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Tommy Muñiz

Lucas Tomás Muñiz Ramírez (4 February 1922 – 15 January 2009), better known as Tommy Muñiz, was a Puerto Rican comedy and drama actor, media producer, businessman and network owner. He is considered to be one of the pioneering figures of the television business in Puerto Rico. Although Muñíz was born in Ponce, he was raised in the capital city of San Juan where he studied. Muñíz developed an interest in the entertainment business thanks to his father Tomas and to his uncle and godfather Félix Muñíz, who also produced radio programs. Muñiz was a successful radio producer in Puerto Rico during the mid- to late 1940s. Five of his radio programs -comedies for which he was often the scriptwriter, sometimes with the assistance of Sylvia Rexach- would consistently earn a strong following, as judged by the attendance to personal presentations of the artists featured in them. He was responsible for introducing more than a dozen new artists to the media. He bought Radio Luz 1600 (WLUZ-AM) a radio station in Bayamón, Puerto Rico During the first years of commercial television in Puerto Rico, and after a brief period during which revenues from his radio productions trickled down, Muñiz opted to start producing television programs as well. During the 1940s, when radios where ubiquitous in Puerto Rican households, Muñiz's radio scripts then became increasingly successful, beginning with El colegio de la alegría, in which he performed along José Miguel Agrelot. This was followed by La familia Pérez, Adelita, la secretaria, Gloria y Miguel and ¡Qué sirvienta!, all of which featured him in some function. He was producer or executive producer for dozens of television programs and specials between 1955 and 1995. At one time in the early 1960s, five programs produced by Muñiz were in the top five television rankings in local audience surveys. One of the programs even spawned a 1967 film, "La Criada Malcriada", starring Velda González, Shorty Castro and Muñiz, among others. He is credited for producing most of José Miguel Agrelot's television programs during his career. He is also credited with discovering and promoting other television artists as well, particularly Otilio Warrington. In the 1970s he was the owner of WRIK-TV Channel 7 in Ponce.

In the late 1970s, Muñiz revived a comedy format that he had successfully used in three previous radio and television productions, the family sitcom. He produced and acted in a comedy series named Los García together with his real-life son Rafo Muñiz, and with longtime friend Gladys Rodríguez. Also starring were William Gracia as Pepín, Gina Beveraggi as Gini, Edgardo Rubio as Junito, Manela Bustamante as Doña Tony, Emma Rosa Vincenty as Doňa Cayetana, and a number of additional actors in various roles. The show became the most successful television show in Puerto Rican history, having a mostly successful six-year run and staying for three of those years at the top of local television ratings. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, Muñiz was the owner of a radio station (Radio Luz WLUZ) and a television channel (Teleluz). Both were named after his wife, Luz María. In 1988, he became one of the largest minority owners of another channel, TeleOnce. In 1989, he and Rodríguez reunited to act in the movie Lo que le Pasó a Santiago, directed by Jacobo Morales, a longtime friend of Muñíz. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film becoming the first and only Puerto Rican film so far to do so. As a consequence of his part in Lo que le Pasó a Santiago, Muñiz was selected to act in the 1991 television comedy film Crazy From The Heart, directed by Thomas Schlamme and featuring Christine Lahti and Rubén Blades. In the movie, Muñiz played Blades' father, a Mexican peasant with a proclivity for setting billboards on fire as a protest. The movie was eventually broadcast by Turner Network Television (TNT).

Early years
Muñiz Ramírez was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on 4 February 1922, to Don Tomás Muñíz Souffront and Monserrate "Nena" Ramírez. His father, Don Tomás, was a marketing executive who later became the administrator (and eventual owner) of various radio stations, as well as a radio producer. Muñiz was born during the 1920s, the same decade when radio first arrived to Puerto Rico, to a household of several siblings including Carmen, Marjorie, Nellie, Andy, Néstor and Nilza. Early in his life, Muñiz suffered from rickets. Despite this, he gained interest in eventually becoming a race jockey. His father Tómas Muñiz, Sr. had pursued several venues of substainance including real estate sales, while his mother Nena was sickly. He was an insecure child, which was reflected in issues at schools and a number of expulsions. Witnessing this, his uncle Félix Muñiz decided to take him to the West Indies Advertising Company (WIAC) where he worked. The institution would become a radio station in 1942, and when his uncle died, His father Tómas was selected to fill the vacancy. Since the age of 12, Muñiz would be the tasked with several functions within WIAC. Under José A. Torres Martinó, he learned to write scripts and wrote Francisquito Rosales y Miel de Aveja along his mentor. In this, he performed as the effeminate titular character. In 1939, Muñiz met Luz María García de la Noceda while coursing high school. During the following five years he approached her, eventually convincing her after appearing at her house with a gift. They married in 1944, living in poverty for some time. Afterwards, Muñiz,Sr. loaned a large house from the owners of WIAC which became known as La Casona.

He started by being the messenger of the marketing firm where his father and uncle used to work, and eventually became a radio scriptwriter. Muñiz sold his car, a 1932 red Ford, and acquired an Underwood typewriter in which he wrote his scripts. Meanwhile, he survived by raising chickens for his parents in law which served to produce eggs to sell and would also be sold themselves. The couple moved to Santa Rita in Río Piedras and had three children, Tómad Gerardo, Félix Antonio and Mario Andrés. Muñiz loaned a building at Santurce, which would serve as his workplace, the first local independent production entity known as Producciones Tommy Muñiz. The services provided grew to include representation and the hosting of activities by his artists, but focused on his radio productions. Among them was Sylvia Rexach, who also collaborated in writing scripts. Jacobo Morales would be among the public at WAPA Radio where La familia Pérez was recorded, since he knew a member of the cast. The live performance of the radio scripts was popular and depending the nature of the work, required selective the public. However, his shows would be concurrent with Diplo, usually falling second to them. Muñoz would recruit Paquito Cordero to serve as Andy Tenorio in Las adventuras de Andy Tenorio, a show that was a parody of the Archie comics and included a Diplo impersonator. The show would give birth to the Yoyo Boing character that defined the career of his interpreter, Luis Antonio Rivera. At the moment, Puerto Rican society was being forced to adapt to an industrial movement that replaced the agrarian economy that prevailed during the early years of American colonialism. It was, however, also a time of political unrest caused by the Cold War, the Korean War and the adoption of the Commonwealth and the reaction that the Nationalist Party had to it. This led to a focus in the local middle class, from which Muñiz drew inspiration in his scripts. He created characters based on the average working class and placed them in every day settings. The first example was Violeta Flores, a representation of the jíbaros that were leaving the rural areas to settle in urban zones amidst the change and which was featured in a radio show in which he played a man named Tadeo.

Variety shows and sitcoms
Muñiz was concerned with the arrival of the new medium, assuming it would seriously hit radio and not expecting to have a role in it. The medium was received with some skepticism fueled by reports of losses abroad, but had a positive reception which eventually convinced most of its doubters. Radio suffered an economic decline when most of its established figures left to work television and the sponsors followed them. His work soon lost its audience, with La familia Pérez at risk of disappearing and the radio stations in turmoil over the loss of advertisement. The family had moved to Floral Park near his parents, while he was increasingly considering how to deal with his future in other ways. While radio stations loaned their facilities for other purposes to survive, Muñiz decided to open a pet shop named Zoo Pet Shop. On April 19, 1955, the couple had its fifth child, Manuel Alberto. That same day, Muñiz received a call from WKAQ. Having practiced for the call in case that it came, he took the offer. His father had advised him to avoid appearing overly enthusiastic in his response in order to avoid appearing desperate. Producciones Tommy Muñiz was struggling Cordero and Agrelot were already involved in television shows Mímicas del Monte, Mapy y Papi and Capitán Colgate. Muñiz began working as a script writer for Casino Tropical, a comedy segment of the half-hour El show de shows. Despite the family still living in poverty and he still selling animals for a living, Producciones Tommy Muñiz moved to Miramar in the large property that had been loaned by his parents years before, La Casona. While attending the pet shop, he received a call from WKAQ-TV to replace Agrelot at Capitán Colgate, leaving the business in charge of his sister. Wondering what to create, Muñiz examined WKAQ's programming, consulted his father and summoned his co-workers to La Casona. Two shows where then created, a television adaptation of El colegio de la alegría and A reirse con Ola, which aired in a prime time slot on Wednesdays and was hosted by Yoyo Boing and Cordero. WAPA-TV responded by creating Una hora conmigo hosted by Myrta Silva. Conducted by Mario Pabón, A reirse con Ola peaked in the rating charts, which earned Muñiz personal congratulations from Ángel Ramos. It also won the recognition for "Best Comedy Show" and Yoyo Boing won "Best Comedian", while also serving to propel figures such as Helga Avilés and Eddie Miró, while its music interludes served as the debut of Cortijo y su combo.

