio".


Gooby

Gooby (also known as A Ted Named Gooby) is a 2009 Canadian comedy fantasy drama film written and directed by Wilson Coneybeare featuring Robbie Coltrane as the voice of Gooby, a living teddy bear, and Matthew Knight as Willy, an 11-year-old child who is scared of his new house.
Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes rates it 20% positive ("rotten") based on five reviews.
Plot.
Willy is an 11-year-old boy who believes weird creatures are lurking, just waiting to attack him. He believes that the only thing keeping him safe is his house. When his parents decide to move, Willy isn't thrilled with the idea of going to a new school and living in a strange home. One day, Gooby, a teddy bear that Willy had as a little boy, arrives at the new home. This version of Gooby is nearly six feet tall, able to talk, and wants to help; Willy decides that the two will be friends, but he must hide Gooby from his parents.
Left alone for long hours while Willy goes to school, Gooby is frequently bored. He passes the time by causing trouble, convincing the nanny that there are critters inside the house, stealing cookies from the kitchen, ransacking the garage for parts to build Willy's fantasy racer and sneaking around Willy's school where anyone could see him. When Willy's teacher goes on maternity leave, she is replaced by Mr. Nerdlinger, a children's book writer who desperately wants to become famous. When he catches sight of Gooby, he becomes determined to photograph him. Willy has trouble making friends, and when Gooby's appearance outside Mr. Nerdlinger's class makes Willy freak out (earning him and three of his classmates two weeks of after school detention) his reputation at school is only worsened. On Halloween day, Willy and Gooby go out during daylight to have fun (Willy convinces Gooby to pretend to be Willy's father in a costume) and Willy makes friends with the most popular kids in school by having Gooby buy them all tickets to an R-rated action movie. Gooby becomes envious of Willy when he begins to spend more time with his newfound friends. The two get into an argument, resulting in Gooby running away.
Willy's grades start to drop, and his parents begin to worry. When Gooby eventually returns one night, he convinces Willy to follow him to a surprise location. Willy's parents notice that their son is missing and call the police, but meanwhile Gooby shows Willy what he has discovered: his father's childhood home. While exploring it, Willy gets scared to the point of falling backwards, breaking through the floor and catching a metal pipe too far down for Gooby to help him up. Gooby uses Willy's cellphone to call his father, who comes to the rescue. After saving Willy, Gooby talks to Mr. Dandrige and reminds him of how when he was a child his father never spent enough time with him. Willy's mother and father decide to stop working so hard and focus more on their son. One day, while shopping for materials to build Willy a playhouse, the family foils Mr. Nerdlinger's attempt to get pictures of Gooby when Willy notices that Gooby has wandered off. Gooby explains to Willy that now that he is happy and no longer so alone (and afraid of imaginary creatures), it's time for Gooby to move on and help another child. Gooby transforms back into a teddy bear and Willy offers him to a little girl who is being ignored by her parents.


Antagonist

An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist.
Etymology.
The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – "antagonistēs", "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, rival," which is derived from "anti-" ("against") and "agonizesthai" ("to contend for a prize").
Types.
Heroes and villains.
In the classic style of stories where the action consists of a hero fighting a villain, the two may be regarded as protagonist and antagonist, respectively. However, an antagonist is not always a villain or opponent, just a character provided for the purpose of thwarting or vexing the protagonist. In some narratives, the protagonist is a villain and the antagonist is an opposing hero.
Antagonists are conventionally presented as making moral choices less savory than those of protagonists. This condition is often used by an author to create conflict within a story. This is merely a convention, however. An example in which this is reversed can be seen in the character Macduff from "Macbeth," who is arguably morally correct in his desire to fight the tyrant Macbeth, the protagonist.
Examples from television include J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) from "Dallas" and Alexis Colby (Joan Collins) from "Dynasty". Both became breakout characters used as a device to increase their shows' ratings.
Other characters.
Characters may be antagonists without being evil – they may simply be injudicious and unlikeable for the audience. In some stories, such as "The Catcher in the Rye", almost every character other than the protagonist may be an antagonist.
Aspects of the protagonist.
An aspect or trait of the protagonist may be considered an antagonist, such as morality or indecisiveness.
Non-personal.
An antagonist may not always be a person or people. In some cases, an antagonist may be a force, such as a tidal wave that destroys a city; a storm that causes havoc; or even a certain area's conditions that are the root cause of a problem. An antagonist also may or may not create obstacles for the protagonist.
Societal norms or other rules also may be antagonists.
Former protagonists.
A character once a protagonist can turn into an antagonist under extremely negative circumstances. Examples include Anakin Skywalker from the "Star Wars" franchise who turns from a protagonist Jedi to antagonist Sith Darth Vader. A supporting protagonist can become an antagonist by betraying a main protagonist.
Usage.
An antagonist is used as a plot device, to set up conflicts, obstacles, or challenges for the protagonist. Though not every story requires an antagonist, it often is used in plays to increase the level of drama. In tragedies, antagonists are often the cause of the protagonist's main problem, or lead a group of characters against the protagonist; in comedies, they are usually responsible for involving the protagonist in comedic situations.