Adapting radio IPs
Agrelot returned to Puerto Rico during their peak and became the centerpiece of El colegio de la alegría, which had been recreated with him in mind. Muñiz had made several changes to El profesor Colgate to focus it on Agrelot's forte, giving rise to this adaptation. Producciones Tommy Muñiz also traveled Puerto Rico and made live presentations in a number of places and fiestas patronales for additional revenue. During these tours, the group became acquainted with several food establishments and where involved in several mishaps during the weekends, eventually adopting the name of "Caravana del Monte" gaining patronage from the Del Monte brand. A reírse con Ola changed names several times, twice due to branding in the cases of A reírse con Fab and Diviértase con Fab and once to highlight its characters in A reírse con Yoyo. Muñiz, however, was annoyed by the involvement of the advertisers in his shows. On August 1, 1955, Muñiz took over La taberna India after Rivero left the show. Américo Castellanos suggested to play the female character of Floripondia, a move that was considered in poor taste by the administration of WKAQ, but went ahead due to the producer's insistence. With the cast completed by regulars from other Producciones Tommy Muñiz performers, the show became a hit. A reimagined La familia Pérez named Hogar, dulce hogar replaced Mímicas del Monte, featuring the comedian debut of Shorty Castro and headlined by Muñiz and Luz María Font, who was recruited after casually stumbling upon the producer. The show climbed to the first spot in the ratings, remaining there for some time. During its peak, the script was modified to accommodate the pregnancy of Font, with the public responding strongly to the situation. Parallel to this, the couple had their first daughter, Luz Consuelo on October 18, 1957. However, two weeks later his mother died suddenly. Afterwards, the couple had its second daughter, Hilda María. Despite local television introducing more foreign programming, Producciones Tommy Muñiz continued unabated producing Lotus lo divierte (his first for WAPA-TV), Garata deportiva, El chiste Camel, Telefiesta de la tarde and Reina por un día between 1956 and 1959. Initially supported by three advertisers, Telefiesta de la tarde included the participation of Rivera, Agrelot, Cordero, Castro and Miró among others. He produced programs for both major stations at once, which benefited programs like the latter two, which were able to dominate in ratings despite moving. During this time, Muñiz kept his programs relevant by pitching them to the other channel, as was the case with Hogar, dulce hogar which returned to WKAQ-TV. Ultimately, Telefiesta was the only program to survive this period. He also briefly produced Desafiando a los genios for the nascent WKBM. Despite the introduction of taping during the 1960s, Muñiz continued producing his shows live.

Shorty Castro was part of the entertainment in this business with Googie Santana and others. By 1963, Muñiz dominated the daytime ratings, but Desafiando a los genios remained his only show in the nighttime block, hosted by Agrelot, Castro and Osvaldo Seda as the titular "geniuses". Muñiz then debuted a 15-minute segment known as La criada malcriada in Telefiesta de la tarde (with the help of his father on character design) with Velda González as the titular character Azucena, a rude maid, and Jacobo Morales and Agrelot in supporting roles. Aimed at the middle class and originally conceived as a nighttime show, a pilot was filmed at WKAQ but problems with the station's protocol led to it being pitched to WAPA from its own studio. There, however, it was repurposed to avoid competing with the imported shows. During this time, his father also died, leaving him without his closest advisor in the business and personal confidant. Afterwards, Muñiz decided to leave La Casona behind and moved to Férnandez Juncos Avenue. With La criada malcriada becoming popular and Agrelot also hosting the comedy news segment Encabuya y vuelve y tira, Telefiesta en la tarde became the first daytime show to become a leader in ratings. The segment brought an increase in advertisers and despite Norma Candal taking over the role of maid as Petunia, its success continued and it lasted for 17 years. It also led to a spinoff, Criada a la orden, produced by González herself and which became the first comedy aired in color. Eventually, the show was renamed El show del mediodía. In 1966, Efraín López Neris suggested a candid camera segment to Muñiz and Modestti. After being ignored, he filmed a pilot for the concept titled La cámara cómica. Muñiz was convinced and the show would become his latest to succeed at the ratings chart. WAPA-TV's Panchito Menéndez y su gran show del mediodía was the first hour-long noon show in local television. Tommy Muñiz produced the second and exploiting the lack of exclusivity, exported Telefiesta to WAPA-TV (while dominating the ratings with several shows based at WKAQ-TV) on December 29, 1958, to replace Menéndez. Hogar, dulce hogar, El colegio de la alegría and La taberna India, also completed similar moves.

Telenovelas and strike, WRIK-TV
Producciones Tommy Muñiz also began producing telenovelas, with Las almas no tienen color as its maiden project. This was followed by Historia de dos mujeres, Cuando los hijos condenan, Los Juanes, María del Mar, El silencio nos condena, Mami santa, Claudia y Virginia and Llanto para una mujer. Despite the latter facing issues with the increasingly successful telenovelas of WKAQ-TV, Muñiz went on to also produce Marta for WAPA-TV in 1973. However, this production actor José Reymundí began a strike against Producciones Tommy Muñiz and in particular against its administrator Hérnan Nigaglioni, claiming that he had been left out of a local production to favor foreigners. Soon afterwards, he was joined by more people as APATE joined and people like Castro decided not to cross the protest lines, while others like Candal actively joined the protests. Morales in turn decided to quit on the air. Only Alida Arizmendi challenged the protests. WAPA-TV decided not to intervene and distanced itself from the issue. In the end, Muñiz granted the demands of the protestors, such as health coverage or six month contracts, but Reymundí was unable to benefit due to the cancellation of the production due to the strike. Producciones Tommy Muñiz was affected by it, with only productions like Esto no tiene nombre or Ja-ja, ji-ji, jo-jo con Agrelot surviving. Candal, Morales, Warrington, Carbia, Molina and García left to create Producciones Astra and joined Channel 7. This would only last for some years, since the company gained a reputation as supporting work syndicates and were avoided. On September 21, 1976, Producciones Tommy Muñiz debuted Los García, a sitcom reflecting the increasingly changing dynamic of Puerto Rican families during the ongoing industrial surge. This marked the first time since the strike that a new production was rolled by the producer and also marked his return to the screen as an actor. It also featured his son, Rafo Muñiz, in a supporting role. Within months, the show reached the top place in the ratings.

When another foreign group purchased WAPA-TV, the new owners began implanting different moral standards that led to censoring some characters and modified the time slots. Unsatisfied with this, Producciones Tommy Muñiz moved his productions to Telecadena Pérez Perry. Muñiz then bought WRIK-TV, a small station but with good coverage, from United Artists on a $1.8 million offer. In order to establish the newly named Teleluz, he intended to dedicate it to sports and pursued the rights of transmission for the 1979 Pan American Games. However, governor Carlos Romero Barceló requested voiding the auction where WRIK-TV acquired the rights so that the event could air through WIPR-TV, noting that otherwise they would be cancelled. Muñiz was unsatisfied with the request and filed an injunction and lawsuit, which was won three years after the Games had been held. Considering it a bad investment, Nigaglioni refused to join Muñiz in the purchase of Rikavisión and both grew apart. With the death of a Ralph Pérez Perry, the channel began experiencing administrative and economic issues culminating the move after seven months. Eventually, these combined with the inability of WAPA-TV's new programming to compete with WKAQ-TV and led to a deal that was favorable for Muñiz's return. However, as the owner of a channel he was not allowed to work as a broker in both places and Producciones Tommy Muñiz sold material that was already filmed to the station. In this space, Muñiz aired Tommy, Encabuya... y vuelve y tira and El colegio de la alegría. The original plan for WRIK-TV was abandoned and a variety of genres were seen in its first shows, La cámara cómica, Esto sí tiene nombre, Cocina con Henry Corona, ' 'Parece increible, Festivalito, Musicalísimo, El show de Carlos Busquets, Con Sandra and El show de Walter Mercado. Parece increible later known as Haciendo historia, a novelty show first hosted by Muñiz and later by Agrelot and María Falcón, was a hit. A commentary show hosted by José Antonio "El Profe" Ortiz, was originally co-hosted by Mariano Artau and Carmen Jovet. Later, Jovet was moved to the news segment Cámara Siete. A morning segment, Despierta Puerto Rico, would later complete the news programming. Cámara Siete would gather a number of exclusives, including special programming surrounding the Falklands War and the arrival of Deborah Carthy-Deu after winning Miss Universe. His son, Pedro Muñiz, was in charge of administrative duties. Rafo Muñiz was in charge of promotions for the station and produced two shows, Los pupilos and Latino, later Son del Caribe, which introduced Héctor Marcano and Roberto Vigoreaux to television. After Channel 11 went bankrupt, Los Rayos Gamma moved to WRIK-TV, signaling the end of an estrangement with Morales. The group debuted on November 1, 1981. The arrangement with WAPA-TV was ended in February 1981, when all of the productions were relocated to reinforce WRIK-TV, which had become the only local channel in Puerto Rican hands with the bankruptcy of Channel 11. A new noon show named Mediodía en el Siete was complemented by the arriving comedy Encabuya... y vuelve y tira, and introduced others such as El derecho de lavar which debuted the character of Epifanio. El show de Lourdes y Carlos was responsible for popularizing Lourdes Robles as a singer. Agrelot was placed in charge of the comedy Cosas del alcalde. Children's programming was first in charge of Sandra Seiter, but later introduced Tamborito y Colorina and Chiquimundo, the latter of which marked the debut of José Vega as in shows directed towards that audience. With a loose concept Los siete del Siete would take over the prime time slot Thursdays, and be host by a number of local talents including Agrelot, Morales, Olivo, Avellanet, Jovet and Logroño. Later, this space would be taken by the trova-centered La feria del Siete. The channel also acquired exclusivity of the investigation that the Senate of Puerto Rico held on the Cerro Maravilla murders, which established a ratings record for the channel. The case took place in the mountain housing antennas that transmitted WKRIK's programming and one of the technicians was a witness, in the ensuing coverage the image of Romero Barceló was linked to the controversy. All foreign programming was suspended, while the channel's programming revolved around the event. The process extended for months and it brought political tension against those involved in the transmission leading to several bomb warnings being issued against the channel, while the Muñiz family was directly threatened along "Profe". In 1982, Muñiz sued MediaFax, the company responsible for registering television ratings, citing manipulation of the numbers. This eventually gained interest of the Senate, which launched its own investigation. However, the relation with advertisers was affected and Muñiz opted to sell the station in 1985 to avoid bankruptcy in exchange for the continuation of the original employees as part of an arrangement made by Pedro. The move ended the lawsuit, WKRIK-TV then became WSTE-TV and its commercial name became Súper Siete. The arrangement, however, limited Producciones Tommy Muñiz to the station until 1989.

Later years
Disappointed at the status of the industry and the proliferation of what he regarded as lowbrow comedy, Muñiz entered a semi-retirement and spent most of his days at Culebra. Eventually, Rafo approached him about a return to theatre with a play named Los muchachos de la alegría, which was accepted and Morales was brought in to direct and as part of the cast. Agrelot was initially considered to lead the cast, but his issues with scripted work led to the reconciliation of Muñiz and Cordero after two decades of estrangement. The play was a hit and moved from Bellas Artes to Teatro Tapia and then left San Juan to be shown at Mayagüez and Ponce, totaling over 30 shows. Following the last show, Morales approached Muñiz about entering the film industry as the titular character in Lo que le pasó a Santiago. Pedro Muñiz was brought aboard as producer. Muñiz also made his return to Puerto Rican television in August 1989, producing family sitcom El papá de mi papá and the comedy music show Carcajadas y algo más (along Rafo) for WAPA-TV, remaining invested in these projects for over a year. On February 14, 1990, the film became the first local project to be nominated to the Academy Awards, competing in the "Best Foreign Film" category. During the director's dinner, his work as an actor was complimented by Gregory Peck. His performance in Lo que le pasó a Santiago led to the interest of TNT, which contracted him for the role of Tomás Ontiveros in Crazy from the Heart along Rubén Blades. During the filming of the film, the improvisation of a court scene gathered the favor of director Thomas Schlamme. The film debuted on August 19, 1991.

During the early 1990s, Muñiz was publicly critical of comedy shows that used war as a topic. In February 1991, Muñiz returned to WAPA-TV and produced Los primeros, a compendium of his old shows with additional commentary that lasted for some months. He followed this with his first miniseries, Nadie lo va a saber, which aired during the second week of May 1991. With Expo 92 being held in Spain, he and Rafo produced a special called De tal palo tal astilla, Rafo y don Tommy en Sevilla. Two other specials, Puerto Rico y sus islas (about local culture and geography) and the compendium on popular culture Latitud 18.5, were also produced this year. A sequel to the first titled Las otras islas de Puerto Rico, a piece on the houses of historical Puerto Rican figures (La casa feliz) and a Christmas special (La Navidad con don Tommy) were aired the following year. Pedro became responsible for Producciones Tommy Muñiz. When Malrite Communications sold channel 7, Muñiz (who still owned 20% of the stocks) filed a lawsuit due to not being informed of the move, winning it and ending his relationship with the station. On May 20, 1993, Muñiz returned to theatre in Rafo's play En un beso la vida, performing along his son and Giselle Blondet. In 1994, TeleOnce aired a special titled 40 Kilates de Televisión, produced by Rafo Muñiz to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the medium, where he performed along his son. The following month, he hosted another special, ¿A quién no le falta un tornillo?. A series of special revivals of Los García followed, with the first airing on August 28, 1994, and the last on May 4, 1995. WIPR-TV displayed interest in reviving the series, but Muñiz declined.

On July 1, 1995, Manuel Muñiz died, causing an emotional crisis in his father. It wasn't until September 3 that he made a return to the media in a special edition of El colegío de la alegría titled Cuarenta años no son na' reprising his role. On October 19, another revival took place, this time Esto sigue sin nombre, based on Esto no tiene nombre. Despite resuming his work, Muñiz did not abandon this depression, selling his Culebra house and walked away of television for years. Eventually, Rafo Muñiz convinced his father to participate in another special, this one dedicated to him, titled Los 75 años de don Tommy filmed for WAPA-TV on February 3, 1997, before a live audience that filled the venue. In it, both his family and former employees and colleagues played homage to his career. On September 7, 1998, WIPR-TV began airing Noches de ayer, where Muñiz introduced episodes of his past work. The show would later be renamed Imagines and be hosted by Agrelot as well. On November 19, 1998, Muñiz sold Radio Luz. After suffering a heart attack on March 31, 1999, Muñiz underwent surgery. In May 1999, the Premios Quijote were dedicated to him and Agrelot. Three months later, Muñiz published a cautionary article about the misuse of television programming, his posture on the impact that this had on newer generations and how the overall quality had declined. Afterwards, he opted to retire and spend time with his family and friends. Almost three decades after their conflict, Muñiz and Nigaglioni put their differences aside.

Personal life
Muñíz was married to Luz María García de la Noceda and they had eight children: Rafael (aka Rafo), Ruby, Hilda, Mario, Luzie, Tomito, Manolo, Pedro and Félix Antonio (Toño). The birth of Rafael Emilio on September 13, 1956, served as comic relief for Muñiz, whose wife had been wanting a daughter for years. In their house, the couple also welcomed Ruby, the daughter of one of Muñiz cousins. Meanwhile, his children took several of their pets to create a small zoo from which they gained some income and entertainment and which is said to have been a precursor of sorts to the Monoloro park. Other activities to distract them included leading the local Girl Scouts. Muñiz himself acquired a house at Cayey, where he would relax and host parties. Rafo and Pedro are both well-known actors and producers and Toño currently is Production Manager for various promoters in Puerto Rico. In the 80s and 90s Toño was the producer of the yearly top Salsa event in the Caribbean, "Festival de Salsa Winston" ; Pedro directed a dramatic film, Cayo. Manolo was a businessman before his untimely death in July 1995. Muñiz was an aficionado of baseball and swimming.

Tommy Muñíz died 15 January 2009 in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. Luz María García de la Noceda died a day after her 87th birthday, on 21 October 2011. ommy Muñiz's life is described in two books: an autobiography named "Así he vivido" ("That's the way I've lived") and "¡Juan, Juan, Juan! Crónicas de la televisión en tiempos de don Tommy" by Puerto Rican author Beba García.

Other enterprises
At one time or another, Muñiz also owned a restaurant (La Campana) in Cayey), a pet shop in San Juan, a zoo (Monoloro) in Carolina, a thoroughbred stable, and a summer camp for children ("Camp Gualí"). He later delegated many of the administrative functions of his production company as to concentrate in scriptwriting and acting. Following the success of his shows, Muñiz incorporated Hernán Nigaglioni as the administrator of Producciones Tommy Muñiz. He joined Flavia García, who was serving as executive assistant. On July 10, 1968, Producciones Tommy Muñiz debuted the first local talk show, El Show de Tommy, with Muñiz as its host. García and López Neris completed the crew. Hosting a number of artists, politicians and civilians, the show traveled throughout the Puerto Rican archipelago, from which it was transmitted. The show was also responsible for filming the first surgeries to air in local television. A visit by the Guyanese prime minister was also hosted after the nation acquired its independence. Muñiz also became interested in developing several acres that he had inherited from his brother. By the summer of 1970, he had adapted a number of ideas and his ecological interests into a zoo known as El Monoloro. The facility housed lions, tigers, gazelles, zebras, kangaroos, an hippopotamus, an elephant, bears, a number of large reptiles and exotic birds acquired with the collaboration of the Guyanese authorities, but was headlined by the male chimpanzee named Yuyo. The ape, however, managed to escape his cage and was eventually captured and sent to the Parque de las Ciencias in Bayamón, where he lived until his death several decades later. In 1972, Muñiz shifted its focus to raising race horses, a venture that gave him a Clásico del Caribe winner in Guaybanex. The zoo was open for six years, with several of the animals eventually being transferred to the Mayagüez Zoo. Muñiz also acquired a beach house in Culebra. In June 1995, Muñiz and his sons inaugurated the theme park Camp Patricio.