2008 CON-CAN Movie Festival

The 2008 CON-CAN Movie Festival is the 5th online short movie festival hosted by Media Research, Inc. The movie festival began on May 1, 2008 with the 20 movies selected for Group A being uploaded to the website, and is scheduled to conclude in mid-November with an award ceremony in Tokyo, Japan.
Info.
The 5th CON-CAN Movie Festival had a total submission of approximately 550 movies from 50 countries. Since May 1, the CON-CAN Movie Festival has been presenting 20 selected movies a month on its website where viewers can watch for free and vote for the Audience Award. In November 2008, the CON-CAN Movie Festival will hold its 5th annual award ceremony, where it will showcase the Grand Prix and Tamashii award winners.
Selection Process.
Once the April 21st submission deadline passed, the process of selecting the movies for the movie festival began. The programming department at CON-CAN is responsible for sorting through the movies. The best 80 movies out of all the submitted movies were selected to be part of the movie festival and their directors were notified via email.
The movie festival then branches off into two parts. For the first part, the 80 movies are categorized into four groups. Each group is independently displayed on CON-CAN's website between the months of May and August. During this time, registered voters are able to rate the movies and comment on them. The movie with the highest rating in each category is awarded an Audience Award along with a $500 cash prize.
For the second part, the same 80 movies are passed through a first round evaluation and judged by a domestic (Japanese) jury. These preliminary jury members select the best 20 movies to be considered for the final evaluation process. In the second round evaluation, international jury members selected by the CON-CAN staff select the top three nominations to be awarded the Grand Prix award (best short movie) ($10,000 cash prize) and the two Tamashii awards (special jury awards) ($2,000 cash prize each).
The winner of the Grand Prix award and the two Tamashii award winners are invited to Tokyo with travel and accommodations paid for in order to attend the award ceremony. The award ceremony hosts famous people from the movie industry and notable news networks.
Jury.
The international jury which chooses the three best movies during the final evaluation round features famous people from the movie industry. Below is the jury from this year.
Short Movie Selections.
The movies below have been selected for the 2008 CON-CAN Movie Festival (listed in alphabetical order). All short movies and animations are able to be viewed for free without registering, however, only registered members (registration is free) are able to vote and comment on the movies within the time frame provided.
Group A.
The following movies were selected for Group A of the CON-CAN Movie Festival. Registered members were able to vote and comment on Group A short movies from May 1–31, 2008 for the Audience Award.
Group B.
The following movies were selected for Group B of the CON-CAN Movie Festival. Registered members were able to vote and comment on Group B short movies from June 1–30, 2008 for the Audience Award.
Group C.
The following movies were selected for Group C of the CON-CAN Movie Festival. Registered members were able to vote and comment on Group B short movies from July 1–31, 2008 for the Audience Award.
Group D.
The movies selected for Group D of the CON-CAN Movie Festival will be announced on August 1. Registered members are able to vote and comment on Group A short movies from August 1–31, 2008 for the Audience Award.