Legacy
There is a statue of Muñiz at the Parque a los Caballeros de la Television (Park of the TV Gentlemen) in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. Several homages were held in 2022 to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Muñiz's birthday.

Productions
Radio productions
 * El Colegio de la Alegría (comedy)
 * La Familia Pérez (comedy)
 * Adelita, La Secretaria (comedy)
 * Gloria y Miguel (comedy)
 * ¡Qué sirvienta! (comedy)
 * Las Aventuras de Andy Tenorio (comedy, based on the Archie comic strip)
 * La Novela Fab (drama)

Television productions
 * El Show de Shows (for which Muñiz produced the comedy section only – 1955)
 * El Colegio de la Alegría (the radio comedy program, moved to television)
 * A reírse con Fab (first of four different names for the time slot – comedy)
 * El profesor Colgate (amateur talent contest)
 * Carnaval Del Monte (variety show)
 * La Taberna India (variety show, based on the American show Duffy's Tavern)
 * Hogar, dulce hogar (sitcom)
 * Lotus lo divierte (variety show – 1956)
 * Garata Deportiva (sports commentary – 1956)
 * El chiste Camel (comedy – 1957)
 * Telefiesta de la Tarde (variety show – 1957)
 * Reina por un día (prize show – 1959)
 * Desafiando a los genios (comedy – various inceptions between 1959 and 2004. This was a personal favorite of Pablo Casals)
 * El Show del Mediodía (varíety show)
 * Encabuya y Vuelve y Tira (comedy / news / community service)
 * La Criada Malcriada (sitcom)
 * La Cámara Cómica (comedy / reality television, based on Candid Camera – various inceptions)
 * Esto no tiene nombre (comedy, based on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In – various inceptions)
 * Ja, Ja, Ji, Ji, Jo, Jo con Agrelot (comedy / variety)
 * Gloria y Miguel (sitcom)
 * Viernes de Gala (variety)
 * El especial de Corona (variety specials; first appearance by Otilio Warrington on television, 1967)
 * Caras y caretas de las mujeres (comedy)
 * El show de Tommy Muñiz (talk show)
 * Hello, Puerto Rico (variety special)
 * Las Almas No Tienen Color (novela – 1969)
 * Historia de dos mujeres (novela – 1970)
 * Cuando los hijos condenan (novela – 1970)
 * Los Juanes (novela – 1971)
 * Borinquen Canta (folk music / variety show, 1971)
 * María del Mar (novela – 1971)
 * El silencio nos condena (novela, 1972)
 * Mami santa (novela, 1972)
 * Claudia y Virginia (novela, 1973)
 * Llanto para una mujer (novela, 1973)
 * Marta (novela, 1973) Casting decisions caused the ASTRA strike against Muñiz's production company
 * Los García (sitcom, 1976–1981)

title: Tommy Muñiz


text: Talk:Samoyed

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Samoyed


text:
Talk:Anglo-Saxon (disambiguation)

Untitled
1) An adjective term pertaining to Anglophone cosmopolitan societies or predominantly Western characters, i.e. North America, Australia/New Zealand, South Africa, the British Isles,....

Is this really the primary usage of the term? I've seen it so used in French, but it would strike me as unusual indeed in modern English. Perhaps it appears more in Commonwealth countries than it does the US? --Brion 08:10 Jan 31, 2003 (UTC)

 * Perhaps so. I think that it was more commonly used by English speakers in the 19th century than nowadays but it doesn't strike me as as an archaism even now. -- Derek Ross

Perhaps this article should be merged with the article Anglo-Saxons -- Derek Ross

He's an Anglo-Saxon Messenger -- and those are Anglo-Saxon attitudes.

This is the genuine context of the quote in Through the Looking-Glass, chapter 7:
 * All this was lost on Alice, who was still looking intently along the road, shading her eyes with one hand. `I see somebody now!' she exclaimed at last. `But he's coming very slowly -- and what curious attitudes he goes into!'

 * (For the Messenger kept skipping up and down, and wriggling like an eel, as he came along, with his great hands spread out like fans on each side.)

 * `Not at all,' said the King. `He's an Anglo-Saxon Messenger -- and those are Anglo-Saxon attitudes. He only does them when he's happy. His name is Haigha.' (He pronounced it so as to rhyme with `mayor'.)

Quotes used out of context-- not an honest technique, really. Wetman 18:00, 26 Jan 2004 (UTC)

Cakalacky
I don't understand the use of the word "cakalacky" twice on the main article page. especially when the link page does not seem to mention the word. Am I missing something? Nemohove

Link added to ‘Anglo-Celtic’ article
Hello, as it is of relevance, I have added the following to the ‘People’ section: “Anglo-Celtic, a macro-cultural term that is inclusive of Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman traditions/groups”. Accordingly I have inserted "or be included in" after "may refer to" at the top. Kind regards, Pconlon 11:48, 27 June 2007 (GMT)

What's in an "S"?
Surely this page should be entitled Anglo-Saxon (disambiguation) and Anglo-Saxon simpy redirected to Anglo-Saxons ... I can see so little chance that anyone will object to this that I am about to be bold ... of course my actions can always be overwritten by other, even bolder, ones than me. Abtract (talk) 17:08, 25 July 2008 (UTC)

title: Talk:Anglo-Saxon (disambiguation)


text:
Mechanical (character)

The mechanicals are six characters in A Midsummer Night's Dream who perform the play-within-a-play Pyramus and Thisbe. They are a group of amateur and mostly incompetent actors from around Athens, looking to make names for themselves by having their production chosen among several acts as the courtly entertainment for the royal wedding party of Theseus and Hippolyta. The servant-spirit Puck describes them as "rude mechanicals" in Act III, Scene 2 of the play, in reference to their occupations as skilled manual laborers.

The biggest ham among them, Bottom, becomes the unlikely object of interest for the fairy queen Titania after she is charmed by a love potion and he is turned into a monster with the head of an ass by Puck.

The characters' names are Peter Quince, Snug, Nick Bottom, Francis Flute, Tom Snout, and Robin Starveling.

Peter Quince
Peter Quince's name is derived from "quines" or "quoins", which are the strengthening blocks that form the outer corners of stone or brickwork in a building.

Playwriting
Quince's amateurish playwriting is usually taken to be a parody of the popular mystery plays of the pre-Elizabethan era, plays that were also produced by craftspeople. His metrical preferences are references to vernacular ballads.

Despite Quince's obvious shortcomings as a writer, Stanley Wells argues that he partly resembles Shakespeare himself. Both are from a craftsmanly background, both work quickly and both take secondary roles in their own plays. Robert Leach makes the same point.

In performing the play, Quince recites the prologue but struggles to fit his lines into the meter and make the rhymes. The noble audience makes jocular comments, whilst the rest of the mechanicals struggle (all except Bottom, who rather confidently improvises).

Characterization
Traditionally, Peter Quince is portrayed as a bookish character, caught up in the minute details of his play, but as a theatrical organizer. However, in the 1999 film version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, he is portrayed by Roger Rees as a strong character extremely capable of being a director. It is he who leads the search party looking for Nick Bottom in the middle of the play.

Cultural references
The character is named in the title of a Wallace Stevens poem, "Peter Quince at the Clavier", which is written in the first person as if spoken by Quince.

Snug
Snug is a minor character in the play. He is a joiner from Athens who is assigned by Peter Quince to play the part of the lion in Pyramus and Thisbe. When he is first assigned the part, he is afraid it may take him a while to finally remember his lines (even though the lion's role was nothing but roaring originally). Bottom offers to play the part of the lion (as he offers to play all other parts), but he is rejected by Quince, who worries (as do the other characters) that his loud and ferocious roar in the play will frighten the ladies of power in the audience and get Quince and all his actors hanged. In the end, the lion's part is revised to explain that he is in fact not a lion and means the audience no harm.

Snug is often played as a stupid man, a manner describing almost all of the Mechanicals.