Interactive visual analysis

Interactive Visual Analysis (IVA) is a set of techniques for combining the computational power of computers with the perceptive and cognitive capabilities of humans, in order to extract knowledge from large and complex datasets. The techniques rely heavily on user interaction and the human visual system, and exist in the intersection between visual analytics and big data. It is a branch of data visualization. IVA is a suitable technique for analyzing high-dimensional data that has a large number of data points, where simple graphing and non-interactive techniques give an insufficient understanding of the information.
These techniques involve looking at datasets through different, correlated views and iteratively selecting and examining features the user finds interesting.
The objective of IVA is to gain knowledge which is not readily apparent from a dataset, typically in tabular form. This can involve generating, testing or verifying hypotheses, or simply exploring the dataset to look for correlations between different variables.
History.
Focus + Context visualization and its related techniques date back to the 1970s. Early attempts at combining these techniques for Interactive Visual Analysis occur in the WEAVE visualization system for cardiac simulation in the year 2000. SimVis appeared in 2003, and multiple Ph. D. projects have explored the concept since then - notably Helmut Doleisch in 2004, Johannes Kehrer in 2011
 and Zoltan Konyha in 2013. ComVis, which is used in the visualization community, appeared in 2008.
Basics.
The objective of Interactive Visual Analysis is to discover information in data which is not readily apparent. The goal is to move from the data itself to the information contained in the data, ultimately uncovering knowledge which was not apparent from looking at the raw numbers.
The most basic form of IVA is to use coordinated multiple views displaying different columns of our dataset. At least two views are required for IVA. The views are usually among the common tools of information visualization, such as histograms, scatterplots or parallel coordinates, but using volume rendered views is also possible if this is appropriate for the data. Typically, one view will display the independent variables of the dataset (e.g. time or spatial location), while the others display the dependent variables (e.g. temperature, pressure or population density) in relation to each other. If the views are linked, the user can select data points in one view and have the corresponding data points automatically highlighted in the other views. This technique, which intuitively allows exploration of higher-dimensional properties of the data, is known as linking and brushing.
The selection made in one of the views doesn't have to be binary. Software packages for IVA can allow for a gradual “degree of interest” in the selection, where data points are gradually highlighted as we move from low to high interest. This allows for an inherent “focus+context” aspect to the search for information. For instance, when examining a tumor in a Magnetic resonance imaging dataset, the tissue surrounding the tumor might also be of some interest to the operator.
The IVA loop.
Interactive Visual Analysis is an iterative process. Discoveries made after brushing of the data and looking at the linked views can be used as a starting point for repeating the process, leading to a form of information drill-down. As an example, consider the analysis of data from a simulation of a combustion engine. The user brushes a histogram of temperature distribution, and discovers that one specific part of one cylinder has dangerously high temperatures. This information can be used to formulate the hypothesis that all cylinders have a problem with heat dissipation. This could be verified by brushing the same region in all other cylinders and seeing in the temperature histogram that these cylinders also have higher temperatures than expected.
Data model.
The data source for IVA is usually tabular data where the data is represented in columns and rows. The data variables can be divided into two different categories: independent and dependent variables. The independent variables represent the domain of the observed values, such as for instance time and space. The dependent variables represent the data being observed, for instance temperature, pressure or height.
IVA can help the user uncover information and knowledge about data sources that have fewer dimensions as well as datasets that have a very large number of dimensions.
Levels of IVA.
The IVA tools can be divided into several different levels of complexity. These levels provides the user with different interaction tools to analyze the data. For most uses, the first level will be sufficient and this is also the level that provides the user with the fastest response from the interaction. The higher levels make it possible to uncover more subtle relationships in the data. However, this requires more knowledge about the tools and the interaction process has a longer response time.
Base level.
The most simple form of IVA is the base level which consists of brushing and linking. Here the user can set up several views with different dataset variables and mark an interesting area in one of the views. The data points corresponding to the selection is marked automatically in the other views. A lot of information can be derived from this level of IVA. For datasets where the relationships between the variables are reasonably simple, this technique is usually sufficient for the user to achieve the required level of understanding.
Second level.
Brushing and linking with logical combination of brushes is a more advanced form of IVA. This makes it possible for the user to mark several areas in one or several views and combine these areas with the logical operators: and, or, not. This makes it is possible to explore deeper into the dataset and see more hidden information. A simple example would be the analysis of weather data: The analyst might want to discover regions that both have warm temperatures and low precipitation.
Third level.
The logical combination of selections might not be sufficient to uncover meaningful information from the data set. There are multiple techniques available that make hidden relationships in the data more apparent. One of these is attribute derivation. This allows the user to derive additional attributes from the data, such as derivatives, clustering information or other statistic properties. In principle, the operator can perform any set of calculations on the raw data. The derived attributes can then be linked and brushed like any other attribute.
The second tool in level three of IVA is advanced brushing techniques, such as angular brushing, similarity brushing or percentile brushing. These brushing tools select data points in a more advanced fashion than plain "point and click" selection. Advanced brushing generates a faster response than attribute derivation, but has a higher learning curve and require a deeper understanding of the dataset.
Fourth level.
The fourth level of IVA is specific to each dataset and varies dependent on the dataset and the purpose of the analysis. Any calculated attribute which is specific to the data under consideration, belongs to this category. An example from the analysis of flow data would be the detection and categorization of vortexes or other structures present in the flow data. This means that fourth-level IVA techniques must be individually tailored to the specific application. After detection of higher-order features, the calculated attributes would be connected to the original data set and subjected to the normal technique of linking and brushing.
Patterns of IVA.
The "linking and brushing" (selection) concept of IVA can be used between different types of variables in the dataset. Which pattern we should use depends on which aspect of the correlations in the dataset are of interest.
Feature localization.
Brushing data points from the set of dependent variables (e.g. temperature) and seeing where among the independent variables (e.g. space or time) these data points show up, is called "feature localization". With feature localization, the user can easily identify the location of features in the dataset. Examples from a meteorological dataset would be which regions have a warm climate or which times of the year have a lot of precipitation.
Local investigation.
If independent variables are brushed and we look for the corresponding connection to a dependent view, this is termed "local investigation". This makes it possible to investigate the characteristics of for example a specific region or specific time. In the case of meteorological data, we could for instance discover the temperature distribution during the winter months.
Multivariate analysis.
Brushing dependent variables and watching the connection to other dependent variables is called multivariate analysis. This could for example be used to find out if high temperatures are correlated with pressure by brushing high temperatures and watching a linked view of pressure distributions.
Since each of the linked views usually has two or more dimensions, multivariate analysis can implicitly uncover higher-dimensional features of the data which would not be readily apparent from e.g. a simple scatterplot.
Applications.
Concepts from Interactive Visual Analysis have been implemented in multiple software packages, both for researchers and commercial purposes.
ComVis is often used by visualization researchers in academia, while SimVis is optimized for analyzing simulation data. Tableau is another example of a commercial software product utilizing concepts from IVA.