Snug is the only Mechanical to whom the playwright did not assign a first name.

In Jean-Louis and Jules Supervielle's French adaptation, Le Songe d'une nuit d'été (1959), Snug is renamed to Gatebois, where Georges Neveux's 1945 adaptation used the English names.

On the Elizabethan stage, the role of Snug and the other Mechanicals was intended to be doubled with Titania's four fairy escorts: Moth, Mustardseed, Cobweb, and Peaseblossom.

Nick Bottom
Nick Bottom provides comic relief throughout the play. A weaver by trade, he is famously known for getting his head transformed into that of a donkey by the elusive Puck. Bottom and Puck are the only two characters who converse with and progress the three central stories in the whole play. Puck is first introduced in the fairies' story and creates the drama of the lovers' story by messing up who loves whom, and places the donkey head on Bottom's in his story. Similarly, Bottom is performing in a play in his story intending it to be presented in the lovers' story, as well as interacting with Titania in the fairies' story.

Francis Flute
Francis Flute's occupation is a bellows-mender. He is forced to play the female role of Thisbe in "Pyramus and Thisbe", a play-within-the-play which is performed for Theseus' marriage celebration.

In the play, Flute (Thisbe) speaks through the wall (played by Tom Snout) to Pyramus (Nick Bottom).

Flute is a young, excited actor who is disappointed when he finds he is meant to play a woman (Thisbe) in their interlude before the duke and the duchess.

Flute's name, like that of the other mechanicals, is metonymical and derives from his craft: "Flute" references a church organ, an instrument prominently featuring the bellows a bellows-mender might be called upon to repair.

In Jean-Louis and Jules Supervielle's French adaptation, Le Songe d'une nuit d'été (1959), Flute is renamed to Tubulure, where Georges Neveux's 1945 adaptation used the English names.

On the Elizabethan stage, the role of Flute and the other Mechanicals was intended to be doubled with Titania's four fairy escorts: Moth (also spelled Mote), Mustardseed, Cobweb, and Peaseblossom.

Tom Snout
Tom Snout is a tinker, and one of the Mechanicals of Athens.

In the play-within-a-play, Tom Snout plays the wall which separates Pyramus' and Thisbe's gardens. In Pyramus and Thisbe, the two lovers whisper to each other through Snout's fingers (representing a chink in the wall). Snout has eight lines under the name of Tom Snout, and two lines as The Wall. He is the Wall for Act V-Scene 1.

Tom Snout was originally set to play Pyramus's father, but the need for a wall was greater, so he discharged The Wall. Snout is often portrayed as a reluctant actor and very frightened, but the other mechanicals (except Bottom and Quince) are usually much more frightened than Tom Snout.

Snout's name, like that of the other mechanicals, is metonymical and derives from his craft: "Snout" means a nozzle or a spout, a feature of the kettles a tinker often mends.

Robin Starveling
Robin Starveling plays the part of Moonshine in their performance of Pyramus and Thisbe. His part is often considered one of the more humorous in the play, as he uses a lantern in a failed attempt to portray Moonshine and is wittily derided by his audience. His real job is as a tailor.

title: Mechanical (character)


text:
Discourse on the Method

Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences (Discours de la Méthode pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la vérité dans les sciences) is a philosophical and autobiographical treatise published by René Descartes in 1637. It is best known as the source of the famous quotation "Je pense, donc je suis" ("I think, therefore I am", or "I am thinking, therefore I exist"), which occurs in Part IV of the work. A similar argument, without this precise wording, is found in Meditations on First Philosophy (1641), and a Latin version of the same statement Cogito, ergo sum is found in Principles of Philosophy (1644).

Discourse on the Method is one of the most influential works in the history of modern philosophy, and important to the development of natural sciences. In this work, Descartes tackles the problem of skepticism, which had previously been studied by other philosophers. While addressing some of his predecessors and contemporaries, Descartes modified their approach to account for a truth he found to be incontrovertible; he started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions.

The book was originally published in Leiden, in the Netherlands. Later, it was translated into Latin and published in 1656 in Amsterdam. The book was intended as an introduction to three works: Dioptrique, Météores, and Géométrie. Géométrie contains Descartes's initial concepts that later developed into the Cartesian coordinate system. The text was written and published in French rather than Latin, the latter being the language in which most philosophical and scientific texts were written and published at that time. Most of Descartes' other works were written in Latin.

Together with Meditations on First Philosophy, Principles of Philosophy and Rules for the Direction of the Mind, it forms the base of the epistemology known as Cartesianism.

Organization
The book is divided into six parts, described in the author's preface as:

 * 1) Various considerations touching the Sciences
 * 2) The principal rules of the Method which the Author has discovered
 * 3) Certain of the rules of Morals which he has deduced from this Method
 * 4) The reasonings by which he establishes the existence of God and of the Human Soul
 * 5) The order of the Physical questions which he has investigated, and, in particular, the explication of the motion of the heart and of some other difficulties pertaining to Medicine, as also the difference between the soul of man and that of the brutes
 * 6) What the Author believes to be required in order to greater advancement in the investigation of Nature than has yet been made, with the reasons that have induced him to write

Part I: Various scientific considerations
Descartes begins by allowing himself some wit:

"Good sense is, of all things among men, the most equally distributed; for every one thinks himself so abundantly provided with it, that those even who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else, do not usually desire a larger measure of this quality than they already possess."

A similar observation can be found in Hobbes, when he writes about human abilities, specifically wisdom and "their own wit": "But this proveth rather that men are in that point equal, than unequal. For there is not ordinarily a greater sign of the equal distribution of anything than that every man is contented with his share," but also in Montaigne, whose formulation indicates that it was a commonplace at the time: "Tis commonly said that the justest portion Nature has given us of her favors is that of sense; for there is no one who is not contented with his share." Descartes continues with a warning:

"For to be possessed of a vigorous mind is not enough; the prime requisite is rightly to apply it. The greatest minds, as they are capable of the highest excellences, are open likewise to the greatest aberrations; and those who travel very slowly may yet make far greater progress, provided they keep always to the straight road, than those who, while they run, forsake it."

Descartes describes his disappointment with his education: "[A]s soon as I had finished the entire course of study…I found myself involved in so many doubts and errors, that I was convinced I had advanced no farther…than the discovery at every turn of my own ignorance." He notes his special delight with mathematics, and contrasts its strong foundations to "the disquisitions of the ancient moralists [which are] towering and magnificent palaces with no better foundation than sand and mud."

Part II: Principal rules of the Method
Descartes was in Germany, attracted thither by the wars in that country, and describes his intent by a "building metaphor" (see also: Neurath's boat). He observes that buildings, cities or nations that have been planned by a single hand are more elegant and commodious than those that have grown organically. He resolves not to build on old foundations, nor to lean upon principles which he had taken on faith in his youth. Descartes seeks to ascertain the true method by which to arrive at the knowledge of whatever lies within the compass of his powers. He presents four precepts:

"The first was never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such; that is to say, carefully to avoid precipitancy and prejudice, and to comprise nothing more in my judgment than what was presented to my mind so clearly and distinctly as to exclude all ground of doubt.

The second, to divide each of the difficulties under examination into as many parts as possible, and as might be necessary for its adequate solution.

The third, to conduct my thoughts in such order that, by commencing with objects the simplest and easiest to know, I might ascend by little and little, and, as it were, step by step, to the knowledge of the more complex; assigning in thought a certain order even to those objects which in their own nature do not stand in a relation of antecedence and sequence.

And the last, in every case to make enumerations so complete, and reviews so general, that I might be assured that nothing was omitted."

Part III: Morals and Maxims of conducting the Method
Descartes uses the analogy of rebuilding a house from secure foundations, and extends the analogy to the idea of needing a temporary abode while his own house is being rebuilt. Descartes adopts the following "three or four" maxims in order to remain effective in the "real world" while experimenting with his method of radical doubt. They form a rudimentary belief system from which to act before his new system is fully developed:

"# The first was to obey the laws and customs of my country, adhering firmly to the faith in which, by the grace of God, I had been educated from my childhood; and regulating my conduct in every other matter according to the most moderate opinions, and the farthest removed from extremes, which should happen to be adopted in practice with general consent of the most judicious of those among whom I might be living.
 * 1) Be as firm and resolute in my actions as I was able.
 * 2) Endeavor always to conquer myself rather than fortune, and change my desires rather than the order of the world, and in general, accustom myself to the persuasion that, except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power; so that when we have done our best in things external to us, our ill-success cannot possibly be failure on our part."

Finally, Descartes states his resolute belief that there is no better use of his time than to cultivate his reason and to advance his knowledge of the truth according to his method.