Poole Pottery

Poole Pottery is a pottery brand, based in Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire, England. As a company, it was founded in 1873 on Poole quayside, where it continued to produce pottery by hand before moving its factory operations away from the quay in 1999. Production continued at a new site in Sopers Lane until its closure in 2006. The name is now a brand for products made in Staffordshire. Historical products from Poole Pottery are displayed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
History.
Poole Pottery was originally "Carter's Industrial Tile Manufactory" and it was this company that provided the financial foundation for the later "Poole Pottery". Carter (Jesse) joined forces in the 1920s with designers Harold Stabler and Phoebie Stabler, and potters John Adams and Truda Adams (Truda Carter) to form "Carter Stabler Adams", who produced Art Deco pottery.
The Carter company produced much of the ceramic tiling used on London Underground stations built in the 1930s and, of particular note, made the relief tiles, designed by Stabler, showing symbols of London–some of these can still be seen on stations such as Bethnal Green.
"Carter Stabler Adams" eventually became "Poole Pottery", and during and after World War II produced many lines, including Twintone and Traditional. Much of the traditional range was based on the work of the chief designer in the 1920s, Truda Carter; her original designs were interpreted by "paintresses" who added their own individuality to the pieces, all of which were handmade.
Robert Jefferson joined in the 1950s, and alongside such artisans as Leslie Elsden (designer of the "Aegean" Range), Guy Sydenham, thrower and designer of the "Atlantis" range, Tony Morris, developer of the early "Delphis" Studio wares with Jefferson, and paintresses such as Carol Cutler, Diana Davies, Ros Sommerfeld, Ann Godfrey and others, including the three Wills sisters, Laura, Julia and Carolyn, produced two lines which are probably the most famous of all Poole's output: Delphis and Aegean.
Delphis is easily recognised: it is psychedelic, with vibrant colours and designs inspired by artists such as Mondrian, Warhol, Matisse and Pollock. Aegean is more subtle, with the sgraffito technique used to create the "silhouette" patterns that make this range so recognisable.
Twintone.
Poole Pottery (Carter, Stabler and Adams) produced two-coloured tableware from the 1930s, but had to stop production during World War Two. When they re-launched the range in the late 1940s, they named it Twintone. Twintone was used on three shapes of tableware, many table accessories and a whole host of decorative ware right up to 1981.
Delphis.
The Poole Delphis range, launched in 1963, was initially conceived by Guy Sydenham and Robert Jefferson and later developed by Jefferson and Tony Morris. Every piece is pretty much unique, with designs created by the decorators themselves.
Aegean.
Introduced in 1970, Aegean utilises spray-on glazes in a wide range of techniques (sgraffito, silhouette, mosaic, flow line and carved clay) and patterns (from pure 1970's abstraction to more figurative images of fish, leaves, boats and pastoral scenes). Initially thought of as a replacement for Delphis, it was never as successful.
Living Glaze.
Poole Pottery giftware is currently created using "Living Glaze". This involves the application of different glazes which react with one another to achieve unique results on each piece.
Closure and re-establishment.
Leonard Curtis were appointed administrators in 2003, and sold the company as a going concern to Dorset businessman Peter Ford. They also raised funds for creditors by selling historic artefacts from the Pottery's museum.
On 15 December 2006, it was announced that the shop would close, due to non-payment of debts mounting up since new owners took over in August. The company, including the factory, went into administration on 20 December 2006, owing £1 million to over 300 creditors.
Poole Pottery came out of administration on 10 February 2007 and was under the control of Lifestyle Group Ltd, which also owns Royal Stafford Tableware.
The pottery shop opened on Poole Quay, selling Poole Pottery giftware (first and seconds), lighting, tableware and studio ranges. The shop closed down in 2017.
The main Poole Pottery factory is now at the Middleport Pottery (sharing with Burleigh Pottery) in Burslem, Stoke on Trent where production is now carried out following the closure of the Poole factory.
In June 2011, the Denby Pottery Company under the ownership of Hilco bought Poole Pottery.


Under the Electric Sky

EDC 2013: Under the Electric Sky is an American musical documentary film co-directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz. The film also features Pasquale Rotella, producer of the Electric Daisy Carnival.
The film had its world premiere at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. The film later screened at "Sundance London Film Festival" on April 25, 2014.
Focus Features acquired the distribution rights of the film.
Synopsis.
The film chronicles the community and life of festival-goers during Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas, the largest dance and music festival held in the US.
Reception.
"EDC 2013: Under the Electric Sky" received mixed reviews from critics. Justin Lowe in his review for "The Hollywood Reporter" praised the film by saying that "Colorful 3D eye candy provides minimal cinematic nourishment." Katie Hasty of "HitFix", praised the film by saying that "For electronic and dance music lovers, that storyline may hit the spot, especially with the non-stop throb and the colorful scenery. There is no competing version, which is “Under the Electric Sky’s” triumph, and also its problem." Dennis Harvey in his review for "Variety" said that "Those who suspect that EDM is possibly the most vapid form of 'alternative' music will have their suspicions confirmed by this 3D documentary."