Part IV: Proof of God and the Soul
Applying the method to itself, Descartes challenges his own reasoning and reason itself. But Descartes believes three things are not susceptible to doubt and the three support each other to form a stable foundation for the method. He cannot doubt that something has to be there to do the doubting: I think, therefore I am. The method of doubt cannot doubt reason as it is based on reason itself. By reason there exists a God, and God is the guarantor that reason is not misguided. Descartes supplies three different proofs for the existence of God, including what is now referred to as the ontological proof of the existence of God.

Part V: Physics, the heart, and the soul of man and animals
Descartes briefly sketches how in an unpublished treatise (published posthumously as Le Monde) he had laid out his ideas regarding the laws of nature, the sun and stars, the moon as the cause of "ebb and flow" (meaning the tides), gravitation, light, and heat. Describing his work on light, he states:

"[I] expounded at considerable length what the nature of that light must be which is found in the sun and the stars, and how thence in an instant of time it traverses the immense spaces of the heavens."

His work on such physico-mechanical laws is, however, framed as applying not to our world but to a theoretical "new world" created by God

"somewhere in the imaginary spaces [with] matter sufficient to compose ... [a 'new world' in which He] ... agitate[d] variously and confusedly the different parts of this matter, so that there resulted a chaos as disordered as the poets ever feigned, and after that did nothing more than lend his ordinary concurrence to nature, and allow her to act in accordance with the laws which he had established."

Descartes does this "to express my judgment regarding ... [his subjects] with greater freedom, without being necessitated to adopt or refute the opinions of the learned." (Descartes' hypothetical world would be a deistic universe.)

He goes on to say that he "was not, however, disposed, from these circumstances, to conclude that this world had been created in the manner I described; for it is much more likely that God made it at the first such as it was to be." Despite this admission, it seems that Descartes' project for understanding the world was that of re-creating creation—a cosmological project which aimed, through Descartes' particular brand of experimental method, to show not merely the possibility of such a system, but to suggest that this way of looking at the world—one with (as Descartes saw it) no assumptions about God or nature—provided the only basis upon which he could see knowledge progressing (as he states in Book II).

Thus, in Descartes' work, we can see some of the fundamental assumptions of modern cosmology in evidence—the project of examining the historical construction of the universe through a set of quantitative laws describing interactions which would allow the ordered present to be constructed from a chaotic past.

He goes on to the motion of the blood in the heart and arteries, endorsing the findings of "a physician of England" about the circulation of blood, referring to William Harvey and his work De motu cordis in a marginal note. But then he disagrees strongly about the function of the heart as a pump, ascribing the motive power of the circulation to heat rather than muscular contraction. He describes that these motions seem to be totally independent of what we think, and concludes that our bodies are separate from our souls.

He does not seem to distinguish between mind, spirit, and soul, all of which he identifies with our faculty for rational thinking. Hence the term "I think, therefore I am." All three of these words (particularly "mind" and "soul") can be signified by the single French term âme.

Part VI: Prerequisites for advancing the investigation of Nature
Descartes begins by obliquely referring to the recent trial of Galileo for heresy and the Church's condemnation of heliocentrism; he explains that for these reasons he has held back his own treatise from publication. However, he says, because people have begun to hear of his work, he is compelled to publish these small parts of it (that is, the Discourse, Dioptrique, Météores, and Géométrie) in order that people not wonder why he doesn't publish.

The discourse ends with some discussion of scientific experimentation: Descartes believes that experimentation is indispensable, time-consuming, and yet not easily delegated to others. He exhorts the reader to investigate the claims laid out in Dioptrique, Météores, and Géométrie and communicate their findings or criticisms to his publisher; he commits to publishing any such queries he receives along with his answers.

Influencing future science
Skepticism had previously been discussed by philosophers such as Sextus Empiricus, Al-Kindi, Al-Ghazali, Francisco Sánchez and Michel de Montaigne. Descartes started his line of reasoning by doubting everything, so as to assess the world from a fresh perspective, clear of any preconceived notions or influences. This is summarized in the book's first precept to "never to accept anything for true which I did not clearly know to be such". This method of pro-foundational skepticism is considered to be the start of modern philosophy.

Quotations

 * "The most widely shared thing in the world is good sense, for everyone thinks he is so well provided with it that even those who are the most difficult to satisfy in everything else do not usually desire to have more good sense than they have. It is not likely that everyone is mistaken in this…" (part I, AT p. 1 sq.)
 * "I know how very liable we are to delusion in what relates to ourselves; and also how much the judgments of our friends are to be suspected when given in our favor." (part I, AT p. 3)
 * "… I believed that I had already given sufficient time to languages, and likewise to the reading of the writings of the ancients, to their histories and fables. For to hold converse with those of other ages and to travel, are almost the same thing." (part I, AT p. 6)
 * "Of philosophy I will say nothing, except that when I saw that it had been cultivated for so many ages by the most distinguished men; and that yet there is not a single matter within its sphere which is still not in dispute and nothing, therefore, which is above doubt, I did not presume to anticipate that my success would be greater in it than that of others." (part I, AT p. 8)
 * "… I entirely abandoned the study of letters, and resolved no longer to seek any other science than the knowledge of myself, or of the great book of the world.…" (part I, AT p. 9)
 * "The first was to include nothing in my judgments than what presented itself to my mind so clearly and distinctly that I had no occasion to doubt it." (part II, AT p. 18)
 * "… In what regards manners, everyone is so full of his own wisdom, that there might be as many reformers as heads.…" (part VI, AT p. 61)
 * "… And although my speculations greatly please myself, I believe that others have theirs, which perhaps please them still more." (part VI, AT p. 61)

title: Discourse on the Method


text:
Atomic energy

Atomic energy or energy of atoms is energy carried by atoms. The term originated in 1903 when Ernest Rutherford began to speak of the possibility of atomic energy. H. G. Wells popularized the phrase "splitting the atom", before discovery of the atomic nucleus.

Atomic energy includes:

 * Nuclear binding energy, the energy required to split a nucleus of an atom.
 * Nuclear potential energy, the potential energy of the particles inside an atomic nucleus.
 * Nuclear reaction, a process in which nuclei or nuclear particles interact, resulting in products different from the initial ones; see also nuclear fission and nuclear fusion.
 * Radioactive decay, the set of various processes by which unstable atomic nuclei (nuclides) emit subatomic particles.

Atomic energy is the source of nuclear power, which uses sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. It is also the source of the explosive force of an atomic bomb.

title: Atomic energy


text:
Polyglot (disambiguation)

A polyglot is someone who speaks multiple languages.

Polyglot may also refer to:

 * Polyglot (book), a book that contains the same text in more than one language
 * Polyglot (computing), a computer program that is valid in more than one programming language
 * Polyglot (webzine), a biweekly game industry webzine published by Polymancer Studios
 * Polyglot markup, HTML markup that conforms to both the HTML and XHTML specifications
 * Polyglot Petition, a global call for a common cause, such as prohibitionism
 * The Polyglots, a 1925 novel by Anglo-Russian William Gerhardie

title: Polyglot (disambiguation)


text:
Active galactic nucleus

An active galactic nucleus (AGN) is a compact region at the center of a galaxy that emits a significant amount of energy across the electromagnetic spectrum, with characteristics indicating that this luminosity is not produced by the stars. Such excess, non-stellar emissions have been observed in the radio, microwave, infrared, optical, ultra-violet, X-ray and gamma ray wavebands. A galaxy hosting an AGN is called an active galaxy. The non-stellar radiation from an AGN is theorized to result from the accretion of matter by a supermassive black hole at the center of its host galaxy.

Active galactic nuclei are the most luminous persistent sources of electromagnetic radiation in the universe and, as such, can be used as a means of discovering distant objects; their evolution as a function of cosmic time also puts constraints on models of the cosmos.

The observed characteristics of an AGN depend on several properties such as the mass of the central black hole, the rate of gas accretion onto the black hole, the orientation of the accretion disk, the degree of obscuration of the nucleus by dust, and presence or absence of jets.

Numerous subclasses of AGN have been defined on the basis of their observed characteristics; the most powerful AGN are classified as quasars. A blazar is an AGN with a jet pointed toward the Earth, in which radiation from the jet is enhanced by relativistic beaming.

History
During the first half of the 20th century, photographic observations of nearby galaxies detected some characteristic signatures of AGN emission, although there was not yet a physical understanding of the nature of the AGN phenomenon. Some early observations included the first spectroscopic detection of emission lines from the nuclei of NGC 1068 and Messier 81 by Edward Fath (published in 1909), and the discovery of the jet in Messier 87 by Heber Curtis (published in 1918). Further spectroscopic studies by astronomers including Vesto Slipher, Milton Humason, and Nicholas Mayall noted the presence of unusual emission lines in some galaxy nuclei. In 1943, Carl Seyfert published a paper in which he described observations of nearby galaxies having bright nuclei that were sources of unusually broad emission lines. Galaxies observed as part of this study included NGC 1068, NGC 4151, NGC 3516, and NGC 7469. Active galaxies such as these are known as Seyfert galaxies in honor of Seyfert's pioneering work.

The development of radio astronomy was a major catalyst to understanding AGN. Some of the earliest detected radio sources are nearby active elliptical galaxies such as Messier 87 and Centaurus A. Another radio source, Cygnus A, was identified by Walter Baade and Rudolph Minkowski as a tidally distorted galaxy with an unusual emission-line spectrum, having a recessional velocity of 16,700 kilometers per second. The 3C radio survey led to further progress in discovery of new radio sources as well as identifying the visible-light sources associated with the radio emission. In photographic images, some of these objects were nearly point-like or quasi-stellar in appearance, and were classified as quasi-stellar radio sources (later abbreviated as "quasars").

Soviet Armenian astrophysicist Viktor Ambartsumian introduced Active Galactic Nuclei in the early 1950s. At the Solvay Conference on Physics in 1958, Ambartsumian presented a report arguing that "explosions in galactic nuclei cause large amounts of mass to be expelled. For these explosions to occur, galactic nuclei must contain bodies of huge mass and unknown nature. From this point forward Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) became a key component in theories of galactic evolution." His idea was initially accepted skeptically.

A major breakthrough was the measurement of the redshift of the quasar 3C 273 by Maarten Schmidt, published in 1963. Schmidt noted that if this object was extragalactic (outside the Milky Way, at a cosmological distance) then its large redshift of 0.158 implied that it was the nuclear region of a galaxy about 100 times more powerful than other radio galaxies that had been identified. Shortly afterward, optical spectra were used to measure the redshifts of a growing number of quasars including 3C 48, even more distant at redshift 0.37.

The enormous luminosities of these quasars as well as their unusual spectral properties indicated that their power source could not be ordinary stars. Accretion of gas onto a supermassive black hole was suggested as the source of quasars' power in papers by Edwin Salpeter and Yakov Zeldovich in 1964. In 1969 Donald Lynden-Bell proposed that nearby galaxies contain supermassive black holes at their centers as relics of "dead" quasars, and that black hole accretion was the power source for the non-stellar emission in nearby Seyfert galaxies. In the 1960s and 1970s, early X-ray astronomy observations demonstrated that Seyfert galaxies and quasars are powerful sources of X-ray emission, which originates from the inner regions of black hole accretion disks.

Today, AGN are a major topic of astrophysical research, both observational and theoretical. AGN research encompasses observational surveys to find AGN over broad ranges of luminosity and redshift, examination of the cosmic evolution and growth of black holes, studies of the physics of black hole accretion and the emission of electromagnetic radiation from AGN, examination of the properties of jets and outflows of matter from AGN, and the impact of black hole accretion and quasar activity on galaxy evolution.

Models

Since the late 1960s it has been argued that an AGN must be powered by accretion of mass onto massive black holes (106 to 1010 times the Solar mass). AGN are both compact and persistently extremely luminous. Accretion can potentially give very efficient conversion of potential and kinetic energy to radiation, and a massive black hole has a high Eddington luminosity, and as a result, it can provide the observed high persistent luminosity. Supermassive black holes are now believed to exist in the centres of most if not all massive galaxies since the mass of the black hole correlates well with the velocity dispersion of the galactic bulge (the M–sigma relation) or with bulge luminosity. Thus AGN-like characteristics are expected whenever a supply of material for accretion comes within the sphere of influence of the central black hole.

Accretion disc
In the standard model of AGN, cold material close to a black hole forms an accretion disc. Dissipative processes in the accretion disc transport matter inwards and angular momentum outwards, while causing the accretion disc to heat up. The expected spectrum of an accretion disc peaks in the optical-ultraviolet waveband; in addition, a corona of hot material forms above the accretion disc and can inverse-Compton scatter photons up to X-ray energies. The radiation from the accretion disc excites cold atomic material close to the black hole and this in turn radiates at particular emission lines. A large fraction of the AGN's radiation may be obscured by interstellar gas and dust close to the accretion disc, but (in a steady-state situation) this will be re-radiated at some other waveband, most likely the infrared.

Relativistic jets

Some accretion discs produce jets of twin, highly collimated, and fast outflows that emerge in opposite directions from close to the disc. The direction of the jet ejection is determined either by the angular momentum axis of the accretion disc or the spin axis of the black hole. The jet production mechanism and indeed the jet composition on very small scales are not understood at present due to the resolution of astronomical instruments being too low. The jets have their most obvious observational effects in the radio waveband, where very-long-baseline interferometry can be used to study the synchrotron radiation they emit at resolutions of sub-parsec scales. However, they radiate in all wavebands from the radio through to the gamma-ray range via the synchrotron and the inverse-Compton scattering process, and so AGN jets are a second potential source of any observed continuum radiation.

Radiatively inefficient AGN
There exists a class of "radiatively inefficient" solutions to the equations that govern accretion. Several theories exist, but the most widely known of these is the Advection Dominated Accretion Flow (ADAF). In this type of accretion, which is important for accretion rates well below the Eddington limit, the accreting matter does not form a thin disc and consequently does not efficiently radiate away the energy that it acquired as it moved close to the black hole. Radiatively inefficient accretion has been used to explain the lack of strong AGN-type radiation from massive black holes at the centres of elliptical galaxies in clusters, where otherwise we might expect high accretion rates and correspondingly high luminosities. Radiatively inefficient AGN would be expected to lack many of the characteristic features of standard AGN with an accretion disc.

Particle acceleration
AGN are a candidate source of high and ultra-high energy cosmic rays (see also Centrifugal mechanism of acceleration).

Observational characteristics
Among the many interesting characteristics of AGNs:
 * very high luminosity, visible out to very high red shifts,
 * small emitting regions, milli-parsecs in diameter,
 * strong evolution of luminosity functions,
 * detectable emission across the entire electromagnetic spectrum.

Types of active galaxy
It is convenient to divide AGN into two classes, conventionally called radio-quiet and radio-loud. Radio-loud objects have emission contributions from both the jet(s) and the lobes that the jets inflate. These emission contributions dominate the luminosity of the AGN at radio wavelengths and possibly at some or all other wavelengths. Radio-quiet objects are simpler since jet and any jet-related emission can be neglected at all wavelengths.

AGN terminology is often confusing, since the distinctions between different types of AGN sometimes reflect historical differences in how the objects were discovered or initially classified, rather than real physical differences.

Radio-quiet AGN

 * Low-ionization nuclear emission-line regions (LINERs). As the name suggests, these systems show only weak nuclear emission-line regions, and no other signatures of AGN emission. It is debatable whether all such systems are true AGN (powered by accretion on to a supermassive black hole). If they are, they constitute the lowest-luminosity class of radio-quiet AGN. Some may be radio-quiet analogues of the low-excitation radio galaxies (see below).
 * Seyfert galaxies. Seyferts were the earliest distinct class of AGN to be identified. They show optical range nuclear continuum emission, narrow and occasionally broad emission lines, occasionally strong nuclear X-ray emission and sometimes a weak small-scale radio jet. Originally they were divided into two types known as Seyfert 1 and 2: Seyfert 1s show strong broad emission lines while Seyfert 2s do not, and Seyfert 1s are more likely to show strong low-energy X-ray emission. Various forms of elaboration on this scheme exist: for example, Seyfert 1s with relatively narrow broad lines are sometimes referred to as narrow-line Seyfert 1s. The host galaxies of Seyferts are usually spiral or irregular galaxies.
 * Radio-quiet quasars/QSOs. These are essentially more luminous versions of Seyfert 1s: the distinction is arbitrary and is usually expressed in terms of a limiting optical magnitude. Quasars were originally 'quasi-stellar' in optical images as they had optical luminosities that were greater than that of their host galaxy. They always show strong optical continuum emission, X-ray continuum emission, and broad and narrow optical emission lines. Some astronomers use the term QSO (Quasi-Stellar Object) for this class of AGN, reserving 'quasar' for radio-loud objects, while others talk about radio-quiet and radio-loud quasars. The host galaxies of quasars can be spirals, irregulars or ellipticals. There is a correlation between the quasar's luminosity and the mass of its host galaxy, in that the most luminous quasars inhabit the most massive galaxies (ellipticals).
 * 'Quasar 2s'. By analogy with Seyfert 2s, these are objects with quasar-like luminosities but without strong optical nuclear continuum emission or broad line emission. They are scarce in surveys, though a number of possible candidate quasar 2s have been identified.

Radio-loud AGN
There are several subtypes of radio-loud active galactic nuclei.

 * Radio-loud quasars behave exactly like radio-quiet quasars with the addition of emission from a jet. Thus they show strong optical continuum emission, broad and narrow emission lines, and strong X-ray emission, together with nuclear and often extended radio emission.
 * "Blazars" (BL Lac objects and OVV quasars) classes are distinguished by rapidly variable, polarized optical, radio and X-ray emission. BL Lac objects show no optical emission lines, broad or narrow, so that their redshifts can only be determined from features in the spectra of their host galaxies. The emission-line features may be intrinsically absent or simply swamped by the additional variable component. In the latter case, emission lines may become visible when the variable component is at a low level. OVV quasars behave more like standard radio-loud quasars with the addition of a rapidly variable component. In both classes of source, the variable emission is believed to originate in a relativistic jet oriented close to the line of sight. Relativistic effects amplify both the luminosity of the jet and the amplitude of variability.
 * Radio galaxies. These objects show nuclear and extended radio emission. Their other AGN properties are heterogeneous. They can broadly be divided into low-excitation and high-excitation classes. Low-excitation objects show no strong narrow or broad emission lines, and the emission lines they do have may be excited by a different mechanism. Their optical and X-ray nuclear emission is consistent with originating purely in a jet.  They may be the best current candidates for AGN with radiatively inefficient accretion. By contrast, high-excitation objects (narrow-line radio galaxies) have emission-line spectra similar to those of Seyfert 2s. The small class of broad-line radio galaxies, which show relatively strong nuclear optical continuum emission probably includes some objects that are simply low-luminosity radio-loud quasars. The host galaxies of radio galaxies, whatever their emission-line type, are essentially always ellipticals.

Unification of AGN species
Unified models propose that different observational classes of AGN are a single type of physical object observed under different conditions. The currently favoured unified models are 'orientation-based unified models' meaning that they propose that the apparent differences between different types of objects arise simply because of their different orientations to the observer. However, they are debated (see below).

Radio-quiet unification
At low luminosities, the objects to be unified are Seyfert galaxies. The unification models propose that in Seyfert 1s the observer has a direct view of the active nucleus. In Seyfert 2s the nucleus is observed through an obscuring structure which prevents a direct view of the optical continuum, broad-line region or (soft) X-ray emission. The key insight of orientation-dependent accretion models is that the two types of object can be the same if only certain angles to the line of sight are observed. The standard picture is of a torus of obscuring material surrounding the accretion disc. It must be large enough to obscure the broad-line region but not large enough to obscure the narrow-line region, which is seen in both classes of object. Seyfert 2s are seen through the torus. Outside the torus there is material that can scatter some of the nuclear emission into our line of sight, allowing us to see some optical and X-ray continuum and, in some cases, broad emission lines—which are strongly polarized, showing that they have been scattered and proving that some Seyfert 2s really do contain hidden Seyfert 1s. Infrared observations of the nuclei of Seyfert 2s also support this picture.

At higher luminosities, quasars take the place of Seyfert 1s, but, as already mentioned, the corresponding 'quasar 2s' are elusive at present. If they do not have the scattering component of Seyfert 2s they would be hard to detect except through their luminous narrow-line and hard X-ray emission.

Radio-loud unification
Historically, work on radio-loud unification has concentrated on high-luminosity radio-loud quasars. These can be unified with narrow-line radio galaxies in a manner directly analogous to the Seyfert 1/2 unification (but without the complication of much in the way of a reflection component: narrow-line radio galaxies show no nuclear optical continuum or reflected X-ray component, although they do occasionally show polarized broad-line emission). The large-scale radio structures of these objects provide compelling evidence that the orientation-based unified models really are true. X-ray evidence, where available, supports the unified picture: radio galaxies show evidence of obscuration from a torus, while quasars do not, although care must be taken since radio-loud objects also have a soft unabsorbed jet-related component, and high resolution is necessary to separate out thermal emission from the sources' large-scale hot-gas environment. At very small angles to the line of sight, relativistic beaming dominates, and we see a blazar of some variety.

However, the population of radio galaxies is completely dominated by low-luminosity, low-excitation objects. These do not show strong nuclear emission lines—broad or narrow—they have optical continua which appear to be entirely jet-related, and their X-ray emission is also consistent with coming purely from a jet, with no heavily absorbed nuclear component in general. These objects cannot be unified with quasars, even though they include some high-luminosity objects when looking at radio emission, since the torus can never hide the narrow-line region to the required extent, and since infrared studies show that they have no hidden nuclear component: in fact there is no evidence for a torus in these objects at all. Most likely, they form a separate class in which only jet-related emission is important. At small angles to the line of sight, they will appear as BL Lac objects.

Criticism of the radio-quiet unification
In the recent literature on AGN, being subject to an intense debate, an increasing set of observations appear to be in conflict with some of the key predictions of the Unified Model, e.g. that each Seyfert 2 has an obscured Seyfert 1 nucleus (a hidden broad-line region).

Therefore, one cannot know whether the gas in all Seyfert 2 galaxies is ionized due to photoionization from a single, non-stellar continuum source in the center or due to shock-ionization from e.g. intense, nuclear starbursts. Spectropolarimetric studies reveal that only 50% of Seyfert 2s show a hidden broad-line region and thus split Seyfert 2 galaxies into two populations. The two classes of populations appear to differ by their luminosity, where the Seyfert 2s without a hidden broad-line region are generally less luminous. This suggests absence of broad-line region is connected to low Eddington ratio, and not to obscuration.

The covering factor of the torus might play an important role. Some torus models predict how Seyfert 1s and Seyfert 2s can obtain different covering factors from a luminosity- and accretion rate- dependence of the torus covering factor, something supported by studies in the x-ray of AGN. The models also suggest an accretion-rate dependence of the broad-line region and provide a natural evolution from more active engines in Seyfert 1s to more "dead" Seyfert 2s and can explain the observed break-down of the unified model at low luminosities and the evolution of the broad-line region.

While studies of single AGN show important deviations from the expectations of the unified model, results from statistical tests have been contradictory. The most important short-coming of statistical tests by direct comparisons of statistical samples of Seyfert 1s and Seyfert 2s is the introduction of selection biases due to anisotropic selection criteria.

Studying neighbour galaxies rather than the AGN themselves  first suggested the numbers of neighbours were larger for Seyfert 2s than for Seyfert 1s, in contradiction with the Unified Model. Today, having overcome the previous limitations of small sample sizes and anisotropic selection, studies of neighbours of hundreds to thousands of AGN have shown that the neighbours of Seyfert 2s are intrinsically dustier and more star-forming than Seyfert 1s and a connection between AGN type, host galaxy morphology and collision history. Moreover, angular clustering studies of the two AGN types confirm that they reside in different environments and show that they reside within dark matter halos of different masses. The AGN environment studies are in line with evolution-based unification models where Seyfert 2s transform into Seyfert 1s during merger, supporting earlier models of merger-driven activation of Seyfert 1 nuclei.

While controversy about the soundness of each individual study still prevails, they all agree on that the simplest viewing-angle based models of AGN Unification are incomplete. Seyfert-1 and Seyfert-2 seem to differ in star formation and AGN engine power.

While it still might be valid that an obscured Seyfert 1 can appear as a Seyfert 2, not all Seyfert 2s must host an obscured Seyfert 1. Understanding whether it is the same engine driving all Seyfert 2s, the connection to radio-loud AGN, the mechanisms of the variability of some AGN that vary between the two types at very short time scales, and the connection of the AGN type to small- and large-scale environment remain important issues to incorporate into any unified model of active galactic nuclei.

A study of Swift/BAT AGN published in July 2022 adds support to the "radiation-regulated unification model" outlined in 2017. In this model, the relative accretion rate (termed the "Eddington ratio") of the black hole has a significant impact on the observed features of the AGN. Black Holes with higher Eddington ratios appear to be more likely to be unobscured, having cleared away locally obscuring material in a very short timescale.

Cosmological uses and evolution
For a long time, active galaxies held all the records for the highest-redshift objects known either in the optical or the radio spectrum, because of their high luminosity. They still have a role to play in studies of the early universe, but it is now recognised that an AGN gives a highly biased picture of the "typical" high-redshift galaxy.

Most luminous classes of AGN (radio-loud and radio-quiet) seem to have been much more numerous in the early universe. This suggests that massive black holes formed early on and that the conditions for the formation of luminous AGN were more common in the early universe, such as a much higher availability of cold gas near the centre of galaxies than at present. It also implies that many objects that were once luminous quasars are now much less luminous, or entirely quiescent. The evolution of the low-luminosity AGN population is much less well understood due to the difficulty of observing these objects at high redshifts.

title: Active galactic nucleus